THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 TRAVELS 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 F R *d JV JE & I T JL Y, 
 
 AND PART OP 
 
 AUSTRIAN, FRENCH, & DUTCH 
 
 NETHERLANDS, 
 
 DURING 
 
 THE YEARS 1745 AND l/4tl, 
 
 BY THE LATS 
 
 11 EV. ALBAN BUTLER, 
 
 I-F.IN-TED BY JOHN MOIR, ROYAL BANK CLO^, 
 
 VOR KEATING, BROWN', AND KEATIXO, 
 
 '.-. DUKE STREET, GROSVENOR SqtJARE, 
 
 lontion. 
 
 SO HOLD BY E. EOOKEK, NEW-ECXD STREET', JACKSON', 
 &UK.E STREHT, LINCOLK-FIELDS, LON3O.V ; AND 
 JOHN BELL, NEWCASTLE. 
 
 1803,
 
 TO Tilt 
 
 REV. JAMES YORKE, 
 BRAMSTON, 
 
 THIS TrORK IS BEBICATEU 
 
 CHARLES BUTLER-
 
 A D7E R TIS E ME N T. 
 
 THE Letters from which the present Publication 
 is formed, were written by the Rev. ALBAX BUTLER, 
 (the Author of the Lives of the Saints) during his 
 Travels with the Honourable JAMES and THOMAS 
 TALBOT. 
 
 On the perusal of them, with a view to the present 
 Publication, it appeared that they were not intended 
 for the Press, but rather as outlines for a more per- 
 fect work, being in many parts little else than mere 
 jottings, the meaning of ivhicli it was frequently dif- 
 ficult to decypher ; they arc tlicrefore printed with 
 considerable alterations, which arc however principally 
 confined to variations in the style, and to the deletion of 
 a few unimportant paragraphs. To render obvious the 
 meaning of the Author has been the principal aim of 
 the Editor, without attempting to render the phraseology 
 K Zrceable to tJi? modern standard, 
 
 CHARLES BUTLER,
 
 TRAVELS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. ALBAN BUTLER 
 
 CHAPTER FIRST. 
 
 TRAVELS THROUGH THE NETHERLANDS. 
 
 Pasage from Dover to Calais.7~Proviiice of Picardy Amiens. Boulogne.--- 
 Portus Jccius. Calais. Account of the Dutch Netherhinds and Origin of the 
 UNITED STATES. AMSTERDAM. Eois-lc-Duc. Brcda.~Bergfii-op-Zooni. 
 --Alatstricht. Duchy of JLuxemburgh. The Black Forc.-.t. St Hubert.- 
 l.iege. College of English Jesuits Monastery of Cistercians : -Their rigid 
 rules. Rivert> Meuse and Moselle. County of Namur. Charlcroy. Ant- 
 werp. RUBENS. VANDYKE. Van l.aer. Poelinburch, cc.---.Alberc 
 Durcr- fohn of Bruges. Invention of Oil-Painting. H^ns Holbein. 
 Duchy of Brabant. BRUSSELS. Mechline. Louvain : Its University. 
 County of Hainault. Mons. Valenciennes. County of Flanders. Ghent. 
 
 Religious houses. Oudenarde. Court ray. Menin Tournay. Den- 
 
 dinr.ond. Dixmunde. Alost, &c. Ypres. 1-i.rnes, &.c.--Sta:e of the 
 Netherlands. 
 
 IN September 1744 we left Dover-cliff in the packet-boat, 
 and in the same tide, in less than four hours, arrived at Ca- 
 lais. The British Channel was anciently looked upon to be a 
 very dangerous sea on account of its many sands ; but these 
 are now too well known, and the passage is too short for any 
 danger, unless a person sets out in uncertain weather, cr in a 
 bad vessel. The Channel is here but 21 miles over ; its depth 
 no where exceeds 62 fathoms of 6 feet each ; in some places 
 it is only 1 6 fathoms deep; between England and Zealand, 
 where deepest, it is 23 fathoms ; between Dover and Calais 
 24 ; between the Isle of Wight and Normandy, towards the 
 Sorlingues, 60 ; and so deeper and deeper as it extends in- 
 to the main Atlantic ocean. The great ocean is deepest to- 
 wards the Poles ; next in the middle under the Equator. It 
 is supposed by Langlet to be no where above three leagues 
 deep ; but this is uncertain, for it is unfathomable, even by 
 
 A
 
 IO TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 the invention of the wooden ball, which being sunk by iron, 
 as soon as it strikes itself out of the hook which holds it, it 
 touches the bottom ; and the mathematician counts how long 
 it is in mounting up again, making his calculation according to 
 the density of the water, how many feet it has run in that 
 time. We may observe similar strata in the rocks and soil 
 on both sides tiie Channel, in Kent and Picardy ; which favours 
 the conjecture of those who think Britain was once part of the 
 continent, and only separated from it by Noah's flood, or some 
 convulsion of nature, as Sicily seems torn from Italy, &.c. of 
 which we may read Verstegan, Cambden, Musgrave, &-C. 
 
 PICARDY is a plain country, especially about Peronne. AMIENS 
 is its capital : Its great Gothic cathedral boasts of possess- 
 ing the head of St John Baptist (which a gentleman of Picardy 
 brought thither from Constantinople in the holy wars, about 
 the end of the I2th century). Abbeville is a new town, rich 
 by its cloth manufactures. This province is the granary of 
 France, from its plenty of corn ; but on the sea-coast the soil is 
 more sandy, in which part stand Boulogne and Calais. Here 
 are no remains of antiquities, though Amiens was the famous 
 metropolis of the Ambiani in Caesar's time ; as Boulogne was 
 perhaps of the Morini. The Romans had on this coast two 
 famous neighbouring sea-ports, the Portus Morinorum and 
 the Portus Iccius. 
 
 BOULOGNE is an inconvenient poor harbour, yet it may 
 have been the port of the Morini, if this was different from 
 the Iceian. At the request' of Philip II. St Pius V. erected 
 three bishoprics out of that of Terouanne, viz. St Oraer, Ypres, 
 and Boulogne. To this last he gave only that part which was 
 situated in the French territories ; hence Boulogne is a small 
 poor bishopric. The Oratorians house here was the old abbey of 
 St Wulmar. The late bishop of Boulogne gave a country- 
 house, and procured the king's letters patent for the English 
 Jesuits to keep two of their body there to hold * a pension, 
 snd teach the first rudiments to little children. The Roman 
 Portus Iccius is by some thought to have been St Omer ; the 
 
 * In France boarders are called fepiionnaires ; and to hold a peasion, rcears f' 
 Keep a house for boarders.
 
 Clap. /. -NETHERLANDS. it 
 
 sea once reached so far ; others more probably guess Calais. 
 I formerly wrote a short dissertation, at the request of a friend 
 in Flanders, to prove it was Amblateuse, a large village be- 
 tween Boulogne and Calais, which had formerly a very good 
 harbour ; and, though long since decayed, might easily be 
 made a better harbour than Calais. In it are dug up Roman 
 antiquities, and near it is the shortest passage over into Eng- 
 land, as Ctesar says it was from Iccius. King James II., when 
 he fled into France, landed in a small boat at Amblateuse, an. 
 1(588. 
 
 CALAIS, so called from the Calites, the people who inha- 
 bited this part in Caesar's time, is a small, but populous, and 
 tolerable trading town. Being conquered by our heroic Ed- 
 ward III. it remained in the hands of the English 200 years, 
 till re-taken under Queen Mary. Yet it shows no monu- 
 ments of its former masters except its parish-church, built by 
 our ancestors : It is impregnable. The river Hames fills its 
 moats, and makes the country very marshy as far as Guisnes, 
 a burgh two leagues off. The town has a double great moat, 
 regular fortifications, a great many strong forts round, and 
 only one gate to the land, not to be approached but by a cause- 
 way over the marsh, called the bridge of Nieullay. It is e- 
 qually strong to the sea ; its port is double ; the great pert, 
 and that of Cadegray, the first defended by two moles, and 
 both by the Risban, a strong fortress, preventing any ap- 
 proaching so near as to be able to bombard it. This part of 
 Lower Picardy is called Pals reconquis, since France recovered 
 it from the English. Here are many wells which ebb and 
 flow with the sea, occasioned by subterraneous communica- 
 tions. There are also springs of fresh water on the coast. 
 The irregularities of some in their flowing depend on hidden 
 siphons in their natural conduits under the earth. 
 
 The road from Calais to Paris, 31 posts or 32 leagues, is 
 good through Lower Picardy, where the ground is sandy, but 
 bad after rain, where the soil is a fat mould ; as towards A- 
 miens and to Chantilly, or almost even to St Denys, where it 
 meets the pavement. We always went either through Artois 
 or through Flanders, part of the Low Countries, which with 
 
 A a
 
 12 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Picardv made up the ancient Belgic Gaul. They are called 
 the Netherlands, IVsi-bassi by the Italians, from their situ- 
 ation ; for they lie lower than the sea, in many places 25 or 
 28 >et, especially when it is high tide. We see here Job and 
 the Psalmist had reason to extol it as a continual miracle o 
 Providence, that the water;; of the sea, both higher and so bois- 
 terous, do not drown the land ; though it be true that in ge- 
 neral th^ land is higher than the ocean : But on this coast the 
 waters would overflow this whole country to a considerable 
 extent, if they were not stopped by the strand and dikes : 
 For, from Calais, and especially from Gravelines to the Meuse, 
 the sea flowing impetuously on this coast, when the tide rises, 
 throws out such abundance of sand, as to raise natural great 
 hills as ramparts to preserve the country from being overflow- 
 ed. The Dutch, where this natural strand fails, especially 
 on the Meuse, in the isles of Zealand, and on theZuyder Sea, are 
 obliged at a great expence to keep up their dikes to defend them 
 from the sea, which, when a storm a north-west wind andspring- 
 tide are joined together, threatens an entire inundation of some 
 of their provinces, to a depth of above 20 feet. Some parts of 
 Zealand have been long so drowned, that nothing but the tops of 
 eome steeples are to be seen above water. All Holland was 
 extremely affrighted, when the worm that eats, or rather bores 
 the wood, was brought in ships from the Indies, and was got 
 among the stakes or pilotes of these dikes, about 12 years ago, 
 (1732.) The whole account may be read in the natural history 
 of that insect, which terrified that high and mighty republic 
 more than armies could have done. Theseahas added many par- 
 cels of firm land to these coasts, and the industry of the old Ba- 
 tavians must have gained, from the ocean much of what they 
 inhabit. This appears from theinany canals,from the Rhine hav- 
 ing lost its mouth, be^ng divided into numerous channels, and 
 from the appearance oi" a great part of the country. These Low 
 Countries, anciently possessed by several sovereigns, who paid 
 homage, so.ne to the French king, others to the Emperor, fell at 
 last by inheritance to the sovereign Duke of Burgundy, and, 
 after his death, to Charles V. Archduke of Austria, King of 
 Spain and Emperor. It is well known how his son Philip II,,,
 
 Clap. I. NETHERLANDS. 13 
 
 by endeavouring to establish the Inquisition, and by the severity 
 and exactions of his governors, made part of them rebel, who, 
 under the Princes of Orange, established a free commonwealth. 
 And, though but three small provinces, almost all low fenny 
 ground, only 180 Italian miles long, from the north-east of 
 Groninguen to Antwerp, and 157 broad, yet by their trade 
 alone, they are a most rich and incredibly populous country. 
 From the top of Gorcum steeple, you may see at once 22 wall- 
 ed towns. It has 100 great towns, of which 40 are in the pro- 
 vince of Holland. Amsterdam counts 28,000 houses built up- 
 on piles, with vast cost for their yearly repairs : The fine town- 
 house of Amsterdam is a modern stately buildincr, equalled by 
 none except that of Lyons : Every where hancbome towns pre- 
 sent themselves : Water-travelling is over all these provinces 
 very convenient and cheap, but the inns are most extravagant. 
 The quantity of herring-monger s, &cc. is inert dible, and the nicety 
 of the people in the neatness of their houses is so great that they 
 dare scarcely use them for fear of dirtying them, especially the 
 parlour, which is kept as a sacred palladium, if it be opened once 
 a-year, it is many days work to wa^h, wax, and clean it again.. 
 The rest of the Low Countries, the constant theatre of the 
 wars of Europe, is well known to have also changed masters. 
 In the middle ages, Flanders, Artois, Hainault, Namur, Hol- 
 land, Zealand, and Zutphen, had their sovereign Counts ; Ant- 
 werp, with a small territory > its Marquises ; Westfriesland, 
 Mechline, Utrecht, Overysscl, and Groninguen, their Lords ; 
 and Brabant, Luxembourg, Lnr.bourg, and Gueldres, their 
 Dukes. Lewis XIV. having good pretensions en Flanders 
 and Artoir, easily wrested part of the Netherlands from the 
 Spaniards, at so great a distance from them. The rest has 
 fallen to the House of Austria by mutual agreement. 
 
 The Dutch have all round their frontiers very strong barriers: 
 Of these, Slujs or Reluse, in Flanders, is a very small poor town, 
 not far from the sea, amidst marshes and waters, but extremely 
 well fortified, and almost impregnable, especially the Isle Cad- 
 sand. On this side also is Jassgaunt, &c. The principal are in 
 DutchErabant. Bois-LE-DUC,a large city, built by the Dukes cf 
 Brabant, in the I 2th century, in the place where a great wood 
 
 AS
 
 14 TRAVELS OF *1V. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 stood. Philip II, prevailed on Pius IV. to make it a bishopric 
 suffragan of Mechlin. Since the Dutch possessed it, the bi- 
 shop is forced to reside at Goldorp. The cathedral of St John 
 is one of the most magnificent churches in Holland. This town 
 stands on the confluence of the rivers Bommel and Aa, on a 
 hill in a plain country, full of marshes and large canals, over 
 which are built causeways, winding round, and exposed to the 
 artillery of the city and its forts. It has a strong rampart and 
 wall, a very large moat, and a great many bulwarks and out- 
 works. Six forts command all the avenues and causeways to 
 the town, and it is cne of the strongest places in Europe. 
 BREDA, six leagues from Bois-le-duc, is scarce inferior to it in 
 strength ; it is a fine large town o a triangular figure. Its 
 ramparts are of earth, very thick and large ; at every angle 
 there is a gate built of brick, and the cortines flanked with 1 5 
 bulwarks. It has two moats, one very large and deep. The 
 rivers Ado and Merkc meet in this city, and the country round 
 it is full of canals and marshes, and is so low that only its great 
 dikes save it from being buried under the waters. Their third 
 strong barrier in Brabant is BERG-OP-ZOOM on the river Zoom, 
 and part on a little hill. It is situated amidst impracticable 
 fens and marshes, with a canal running to the sea, defended bv 
 
 * O ' s 
 
 many forts. Its fortifications are most regular, and consist of 
 a great rampart, ditch, and half-rnocn, and hornworks, &c. On 
 the other side the Dutch bulwark is MAESTRICHT, (called Tra- 
 jcctum ad Mosam, to distinguish it from Utrecht 'Trajectum a d 
 BJjennm) on the Meuse or Maise river, below Liege. This city 
 was formerly in the Ligeois, but now, by it? masters the Hol- 
 landers, is reputed in. Brabant. The Meuse divides it into two j 
 the lesser part, called the Wyck, is stronger, and like a citadel. 
 It has a great wall, moat, and many strong outworks. Not- 
 withstanding the strength of the above frontiers, the Dutch 
 never wished to see them become their only immediate fence 
 against France, which has but to break through some of them 
 to bf? masters of all the United Provinces, even of Amster- 
 dam and the Hague. It was a great security to possess the 
 advanced barriers, Tournay, Ypres and Menin, with their own 
 garrisons ; nor would they have ever seen them demolished so 
 quietly, h.-.d nor -;ri\ ale factions prevailed ; for though every one
 
 Chap. I. NETHERLANDS. I - 
 
 of the Seven Provinces is sovereign at home, for administration 
 of justice, Sec. ; yet the States- General at the Hague can deter- 
 mine nothing, unless all the seven provinces are unanimous ; 
 and amongst these the city of Amsterdam, and its province 
 Holland, hates a Stadtholder as much as a King ; yet in war 
 they must necessarily have one, viz. the Prince of Orange. 
 Besides, the province of Utrecht is entirely French in interest 
 and affection. 
 
 The Austrians have also their strong barrier towns. In the 
 Duchy of Limb our g y bordering on Juliers in Germany, is the 
 small city of LIMBOURG, four leagues from Aix la Chapelle, 
 and three from Spa, in the Liegois, both places famous for their 
 hot mineral baths ; Limbourg has a pretty strong castle, 
 LUXEMBOURG, capital of the duchy of this name, is the strong 
 and almost impregnable barrier on that side, one half situated 
 on a hill. It is of great importance to Fiance, which has no 
 barriers against it in Champagne. (Sedan does not deserve 
 that name). For notwithstanding the three French barriers of 
 Lorrain, Metz, Toul, and Verdun, an enemy can from Luxem- 
 bourg penetrate into Champagne, and thence into the heart of 
 France. The French have in this duchy THIONVILLE, a place of 
 some strength. The Jesuits have a great college in Luxem- 
 bourg, in which most of the ecclesiastics of the Electorate of 
 Treves, and other neighbouring dioceses, perform their studies. 
 
 In this country lies the famous Hyrcini;ui, or Black Forest, 
 now called the Ardennes. In Csesar's -time it extended from 
 the Rhine to Tournay, and another way to Rheims. At pre- 
 sent, it is in many parts cut down and enclosed, but still occu- 
 pies a tract between Thionviile and Sedan. In it stand two fa- 
 mous abbeys ; that of St Hubert patron of the hunters, and that 
 of Orval. St Hubert, a powerful nobleman and courtier, and 
 a great hunter in these woods, being converted to God, was 
 chosen bishop of Maestricht. That bishopric was first founded 
 at Tongres in Liegois^ (where is yet a collegiate church of very 
 rich canons,) but translated from thence to Maastricht. St Hu- 
 bert in the 7th age removed it to LIEGE, which stands on the 
 Meuse above Maestricht, and is a large town, but dirty, ill 
 "built, in many places of timber, and without fortification?, er *
 
 1 6 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 cept a strong castle on the side of a hill ; it is an university. 
 The English Jesuits have their college for philosophy and di- 
 vinity, which was founded by the Duke of Bavaria an. 1622, 
 who settled on it lands in Bavaria and other provinces, to the 
 value of 200,000 German florins. The then Earl of Shrews- 
 bury, George Talbot, who lived in Bavaria, procured that 
 foundation from him ; here is an English nunnery of the Visita- 
 tion. The bishop is sovereign prince of the country, which is 
 'full of abbeys and rich benefices, which makes it be called the 
 Paradise of Priests, the Purgatory for women, (who slave 
 here instead of the men) and the Hell for Horses, The canons 
 of the cathedral are. celebrated, being noble, very rich, and 
 having among them many prelates and great princes. The 
 country wants a better police, and law-suits are endless. But 
 to return to Luxembourg : When St Hubert was dead, this rich 
 Benedictine abbey was built in the Ardennes, and his body de- 
 posited in it. His church and shrine is famous for pilgrimages, 
 (especially against fevers), which the common people abuse 
 sometimes to superstition. Orval is the other abbey in this 
 forest, famous for its reform and severity. It is of Cistercians, 
 though in their reform they embraced many parts of the Bene- 
 dictine primitive rule. In Lent, they fast according to the old rule 
 of the church till sunset, without eating any thing before. They 
 use at 2 o'clock in the morning to matins, and never return to 
 bed, being the whole day employed in singing, meditation, pious 
 reading, conference and manual labour in the desert, except an 
 hour after dinner for the sioste, or meridian sleep, which St 
 Benedict allows, as usual in Italy. During the remainder of 
 the year, they dine at I J, sometimes eat a little fish, but never 
 eggs, unless when sick ; never quit or omit their work in the 
 desert, lor cold, rain, &,c. go to their cells to bed about half 
 past seven. The river l\-Ieuse rises in Mount Vndemont, \\\ 
 Champagne, is soon navigable at St Theobald's, is extremely 
 rapi'l and cle^r, abounding vTith good fish, as sturgeon, -C. Its 
 salmon are tin- bent the farthest from the sea, better at Basile 
 funn at Strasbi.irg, &<:. It pa-,sfs by St Theobald's, Verdun, 
 oc-.lan, Dipnn?, Narnur, Lir-yp, Maestricht, Venlo, joins the 
 Vaiul, running from the Rhine, aud then takes the :;a;ne ixf
 
 Coap. L NETHERLANDS. ly 
 
 Merwe ; waters Worcum, Gorcum, and Dordrecht, forms the 
 Isle of Yssifmond, and at last falls into the ocean. The Mo- 
 selle runs higher, rising on the borders of Franche-Comte, and 
 having washed Toul, Pont-a-Mousson, (the small universiy of 
 Lornin) Metz, Thionville, Treves, falls into the Rhine at Cob- 
 lentz, where the elector of Treves often resides. 
 
 The Earldom of Namur, small, but enriched with iron 
 mines, and quarries of an ordinary soft marble, common in 
 these parts, has three other barriers. 1st, NAMUR; a pretty 
 town, tolerably rich, made a bishopric an. 1569: It stands on 
 the river Sambre, which rising inCambresis, runs through Hai- 
 nault and Liegois, and at Namur falls into the Meuse. Namur 
 is built on a plain between two hills ; on one of which stands a 
 stately castle, which defends the town, and is by its high situa- 
 tion, and regular fortifications, exceedingly strong. The 2,d 
 fortress is CHARLEROY, on the Sambre, 14 miles west from 
 Namur, fortified by King Charles the II. of Spain. It stands 
 on a little hill. The 3d is CHARLEMONT, built by the Empe- 
 ror Charles V. on a mountain very regularly fortified, though 
 small. It is seven leagues south of Namur, near Giver, a 
 bmall French fortress. 
 
 The Marquisette of tic Empire, lying between Brabant and 
 Flanders, though very small, has its share among the Austrian, 
 barriers, by its capital ANTWERP, a very ancient city, once one 
 of the finest and richest in the world, and still deserving the first 
 place among all the cities of these parts, in many respects. Its 
 advantageous situation on the Scheldt, made it attempt in the 
 1 6th age to vie even with London for commerce ; but the jea- 
 lousy of its trading neighbours, especially of the Dutch, and 
 the impotency of its sovereign to protect it, proved its ruin ; 
 Amsterdam gained the monoply, and got all the trade of Ant- 
 werp. The splendid houses of the merchants are still monu- 
 ments of its former grandeur and magnificence. It has 212 
 streets, 22 squares, &cc. is 8 miles round, standing in the figure 
 of a bow on the right side of the Sheld. Its cathedral, dedicat- 
 ed to our Lady, is Gothic, but pretty new, and the finest church 
 hereabouts. It is above 500 feet long, and 240 broad ; has 
 66 chapels, all adorned \vi:b niarbw? pillars, and most valuable
 
 iS TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLEK. 
 
 paintings ; its steeple is very beautiful, and has 33 great bells. 
 It was made a bishopric by pope Paul IV. 1559. The Je- 
 suits church is also very magnificent : It is paved with marble, 
 and has 56 marble pillars. The high altar is all of marble, jasper, 
 porphyry and gold, and our Lady's chapel is particularly rich : 
 But its chief ornament is the great number of excellent pictures 
 of RUBENS and other great masters of the Antwerp school of 
 painters. For it is well known that Antwerp had the glory 
 of being the third school of painters, after Rome and Lombar- 
 dy ; and excellent master-pieces produced in it are very com- 
 mon over all the Catholic Low Coutries, both in churches, and 
 in the hands of individuals. 
 
 The most accomplished master of this school was he who gave 
 it birth, the celebrated RUBENS. He learned the first prin- 
 ciples of painting at Cologne, the place of his nativity, and 
 studied under the best masters Flanders could then afford ; 
 from them, however, he acquired an incorrect style of design- 
 ing, of which he never got free, and which is a blemish in all 
 his performances. Having an extraordinary talent for pa ; nt- 
 ing, he travelled into Italy, and, by the pieces of Titian, Paul 
 Veronese, and Tintoret, formed himself in the true taste. His 
 paintings, in ease, truth and majesty, even surpass theirs ; and 
 have somewhat very great in their manner ; but his designing is 
 often faulty, and, tho' not quite Gothic, yet possesses something 
 of the Flemish and rustic, not fine, natural, simple, like the great 
 Roman painters : Nor did he stay long enough in Rome to 
 learn their perfection in this particular. Returning home, he 
 settled at Antwerp, was mads secretary of state for Flanders, 
 by king Philip IV. and his ambassador to king Charles I. of 
 England. He was knighted by the Kings of Spain, France and 
 England. (He was born an. 1577, and died an. 1640.) He 
 was a great scholar in every department of literature, and very 
 skilful in architecture. Many palaces and churches of Genoa 
 are designed by him. His chief performances in painting, are 
 the Escurial in Spain, the Banquetting house, now the chapel 
 of Whitehall in London, and the Luxemburg gallery in Paris, 
 esteemed the most finished. His smaller pieces are very nu- 
 merous at Antwerp, Lisle, &c. mostly on sacred subjects. 
 VANDYKE, born in Antwerp, was the best among Rubens's
 
 Chap. T. NETHERLANDS. r< % 
 
 scholars, and passed some years in Italy, Venice, Rome, &c. 
 to perfect himself. He attained the beautiful colouring of 
 Titian so admirably as to surpass his master Rubeus in draw- 
 ing portraits. King Charles I., by settling a great pension on 
 him, andcreating himknight, fixed him in London. Vandyke liv- 
 ed there in the state of a rich nobleman, and married the daugh- 
 ter of the Earl of Gowrie. Desirous of undertaking some great 
 work to immortalize his name, and unable to attain his object 
 in the French Court, he proposed to Charles a fine scheme of 
 paintings for Whitehall. But the Parliament refused to aid the 
 noble undertaking, a circumstance that cannot be too much re- 
 gretted. Money, defrayed in promoting works of such rare 
 merit, certainly contributes to a nation's glory, and ought to 
 be measured out with a munificent hand. Sir Antony Van- 
 dyke died and was buried in St Paul's an. 1641. His designing 
 is no less deficient than that of Rubens. There were many other 
 good masters of this school, as Vatvlaer of Harlem, called com- 
 monly, from his short disfigured body, Bamboccio, i. e. 
 bundle of cotton, which name he got in his travels in Italy : He 
 is famous for painting little figures, animals, landscapes, &c. 
 He died an. 1644. Poelinburch of Utrecht excelled in the same 
 talent of figures, landscapes, See., though his pieces have a dis- 
 agreeable stiffness. BROUWER, bom at Harlem, and settled 
 at Antwerp, excelled all others in what we call Dutch fancies,- 
 painting peasants, his pot-companions, drinking, smoking, play- 
 ing gamboles, fighting, &c. His pieces are natural, uniform, 
 and as pleasant in their design as he was facetious in his life. 
 By beer and brandy he rode post to his grave an. 1638. There 
 were many other great painters of this school, as the two broth- 
 ers MATTHEW and PAUL BRIL of Antwerp, an. 1054., eminent 
 for landscapes ; Van-Ryn of Leyden, though very whimsical 
 both ia his life and painting, cc. In truth, this school ever 
 wanted the spirit, correct design, elevation of thought, inven- 
 tion, and true taste of the Roman and Lombard painters. Be- 
 sides, landscapes, ruins, grottos, and the like, are far the easiest 
 pieces to excel in. Portraits or pictures drawn from the life 
 come next, in which the chief difficulty is to give the portrait 
 the true physiognomy, or character, with the passions of the 
 mind ; as the soul is in some degree always to be read in the
 
 iO TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 eyes, features, and whole attitude of a person. For proportion, 
 the main point, likeness in corporal features, drapery, &-c. are 
 easy to be learned in single copies, or portraits. Great history- 
 pieces are most difficult, unless only copies, as they comprize 
 all the different talents of painting, and require a great justness, 
 as well as an extraordinary invention and genius. ALBERT 
 DURER, and other Dutch painters, have all the rustic manner and 
 design. We are indebted to the Antwerp school for the inven- 
 tion of painting in oil, a discovery owing to chance. Painters 
 had moistened and mixed their colours only with gums, &.c. till 
 the middle of the ijth century, when an Antwerp painter and 
 chemist, JOHN of BRUGES, perceived colours ground in wal- 
 uut or lintseed oil mix much better, and receive a finer and 
 more lasting lustre. 
 
 I abstracted this digression from Mr Graham and from Van 
 Mandoi's history of the Dutch and Antwerp painters. 
 
 In Flanders, as well as in England, we find in private per- 
 sons hands, a great many pictures of HANS HOLBEIN, who being 
 born at Basle in Switzerland, by his own industry and gen'us, 
 under ordinary masters, in his own country became an incom- 
 parable painter. His deaths-dance, in the town-house of Basle, 
 made him known to Erasmus, who employed him to draw his 
 own picture, and sent him to London to Sir Thomas More, high 
 chancellor. King Henry VJII. was so taken with Holbein's 
 pictures of Sir Thomas, &c. that he took him into his service 
 with a great pension. He painted both in fresco and in oil in- 
 immerable pictures ; one of his best is that of King Henry the 
 VIII. and his Queer., in Whitehall. He performed all with 
 the left hand, and died anno 1534. All his pieces are not only 
 Flemish, but perfectly Gothic ; the common pictures of Henry 
 the VIII, Sir Thomas More, &c. are drawn after his manner 
 and design. Had he corrected this fault and formed his taste 
 after the true or Italian 'gusto, he would have equalled Titian 
 or Raphael. 
 
 But to return : Antwerp is encompassed with beautiful ram- 
 parts faced with stone, andforti$Ied with bastions. But itsstrength 
 lies in its citadel on the south side, which is a mile in circumfer- 
 ence, having a pentagon with a royal bastion at each of the five
 
 Chap. L NETHERLANDS. 2t 
 
 angles, and many out-works. It has several forts near it ; viz. 
 Daner on the south, Piementel, Pearl, and Philips on the west. 
 Doel, Lillo, and Sandcelet on the river. In the year 1585, the 
 prince of Parma took Antwerp-after one of the mostfamous sieges 
 recorded in history. His bridge over the Scheldt, his vast dike, 
 his infernal machines sent down the river to blow up the gates, 
 &cc. are prodigies, and render the relation very interesting. 
 It held out almost an year. I must not forget the English 
 nunnery in Antwerp, of Carmelites or Teresians. Their life 
 is the most austere of any of the English houses, and they observe 
 their rule with the utmost severity and exactitude. They 
 shew the body of a nun of their house, dead a great many year^ 
 ago, yet entire and uncorrupted, but the skin pale and brown- 
 ish, much dried up, something like the uncorrupted body of St 
 Catharine of Bologna in Italy. The Scheldt which the French call 
 Escaut, abounds in excellent fish above all the rivers of the Low 
 Countries. It rises in Picardy, beyond Catelet, runs by Cambray, 
 Valenciennes, where it begins to be navigable near Conde, and 
 there receives the Scarp from Arras, Douay, Marciennes, and 
 St Amand j after leaving Conde, bending to the north, it passes 
 by Tournay.Oudinard, Ghent, and there receives the Lise, from 
 Aire, Armentiers, and Courtray. Running from Ghent to Ant- 
 werp, it is divided into two channels ; the western called Hont 
 runs directly into the ocean, 12 leagues off; the other is again 
 divided, and carries one channel into the Meuse , the other in- 
 to the ocean. WILUAMSTADT was built on the mouth of the 
 Meuse or Merwe, by William Prince of Orange, Stadtholder 
 of Holland, afterwards King of England. This land belonged to 
 him, as did Gertrudenburg a fort on a hill near Breda, on the 
 same bank. Here, and near Antwerp, are the best landing places 
 for troops. Merchant ships usually land at Flushing and Middle - 
 ijourg, over against this place in the Isle of Zealand. The Eng- 
 lish yachts and packet-boats go to Helvoetsluys, a little beyond 
 the opposite bank of the Meuse. 
 
 BRABANT is an extensive province, fertile, but sandy towards 
 
 the sea coast. The Dutch possess in it Bergen-op-Zoom, Breda 
 
 Grave, Bois-le-duc, Williamstadt, and Lillo, the fort below 
 
 Antwerp. This dutchy is 22 leagues long, and 20 broad. Lou-
 
 22 tKAVELS OF REV. ALBAK BUTLER. 
 
 vain was once its capital, but the latter dukes, afterwards the 
 Spanish, and now the Austrian governors, chose BRUSSELS for 
 their residence : This city stands on the Sanne, and has a great ca- 
 nal cut down that river into the Scheld five leagues, and so trades 
 by water with the sea and with Antwerp. It is built partly 
 on a plain, and partly on a hill ; which makes many of the 
 streets troublesome in walking up and down. But coach-hire is 
 cheap. The streets are beautiful, adorned with many very 
 good houses and fine squares. The governor's palace, one of 
 the best in Europe, was burnt down by accident some years 
 ago, with its hangings, the finest tapestry in the world. In 
 the town-house is tapestry of the town's manufacture, equal- 
 ling any of the Gobelins in Paris. St Gudule's, the first and 
 oldest church of the city, is possessed of very rich ornaments and 
 choice pictures. In its treasury is kept the golden ciborium, 
 which the Jews once stole to abuse the holy sacrament, whicli 
 miraculously bled. Brussels has two high walls and moats 
 round it, but its situation is such that it cannot be made very 
 strong, unless it has three armies to defend it. At present its 
 outworks are almost all ruined. Cardinal Howard founded in 
 Brussels, about 1680, the Spellicans, a nunnery for English 
 Dominicanesses ; but he did not live to settle them so well as 
 he desired, any more than the house for English Dominicans 
 at Burnheim, near Louvain, which place he bought of the Count 
 of Burnheim. The Benedictines have an English nunnery in 
 Brussels, much older than the Spellicans, founded an. 1599 by 
 Lady Mary Piercy, and James Berkley. This latter was 
 consecrated first abbot by the archbishop of Mechline. This 
 was the first English nunnery founded beyond the seas, since 
 the Reformation. 
 
 MECHLINE, called by the French Malines, is more defenceless 
 than Brussels, though formerly a sovereignty, and still a great 
 tity, standing on a plain upon the river Dyle or Demer, which 
 brings the tide from the Scheld up to this town. It has a 
 sovereign council, (though not so great as that of Brussels) a 
 foundery for artillery, and is the seat of an archbishop, primate 
 of all the Low Countries, founded by Pope Paul VI. an. 1559. 
 la St Alexius's quarter is a beguinagt, or congregation of De-
 
 Chap I. NETHERLANDS. 
 
 y 
 
 votees of the female sex, commonly 1 500 or more, besides 
 pensionnaires or boarders often three times that number. They 
 live in several houses contiguous, and all under one enclosure, 
 in community, and observe simple vows, but have no solemn 
 ones. Every town of the Austrian Netherlands has usually a 
 beguinage ; but this of Mechline is the greatest, though that 
 of Ghent is very large and like a town of itself. This institute 
 first took birth at Nivelle an. 1170. St Lewis established 
 beguines in Paris ; but their house is now the monastery Avt 
 Maria of reformed Clares, the most austere house of women in 
 the world at present. Mechline is the centre of Brabant, four 
 leagues from Antwerp, Louvain, and Brussels. 
 
 LOUVAIN, once the capital of Brabant, is very large, but not 
 well built, nor a place of any strength, though it has large 
 ditches and ramparts faced with stone. It has 1 1 gates. The 
 Irish have here their great house of Recollect Franciscans, and 
 another of Dominicans. The English have a nunnery called 
 St Monica's, of the order of St Augustin, founded an. 1609 and 
 at present in good circumstances. In Louvain is a famous uni- 
 versity established an. 1426, by John the 4th Duke of Bra- 
 bant. It has 20 colleges, and the four chief are Lilium, Cas- 
 trum, Porcus, and Fales, and its scholars are very numerous 
 in philosophy and divinity, mostly Dutch and Flemish: For the 
 encouragement of learning, he who is first in philosophy, every 
 year receives incredible honours and prizes ; and his fortune i? 
 always made for life, whether he be for the church or any 
 other state. This university has produced many learned men 
 and one Pope. Its school is yet famous for divinity, but it 
 gives too much to reasoning, too little to the study of the fa- 
 thers and tradition. Louvain stands on the Dyle, a small and 
 rlear river. This country is famous for abundance of white beer, 
 the chief ingredient of which is buck wheat. Their physicians 
 boast of it as being exceeding wholesome. But it cannot be sofor 
 dl constitutions ; for it is so viscous, that a man drunk with it 
 requires two days to be sober again. ARSCHOTE on the De- 
 ftier, is famous for the castle and house of the Duke of Ar- 
 srhote, the first nobknaan of these countries. He descends
 
 4 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 from the ancient kings of Hungary, and in his hall hangs his 
 pedigree drawn down from Adam. 
 
 LIERE nearer Antwerp, is a poor town, weakly fortified. The 
 English nunnery there is in a decaying condition. Nivelle on 
 the borders of Hainault is fortified, though very small. Its 
 beguinage is very large. Gcmblours on the frontiers of Na~ 
 mur cannot be made fencible, for though on a hill, it is com- 
 manded by another still higher. It has a rich abbey of Bene- 
 dictines, the abbot of which is Lord of the town. 
 
 HAINAULT is a large fertile country ; the greater part under 
 France since Lewis XIV. The chief Austrian barrier in it is 
 MONS, the capital, a large and beautiful city, almost impreg- 
 nable, standing on a little hill of easy ascent, on the con- 
 fluence of the Hain and Trulle, two small rivers which lay two 
 sides of the town under water to a very great distance. It is 
 surrounded with a high and broad wall and rampart, three great 
 ditches, covert ways and out-works ; horn-works, half-moons 
 and redoubts to a great distance. The Prince of Coude, having 
 this year (1744) taken the place after 16 days open trendies, all 
 the fortifications will be soon blown up. Mons has the singular 
 collegiate church of Canonesses of St Walltrude ; they must: 
 make proof of their nobility, and singthe office in choir in akirut 
 of ecclesiastical white dress. The rest of the day they use se- 
 cular cloaths, or what they please, can renounce their benefice, 
 and then marry. Only the prioress takes a vow of perpetual 
 continence. There is auother church of the same Canonesses 
 :it Maubeuge. St Guislain is a small but very strong fort, in 
 the midst of great waters ; when the inundation is out, it com- 
 mands the sluices of the inundation of Mons, from which it is 
 two short leagues down the river Hain. It rose irom the abbev 
 of St Guislain, which stands in it. Almost all the rest of Hain- 
 ciult belongs to France, since Lewis XIV., who having takeu 
 VALENCIENNES, a large trading town on the Scheldt, added a 
 citadel to it. The finest linen and cambric is made here, at 
 Cambray, and in some places of Picarcly and Brabant. Our 
 Lady's Church, the convents of the Dominicans and Franciscans, 
 cc. are very noble Gothic structures. Valenciennes is forti- 
 fied T vith strong rampart:,, very large moats, &e, apd cut by the.
 
 Clap. I. NETHERLANDS. 5 
 
 river into so many channels, that it can hardly be besieged by 
 fewer than three armies together, being defended by inundations 
 on one side, and great hills on the other. The French have 
 also on the Scheldt, BOUCHAIN, halfway to Cambray, a small 
 town, but regularly fortified : And on the same river, two 
 leagues below Valenciennes, is CONDE, which Lewis XIV. for- 
 tified regularly, and made one of the most important of the bar- 
 riers. Its ancient lordship, by marriage of a widow, heiress of 
 the house of Luxembourg, was brought into the Bourbons, and 
 has given title of Prince to many great heroes of the blood-royal. 
 ANGUIENNE near Brabant gives also the tide of prince and duke 
 to a branch of the family of Luxembourg, descendants from 
 the Counts of St Paul, the greatest family of the Netherlands. 
 The French have also here Landrecy and Maubeuge, two small 
 strong places, both on the Sambre. Marienbourg, built by Mary 
 Queen of Hungary, Governess under the Emperor Charles V. 
 had its fortifications blown up by Lewis XIV. when he tool;: 
 it. Philipville was built by Philip II., near the Liegois ; is a 
 small but very strong place belonging to France. The Atis- 
 trians possess Ath, near Flanders on the Bonder, a rich, trailing 
 strong, small town. It holds the staple of linen for this neigh- 
 bourhood, and sells to the amount of 200,000 crowns per annum ^ 
 says Heylin : Its merchants are very rich. Hall, nigh Brabant, 
 is famous for the miraculous image of our Lady, of which Lap- 
 sius has wrote an elegant Latin hi-tory. The late Arch-Du- 
 chess used to visit it from Brussels. Bavay was, in thetimeoftha 
 Romans, the greatest town of these parts, and nanr.d Bxgacum or 
 Bavaarn. It was almost quite d^-troyed by the French i;i 
 their wars in the i6th century, but still retains the finest monu- 
 ments of antiquity, viz, ruins of a circus,, an aqueduct, me- 
 dals, &c. 
 
 "The County of Flanders is the richest and finest of the Ne- 
 therlands, which often go all under the general name of Flan- 
 ders, as all the United Provinces go under that of Holland, the 
 richest of the seven. Flanders is So miles long and 60 broad : 
 The most fertile country in the world for corn, around Lisle, 
 Douay, &c. : and for pasture, and the finest butter and cheese, 
 on the other side, about Dixmude. "But the soil about Gn 
 
 B
 
 26 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 is dry and sandy. FromMenin, Ghent, Ypres, Dunkirk, &C., 
 to Holland and Brabant, the people talk Flemish, a kind of low 
 German. On the French side,, viz,, at Lisle, Douay, St Omer, 
 &:c., they talk French. CharJ.es the Bold, s .Emperor and King 
 of France, gave Flanders in sovereignty with his daughter in 
 marriage to B.ildwin its first absolute Earl an. 877, reserv- 
 ing an homage to the King of France, and that he should be res- 
 ponsible to him for mal-administration only. The Earl of Flan- 
 ders was a faithful ally of the English against France, and his 
 country depended on England for wool for their manufactures. 
 He was first Peer of France, and carried the sword before that 
 king at his coronation, till the Emperor Charles V., being Earl of 
 Flanders, obliged king Francis I., his prisoner after the battle of 
 Pavia, to give up the claim of homage. The Earl always pos- 
 sessed Dendermond and twoneighbouring places, independently, 
 and paid homage for Alost, &c. to the Emperor of Germany 
 At present the Dutch possess in it Slays, a strong-hold in the 
 mouth of the channel of Bruges, with the isle of Cadsand before 
 it, a good fort, r.r.d the main bulwark of the Scheldt. They have 
 also Axil, Hulst,. and Sas-de-Gant, small but good fortresses^ 
 almost impregnable both by art and situation. The Dutch 
 since the last war had, for security of monies advanced to the 
 Emperor, their garrisons in the barrier-towns Tournay, Ypres 
 and Menin, to maintain which the house of Austria paid them 
 a large sum yearly, out of the taxes of these cities. The 
 house of Austria, in the beginning of the present wai% enjoyed 
 in Flanders GHENT or GANT, once one of the greatest cities in 
 Europe, and still very large. The Lis and Lieve here fall into the 
 Scheldt. It is 7 miles round, contains 30, $co houses, 13 square;: 
 and 7 parishes, with many extensive gardens within its walls. 
 St Bavo's the cathedral is a large church : It was an abbey, but 
 the revenues were converted into canonships by the Pope at the 
 request of Charles V., who was born in the castle of Ghent, as 
 \v.(s our John oj Gaimt, Duke of Lancaster. The suburbs, for- 
 merly larger th?.n the city itself, are quite destroyed by wars, 
 The next great church is St Michael. This town has in it fiv 
 rich abbeys, amongst which that of St Peter of the Benedictines 
 the riclest of all the ^abbeys ia Flanders: It was founded by
 
 Chap. I. NETHERLANDS. 27 
 
 King Dagobert, an. 640. and has many towns and villages un- 
 der it, and is adorned with a good library. Paul IV. made 
 Ghent a bishopric an. 1559. It is 4 leagues from Sas-de- 
 Gant, 10 from Brussels and Antwerp. The English Bene- 
 dictines have a nunnery in Ghent, established in 1624, by 
 Nuns from the house of Brussels, under the conduct of 
 Mrs Knatchbull. The English Jesuits have their professed 
 house there, which serves for a retreat to such as are unfit for 
 active life. The rebellions of this great town made the Empe- 
 ror Charles V. build a citadel to curb it. It consists of 4 small 
 bastions, but is not a place which can stand a long siege. The 
 town walls afford no defence, though they have a moat. The 
 tower of Bellefort is above 400 steps high, and has a huge bell 
 which weighs 11,000 Ibs. with a great brass dragon with wings 
 spread, gilt over, and as large as a bull. This bell has been often 
 rung to call the inhabitants to arms. The castle, or Prince's 
 palace, is very stately, and contains 300 chambers. In one of 
 these Charles V. was born. Ghent is a nobler city than Brus- 
 sels : Four leagues south of this city were discovered in the last 
 century, ruins of old walls, deep cellars, and caves, and many Ro- 
 man coins of Nero, Gordian and Constantine ; idols of Apollo, 
 Mercury, Sec. It was perhaps a colony or station under Julian 
 the Apostate, as well as before his government in Gaul. OUDE- 
 NARDE on the Scheldt 6 leagues south of Ghent on the borders 
 of Hainault is rich and trading. It has a good castle called 
 Pamele ; but being commanded by a neighbouring lull on th- 
 north side, it cannot make a long resistance. 
 
 COURTRAY, on the river Lis, 9 leagues south-west from 
 Ghent, is a handsome built city, and rich in linen-drapers 
 manufactures, &c. It was very strongly fortified by the 
 French. Being a second time taken from the Spaniards by 
 the French, Lewis XIV. restored it to them in 1684, by 
 treaty, quite dismantled, nor is there any appearance of us 
 fortifications being ever repakted, though its situation be very 
 advantageous. MEXIN is a small town, but its formications 
 were the most beautiful and finished of any in the world, the 
 master-piece of VAUBAN, under Lewis XIV., who was the 
 greatest engineer for fortifications that ever lived, and greatly 
 
 B s
 
 2 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 superior to our famous Sir Jonas Moore, as he had more prac- 
 tice and encouragement. All this could not plead in favour of 
 so inimitable a work, Lewis the XV. having last year com- 
 pletely razed the fortifications. Menin lies between Courtray 
 and Lisle, three leagues from the latter town. It is a vulgar er- 
 ror that the Nervii of Ca-sar lived here. Tillemont, that judici- 
 ous critic, demonstrates, in the life of St Piat, apostle of Tour- 
 nay, that that city belonged to the Menapii. 
 
 TOURNAY, on the Scheldt, which here begins to be navigable, 
 is twelveleaguesfrom Ghent, seven from Douay, five fromLJsle. 
 It is very ancient, is mentioned by St Jerome, and has ever been a 
 very flourishing town. Henry VIII. took it from the French, 
 the citizens paying him 100,000 ducats to save themselves from 
 from plunder. He built the citadel, and afterwards sold it and 
 the town to the French for 6co,coo crowns. It was conquered 
 by Charles V. and again retaken by Lewis XIV. who built anew 
 citadel stronger than the old one which he demolished, and forti- 
 fied the town in the strongest manner. But Marshal Saxe having 
 taken it in the present war, the French King has levelled all its 
 fortifications. It is a trading town and handsomely built. The 
 rich abbey of St Martin in it has a new church, very stately, 
 and of modern architecture, but inferior to the Italian taste. 
 Many of my acquaintance went to see the late siege, and the 
 battle of Fontenoy, two leagues ciT; but they paid dear for their 
 curiosity j for some venturing rashlyvvithin reach of the artillery, 
 \vere wounded, seme killed, pitied by none, on account of their 
 imprudence. The cathedral of Tournay was built by Chilperic, 
 and its revenues and canonries, which were enriched by Lewis the 
 Pious are now very considerable. DEKDERMOND, on the conflu- 
 ence of the Bender and Scheld, is a strong small city, surrounded 
 by very deep inundations. The French easily took it last year : 
 Indeed all the French sieges in Flanders during the present and 
 the last campaign, cost them little, considering the strength of 
 the places ; for the besieged made no great sorties, content to 
 defend themselves within their walls, and that not with much 
 vigour. DIXMUXDE is three leagues from Newport on the 
 river here, 'which rising at mount Cans'] enters the sea at 
 Newport. This country is famous for its pastures, and produ-
 
 Clap I. NETHERLANDS. 29 
 
 ces the best butter In these parts : ALOST is five leagues from 
 Ghent, sixfrom Mechline on the Dender, ("in Latin Tent ra,)two 
 leagues from Dendermond, (in Latin "fenereemunda). Alost is a 
 populous town, anciently very strong ; but the French taking it an. 
 1667, put it out of a condition of resisting them a second time. 
 GRAMMOND, or Gerard's mount, so called from its ancient 
 Lords Gerards, is a small burgh, but giving an ancient tide of 
 Lord and Duke, as Middlebourg, two leagues from Bruges, 
 once walled, always possessed by Lords of very noble families. 
 WERVIK, a burgh on the Lise between Menin and Meessin, 
 is mentioned by the Romans, and is called Viroviacum in An- 
 torinus Pius's Itincrarium. MEESSIN is a burgh two leagues 
 from Ypres, containing a rich abbey of Benedictine nuns, and 
 some trade. COMMINES is only a village, famous for the impar- 
 tial historian Philip of Commmes under Lewis the nth. Po- 
 PERING is a good burgh, two leagues from Ypres, famous for 
 producing best hops in vast quantities. 
 
 YPRES is a large city, well built, though only founded by the 
 counts of Flanders. The public gardens are handsome. When 
 Lewis XIV. took this town, it erected to him a very fine 
 monument in the midst of the beautiful fountain in the market- 
 place. Y'.:res stands on the river Ypres, which falls into the 
 sea at Fames. The cathedral is Gothic : Lewis XIV. forti- 
 fied it most beautifully and with great strength ; but this year 
 Lewis XV. having taken it, has ordered the fortifications to be 
 blown up, at least on cne bide. This is done perhaps for the pur- 
 pose of building a new citadel, for Ypres is a necessary barrier 
 for the French on this side. It was made a bishopric at the 
 same time with St Omcr's and Boulogne. The Irish Benedic- 
 tine iiuiis hr.ve a convent here, begun in the short reign of King 
 ]ame:- II. by Mrs Butler, daughter of Toby Butler of Culler., 
 Esn. in Ireland. Their revenues being placed in the town 
 house of Paris, where the funds have sunk almost to nothing 
 by the king'; arrets, the house is reduced to narrow circum* 
 stances. Ypres alone, when under the Spaniards, had 27,000 
 inhabitants; now the whole province na? nor ifir.cc^accor'. 1 .* 
 :r<y {o the Count of Boulainvilliers. 
 
 B 7
 
 30 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 All these places belonged before the war to the house of Aus- 
 tria, but France has taken now the greatest part, and demo- 
 lished all their fortifications ; which it had some right to do, see- 
 ing it had the principal hand in their erection. France itself 
 hns the best of barriers, in Lisle, Douaj, &c., to keep more 
 would be expensive, and dangerous to itself, besides exciting 
 the jealousy of its neighbours. 
 
 On the sea coast the Austrians have DAMM, once a great 
 city, now a small strong fort belonging to Bruges, one league 
 distant from it, and two from Sluys, the barrier of Holland. 
 
 BRUGES, so called from its great number of bridges over the 
 many canals that run through it, is one of the largest and richest 
 towns in Flanders, thouoh fallen from its ancient lustre. It 
 
 ' O 
 
 rose in the nth century, upon the two old ports Ouderburgh 
 and Alderiburgh being burned by the Danes. It is three lea- 
 gues from the sea, and four from Ostend, from whence, by a very 
 large artificial canal, vessels of 400 tons come into Bruges, which 
 still carries on soir.e trade, and is the staple for English wool, 
 though its rich merchants left it to go to Antwerp. Pope 
 Paul IV. made it a bishopric, at the request of Philip II., and 
 St Donatian's ricli collegiate church was chosen to be the ca- 
 thedral. The town-house, though old, is noble, and has some 
 good statues. The city walls arc four miles round, r.nd arc 
 lai'ge, having a ditch, &c. but of no strength, for the town stands 
 low, is so vast, and its castle in the rruddle of the town is so 
 open, that it cannot stand a regular seige. The English nuns 
 of the 30 order of St Francis have a good convent in the 
 quarter called Princen-horF, Thry were first settled at New- 
 port, but not being able to subsist, they dispersed, part to 
 Paris, forming the house of Ike nuns there, and part to this 
 city an. 1608. 
 
 Ovf ENT, originally bunt bv fishermen, vns \v/ilerl !:v Philip 
 IT. and rrndc an impregnable fortress. Archduke Albert be- 
 sieged it with all the power cf Spain, against the Dutch revolt- 
 crs for three years, and lo.n under its walls 78,000 men. The 
 entry to its harbour r-. dangerous, being obstructed by rocks. 
 The Emperor' Charles VI. sttempfed to establish a compa- 
 ny of merchants IP. tl:is city ; but the jealousy of the ErplL-h
 
 Clap. I. NETHERLANDS. 31 
 
 and Dutch obliged him to abandon the design. It made but 
 a weak defence this last year. The English Augustine nuns in 
 the Cannes street in Bruges, though a young house, is in a ve- 
 ry flourishing condition, much indebted to their late pious and 
 discreet Abbess Lady Lucy Herbert : Their marble high altar- 
 piece was brought from Italy, NEWPORT is a small and very 
 poor town, walled, and surrounded with water, but very easi- 
 ly taken when they are frozen in winter. Grass grows in the 
 streets and market-place. F. Maurice Chauncy, an English Car- 
 thusian, came over with some others to avoid the persecutions 
 of Henry VIII. and Queen Elisabeth, and founded here a 
 house for the English. He wrote an account of the martyr- 
 dom of 12 Carthusians, who suffered under King Henry VIII. 
 for denying his supremacy. 
 
 FURNES, four leagues from Newport, is situated in marshes, 
 and has a very unwholesome air. It is well fortified for its 
 size. The fine church of St Walburg is famous for its noble 
 canonesses, as In Mons. 
 
 All these parts of Flanders speak Flemish, a low German of 
 the Teutonic dialect ; and the people are called Flen'ur^eis. Li 
 the rest of Flanders French is spoken, best at Douay and to- 
 wards Cambray, not only since it was under the French, but 
 for several ages before. These people are called Walloons. 
 
 The Netherlands being divided at present into three govern- 
 ments, that of the Dutch republic, the Austrians, who succeeded 
 the Spaniards, and the French : To close this letter, 1 shall en- 
 quire which of the three seems the most happy. It is certain 
 Flanders was much more rich, trading, and populous, when under 
 its own Counts. This is proved by history, as well as by the ap- 
 pearance of the country. For example, Ghent is not half so large 
 nor populous as formerly ; yet this country is still the best 
 peopled perhaps of any part cf the world. This we may be 
 convinced of by the number of great towns so close to one 
 another, many of them larger than any town in England, ex- 
 cept London, York, and Bristol ; besides its burghs and vil- 
 la^es are very thick. The Seven Provinces of Holland are 
 now more populous than formerly. Their country lying very 
 low, and about the mouths of the Rhine and Mcvise, would 
 
 B4L
 
 32 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 for the greater part produce nothing, did not vast canals, made 
 oa purpose, drain their ground, and artificial dikes keep the 
 sea and rivers from drowning them. By this industry their 
 country in many parts affords good pasture and excellent cheese, 
 though inferior to that of our Lancashire and best Devonshire. 
 The laws of the commonwealth tolerate all religions ; even 
 Catholics, (the most restrained) having a comfortable share of 
 liberty. From the mixture of religions hence arising, End in- 
 discriminate influx of all descriptions of people, Holland has 
 been termed by some iJje Babel and sink of Europe. Such le- 
 niiy, however, is certainly well calculated to promote popula- 
 tion ; and a Dutchman Lughs at the Spaniards for impoverish- 
 ing their country by the expulsion of the Jews, Moors, 
 &c. Industry is so gainful and so reigning a spirit here, 
 that children of seven or eight years of age begin to earn 
 their own bread. In Amsterdam, there is in the house of 
 correction, as I have been assured, a cave in which idle rUs- 
 obedient children, being locked up, nmst work continually 
 to pump out water, which \vouH otherwise drown them. 
 The city of Amsterdam, consisting of 28, '-co houses built all 
 0:1 piles, as Venice and Stockholm, and fenced with vast dikes, 
 is a proof of this people's patience and industry. This world 
 < f inhabitants is obliged to sec!; employ on the waters, so that 
 Holland has more inhabitants on the s?a than on the lnd. The 
 Fishery slone alTords incredible profit and occupation ; both 
 jjr the sii'mo*?, which they catch and salt in April, Mar, r-nd 
 J.une, and in ether months, though not so plentifully ; but still 
 iriore for the herring, which they catch as fnr as on the coasts 
 of Scotland, as thry arc there better than on their own 
 shore". These herrings in June and August go in shoals with- 
 out one straggling, for fenr of the great fish devouring them ; 
 iov even whaler, give w;iy to thc;r troops. They make their 
 circuit to fi-cd on litt!" ;:rnbs, whiVn arc produced at that 
 reason in tlio.se ^eas; and when they have eat them all up, they 
 return. The sea between Scotland and Denmark is as it wen: 
 their metropolis in this passage. The Dutch had, in Guicci- 
 ardini's time, 71:0, now they send out 1000 ships on this 
 fishery, which set sail oa the jc'.h of June, under the escort el.
 
 Clap. II. NETHERLANDS. -, 
 
 five men of war ; and in time of war, sometimes nearly 40. 
 Chamberlain, in " the present state of England," says, they 
 employ in the herring-fishery 1200 ships and 20,000 men, and 
 that, in King James I.'s time, they caught on our coasts her- 
 rings to the value of 137,200!. a-year. They are now said 
 to gain 8co,c~cl. a-year by them. Guicciardini says they 
 gained, at the time he wrote, 1,470,000 ducats a-year. William 
 Beuke?ew first taught his countrymen to salt herrings, an. 1390. 
 His tomb is much honoured by the Dutch: The Emperor 
 Charles V. went to see it. He lies buried at Biervlict, once 
 a great town, now a poor fort and island, 5 leagues from Sluys 
 towards Antwerp. Their whale-fishery in Greenland, which 
 they have now the monopoly of, (having drove away the Eng- 
 lish,) and their cod-fishery on the great bank near Newfound- 
 land, &.c. are incredible mines of gold; as are their own but- 
 ter, &c. It is no wonder then to see butter, cheese, or fish- 
 mongers, at the head of the States, chosen deputies for their 
 provinces. But their richest trade is from the East-Indies,- 
 where they have deprived the Portugueze, &c. of their best 
 settlements, and drove the English out of Amboyna in the 
 Moluccas, and got the monopoly of the spice trade from the 
 Moluccas, Ceylon, r..nd other Eastern islands. The Bank of 
 Amsterdam, in which they keep their money secure under the 
 keys of the burgo-masters, is the richest treasure in the world. 
 But avarice is insatiable, and the Dutch are usually sordid, 
 though they encourage learning and the university of Leyden : 
 Yet their taxes are exceeding great. It costs them 500,000!. 
 a-year to maintain constantly 30,000 standing troops ; and al- 
 though they rebelled against Spain, on pretence of the oppres- 
 sive weight of theirtaxes, they now pay five times as much 
 as they did then, and more than any nation in the world. 
 
 The Austrian Low Countries are poor from want of trade, 
 which their masters neither encourage nor protect. The French 
 ure r.;ore flourishing-, though their laws make trade precarious,,
 
 34 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER, 
 
 CHAPTER SECOND. 
 
 TRAVELS THROUGH FRENCH FLANDERS. 
 
 Arrlres. County of Artois StOmer's: Irish College in this city Lens Arras* 
 Gravelines: English Convent of Poor Clares Mardyhe Dunkirk Bergues 
 Armcntiers Lisle St Amands Douay . its Strength and Religious Founda- 
 tions : English and Scottish Colleges Cambray : FENELON : Privileges enjoyed 
 by French Flanders Pcronne Cressy Senlis Laon Chaiuilly St Dcnys. 
 
 JL ROM CALAIS we sometimes took the road through Artois, 
 and at other times through French Flanders. The road from 
 Calais to St Omer is very bad, in many places narrow and 
 deep ; in winter it is frequently impassible. ARDRES is a very 
 small but strong town in Picardy, situated on a hill, and sur- 
 lounded by waters, when the Governor opens the sluices of 
 the inundation : It has but one gate, so that no man ever rode 
 through it. A short way past Ardres, leaving Picardy, we entered 
 jlrtois, a province of the Low Countries, made a sovereign coun- 
 ty by St Lewis in favour of his brother Robert. It fell to the 
 Dukes of Burgundy with the rest of the Netherlands, and their 
 heiress, MARY, Cdaughter of Charles the Bold, the last Duke) 
 marrying Maximilian of Austria, it was transferred to that im- 
 perial house, and was by Charles the V. resigned to his son 
 Philip II. King of Spain. Lewis XIV. conquered it entirely 
 from Philip IV. anno 1659 : hence the King of France is 
 Count of Artois, which is governed by its States, consisting of 
 all the nobility of the province, with the king's deputy at their 
 head. But, except in criminal cases, this council is not a so- 
 vereign court, and appeals may be made from its sentences to 
 the parliament of Paris. Artois is very fruitful in corn and in 
 pasture. It contains the cities of Arras, St Omer, Kcthune, 
 Aire, Bapaume, Renti, St Paul and Lens. This is the coun- 
 try of the Atrebati of Caesar ; though the territory of St Omer 
 belonged rather to the Morini of Picardy. 
 
 St OMER is 4 leagues from Ardres, and 9 from Calais. It had 
 its origin from StOmer bishop of the TVlorini, to whom Aldovald 
 :-< nobleman gave this marshy spot of ground to build a mon-
 
 Chap. I. FRENCH FLANDERS. 3? 
 
 astery upon, which took its name from St Eertin, a relation of 
 St. Omer, ordained abbot by him an. 695. The Abbey was 
 before called Sithiu. It is new built and magnificent. In its 
 treasury are some vestments once wore by St Thomas of Can- 
 terbury ; as indeed most abbeys in Flanders have. This abbot 
 pretended precedency before the bishop, but lost his expensive 
 long law-suit. Thebishops of the Morini resided at TEROUANNE, 
 a very ancient, rich, and strong city, called in Latin trie city of 
 the Morini. For its obstinate rebellions the Emperor Charles 
 the V. utterly razed it to the ground an. i ^53. It is now a 
 poor small village, standing amidst heaps of rubbish, and is six 
 leagues from Boulogne, two from St Omer, and above one from 
 Aire. The revenues and territories of this bishoprick were 
 divided into three by Pope Paul IV. and part given to Bou- 
 logne, viz,, what lay in Picardy, under France ; the part lying 
 in Artois to St Omer ; that in Flanders to Ypres. This was 
 done anno. 1559, since which time there have been 14 bishops 
 of St Omer, the three last ofFaffiefles a noble family of Aix, in. 
 Provence. St OMER, flourished most by the ruin of Terouannc . 
 It stands upon the river Aa> which rising above Terouanne, falls 
 into the sea between Gravelines and Calais. It has very strong 
 walls, moats, bastions, &c., and it is situated in the midst of 
 marshes and dead waters, which reach nearly as far as Grave- 
 lines. In its lakes are several floating islands covered with 
 grass ; fish shelter themselves under them as insects under a 
 stick in the water. These fens make the air unwholsorne. 
 The English Jesuits have here a large fine college, newly built, 
 after it had been casually burnt dcwn. Father Parsons, by his 
 interest with the Philip II. King of Spain, procured its establish- 
 ment from that prince to be the nursery of young students in 
 their humanity studies : That monarch also gave it a small pen- 
 sion now paid by the French king. They shew strangers their 
 apothecary's shop and infirmary, extremely neat and convenient, 
 their stage and acting cloaths, their sociality, chapel, &c. : This 
 college was founded an. 1594, 26 years after that of Bouay. The 
 same Jesuits have a very good house for their noviciates at 
 WATTEN, n village, two leagues from St Omer, in the way to 
 Gravelines; It formerly belonged to Dominicans, stands on
 
 36 TRAVELS pF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 a high hill, and might by its situation be -made a very strong 
 fortress : It belonged to canon-regular ; was given to the 
 bishop of St Omer to make up his revenues, and by him an. 
 1611 to the English Jesuits for their noviceship. 
 
 AIRE 3 leagues beyond St Omer is a good town, en- 
 creased since the destruction of Terouanne : It stands on the 
 river Lis, which also washes St Venanr, a poor town, but 
 fortified. Aire is surrounded on three side by vast marshes : 
 An enemy can approach it only on one side, which is de- 
 fended by a strong castle called Fort St James, with five 
 bastions, two half-moons, &c. The collegiate church of St 
 Peter is new. The English poor Clares have a nunnery here, 
 v. hich subsists by charities, having the liberty to beg. It was 
 founded by the mother-house of Gravelines. On the right 
 hand towards Picardy, we left HESDIN, a regular fortified hex- 
 agon ; and St POL, famous for its counts, a branch of the Lux- 
 embourg family, the greatest in Flanders, and from which have 
 sprung many emperor-, kings, Sec. BETIIUNF, five leagues 
 from Aire, n well iortified, though not very rich or trading. 
 It gives title to the Dukes of Bethune, Charost, Sully, Orval, 
 and Selles, which families all descend from the Lord of Bethune. 
 On our left hand we kit Bapaume, a small fortified to\\n five 
 leagues from Arras. LENS is now a small bmvh ; its walls 
 
 <D O 
 
 are lailen into decay ; its plains extend themselves a great way 
 on every side, especially towards Befliunc, without any hedges, 
 all ploughed ground,, They are famous for many great battles 
 fought on them. 
 
 A;;?.A3 on ths iT,rpe is capital of Artois. In it are held 
 the states ot tiie province. It is a very ancient city, divid- 
 ed into two parts, the city and the town, separated by a 
 ruinous wall. The bishop is, under the king, lord of the city ; 
 and tae abbot cf St Yaast's has many rights of lordship over 
 the town, though not absolutely lord of it. Both city and 
 town, are very well fortified with great ramparts, ditches, half- 
 moons, and other out- works. The trade in this place consists 
 in Arras hangings, Sec. The cathedral is Gothic, and the bi- 
 shop's palace very old. Since St Vaast, the firsc bishop, an. 
 540, it has had 82 bishoin. Jr Arr^.s stand? the famous abbey
 
 Clap. IL FRENCH FLANDERS. 01 
 
 * *) i 
 
 of St Vaast, of Bened'ctmes, once the richest order in the Low 
 Countries, and at present, though it has lost many of its town- 
 ships, still extremely opulent : Besides seven rich priories and 
 prove -tships in the country, enjoyed by religious of this abbey 
 pla -d -;iere by the abbot, and besides the third of the reve- 
 nr.-'^ set apart for the monks of the house, and a second third 
 set apart at present for building their church, the commenda- 
 tory abbot, the Cardinal de Rohan, receives, by agreement 
 from them, 50,000 hvres penny-rent a-year, as I have been 
 informed by those of the monks who best know it, the vicar 
 and receiver. When the King of France first made himself 
 master of the Low Countries, lie solemnly engaged to respect all 
 their privileges both in church and state. On this account the 
 Gabell - and Taille are not exacted here as in France. On the 
 same account the religious ought to have abbots chosen by them- 
 selves, and of their own order. But commendatory abbots, 
 who are ecclesiastics, to whom the pope, in his territories, or 
 the king in France, gives the title and the revenues of the ab- 
 bot, though they have no jurisdiction in the abbey, or over ths 
 monks, These commendatory abbots, I say, being introduced 
 first into Italy, then into France ; the king takes the same liberty 
 in the rich abbeys in Flanders, only with this dirTerence, that 
 here he always adds the clause, pour cette Jois seulement ; and 
 c-ives every house a religious abbot and a commendatory one by 
 turns ; notwithstanding which the parliament of Douay made 
 a very strong remonstrance against their having any commenda- 
 tory abbots at all, about fiv^ years ago. From Arras it is 
 eight leagues to Peronne in Picardy. But let us return, and 
 follow our other road, through French Fknders by Cravclmcs, 
 Dunkirk, and Lisls. 
 
 Fiom Calais it is eight leagues to Dunkirk, Gravelinei 
 beir-u a little more than mid-way. The river Au separates Pi- 
 
 O 
 
 caidy in France from Flanders. We crossed it near its mouth, 
 ;\t GP.AVELINES, the first place we cams to in Flanders. TliL 
 city stands a league from the sea, seated in the midst of greit 
 fens and low bottoms full of dead waters, which make u 
 a very unwholesome town, as are also Fames and Marsal, for th-.- 
 same reason. Sometiir.es reyimc-,t> lose hull' *;iir mm h;.-
 
 39 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER* 
 
 one summer's garrison in one of these towns. The French sis 
 years ago made a noble canal from Gravelines to the sea, with a 
 fine floodgate near the town, very remarkable for its mecha- 
 nism, and the different curious engines of which it is compos- 
 ed. It was designed to drain the country, but has not yet 
 answered that end. G-XAVELINES has no harbour, and is but a 
 very small and poor town, so thinly inhabited, that grass grows 
 on the market-place, as in Newport. It b-ing the frontier of 
 France, Philip II. fortified it so well, as to make it the strong- 
 est place then in Flanders, and it is as yet a very important 
 hold, has a citadel and five strong bulwarks, moats, and many 
 Out-wi'ks. In Gravelines stands a large convent of English 
 Poor Clares with a large inclosure, and a very handsome choir 
 in their church. It is the mother-house of all the English 
 poor Clares, viz. of Dunkirk, Rouen, Aire, &c. yet in low 
 circumstances, containing about 40 nuns, several of birth and 
 wood fortune, as is the case in other English houses also. It 
 was founded in 1603. 
 
 The marshy, land about the canal from Gravelines to Sfc 
 Omer is inhabited by the Hupponiers, a very industrious poor 
 set of people, drove out of Holland in the civil war by the Pro- 
 testants, on account of their religion ; for, though the Catholics 
 were no less forward in shaking off the Spanish yoke in Hol- 
 land than the rest, yet the Protestants in many places treated 
 them very ill. These Hopponicrs live by their little gardens and 
 boats, retain still their old dress, language, customs, and laws, 
 and intermarry only among one another. The women with 
 their odd straw hats fill the markets of St Omer, Wat ten, and 
 Gravelines. B'OURBOURGH is a small town one league from 
 Gravelines, with a rich abbey of Benedictine nuns, and a mira- 
 culous statue of Our Lady in the parish-church. Going from 
 Gravelines over the sandy strand (lately full of rabbits, till they 
 became so prejuducial to the country, that it was necessary to 
 destrov great part of the warrens) we meet MARDYKE, a vil- 
 lage a league from Dunkirk, famous for its good natural har- 
 bour. At this place Lewis XIV. carried a noble large canal 
 from the sea round to Dunkirk, when that port was demolished ; 
 "but upon the complaints of the English, that this was equiva-
 
 Chap. II. FRENCH FLANDERS. 39 
 
 lent to restoring Dunkirk, the canal was so contracted by \vai ! 5 
 built on it near the mouth, as to prevent large ships from entering-, 
 Smaller vessels, especially the Hamburgh-men, still come up. 
 
 DUNKIRK is a small but exceeding populous trading town, and 
 has only one great parish. The English, under Oliver Crom- 
 well, jointly with the French, commanded by Marohal Turenne, 
 anno 1658, took Dunkirk from the Spaniards, whose army 
 was commanded by the great Conde; andia 1662 Leuis XIV. 
 gave the English five millions French for this town, which, 
 at a great expence, he made the bulwark of these parts, and 
 the harbour for his men-of-war in this sea. He run a great 
 channel into the sea, \\ hich he fortified with the Risban and 
 five other strong castles en its sides in the water, and two 
 others at some distance to guard the strand on each side. He 
 built also a magnificent dock and harbour, with great maga- 
 zines round about it, where his men-of-war lay secure from all 
 enemies or weather. The English and Dutch attempted ia 
 vain to bombard it jointly, with a great expence of machine:;, 
 in 1694. This port was the admiration of Europe, till the 
 English, exasperated at its being the shelter of privateers in 
 the grand war, who could, from the steeple of Dunkirk, see 
 every ship which came out of the mouth of the Thames, and 
 meet it, made ks demolition an article of the peace of 1714. 
 Queen Ann's commissioners saw the port blocked up, and the 
 fortifications razed ; but the foundations were not blown up, 
 so that they might be restored. In this present war, the 
 French raised three moles, v.ith batteries, in the sea, and made 
 lines or entrenchments by land round about the town, to de- 
 fend both the port and the town. Though the harbour was much 
 damaged by being blocked up, yet pretty large merchant ships 
 can enter it j and, to encourage its trade, Lewis XIV. declar- 
 ed it a free port. The sands on the east side of the channel 
 make it dangerous to come ir, when the wind blows upon 
 them, in like manner as at Calais, because the pier does not 
 run far enough to go beyond all the sands. These ports arc 
 much safer than Ostcnd v.nd Boulogne, which have shelves and 
 rocks on each side. Dunkirk is not ancient, owing its rise 
 to the Counts of Flinders, On these ccs^ts the se?. !i;s
 
 4O TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 has made great alterations, not only in the ports, but in the 
 land itself. Two hundred years ago, it was a clause in the sale 
 of all lands on these coasts, that in case the land sold should be 
 drowned by the sea, or carried off in less than 10 years, so much 
 of the price was to be abated ; so frequent were inundations. 
 What remains worth observing at present in Dunkirk, is a 
 good picture of St George, in the parish-church, usually co- 
 vered. It is of the Flemish designing, half Gothic : Next 
 the old dock halfway filled up ; the park, and two English 
 nunneries; one of Benedictines, begun anno 1662, by Mrs 
 Caryl, a professed nun of the English house in Ghent, sent 
 from thence by her abbess to commence this new establish- 
 ment. This house lost very much by the reduction of the 
 rents on the town-house of Paris, having bought many con- 
 tracts. The portion for a choir-nun here is jccl. Sterling, for 
 a poor Clare 300!. The other is of the Poor Clares, more an- 
 cient and austere, who never eat flesh, &cc. It was begun 
 by Mrs Ann Brown, sister and aunt to two Lord Viscount 
 Montagues, as the convent-registers call her, though Mr 
 Dodd makes her only niece. She v/as professed in the mo- 
 ther-house of Gravelines, sent hence with three others by the 
 abbess, on account of their poverty, to Dunkirk, when, by the 
 assistance of the Spanish governor the Marquis de Lede, and 
 Mr Serjeant, who had been burgo-master, and of Mr Vander- 
 cruce, the curate, she instituted this convent, called, of Beth- 
 lem, anno 1652. Mrs Brown being chosen superior, go- 
 verned it till her death in 1665, remarkable for her great 
 humility and invincible patience under many crosses and lonv 
 sicknesses. In the year 1658, when Dunkirk was taken by 
 the English and French, Lord Lockhart, a man of mean birth, 
 and a creature of the Protector, was made governor ; and both, 
 lie and his lady were very kind to the nuns. He coming once 
 to search their house, on a report that some Jesuits from Wat- 
 ten lay hid there, found the information false, and the nuns at 
 their prayers in a chapel, in a very cold season, without a 
 spark of fire in the house, which made him send them a pro- 
 vision of coal and wood, and increase his kindness to them 
 ever after. Yet the ladies suffered from the rudeness of the
 
 , II. FRENCH FLANDERS. 
 
 4 r 
 
 English soldiers, who lighted their pipes at the altar, when 
 mass was saying, and committed many other acts of irreverence. 
 Eat the town soou passing into the hands of the French, the 
 Queen- Mother Ann of Austria, being regent, was very w-ood 
 to these nuns ; and the Count d'Estrades, the French ambas- 
 sador in Holland, laid the first stone of their church anno 
 1664. They suffered by having the plague in their house, 
 in 1666, under their second mother or superior, Clure Co/- 
 tft Bh/ndd, who was succeeded by two Rookivoods. The pre- 
 sent Mrs Langdak is the seventh superior. 
 
 It is two short leagues from Dunkirk to St WINOC'S-BERG, 
 commonly called BEKGULS, a small and very unhealthy town, 
 in the midst of marshes, but well furtiiied. It owed its ori- 
 gin to TVtaoCf a saint born in Lesser Britany in France, but 
 of British parents, expelled England by the Saxons and Angle::, 
 who instituted an abbey here, though not in the same place it 
 now stands ; for the first having been destroyed by the. Nor- 
 mans, when plundering the coast, Baldwin Count of Flanders 
 built and endowed richly the present abbey, and walled the 
 place. These monks keep the head of St Win uc in a case, rich- 
 ly gilt, and adorned with jewels; the rest of iiis body is in a sil- 
 ver shrine. They have relics of St Oswald, and many other 
 English saints. The present abb )t is very curious in paint- 
 ings, and has gathered a very numerous and costly collection 
 of the best pictures, fit for an Italian prince's cabinet. I was 
 most charmed with a small picture of St Mary Magdalen, for 
 its shining colours, and the natural projecting of the figure, 
 imitating life. CASSEL, four leagues from Bergues towards 
 Terouanne, stands on a very high mountain, which Cassini 
 measured when he drew the meridian-line through France. 
 It is very famous in the ancient wars, but now only remark- 
 able for its collegiate-church of rich canons. It was the Ro- 
 man fortress Custcl/itm Morinorum. ARMENTIERS on the 
 Lis is a burgh very noted for its manufactures of linen cloth 
 and stockings. It stands in the by-road to Lisle. The high 
 road, well paved, goes from Bergues to Popering, a fair burgh, 
 under the Abbot of St Berlins ; and to Ypres, which has been 
 noticed when deicribinc- Austrian Flanders, thcms-h at present 
 
 C
 
 42 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAtf BUTLER. 
 
 under the French ; and from thence to Warneton, a burgh with 
 a castle arid small fortifications, and a rich abbey of canon regu- 
 lar ; and from thence by Quesnoy to Lisle. LISLE was once an 
 island amidst marshes, which was drained by Earl Baldwin the 
 Pious, born here, an i a 2;reat lover of this town. He also founded 
 
 ' O 
 
 St Peter's church i:i it, with prebends worth i6ol. Sterling a- 
 year. It is the capital of the Walloons, and of French Flanders, 
 a large town, very rich, populous, and trading. The great 
 merchants here have magnificent houses, some not to be equal- 
 led by any in London, either for rich furniture or elegance of 
 architecture. Its chief trade is in cloths, weaving silk, Sec. 
 
 * O * 
 
 The Rue Royal is all inhabited exclusively by gentry and no- 
 bility, and for hs superb buildings, uniformity, regularity, and 
 breadth, is the finest street we any where saw, except the new 
 street at Genoa. The Esplanade is a pleasant walking place 
 for an evening airing. The magazine for corn is very fine and 
 large ; and the hospital deserves notice. The academy is not 
 much esteemed for riding, &cc. Lisle is a very strong frontier, 
 its fortifications are very good and numerous, and it has a strong 
 citadel. St AMAND'S is .situated on the Scheldt, is remarkable 
 for its strong and beautiful island, its mineral waters, its mag- 
 nificent church and royal abbey, begun by St Amand bishop 
 of Maastricht, who retired hither into solitude. But it wa.-; 
 built, and richly endowed by King Dagobert, in the midst of 
 charming meadows and groves, and is of the order of St Benedict, 
 immediately subject to the holy see, and one of the richest in 
 Flanders. The :ibbot is spiritual andtemporal lord of th e 
 town. The fountains were known to the Romans, for there were 
 lately found in them 200 statues of wood, so antique, and so 
 spoiled by lying in water, as scarcely to be distinguishable, on- 
 ly that some had helmets, Innces, Sec., others long hair, training 
 gowns or mantles, like princesses, &.c. Here were also clujr 
 up great quantities of medals of Julius Cassar, Augustus, Ves- 
 pasian, Trajan, Nero, &.c. The workmen met a pavement at the 
 foot of the fountain, with foundations so strong as scarcley tol>^ 
 broke intoby mattocks. The Roman emperors having sometime -, 
 resided atTournay,as well as the French kings, before they took 
 Paris, it is Lowcndsrwe meet such monuments here, though ih'
 
 Clap. II. NETHERLANDS. 43 
 
 Huns and other barbarians destroyed' many of them in sacking 
 and burning Tout-nay under Attila an. 452 ; and the Normans 
 an. 882. who killed most of the monks, whose relics lie under 
 the marble stair-case leading from the low church to the choir. 
 The waters of these fountains are warm, but not hot, abound 
 in harmless snakes in the mud, and swimming about them. 
 They have something of the chalybeate, as most or all minerals 
 have some particles of iron, or, as the chymists call it, Mars, 
 in them. They have more sulphur, and a small quantity of 
 salts ; are both laxative and astringent : They divide and atte- 
 nuate the blood, and remove obstructions ; are good against the 
 gravel, interior ulcers, scurvy, rheumatism, obstructions in the 
 lungs, &c. Eut apoplexies, palsies, rickets, contracted sinews, 
 &.c. are too obstinate for them, aiid require hot baths, such as 
 Spa, Aix-la-Chapelle, Bourbon, Bath, &.c. 
 
 DOUAY is seven leagues from Lisle, on the small river 
 Scarpe, w r hich rising in Artois, waters Arras, Do nay, Mar- 
 chiennes, and falls into the Scheldt near Conde. Douay is a 
 very large and exceeding strong city, in a great plain. The 
 inundation, by sluices under the walk-, can be let out to 
 the distance of two or three leagues, about half round the 
 town. The other sides are very well fortified. Indeed the 
 rampart is not sufficiently armed with bastions and great 
 angles, to make the fortifications regular. But the great 
 ditches, the horn-works, crown-works, half-moons, and all sorts 
 of out-works, on all sides where the inundation does not cover 
 it, make the place one of the strongest of the French barriers > 
 and the new works they have been continually adding to it for 
 these 10 years past, make it now impregnable, if a town could 
 be so in this age j but then, it must have 14000 men to de- 
 fend it, or even to man all its works. Dcuay is thought to 
 have been the city of Caesar's Catuaci, a people of this part of 
 Belgium. The old parish-church of our Lady is pretended to 
 have been built by Arcanald, a courtier, and great officer un- 
 der King Clodoveus, about the year 500, as Guicciardini tells 
 us. The collegiate church of St Amatus, or Ame, who being 
 banished from his bishopric, died here, was a Benedictine abbey 
 translated within the town for fear of the Normans in their 
 
 C 2
 
 4 j. TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 inroads an. 87.1, and secularized. It has 35 canons, and a cu- 
 rious treasury of relics. It is a lar^e church, and has a hand- 
 s , ..;,,.. cV-'ipel of the Blessed Sacrament, in which our Saviouronce 
 rm tculously appeared visible in a consecrated host, as Thomas 
 C;: itiptatensis, an eye- witness, relates. The history is painted 
 before the chapel. The collegiate church of St Peter w.is 
 ionnded about the jcar n8c. It is now rebuilding, arid when 
 finished, will be a magnificent structure, though not uniform- 
 ly regular. The abbey of Fline, almost two leagues out 
 cf ton"i, of Bernardine nuns, is the richest nunnery in Flanders, 
 Jou;-idel by Margarite of Constantinople; in this church lie 
 buried two counts of Flanders, and many other persons of sove- 
 reign families. The abbess's new apartments are vast and 
 stately. They don't observe enclosure ; any more than the nun> 
 of the abbevs de Prez, of the same order, within the walls of 
 JTouay, also a rich monastery. Marchiennes Abbey is in the 
 town of the same name, in a fenny country, is very rich, in 
 part recently built, very nobly. In the church is one very bold 
 rank, made with extraordinary art. In the house is a bolder 
 ttair-case, of the well form, i. e. going round without any sup- 
 porter. It was founded bv the Countess Rictrudes anno 6;-; 7. 
 ..-Incline Ablcy^ still rich, is two leagues from Douay ; its ne\v 
 built quarter is very great and magnificent. In its church 
 strangers adnrrrc the new choir carved \\ ith admirable urt, a id 
 the new organ, tlie largest and finest in all these parls. Tlie 
 ^il'baye fk> P-n'.v ::i Doinv, is a slr'ct and very austere reform 
 of Benedictine nuns, wlio live in poverty, silence, perpetual nb- 
 si;;ience, &LC. It was instituted near 100 years Jigo, by a de- 
 vout nun of Kline, a lady of the counrry, and has founded main 
 houses abroad at L'ege, Arras, &e. These arc the great abbev ;j 
 3 ;i or nar Douav. 
 
 T,ewib XIV. instituted at Douay rtn Academy for the En- 
 5; \T--er-.., but transferred it to la Fere, on the frontiers of Pic- 
 ;tfdy, wliei'c they cast cannon balls. There yet remains i:; 
 Douiy the .'Irtt-.-'cl, like that of Lisle, containing arms for 24, 
 or 50, toe men, 'always in readiness ; many cannons, hundreds of 
 f:ff"u(.t, or c.irringcs, matches, c:c. bombs and all other artillery. 
 j.'l'c govcrr.cr i: r. liculer/^t-eeneral, not under the gover.no'
 
 Clap. II. FRENCH FLAXDERS. 4- 
 
 of the town : idly, The Foundery to cast cannon, always at 
 work, and the best in France, being nearest the ordinary seat 
 of war. There is another at Rochfort, near Rochelle, and one 
 at Valenciennes, only for casting bombs. This at Donay has 
 only three furnaces ; they use only one at once. The copper 
 and other minerals are eight days in melting by a continual 
 excessive hot fire, the flame of \vhich is reverberated amongst 
 the metal ; a man stands at the side of the furnace, continually 
 throwing in fresh wood. Tin is thrown into the m?tal a few 
 hours before the cannons are cast, because it soon melts. The 
 French find, by experience, no tin is proper to term th? coin- 
 pound metal for cannon, but our Kngliih tin, from the mines of 
 Cornwall. When the metal is melted, it is a frightful image 
 of hell, boiling in waves, and the flames rushing at every iron 
 door out of the red hot furnace. When cannon is cr.?t, which 
 is only about once in five or six weeks, they break down 
 the little iron door in the bottom of the furnace, &nd the 
 metal runs in a stream of fire through a chr.rmel conducting; : t 
 to all the moulds laid in the ground. The French cannons ar- 
 TIOW of a calibre for balls of 4, 8, 12, 16, and the largest of 24 
 pounds: the old 48 and 64 pounders sre L'.id r.side. be!' 
 so heavy, that it is difficult for any roads to bear, or cr-.ttlf- 
 to draw them; besides 24 pounders are big enough for b: t- 
 trring pieces, and two of these directed io trie same point, 
 have a much greater effect than ^:S pounders upon a wa'l. 
 They usuelly cast eight or more at a time. When they ai 
 cooled, they hoist them up with groat engines to be b-r^-d, for 
 the holl:.w is not polished in the r.iouU. As they hang, thry 
 art- let iVll on a great sh:r/p iron i::;vrum."nt, turned about by 
 a horse, as in a mill, wiiich cases und pol^h^s the Lcce to th 
 just calibre : Then the ordnance H carried to be bap'tiz.^! 
 that is, to be polished and carved, a;id have i',j name engravv.-); 
 u-jon it. For the length, cdibre, weight, ;::id cxpencc of eac.u 
 j-.iece, I refer to our ingenious Sir Jonas Moore, or to the niai.y 
 excellent French writers on this branch of mathematics. It LJ 
 useless to copy them. 
 
 Lewis XIV. also fixed at Douay the Parliament, or Sovc^ 
 rt-ign Court of Flanders, which had h/cn first settled at TC.UIX
 
 46 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 nay. This fills the town with counsellors and their attendants, 
 avocats and procureurs, that is, lawyers and attorneys, and 
 people resorting hither for their law-suits. The parliainent- 
 hor.se is large, and its chambers handsome, hung with tapestry. 
 v But what Douay owes most to is its UNIVERSITY, founded by 
 Philip II. in 1563, and confirmed by Pope Pius V. in 1569, 
 It has above 20 Colleges and Seminaries, and commonly 3 or 
 4000 Students in philosophy, divinity, law, and physic. In 
 the two first of these sciences it has been very eminent, and 
 has had great masters, as Stapleton, Estius, Sylvius, &. but 
 in law and physic it never excelled ; although no lawyer nor 
 physician can practise in Flanders who has not taken out his 
 degrees at Douay. The Irish have St Patrick's, a pcor semina- 
 ry ; as they have another at Lisle, and another at Tournay. The 
 Scots 'Jesuits have a college handsomely built, with a small 
 church, containing relics of St Margaret Queen of Scotland, 
 as well as many other relics brought from that kingdom. They 
 have usually two or three fathers, and 12 or more boys as 
 boarder?, but these study under the Walloon Jesuits, in whose 
 province or district this is ; the Sects Jesuits not being nume- 
 rous enough to form a province of their own. This house was 
 founded by the interest of Lesley bishop of Ross in 1579. 
 
 The English have in Douay three of their principal settle- 
 ments, the secular clergy, commonly called Douay college, St 
 Bonaventure's, commonly called the. Franciscans, and St Gre- 
 gory'.-, the Benedictines. It: is well known how numerous and 
 how rich the Benedictines were in lino land before the dissolu- 
 tion of their monasteries by Henry VIII. Queen Mary re- 
 stored to them the abbey of Westminster ; but Queen Eliza- 
 beth soon drove th'em cut again. After this several English 
 berime Benedictines in Spain and Italy, and were sent on the 
 English mission. The abbey of St Vaast in Arras having a 
 very large house in Douay, Gaverel the abbot, iainons for 
 manv other great foundations for the benefit of religion, pity- 
 In^ the case of the English monks, by the consent of his monks 
 in chaptr-r, rave th.cn; or,e hulf of the monastery in Douay, and 
 & rent to 1 e paid yearly in money from Arras, for a full main- 
 tenance of 12 English monks, v.-ho should be obliged to kect*
 
 Chap. IL FRENCH NETHERLANDS. 47 
 
 continual choir ; stipulating also, that the abbey of Arras 
 should keep the house in ali repairs, as is done ever since, 
 (even to the most minute article) but that the house should 
 revert to St Vaast's, in case the Catholic faith should be ever 
 restored in England. Abbot Gaverel left the other half in the 
 hands of his monks, founding a irreat college with above 60 
 
 ' O o C* 
 
 pensions, for the maintenance of so many poor students \vho 
 should study in it Soon after this, Cardinal Charles of Lor- 
 rain, an. 1606, (Mr GifTord Dean of Lisle, afterwards a Bene- 
 dictine, and lastly, the Archbishop of Rheims, contributing a 
 large sura towards it), instituted for them another hoiu'c 
 at Dieulwart in Lorrain. Father Buckley who had beta 
 professed in Westminster abbey, was still alive, and the on- 
 ly man in the old English congregation. lie received into 
 jt some of those professed abroad ; and Pope Paul V. anno 
 1610, approved and declared it the same congregation, order- 
 ing it to be governed by a president as chief superioi ; diffi- 
 culties arising, the superior was not chosen t:li the year 1619, 
 and Father GitTord was the first, who being made archbishop 
 of Rheims, procured for them another house ii: the suburbs 
 of St James in Paris, an. 1642. The convent of Celie, a day's 
 journey out of Paris, in the Province of line, w.-<s given to 
 them, and is governed by some sent thither by the superiors 
 in Paris. They have also another abbey in the electorate of 
 Cologne at Lansberg, ; it is well er.dov. ea, a good building, and 
 the only house of the English which has a regular abbot. The 
 others are governed by priors chosen by the general chapter 
 held at Douay, their mother-house, every four years. The 
 English Franciscans in Douay were founded by IVIr John Geu- 
 nings, a priest of the secular collect 1 , who, to restore that pro- 
 vince, became a friar, and laid the foundation of this convent, 
 an. 1617, and got it made an independent English province by 
 a bull from Rome. The English College of the Secular Clergy in 
 Douiy was the first settlement of the religious abroad, su.ce the 
 Reformation, and hau ever been its chief support : It was begun 
 an. 1,5-68, the year before that university was confirmed by 
 the Pope ; so that it signs all acts, and in registers of the uni-, 
 versify always the tlr r t ? before the four other gre^t col^. 
 
 C 4
 
 4 8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 leges, viz. the King's great college, St Vaast's, Ancienne, 
 and the Jesiiits. It was founded by means of Dr William 
 sltten, its first president, afterwards cardinal ; and has pro- 
 duced one cardinal, 16 bishops and archbishops, above 80 
 doctors of divinity, 130 martyrs, executed merely for their 
 priestly character, and not accused of any thing else, (consequent- 
 ly not suffering for a mixed or temporal cause). It has sent 
 above 1600 missionary priests into England, and had innumer- 
 able eminent writers in every branch of learning, especially di- 
 vinity, controversy, p'ety, philosophy, &c. This was the 
 mother-house of the other settlements of the clergy, as of St 
 Gregory's in Paris, and of the Lisbon college, founded by a 
 Portuguezc gentleman, who laid out 5000 golden crowns in 
 purchasing a house, &c. and settled on it 500 golden crowns a- 
 year. 
 
 But to return to the town ; it has in the town-house chapel 
 a vault and pillar of one stone, very remarkable ; this small 
 column supporting the whole edifice. The town itself, were 
 ihe garrison, which is usually 3000 men in peace time, the 
 parliament and university removed, would be reduced to no- 
 thing, there Ix-ni^ no trad;: in i! ; arid the people too lazy to 
 set thfir rr-inds to the cloth manufacture and tapestry made 
 }I?IT, while they can live by boarding students. There is a 
 very c'.'.rions anatomy. The chief colleges are, the English, 
 St Vfi'^ts, Jesuit-;, Anthienn^, IMkirohic-iiv-, La Mot"', airl 
 C'.li-: -\ r : (!-.: lV;Me.s. The seminaries are, the King's, lI'M-nia 
 or Ypros, Torre, Tournay, Notrc-Darpe, Moulart, or Arra?, 
 t-'.c. Lacli religious or kt: Ins its college. The Dominicans, 
 Cirrnf", Frr.;iri:..er:;:-; both English and Vv'r.lh.'on, Au-'-!ins, 'Sec. 
 
 Fro;-!i D'.nii-/ f> C>AM3RAY it is five leagues. Ctunbrcsis is 
 n 5m: ; il provii'.co of tlie Lo'v Countries, adj'j'ni'\>T to Picardv, 
 cxreeaing fruitfu) ;n corn. Cambrr;y ils capital, o: 1 t!:e Sclicldt, 
 (!ierc: very small), is not a br^o- town, but \\--'\\ built, and 
 \- ry str r >!!g. The Kmpc-ror, thr; Frcnc'i, and tlie Cou;:ts of 
 F! iiiclors disputeJ th" roveiv; : s 'nty; and the Emperors some-. 
 tinvvs declared it free, {".li.irles V. built a strong cuadcl to it. 
 But Lewis XIV. an::c 167-, added it to theFnr.c'.i mc.nanby.
 
 Chap. II. FRENCH FLANDERS. 49 
 
 The great citadel stands on an eminence, and commands the 
 town ; its ditches are cut in a rock. The walls of the town 
 are covered with good bastions, and deep ditches, especially on 
 the east, where the citadel stands. It has a smaller citadel or 
 castle on the other side. It is an ancient bishopric, but its see 
 was made a metropolitan by Paul III. anno 1559, at the re- 
 quest of King Philip II : De Berges was its first archbishop. 
 Its cathedral, dedicated to our Lady, is very rich. It has 48 
 canons, enjoying about 4000 livres, (nearly 200!. a-year,) 
 besides 95 chaplains, and other ecclesiastics : It has a high 
 steeple, with a spire of very beautiful work, and a magnificent 
 choir, of fine marble, with a Roman altar built by FENELOV, 
 the great ornament of this see, not so much for his learning 
 and taste in the Icl.'es lettres, (a moi.ument of which is his 
 book of TELEMACHUS), as for his piety, zeal, constant resi- 
 dence, assiduous preaching, great charity to the poor, refusing 
 many benefices, and above all his humility and obedience, and 
 his patience and virtue under the severe afflictions which ha 
 experienced on account of some mistakes, or at least inaccurate 
 expressions in carrying the love of God too far, laid hold of 
 by his adversaries, who, perhaps, in the excess of their zeal, 
 sometimes lost sight of the amiable virtue of clarity. The 
 ingenious RAMSAY, (a Scotsman,) a convert of this great 
 man, has wrote his life, and is author of his epitaph, on a 
 marble stone, on the side of the choir. Cambray is full of ec- 
 clesiastics. It has two other collegiate churches of canons ; 
 that of St Gery, very rich, the other of the Holy Cross ; 
 also the nbbe-vs of St Aubert, and of the Holy Sepulchre, 
 with good libraries belonging to them, and handsome new 
 churches. The Archbishop is Duke of Cambray, and 
 Prince of the Empire. The English Benedictines have a 
 nunnery in Cambray, founded by the assistance of F. Ru- 
 disent Barlow, president of the En-lisa congregation, and 
 rc-;ent of St Vaasl's college in Doir.iy. Its first abbess was 
 Mrs Frances Gavin, who came frcai the English Benedictine 
 nunnery in Brussels, with two othcis, to found this new ests- 
 Misment, anno 162^. Abbot Southrct, who ]ivrsw:th their
 
 CO TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 confessor, has built them large out apartments, very conve- 
 nient for lodging and boarding strangers. This is the only 
 nunnery under the English Benedictines, the other English Be- 
 nedictine nunneries being subject to the bishops. The trade of 
 Cambray is much decayed, and fine linen, once so famous here, 
 is now got better from Valenciennes, and other places. 
 
 From Cambray to PERONNE is six leagues ; it is eight from 
 Arras to Peronne, but the latter is the best road, being a pave- 
 ment. After passing through Metz.cn Couture, two posts from 
 Cambray, ws entered PICARDY, the first province of France, 
 
 Flanders enjoys still many privileges. Its towns are govern- 
 ed by their own magistrates, or echevins, chosen by themselves, 
 though this choice be very dependant on the king's intendants, 
 and in a manner at their disposal. In France the towns are 
 governed by four Consuls, who are burgesses, put in office by 
 the king. In all causes above 500 livres, appeal may be made 
 from their sentence to the parliament, and thence to the king's 
 council. Flanders also pays no gabelle or tax on salt, a differ- 
 ence easily to be perceived the moment we enter France ; for at 
 Metze.n Couture wetakeleave of white salt tohavenone but gray, 
 v.'hich has paid the gabelle. PICARDY is a very fertile province in 
 corn, something like the upper pait of Flanders, every where aa 
 ctsen plain country, and alir.ost all ploughed ground. Its chief 
 rivers are the Somme, rising beyond St Qmntin's, and wash- 
 ing that town rich by its trade, Arniens the capital of all Pic- 
 ardv, and Abbeville, and falling into the sea at St Valerv, the 
 little port from which William the Conqueror set sail to con- 
 quer England ; and the Oyse y which rising in Vervins, on the 
 borders of Picardy and Champaigne, runs by Guise, la Fere, 
 ISToyone, (the eld Noviodunu?^, near which are the ruins of 
 the great Augusta Veromanduorum, now a good city, nnd an- 
 cient bishopric), Compiegne, famous for a palace of the kinrs, 
 Pont St Maxence, and Pontoise in the Jsk. of France, noted 
 amongst us for the English Benedictine nunnery. A little 
 lower, it empties itself into the Sciiif y six leagues below Paris, 
 
 PERONNE was the first town we met in Picardy, situated in 
 the midst of waters and marshes, once the impregnable bar- 
 rier of France cgamst Flanders ; but since it ceased to be a
 
 Clap. II. ficARDr, Sec. ^ t 
 
 frontier, its fortifications have gone to decay. It is famous 
 among travellers principally for the general and severe custom- 
 house of entry into France. From Peronne we pass by ROYE, a 
 small town, once strongly fortified, when a frontier ; Guernay, a 
 poor burgh ; and Pont St Maxence, where there is a long bridge 
 over a low marsh, and another over the Oyse, a river abounding 
 with good fish. This town takes its name from St Maxentia, 
 an Irish virgin martyred here. We leave on our right Amiens, 
 Abbeville, and near it CRESSY, famous for our King Edward 
 JII.'s great victory over the French, who lost there 30,000 
 foot, and 1 200 horse, including the king of Bohemia, the French 
 king's brother Count of Alencon, the Count of Flanders, &c. 
 On our left we passed St QUINTIN'S NOYON, where Cakin was 
 born ; LAON, a rich bishopric, with the title of a. peer of 
 France ; CoMPiEGNE SOISSONS, in the Isle of France, a good 
 town, and seat of a generality. From Pont we travelled through 
 two Forests, the one called the Forest of Pont, the other of 
 Senlis, stocked with the king's deer. SENLIS, remarkable 
 for its manufactory of good knives, &.c. is a considerable city, 
 and a bishop's see, situated in the county of Valois, which for- 
 merly gave title to the king's second son, and is part of the 
 Isle of France, a fruitful province, so called from the isle form- 
 edjjy the Seine in the middle of Paris. We leave in this 
 province, on the left hand, LAON, a rich bishopric, with the 
 title of Peer of France, and Soissons ; on the right BEAUVAIS, 
 an Episcopal see, well known ; PONTOISE, and the small pro- 
 vince of Vexin, half in the Isle of France, and half in Norman- 
 dy j and going through LOUVRE, a small town, arrive at Paris. 
 At another time from Pont we took the road by St Denys 
 and CHANTILLY : This latter is the finest house in Frante next 
 to the king's palaces. Its stables are equally magnificent; 
 but what is most admired ubout it is the Orangetie, finer than 
 that of Versailles, having a house built for all the trees to be put 
 under cover. It i* pretended that the duke of Bourbon gained 
 in she Mississippi the great sums he laid out in building this state- 
 ly palace, with its park, forests, canals, Sec. It is four leagues 
 from hence to St Der.ys, passing by MGntmorsncy, famous in
 
 55 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Paris for its excellent cherries, the place being entirely planted 
 with that tree. 
 
 St DENYS is a handsome town, containing several convents ; 
 but its ^Kbey deserves all our attention. It was built and rich- 
 ly endowed by the pious king Dagobert, in 630. The monks 
 are of the most austere reform of St Maur, which they receiv- 
 ed in 1633. Their great revenues have been consumed by 
 commendatory abbots for some years past ; but Lewis XIV. 
 gave the abbot's mense, or part, to the ladies of St Cyr, found- 
 ed by Madam de MAINTENON. The church of St Denys is old 
 and Gothic, very large and magnificent. The riches of its or- 
 naments on great solemnities is exceeding great. On the right 
 hand of the high altar is the tomb of King Dagobert, of por- 
 phyry. It is an agreeable amusement to consider all the state- 
 ly monuments cf the kings and queens, of different sorts of fine 
 marble, many of them in a very good design and taste, and se- 
 veral well .carved. Here are near 40 magnificent monuments 
 of kine;s. besides some few others ; as that of the sreat Mar- 
 
 O ' * O 
 
 shal TURENNE j that of SUGER, abbot of St Denys, and prime 
 minister to King Lewis -VII.; that of CHARLES MARTEL, 
 Major-Domo to King Chilperic III., and father of King PEPIN. 
 The Treasury of St Denys, shewn at two o'clock every after- 
 noon, or after vespers at four, contains relics of St Lewis and 
 other saints, in rich cases ; the king's coronation-suits, spurs of 
 gold glittering with diamonds, rods of justice, sceptres of gold, 
 and rich crowns, with many crosses, images, &.c. of gold and 
 precious stones ; a saphire, with the figure of Solomon on his 
 throne, engraven ; the swords of St Lewis, of the great Talbot, 
 4>i" the celebrated MAID OF ORLEANS, King Dagobert's chair p &.c.
 
 Cliap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 
 
 CHAPTER THIRD. 
 
 STATE OF FRANCE, AND DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 
 
 Power of the King. The Parliaments. The Military Intendants. Revenue. 
 Taxes, the Taille, Gabelle, and Aide;. Fanners General. Noblesse. Paris. 
 Number of Inhabitants. Comparison betwixt P^ris and London. Public 
 Buildings. Equestrian Statues- The Louvre. The Thuilleries. The Lux- 
 embourg. Paintings of Rubens described. Hotel des Invalides. Hotel Dieu. 
 City Gates. College of Navarre .Sorbonne. Jesuits College. Mazarin's 
 
 College. Notre-Dame. St bu'.pice. St Germain -de- Prtz, &c. Le Brun. 
 
 Is'icolas f'oussin. Vouet. Fresnoy. Le Seuer. Academy of Painting. 
 French Academy. Academy of Sciences. Observatory. King's Library. 
 Hint:'* Cabinet of Medals. The Gobelincs. King's Palaces. Versailles, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 J T would be too long to undertake a minute description of 
 Paris. However, I shall compare its principal parts with Lon- 
 don, and run over, with brevity, what we observed most re- 
 markable in it ; but first it will be proper to say a word of 
 France in general. 
 
 FRANCE is certainly a verj populous rich state. Its ports 
 on the Mediterranean and Ocean afford it the best opportunities 
 for trade, if the taxes on merchants, and above all the king's 
 unlimited power of seizing all public funds, changing the 
 value of the current coins, raising monies in what way he 
 pleases, cc. did not impoverish it too much. The soil is very 
 fruitful, especially in Picardy, for corn ; in Normandy, for pai- 
 Hue ; in the hills of Burgundy, cc. for vines ; in Languedcc 
 i;ncl Upper Provence, for vines, olives, and corn, ice. ; yet it is 
 mountainous in some parts, particularly that ridge which runs 
 1 roir. the Pyreneans across France to the Alps, and which also 
 covers Dauphiny, the Cevennes, Sec. part i^ also heath, and 
 part sandy soil, in the middle of the kingdom. The king is 
 despotic, adored by his subjects, wilh whom, for the most 
 part, his will L a law. The rhief court is the King's Council : 
 Next are the Parliaments, which are sovereign courts, eacli for 
 ILS district. They are 14 ; viz. Paris, which has a great ex-
 
 54 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 both remarkably severe in punishing ; Rouen, Bourdeaux, 
 Rennes, Pan, Metz, Perpignan, Dijon ; Besanc.on, also very 
 severe; for Franche Comte, whilst under the Spaniards, was 
 full of roberies and murders ; but Lewis XIV. becoming 
 master of it, and instituting this parliament, they were soon as 
 rare here as in other parts of France ; Brisac in Alsace, and 
 Douay for Flanders. The parliaments have an inspection over 
 the judges and magistrates of towns, and either confirm or annul 
 their sentences. The Prevost of the Marechaussees was the 
 guard of the highways, and condemns in his court all the high- 
 way robbers. 
 
 As to the Military: The Soldiery is the strength of the 
 Crown, as it must necessarily be in all despotic governments. 
 Hence France may be called a Military Government; and if sol- 
 diers are not encouraged, and the military supported, it must 
 of course lose its power at home, and sink abroad. The Mar- 
 shah are the chief in dignity, and take place next to the Princes 
 of the Blood. The king can bring to the field 500,000 men. 
 
 The great Governments of France are 1 2, but in each there 
 are many lesser governments, as of fortified towns, &-C. ; and 
 every governor holding letters of command is usually indepen- 
 dent in his district. These governors had formerly all the power 
 of the province in their hands ; could evoke any affair out of the 
 judges court, and decide it themselves, their authority extending 
 over the military and civil departments, as well as the exchequer 
 and taxes. This exorbitant power was checked as to the first ar- 
 ticle ; and Cardinal Richelieu, to make the king more absolute, 
 contrived to make the governors little more than cyphers of ho- 
 nour : It was by sending Intendants into each province, who 
 have the whole superintendence of the taxes and revenues, am! 
 of all civil affairs in the province ; as of putting in magistrates 
 of towns, &.c. These intendants are persons of a middle rank, 
 and totally court creatures, having their whole dependence ou 
 It ; yet they are kings in their district. The Governors, who 
 are persons of the first rank, and of great interest, have no 
 command, except over the military ; and that chiefly depends 
 on the secretary of war. Yet the governors have great emn- 
 "' nment?, guards, and many speculative rights and honour' 1 -
 
 Clap. III. NETHERLANDS. J5 
 
 The king's Revenues in France consist chiefly in taxes, which 
 are of three sorts ; the first and principal is the taille, which is 
 raised by personal contributions, as by capitation, or other- 
 wise. Charles VII. first made the taille perpetual, winch be- 
 fore was only sometimes laid on in time of war. The second 
 is the gabelle, or tax on salt. The king has the sole righr of 
 selling salt, which is made by introducing sea-water into small 
 ponds on the shore in the heats of summer, where, after re- 
 maining a fortnight, it is evaported by the sun, leaving the salt 
 at the bottom, which is then deposited in granaries by the king's 
 officers. In some provinces, every householder is obliged to 
 take a fixed quantity of salt at the price taxed : In others, 
 all take only what they please, but can only have it from thes-.-. 
 granaries, and at the king's rates. Flanders, Calais, and Bou- 
 logne, are exempt from the gabelle ; as are also Poitou, Per: - 
 gord, and Anjoulemois. The first because frontier towns, 
 the others by having bought their exemption from King Her.- 
 ry II. It was King Philip the Fair, in his wars against Eng- 
 land, who first imposed the gabelle, which made our Kin:;- 
 Edward III. call him the salt -merchant : Philip called his ri> 
 val the wool-merchant, alluding to the English selling their 
 wool to the Flemish. The third tax is the aides, raised on 
 merchandizes imported or exported, or other things ; bin; 
 most of these are now ur.i':ed to the gabelles. Nay, all the 
 taxes arc at present united under cnzfarm, and the respective 
 towns and provinces are rented by Farmers-Genera?, who raise 
 the taxes in an, arbitrary manner ; so that the greater part of 
 the national capital is in their hands., where the king easily 
 finds it, giving for tins ready money the taxes for a limited 
 period. We- re there public Banks, a 5 in Genoa, Holland, Eng- 
 land, cc., they might as easily find ready sums, and with less 
 grievance of the people. Besides these tax-.s, immense sums 
 come into the Exchequer, by the contributions of the clergy, 
 by aukuins, legitimation:, cV-c., by sums en the custom-houses 
 of Lyons, &.C., by wood of the royal forest.?, by manors, and 
 a thousand casualties. In 1609 the sole taille collected from 
 each of the 24 generalities, amounted, according to this rc^i=- 
 ??r, to the following sums, vis.
 
 of Lyons 
 of Paris 
 Rouen 
 
 Languedoc 
 
 Dauphiny 
 
 Provence 
 
 Burgundy 
 
 Brittany 
 Limoges 
 
 Bourdeaux 
 
 751, 517 Orleans 
 
 77^73 
 
 Amiens 
 
 86,463 
 
 168,250 Caen 
 9.445 
 
 380,460 Chalons 
 
 670,000 
 75, coo Soissons 
 
 ,63 
 
 5" TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 THE GENERALITIES Livres. THE GENERALITIES OF Lives, 
 of Tours 919,000 Riom in Auvergne 656,00:) 
 
 102,000 9000 
 
 865,000 Poitiers 
 
 45,000 
 
 769,000 Moulina 
 
 147,000 
 
 1,072,000 Bourgcs 
 
 1 1,000 
 
 670,000 
 
 75,000 
 
 4 2 3>993 
 66,400 
 
 5 3 5.5 M 
 
 70,500 
 
 263,000 
 36,000 
 
 633,180 
 6,720 
 
 473,000 
 72,000 
 
 3^24 
 
 The second number is raised to pay the king's officers ; the 
 first is the Tuille itself. With regard to the new Generali- 
 ties : Alsace pays into the Crown 1,402,364 of that country 
 money, (much more in French), besides 50,000 livres from the 
 lower clergy, according to the Count de Boulainvilliers in his 
 Etat de la France. 
 
 But all these revenues have encreasecl exceedingly in the 
 late reigns. The tol's for entrance into Paris anno 1700 a- 
 mountcd to 2?4,777 1 -i vrts : I" *7 2 7j zl\ the taxes of that city
 
 Clap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS* 57 
 
 brought in clear to the king 22 millions. Some computed 
 the amount of all the taxes in France anno 1720 to have been 150 
 millions, and since that period they have increased prodigious- 
 ly : But these matters are kept so secret, that a probable guess 
 can hardly be formed of the real amount ; and as they depend on 
 the king's will, they are perpetually changing. Beforethe present 
 war commenced, some people computed them to be a millon a day- 
 French money. The nobility are all exempt from paying the 
 faille, though the great families hare many of them vast estates. 
 
 The Peers of the kingdom are Six Ecclesiastical, and ancient- 
 ly Six Seculars : Of the Secular Peers, the kings have, within 
 these last 100 years, created a great many. They have all a 
 right to sit in the parliament of Paris. The Six Ecclesiastics, are 
 the archbishop of Rheims, the bishops of Laon and Sangres, dukes 
 and peers ; the bishops of Beauvais, Noycn, and Chalons-sur- 
 la-Marne, counts and peers. The Six Ancient Lords, were the 
 Dukes of Normandy, Burgundy, and Guienne ; the Counts 
 of Flanders, Toulouse, and Champagne. These six are extinct; 
 but at present there are about 120 dukes and peers. Lewis 
 XIV. also made the Archbishop of Paris a duke and ecclesias- 
 tical peer. 
 
 France is 600 miles long, 500 broad : has 504 walled towns, 
 105 bishoprics, 17 archbishops, 20 universities ; inhabitants, 
 Chamberlain says, at most i ^ millions : TheFrench geographers 
 say 30 millions. In England Chamberlain counts 7^55,706 
 souls; The land-tax under Queen Anne amounted toio,ccc,cccl. ; 
 house-tax 2oo,ccol. ; other hereditariments of the Crown, 
 aoo,cocl. Sterling. Sir Robert Atkyns says, after the Nor- 
 man conquest all England contained 6c,2co knights fees, of 
 which the church enjoyed 28,coo ; and that about 100 nets be- 
 longed to the king, 140 to the church, and above 200 to laics. 
 Dr Bendy counts in Eng laud 10,000 parishes, of which 6cco 
 .ire not better than 501. per annum. The yearly revenues ot 
 monasteries, &cc. ; suppressed by Henry VIII., Collier computes 
 to have been j 35,522!., which would now be 20 times as much, 
 says he, besides cattle, goods, jewels, gold, &c. 
 
 Paris is 200 miles from London. Cecsar found it a srur.li 
 but strong place, whkh co;-t him some difficulty to reduce. 
 
 D
 
 58 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 then only occupied the isle now in the middle of it, between 
 the two branches of the Seine, over the first half of Pontneuf. 
 JULIAN the Apostate chose it for his residence when he com- 
 manded in Gaul. The ruins of his great palace are still to be 
 seen in vast vaults in the gardens of the hotel de Clugny : The 
 noble Aqueduct raised by the same emperor is also standing; 
 but it may now be accounted a modern work, having been re- 
 built by Mary of Medicis, and is deemed the finest in France : 
 It convey s fresh water into the city from the distance of a league, 
 which supplies one part of the inhabitants : The remaining 
 part of Paris drink of the Seine. 'Julians Aqueduct discharges 
 its waters first at the Luxembourg, and is seen to the greatest 
 advantage from the village of Arcueil, where there is a palace 
 of the Dukes of Guise. 
 
 Many French writers account Paris the largest city in the 
 world 3 but I am convinced London is larger, and I do not 
 form this opinion from the equivocal proofs of the number of 
 baptisms, burials, &.c. but from a collected view of the ar- 
 guments of Sir William Petty, and others. London is, ac- 
 cording to Chamberlain, from Lime House to the end of 
 Turtle Street 7-f English miles long : from the end of South- 
 wark to the end of St Leonard shore ditch two miles and -^, or 
 2500 paces broad : has 5000 streets and alleys, ioo,oco houses ; 
 about 27,000 burials in a year ; and about 530,000 inhabitants ; 
 though Sir William Petty falsely encreases the number to al- 
 most 700,000, which v/ould be more than are in Amsterdam, 
 Venice, Rome ; Bristol, and Lyons ; or taken together in Paris, 
 Rome and Rouen. Paris is computed to be about three miles 
 broad, and 3 miles and a half long. Some French- writers reckon 
 in it 1 20,000 houses, and 800,000 souls, but these greatly exag- 
 gerate : The Etrenncs Mignones for this year reckon in Paris 
 18,840 baptisms, 17, 322 burials, 50,005 houses, 134 commun- 
 ities or convents of men or women ; 12,000 coaches, 80,000 
 houses, 52 parishes and about a million of inhabitants : In Lon- 
 don the same count 135 parishes, 120,000 houses, a million in- 
 habitants : Salmon reckons in Paris 600,000 souls, in London 
 above 800,000.
 
 Clap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. ^9 
 
 It is a great defect in this city, that most of the streets are 
 too narrow, especially St Jaques, though so long ; and the great 
 passage St Honore, would be better, were the buildings more 
 Uniform. Rue Richelieu and St Lewis, seem beautiful enough. 
 London, in the city, has the same fault of narrow streets ; but 
 without the city are some large and stately ones, as the Hay 
 Market, Pall-mall, &c. The squares in Paris are no small 
 ornament to the city, some being large, noble, and adorned 
 with magnificent uniform buildings. But I know not whe- 
 ther some natives of London would not prefer Hanover square 
 or Grosvenor square even to the Place Veudome, (to make 
 way for which the hotel of the duke cf Vendome was demo- 
 lished,) and which is 540 feet long, and 480 broad, surround- 
 ed with arcades with Ionic pillars, and having an equestrian 
 statue of brass of Lewis XIV., on a pedestal of white marble ; 
 and beneaththefour quarters of the world in attitudes of admira- 
 tion. The Place des Victoires has a pedestrian statue of the same 
 monarch with slaves in chains. The Place Royal is in a bad 
 taste ; but it has a fine equestrian statue of Lewis XIV., erect- 
 ed by Cardinal Mazarin. The public gardens of Paris are very 
 pleasant; the Luxembourg by its green plants and rows of trees ; 
 the Thuilleries, though small, for their great regularity and 
 art ; and the Cours de la Reine adjoining them, for its natural 
 simplicity. Many Englishmen admire St James's park much 
 more, on account of its beautiful walks, and natural green fields, 
 trees, and above all its fine canals. It is a pity it has not such 
 a palace as the Thuilleries to grace it. St James's, or Bucking- 
 ham house, forms a bad termination of the view. 
 
 Among the bridges, Pont Neuf, built by Henry III, and IV., is 
 one of the finest in the world, being 72 feet broad, (with spaci- 
 ous parapets for foot-passengers) extending a great way over 
 two branches of the Seine, here almost approximating. The 
 Louvre at one end, and Mazarin College and hotel de Conti at 
 the other, have a fine effect. On that part towards the Louvre, 
 stands an old pump, very magnificent, but now out of order ; 
 though it raises water for an artificial fountain : The statue;; 
 of our Saviour and the Samaritan woman, are the best in Paris, 
 of a delicate stroke, and perfect, though only copies of the cn- 
 gJiials vrhich vere there formerly. T\-s p?s;ions of the sou'
 
 60 TRAVELS OF KEV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 are admirably expressed in the feature?. On the middle of thin 
 bridge, the equestrian statue of Henry IV. surnamed the Great, 
 was placed by Lewis XIII. The pedestal is very large, and of 
 white marble. The inscriptions above it were finished by Car- 
 dinal Richelieu, and the victories and great actions of Hen- 
 ry engraven all round on brass plates in basso relievo, exe- 
 cuted by FRANCHEVILLE, the greatest Sculptor of France ; 
 as were also the four slaves of brass at the four corners. 
 The statue itself was made by JOHN of BOULOGNE, one of 
 the greatest sculptors in the world. He was born at Douay, 
 in Flanders, but learned his art and flourished in Italy. It 
 is accounted one of the finest brass statues in the world. The 
 exact and harmonious proportions of every part of this monu- 
 ment, the magnificence of the bridge and Louvre, and the at- 
 titude of the hero, one half larger than the natural size, the beau- 
 tiful and delicate strokes in every member, with its other per- 
 fections, surprise the eye. Our king Charles at Charing- 
 cross on horseback, with his hair uncovered, in armour, of 
 brass, on a pedestal of 17 feet, in so large a square, is a noble 
 figure, well executed by LA SUER, but cannot be compared to 
 this of Pont-neuf. Pont-royal which can boast only of useful 
 ornaments, as its parapets, lanterns, &c. is distinguished for 
 largeness, solidity and natural naked simplicity. The nume- 
 rous magnificent hotels, particularly near the Hospital of In- 
 valids and Rue Richelieu give Paris a very majestic appearance: 
 Yet London, particularly where its splendid new squares are 
 situated, does not yield to it in this particular, though many 
 of its great houses are hid from the streets by courts. 
 
 Among the hotels of Paris, a stranger cannot but admire 
 the Royal Palaces ; and, amongst these, the Louvre first attracts 
 our attention, having been the royal residence as long as the 
 kings of France resided in Paris, from the time of Philip Au- 
 gustus who built it. It was re-built by Francis I. and Henry 
 II., with additions by Lewis XIII. and Lewis XIV. Many 
 parts of it are of good design and taste ; not overcharged, but 
 built with a natural simplicity, yet with sufficient decorations 
 of cornices, pill^s, &.c. The great gate towards St Ger- 
 main-Anxerrois is noble, with pillars of the Corinthian order,
 
 Clap. III. DESCRirTION OF PARIS. 6l 
 
 and the whole facade with a corridor enriched with carvings, 
 and the balustrade neatly ornamented. On it is a good pros- 
 pect of part of the town. The side towards the river is in 
 the same style, both designed by the famous PERRAULT. 
 The whole building is much in the Gothic taste. In the 
 Cabinet des Tableaux, are seen the Supper of Cana by PAUL 
 VERONEZE,the Battles of Alexander by LE BRUN andPoussiN ; 
 though most of the pictures, and almost all the finest anti- 
 quities of the Salle des Antiques, are carried now to Versailles. 
 In the king's garde mctibls here are still rich furniture, as pro- 
 digious quantities of the finest tapestry, partly made at the 
 Gobelins, partly by the Flemish manufacturers, from the de- 
 signs of RAPHAEL ; precious stones, all kinds of silver and 
 gold work, &c., though a great part of these is now transport- 
 ed to Versailles, especially tables, lustres, &^c. 
 
 The Palace of the "Tluilleries communicates by a gallery 
 with the Louvre. It was the first building erected in France 
 agreeable to the true ancient taste, restored by the Italians ; 
 till then the Gothic had been universal : It was built princi- 
 pally by Queen Catharine of Medicis, and partly by Henry IV. 
 and Lewis XIV. Its galleries, cc. are executed in the style of 
 the Italian palaces, chiefly from that of Florence and the Far- 
 nesian palace in Rome. The front of this palace forms a noble 
 perspective from the gardens. Many of the king's workmen, 
 (all of whom enjoy great pensions) have apartments in the Lou- 
 vre and Thuilleries ; as his jewtller, carver, goldsmith, tooth- 
 drawer, &.c. They also contain his printing-house, cc. His 
 surgeon, tooth-drawer, &.c. are obliged to serve the poor gratis. 
 
 The Palace of Luxembourg, or of Orleans, built by Queen 
 Mary of Medicis, widow of Henry IV. and mother of Lewis 
 XIII., is the most regular finished pile of architecture in France, 
 surpassing Versailles in all the perfection-, of natural art, if 
 the expression may be used. It is built in the form of a noble 
 square court: Its little dome, which is its chapel, its terrace, 
 pilasters, the beautiful disposition of its columns of the Tuscan, 
 Doric, and Ionic orders, the exact proportion of every part, 
 and the natural simplicity which reigns throughout (no orna- 
 ment be in? admitted whirl) does not contribute to its beauty)
 
 6'2 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 make it a model that cannot be too much studied and admired. 
 Nothing is wanting to finish it, but the fine statues which that 
 Queen designed for it. The famous gallery in it, which Ru- 
 BENS spent two years in painting, contains, in 20 large pictures, 
 each at least nine feet broad, the whole life of Queen MARY of 
 MEDICIS, from her birth to her reconciliation with her son 
 Lewis XIII. There is not so complete a set of fine paintings, 
 all in the same uniform sytle in the world. Rubens excels 
 most in the strength and beauty of his colouring ; the design 
 in these paintings is also admirable, and though some condemn 
 the fancy of introducing symbol into historical pieces, as being 
 obscure and puzzling ; yet the allegorical figures are so charac- 
 teristic, and at the same time so easy, natural, and beautifully 
 simple, as to be understood by the most ordinary spectators. 
 "Die picture of the Birth of Lewis XIII. is particularly fine, 
 especially the figure of Queen MARY, whose face is illumed 
 by a smile of inexpressible dtlight on beholding her son in the 
 nurse's arms, whilst at the same time the anguish arising from 
 her own recent pains is still strongly depicted on her counte- 
 nance ; these two opposite sensations being so artfully express- 
 ed, that nothing can surpass it. 
 
 The boasted Hotel des InvaKdes does not surpass our 
 Greenwich Hospital, and must yield to Greenwich and Chel- 
 sea, if taken together. Indeed, the dome of the Invalids is the 
 finest in the world, next to that of St Paul's in London, and 
 St Peter's in Rome ; and the four refectories, in which are 
 painted all the battles of the French, by able artists, are 
 much admired ; but the discipline and regularity of the in- 
 valids themselves, especially as to devotion, with regard to 
 which they are under the care of the Fathers of the Mission, 
 are infinitely superior to that of our English hospitals, where 
 we shall find no old soldiers spending the day in the church, 
 &c. The Arsenal and Foundery in Paris are in a ruinous 
 state, being transferred to the frontiers. The Tower of 
 London is the arsenal of all England. The Chateau de Vin- 
 venues, joining Paris by an avenue of trees, is an old Gothic 
 royal palace. The Palais Boyal was the magnificent house of 
 Cardinal Richelieu, and presented by him to the king. 
 The Palais or Parliament House, was in St Lewis's time the
 
 Chap, III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 63 
 
 residence of the king. The great hall in it was admired by Ber- 
 nini, above all the halls in France, for its architecture. The holy 
 chapel in this palace was built a-new by St Lewis ; its glass 
 windows are magnificently large, and exquisitely painted. In 
 this chapel are still kept the relics which St Lewis, with so 
 much devotion, placed in it ; viz.. two pieces of the holy cross ; 
 our Saviour's crown of thorns ; the iron of the lance which 
 pierced his side ; the reed which was put into his hand ; the 
 cpunge, Sic. These relics are kept in a large gilt case of brass, 
 supported by four pillars, behind the high altar. The ornamenst 
 of this chapel are very rich with geld, precious stones, &c. 
 This chapel has few, but rich, canonships. In its treasury is the 
 wonderful Oriental AGATE; it is 12 inches long by 10 broad, 
 on which is cut in busso-re/ievo, the Apotheosis of Augustus, 
 so wonderfully, that the natural colours of the stone are in the 
 proper plnees for the figures, as if done by art. Here are also 
 held the Cour des Aides, and the Chambre des (.'.omptes, both 
 sovereign, the first to judge, the second to register and preserve, 
 the accounts and receipts of taxes, &c. The town-house is 
 Gothic, but will soon be re-built. It stands in the Greve, the 
 large square in which malefactors are executed, and all public 
 rejoicings, bonfires, &c. made. The Bastille is an old citadel 
 of eight round high towers ; in the middle is a court in which 
 prisoners, not closely confined, may walk. It is now the great 
 prison of state, as the Black Tower is at Constantinople. The 
 Hotel Diev is a narrow inconvenient building, though its reve- 
 nues are exceeding great. It is served by Augustin nuns ; yet as 
 it receives all who desire to enter, it ie not so well taken care 
 of as some of the lesser hospitals. But there are private 
 rooms for ini'ectious distempers, and for sick of a better rank, 
 who are reduced. It is nigh the cathedral, as hospitals for- 
 merly were, being generally founded and maintained by bi- 
 shops. Here are many other hospitals. The General Hospital 
 where beggars arc confined and kept at work, commonly con- 
 tains 6000, and is near the horse-market and king's gardens . 
 The Gates of Paris, especially St Antony's, St Martin's, St 
 Denis, &tc. were repaired under the reign of Lewis XIV., and 
 >re full of pompous inscriptions and carvings to his honour.
 
 64 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 The great triumphal arch erected to him was planned by the 
 famous architect PKRRAUI T, in imitation of, and to outdo those 
 extant of the ancient Romans. 
 
 I need not observe that Paris is divided into three parts ; 
 first, the City, which was old Paris, lying between the branches 
 of the river, and separated by walls from the rest ; the Grand 
 and Petit Chatelct were two of its gates. 2dly, the University ; 
 3dly, the ToTt'/?, which we may call the suburbs, added to the 
 old city. The University was formerly far more numerous, 
 and had 100 colleges, now it has not 30, and the greatest part 
 of these only keep a few pensioners, without masters : Ten on- 
 ly teach philosophy : Navarre, Plessis, Mazarin, Harcourt, 
 Beauvais, Cardinal la Moyne, de la Marche, Lizieuz, Montaign, 
 and Grassins ; only two teach divinity, Navarre and Sorbonne. 
 The Faculty of Arts is divided into four nations, the honourable 
 French nation, the most faithful nation of Picardy, the nation 
 of Normans, and the most constant nation of Germans. This 
 last was English, till our frequent wars made them change it. 
 Now English and Dutch belong to the German nation. Each 
 nation has its procurator, as the three superior faculties, f'lvi- 
 nity, law, and medicine, have their deans, chosen by themselves. 
 These three cleans and four procurators constitute the Court 
 of the Proctor, who is Governor of the University, and is cho- 
 sen every three months out of the Faculty of Arts. Louis XV. 
 in. 1719 settled on the professors of this university 121,000 
 livres per annum, to be paid out of the post-oflice. 
 
 The Col/cgc of Navarre was founded by Qneen Joan of 
 Navarre, wife of King Philip the Fair. It possesses a very 
 ancient librarv, in which are many rare manuscripts. In it3 
 chapel are interred Gerson, Major, Clamargis, that famous 
 doctor, with this pitiful pun for his epitaph. 
 
 &ui Zambas Juit ecctesia- sub hac lampade jacet, 
 
 This college is under the bishop of Paris. 
 
 "f \\cSorlonne founded byRoBERT SORBON, in St Lewis's time, 
 .vas mao-nifkently rebuilt by Cardinal Richelieu, with lodgings, 
 ;md a salary for 56 doctors, called the Fellows of Sorbonne. 
 Its court, chapel, high-alters., dome, and great hall, are admir-
 
 Clap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 6$ 
 
 able for architecture, and just proportions. Plessis College was 
 rebuilt very sumptuously by the same Cardinal Richelieu: 
 It contains the greatest number of pensionnaire,t t and has the 
 best lodgings of all the university, for such students as have a 
 governor and private chamber. The common apartments are 
 ordinary enough. This college holds of the Sorbonne, which 
 appoints the principal. 
 
 The Jesuits Colitge of Lewis the Great, is called Clermont, 
 from a bishop of Clermont, their great benefactor. Henry III. 
 laid the first stone anno 1582. It is very numerous in students 
 and pensioners ; yet few study philosophy here, because the 
 right of this college to confer academical degrees, never was 
 admitted by the University. Its high altar is very lich, having 
 an antipendium of massive silver, another of embroidered gold, 
 upon a ground of silver, cc. Its library is very large and cu- 
 rious, containing a good collection of rare antique medals. The 
 Great Jesuits have a beautiful church, built in the Corinthian 
 order, though not finished. The king's confessorship, &.c. brings 
 them in a very good yearly revenue by pensions. I had al- 
 most forgot to mention PERE CASTEL, the Jesuits professor 
 of mathematics, a great scholar, but an opponent of the doctrine 
 of Sir ISAAC NEWTON, whom he informed me he has wrote a- 
 gainst. I saw in his room the famous instrument invented 
 and made by himself, that produces colours by the sound 
 which is analogical to each colour. It is like a harpsichord set 
 up against a wall ; when you touch a string or key, to produce 
 a particular note, the whole instrument evidently assumes the 
 colour that corresponds to it by analogy, which Sir Isaac Newton 
 and Voltaire, <kc. give us hints of, though the cause is myste- 
 rious : This instrument is not finished, and gives only three 
 colours. The father pretends to entertain hopes of making k 
 complete ; though I scarce believe he will, at least in haste. 
 The Jesuits noviceship lias a small church well designed, with 
 the fine picture of Poussin. 
 
 Alaxarin College, commonly called Des quatre Nations, war, 
 founded by Cardinal Mazarin, though built after his death, ac- 
 cording to the plan he had formed. It is the most noble building 
 of its kind in Puris -, consisting of two great square pavillions,
 
 66 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 adorned with Corinthian pilasters. The schools are below in 
 the two courts. The chapel has a grand porch adorned with 
 six Corinthian pillars. Above are 12 statues of the four 
 F.vangelists, and eight Fathers of the Greek and Latin church. 
 The dome rises higher, beautifully adorned with gilded lead 
 festoons, and leaves worked on the slates, artfully cut : The 
 library contains 35,000 volumes collected by that cardinal. 
 His design was to make the Spaniards, Germans, Italians, and 
 French, who had then been long at war together, conceive a 
 love and friendship for one another. With this view, 1 5 Italians, 
 1 5 Germans, 20 out of the Catholic Low Countries, and 10 Spa- 
 niards, all gentlemen, were to be maintained in every thinggratir, 
 and carried through all the schools of humanity, philosophy, ma- 
 thematics, fencing, &-c. The professors are all the ablest in Pa- 
 ris, their salaries being much the greatest. The scholars how- 
 ever are too numerous to be taken care of, unless they have 
 preceptors. Besides, they are almost all foreigners. Did the 
 Cardinal design this foundation as a restitution to Flanders, 
 Spain, Pignerol, and Alsace, for the ravages he had made ia 
 those provinces in his wars ? For the gentlemen were only to 
 be taken out of those frontier provinces. 
 
 St Magloire is the seminary of the Oratorians. 
 
 The Cathedral, or Notre-Dame begun by the holy King 
 Robert, but finished by Philip Augustus, is the best Go- 
 thic building in France, immensely large : Its vaults are 102 
 Paris feet high ; and it is 144 broad, and 390 long. It is co- 
 vered with lead. Its two steeples are each 204 feet high. From 
 the top there is a view of all Paris. The picture of StPaul, burn- 
 ing magical books, in the choir by LE SUEUK, is esteemed. The 
 rich shrine of St Marccl'us on brass pillars behind the high al- 
 tar; the six great candlesticks and crucifixes of silver admir- 
 ably executed, and a good bust of Cardinal Richelieu in the 
 Sacristy, &c. deserve attention. The archbishop of Paris 
 has 120,000 livres of annual revenue : His suffragan Chart res 
 18,000, Meuse 2000, Orleans 30,000 Blcis 25,000. The 
 richest bishoprics in France are Strasburg 2,50,000 a year, 
 Narbonne andCambray 100,000, Metz 90,000, &c. The Grands 
 s have a large church with a choir of beautiful wain
 
 Chap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 67 
 
 scot, a fine high altar, and a statue of the founder Charles 
 V., the rest in a bad taste : Here are the monuments of Philip 
 Comities, the sincere historian of Lewis XL, of the great divine 
 St Beuue, &cc. The Petits Augustines have in their church good 
 carving, especially an inimitable head of a man in his last agony. 
 St Sulpice is the largest parish in Paris. The new vast church 
 had been long begun, though only just finished (by means of vast 
 collections and contributions of money) by the present curate, 
 brother of Languet archbishop of Sens. The choir is long and 
 noble, its vault very bold. Corinthian pilasters reign round, 
 and a great corridore, in which a prodigious number of people 
 can see the altar at once. The brass rails are very massy. 
 The church is very free and open, without stalls, and exceed- 
 ing lightsome. Some of the windows have a little painting 
 for ornament, but not so much as to obstruct the light. The 
 pillars of this edifice are very large and strong ; towards the 
 bottom they are incrusted with beautiful antient marble of va- 
 rious colours, very rare in Paris : it was presented by the King 
 from Marly ; he likewise gave out of his cabinet two prodigi- 
 ous natural shells found in the Adriatic, and sent in a present 
 from the commonwealth of Venice to King Francis I. They 
 serve as vessels for holy water, and are above 2 feet long 
 and 1 4- broad. This church was dedicated last year 1745, 
 with a great concourse of bishops, &c., and though not per- 
 fect, has this great advantage, that it is disincumbered ; in- 
 deed most other churches iu Paris have already found the 
 convenience of removing the pews, seats, &c. which makes 
 them far more noble and simple. Monsieur Couturier, the 
 superior, takes so good care of the seminary of St Sulpice, 
 that it is the most regular, most numerous, and best in Paris, 
 as well as the principal nursery of pastors and prelates. Its 
 chapel is finely painted byLEBilUN. The subject is the Assump- 
 tion of out- Lady. They tell you he has painted himself under 
 the figure of an apostle. The discalceated Carmes have fine gar- 
 dens, and in their church an excellent statue of our Lady made at 
 Rome. It stands in a little chapel dedicated to her. St Get- 
 main-de-Prez a rich Benedictine abbey of the congregation of St 
 Maur, was founded by King Childebert, anno 543 whose tomb
 
 68 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 is in the middle of the choir. Those of King Chilperic, King 
 Clotba're, and Q^seen Fredegond, Sec. are on the sides of the 
 high altar In the chapel of St Casimir lies the heart of Cast- 
 mir, King of Poland, who was abbot of this house, after he had 
 abdicated his kingdom, anno i6 M 2 ; his statue is finely carved 
 in white marble : He is represented on his knees on a tomb of 
 black marble, on which is a long inscription to his memory. 
 Here are also the tombs of two Douglases, &c. The library of 
 this abbey is public, and very rich in manuscripts. Amongst 
 the most curious are an old psalter of the sixth century ; a 
 missal 900 years old, or nearly so ; the attestations procured 
 from the Eastern churches in favour of the Real Presence, 
 quoted by Arnauld, &cc. 
 
 The Cordeliers have a fine cloister and a good library, St 
 Lewis built their church ; it was burnt anno 1580, and rebuilt; 
 since. In their church, Nicholas de Lyra, St Eonavenlure, Scotu.t, 
 Scc.lie interred. St Andre des drcs, a parish church, boasts of the 
 monument of the famous President duTnou, looked upon as a ve- 
 ry sincere historian, but chiefly so only by such as labour under 
 the same prejudices with him against the court of Rome. The 
 Charter-House is large and numerous. The choir in the church 
 is remarkable for its beautiful modern wainscoat and carving : 
 and the lesser cloister by it, for its architecture, fine painting, 
 of its glass, and the best pictures ever done by LE SUEUR, who, 
 had he not died young, say the French, would have equalled 
 RAPHAEL. Val-de-grace a Benedictine nunnery, founded by the 
 Queen-Regent Ann of Austria, in gratitude for the birth of her 
 son : The cupola is the finest object in Paris, and appears on all 
 sides of the town, with its cross, globe, lantern, balustrade of 
 iron, &c. In the church we admire the magnificent altar, the 
 iron rails of inimitable beauty and workmanship, and of an 
 extraordinary size ; the vault worked with singular art and 
 variety ; the inner part of the cupola, charmingly painted in 
 fresco by MIGNARD who also painted the hall and gallery of 
 St Cloud : it represents the blessed in heaven in groups, the 
 prophets, martyrs, confessors, virgins; kings, patriarchs, chief:; 
 oforuers, above infinite spaces of light and confused invisible 
 o-lory : At the bottom are painted the. a!t <s r ^ml othev thing'
 
 Chap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 69 
 
 mentioned in the apocalypse, as in heaven. The convent is 
 also very noble ; as well as the chapel, in which is deposited the 
 heart of their foundress, and some others of blood royal. Val 
 de Grace deserves a particular attention in every part, and 
 would vie with the finest Italian buildings, were it not for two 
 defects ; first, the high altar is too large, so is the cupola, for the 
 rest of the building. Indeed the church according" 1 to the first 
 
 O o 
 
 plan would have been much longer, and extended quite to the 
 iron rails upon the street. Mansard's plan of it was most fin- 
 ished, but the queen being ill advised, employed another archi- 
 tect, who altered in part his design, and spoiled the building. 
 
 The Carmelites church has the essential fault of being dark 
 and too full of ornaments, yet has great beauties, many rich 
 chapels, black marble pillars, good pictures, 12 steps of 
 black and 6 of white marble to the high altar, with two double 
 rows of fine brass rails, &:c. It owes its decorations to Queen 
 Mary of Medicis, who often visited the holy prioress, sister 
 Magdalene of St Joseph. The College of Bernardins, or Cis- 
 tercians, has a fine Gothic church built by Pope Benedict XII,. 
 who had been of that order ; he did not live to finish their con- 
 vent according to his vast plan. In St Marcellus's church lies 
 buried the master of Sentences, PETER LOMBARD. The Abbey 
 of St Victor has a very great public library, open to &11 on 
 Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, from 7 till ic, and from I 
 till 5 o'clock. The Celestines have a curious cloister ; and in 
 their church the monuments of king Charles V. their benefac- 
 tor, of the eld duke Lewis of Orleans &c., and the heart of 
 Constable Ann of Montmcrency, killed fighting against the 
 Huguenots in the battle of St Denis : Kis body, in a most 
 i oble mausoleum., lies at Montmorency, four leagues out of 
 Paris. The Mathurins or "Trinitarians, founded by St 
 Lewis, is remarkable for the assemblies of the University 
 held in its chapter-house. 7 he Dominicans cly.u clj possesses the 
 pulpitof St THOMAS OFAojJINAS, of wood, now richjy covered : 
 The body of Humbert, last sovereign-prince of Dauphiny, and 
 those of many other ancient lords and princes ; and u good pic- 
 tare of the Nativity of our Lady over the sacristy-door. Tho 
 ;;ich abbey of St Ce.mieve of Canons regular, the commrn ~-
 
 ?0 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLERo 
 
 treat of the Duke of Orleans, has the most beautiful library in 
 Paris. It forms a cross with a dome in the middle, which gives 
 light to the four parts or arms. One of these being shorter than 
 the other three, to remedy the defect, a perspective is painted 
 at the end of it, representing- an oval saloon, with a Copernican 
 sphere in the centre of it, which appears as if real, and produces 
 a complete deception. In this church we must observe the 
 shrine of StGfiNEVEiVE ; and the pompous epitaph on the tomb 
 of DESCARTES, whose ashes were brought hither 17 years af- 
 ter they had been buried honourably by Queen CHRISTINA in 
 Sweden ; also the carvings on the portico. 
 
 The Austin nuns, in the Fosse de St Victor, were begun by 
 Mrs Mary Fredivay, a professed nnun in the abbey of Sin, 
 of Canonesses regular of St Austin. She, with the assistance 
 of Mr Carr, alias Pickney t procurator of the English college, 
 came from Douay with some other English ladies to found a 
 nunnery for the English. Lewis XIII. confirmed their set- 
 tlement by letters patent anno 1663. Mr Carr was their 
 first confessor and great friend. The same gentleman laid the 
 project of the small English seminary there ; procured divines 
 to come from Douay, to commence it, and purchased for 
 them their first house. Dr Betham afterwards, by great con- 
 tributions put into his hands, bought a better house in the Rue 
 des Postes, and formed a more regular seminary, confirmed by 
 letters patent of Lewis XIV. an. 1703. This house is conve- 
 nient and handsome, with a neat garden, in a very pleasant 
 wholesome situation. 
 
 The Blue Nuns were of the third order of St Francis ; their 
 monastery breaking up at Newport, some settled at Princenhoif 
 at Bruges ; others came to Paris in 1658, and by a bull from 
 Rome changed their order and became Conceptionistt* 
 
 The Black Nuns or Benedictines an. 1651 caine from Cambray 
 and began their settlement in Paris ; the principal were, Dames 
 Carry, Bridget, Moor,Justina, Gascogne,&c. The Benedictine 
 house of men in Paris was founded in 1642 ; the king not only 
 confirmed their establishment, but iu 1742, declared them capa- 
 ble of enjoying such benefices of their order in France as were 
 not of the first rank, the revenues of which, by a sentence in 
 their favour anno 1 745, were declared to belong to the house. So
 
 Clap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 7! 
 
 as not to be all under the administration of the incumbent, tho* 
 he has a handsome allowance out of his benefice. This will 
 put them soon in a very flourishing condition, and enable them 
 to promote the good of religion. In their church lies deposited 
 the body of King JAMES II. The Marshal BERWICK is also bu- 
 ried there. The Irish are very numerous at their Lombard col- 
 lege, and are well supported. The Scotch house of secular priests 
 is admirably well founded j and was not begun since the change 
 of religion, as Mr Dod says, but was a very old foundation for 
 the Scots long before, when they and the French were closely 
 united together. They possess many valuable manuscripts, 
 especially relating to Queen MARY STUART, and all her letters 
 in her own hand-writing. They got many of them by means 
 of the celebrated Dr LESLIE bishop of Ross. 
 
 I must not forget to mention the Ave Maria Reformed Poor 
 Clares, the austerest nunnery in France, observing perpetual 
 abstinence and silence, having no commerce with the world. 
 We never saw any of these religious. 
 
 As for Painting, it is well known that till lately the Ita- 
 lian and Flemish schools alone excelled in that art ; yet the 
 French have had some good scholars. LE BRUN is undoubt- 
 edly the prince of them, having learned his manner in Rome. 
 He never had a talent for landscapes, applying himself to 
 greater performances. He designed very exactly, possessed a 
 good taste and judgment, and had an admirable talent in choos- 
 ing and drawing attitudes and drapery, and in observing the 
 justest decorum, as Mr Graham observes ; but his colours are 
 very ordinary. His two Prize- Pictures in Notre-Darne are 
 already faded. His best piece is, his Characters of all Human 
 Passions, a very good model for young designers. Laden with 
 riches, honours, and employs, by Lewis XIV., he died anno 
 1690. The second French painter is NICHOLAS POUSSIN, 
 who, after learning the first rudiments of design in Paris, 
 spent almost all the rest of his lift- in Rome, where he died 
 an. 1665, though he had returned to Paris a short time before 
 the death of Cardinal Richelieu. He excelled chiefly in ex- 
 pressing the passions, and in giving life and soul to all h ; s 
 figures. His best performances are his historical painting:.
 
 7'i TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. " 
 
 i le is admirable in every thing except his colours. Kis Sei)Stt 
 Sacraments, his Manna in the Desert, are incomparable for their 
 design and beauty. VOUET, born in Paris, but perfected in 
 Venice and Rome, was chief painter to Lewis XIII. : he has 
 filled the French palaces of that time with his pieces, faulty in 
 design, invention, and perspective ; but happy in a lively stroke 
 of his pencil, and a beautiful colouring. He died anno 1641. 
 FRESNOY is more famous for his writings on paintings, than 
 for his performances in that art. He died anno 1665. LE 
 SUEUR, deserves also a place among the good painters, as well as 
 among the sculptors arid architects. He lies buried in St Ste- 
 phen du Mont. The Academy of Painting in Paris was first 
 promoted by certain noblemen, at last adopted by King Lewis 
 XIV. and so made a royal academy. It is composed of about 
 80 members of different classes, all painters or sculptors, under 
 a chancellor, or principal rector, named by the king. In the 
 chamber where they assemble, are copies of the best statues 
 in Rome, busts, and several curiosities in that kind worth see- 
 ing. But their pictures are mostly of modern hands, though 
 some very good ones. They have three large chambers for 
 their curiosities, &cc. Lewis XIV. has also instituted an aca- 
 demy of French painters in Rome to learn the true manner. 
 As for paintings, many private cabinets have several pieces of 
 Raphael and other Italian masters. Next to Rubens' gallery at 
 the Luxembourg, we ought to observe the portraits at the Go- 
 belines, a St Mary Magdalene at the feet of our Saviour, in the 
 church of the Carmelites near Val de Grace, and another of the 
 same saint, in a chapel of that church, all by Le Brun. In 
 St Germain 1'AnxerroLs, a Magdalene, and a Martyrdom of St 
 T.awrence, by Le Sueur. The Battles of Alexander, that fa- 
 ;mms piece of Le Brun, at the Louvre and Versailles. Many 
 jjieces of Poussin, &.c. In the Jesuit's noviciate, the altar- 
 piece: is a celebrated picture by Poussin, of Hi Francis Xavier 
 doino- a miracle , but the saint has too lar^e an car. But the 
 
 O ' O 
 
 best are at Versailles and the Louvre, as Raphael's St Michael;, 
 Paul Veroneze's Slipper, &c. 
 
 The Academy of Architecture, begun by Mr COLBERT, but 
 itlio adopted by the kiu^, and made roval assemblies twice or
 
 Clap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 73 
 
 thrice every week. The rector of it is the director of the 
 king's buildings. They have in their chambers plans of the 
 finest pieces of architecture in the world. I saw advertise- 
 ments put up by the present director, who has a great pension 
 from the king, to let out the new works and buildings at Marly, 
 according to the plan, to the lowest responsible undertaker, 
 and this in the midst of this expensive long war. 
 
 The French Academy founded by Lewis XIII., at the entreaty 
 of Cardinal Richelieu, in 1637, assembles in a chamber of the 
 Louvre three times a-week. The end of their institution is to 
 preserve and perfect the French tongue. Their grammar, dictio- 
 nary, &c. have made them known ; but they have the fault 
 of being too scrupulous, and not allowing good judges to em- 
 ploy a foreign word, when necessary to express a particular 
 meaning, and, by giving it a new dress, adopt it into the French 
 language. With us, the sanction of a Dryden, a Swift, a 
 Pope, &.c. is enough to consecrate a new necessary word, and 
 thus to enrich our language. They are like the Romans in Ti- 
 berius's time, to whom a grammarian said, " You, Emperor, 
 " can give to men, but not to words, the freedom of the city." 
 This academy distributes two gold medals as prizes every St 
 Lewis's day, for two approved pieces, one in rhetoric, the other 
 in poetry. 
 
 The Royal Academy of Sciences is for mathematics, physics, 
 and medicine. The secretary publishes its memoirs. It dif- 
 fers from the Royal Society in many things ; chiefly in this, 
 that many members have handsome pensions from the king, of 
 200!. a-year. The academy consists of 10 honorary members, 
 who must live in the kingdom ; of 20 pensioners, who must 
 be all settled in Paris ; of 20 associates, who may be foreign- 
 ers ; and of 20 scholars, all settled in Paris. If this Academy 
 surpasses our Roy a! Society in enjoying 20 royal pensions, it 
 certainly does not in the merit of its ingenious members. 
 
 The Observatory was built at the end of the Fauxbourg St 
 Jacques by Lewis XIV. in 1667, under the direction of PER- 
 RAULT, the great architect of France. It is a great square of 
 beautiful stone, 80 feet high, and its foundations are 80 feet 
 under ground, cut through quarries of stone with great ex- 
 
 E
 
 74 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 pence. Its four fronts are exactly to the four corners of the 
 world. It consists of three stories, and is covered with a ter- 
 race from which you discover the whole horizon, and have a full 
 prospect of Paris. The stone stair-case to the terrace, of 156 
 sreps, is very broad, noble, and bold ; its iron balustrade is ad- 
 mirably worked. The building is of a surprising solidity, 
 without iroii or wood, and all the three stories vaulted ; the 
 terrace on the top is p :ved with flint-stones, and a strong ce- 
 ment, lest rain should spoil the building. It has two towers, 
 one on the easf, another on the west. The great Meridian 
 drawn by CASSINI, through France, is marked across the floor. 
 The chambers are filled with astronomical instruments, and 
 models of all sorts of curious pieces of mechanism, as of 
 ships, coaches, mills, &.c. in wh'ch is any thing rare. There 
 is also VILLET'S great burning-glass, a concave reflector of 47 
 inches diameter ; it lias its burning focus at the distance of 
 three feet, and melts steel in nine seconds. They always ask 
 you to try the experiment on a little silver-piece, which being 
 melted, becomes the man's property. The astronomical in- 
 struments belonging to this observatory are good and numer- 
 ous ; but there are no Newtonian telescopes, which, though 
 more convenient for a private person, because more easily car- 
 ried and turned about, yet are not so good for an Observatory, 
 "because it is harder to find objects with them ; and the great 
 refracting telescopes, with a proper stand and apparatus, are as 
 convenient on a high great terrace. The largest telescope here 
 is 153 feet long. Its glasses were made by CAMPANI, the 
 most celebrated maker of optic glasses that ever lived. As 
 this is the largest of retracting telescopes, the wooden tower, 
 120 feet high, placed in the Meridian, was erected to carry 
 Tip its glasses. Here CASSINI the elder, and LA HIRE, 
 made their curious observations. Greenwich Observatory is 
 mean compared to this as to the building, See. ; but it stands on 
 a hill, and has a most exact quadrant and telescope, hung by a 
 water-level, with a micrometer, adjusted with the most exact 
 nicety. And here H ALLEY, FLAMSTEAD, and the present BRAD- 
 LF.Y, have enriched philosophy by their exact description of 
 the heaven?, and moit ample catalogues of the stars, which
 
 Clap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. ^5 
 
 Dr Bradley is now correcting. The young CASSINI being 
 too rich, is not so laborious as his father was. We descend 
 into the subterraneous cave under the Observatory, called 
 the icell, by a pair of stairs of 171 steps. There is an open 
 space, piercing the stairs and all the vaults to the top of the 
 terrace, 170 feet from the bottom of the pit to its issue, for ob- 
 serving the stars at mid-day ; but this is of little advantage, as 
 no stars ever pass that zenith, and the eye cannot discern any 
 other part of the heavens. 
 
 The King's Library, recently built in Rue Richelieu, is a 
 sumptuous edifice, and the greatest library in the world next 
 to the Vatican. The books are not placed in the most beauti- 
 ful order, but its ornaments are not yet finished. It contains 
 90,000 printed books, and 33,000 good manuscripts, of which 
 8000 came from the famed library of COLUERT, that great 
 Maecenas and Minister : This library is open twice a week, 
 except in the vacations. Behind the library is the chamber 
 of prints, a most ample collection. The masters are ranged in 
 their classes, Italian, Flemish, Dutch, and French. 'Tis here 
 easy to study and observe their different manners and tastes in 
 designing. In miniatures, there are some antique volumes, in. 
 which it is curious to see the odd dresses of our ancestors, 
 The prints of innumerable animals, herbs, &c. on vellum, 
 are amusing, as is the volume in folio of all the sea-fish, a 
 present from the Republic of Holland. 
 
 The King's Cabinet of Medals, is the greatest collection in the 
 v/orld. It contains above 20,000 medals ancient and modern, 
 all ranged according to the order of time, in little boxes of cedar, 
 
 o ^j * 
 
 trie drawers being neatly gilt. The collection of , Roman rm-- 
 dals, and especially of the middle ages of the empire of Con- 
 stantinople, during which period history is obscure, is extreme- 
 ly useful in fixing chronological events. Modern medals, struck 
 on remarkable events in any part of Europe, find a place here. 
 
 Lewis XIV. instituted a Royal Academy for Inscriptions, 
 and Medals. 
 
 The King's Cabinet, formerly in the Louvre, is now almost 
 entirely removed to Versailles, where we could not see or hear 
 any thing of it. It consisted, it is said, of jewels, and antique 
 
 E 2
 
 76 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 ties, which are very rich and rare. In it is kept the tomb of 
 CHILPERIC, first King of France, father of CLOVIS, the First 
 Cbrist'an King. Tt was found accidentally in Tournay, in 
 digging the foundations of a building in the year 165 . They 
 found loo medals of gold, and 300 of silver, of the middle age, 
 in the same place, but not so deep ; and an ox head of gold, pro- 
 bably an idol ; and 300 bees of gold, their wings being tipt 
 with a sort of chrystal. On a gold ring were engraved a head, 
 and these words, Childerici Regis. The first three kings of 
 the French resided at Tournay. 
 
 The Kitiv's Garden is the physic garden ; one half is 
 planted with simples, and in this the king's professor of botany 
 gives his lessons at six in the morning ; the rest is filled with 
 exotics and foreign plants : Among those that are kept in the 
 hot houses, there are three or four kinds of sensitive plants, which 
 are so tender, that they contract and close all their leaves upon 
 the least touch in any part, or even approach of the hand, as 
 the smallest agitation of the air is too much for those plants 
 to bear. The physic garden in Oxford seems as rich in officinal 
 herbs j and indeed ihe number of those that are really useful, 
 may be reduced to 40 : the rest are superfluous. But the 
 Paris gardens have more exotics, and more stoves or hot- 
 houses, though in both you find the more remarkable Indian 
 shrubs, fig-trees, palms, &c. Monsieur BUFFON, superin- 
 tendant of the king's garden, has greatly perfected the Museums 
 at the end of these gardens, and made the building more con- 
 venient. The shells, petrifactions, and other curiosities, are 
 very amusing, and placed in a very neat order, which sets them 
 off above other such collections. Sir Hans Sloane's collection 
 is the greatest and most curious for natural varieties assembled 
 in one place ; it surpasses, in some respects, the Roman college, 
 though in others it is inferior ; and it is not in the best order. 
 Dr MeatVs curious rich library is in a more beautiful order, 
 but contains few natural curiosities, in comparison of his arti- 
 ficial, as his Cleopatra or noble mummy, his Chinese rarities, 
 &c. &.c. The Museum of Oxford is richer and more plenti- 
 fully stocked, but not so complete, in any one line, as this is. 
 Mr BUFFON has brought into it the curiosities of art that
 
 Clap. III. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. 1 7 
 
 were in the Observatory. I visited Monsieur REAUMUR, 
 known by his long history of insects ; and it was a pleasure to 
 see with what care he brecl chrysalids and insects in his fine gar- 
 dens, walks, and little ponds ; to observe their metamorphoses, 
 and whole history : His glass hives of bees ; his chambers, fill- 
 ed in a very beautiful order in rows from the top to the bottom, 
 some with all kinds of birds, even the rarest from the Indies, 
 stuffed in their finest attitude, with their plumage, &c. in their 
 full beauty, as if alive ; others filled with all sorts of eggs ; 
 others with all sorts of nests, particularly all those very odd 
 ones hanging from boughs, for fear of serpents in America : 
 Others filled with insects, many in spirits, others preserved 
 differently, &.c. 
 
 The Gobelins, (so called from an old owner of that house and 
 the large bnck gardens,) are in the greatest repute for the royal 
 manufacture carried on here. Gold, Silver, &.c. are employed in 
 it with the greatest profusion. But it is most wonderful to see the 
 workmen mix the different coloured threads, the embossed parts, 
 &c. in the loom, so ingeniously that they surpass most paintings. 
 The figures are so natural, the proportions so exact, and the 
 whole has so much life, that one would often think them ani- 
 mated, and not pictures : They project forwards according to just 
 perspective, so as to deceive the eye : The colours are strong 
 and fine : and the river which runs through their spacious gar- 
 dens, has a peculiar quality for dying a beautiful scarlet : 
 The design of their pieces is perfect ; chiefly taken from the 
 designs of Le Brun, Poussin, Raphael, &:c. : They are hung out 
 in the street, on Corpus Christi and the Octave Day of that festi- 
 val: Thelong history of Lewis XIV., his battles, sieges, treaties, 
 &.c.*is remarkable, The Gobelins are poii by the king, and work, 
 only for him ; but a nobleman may sometimes get his majesty's 
 leave to buy a piece. They came first from Antwerp, and still 
 equal those old Flemish rntisteirs. Lewis XIV. settled in Paris 
 two Italians, (whom he had invited f ; o;n Rome) to work in 
 Mosaic ; but of this afterwards, wb.ea speaking of Rome, ihc 
 chrystal work-house had i:s art from Venice. 
 
 London boasts of the hills of Higbgate and Humpstead ; and of 
 the [places of I\^isi-i^toa and Grtc:ii-icJj ; but Paris has more 
 
 E 3
 
 <7 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 reason to be proud of Mowit Martre, Sceaux, &c , and the pala- 
 ces of Vincennes, the beautiful Trianon, Cboisy, ^t Germain, 
 (finely situated on a great hill,J) St ClouJ, &c. 
 
 VERSAILLES deserves particular mention : This palace seemed 
 to me too bulky fcr its height ; yet the side towards the gar- 
 dens is most noble and finely finished : Its royal chapel was be- 
 gun in 1699: It is within the walls 104 feet long, 55 feet 
 broad, and 79 high under the key of the vault. The lantern 
 is 14 feet in diameter, and 36 high. The balustrade about 
 it on the outside, the obelisk, the globe and cross, the two 
 escutcheons of the arms of France, supported by two angels, 
 are gilt ; the cornice round is of the Corinthian order, which is 
 most adorned. The statues above it are those of the apostles, 
 doctors of the church ; and of faith, justice, charity and re- 
 ligion, as may be seen by their symbols. The variety of the 
 different orders in the pilasters and windows is charming, and in 
 the most beautiful taste. All this makes the exterior of this 
 building the most pleasing and magnificent : but the interior is 
 more so. The ornaments of sculpture and painting are distri- 
 buted in it with so much gusto and judgment, joined to the per- 
 fection of the architecture, in the justeet proportions, design, &c. 
 that the whole has an extraordinary effect in enchanting the eye 
 of the spectator. The altar i^oi fine marble and brass. The 
 chapels of the Blessed Sacrament, of our Lady, of St Lewis, 
 and St Tereca, arc beautiful: the tribune for the king at the 
 the bottom, b very large and Ingh : The corridore, which 
 reigns quite round the chapel of the same height, is broad 
 and noble, especially its painted vaults, its balustrades cf 
 brass, gilt, with marble supporters, and its 16 pillars, of 
 the Corinthian order, in which all the strokes aie finished 
 and delicate. The paintings both of the vault and cha- 
 pel were done by Jox'jenet, Boulogne the father and son, 
 fccc. The slssumpiian cj our Lady, with the raptures of joy 
 and exstacy expressed in her countenance, by Boulogne the 
 younger, stems the best piece. Next is St '1 ercsa^s. Some 
 
 pretend the ears in that of / Lewis are too bi^ ; and indeed 
 i 
 
 xicnc of these pieces come ur> to those of the line Italian os:
 
 Clap. HI. DESCRIPTION OF PARIS. *O 
 
 Flanders masters. The palace or chateau of Versailles wss 
 built before the chapel. It was a small hunting-be it when. 
 Lewis XIV. anno 1661, resolved to s.-ake it his principal ic- 
 sidence. Immediately the village grew into a little town, fill- 
 ed with magnificent and regular hotels of the principal nobili- 
 ty, answerable to the grandeur of the court, i'he palace is 
 exceeding bulky, and though high, is still too low in proportion 
 to its extent, and fiat on the top. its pillars, pilasters, Sec. 
 are chiefly in the Corinthian, being the most beautiiul order. The 
 cornice imitates the Farnezian for its curious work. The a- 
 partments within are more noble : here the most perfect rules 
 of architecture are observable: every chamber seems- to bur- 
 pass another in justness of proportion : the ornaments ure the 
 best chosen, not only the paintings, statues, busts, but the hang- 
 ings, looking-glasses, &c. ; and their disposition is judici- 
 ous. There is only such a number of all these ornaments 
 in each apartment, as beauty requires, and they are placed 
 with wonderful taste ; whereas the Italian palaces are too much 
 crowded with furniture, busts, &.C., liker shops than chambers. 
 The back-wings for servants, 6tc. are but poorly furbished, 
 and full of rubbish. The galleiies for the officers oi state, 
 and of the court, have smaller chambers, but quite finished ; 
 and those noblemen to whom the king gives apartments in his 
 palace, have similar accommodation ; and happy u he who has 
 but a srna'.l room allowed him here. The gr^at gallery, very 
 broad, and looking into the gardens, is most admired alter the 
 kind's own aoartmcnts. The chrystd wainscot of that ralle- 
 
 O * -> 
 
 ry is very am jsing in such a price as this, or t':s ?yL-;i'.igcni % but 
 would be extiemeiy improper in any other kind ot apartment::, 
 On the avenue towards Paris stand msny noble structures. 
 The Pavillion of the tWousquetairs is a most noble piece of archi- 
 tecture. The two stables (the large and the small) are like 
 the palaces of Litv^s. Their symmetry and architecture is ad- 
 mirable. Here are also the two buildings called the Galle- 
 
 O 
 
 riss of the Princes. The riding academy for the pages is 
 lately built, and the finest in France. The park of Versailles 
 
 is of several leagues extent : near the palace it is enclosed into 
 w f 
 
 F. A
 
 78 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 fine gardens, in which we admired the beautiful walks and al- 
 leys, the parterres, groves, &c. ; but above all, the water- 
 works, statues, &c. One would think Lewis XIV. had plun- 
 dered all Greece and Italy to transport their finest busts 
 and statues to Versailles, their number is so astonishing in the 
 palace and gardens. The waters are diversified a thousand 
 ways, and are poured forth from figures of marble and brass 
 into basons of all forms. On entering, we see the basons of 
 the crown, of the mermaid, of the pyramid, the alley of wa- 
 ter, and its slow cascade, the triumphal arch, the theatre, the 
 mountain of water, the baths of Apollo, the basons of Apollo, 
 of Ceres, Saturn, Bacchus, Latona, &c. the fountain of the 
 Dragon, &c, the labyrinth, the parterre of water, the great 
 canal. On the right hand is the orange grove, always green, 
 and the most beautiful of all the king's pleasure-houses, 
 Trianon. At the other end of the gardens, a league off, 
 is the Menagerie, where wild beasts are kept ; as lions, 
 tygers, baboons, panthers, &c. ; and many sorts of fowls, 
 but the number of beasts diminishes as they do in the Tower. 
 The water-works here are very various and fine. Ther^ is 
 also a very beautiful small palace or pleasure-house, of which 
 the rooms all open into one another, and most of them have 
 a great deal of chrystal on the walls, to show by reflection at 
 once all that is in the room. Here are very convenient baths 
 for pleasure.
 
 Chap. IV. A TOUR FROM PARIS TO LYONS. 80 
 
 CHAPTER FOURTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM PARIS TO LYOXS. 
 
 Palace of Fountainbleau. Champagne. Sens. Rheims. Troye?. Auxerre. 
 Dijon. Description of the Abbey of Citeaux. Chalons-sur-Scine. Autun. 
 Macon. Trevoux. Account of the small Principality of Dombres. 
 
 LYONS, OCTOBER 10. 1745. 
 
 having gratified our curiosity, and settled our affairs 
 in Paris, we procured an order for post-horses, a precaution 
 that is requisite only in capitals, but extremely useful, inas- 
 much as it commands the prompt obedience of the post-mas- 
 ters, (who, without such an order, cannot be compelled to give 
 horses) we set out for Lyons, by the road of Burgundy, called 
 the petite route. It is 58 posts, or 116 leagues. The grand 
 route lies through Montargis, Nevers, and Roane, and is counted 
 six posts more, viz. 64 ; but they are shorter, better provided 
 with horses, and the road is superior; of course the most eligible 
 way for travellers to take. From Paris to Fountainbleau by 
 Villeneuve, Fromenteau, Essone, (where is a very fine seat,) 
 Ponthierry, and Chaiily, it is 8 posts, or 16 leagues. This 
 road, by levelling hills, filling up valleys, &c. has become the 
 finest of all France, a superiority it owes to Lewis XIII., to 
 whom is erected a marble monument about midway, with a 
 pompous inscription to his honour. Near the road-side we 
 saw a oreat many magnificent houses, the greatest part of 
 which belong to treasurers, farmers of the taxes, and masters 
 of the king's manufactures of the Gobelins. The gardens, ter- 
 rasses, and walls about the?e seats, are very elegant. 
 
 FOUNTAINBLEAU is a large burgh, so called, as some say, 
 from its fountains : Its buildings are good, and its inns are 
 better than those of Versailles : and though dear, not so extra- 
 vagant. The Palace is on the outside of the town, and far 
 surpassed my idea of it. I was surprised a king should build 
 Versailles, who possessed Fountainbleau, which, notwith- 
 standing all Lewis XIV. 's greatness, still outdoes it in some 
 respects as to the building, though it be inferior in others. It 
 is built in the form of a great square, besides many out build- 
 ings, all exceeding stately : It was unfurnished when we saw
 
 82 TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 it ; but hundreds of hands were at work putting up tapestry, 
 &c. because the king was expected from Choisy in three days. 
 The Comedie is a fine room, with a gaudy rich throne and tri- 
 bune for the king at the bottom, and seats for a great multi- 
 tude, something like the theatre of Oxford, in the inside, but 
 more grand to the eye. The long gallery is inferoir to that of 
 Versailles, though exceeding spacious and noble, commanding 
 a fine prospect. The Chapel was built by St Lewis, who 
 placed in it "Trinitarians (a sort of Canons-regular, destined 
 for the Redemption of Captives^), after his return from the holy 
 war. It had fallen to decay, when it was repaired by Hen- 
 ry IV., who was induced to set about so pious a work by the 
 following circumstance : The Spanish ambassador arriving at 
 the court of France, according to the custom of his country 
 went first to the chapel [Casa de Dies'), but expressed his sur- 
 prise to see God's house so mean, while the king was so rich- 
 ]y lodged. Lewis XIII. rebuilt it anew, as it now is, in a very 
 sumptuous and stately manner. On both sides of the palace are 
 ne gardens, terrasses, curious water-works, statues, summer- 
 houses in the middle of lakes, &tc. The ponds are stocked 
 with the largest fish I ever saw, which approached so close to our 
 feet as we walked along the banks, that I was tempted to catch at 
 some of them, but was afraid they would have bit me. A piece 
 of bread being thrown in, a monstrous carp (they told us some 
 were by certain marks known to be ico years old) fought for it 
 with great fury. I will not guess at their size, as the water 
 might somewhat deceive the eye. 
 
 But a volume would scarce suffice to describe this palace of 
 Fountainbleau, and no description can convey a just idea of 
 its magnificence. It stands in the midst of woods spreading on 
 every side, near the Seme, which we here took leave of: 
 This river rises in Burgundy, runs by Chatiilon and Bar-sur- 
 Seine, enters Champagne, passes by Troyes, receives the Ton 
 at Montreau : In die Isle of France waters Melun, Corbeil, 
 and after having received the Marne at Charenton, near Paris, 
 and the ' yse at Pontoise, enters Normandy, is navigable for 
 pretty large vessels at Rouen, larger at Caudebec, Honfleur, and 
 HarEuer, and has Havre de Grace on its mouth. The tide
 
 Chap. IV. A TOUR FROM PARIS TO LYONS. 83 
 
 flows 30 leagues up the river, although it is extremely wind- 
 ing. 
 
 The country here is poor, in many places being little else 
 than desert heath ; on the sides of the hills there are good vine- 
 yards, the valleys are ploughed for corn ; very little pasture 
 or cattle; villages and houses are thin. Leaving Fountainbleau 
 we had a good road by MORET, where we left the Isle of 
 France to enter Champagne. Moret is a small town, its walls 
 old and ruinous. It was formerly a frontier against Burgun- 
 dy. From this town we travelled by Faussart, Guiare, and 
 Pont-sur-Yon, where we passed the river Ton, over a new 
 stone-bridge. It is seven posts from Fountainbleau to SENS. 
 About midway on this road stands a marble pillar, with an in- 
 scription importing that it was erected by the present Queen 
 MARY, daughter of Stanislaus king of Poland, in the place 
 where she was met by her spouse Lewis XV. 
 
 SENS anciently belonged to the duchy of Burgundy, but now 
 it is under the generality of Champagne, and consequently of 
 that province, though the inhabitants love to call themselves 
 rather Burgundians. The old Senones-Gcivls plundered Rome, 
 and are celebrated in history. Sens is a laigc city, but poor 
 and ill built, without any nobility, or any great merchants. 
 The vicinity of Paris is hurtful to it. That capital resembles 
 those voracious plants which suck up all the nourishment from 
 the surrounding vegetables. No city can flourish near Paris, 
 and the whole countrv carries all its commodities to it, especial- 
 ly where there is water-carriage down the rivers, as here : The 
 lieutenant of police regulates the order in which the provinces, at 
 every season of the year, shall bring wood and every necessary 
 of life to the capital, lest, by being overstocked at one time, it 
 may, at another time, be exposed to the danger of famine. 
 
 SENS is governed, as the other towns in France are, by five- 
 consular judges, named by the king out of the better sort of 
 citizens. They decide without appeal all causes under the va- 
 lue of 500 livres. In others an appeal may be made to the 
 parliament of Paris. The inhabitants are all poor tradesmen, 
 and the houses very mean. It is not a town of any learning.
 
 84 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAV BUTLER. 
 
 Very few of their curates have attended an university ; their 
 course o. studies being confined to morality, cases of conscience, 
 & in their seminary. There is no good bookseller's shop in the 
 town ; but some of the canons have tolerable private libraries, 
 containing the works of the best critics. The middle of the town, 
 being the highest part, little streams of water are directed in 
 large channels through almost every street. The waters are 
 let out plentifully in the night, to wash the streets, and carry 
 off all the filth. A similar convenience is deservedly boasted 
 of in 'Turin, in which little aqueducts from the Po are drawn 
 through the whole city in like channels. 
 
 SENS has 16 small parishes, and most of them are served by 
 one curate, without a chaplain. My parish of St Columba has 
 only 500 communicants. The parish-churches are full of stalls 
 or pews like our English Protestant churches. The curate sings 
 the whole church-office, even the little hours, every .^unday 
 and holyday, as well as high. mass. All the people assist in 
 their pews at the whole office, which takes up a great part of 
 the day. Very few go to confession and communion. Many 
 dioceses in France use a particular breviary and missal ; but 
 none so different from the Roman as those of Sens, which is the 
 only diocese where any alteration is permitted in the prayers of 
 the canon. The two late archbishops made each the office of 
 their church, quite new, and very different. The first was 
 done by Archbishop Hardouin Fortiri de la Hoguette anno 1702. 
 The second, far more singular, by Archbishop Gondrin. The 
 very ceremonies are not the same ; so that a priest of this dio- 
 cese cannot say mass abroad, unless he has his own missal with 
 him, which they, themselves complain of as very inconvenient. 
 The singing and the notes are also different. 'Tis true, those 
 churches which never received the Koman breviary, retain by 
 custom the right of regulating their own offices ; but uni- 
 formity has many advantages The Archbishop of Sens is 
 stiled Primate of the Gauls and of Germany, (Gulliarum et 
 Germanics rimus ;) but it is many ages since he has enjoyed 
 any part of such a jurisdiction. Archbishops were such only 
 as were bishops of capitals of provinces, as is evident from 
 the life of St Basil, and his contest about Lower Cappadocia,
 
 Clap. IV> A T'-UR FROM PARIS TO LYONS. 8$ 
 
 made by the emperor a separate province. Thus Sens being 
 anciently so great a capital, its metropolitan was ever very con- 
 siderable. The present archbishop, JOSEPH LANGLET, former- 
 ly bishop of Soissons, is t ^o well kaown by h's zeal against 
 Jansenism, for me to say any thing of him. He has procured 
 the exile of many curates of this city and diocese, as well as some 
 seculars very zealous in that cause, amon^ others a blacksmith. 
 The people, ignorant of the natur of those disputes, pity these 
 exiles very much, and cannot yet love their new pastors. 
 The Cathedral is a great Gothic structure, remarkable for a 
 labyrinth drawn on its pavement ; for many ancient stately 
 tombs of archbishops, especially that raised on four high mar- 
 ble pillars by Archbishop Jalazar to his father and .mother, 
 represented in marble on their knees ; that of Chancellor du Prat, 
 &.c. ; also for its great bell, which they pretend weighs 48,000 
 pounds, though that cannot be ex- j .ct, for the bell of our Lady's 
 in Paris is no more ; nor the great Amboise of Rouen. The 
 archbishop of Sens enjoys 50,000 livres a-year : His suffragans, 
 Auxerre 12,000, Troyes 30,000, Nevers 12,000, Bethlem in 
 the Nivernois 900. The Jesuits have a poor small house near 
 the archbishop's palace. The present archbishop gives them 
 600 livres a-year to maintain two professors for rhetoric and 
 humanity. The Celestines in the town have a pretty new 
 church. The Dominicans founded by St Lewis have only- 
 eight religious, though a large building. The Capuchins have 
 but seven, though the only Mendicants in the city, besides 
 Dominicans. Religious, especially Mendicants, are far from 
 being so numerous as in the Low Countries, much less in Italy 
 and Spain. There are three abbeys within the town, and three 
 out of it ; that of St Columba, of Benedictine monks, is ex- 
 tremely old and venerable. The shrines of the Saints are seen 
 empty, having been plundered by the Huguenots. Here are 
 many monuments of the English, who formerly carried their 
 arms hither ; nearer the town is a royal abbey of nuns, in 
 which a daughter of Lord BOLIVGBKOKE, by a lady of this coun- 
 try whom he married, is abbess. The archbishop has obtain- 
 ed a prohibition from court, to hinder these abbeys from keep- 
 ing pensioners^ on account of their instilling principles of Jan~
 
 84 TRAVELS OF REV. ALEAN BUTLER. 
 
 senism. Lord Bolingbroke lived many years in these parts : 
 I was entertained with many stories about him. The city is 
 encompassed with ruinous old walls, and a dry broad moat. 
 It has eight gates. Over th? two channels of the river, are 
 two very beautiful stone bridges. Round the town are plea- 
 sant walks with rows of chesnut trees, woods, rivulets, and 
 vineyards. The people here think this the happiest climate 
 in the world ; it is indeed a very agreeable one. 
 
 The wines of Champagne are some very ordinary, and some 
 exceeding good. The best grow near Sens, and all along the 
 frontiers of Burgundy ; but even here there is a small grape 
 which gives a very poor wine. The Champain moussant, or 
 famous white Champagne, so searching and unwholesome for 
 gouty people, grows towards Rheims and Chalons upon the 
 Marne, and is sold in the country itself at 50 sols the bottle. 
 This province, and that of Burgundy, is the finest country for 
 grives orjieldfare, which, when the grapes are ripe, fatten in 
 the vineyards, and are plumper and fatter than in any other, 
 even wine country, yet very cheap and plentiful. 
 
 Mademoiselle of Sens is a daughter of the duke of Bour- 
 bon Conde, and a princess of the blood-royal of France. 
 She enjoys the lordship and regalities of this place. The 
 Yon runs by the skirts of this town, receiving here the 
 Venne, a small river. It rises three leagues above Auxerre 
 in Burgundy ; near Sens it divides itself into two channels, 
 forming an island, but soon meets again. It brings barges 
 from Auxerre, is very broad at Sens, and falling into the Seine ? 
 it conveys all things to Paris. The river Marne rises near 
 Langres, and after washing also Chalons, Meaux, Sec. falls in- 
 to the Seine, but keeps its waters unmixed a great way below 
 Paris, in one half of the channel. 
 
 Of the other principal towns in this province I shall only 
 name RHEIMS, the capital. It proves its antiquity by a triumphal 
 arc/j much decayed, and its inscription effaced, Sec. It seems 
 to have been raised to JULIAN the Apostate. Its architecture 
 is not of the fine age. The cathedral of our Lady is a vast Go- 
 thic edifice ; its portico is esteemed the best in France for its 
 figures and relief. la it the French king is crowned. The ho-
 
 Clap. IV. A TOUR FROM PARIS TO LYONS. 87 
 
 Ij ampulla of oil is kept in St Remigius's abbey. Here are 
 three other great abbeys. In the steeple of St Nicasius's ab- 
 bey is the wonderful bell, which, when it rings, even though 
 its tongue be taken out, makes a particular pillar shake so as 
 to threaten a fall, though its nearer pillars are not moved. 
 TROYfcs(7rmz', or Tricassium^)vfzs the residence of the Counts 
 of Champagne. LANGRES, Lingonce, on a mountain, gives its 
 bishop the title of Duke and Peer of France. Clarevalle, the 
 abbey in which St Bernard its founder died, and left 700 reli- 
 gious, is in this diocese. Being told that it resembled Ci- 
 teaux, St Bernard's first foundation, 1 did not go to see it, 
 though a great while in its neighbourhood. Meaux is fa- 
 mous for its great prelate BosaU^T. Prouyns is famous for 
 its conserve of roses, a very mild astringent : that of white 
 roses is opening. 
 
 Half a league from Sens, on the banks of the Ton, is an entire 
 uninhabited village of many houses all cut in a hard rock, with 
 many apartments in them ; at present the inhabitants, to avoid 
 the cold, have forsaken them, and built themselves houses in 
 the valley beneath ; but the parish church still stands on the top 
 of the rock. A German traveller meeting with these houses 
 in the rock, framed an imaginary system of an ancient great 
 city, and wonderful antiquities. Leaving Sens the 8th of Oc- 
 tober, we pursued our journey through, B irgundy by Ville- 
 neuve le Roy, Villevallier, Joigny, and Bassou ; we had 6 
 po i _;ts and a half to Auxerre. Three leagues from that city 
 we saw two pillars, one on each side of a brook, one of which 
 fixed the limits of the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Paris 
 and the Generality of Champagne ; the other that of the Par- 
 liament of Burgundy. AUXEKKE, {Altissiodorum'), is a good 
 town, much richer than Sens and better built. The cathedral 
 is old and has nothing: to recommend it but: monuments. I visit- 
 
 O 
 
 ed it out of veneration to St Germanus, to whom Britain is so 
 much indebted. St Germanus's abbey is the only place worth 
 a traveller's visit. It is rich, vast, and the church is new and 
 very handsomely built. The bishop of Auxerre, de Caylus, is 
 the great hero of the Jansenists ; he braves the Pope, laughs 
 at the archbishop of Sens, and reigns at home adored by his
 
 88 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 party, and beloved by his people for his generosity and hospi- 
 tality. As he is grown old in his see, most of the curates 
 think as he does. The people say, when he dies, and one like 
 Monsieur de Sens shall be put in his place, there will be bien 
 tie tapage pour Jen confessions. At present those good folks ap- 
 proach the sacraments as seldom as possible, their heads being 
 distracted with controversial matters, which the vulgar rarely 
 understand, but embrace more from prejudice and affection, 
 than from a love of truth, or the dictates of sound judgment. 
 
 We had 16 posts from Auxerre to Dijon, some very long, 
 by St Brice, Vermanton, Precy-le-Sec, Lucy-le-Bois, Cus- 
 sy, Rouvray, Maison-Neuve, Viteaux, Chaleure, Pont de 
 Panis, La Clude, where an Englishman was post- master. 
 Maison Neuve is a good post house, lately erected by the 
 treasurer of Burgundy, who raises and sends the King the 
 sums demanded upon the province by order of the States, 
 but without being obliged to give any accounts. The coun- 
 try here has many mountains, which great herds of goats 
 are always hang ng upon. The tiles on the spires, churches, 
 and houses, are gaudily painted, which make even villages 
 look very gay. DIJON, (in latin Divio) was built by the 
 Emperor Aurelian ; but it owes it grandeur to the Dukes of 
 Burgundy, who during the last race chose it for their residence. 
 It is a large city, well built, very rich, and full of nobility, be- 
 ing the capital of this great province. Its mayor takes the title 
 of Viscount, and is the head of the 'Tiers Etat, or commoners 
 in the States of the province. The charter-house, in entering 
 the town, is a very fine monastery. All the Burgundians are 
 proud, and expect civility, but are extremely obliging them- 
 selves. The servant ot the inn, after dinner, brought me back 
 what I gave her, thinking it too little, but in a civil manner, 
 saying : " I thank you ; I am content to have the honour of 
 " serving you without any thing ;" and this without any sign 
 of irony. The mustard of Dijon is much talked of. It is 
 well known the wild mustard seed is not so good as that which 
 is cultivated in gardens, which is chiefly of two sorts. The 
 mustard of Dijon is not recommended for the goodness of the 
 seed, like- that of Durham, but for the peculiar way of mak-
 
 Clap. IF. A TOUR FROM PARIS TO LYONS. 89 
 
 ing it, that is> with new wine, which makes it mild and plea. 
 sant ; though not so wholesome as when made with vinegar : 
 It is then more biting and sharp ; consequently promotes diges- 
 tion, excites an appetite, and stimulates the stomach more effec- 
 tually, which a're the qualities of good mustard, and what makes 
 it so necessary to be eaten with salt fish, Sec. Mustard is natu- 
 rally heating, but when made with new wine, it is more so. The 
 word mustard signifies in L.itin, burning wine, muitjtm ardens, 
 The vinegar ought to be weak, else its taste will predominant. 
 
 From Dijon toChalons-sur-Soane it is 7 r posts through NuyS 
 and Beaunej two boroughs famous for the best Burgundy wines, 
 \vhLh are known too well for rns to describe. The best 
 grow on the sides of the mountains in a good exposure ; and take 
 their names from the villages about Beaune, the centre of 
 this garden of Bacchus, as Chavigny, Chassine, &c. 
 
 The revenues of the bishop of Dijon are 22,000 livres a- 
 year; of Chalons 14,000 : of Macon I2,occ ; of Autun 22icco; 
 f Lyons 40,900. We went near a mile out of our way to s f> e 
 the Abbey of CiteaUX t the mother-house of the Cistercians * 
 whose general this abbot is. But as he is by birth a counsellor 
 of the parliament of Dijottj and almost alwavs deputy of the 
 States for the clergy, he lives in great state at Dijon. Ci- 
 teaux is four leagues from thatcitv, in the middle of woods of two 
 leagues extent on every side. The 'Abbey was founded by St 
 Bernard who Was born at Fontaine, a village in that neighbour- 
 hood. The buildings are of great extent ; but not very high ^ 
 exceedingly handsome, yet becoming a religious simplicity and 
 modesty ; not 30 magnificent as the great abbeys in the Low 
 Countries, &c. I was perfectly enchanted with the convenience, 
 neatness^ and mcdest, but good furniture, in the dormitories and 
 cells, in the abbot's appattments ; but above all in the out- 
 buildings, where are the best and neatest shops I have seen p 
 with people at work in all trades, like a city built for the rau-. 
 tual assistance of each neighbour : Coaehmakersj and sadlers for 
 the abbots coaches, &c. all contiguous. The miller receives 
 corn by a door with conveniences on purpose out of the gran- 
 aries ; and from the mill conveys it into the bakehouses ; the 
 bakers into the dispensary, &c. They have beautiful fish 
 
 F
 
 9 TRAVELS OF RET. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 ponds, a great artificial lake, butcheries, &c. The good monks 
 are ex:remely hospitable, and seem to eat and drink very well. 
 .The best Burgundy that is made is fro'n their own hills and 
 grounds. But this place was most venerable to me from the 
 remembrance of St Bernard and his community of mortified 
 Saints, who lived here dead to the world and the flesh. 
 
 From Citeaux we arrived at GnA.LOHS-sur-Soane, a well 
 built town, very populous, and full of churches, and a place of 
 great passage for merchandize, &c. which makes it very noisy 
 .and busy, especially upon the river The Roman statues, ves- 
 sels and inscriptions dug up here, and the ruins of an amphi- 
 theatre, are monuments of its antiquity. It was capital of the 
 Ouui ; and called in Latin Labilh JEduorum. Its bishopric is 
 suffragan to Lyons. 
 
 AuTuy, (<dugustodununi) 21 leagues west from Chalons, 
 was one of the chief cities of the Gauls, and the seat of the se- 
 nate of the Druids. It has many marks of Roman grandeur, 
 ruins of triumphal arches, pyramids, aqueducts; and shews the 
 places where stood the temple of Janus, now called Janitove, 
 another oiyupiter, &c. The bishopric of Autun is the first 
 suffragan of Lyons, and enjoys very great privileges. The 
 Saone rising in the mountains on the frontiers of Loraine is very 
 shallow, broad and slow, justly stiled by the Romans Lentus 
 slrar : In Chalons, on several houses near the river, are 
 marked the heighth to which the late floods have risen. As 
 its banksare low, it soon oversows the country, falling from 
 the hills in higher Burgundy. 
 
 We took the water diligence which is a handsome barge drawn 
 by horses on a constant trot ; and went down the river the first 
 day to MAC ON (Matisco) i'i leagues, or six posts. This is a 
 tolerable good town, a bishopric with a church of Canons, who 
 are obliged to make proof of their nobility, but of the petite 
 noblesse. The next day we had 15 leagues to Lyons, pausing 
 by Vitte FraticLe, a little town in Beaujulois, on our right hand ; 
 and on our left 'Trevoux, the little capital of Dombes, a small 
 principality, which Lewis XIV. by letters patent, declared in- 
 dependent and sovereign, not subject to the French king as a 
 vassalage, but as a small sovereignty to a greater. Through the
 
 C&ap. IV. A TOUR FROM PARIS TO LYONS. 91 
 
 hands of several families it came into that of Orleans, and passed 
 by a deed of gift to the duke of Maine, Lewis XtV's favourite 
 ratural son. His son Lewis Augustus de Bourbon is prince. 
 He coins money (only to shew he has the privilege) makes 
 laws for smaller matters, trade, &.C., and has a parliament at 
 Trevoux with three presidents. The dean of the collegiate 
 church is always a counsellor of this parliament. In the town 
 is a good hospital. 
 
 I expected to have found a great college of Jesuits, which 
 my books mentioned here ; but was surprized to be told 
 by the people the Jesuits never had any house there. Per 
 haps the Duke of Maine might have destined for them the 
 great college of which the plan is here laid. The Memoir* of 
 Trevoux, the Jesuit's Monthly Literary Journal, are composed 
 by four Jesuits (one for history, one for mathematics, one for 
 the belles lettres, and one for divinity) in their great house in 
 Paris. They were first printed at Trevoux, where the Duke 
 had just erected a very good printing-house. 
 
 Burgundy, which we have travelled through, is one of the 
 greatest and richest provinces of France, though in many places 
 mountainous, yet fertile in corn, wines, &LC. It was long 
 a kingdom, and a sovereign dukedom : It is still proud of 
 its privilege of being governed by its states, which assemble 
 once a-year, and have three deputies, one for the clergy, one 
 for the nobilitv, and one for the commons, always residing at 
 Dijon. This duchy is 50 leagues long, and 30 broad. The 
 county of Burgundy, called Frunche Cotnte, lying on the east 
 of the Duchy, has undergone still more revolutions, and was 
 at last conquered by Lewis XIV. from the house of Austria 
 and King of Spain, who had succeeded the Dukes of Burgundy, 
 extinct in Charles the Bold.
 
 <)2 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 CHAPTER FIFTH. 
 
 TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. 
 
 Acrount of LYONS, Description of the Rhone .--Viennc in Dauphirty. Origin 
 of the title of Dauphin. Grenoble. Description of the convent of Grain! 
 Chartreuse. Eirrnng fountain. White hares, &c J_^prmif;^e wincj^ilac 
 lence. The Cevennes. Pcr.t 1'Fsprit. Grange. Avignon Fountain of 
 Vaucluse. Petrarch and Lnura, Viiiereuve River Durat ce Provence. 
 Organ Lambeie. Account of the Olive Trees. Method of extracting Oil, 
 &c. Pomegranates. Almond Trees. Fish. Game. &c. Lizard?, Scorpi- 
 ons, &c. Appearance of the Country. Language. Manners. 
 
 ji HE Lroyois is a very small province, 12 leagues long and 
 seven broad, without any good town in it except its capital. 
 The soil is fertile near the rivers, but not worth much towards 
 Auvergne, 
 
 LYONS stands on the confluence of the Rhone and Saone, ve- 
 ry commodiously for trade from Provence, Languedoc, and 
 the Mediterranean, on the one side ; and from Italy, Switzer- 
 land, and. Germany, on the other, by the Rhone ; from Bur- 
 gundy by the Saone, from Nantes, Orleans, and the heart of 
 France, especially Paris, by the Loire, which runs very navi- 
 gable within 15 leagues cf it. Hence, though it has often 
 been ruined, it always soou recovered itself. It was a good 
 town when Plancus, under Augustus, led thither a Roman co- 
 lony. Ciaudias sent a second, whence it was called the Claudian 
 colony. The Emperors Claudian, Caligula, and Geta Caesar, 
 were born here, and there still remain small ruins of an amphi- 
 theatre, aqueducts, and baths. Caligula instituted prizes for 
 oratorical performances yearly, in which contention those who 
 xvere overcome were obliged to compose the praises of, or 
 give recompences to the victor ; they who displeased were 
 forced to blot out their compositions with their tongue, ov 
 to be chastised with a ferula, and thrown into the river, a>
 
 Clap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. 93 
 
 Suetonius, ch. 20. relates ; to which Juvenal alludes, satire 
 loth, when he says a villain grows, after a crime, as pale as 
 a rhetorician going to speak at the altar of Lyons. 
 
 Palleat ut nudis pressit qui calcibus anguem, 
 
 Aut Lugdunensem rhetor dicturus ad aram. v. 44. 
 
 At present Lyons is the second city in France, for dignity, 
 extent, opulence, and sumptuous buildings both public and 
 private. It is a most agreeable place, both on these accounts, 
 and for the mildness of the cliuiate and extraordinary polite- 
 ness and obliging temper of the inhabitants. The hrgeness of 
 its streets, all well built, and in good order, adds greatly to the 
 beauty of the city. In trade it is the first town in France, and its 
 commerce with all parts of the world so great, that it is a mart 
 of the \vhole universe, in which you may rind almost every- 
 thing the world produces or possesses, and at very reasonable 
 prices. The tradesmen and merchants are very honest deal- 
 ers. The town-house is the finest and most stately in the world 
 surpassing in rmny respects that of Amsterdam : Its Portaz/and 
 magnificent front ; its two admirable and bold stair-esses , Us hall 
 and chambers, with good paintings ; its two courts and garden, 
 rre most remarkable, especially that chamber in which die 
 Provost of the merchants, and the Ecl>e^i:-i.", or Magistrates, 
 hold their sessions. The square of Bel'cc. .urt is onj oi* the 
 most beautiful in the world, ornamented with green parterres, 
 ;:::d a noble statue of Lewis XIV. erected by the Duke of 
 Villercy, who was governor, as his son is at present. It is 
 encompassed with most stately boi]dii. t ;s, especially on one 
 . : :;.le cccupk-J by the governuiV, hor.^e, surpassing most royal 
 palaces. Near it is the church of the nuns of the IfzsiUttiQTi, 
 in which is kept thr: heart of St FRANCIS OF SALES, v\ho died 
 here. Plis b ;dy was carried to Ajinccy. The cathedral of 
 Lvons is an old Gothic building, exceeding large and grand, 
 dedicated to St John. There are scarce any ornaments or 
 paintings, except in the choir. Ihe celebrated deck here is 
 more wonderful than that of Strasburgh, for its contrivance, 
 workmanship, and variety of motions. It not or.lv nuiks -hs 
 
 I 7 3
 
 <j4 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 minutes of time, the days of the month and of the week, the 
 age of the moon, the motion of the sun in the Zodiac, the ages 
 of the world, with the history of the Annunciation, performed 
 by machinery, as at Strasburg ; but moreover exhibits the as- 
 cension, obliquity, &.c. of the sun, and ecliptic, and many other 
 astronomical tables and motions of the heavens. The hour-hand 
 grows longer and shorter, adapting itself to the oval dial ; and 
 at I 2 o'clock an angel comes out on the top, and entones very 
 justly and sweetly the hymn of St John, lit queant laxis resonare 
 jibris. But this clock was an hour too slow : such a multi- 
 plicity of motions cannot go long right. The church was 
 founded by John of Burgundy, on the ruins of a temple of 
 Augustus. The King of France is first canon, as the Dukes 
 of Burgundy were anciently. Those Dukes so much en- 
 riched it, that it now enjoys 200,000 livres a-year, among 
 its 26 canons and the inferior clergy. The canons must prove 
 their nobility for some generations, and they take the title of 
 Counts of Lyons. On great days they sing the office, all with 
 initres on, though this is from custom ; for there is a mean 
 collegiate church in Burgundy where the canons do the same. 
 The canons of Macon also make proof of their nobility, though 
 not so high, only la Noblesse Basse. The archbishopric of 
 Lyons was founded by St PHOTINUS and by St IR^ENEUS, both 
 disciples of the apostles. Nothing in Church-history is inore 
 illustrious or more edifying than the account of the Martyrs 
 of Lyons under the Emperor Antoninus Verus, as given in 
 the letter of the churches of Vicnne and Lyons, probably wrote 
 by St Iracneu?, then priest, (vide Eusebius, book 5th). The 
 Archbishop is primate of all France. Those of Sens, Bour- 
 gcs, Bourdeaux, take the title of Primates, as York in 
 England, Bruges in Spain and Portugal, &c. But for many 
 ages, Lyons alone has been confirmed by repeated bulls of 
 Popes, in the right of actually exercising the authority and 
 jurisdiction of a primate, by receiving appeals from all the 
 churches in France, &.c. It is true the archbishop of Rheims 
 crowns the king, but that is no proper act of primacy. 
 
 I must not forget the Jesuits in Lyons, who teach all the 
 s, even divinity, here, in the s'tme manner as in an uni-
 
 Clap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. 95 
 
 versity ; their church is very rich, but heavy and incumber- 
 ed j their library is one of the neatest in all Europe, most 
 the books bound in Morocco. It was given them by Mon- 
 sieur Nieuville, brother to the Duke of Villeroy, though the 
 magistrates have granted a yearly pension to furnish it with new 
 bocks. The Great Hospital is very curious, with its different 
 apartments to emploj beggars, &c. at work : So is the Hotel 
 Dieu for sick. They are now building a stately addition to 
 their hospital. Begging is severely prohibited here ; all poor 
 strangers are lodged three days in the hospital, and dismissed 
 with linen, cloaths, &c. and a little money. The poor eat in 
 refectories, listening all the while to reading ; and every thing 
 is as regular as in a convent, though there are here 1500 stran- 
 gers, and as many poor of the to;vn. It is impossible not to- 
 admire their surgeon's and apothecary's shop, granary for 2 or 
 300 strikes of wheat. Lyons neither is nor can be for- 
 tified. It has indeed three small forts, viz Pierre Ancise 
 on a mountain, St Sebastian, and St Clare ; and since the mu- 
 tiny of the mob, two years ago, they have a small garrison, 
 and are building barracks to lodge the military. The princi- 
 pal:- manufactures are in lace, especially gold and silver, 
 and in making and weaving silk. The poor in the Great 
 Hospital all work ; even at So years of age, they will gain 
 three or four sols a-day, in preparing siik, spinning, carding,&c. 
 all doing something-, according to their capacity, sex, and age. 
 One part of Lyons, which is situated on a hill, is called For- 
 viere, and from the steeple of Notre-Dame de Forvierc is the 
 best view of the town. Near it is the convent cf Carmes, 
 which is a very beautiful building, and has a good church. 
 The abbey of St Auny of Benedictines enjoys 15,000 livres a- 
 year. The custom- house shews us the vast quantities of silks 
 which arrive continually from Sicily, Naples, Florence, &c. 
 It is worth while to see the silk mills : one woman can easily 
 turn one, and thev are joined together, so that a mule can ea- 
 
 7 B . J O ' 
 
 silv turn seven at once. Lyons is governed by a provost of 
 the merchant?, chosen every two years by the masters in cer- 
 tain craft?, which con c ; ; it of the principal trades, and of four 
 
 I'" 4'
 
 96 TRAVELS OF REV. AL$AN BUTI ER. 
 
 consuls and four echevins, of which two are new every year, 
 the two old ones remaining in office a second year. 
 
 The country round Lyons is rendered beautiful by many 
 very great and noble houses, belonging to the nobility and rich 
 merchants. Amongst these is the seat and park, of the duke 
 of Villerov. The house of the present provost of the mer- 
 chants is the best, and the road to the town is perpetually 
 crowded with coaches, when, he is in the country. The Aca- 
 demy, in which riding is taught, seems a very good one. I 
 should become too difFure, were I to mention all the fine build- 
 ings of this city. Their very shambles are so sumptuous and 
 stately, that one would take them for a palace. 
 
 From Lyons to Vienne it is five leagues, to Tournon 10 
 more, three farther to Valencia, 12 more to Viviers, four 
 to Pont St Esprit, and 10 from thence to Avignon ; in all from 
 Lyons to Avignon 43 leagues. 
 
 As this road lies along the Rhone, I shall first describe 
 that noble river. '1 he Rhone rises from a spring and melt- 
 ed snow in mount St Godard, part of the Alps, in Swit- 
 zerland. Out of the same mountain rises, at the distance 
 of two short miles, the Tesin, and only three leagues from the 
 source of the Rhone, the Rhine, which taking its course to- 
 wards the north, runs through the lake of Constance by Schaff- 
 Jiausen, (where are its greatest cataracts), by Basil, Brisac, 
 Stras urg, and through Holland. The Rhone, rising from two 
 fountains, falls down the mountains, and a long descent, with 
 great impetuosity ; continually increasing from the snows and 
 torrents, it takes its course through the Valteline, which 
 cou itry is nothing but a very long valley. It is very broad 
 at St Maurice, and below runs through the lake of Geneva, 
 then separates a long way Savoy frcm France, and afterwards 
 1 auphmy irom Bresse. It is not navigable above Geneva., 
 o' account of its frequent falls, and it even loses itself under 
 ground a little way (five leagues) below Geneva. At Lyons 
 it receives the Saone, a slov, bruad, shallow river, from Chain- 
 pag i and Burgundy, passes by Vienne, Valence, Pont du. Si. 
 tsprit, Avi non ; Tcrasson, Aries, and first divkling into two
 
 Chap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. yj 
 
 branches, then lower down into five, falls into the Mediterra- 
 nean by five mouths. It is the most rapid of great rivers, and 
 has many rocks, whirlpools, and gulphs, which make sailing 
 on it exceedingly hazardous, though the boatmen know its dan- 
 gerous places very well. When the snows melt more abun- 
 dantly on the Alps, it is much more impetuous and dangerous. 
 It is so rapid that a boat goes often in two days to Avignon, 
 but will be 15 or 20 in coining up against the stream, though 
 drawn by horses. 
 
 The province of Dauphiny is very large and fertile towards 
 the Lyonnois, but very mountainous near Savoy and the Alps. 
 It has two archbishoprics, Vienne and Embrux : Four bi- 
 shoprics, Gap, Die, Valois, and St Pol-trois-Chateau. It 
 belonged to the Burgundians, and had its Sovereign Counts 
 from about the year 900. One of those, Humbert II., be- 
 came a Dominican in Avignon, making his vows to Cle- 
 ment VI. and being by him ordained priest, gave his province 
 to Philip of Valois, king of France, in the year 1345, some 
 sav, because he found himself too weak to defend against the 
 Duke of Savoy. He died Patriarch of Alexandria, and lies bu- 
 ried at the Dominicans at Paris. It is well known he gave Dau- 
 phiny to France on this condition, that the King's eldest son 
 should always take the title of Dauphin. 
 
 VIENKE was anciently the capital of the Allobriges, and af- 
 terwards of the Burgundians. The emperors pretending a 
 right to the town, gave the sovereignty to the archbishop. 
 Hence the dauphins, and after Humbert the kings of France, 
 were forced to take it by force, and after long sieges. These 
 wars brought it to its present pitiful condition. It is now a 
 poor ill-built city, very narrow, but long, situated on the bank 
 cf the Rhone. Its streets are almost all up steep ascents, 
 which carriages have much ado to climb. They are mise- 
 jrabiy paved with sharp uneven stones ; for if they were smooth, 
 it would be still harder than it is, to climb up or come down 
 them without continually falling ; but they cut one's feet, and 
 make walking very painful. Vienne is still the capital of 
 JUnver Dauphiny, a prer.idial and a bailieship. Besides the
 
 98 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Rhone, the little river Gera runs through it into the Rhone. 
 Gera has on it many paper-mills and shops of sword-cutlers. 
 Its waters have a particular virtue to season blades of swords, 
 &c. The cathedral is dedicated to St Maurice, whose head it 
 possesses : it is exceeding vast and noble, in the Gothic taste, 
 but very naked of ornaments. Before the high altar lies the 
 heart of Francis, the son of Francis I. Dauphin of France, un- 
 der a brass plate, with an inscription. A large cloister is 
 built round a court before the church, full of very old monu- 
 ments of great men buried here, with inscriptions in ancient 
 characters. It is a pleasure to read them, and consider the va- 
 riety of workmanship on them, Sec. The archbishop, who 
 pretends this church was founded by St CRESCENS, disciple of 
 St PAUL, takes the title of Primate of all the Gauls. The 
 Martyrs of Vienne, under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Ve- 
 rus, are an illustrious proof of its zeal. In the joint letter it 
 is named before Lyons. Vienne was a Roman colony, and 
 probably the seat of the Roman lieutenant in Gaul. Without 
 the city is the field de J}Aigtnlle t or Needle, in which stands a 
 high pyramid of stone, joined without any cement. ADO, au- 
 thor of the ancient Martyrology, und archbishop of Vienne in 
 the pth century, says that Pontius Pilate, who condemned our 
 SAVIOUR, was banished hither ; and the tradition of the country 
 has confirmed this story for many ages at least. It is certain, 
 from ancient history, he was deprived of his government by 
 the Emperor, and afterwards killed himself; and this might 
 probably be at Vienne, as the people say. They call an old 
 tower upon the Rhone Pilate's 'Tower, and pretend an old cha- 
 pel, called Notre-Dame-de-la-Vie, was his prsetorium, and the 
 Roman court of justice : a rock and a lake, two leagues out of 
 town, bear his name : and some pretend he flung himself head- 
 long from this rock. But probably that tower, cc. got its 
 name from Humbert Pilati, secretary to Humbert the last 
 Dauphin. On a stone in the wall of that chapel is the following 
 inscription, very modern: " Tljis is the globe of 2'ilate's 
 sceptre :" a ridiculous story, unless Humbert Pilati is meant. 
 The church of St Severus was built by that saint, in a place 
 where the heathens adored TOO gods under a tree, which he
 
 Chap. V. TOUR FROM LYON3 TO AIX. 99 
 
 caused to be cut down. This is related in the following in- 
 
 o 
 
 scription on a pillar : " Arborem cleos Severus evertit centum 
 " deorum." Their other illustrious monuments of ancient 
 greatness, which subsisted not very long, are now destroyed, and 
 the very stones carried off: one may still discover however the 
 ruins of an amphitheatre. The collegiate church of St Ste- 
 phens, near the Rhone, is a large and fine Gothic building. 
 The other churches and convents have nothing remarkable. 
 The chief are the Jesuits, on a very steep mountain ; the 
 Minims, Cordeliers, Cannes, cc. Good cote-rotie is here 
 very plentiful : It grows on the sides of mountains in a good 
 exposure, in Forez towards Auvergne, and in abundance, though 
 all the vineyards do not afford the good wine. 
 
 From Vienne it is 13 leagues to GRENOBLE, called Accusium 
 by Ptolomy the ancient geographer. The Emperor GRATIAN 
 embellished it, and from him it took the name of Gratianopo- 
 lis, or Grenoble. The latter Dauphins made it capital of the 
 province, and erected in it their delphinal council, which Lewis 
 XI. changed into a parliament. It stands on a plain, on the 
 river Isere, in the midst of mountains. The inhabitants are 
 exceedingly polite. But the town is commonly said to have 
 nothing worth seeing, except the curiosities about it. Its 
 bishop takes the title of Prince of Grenoble. The Grande 
 Chartreuse is three leagues from the town 6 long hours tedi- 
 ous travelling up almost impassible mountains. The monas- 
 tery is built in different apartments or cells between two high 
 mountain?, the cliffs covered with pine trees. Through the 
 valley rolls a rapid torrent, making a great noise on the stones 
 of the rocks which it meets with, in its progress. The convent 
 stands in a barren plain a short mile long, and very narrow; the 
 place affords them nothing but woo>l, stones, iron, water and 
 mills, all other things are brought them from Grenoble : for 
 which reason they have made the roads as patent as possible. 
 The monastery is very rich ; and enjoys 300,000 livres a~yeai. 
 They practise hospitality, and will entertain any stranger accord- 
 ing to his quality for three days. Their cells and church are 
 neat, but not magnificent. The chapel of novices is the finest part 
 jt u, bHni* built of marble, adorned with good paintings, basso
 
 100 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 relievos, and a tabernacle of amber. But the chief curiosity is 
 the Cell of St Bruno and his six companions, on the top of the 
 mountain, in a most frightful cold situation. Amongst other 
 pictures there they shew the true picture of St Bruno well ex- 
 ecuted. He is represented, as he was reduced by his auster'- 
 ties, pale as ashes, and nothing literally but skin and bones. 
 As his picture is in all the other charter-houses, an English 
 Lord lately said to the father who conducted him : he was sur- 
 prized only at one thing in their house, to see lint so fat and 
 his founder so lean. The valley is now, with incredible labour 
 rendered much less uncomfortable. The desert woods of pine 
 trees are in many places cut down and turned into meadows 
 and pasture, which feed cattle. The brook affords fish, parti- 
 cularly sweet excellent trouts. Every religious has a gar- 
 den, besides his four rooms, viz. one with a chimney, one 
 to lie in, one for his study, another to eat in. But in winter 
 this habitation rrmst be frightful. Even in summer a very 
 transient sight of it fills a stranger with a holy reverence, while 
 the mortified air of the monks inspire the spirit of penance and 
 compunction. St Hugh bishop of Grenoble gave this solitude 
 to St Bruno and his six companions in icSo. Silencs and re- 
 treat from all commerce with the world, has ever preserved 
 this order in its primitive spirit of religion ; it had even no 
 written rules before Guy the fourth general of the order. The 
 general takes no other title than prior of t'.ie charter-house ; 
 and never stirs cut. He holds a genenil Chapter every year. 
 The Carthusians observe an inviolable abstinence from flesh, 
 (which they are prohibited from eating during even extreme 
 iuckness") besides a fast almost perpetual from the Exaltation of 
 the Holy Cross till Easter, eating nothing but a small morsel of 
 bread at their collations ; they wear always a hair shirt, and lie 
 on straw in their habits ; have nine hours prayer a day, of 
 which four are in the night ; for they rise at 10 or II o'clock 
 to matins, and are three or four hours in choir before they 
 rrturn to bed. On holy-days they say all the hours of their 
 oftice in choir, and dine together in a refectory : But on other 
 days, they only go thrice to choir,viz,. to matins, high mass, and 
 jwd vespers : The rest of the time they spend all in their cells
 
 Clap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. rci 
 
 in reading, praying, and working, and have only leave to talk one 
 half day a week, &c. 
 
 At the same distance of three leagues on the other side, is what 
 they call the Burning Fountain of Grenoble. The true account of 
 which, though I never saw it,is this : A sulphureous steam mix- 
 ed with nitre in the air issues out of the dry earth : If you apply- 
 to it a burning wisp of straw, or candle, it immediately takes 
 flame ; as it formerly reached nearer a rivulet that runs by, the 
 flame would run over and on the top of the water, whilst it re- 
 mained cold and as usual. This I had from good authority j 
 the other wonderful stories told about it are not to be depend- 
 ed upon. On these mountains, as also in Auvergne, &c. there 
 are white partridges and hares : If those animals couple, hav- 
 ing nothing before their eyes but white snow, their young may 
 have the same colour, from the senses and phantasia of the old 
 ones being filled with it ; or perhaps the cold, contracting the 
 pores of their skin, and making it more condensed, is the cause 
 of their growing white ; for white arises from bodies which 
 are compact, and strong reflectors, as Sir Isaac Newton's sys- 
 tem explains. Hence bears, aad other animals in the north, 
 are sometimes white in winter, and grey in summer : Ihese, 
 with the ^fower without venom, that is, in which no venomous 
 creature can live, on account of exhalations of the soil, which 
 are noxious to them, and certain salt fountains near the Gap, 
 not now subsisting, having been turned off by subterraneous 
 channels, make up the seven wonders of Dauphiny. 
 
 But to return to VIENNE, we went down the Rhone between 
 mountainous countries, and in many places, especially on the 
 right hand in Vivavcz, tc. high recks hang frightfully over 
 the river. On the left in Dauphiny, after nine leagues journey, 
 we saw the burgh of Taisne, and a little before it we took no- 
 tice of the Hermitage : This is an extensive high fertile moun- 
 tain, having on the top a chapel called the Hermitage, without 
 any house near it. On a good exposure, on the brow of this 
 hill, grows the excellent wine of the Hermitage ; but no more 
 tban 300 burs are produced in a year . It is sold at 3 livres 
 a bottle on the spot. The rest of the '.vine hereabouts is very 
 ar
 
 ID* TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Valence or Valentin, three leagues farther, also in Dauphi- 
 ny, is now a poor frightful city, the streets so steep on very 
 high brows, so roughly paved, and all so ill built, that it occa- 
 sioned some surprise. There is indeed a curious clock on the 
 town-house, with a great many figures moving by an ingenious 
 machinery. But such are common in these parts. In the 
 Dominican's church are monstrous bones of a giant, killed,they 
 say, on the mountains of the Vivarais ; in truith they must be 
 the bones of some sea monster. The town has a small fort ; 
 and contains a celebrated University, almost exclusively for the 
 study of law ; its professors have very great salaries, the cer- 
 tainmeans to have always good ones : All lawyers, &.c. for 
 Dauphiny are obliged to take their degrees here or at Grenobe. 
 VALENTIA was a Roman colony: It is capital of the Valen- 
 tinois, a very honourable dutchy, which was given to the Prince 
 of Monaco in exchange, for the possession of an important place 
 in Piedmont of the same name. About a league above the town, 
 tve saw the Isere fall impetuously into the Rhone. This river 
 rises in the hills of the Tarantaise, runs by Grenoble, is more 
 rapid and steep than the Rhone, swelling from the snows and 
 waters of Daupiny, so that to sail down it in a boat from 
 Grenoble, is like going 'post : But there is no getting up against 
 the stream. Pliny counts it among the torrents. On our 
 right we passed by le Velay, of which Puy is capital ; and Vi- 
 uarex with its capital Viviers, half a league from the Rhone. 
 Its bishop is an exemplary prelate. Behind Velay lies Au- 
 uergne, in which CLF.RMOKT its metropolis is renowned in 
 church history. Behind Vivarez is Gevaudan, of which 
 Mende is the principal city : This joins Languedoc near Nismes. 
 The mountainous parts of these four provinces are called the 
 Ccvennes, a country entirely impassible even on foot in most 
 parts, and very subject to snows. The very sight of those 
 mountains was frightful ; yet the brows of them in many parts, 
 especially in Auvergne, produce very good wine, and the cote 
 rotie, so called from being exposed to the sun. The Huguenots 
 are still very numerous in these parts, Their wars in these 
 mountains, and the pretended miracles, ridiculous prophecies, 
 &.c. of the ;e fanatics, in the beginning of this century, described
 
 Chap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. 10 ^' 
 
 by the eloquent prelate M. FLECHIER, have made the Gevennes 
 much talked of. Lewis XIV. treating with them by Marshall 
 Villars, allowed them to retire with arms, &c. We met them set- 
 tled in the canton of Bern in Switzerland ; but many of them are 
 now come back into France : Even the city of Lyons, and all 
 these parts swarm with them. We left, at a great distance on 
 our left hand in Dauphiny, before we took leave of it, Die and 
 G<7/>, two small bishoprics, and AMBRUN a little town, but an 
 honourable archbishopric ; its walls are now razed ; its rich 
 church was plundered by the Huguenots in the civil wars. It 
 was the Romans great Kbrodunum. The Lite Council held here 
 to depose the Jansenist bishop of Senez, by archbishop Tensin, 
 now cardinal and archbishop of Lyons, is much talked of. 
 BmANqON is still a strong little place on a mountain. 
 
 Before I leave this country, I must not omit the post-asses, 
 which are to be met with in several parts of Dauphiny, and 
 the skirts of the Cevennes : One pays five sols a post. The 
 beast, beat him as you please, always goes his own pac?, will 
 never be made to go out of his way ; at next post-house stops, 
 nor is it possible to make him move an inch farther. If he falls, 
 the rider cannot hurt himself, unless the peevish creature kicks. 
 
 We next came to PONT St ESPRIT, it is a considerable: 
 burgh : Its citadel is regularly fortified, and has always a good 
 garrison. It is a frontier against the Pope, an enemy not fear- 
 ed ; but, being commanded by a mountain, thio fort afford; nj 
 defence. Its beautiful bridge is too narrow, but very long-, 
 consisting of 33 arches : It is built of line smoctli equal stones j 
 but its pavement is so slippery, that it is very hard to walk 
 firm over it. It joins Dauphiny with Languedoc. 
 
 ORANGE, three leagues from Avignon, and one from the 
 Rhone, was a great city under the llcrnaijj. It shews the 
 ruins of a circus, of a Ro.nan tower or temple, of a triumphal 
 arch raised by Caius Marius, and Luct. Catulus, in memory 
 of their victory over the Cimbri and Teutons. It had iti 
 Counts, afterwards called Princes, who always p ived homage 
 to the Counts of Provence. These counts began in the nth cen- 
 tury ; and were of the family of Rartibaud first Count ; that race 
 failing by a female, it w^s carried into the family of the Baro:i
 
 104 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAW BUTLER. 
 
 de Baux ; and from that again by a sole heiress, anno 1418, to 
 the family of Ckalon. The last of this race, Philibert de 
 Chalon, having no issue, left by will his principality to RENK 
 de NASSAU his nephew, by a sister in 1^30. In consequence 
 of which, six princes of NASSAU successively enjoyed the 
 principality, till Lewis XIV., in his wars against WIL- 
 LIAM, afterwards King of England, seized it, alleging, be- 
 sides the right of war, old pretensions. He ruzed the fortifi- 
 cations and citadel, and banished the Huguenots, though many 
 have since returned. They had turned out the bishop and 
 canons, but Lewis XVI. restored them an. 1073. Orange is 
 now a little city, bishopric, and university. The principality 
 is four leagues long, and as many broad ; and very fertile. 
 
 The Venaisin, or county of AVIGNON, was part of Provence. 
 JOAN, Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence, in her 
 wars for Naples, wanting money, sold this province to Pope 
 Clement VI., by a contract sealed an. 1348, for 80, coo gold flo- 
 rins of Florence. The French, upon any rupture with Rome, al- 
 ways begin to dispute the validity of this sale : but a long posses- 
 sion confirms it. This county, or as they call it in the language of 
 the country, Comptat t abounds in oil, wine, corn, and fruics, and 
 is 1 1 leagues long from Cavaillon to Pal us, and six broad from 
 Avignon to beyond Carpentras. The pope governs it by a 
 vice-legate, always a young prelate of great birth, who is after* 
 wards frequently made nuncio at Paris, &.c. The present vice- 
 legate is Monsignor Paschale d'Aquaviva, a Neopolitan. Avig- 
 non is an uni\ersity, and an archbishopric, having three Suffra- 
 gans, all in the county, viz. Cavaillon, Carpentras, and Vaison. 
 
 VAUCLUSE, five leagues from Avignon in the Comptat^ is u 
 famous fountain, out of which bursts the Sorguc a great river 
 from its source, which falls into the Rhone at Avignon. The 
 fountain is very agreeable, being on all sides but one, surround- 
 ed with high perpendicular rocks, which form a semicircle. It 
 abounds with the sweetest eels in the the world, also trouts, 
 &c. In this fountain three things are remarkable ; 1st, a 
 large river, which sometimes on a sudden overfloods the whole 
 country for five leagues, gushes our frcm it at once. This 
 may perhaps be explained by supposing that the river comes
 
 Clap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. ICJ 
 
 much farther under ground, and forms by degrees in the moun- 
 tains. Shepherds who go farther into the mountains, say that 
 they hear, two or three leagues off, the murmurings of a great 
 str-arn rolling uader ground. idly, It is sometimes so low 
 n.s to he almost dry, sometimes so high as to reach a great way 
 up the mountain ; which may be seen by the marks made on 
 the rock. These rises may be attributed to greater quantities 
 of snow melting on the mountains. I could not learn the times 
 in which they happen, though people say they are regular. 
 They relate many other regular irregularities of this wonderful 
 fountain, which might probably be all explained by means of 
 subterraneous natural siphons, tantaluses, and other hydrauli- 
 cal tubes or channels in the earth ; but I could get no certain 
 or exact account of them. 3dly, Vaucluse is celebrated for 
 having; been the retreat of PETRARCH* 
 
 O 
 
 For 70 years the Popes resided at Avignon instead of Rome, 
 viz.. Clement V., John XXII., Benedict XII., Clement VI., 
 Urban V., and Gregory XL, from 1305 to 1.75: by this 
 means Avignon was adorned, and called a second Rome, being 
 governed in the same manner : and we met here the Pope's 
 guards, with their harlequin dress of patched coats of different 
 colours, gcc. The vice-legate's palace is richly furnished : But 
 his Excellency, (as he is styled) does not me till almost noon* 
 The streets are well built and paved ; the many stately houses, 
 pleasant gardens, with the finest and most numerous churches 
 in all France, make it a very agreeable city. Its walls are 
 called one of the wonders of the world for beauty: They are 30 
 feet high, and built of curious polished stones. The towers upon 
 them, the art with which they are cut, the gardens beneath 
 them, &.C., give them a great advantage ; but they are a naked 
 ornament, and of no strength. The famous bridge o\erthe 
 Rhone, which is here rapid and broad, was half a mile long, and 
 very wonderful. It is now broke down halfway, and the river 
 must be passed in a boat. The R:ione here divides itself into two 
 channels and forms an island. The Cathedral of Avignon is a 
 stately Gothic structure, dedicated to our Lady. The tombs of 
 many Popes buried here are very magnificent, especially that of 
 John XXII., admirable for its work, all in marble, almost 43 
 
 G
 
 loS TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 high as the chapel it stands in. In the choir are engraven in 
 brass all the Popes who sat at Avignon : In a side chapel, is a 
 fine marble chair and throne, the scat of the Popes. Under 
 the high altar in a silver shrine lie the relics of four Saints : 
 This church possesses many others. Pope John XXII's. cope 
 is wonderfully wrought in figures of persons, birds, &c. in silk, 
 St A.oricola and St Peter's are two collegiate churches of 
 
 "~ o <- 
 
 Canons. The Popes oiJ palace ^vns built by John XXII. 
 The town-house has a new noble front. The Cordeliers' church 
 is remarkable for its prodigious large vault without any p'.llars 
 to support it. In iis last chapel lies buried LAURA, so much 
 celebrated in the poems of PETRARCU, whose parents were ba- 
 nished out of Tuscany in the civil wars, and brought him young 
 to Avignon. He was so much in love with the solitude of 
 Vaucluse, that he spent the greatest part of his life, and wrote 
 most of his works there. Laura was a young gentlewoman of 
 the country, whom he met accidentally in the fields, and chose 
 for his poetic mistress, though the people of Avignon justify 
 them both as very innocent and virtuous in their lives. Pe- 
 trarch was invited to Paris and Rome. He chose the latter, 
 and was crowned poet with great pomp in the Campidoglio. 
 He always refused the invitation of his ungrateful countrymen 
 to return to Florence. He died at Padua and lies in a fine mar- 
 ble tomb before the great church-door. He lived in the 14th 
 century. The blessed CJESAR de Bus, founder of the Fathers of 
 the Christ an doctrine, lies in their church here. The Domini- 
 cans' church surpasses in beauty the Cordeliers, especially the 
 two chapels in their Dormitory, one of St Vincent Ferrier, 
 with an excellent picture of that saint ; the other of St An- 
 tony of Padua. The convents of the Cannes and Augustint- 
 ans, for their vaults ; the college of the Jesuits, for its portico, 
 front, xc. are worthy of the attention of travellers ; but above 
 all, the Convent of the Cciestines, not so much for its great 
 extent, and the pope's monument in the clioir, as for two rich 
 slirir.es; oneofStBENEZET, a shepherd, who they say miraculous- 
 ly built their bridge over the Rhone ; and the other of St Peter 
 of Luxembourg, son of the Count of St Paul, chief of the great 
 iVuuily of Luxembourg, sin^ exiiaa iu the male line,, but by
 
 dap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. 107 
 
 females divided into three very noble families. He died Car- 
 dinal of Avignon, at 19 jears of age, a consummate pattern of 
 austerity, humility, and devotion ; his shrine is honoured by 
 many miracles. Both the large vault and akar glitter with 
 gold, and are rich in marble and fine paintings. The Duke 
 of Luines, of the family of Luxembourg, laid cut vast sums 
 upon ir. In the church is also admired a fine basso-relievo in 
 marble, of our SAVIOUR carrying his Cross. In St Deside- 
 rius's church lie; buried St PETER DAMIAN, Cardinal, urrier a 
 marble finely polished. It contains likewise many good statues j 
 an admirable one of St John the Evangelist, In St Martin's, 
 nuder his tomb, is a figure of a skeleton, beautifully carved. 
 This church belongs to Benedictine monks. St Lawrence's 
 little church, belonging to a rich Benedictine nunnery, is a 
 perfect lijaux, or jewel. It completely enchants us by a dis- 
 play of the finest gilding-, carving, and painting. And indeed 
 the churches of Avignon in general possess much more ot the 
 Italian lustre and taste, than those ot any other city in France : 
 This, added to the mildness of the climate, and the obliging 
 manners of the people, makes it an agreeable place to a stran- 
 ger. The Jews have their quarter in Avignon, though small 
 and poor ; they are about 500 : The men are obliged to wear 
 a yellow ribbon or scarf in their hats ; the women a particu- 
 lar laced cap. The trade of Avignon consists in silks, gloves, 
 and ribbons, &c. It swarms with voiturins and chaises^ 
 drawn slowly by mules. Even in France, on this side, a man 
 may hire a chaise, &.c. without buying a licence, which he 
 must pay very dear for in other parts of that kingdom. 
 
 On the other side of the Rhone is VlLLENLUVE, a French 
 town in Languedoc, joining to Auvergne : In it is a Carthu- 
 sians' convent, with charming alleys, and a magnificent church, 
 rich in marble and curious paintings, especially a St Michael. 
 There is a marble tomb of Pope Innocent XI. and his nephew. 
 About two leagues below Avignon we cross the Durance in a 
 
 O O 
 
 boat, where it has two channels : The second many ford, but as 
 it is often deep, travellers that venture it are frequently drown- 
 ed. The freight of this passage is equal to a good estate, and 
 belongs to the Marquis of Carpentras. The Durance rises in 
 
 G 2
 
 jc8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Mount Genevre beyond Dauphiny, runs near Ambrun, enters 
 Provence, and waters Sisteron, St Paul, and Pertuis ; and in 
 the Covnptat or Venaissin, the town of Cavaillon, and falls 
 into the Rhone a league below Avignon. Livy calls it a river 
 without banks or bounds, always inconftant ; yet the Romans 
 made it navigable : Its banks are low, level with the waters, 
 and it contains many sands and holes ; it often swells extreme- 
 ly by the snow melting, or waters from the mountains of Dau- 
 phiny. Having crossed the Durance, we found ourselves in 
 Provercc, so calk-d from having been made a Roman province 
 before the rest of Gi-ul. It was part of the kingdom of Bur- 
 gundy, and afterwards of that of Aries ; and when the latter 
 kingdom fell, was under its own sovereign Counts from the pth 
 century. This county, by its heiress marrying Charles of 
 Anjou, brother to St Lewis, and King of Naples, came into 
 that family, and remained so till Rene or Renatus, the last male 
 branch, left it by will to Lewis XL King of France. 
 
 Provence extends from the Rhone to the Alpes, and Savoy, and 
 from the Venaissin andDauphinyto the Mediterranean, being 44 
 leagues long, and 3 2 bread. Lower Provence, towards Savoy, is 
 mountainous, and fennv in the valleys ; but Upper Provence, 
 nbout Aix, with part of Languedoc, is the finest country in the 
 world, as I shall more fullv describe when I speak of Aix, 
 
 \Ve passed by Oi gin, a httle burgh -, and Lambese, a good 
 town, with three or fourhandsomechurch.es. T he states of Pio- 
 vence assemble here once a-year to regulate the raising of the 
 taxes, :.c, ; the archbishop of Aix, is president, and has the 
 principal authority. They do not meet at Aix in order to a- 
 void interference with the Parliament. We arrived at last at 
 Aix, 13 long leagues (18 of such as they count near Paris), 
 from Avignon. 
 
 Upper Provence is in general a plain country ; planted \vith 
 olives in very extensive groves, almond and orange tree?, 
 pomegranates, &.c. Even the desert hills and heaths dif- 
 luse a most sweet smell, being covered with lavender, rose- 
 marine, thyme, in great plenty, myrtles, junipers, and some 
 palm-trees, such as we see among the exotics in the physi 
 gardens at Oxford, Olive-trcts arc of two sorts, the cultivated,
 
 Clap. V. TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. Jog 
 
 about eight or ten feet high ; and the wild, which is the tallest. 
 They are very bushy, and their branches form a thick round 
 tuft, something Lke willows artfully cut ; their leaves are al- 
 ways green ; they bud in June ; the fruit succeeds the bud, 
 oblong, pulpy, and covered with a soft skin ; it is green at 
 first, dun turns pale, and in September brown. They do not 
 gather them till the frosts oblige them, in October or Novem- 
 ber. Olives for eating are gathered sooner, and green ; but 
 are too bitter to be eaten till they lv.ue lain in water, or in a 
 /fs.iive (lie) of ashes of o ;k, or uf wipe, or lime, to take off 
 their bitterness. To make oil, the olives are left for some 
 time on a floor to ripe;;, then ground ir.to a paste, by which 
 the sweetest and best, called virgin o:!, is expressed ; but 
 this is seldom used, for they always mix some water to 
 encrease the quantity ; afterwards hot water is poured up- 
 on them, and they are pressed again, when the oil swims 
 on the top of the water, and is easily skimmed off. This 
 second pressing gives very good oil ; but the third pressing is 
 bad. The oil of Lucca is the sweetest and best in Italy ; that 
 of Spain is better. The olive-trees of Aix being lower, t!ie 
 olives are gathered with tl.e rmnd, a: d the oil is the most e- 
 steemcd of any in the world. In the rest of Prcvcnce, n t in 
 Ln.nguedoc, the trees are taller and bigger, and the oil not so 
 good. Olives afford little nourishment, but give an appetite, 
 and strengthen the stomach. Pomegranates are so called from 
 (jian.'id 1 ! in Spain ; some are sxvuct, some s'tur, some oi a rruv- 
 td tajte. !t is a beautiful and l-.uve fruit, but neither palatable 
 n >r nourishing to a foreigner; it is full oi scuds. 'I he almond 
 tree is as Ltrge da a small :. trading apricot tree, though its 
 leaf resembles that of a pe;:ch. ri\ve.-t ^Imoru 1 ;; ?rc sweet-ners, 
 j^ectoral, and excite spitting. Bitter almonds hsve more 
 talts ; cleanse, attenuate, and litlp digestion, and are diuretic. 
 They prevent the fnrnes of wine, &u~, fiT^m mounting to tlio 
 head. Pliny L^lls us of a Roman lady, \vho by their use c-::u!d 
 not be m?.de drur.k. Dry almonds create the hc:d;:ch, and 
 load the stomach, being hard to digest and a-kin to nuts. It 13 
 
 O 
 
 well known that wall-nuts, and other nuts, are nor capable oL" 
 digestion. Almnud-j lose their l-^avi.. i iu winter", but push ou; 
 
 G <
 
 110 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 very early in spring. They are covered with beautiful blos- 
 soms by the end of February, and their fruit is ripe and ga- 
 thered in the end of Ma.ch or beginning of April. If a frost 
 happens in a morning after they are budded, the fruit is de- 
 stroved ; so that though the Comptat and Provence furnish 
 France with this fruit, the climate is scarce southern enough 
 for them. Oranges are here very sweet and large, and as 
 cheap as applts. Provence produces a good strong wine, bet- 
 ter than our ordinary Hourdeaux, and in great plenty. Its 
 better sort of wines grow about Riez, about Cassis near Mar- 
 seilles, and the dearest of all at St Lawrence, at the foot of 
 the Alps. This last was the favourite wine of King James II. 
 at St Germain's. They have plenty of very good tnuscade 
 wine, cr sack. O foreign wines, the Rhone brings down Bur- 
 gundy very cheap : Marseilles furnishes all wines from Cyprus, 
 Spain, c&. as also the best chocolate, coffee, &cc. cheaper than 
 with us. 
 
 Besides the fruits above-mentioned, we find here tntfjies t 
 or s\vincs bread, a black pulpy strong smelling plant, which 
 grows all under ground. The hogs are fond of them, find 
 them by their smell, and root them up half a foot deep. 
 They grow as fast as mushrooms, and are sold at 7 or 8 sols 
 a pound. Many by habit acquire a relish for them, but to a 
 stranger at least they are a very disagreeable dish : Small 
 pieces in soups or saaces are tolerable : Their smell fills im- 
 mediately the whole room. We have some growing now in 
 Northamptonshire, in earth brought from Fiance. Chesnuts 
 grow i\ vast plenty here, as in Italy and in the Vivarai?, &.c. 
 They have excellent fi^s a'icl pluins, especially about Brignol- 
 L's, the sweetest I ever tasted. The figs which are first ripe, 
 viz.. in July and August, are not so good : the best are those of 
 October and September. By the fruits we may judge, as well 
 as by other things, that the climate of Provence is like Italy, 
 only it is not so very hot in summer, nor so sharp in the win- 
 ter inghts, nor so much subject to storms and earthquakes. 
 \Ve may understand some of the Latin writers better by see- 
 ing Provence : for example, by the esteem people have for ches- 
 nut.~, we sec why Virpil's Buccolics so oftenextol them. His fre- 
 
 ^ o 
 
 qiy-nt rncntiori of lizard^ alio shews ho\v this countr
 
 Clap. f. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. Ill 
 
 with those insects. Indeed every old wall swarms with them, 
 basking themselves in the sun ; and every foot of ground in 
 the fields teems with green ones, as much as our meadows do 
 with grasshoppers, which last are also as common there as with 
 us. These lizards are necessary in hot countries, to destroy the 
 flies, which would be troublesome and numerous without such 
 enemies. Lizards are still larger and in greater quantities in Italy. 
 The scorpion is a small insect with eight legs, an oval bccly, 
 the head joined in it, and a long tail, in which they have a b?.~ 
 of cold poison. In Aix even their cellars are full of them r.r 
 times, after long rainy weather ; they creep up the walls, so 
 that in Italy, where th.-y are still more numerous, they place 
 their be.ls at a distance from the walls, to hinder scorpions 
 from creeping so easily into them. Those in Aix are whit-\ 
 and their poison not mortal. A counsellor of the parliament 
 informed me, that one hid in a clean shirt he had recently 
 put OP, bit him on the shoulder, but by applying some mithri.. 
 uate he received no harm. The black and brown scorpions arc 
 found in Lower Provence, and in most p.:ris of Italy : these 
 are mortal. These which have seven knots in their tail are 
 more venomous than those which have six. The remedy 13 to 
 kill and crush the scorpion on the wound, or to apply oil la 
 which scorpions h-ive bce:i killed. But the viper is the most 
 ikirigr-rous of all insect:' or st; rents in Europe, nay pcrl.aps i:i 
 the v.'L_ie world, except the iatile-s:i. ke of the Y^est-lndie*:, 
 v. h:ch 3c:::n5 lo have given r;je to the f.ibulcus reports of thj 
 }, i.-ilok or cockatrice of the a;:cL\its. The viper is hitlf a y^rJ 
 j^'ig, roiii; ], "'id ihiek P:, ;i rr.a.;'s tliurnb. ]: v'liiT.fa from ^ther 
 serpents or ;;.:.k^. = } in h.;\ ir. o ' :>. il.it iv.ad, and in brin^in.r forth 
 Hi )"OLing ahrej \v!ier.cuj they Ly e^ ; ;3 covered \vithas.n': 
 skin, instead of a shell, hut^h in dunghills, &.c. Tlie vipci's 
 fiesh is very nourishing, invkes very strengthening bro:ho, 
 u'.id ia a good medicine. Its oil and other parts are also Us- 
 ed aj medicine.--. \Yhcn its liead is cut ctf, cocks = kin i:, 
 and h.tndle it without danger ; yet its bite is the rr.cst rnortul 
 poison possible, coagulating the blood, and so killing in a very 
 short time. There are some about Aix ; but they abound un- 
 der every b?'dge, and in every cave, in Lower Provence a:,,i 
 
 G .:
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 Italy. The country men are often bit by them ; and there is 
 no other remedy but the cutting off immexliately with their 
 sickle, &c. the hand or foot that is bit, with the hand that is 
 sound Time will not permit a surgeon to be sent for. RI-;DT, 
 a great philosopher of Tuscany, pretends that its poison is a 
 yellow humour contained in two bags over its teeth. Oihers 
 prove that such humour given to pigeons, &cc. is not venom- 
 ous. All that is certain is, that its poison is communicated by 
 its bite or gums, some say when its spirits are heated. 
 
 Hie i\ Mediterranean Sea affords the best of fish, amongst 
 which are manv excellent sorts unknown to us. Indeed few 
 
 tJ 
 
 are caught on the rocky coast of Genoa ; but they abound 
 vit Naples, and in Provence and Languedoc, especially at Mar- 
 seilles and Martigues, both near Aix. Here we taste all 
 the delicate fish of the old Romans. 1 he aclpemer, so highly 
 prized by them above all other dishes, must have been a fish 
 of this s:?a. It was never brought up to table but by servants 
 crowned \vith garlands, and attended by musicians. i he least 
 vv a s never sold under icoo pieces, or 81. of our money. It 
 \v as a particular sort of sturgeon. Their thlnnus was the 
 present tbongne, a large, broad, delicious fish, especially when 
 fresh, and very common here. The sat dines are small, Milo's 
 barbed fish. Their rhonlus was a tnrbot. Oysters in the 
 Mediterranean sea are not near so good as in cur ocean, but 
 have more frequently pearls in thdr shell, which proceeds 
 from the fish being sick; for then their viscous humour, v/njch 
 they exhale in every part, does not turn into the she!], but in- 
 to the beautiful pearl. The sar'iiai'^n is a small fish, often eat 
 salted. sJncko'Vies are pickled with their heads cut ofT: not 
 good when fresh. The country affords tolerable plenty of good 
 game, especially quails. 
 
 Gnvcs are not so common here as in the; vineyards of 
 Champagne and Burgundy. Here arc also red-legged r;or- 
 
 o f/ O.j i 
 
 t ridges, ortolv.-.s, francolins, S^c. even amono- the bushes ana 
 shrubs. The .lives, sucl many otiier trees, being ever green, 
 this country and Languedoc display the beauties of perpe- 
 tual spring and summer ; r.nd though in winter the morn nig'; 
 .<y>d ever.inrs are sh"rp- *lis sun makes iv very iv;rrtn f r ?!?.j *0
 
 Chap. V' A TOUR FROM LYONS TO AIX. 113 
 
 to 3 o'clock, so that in the middle of \vmtcr it is the most 
 pleasant walking imaginable ; the whole country being filled 
 with green groves of olives, and the land covered v, mi bute 
 trees, which not only continue always green, but be?.t their 
 berry or fruit till the middle of February. In this plentiful 
 country living is very cheap ; wine, meal, and every thing 
 else, being at half price, except wood, which is very dear, there 
 being scarce any in the country except the olive and vine tree. 
 Bat in Aix and Aries, the great number of nobility makes it at 
 present as dear living there in winter as it is in Flanders, la 
 summer however all the gentry retire to their country houses, 
 and then these towns are as cheap as others to live in. 
 
 The language of these parts is very different from French, 
 except in a very few words ; and so it is in ail the countries 
 yond the Loire. In Burgundy, except in the towns and 
 inns, the people do not even understand French. The language 
 grows worse and worse the farther we advance into Languedoc, 
 but more so in Provence, where it imitates the Italian in many 
 words, as in Guienne it does the Spanish. The nobility, and 
 some others, every where talk good French. 
 
 The people are naturally polite and obliging over all these 
 parts, beyond the rest of the French. One finds this very sen- 
 sibly in Dijon, Lyons, &.c. but above all in Upper Provence 
 and Languedoc : and their civilitv consists not in words alone ; 
 for they even prevent one in obliging offices those, too, who 
 can hope for no return, as in tend ants, ami person? of the first 
 r=ink and power.
 
 114 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN EUTLER. 
 
 CHAPTER SIXTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 
 
 Aix, The Mint, Government, Cathedral, Town-House, Meridian Line of 
 France, The Parliament, Manners, Mineral Bath, Singular method of bury- 
 ing. Excursion into Languedoc. Salon, Tomb of Nostrodamus. Marti- 
 gues. Aries, Antiquities, Ancient Amphitheatre, Baths, &c. F.lysian Field';, 
 Remarkable Spring. LANGUCDOC Montpelier, University, Assembly of 
 the States of Languedoc. Cctte. Prodigious Canal Bourde:iux. Toulouse. 
 Pezenas. Beziers. Frontignan. Nismes, Amphitheatre, Square House, 
 Temple of Dhna, Baths, &c. Observations on Ancient Medals. Pont- 
 da-Garde, Curious Aqueduct. Bcucairc. Tar.ncon. Extravagancies of the 
 Huguenot';, A -count of Jansenism, their pretended Miracle?, &c. 
 
 Aix, 1745. 
 
 JPnE city of AJX V33 founded or rebuilt by Caius Sextius Cal- 
 \inius, the Roman Consul, 120 years before the birth of Christ, 
 and was called, from him and from its baths, Aqu.c Se>:ti<x. He 
 settled here a Roman colony, and adorned the baths, which 
 xvere the Romans delight. MARIUS defeated the Teutones, the 
 first time, near this place. This ciry was almost ruined by the 
 Emperor Charles V., but soon recovered its ancient lustre. 
 It was chosen by the Counts of Provence for their residence, 
 and lias, ever since the r.di century, been the capital of Pro- 
 vence. It is at present the seat of the parliament, of the 
 Court of Aides, and the revenues of the province j of a Cbajn- 
 bre de Cimptes ; of a Mint and an University. 'I his last was 
 founded by Pope Alexander V. anno 14-9, ?.::d confirmed by 
 several Counts of Provence and Kinjs of France. '1 he arch- 
 bishop is always Chancellor. It has but one college, which 
 teaches divinity, and no scholars but the ecclesiastics of the 
 diocese. The Jesuits, and the Fathers of the Christian doc- 
 trine, have here large colleges ; but are both forbid to keep 
 pensionaires (or boarders^. But as Jesuits can receive board- 
 ers more conveniently in their house at Versailles, the Fathers 
 of the Christian doctrine alone suiter by this late order of the 
 kins; ; and they feel it the more sensibly, as they had lately fi- 
 nished a new and very noble building, erected for the sole pur- 
 pose of lodging their boarders more corumodiously than before.
 
 Chap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. IJJ 
 
 Universities are more numerous in this part of France, but they 
 are no more than mean single colleges, if we except those of 
 'i oulouse and Avignon. 
 
 The Mint is a very good one. It was employed, when we 
 ~aw it, in coining French crowns out of Spanish silver, which 
 were sent in waggons to the army of Italy. What they look 
 upon as most curious in the Mint at present, is the wheel by 
 which the inscription round the rim is cut, which hinders clip- 
 ping, and which false coiners cannot imitate. 
 
 The Parliament is obliged to have a first president from 
 Paris : It was established by Lewis XII. 1301, and brings the 
 power of the states very low. This parliament, that of Tou- 
 louse, and if 1 forget not, that of Grenoble, follow the written 
 or the Roman law ; the others follow the customary Iravs, 
 which often deviate from the Roman, by customs, or the kino's 
 edicts. The Archbishop of Aix is Grand Seneclir.l of the 
 province, and has the chief authority as temporal judge, as well 
 as in ecclesiastical affairs. He has live suffragans, Apt, FJes, 
 Frejus, Gap, and Sisteron. Besides these supreme courts, the 
 town is governed by a Lieutenant-general of the Senechal of 
 the province ; and ordinary judge of the town ; the Viguier or 
 king's judge, who has the principal authority in the police, to- 
 gether with four consuls, (of whom the first is a gentleman ; the 
 others burghers,) all named annually by the court, according to 
 the report of the archbishop. The Senechui is In the countries 
 where the written law prevails, what Grand Bailies are in ci- 
 thers ; who revise sentences of inferior judges, though now by 
 their lieutenant only, in their name. 
 
 Aix is small, but the most beautiful city of France; its squarei 
 are noble ; its streets broad and streight ; and it is adorned with 
 many great palaces and magnificent buildings. The nobility 
 here are fund of line house--,, and they are built in the true 
 taste of modern architecture. No town in France equals Aix 
 in this respect. The church of St John, a very noble Gothic 
 structure, containing oomc old monuments, belongs to the 
 Knights of Malta. They are under a rich prior, and many of them 
 live in Aix, enjoying commandaries of 60 or 100 pounds a-year. 
 
 The C'ltlsdraf, raiJerl OUR SAVIOUR'S, is a huge Gothic.
 
 Il6 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 building ; its steeple is a high hexagon tower ; its front is of 
 white marble, adorned with excellent reliefs, and surrounded 
 by eight curious marble pilbrs. In the choir are the monu- 
 ments of four counts of Provence. In the church are the subter- 
 raneous chapel of St Mary Magdalene, a place of great devotion ; 
 the body of St Mitrius patron of Aix ; relics of the crown of 
 thorns ; a rib of St Sebastian, &c. In the parish-church of St 
 Mary Magdalene, lies buried the great painter VAKLO, with 
 no other epitaph than the following, on a large marble slab : 
 Hie yacet Vunlo, The Dominicans and Cormes have numer- 
 ous rich convents and large churches. There are also all 
 sorts of other orders, but their convents are not numerous. 
 The Oratorians' church is very fine, and remarkable, especially 
 for its Mosaic work, and its chapels. The Jesuits have a great 
 college called St Lewis, or Bourbon, being founded or at least 
 repaired by Lewis XIV. The ornaments of their church are 
 very rich, particularly the high altar. They have apartments 
 in their house to lodge several bishops at once. The bishops 
 of Grave, Vence, &:c. resort to Aix, as richer bishops do to 
 Paris. The Jesuits have a back chapel well built, paved with 
 fine ivaible, adorned with a verymagmficent altar, with stfi- 
 tues, excellent painting, and gilding. It is a flushed piece like 
 J-Jt Lawrence's in Avignon. It is served at the expencr, and 
 for the use of a private society of gentlemen, though open to 
 all on great days : It 13 called la Chapelle des Messieurs. 'I he 
 Town-house is a noble buildir.g. The great sails is very spaci- 
 ous and beautiful, sdorned with hangings and good seats, and 
 large portraits ol all the ccunts of Proverce : 'j he meridian 
 line drawn by CASSIVI through France, passes below its win- 
 dows, where it is marked. They call thij the fi^st hall and 
 town-house in France, after Lyons. But that of Toulouse dis- 
 putes with it the preference. In another fine chamber they 
 Isold, twice a week, a concert of nut sic, which is in the highest 
 esteem in these parts, and greatly resembles the Italian ; the ca- 
 thedral, and many of the churches here, have excellent music. 
 
 The Parliament House contains seven different courtso jur- 
 isdictions. In the celling of the great chamber are portraits of 
 the kings of France, well executed. la that, in which all the
 
 Clup. VI. A TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSAILLES. Jiy 
 
 chambers assemble, called the Revision, all the councellors who 
 then composed the Parliament, with the president du Vuir, are 
 excellently painted. The Ccurj is the most beautiful prome- 
 nade of any town in France. It is Soo paces long, planted 
 with rows of shady trees, and adorned with fine fountains, and 
 water-works always playing ; one is of warm mineral water. 
 The Cours is surrounded by noble houses of persons of quality, 
 built with a charming uniformity, and commanding, from the 
 fine stone ramparts, (on one side which is open), a delightful 
 view of die country. 
 
 O:i our arrival, we waited on the archbishop, (whose palace is 
 very grand, and finely built) and on the first President and Inten- 
 
 dant They returned our visit ; and all of them, but especially 
 
 the archbishop, who is brother to the marshal of France, Bran- 
 cas, shewed us every possible mark of civility. At taking our 
 leave he accompanied us through all the chambers to the stairs; 
 a respect he never shews but to strangers : He conducts the 
 Parliament only to his own chamber-door : He often called and 
 sent obliging messages to us, and invited us to dinner. At the 
 card assembles, particularly at the first president's, de la Tour, 
 they play high : Many learned to game from the late Duke 
 of Ormoud, at Avignon. The intendant committed several to 
 prison for this criminal practice ; among others, a considerable 
 Knight of Malta was sent to the castle Iff at Marseilles. There 
 i.:, in general, a great deal of piety amongst the people, (as ap- 
 pears from their deportment in their churches, and their 
 diligence in often devoutly communicating). They have also 
 a very strict and virtuous clergy, the archbishop setting the: 
 example. He al'.vays resides ia the place, is assiduous with 
 the canons at the offices, and his pastoral duties : never sees 
 any ladies, except receiving (and even that is rare) a short 
 visit of ceremony or necessity. He told us he was much 
 amused with the mistake of a boy \vho came with his father, 
 ;m English gentleman, to wait of him ; and asked to see my 
 l:idy liJjop ; thinking bibhops married as in England: He has 
 j.ittly built and founded a very large and noble college, for 
 young men intended for the church, in which they are taught 
 cu-ry ner-?5s^rv brajali of kno\v!$dg-p, from the first rudiments
 
 Xl8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 till philosophy : that they may live from their tender years in 
 virtue, and total ignorance of the world. It is admirably con- 
 trived, and so liberally endowed by this worthy prelate, that 
 not only the masters, but a great many boys, are maintained 
 and taught gratis. It is situated on a healthy hill, close by the 
 town. The country around is very pleasant, being interspersed 
 with olive groves, &-C. : and beautified by some fine houses, 
 such as that of Monsieur d'Albertass, president of accounts 
 Sec. The mineral baths, from whence the town takes its name, 
 are erected in a large commodious house built on purpose. 
 One is of marble, the other of stone. The water is warm, not 
 hot ; something purging and diuretic, very good in removing 
 gentle obstructions ; not so violent as hot baths, such as those 
 of Digne, also in Provence. The minerals are nitre, sul- 
 phur, and iron, as is visible in the earth. These mixing when 
 drawn by the waters as they run through the car Ji, ferment 
 and create this warmth. By following the stream from its, 
 source beyond the Minims, on the other side of the town, we 
 see how the water first begins to grow warm, cncreasiag its 
 heat, as it runs through the mineral ground ; which is alone a 
 confutation of that ridiculous system, which ascribes this heat 
 of waters to a subterraneous or central fire, as some call it, 
 according to F. Kirchers whim. In Aix they bury the dead 
 with their face and hands, and often feet, quite exposed ; which 
 looks frightful. The reason they assign for this, is, that all 
 may see it is the body of the deceased. The White Penitents 
 ii^ually conduct the corpse to the grave : all covered in a white 
 linen habit like u sheet ; no part of them appearing, only there 
 are holes for the eyes, nostrils and mouth. Aix has no forti- 
 fications ; nor any town in these parts beyond Antibes and Tou- 
 lon ; and in Dauphiny, Erianqon and Pcrtuid, with some forts 
 on the borders of Savoy. The walls of Aix can only keep out 
 smugglers. 
 
 In an excursion to see LANGUEDOC, we set out on horseback 
 from Aix, and dined at Salon, a great town in Provence. In 
 the Franciscan's church lies buried Michael Nostradamus, the 
 famous astrologer, enriched and honoured by King Henry II. 
 '.'.uch was the fully of mankind in those days ; 2nd indeed bis
 
 Clap. IV. A TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 1 1 9 
 
 pretended predictions are still estemed by the ignorant ; and 
 many visit his monument. His epitaph, on a marble stone, ri- 
 diculously commends his science of astrology, and says he died 
 at Salon, anno Domini 1566, 62 years 6 months old. The com- 
 mon distich made upon him agrees better with his character. 
 The pun it contains cannot be preserved in a translation. 
 
 " Nostra damus cum falsa damus ; nam fallere nostrum est, 
 " Sed cum falsa damus, non nisi nostra damus." 
 MARTIGUES is a town on the sea cost, built in an extensive 
 Like, which communicates with the sea by great canals cut on 
 purpose for ships to coma up, probably a work of the Romans. 
 From its thus standing on water, it is called the Venice of France. 
 The inhabitants are very much addicted to mirth and dancing, 
 whence the proverb danser la martingal : They are the great- 
 est fishers on the Mediterranean. This city is a principality, 
 and was given by Charles IV. Count of Provence and King of 
 Naples, to Francis of Luxembourg ; it passed by heiresses to 
 the Dukes of Mercosur, and from them to the Duke of Ven- 
 dome, a legitimate son of Henry IV. The duke of Vcndome 
 i> still prince of it. It stands six leagues from Marseilles. 
 Excepting the town of Mnrtigues, the vast plain from Salon 
 to Aries has not a home, hedge, or living creature upon it for 
 a rreat part of the way. It is covered with stones which 
 have grown on its soil as large as those used to pave high-. 
 \vnys ; yet it here and there displays a few poor vineyards. 
 The Provencals in their language call it the Crau, that is, 
 stony field. 
 
 ARLES, 12 leagues from Ai::, and as far from Marseilles, 
 stands on the Rhone. ]t wcs a great city of die Gauls, after- 
 wards the most famous Roman colony in Gaul, and a long time 
 the seat of a praetorian prefect, or governor of the Narbonese 
 Gaul. COXSTANTINE the Great resided a considerable time 
 ir: it. It was for 70 years capital of a kingdom, called the- 
 kingdom of Aries, unite:! afterwards to that of Burgundy. I* 
 then erected itself into a commonwealth, but was soon subdu- 
 ed by the Counts of Provence. At present it is a large town, 
 ill-built, and not very populous ; contains several noble fami- 
 lif b-;r enioyii no commerce, The mouths of the Rhone ar^
 
 I2O TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 rendered unnavigable by sands and rocks ; and the country is 
 not very fertile near the town, but on the Provence side fenny. 
 Arelate signifies a marshy ground in the G iul sh language, as 
 well as in old British, as our countryman Cambden testifies. 
 We passed over a great marsh, by a bridge of stone, above a 
 mile long : In the midst of these fens stands the rich Benedic- 
 tine abbey of Monte Major, newly built in a very grand and 
 magnificent style. During the greatest part of the year it 
 cannot be approached, but by a boat ; and its situation is so un- 
 wholesome, that the monks, who are few in number, are al- 
 most always sick of fevers, as they told me. On an old wall 
 of t ; i :;r church of the Holy Cross, is a Latin inscription, which 
 bears that it was founded by CHARLEMAGNE, after his victory- 
 over the Saracens in this place. This inscription however is 
 not very ancient, and by many judged lalse. The pious lady 
 Teucinde, in the icth century, was the chief foundress of this 
 abbey, as the monks confess. 
 
 Aries is chiefly remarkable for its monuments of antiquity. 
 The first that occurs is the Obelisk in the market-place. It is 
 of Egyptian granite, a stone harder and more precious than 
 any marble, of a gray colour, and rough. It was dedicated 
 to the Sun, and discovered in the yeru 1564, in a garden in 
 Aries ; but when it was brought from Egypt is uncertain, 
 Jt is of one stone, 61 feet high, a foot and a half at the top, 
 and seven feet at the bottom. It weighs 2000 quintals, that 
 is, 200,000 pounds. In the year 1676, the magistrates wish- 
 ing to erect it to the honour of Lewis XIV, the parts broken 
 off in the earth were joined together, and it was raised with 
 incredible difficulty, and fixed on a square stone pedestal, with 
 suitable inscriptions, composed by M. Pelisson, It is a pity 
 this pedestal is not of marble ; for the stone moulders already, 
 and the inscriptions are scarce legible. On the top of this o- 
 belisk is a globe of azure, with flower-de-luce of gold ; and 
 on this a sun, with the face of the monarch upon it. The 
 ^own-house is modern, and a fine structure. The design was 
 given by Mansard, architect to Lewis XIV. and executed by 
 Peytret. It is 84 feet high : Its fronts on e:ch side look into 
 two noble squares, and are curiously adorned with figures and
 
 Chap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSAILLES. 121 
 
 symbols. The porch is a master-piece, with a vast and bold 
 vault, supported by 20 Tuscan pillars. Busts of the Counts of 
 Provence, &.c. adorn the outside ; within we admired the fine 
 statue of Lewis XIV. and a beautiful copy of the Venus of 
 Aries (some will have it to be Dianci) which is a very good 
 statue, found under the old theatre in 1681, and presented by 
 the magistrates to Lewis XIV. in 1682, who caused a right 
 arm, (which it wanted) to be supplied, and placed it in the 
 gallery of Versailles, where it still remains. 
 
 The Amphitheatre of Aries, is a vast oval building, 1164 
 Paris feet in circumference, 426 long, 312 broad. The thick 
 wall and building that goes round it is 102 feet high, and con- 
 sists of three stories ; each contains 60 arches, which form so 
 many different apartments. The wild beasts were kept in the 
 lowest in dens, whence they were brought out into the Arena, 
 or pit, in the middle of the amphitheatre. Criminals were 
 confined in other arches made into close dark prisons. In the 
 inner part'of the buildings were stone seats for the spectators, 
 in equal rows from the top to the bottom, each row running 
 all round. Most of their seats, and all the galleries or porti- 
 cos on the outside, cc. are demolished. The stones were 
 carried away to build churches, See. But enough remains to 
 shew the figure of this magnificent work. These seats could 
 easily accommodate 30,000 persons, exclusive cf the highest 
 row, which commonly contained double the lower, and of those 
 destined for the nobility, which held six times as many. It 
 is a pity the arena, or pit, is filled with paltry houses. There 
 were iron rails all round the pit, to hinder the gladiators and 
 beasts from running away, or getting to the spectators. The 
 pillars are of the Tuscan and Composite orders, and nothing 
 is more wonderful than the enormous size of the stones that 
 form the arches, and which hang frightfully over one's head, 
 as we pass through the vaults, as well as of those that form 
 the seats. Each stone is two feet broad and two high, and 
 some of them are 16 or 18 feet long. How were such masses 
 cut from the rock? Kow were they carried and raised to 
 that height ? And how have they stuck so solidly without 
 any mortar or cement ? Of the theatre nothing 1 remains but 
 
 II
 
 122 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 the great gate ; and (in the garden of a nunnery) two fine pil- 
 lars ; also five arches, of which three form what they now call 
 la tour de Rot/and. The stones are yet to be seen in part of 
 the town-wall, which was built of them when it was besieged 
 by Charles V. 
 
 Here are curious ruins of baths, palaces, and temples ; as 
 in St Csesarius's abbey, of a temple of Diana, a fine Mosaic 
 pavement : Icnic cornices and pillars, &cc. are daily found and 
 dug up in the Rhone, where piety and zeal had thrown 
 them ; also columns, urn?, lachrymatories, sepulchral lamps. 
 We saw many curious ones in the town-house, but far more 
 in the archbishop's palace. In several of the urns are still 
 found ashes, &c. These urns are of all shapes and sizes ; 
 made of hard earthenware, and contained the ashes of the corpse, 
 gathered out of the funeral pile after the body was burnt. 
 In the archbishop's palace we saw also two very good pieces of 
 painting, &.c. 
 
 Out of the town, near the walls, are the Elysian Fields, or, 
 as the vulgar now call them, Aliscamp. This was the great 
 Roman burying-place, by the side of the high-way : Here is 
 an incredible number of fine monuments and tombs of stone 
 and marble. People have carried off so many, that there is not a 
 house in Aries, or in the country, which has not one or more 
 for their hogs to eat out of, or to serve for cisterns of water, 
 &.c. ; yet a surprising number still remain, and the magis- 
 trates have now forbid any more to be taken away. It is very 
 amusing to view them all, and rend die ancient Roman sim- 
 
 o 7 
 
 pie epitaphs. There are many Christians buried here, as ap- 
 pears by crosses carved on die tombs, &c. The Pagans are 
 known by having urns, lachrymatories, and always D. M. 
 that is, Bi:'s Ma?iibus, " to the gods of the dead." At the end 
 of this burying-place stands St Antony's church, in which arc 
 catacombs, where the bodies of several ancient saints and bi- 
 shops of Aries, and martyrs, are preserved in rich shrines. 
 These catacombs farm only one spacious cave. In it is a 
 very large spring well, which the fathers assured us ebbs and 
 flows as the sea does, and according to the motion of the moon. 
 How is this caused r Is it by a subterraneous communication
 
 Chap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 123 
 
 with the Venetian Gulph ? But it is said to rise higher than 
 that gulph does ; and the rest of the Mediterranean has no 
 tide at all. Besides, how should it have any communication 
 with seas at so great a distance ? I did not stay long enough 
 to examine all these irregularities, &.c. It would require long 
 observation to enable one to guess at the cause. In this 
 church is a great deal of fine marble adorned with basso-re- 
 lievo and ancient carving. A royal academy of sciences and 
 belles-lettres was instituted at Aries by Lewis XIV. an. 1669, 
 which was originally composed of 2O> now of 30 members, all 
 settled in the town. The archbishop of Aries was anciently pri- 
 mate of all Gallia Narbonensis. The Rhone here is divided in- 
 to two branches. The country lying betwixt them, called the 
 Camargue, is extremely fertile. We passed both the branches 
 in boats. The freight of the second belonged to the archbi- 
 shop. The first had a bridge over it, but the late floods broke 
 down that of Terascon, three leagues above this ; and that 
 bridge being carried down the river, broke this also. Being 
 got over the second branch, we are in 
 
 LAXGUEDOC, the finest and largest province in France : It is 
 75 leagues long, and 75 broad. Upon the fall of the Roman 
 empire, the Visigoths fixed here their kingdom, making Tou- 
 louse the capital. Their king, Alaric however, being to- 
 tally defeated by the French in 507, Charles the Great ap-> 
 pointed governors, called Counts of Toulouse, who soon be- 
 came independent. But St Lewis's brother^ Alphonsus, mar- 
 ried the heiress, daughter of Raymund the last Count, by 
 whose death it fell to Philip the Bold, King of France. It 
 possesses quarries of fine marble at Cannes, near Narbonne, 
 and of very white alabaster in the diocese of Agde. At Ga- 
 biau is a fountain of oil used for lamps. Languedoc is ex- 
 tremely populous, full of great towns and villages, exceeding- 
 ly fertile in all things, especially corn, olives, wine, Sec,, very 
 cheap, and a most delightful country on the side next to Pro- 
 vence. Its manufactures in silk, cloth, &c. are the most flou- 
 rishing in France, next to Lyons. Its trade, both to Paris 
 and on the Mediterranean and Ocean, is very great, and much 
 f.'ncreased by the new canal which joins these two seas. From 
 
 Li 2
 
 124 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Aries it is five leagues to Nimes, and seven more to Mont- 
 pelier ; but the straight road to Montpelier, when the waters 
 do not make it impassible, is shorter. 
 
 MONTPELIER is the chief town of Languedoc after Toulouse. 
 Its University, established in 1220, was raised to the highest 
 reputation for medicine by the great ClllROC : After his death, 
 Leyden, under BOERHAAVE, and since them, Pans and Edin- 
 burgh have been in greatest esteem for professors eminent in 
 that faculty. But Montpelier still supports its credit ; of 
 which the method of instruction, the abilities of its profes- 
 sors, the number of scholars, and the many great physicians 
 it continually produces, are sufficient proofs. There was late- 
 ly here erected and furnished, at the expence of the province, 
 a very good Observatory for astronomical observations, fur- 
 nished with telescopes and other instruments. The Physic 
 Garden is very large, beautiful, and well endowed, but within 
 these few years rather gone to decay. The town is built 
 round a high mountain, which makes many of the streets very- 
 steep. It has a Generality, a Clumbre des Comptes, a Court 
 of Aides t and aPresidial, which often condemns criminals with- 
 out appeal to the Parliament of Toulouse. The Huguenots 
 destroyed all its churches. The bishop's palace stands conti- 
 guous to St Peter's, the cathedral, an edifice which possesses 
 nothing worthy of notice. Tlic chief parish-church is that of 
 our Lady's, which stands on the hill, in the centre of the 
 town. Lewis XIII. look ihio city by siege from the Hugue- 
 nots, in 1622. Its walls are -almost razed: But its citadel is very 
 strong, and always contains a garrison, as a check on the coun- 
 try. The esplanade bc-Lvvcen it and the town is most beauti- 
 ful. But the great ornament jf Montpelier is the gate of Per- 
 ron, newly built in a. inof.t magnificent siiU', as a triumphal 
 arch to Lewis XIV. ; the equestrian statue of that monarch, 
 erected by the States of Languedoc, iu?t without that gate, has 
 not its equul, a::d it r.ttmrh in a most beautiful situation on a 
 fruitful hill, in sight of the sr.<, which is only two leagues 
 distant. The town is populous, very cheap, and trading. 
 It is famous for its trench ur.d il'^r'nque ) and. for distilled liquors,
 
 Clap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 1 2j 
 
 with which it furnishes all France, both for druo-s and drink- 
 
 O 
 
 ing. Its silk mills and manufactures employ many hands. 
 
 It is at Montpelier, in the town-house, that the States of the 
 province assemble. They consist of throe archbishops, and ic) 
 bishops, all in Languedoc ; of 22. barons constituting the nobili- 
 ty ; and of 22 consuls out of the capital towns of each diocese, 
 for the third state, or commons. Languedoc received Philip 
 the Bold for its master, on these terms : to have always a prince 
 of the blood for governor ; never to have any taxes imposed but 
 by the consent of the States ; and never to follow any but the 
 Roman or written-law. Every body knows the great rebellion 
 of Languedoc under its governor, Marshall Montmorency, who 
 being defeated and taken, v/as beheaded by the Parliament of 
 Toulouse. The kind's deputy, who is usually governor, (at 
 present the Duke of Richelieu) summons the States to meet 
 in the town-house of Montpelier on such a dav, pour hitr faire 
 entendre If s volonttsde sa Mujeste,& the printed summons which 
 is fixed on all public places, has it. The deputy appears in a 
 most costly suit cf cloches, given by the province for this pur- 
 pose ; and nothing can be more magnificent than the procession 
 of the States, on the opening of their meeting, which is about 
 February or March. 
 
 About six leagues from Montpelier, we find CETTE, (now some- 
 times called Port Lewis} near which is situated AGDE {Aga- 
 tha} a small strong town near the sea, famous for many coun- 
 cils held in it. This place is also remarkable for the prodigious 
 Canal that Lewis XIV. (to the great benefit of that country, 
 and of commerce in general), cn;sed to DJ cut from it to 
 join the Garonne, by which Cette was made a good port, 
 though the coast before was quue inaccessible : a gold medal 
 struck on that occasion, has this inscription, Port um impjriuoso 
 in lit tore pcsuit. Tne canal is 64 French leagues long, and ;o 
 feet broad. The chief works about ir, are the Reservoir of ^t 
 Ferreol, containing the waters from the Black-mountain, 2cco 
 toises in circumference, and in some parts 90 feet deep : TLs 
 Bason of Naroiisc, the highest part of the canal, where the wa- 
 ters divide and run two opposite ways : It is 200 toises or fa- 
 thoms long, i so broad : The Bridge 70 toises long, of hard 
 
 H 3 *
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 stone by which the canal is carried over the torrent or brook 
 Repud<ze : Malpas, a canal or passage cnt hollow through 
 a rock, 80 toises long, four broad, and four and a half high. 
 There are besides places cut through rocks for near 20,000 
 toises. The sluices in the Canal are 104, of which 64 are 
 very extraordinary, of all forms, and displaying a surprising- 
 variety. But so great a number of them renders travelling in 
 the barges very slow, it being a voyage of 1 1 days from one 
 sea to another. The seconi gold medal struck in honour of 
 Lewis XIV. on the completion of this canal, represents the 
 city of Toulouse, which it calls Bimaris, (on two seas', though 
 at a great distance from each. The Garonne, into which the 
 canal falls, rises in the Pyrenaean mountains, is navigable at 
 c fnu!ouse, and passing by Bourdeaux in Guienne, empties it- 
 self into the ocean ; its course from Toulouse being very 
 straight, it carries the tide very high. At Bourdeaux its bank is 
 adorned with a long row of stately houses belonging to the rich 
 wine merchants, the greatest ornament of that town. 
 
 TOULOUSE is a great town, ill built, and worse paved ; the 
 streets being ill kept since Lewis XIV. seized the money, 
 which was deposited in the town-house, for the purpose of re- 
 pairing them. Its University, however, i;s famous for divinity, 
 especially the Dominican's college ; i:i whose great Gothic 
 church lies, under the high altar, the body of St THOMAS 
 AQJJIKAS ; the altar is of a singular form, being so constructed 
 that 24 priests may say mass al it nt once, as the prior of that 
 house told me. The Jesuits also have a very numerous col- 
 lege there ; and the town-house is worthy of notice. 
 
 MONTAUBAN, once the fortress of the Huguenots, till Lewis 
 XIII. took it and demolished its forlitkations ; A/:>\' r.n arch- 
 b shopric ; Ledeve, and ALds, bishoprics on the northern side 
 of Languedoc, are too near the Cevcnnes to be in a fine coun- 
 try ; as are also CAHGKS, a small university, capital of Quercy ; 
 jRo'&ss, of Rovergue, on the borders of Languedoc ; to the 
 sourh of this provence Rieuv, Pawisrs, Foi\, Mirepoix, Car- 
 casso.'ie, and Alct y are all in, or near mountainss, and very cold 
 in winter. L r t~ja:.r, Castres, and l^abrcs, in the middle of 
 L3.r>guedoc ; are but ordinary pi-ices, and in a tolerable country.
 
 Clap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 127 
 
 NARBONNE, though a Roman colony, and long capital of 
 all this part of Gaul, is now a poor miserable city, withous 
 .any thing worth notice, except its archbishop, who is first me- 
 tropolitan of Langucdoc. The country about it also begins 
 to be mountainous, and the roads bad ; so that the fine part of 
 Languedoc lies round about Pexenas, Betters, Montpelier, and 
 Nismes. Pezenas is nine leagues from Montpelier ; BEZIERS is. 
 II, and 3 from Narbonne ; both stand in the most pleasant plen- 
 tiful country, and the mildest climate, perhaps, of the whole 
 world. PEZENAS was once much frequented by our country- 
 men ; but now they seek a town where there is more company, 
 such as Montpelier. Lewis XIII. lamented he had a Fountaiu- 
 .bleau, because it prevented him from chusing a seat at Pezenas. 
 . Beziers is a larger town, and enjoys move trade. They com- 
 monly say of it : " If God should chuse to live on earth, it would 
 <f be at Beziers : Si Deus habitarct in terris, non alibi vivsnt 
 " qnam Eiterris :" a wag answered, " Yes, to bs crucified a- 
 " gain : Ut itcntrn crucifigeretur." FJR.ONTINIAN, (or Frontig- 
 nun}> three leagues from Montpelier, towards Agde, is -a charm- 
 ing place, famous for the best muscade wine. That which is 
 drunk in diiferent parts of France, is generally f^lfilLd by a 
 mixture of honey, &-C. 
 
 We came back from Montpelier to NISMES, a Roman colony, 
 founded by Augustus, who placed here his old solaiers, who::: 
 lie brought b.ick victorious from Egypt. It is a line tov/;i, 
 large, and very well situated, Iv.ving pleasant vineyards on one; 
 side, on the brow of the hills, u:;d a iliie fjit corn country o\\ 
 llie otlier. In digging foundations for lionses here, there art- 
 found great quantities of a medal, ou one side of which are two . 
 heads, on the right Augustus crowned with laurel, on th^ 
 left Agrippa crowned with ouk, for navr.1 vicluries, with 
 these words, Imp. Divi F. P. P : that is, Emperor, Son of 
 God, Father of his country. On the reverse is a crocodile 
 bound to a palm-.tree, and an oaken crown tied with a ribbon, 
 with the.-.e words : Col. Ni.m. Colony of Nismes. This meclnl 
 was struck on Augustus sending a colony hither, under the 
 command of Agrippa his son-in-law, after his conquest oi 
 Egypt, represents! by* the crocodile. The first tiaae the Ra- 
 il t
 
 128 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 mans invaded Gaul on this side the Alps, was when the inhabi- 
 tants of Marseilles solicited their aid against the Salians, a bar- 
 barous people who inhabited the country from Salon to the Alps, 
 and to Nice, being a great part of Provence : The Romans sent 
 the consuls Fulvius Flaccus, and Caius Sextius, the latter of 
 whom built Aix, and planted in it the first colony of the Romans 
 in Gaul : Soon after Domitius CEnobarbus carried the Roman 
 arms a little farther ; and FABIUS MAXIMUS, by a complete 
 victory over the united army of the Salians inhabiting Provence, 
 the Volsi, who lived in part of Languedoc, and the Allobroges, 
 the people of Savoy and Dauphiny, acquired the name of Alh- 
 Tjrogicus. Narlonne was made the capital of this first Roman 
 province in Gaul. CAESAR first passed the mountains, espe- 
 cially die Cevennes, conquered Auvergne, or the Alverm, and 
 subdued all Gaul in the course of his 10 years command. 
 AGRIPPA, under Augustus, embellished NISMES, called by the 
 Romans Nemausus, though Marius had begun to adorn it with 
 sumptuous ornaments and monuments. The ancient walls were 
 11,352 paces in circuit, as appears by the traces still extant. 
 One of the old Roman gates is yet entire, but without i;s or- 
 naments. It is that which is called the Gate of France. It is 
 here curious to observe the nature of the Roman fortifications, 
 theiv walls being flanked with towers alternately square and 
 round, at the distance of 17 toises from each other. 
 
 The Amphitheatre of Nismes was erected after Tiberius had 
 commanded such buildings to be of stone, in consequence of the 
 amphitheatre of Ficiense having fallen and killed io,oco people ; 
 for till then they were of wood, except Pompey^s in Rome. 
 This might be built by Antoninus, who was born at Nismes. 
 It is the most entire of any extant, except that of Verona. It 
 is of an oval figure, 6c feet high, 11:70 in circumference, and 
 the diameter cf its arena is 195 feet. Its wall contains two 
 rows or stories ; each consisting of 6c great arches of enor- 
 mous large stones. These arches, as at Aries, formed the pri- 
 sons for criminals, and dens for wild beasts The outside is a- 
 dorned with pilasters, cornices, &c. on the inner side, towards 
 the arena, are 30 rows of stone seats ranged round one above 
 another. The lowest were the most honourable, adorned with
 
 Chap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 129 
 
 balustrades of iron supporters ; the nobility sat here. A great 
 part of these seats are yet entire : They were capable of con- 
 taining 20,000 spectators. The prisons were opposite to the 
 dens for the wild beasts. The arena was the pit in the middle, 
 so called because covered with sand, that the gladiators might 
 not slip in their combats. There were iron rails round it, and 
 to the dens of the beasts, so that they could not assail the spec- 
 tators. The amphitheatre had four great gates ; one was cal- 
 led libiiinensis ; because the carcases of the slain were carried 
 out through it, to be thrown into the field, to be devoured by 
 beasts. This amphitheatre suffered much, when the Goths 
 took Nismes ; but more, when CHARLES MARTEL, father of 
 king PEPIN, made himself master of it, when defended obsti- 
 nately by the Saracens : It is still a noble monument of anti- 
 quity, and one of the most entire in the world : The paltry 
 houses built in its arena greatly injure its appearance. 
 
 The Square-house is also one of the most entire monuments 
 of the Romans that remains. It is a long square 72 feet long 
 and 36 high, built of stones as hard and as white as marble, but 
 blackened by length of time. The two sides facing the east 
 and north, are irregular fronts very beautifully adorned; that on 
 the north has a porch with many steps. Thirty pillars stand 
 before it of the Corinthian order extremely well carved, and 
 constitute its greatest ornament. It had no altar, or statue : 
 some think it was the Capitol : but the delicacy of its architec- 
 ture does net correspond with the style of a fortress. It seems 
 most probably to have been the temple which the emperor 
 ADRIAN, (agreeably to the relation of Spartian, and an old in- 
 scription found at Aix), is said to have built at Nismes to the 
 honour of P/ottna, wife of IRAJAN, who had by her means 
 adopted him for his son, and made him his successor. It some- 
 times served for a town- house : but is now the church of the 
 Augustine friars, to whom Lewis XIV. gave it in ; 689, as an 
 inscription over the door informs strangers. 
 
 The 'lemple of Diana is 45 feet long, 42 broad, 36 high, is 
 adorned with 10 pillars of the composite order, and a beautiful 
 cornice. It has 10 niches to place idols in. Although tb^
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 tradition of the town calls it the temple of Diana, some guess 
 it to have been consecrated to the infernal gods. It was given 
 to the Benedictine abbey, but thai being pulled down by the 
 Uugenots in the civil wars, this ancient monument suffered 
 much at the same time. The province is at present repairing 
 it, and it is to be a repository of antiquities which are daily 
 dug up here. The fountain, or baths, are near the temple : 
 they consist of a spring of very good water, and also of an a- 
 queduct which formerly afforded an additional supply. Amidst 
 vast subterraneous ruins we here admired beautiful stone stairs, 
 pavements, walls, pillars, Zoges, or cells, places for stoves, 
 channels, chambers, &c. all built with an extraordinary syme- 
 try, magnificence and art. Also the remains of many stately 
 structures, whether palaces or temples, is uncertain. Perhaps 
 Agrippa, governor of Gaul, under Augustus, and the senators, 
 had palaces here. Here are found an incredible number of me- 
 dals, idols, &.C. which fear of plunder, in the invasions of barba- 
 rians, and zeal for Christianity, threw into the water. The 
 province at present employs a great many workmen to repair 
 the monuments, and cleanse the fountain ; when finished th'.s 
 will be a most noble and curious piece of antiquity. The many 
 inscriptions to Agrippa found here, prove how great a share he 
 had in the embellishment of this city. 
 
 On the top of a barren hill near thu, fountain stands the Tour 
 jWiigm, 33 it 13 vulgarly called, now almost ruined, there being- 
 only 92 feet of it standing. Nor is it certain whether it be 
 Roman or Gaulish. Its circumference is 245 feet. It has 
 QTeat caves under ground, and is of the plain Doric order. 
 
 There are many old Roman statues in Numes, as that de 
 rjuatre 'Jambes, \\ith four legs, on the side of a house near the 
 amphitheatre ; several Roman eagles of the natural siz.e, but 
 all have their heads struck off; perhaps done by the Goths out 
 of contempt, when they had drove the Romans out of many of 
 their provinces, and this in particular. There is a certain de- 
 scription of persons who teaze strangers to buy Roman medals 
 in all the towns where these antiquities abound ; these men are 
 well versed in the art of cheating. We sometimes examined 
 their merchandize, but were never tempted to buy any. Mc
 
 Clap. IV. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 13 | 
 
 dais are of great use to ascertain chronology, and many points 
 of history ; so that collections of them are of public benefit ; 
 but one is enough for a kingdom. Gold medals are very rare 
 and dear. They could not be stamped in the provinces, but 
 only in Rome, and so are always truest and most authentic there. 
 The Romans took too good care of them to bury them ; and 
 latter princes made use of the metal, when they changed the 
 coins. Silver coins are rare and valuable ; the best of che Ro- 
 man were such as were made in Rome itself; others are not 
 always like the persons : but the copper ones arc very com- 
 mon, and scarcely worth halfpence a-piece ; except some that 
 are rare, and a few that are almost above price. As to tneclaU 
 and busts, those emperors who had short reigns, as Otho, Perti- 
 nax, &.c. had few of either. Of some who lived long, the me- 
 dals are scarce, either because they had preferred busts, or per- 
 haps because they have been melted down or destroyed. Me- 
 dals of Agrippa and Caligula are common, but their basts are 
 rare. Tiberius is an ordinary bust, but a very scarce coin. To 
 make their cabinets complete, amateurs have sometimes got 
 modern medals struck of rare personages : and these the anti- 
 quaries strive to pass for old and genuine ; but they are easily 
 distinguished, being larger than the ancient, Sec. At Nismes, 
 the medalists who run after all strangers to impose upon them, 
 shewed us such of Otho, pretending they were ancient; nay, one 
 struck in honour of Lewis XIV., upon making the canal of 
 Languedoc, which had lain long in the groun.i, aud was eaten 
 and worn, so as to be no longer legible, they would make pass 
 for ancient and Roman ; till wirh much ado I convinced them 
 of the imposition. We contented ourselves with looking at 
 the merchandize, without buying any. Oa the subject of an- 
 cient medals, we may read Spanheim and Spon, and the collec- 
 tions of Occon. 
 
 Three leagues beyond Nismes towards Avignon is the Pont du, 
 Gcinhy a stupendous work of the Romans. The Garde is a rivec 
 which rises from the snows ou the hills in the Cevennes, runs by 
 Alet and joins the Rhone near the town of Beaucaire. This bridg* 
 5upported an aqueduct for bringing the best water to Nismes, 
 from springs beyond that river. Nothing of the aqueduct re--
 
 1^2 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 mains except this bridge. It consists of 3 stories or tiers, so 
 as to form three bridges one on the top of another. The first 
 has 6 great arches in the water, the id has IT, the uppermost 
 36 small ones. On the top of this highest lay the lead pipes 
 of the aqueduct. The whole joins together two great moun- 
 tains across the river. It is 80 feet high, and 337 long on the 
 top ; of a surprizing solidity and strength ; of stones as hard ns 
 common marble. Many out of curiosity creep on their bellies 
 over it ; but we were not so venturesome. Along the side of 
 the 2d row of arches is a bridge for foot-passengers, of equal 
 symmetry with the rest. They are at present making one on the 
 other side, quite modern, for waggons and coaches. On this 
 bridge are engraven these three letters : A. E. A. which some 
 read thus, SJgrippa cst Auctor. Agrippa 13 the author. This is 
 not like the Roman inscriptions, which make others read it 
 Alexander Elius Adrianux, the names of the Emperor Adrian. 
 The great aqueduct was divided into 3 before it came to Nis- 
 mes ; one branch went to the amphitheatre, another to the 
 fountain; and a third to the houses of certain individuals. The 
 Romans made their aqueducts to run very high, that the wrter 
 might be purer, lighter and better, by not being imxed in 
 running on the earth. It was not conveyed all the way in lead- 
 en pipes, but in a channel prepared of sand laid on the stones. 
 They spared no cost or labour to be furnished with good water, 
 wherecver they were settled. 
 
 Four leagues from Nismes, on the Languedoc side of the 
 Rhone, stands BEAUCAIRK, a city famous for being the staple 
 of the best oil of Languedoc : It contains th-.3 principal house 
 of the Fathers of the Christian doctrine, \vho keep here the 
 general chapter of their order. Opposite to tins on the Pro- 
 vence side of the Rhone, (of which river this is one of the 
 most rapid parts,) stands TARASCOX, famous for the colle- 
 giate church of St Martha, with her body in u shrine oi mas- 
 sy gold, given by King Lewis XL, having upon it an in- 
 imitable figure of the saint : Our llcs^e^l L-.^'y in agate, a pre- 
 sent of the same king and many other rich cubes lull of relics, 
 are shewn in the treasurv of this church, which makes it be 
 looked upon ss one of the h^ly places of Provence, la the sub?
 
 Clap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 133 
 
 terraneous chapel, the place of St Martha's burial, are four an- 
 cient tombs ; and every part richly adorned with marble carv- 
 ings, &c. From Tarascon it is 12 leagues to Aix. 
 
 LANGUEDOC was the seat of the Alligeois Heresy, protected 
 sometimes by the Counts of Thoulouse. After it was extir- 
 pated, Calvinism (anno IS54) was introduced with such suc- 
 cess, that great numbers embraced it. In 1685, Lewis XIV. 
 revoked the edict of Nantes, which had allowed them liberty" 
 of conscience, and forbade them to hold any assemblies. Since 
 that time they still openly profess themselves Calvinists, but can- 
 not legally hold meetings 5 yet they do that too very frequent- 
 ly, and have ministers named in their congregation. Seven of 
 these clergymen were taken up for preaching last year, on a com- 
 plaint being made that their people had been guilty of rebellious 
 practices. They are still prisoners in the citadel of Montpelier. 
 The Duke of Richelieu, the governor of Languedoc, told them, 
 by orders of court, that the King allowed them to be of what reli- 
 gion they pleased : but if they held any meetings, their ministers 
 should be hanged. It is a political law in France to tolerate no 
 assemblies where the king has not some person present, to inform 
 iurn of all things said or done. This he observes even among 
 the bishops and clergy : nay, curates of a town cannot hold their 
 monthly conference, without ordinarily having the king's at- 
 torney, or procurator-general, with them. Though the Cal- 
 vinihts are very numerous over all Languedoc, the Cevennes, 
 and Provence, and live as freely as the Catholics, (except that 
 they are prohibited from holding their meetings), Nismes is 
 their metropolis, above three parts of the town being of that 
 persuasion. The reason that induced Lewis XIV. to forbid 
 their assemblies, was the tumults of the fanatics in the Ceven- 
 i,t.-:, in Vivarais : A gentleman of Dauphiny, called de Ftf/e^ 
 Doming from Geneva, set up for a prophet, and communicated 
 the same spirit to his wife and children ; but ore Gabriel As- 
 iier ) a country day-labourer m Dauphiny, (settled in Vavarais 
 at Bresac), wus the great master. He taught many boys, 
 girls, and others, to make strange faces, to throw themselves 
 into extravagant postures, and commence prophets. They 
 pretended to communicate this spirit of prophecy, or rhe Holy
 
 134 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Ghost, by breathing into one another's mouth. Prophets were 
 multiplied to the number of 3 or 400. They counterfeited ec- 
 stacies, and used very ridiculous gestures, often openly immodest. 
 They pretended to fall into a prophetic sleep, on hearing the 
 scriptures read, especially the book of Revelations. In this 
 pretended sleep, (for it was proved they were really awake, by 
 their perceiving people go out and come in, &x.) they kept their 
 eyes shut, played a hundred gambols, equally indecent and mad, 
 and uttered their prophecies, frequently crying out, " Mercy ! 
 " amend, and do penance; the judgment of God will fall on you 
 " in three months." They all exclaimed against the mass, call- 
 ing it abominable, the mother of the devil, &cc. Some of them 
 pronounced many of their friends predestinated, and named 
 long lists of others whom they hated, saying these would be as 
 certainly damned. Several accused their neighbours of adul- 
 teries, and other secret sins ; some of whom protesting their 
 innocence, sued the prophets ; others fell upon them, and beat 
 them in the assembly, till the multitude (all on their knees 
 round the prophet, with their eyes fixed on him) stood up and 
 rescued him. They often foretold evils which never happen- 
 ed against the pope, &_c. announcing to their Catholic curate, 
 that if he did not repent, he should be killed by God, and his 
 church burnt as So Join ; and sometimes limiting the term to 
 three days. They seemed even to surpass the mad fanaticism 
 of the Anabaptists at Munster. As the chiefs among these 
 false prophets exhorted their followers to rebellion, with pre- 
 dictions of success ; after all other means had been effectually 
 vised, the Count of Broglio, and the Colonel de Folleville, with 
 their troops, dispersed them, killing only a few in the field in 
 the several skirmishes. Astier, the great leader of this sect, 
 \vas hanged at Montpelier : he died a Catholic, and confessed 
 the whole contrivance. Many others that were converted, and 
 several that were not, made similar confessions *. FLECHIER 
 
 * As the fanatics among the Jamenhts in Paris, of late, seem to imitate those 
 stmong thf Calviaists, the affinity ot the subject tempts me to say a word of 
 ihem. The Jajiseni'ts >. hief errors were first advanced by certain divines of Lou-
 
 Clap. VI. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 13 r 
 
 * O J 
 
 gives us the account from their own depositions upon oath, and 
 that of many irreproachable witnesses. He was then bishop 
 of Nismes, the pride of France for eloquence, and in fine 
 
 vaine, among which Baius's 76 propositions, censured by Pope Pius V. an. 1567, 
 and other suceedii;g popes, made a great noise. CORNELIUS JANSCNTUS, a 
 Lovanian, having contracted an intimacy with JOHN VERGER, abbot of St 
 Cyran, and confessor to the nuns of Port-Royal, an implacable enemy of the 
 Jesuits, and a warm defender of many new errors and whimsical assertions, was 
 partly by his means drawn into the same erroneous principles. He died bishop 
 of Ypres in 1638 of the plague, continually professing a submission to the holy 
 see. His book, intitled August'inus, was not printed till after his death. la 
 it he pretends to prove from St Austin, that God does not always give, even to 
 the just, grace sufficient to observe his law ; so that his precepts are sometimes 
 impossible to be kept by them, according to their present strength : Tliat since 
 Adam's fall man receives no graces, which he can make inefficacious by his re- 
 sistance ; hut that all grace has necessarily the whols effect it is capable of pro- 
 ducing, in the circumstances in which it is given. That fiee wiil, since the Fall. 
 is not exempt from simple necessity, but only from co-action or external violence. 
 For he teaches, that if concupiscence be stronger, it weighs down the scales and 
 necessitates the will to sin ; If grace be stronger, it necessitates to virtue. 
 That it is Semipelagianism, to admit to the beginning of faith a grace which 
 man's will can resist ; and that it is the same heresy, to say that Christ died for 
 all men ; by which he insinuates, that he only died for the elect. This book 
 was immediately condemned by Pope Urban VIII. in 1641. Again Inno- 
 cent X. condemned the aforesaid propositions and doctrines, by a very solemn 
 decree in 165^, which was applauded and received by all the provinces of ths 
 Catholic church. Alexander VII. in 1656 confirmed the same condemnation 
 by a stiil more express decree; which four French bishops, viz. of Anger*, 
 Ecauvai% Pamiers, and Alet, refused to accept simply. Clement XI. published 
 another bull, the strongest of ail, in 1705, beginning with the words, I'intam 
 lianlni Sa&astb ; and Lewis XIV. banished or imprisoned all the chief pa- 
 trons of this heresy, as St Cyrau, le Tvl^tre, Sacy, Antony, Arr.auld, Sec. So 
 that it seemed almost extinguished in France, till the Regent, standing in need 
 of the authority of the Puiiiament oi P.u'is, to fettle himself in the Regency 
 from which Lewis XIV's will had excluded him, to gratify it, recalled all who 
 had been banished, ic. on this account : He inJeed afterwards kept t4iein 
 within some bounds, so as to preserve measures with the pope, an.i king of 
 Spain, who interested himself very much in this a.T.iir. Father Q^ENELL, a 
 French Oratorian, printed in 1671, his Alcrjl Refleethm on tJ.e Gcsfsls, in which 
 nil the heresies and errors of the sect are craftly instilled i;i;_the most, pernicious 
 i-.rtful manner. The author having fled into Holland, Clement XII. forbid the 
 liook in 1708, and in 1713 he published his famous Constitution Unigenitus, in 
 wiilch he condemned ICI arttul propositions extracted out of it. Thii bull was 
 i<M-;?(l and ve^Utaed in the Parliament* i; J~i.'. urul in ill the U.-.ivtnitu'v
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 writing surpassed only by the nervous, masculine style of the 
 great BOSSUET, bishop of Meaux. It is surprising the minister 
 JtiRiEU should espouse such fanaticism. The city of Geneva 
 
 The king died in September 1715. The Regent made Cardinal NOAILLES presi- 
 dent of his Council of Conscience ; recalled all the fugitives, among whom re- 
 turned QOENELL and PETITPIKD, and all the banished, among whom were WIT- 
 TJSSE, Sec. The Fatuity of Paris in 1716 declared it had only enrcgistered in 
 obedience to the commands of the king, hut never received the Constitution ; 
 upon which the Pope, by a decree dated i8th November, suspended the privi- 
 leges of that university. Anno 1717, the four bishops of Mirepoix, Boulogne, 
 Montpelier, and Senez, published their act of appeal from the Pope's bull to a 
 future general council. The Faculty of Paris and innumerable individuals a- 
 ilopted the same appeal ; as did also the universities of Rheinas, Caen, and 
 Nantes, many chapters, and at last Cardinal Noiiilies himself, in 1719 ; though 
 he retracted in 1726, before his death. In 1719, PC pe Clement XI. forbid all 
 communion with them. The tumults and fury of the party grew insupportable 
 to the Regent ; The king has siuce done a great deal to suppress them mildly, 
 and without any disturbance. The provincial council of Embrun, Archbishop 
 Tencin, new archbishop of Lyons, and Cardinal, being President, deposed the 
 bishop of Senez ; fifty Parisian advocates published a consultation against this 
 council, which was suppressed by the king anno 1728. 
 
 The Jansenists in Holland are divided into parties. Some approve the taking 
 Interest on money when authorised by law. Some are figurists, and admit whimsical 
 interpretations oi Scripture, dream.", visions, &.c. ; others are non-figurists. PETIT- 
 PIED introduced fanaticism among them in Paris in 1718, though it had been be- 
 gun"at Port-Royal long before. A deacon, an obstinate appellant, called PARIS 9 
 buried in St Medard's church, was canonized by them ; and a girl, blindand Jame, 
 was said to have been cured at his grave. The archbishop Vemirr.elle du Luc 
 condemned this pretended miracle in 1731, proving the girl was never blind or 
 lame ; her name was Ann Le Franc. The same is proved Jemonftratively by the 
 archbifhop of Sens, both respecting this and all their other forgeries and pretend 
 ed miracles. Abbe BESHKEANT, a notorious zealot of the party, s was a little lame 
 and disfigured. He visiced the tomb of Monsieur PARIS very long, without any 
 cure, as he testifies ; but at length he was seized, always on the tomb, with violent 
 convulsions, jumping in the air, Sec. : this they called a miracle. Madema'uells 
 lc Brvn, 1 8 year* old, found the same effect when she came upon the grave; 
 but in her, these convulsions soon grew too immodest to be described ; as well as 
 in many other?, for they were now multiplied without end, and all Paris went 
 to see them, till the lung forbid them, and ordered the little church-yard of St 
 Medard, -in which was pari&'s grave, to be shut up. Then BESCHERANT had 
 convulsions at home, till by the king's orders he was put into the mad-house 
 of St Lazare, where he had no more. T,a ROSALIA was most famous for her 
 convulsions, bu: her indecent nakedness, &c. was mott shamciul : She was often 
 senvictcd of forgery ; pretending to be differently affected by the touch of >
 
 Clap. V. A TOUR FROM ATX TO MARSEILLES. 237 
 
 condemned it, and upon examination banished three of those 
 prophets who had retired thither. 
 
 priest from that of any other per-on, she mistook one who dressed himself as z 
 secular ; pretending to be insensible, as dead, she screamed, when pricked with a 
 pin. The Invisible hegan first her convulsions at night, and her behaviour was 
 still more infamous. Mademoiselle RESTAN was with Mademoiselle DANCONI 
 iri the greatest repute for predictions, &c. She first called Brother Augustin the 
 precursor of ELIAS, the second JOHN, in truth, not in figure. The Wandering 
 "Jeiv, (as one called himself), performed many tedious journeys, and had hard 
 nights in the villages, often abused as a madman, in search of Elias and his bre- 
 thren the Jews, hefore the day of judgment just at hand, but could never find 
 them. Misadventures resemble Don Quixote's The Chevalier t who called him- 
 self FK ERE HILAIRE, wasno less remarkable. The female barber, ABOYEUSE, sur- 
 passed these still, but she failed in an attempt she made to raise a child to life, and 
 named a bone found at Port-Royal a relic of Singlin, whose body it was proved had 
 bren buried in Paris. Some eat pins, others nails, and played many juggler tricks. 
 There was a nun, a Con-uulsionaire, cured by her abbess ordering two lusty lay- 
 sisters to beat her, as she fell into her fits. They dare only carry on this folly in 
 private houfes at present. Duguet, and other fensible Jansenists, condemn them 
 for their blasphemies, immodesties; and ridiculous follies. The pretended Elias 
 called himself so, and was saluted as such by several extatic Convuliionairei. He was 
 one VAILL ANT, born in Troycs : At 17 he entered novice at La Trappe, but was 
 dismissed, for pretending to reform that house. He was a priest, vicar, and ae 
 last country curate in the diocese of Troyes ; but for tiiese jj years past has beera 
 in the Bastile. 
 
 Misson in his Theatre of the Cevennes, Brueis, and Jurieu, give us accounts of 
 the fanatic Huguenots ; and several Janscr.ists have aha given us accounts of th- 
 Cwcul.'ii'iaires of S*. Medard.
 
 138 XATIIS CF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTH. 
 TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES continued. 
 
 St MAXIMIN'S. Tradition respecting St Mary Magdalene. &c. Account of 
 her Relics. Remarkable Anecdote in proof of their authenticity La Salute 
 Baume. Auhiine. MA'.ISF.ILLES, Harbour, Lazaretto, Arsenal. Descrip- 
 tion of the Galleys. Abbey of St Victor. 
 
 MARSEILLES, 1745. 
 
 JL ( ROM Aix it is six leagues to St MAXIMIN'S, a small populous 
 town, and the principal among all the holy places of Provence. 
 The Dominicans, who have rich settlements over all Provence 
 and Languedoc, are the possessors of all the relics here. Their 
 convent is very large and stately, and their community con- 
 sists of ico religious. They have a very convenient fountain 
 and spring of good water in their refectory. The prior is 
 named by the king, and appoints the curate of the town, who 
 is one of his own Religious. This parish is exempt from the 
 jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Aix, as the convent is in a 
 great measure from that of its own immediate superiors : So 
 that the prior is invested with great authority, and enjoys 
 many privileges, with great annual revenues. It is an ancient: 
 popular tradition in Provence, that St Mary Magdalene (or 
 perhaps Mary the sister of Lazarus), St Martha, and St La- 
 zarus, with some other disciples of our Lord, being expelled 
 by the Jews, took shipping and landed at Marseilles, of which 
 church they were the founders. The relics of those saints 
 were discovered in the I3th century ; those of St Mary Mag* 
 dulene at St Maximin's, those of St Martha at Tarasqon, and 
 others at St Viuior'-., ia Marseilles. Ihey were found dcpo- 
 ittd ia one tomb of alabaster, and three of marble, with in- 
 scriptions in parchment, wrapped up in cork-wood, mention- 
 iu^ vvhu^ todies thfy v/erc, and were authentically proved
 
 Chap. Vll. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 139 
 
 genuine by many monuments found with them in these seve- 
 ral places *. Charles I. King cf Sicily, and brother of St 
 L*wis, was at that time sovereign Count of Provence, but be- 
 ing then in Naples, engaged in war with the house of Arragon, 
 his son, Charles of Avignon, Prince of Salerno, governed Pro- 
 vence. This Prince had already founded the church of St 
 Maximin's upon the spot, when the relics of St Magdalene 
 were discovered. And in 1279, (having then become Count 
 of Provence by his brother's death) he assisted at the solemn 
 translation of them in presence of the archbishops of Narbonne^ 
 Aries, Aix, and Ambrun, together with many bishops. He 
 himself took St Magdalene's relics out of the tomb, and put 
 them into a silver shrine, and the head into a golden case, sur- 
 mounted with the royal crown which his father had sent him. 
 Ke obtained a bull- from Pope Boniface Vll I., by which the 
 Dominicans were put in possession of St Maximin's, and La 
 Smnte Baume, which had before belonged to the Benedic- 
 tines under St Victor's, in Marseilles, who received an equi- 
 valent in other lands. In the year 1690, Lewis XIV., with 
 the Queen-Mother, visited St Maximin's, and La Sainte 
 Baume, on which occasion he caused the shrine of St Magda- 
 lene to be opened, and the relics put into a new shroud, wrap- 
 ped in a blue scarf, and enclosed in a leaden coffin, covered with- 
 in and without with gold brocade^ the key being given to 
 himself. The shrine was closed with three blue ribbons, up- 
 on which his Majesty, with his own hand, set his seal in wax 
 in ten places. This leaden shrine was carried in a great pro- 
 
 * Many modern critics doubt of these rclius being- genuine, and imagine the 
 Subscriptions, &c. to bea forgery. F.NOEL, or NATALI? ALEXANDER, attends 
 both St Mary Magdalene's arrival in Provence, and the authenticity cf her relic?, 
 i>jni the circumstances of the discovery. Indeed it is not conceivable so many 
 monuments found in different places, and at different times, should be al! impos- 
 tures. Could the whole province conspire to impose upon posterity so great a 
 ch:at, to the hazard of their own eternal damnation I These certainly are suffi- 
 cient grounds for the devotion of the faithful, and of so many Popes and Kings; 
 though even if the relics should be false, the devotion is no 1-bs commendable and 
 good in itielf, as it is not rash, but prudent and morally well grounded. It is be- 
 sides referred to God and the saints, not to the place or shrines themselves. A- 
 lexanderthe Great could no: be offended to see foreign ambassadors honour hi* 
 favourite fur himself by mistake, whilst he saw they designed t.ae homage for hi.n, 
 
 13
 
 143 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 cession of bishops and clergy to the high altar, and deposited 
 in an urn of porphyry with his Majesty's letter-patent, and 
 the processes of the archbishop of Avignon, De Marinii, who 
 performed the ceremony. The urn being shut up, the king 
 broke the keys, that it might never be opened without his 
 special order. The Chieen-mother took one of the bones, 
 which she gave to her abbey of Val de Grace in Paris. 
 
 We first observed in this church the urn of Porphyry, which 
 contains the bones of St Mary Magdalene, and which is placed 
 on the top of the back part of the high altar. The prior next 
 conducted us down into a rich subterraneous chapel, very 
 strongly shut up by iron gates, &:c. which he opened. Here 
 are the four tombs found by Charles II. ; (see p. 138.} But the- 
 relics are taken out. Here also is shewn the head of St Magda- 
 lene in the gold case above described, which is enriched with 
 great jewels. Before it is the statue of Ann of Britanny, queen 
 of France, of enamelled gold, very beautiful, though small. 
 She is praying upon her knees upon a pedestal, upon which 
 are two angels supporting the case : This was the present of 
 that queen. The head of the saint, and all its bones, arc pro- 
 digiously lar-2;e. It has in its aspect an extraordinary air of 
 majesty, very agreeable. On the left side of the forehead is a 
 piece of flesh uncorrupted, which they call the noli me tangere } 
 and say it was preserved incorruptible, because our Saviour 
 touched it with his finger when he bid Mary not touch him. 
 .Bat for this circumstance no good authority is alleged. Two 
 facts at least regarding this flesh are however well attested. 
 A person being desirous to cut oft" a small piece of it, to put 
 ;n a reliquary, the licih which before was dry, immediately on 
 being cut, appeared red with fresh blood \ as the verbal pro- 
 cess, and the attestations of the physicians called to examine it, 
 confirm. The second remarkable fort alluded to happened 
 thus : The Llan.lre de (.orr.ptt.t, ac Aix, (a sovereign court) 
 has upon the death of the king a light to examine all relics, 
 to ascertain whether they are in the same condition as upon 
 the last king's death. Three of these counsellors, preposess- 
 -~"\ with the notion that the above circumstance was a cheat^
 
 Clap. VII. A TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 141 
 
 resolved to discover and abolish it. Accordingly, on the death 
 of Lewis XIV. making use of their privilege, they went to 
 St Maximin's with surgeons and apothecaries from remote 
 towns, suspecting those of the place. These they command- 
 ed to examine the piece of flesh even by cutting, and to employ 
 the strongest menstruutns to separate it from the bone. But 
 all had no effect; the surgeons cried out, " A miracle !" And 
 the three counsellors were seized with so great fear, that thev 
 immediately begged pardon of the prior and the religious, an4 
 by way of reparation, or amende honorable, drew up and sub- 
 scribed a judicial attestation of what they had witnessed, and 
 became the most zealous defenders of the truth of these relics , 
 as two of these gentlemen, yet alive in Aix, still continue to 
 declare themselves on all occasions. 
 
 The prior next shewed the holy ampulla, or glass vial, in 
 which is some of our Saviour's blood, which they say St Mag- 
 dalene brought with her. This they shew publicly every 
 good Friday. In a chapel on the side of the church, (called the 
 chapel of relics), a great number of relics, in very rich cases, 
 are locked up under iron gates on each side of it. These the 
 prior shewed us last. Amongst these we admired most the 
 silver tabernacle, which contains the bones of St Maximin, ex- 
 cept the scull, which is kept in the cathedral of Aix : A silver 
 case with a vial containing the hair of St Magdalen'--, exceeding 
 long : A shoulder of St Lawrence which seems broiled : A 
 prodigious large amethyst on a silver case in which is the heu-i 
 of a martyr, Sec. 
 
 LA SAIXTE BAU^IE is the frightful mountain, the highest of 
 
 O ' O 
 
 any in Provence, in which St Magdalene is said to have done pen- 
 ance. It is 3 long leagues from St Maxirnln's, as many from Mar- 
 seilles, and 5 from Aix La Sal/its Eaurne signifies, in the Pro- 
 vencal language, the holy cave being a cave formed by nature in 
 the hard rock, of the size of a small room, almost on the top of 
 this high mountain. It is always dry. The sa:nt is said to 
 have lain in it and performed IKT greatest pei.ances here. The 
 rock forms another large vault in this place, fr<:m every part 
 :f -.vhich drops of vvr.ter cc.iti;iual]y f:d! like a m-.ll rain ; an
 
 142 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 emblem of the saint's perpetual tears. At the end of it is a 
 plentiful spring of excellent water, which notwithstanding its 
 height "\ever dries : Out of this it is said St Magdalene drank. 
 The whole of this space is now contained within a church be- 
 longing to the adjoining convent cf the Dominicans, and the na- 
 tural vault of the rock forms the principal part of its roof; so 
 that a person must chuse his place not to be wet with the con- 
 tinual droppings : The altar and other places near the smaller 
 cave, are covered round with votive offerings, generally wretch- 
 ed daubings rather than paintings, and paltry inscriptions : 'tis 
 a pitythere is no care taken to hinder the country people from 
 hanging up such mean presents : If they arc not able to offer 
 something handsome, might they not give their mite according 
 to their devotion, either to the religious, to the poor, or to the 
 fabric or shrine ? And cculd not sorne superior take care that 
 all was carefully and faithfully employed ? Among those in- 
 scriptions I was much pleased with copy of very elegant Latin 
 verses, engraven on a brass plate, and said to have been compos- 
 ed by PETRARCH when he visited this place. They seem tome 
 to surpass his fine Italian odes. Ajcining to this church stands 
 a small convent of Dominicans. The religious are sent hither 
 by the prior of St Maximin's, who allows them 1000 livres 
 each per annum, which is far from being too much ; as every- 
 thing must be brought them from a great distance, over stu- 
 pendous mountains. They are u-ually six in number. The con- 
 vent is so artfully built in a chink of the rock, that it can scarce- 
 ly be distinguished to be a house, except by the windows, which 
 are small. It is extremly cold. From this dreary habitation 
 these solitaries can see nothing but a frightful precipice, which 
 one cannot look down upon without horror ; and beyond it 
 other rocky mountains, completely barren : Indue;!, in a kind 
 of an ugly plain there grow fir trees and snme other low wood, 
 which display a little verdure in summer. They see the mists, 
 and often the cloud.?, rolling below them. The roads to this 
 dismal solitude are 2 leagues over rough mountains; on many 
 sides 3 leagues; every where very bad, but the last high ascent 
 to the convent io on the brink of a precipice, and not only very 
 strep ind r< arrow, but so rugged that it is difficult: to mount up 
 Ga
 
 Clap. VII. TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 143 
 
 either on horseback or on foot : I rather chose the latter mode. 
 What must it have been before the steps, such as they are, 
 were made in it ? Towering above la Saint e Baume, ap- 
 pears the lofty summit of these mountains, called Saint Pilon, 
 which, in the Provenqal language, signifies the holy pillar*. 
 for here once stood a pillar, now a small marble chapel, in me- 
 mory of St Magdalene's having been carried hither in raptures 
 by the hands of angels. This place so remote from and almost 
 inaccessible to every living creature, in the midst of such dif- 
 mal barren rocks, was certainly calculated for the most austere 
 penitents. The very sight of it still, notwithstanding the view 
 of the convent, is extremely moving. Such solitudes however 
 constituted the delight of the saints, and were rendered sweet to 
 them by their conversation with God and with heaven. The 
 religious eat no flesh ; indeed the Doaiiu leans in these parts 
 never do. It is also said, they never give any to strangers ; and 
 that, not to break through this holy custom, Lewis XIV. 
 when here, refused to eat any. They are not now so scrupu- 
 lous, for they even pressed us to eat of animal food. 
 
 On our way to Marseilles, we passed through AUBAINE a 
 handsome small town. The church of the Recollects is rich 
 and worthy of notice : The bishop of Pv'Iarseiiles lives gene- 
 rally in his country palace here : He is a very exemplary and 
 xealous prelate ; preaches often, and is admired for the zeal be 
 shewed when Marseilles was alTHcted with the plaj-ue, br ex- 
 
 l O ' - 
 
 posing himself daily in visiting the sick, and shutting himself 
 up with them in the town, in the mid.:', oi" gi'eat miseries a;},l 
 horrors. 
 
 Greece long before Christ: and colonies sent from it built se- 
 veral ports on this coast, as Nice, Antibcs, and other places : 
 it was then a republic ; -i;J first iuviicd the llornaiu into G.iui 
 to protect it against the barbarous Saliwij. The Romans grant- 
 ed it the greatest privileges, and tn-uted it as an ally rather 
 than as a subject; and it generally maintained its liberty 
 both against the Gauls and } f Yench, though k probably Ir.i.i 
 been sometimes under their kings. It subsisted as a common- 
 \vealtb ia the time of the Count- of Provence, by vvh::ru an<.V 
 
 I 3
 
 144 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER, 
 
 the Burgundians, &.c. it was frequently besieged. It submit- 
 ted at last, about the year 1243, to tne Counts of Provence, 
 yet still preserving many considerable privileges, which the 
 French kings confirmed to it. The^e were, to be governed 
 by four consuls elected by the inhabitants ; to pay no taxes on 
 goods imported, or exported, &c. ; to have no garrison, nor 
 any citadel, but that of Notre Dame de la Garde ; but Lewis 
 XIV., on occasion of a mutiny of the city against the Duke 
 of Guise, general of his gallies, abolished many of these 
 privileges, only leaving it a free port. The king entered 
 the city with Cardinal Mazarine and 10,000 soldiers. The 
 citizens received his laws ; and his first act of authority 
 was to build a Citadel on the right side of the mouth of the 
 harbour, and Fort St John on the other side. The space be- 
 tween is shut up by a chain every night, and is so narrow 
 that only one ship can pass at once. The harbour is 1000 paces 
 long and 300 broad , one of the finest for show in the world, 
 though too small to admit men of war. The city is large, 
 very well built, exceeding populous, rich, and full of bus- 
 tle and business. Its streets are long and broad ; and most 
 of them lead to the port. The Cours is very large, and a beau- 
 tiful place for a general rendezvous and promenade. It is 
 planted with trees, and adorned with handsome cisterns of wa- 
 ter, and very good houses on every side. But it is always 
 crowded beyond measure, and not so shady and agreeable as 
 that of Aix. The Lazaretto is a large fine building, where 
 foreigners who come from eastern parts are permitted to live, 
 during the quarantine to which they are subjected. This law is 
 strictly observed in all the ports of Italy, &c. otherwise the 
 plague would often be imported from Asia and Egypt, where 
 it too frequently rages. Marseilles, however, was not always 
 very strict in exacting a compliance with this regulation ; but 
 it paid dear for its lenity, by the plague being brought with 
 some merchandize from Egypt in 172" : Since which time it 
 has become more exact in enforcing obedience to the above 
 law. The arsenal of Marseilles is the most beautiful in the 
 world, though it does not contain arms for 30,000 men ; but 
 rhey are disposed in so admirable nn order, sncl in such a ple?,r -
 
 Chap. VII. A TOUR FROM AIX TO MARSEILLES. 145 
 
 ing variety of forms, representing suns, triangles, pyramids, 
 parks of arms, &:c. with steel rails exquisitely wrought, hu- 
 man figures in all sorts of armour, &.c. that it is one of the 
 greatest curiosities to be seen here. In it are kept the arms 
 belonging to the galleys. The Park, the buildings belonging 
 to the galleys arid arsenal (in which is an extensive range of 
 smith's shops, Sec.) together with the Palace and gardens of the 
 intendant of the gallevs, are magnificent and qf vast extent. 
 They are near die port, where the galleys themselves, glitter- 
 ing with gildings, make a very fine shew. All the French 
 king's galleys lie here. They arc at present only 18, though 
 they were 40 not many years ago. The general's is richly 
 gilt and painted, and adorned with the best basso-relievos of 
 the age. Its flags, streamers, &.c. are of fine red damask, with 
 flowers tie lys devices and coats of arms, embroidered with 
 gold. The principal flag is 40 feet long, and 10 broad. The 
 principal cabin is lined with red damask, fringed with gold and 
 silk. The lieutenant-general's galley is nearly -as rich. Few 
 sights can equal the splendour of these galleys on holy days, 
 when all their streamers are displayed. They serve to carry 
 great persons, like our yachts, and to cruize against the Afri- 
 can corsairs in the summer months. Besides these, the har- 
 bour is always crowded with ships from every part of tha 
 world, forming a perfect forest of mast3. It can contain 530 
 vessels in perfect safety, being, as I was informed, a thousand 
 paces long. Around it runs a broad handsome pavement, and 
 beyond that good houses and shops. Here also stands the Ex- 
 chancre, in which we were amused by seeing people of almost 
 every country of the world. The walls of the town are razed, 
 and it has no fortifications at present, except a strong citadel, 
 built by Lewis XIV. on an eminence, which commands both 
 the town and the port. This port is one of the strongest in 
 Europe, having a very narrow entrance between strong castles . 
 ihat on the left is called Notre Darne de Garde, being ou 
 a mountain (on which is a chapel of our Lady, greatly revert-! 
 iu these parts) from the top of which there is a view of tin- 
 sea to a great distance. Besides these, the three isles lyni<; 
 before the mouth of the harbour arc fortified. Thf casus
 
 146 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAtf BUTLER. 
 
 of Iff, in one of them, has a governor and garrison, is looked 
 upon as exceeding strong, and serves as a prison of state for 
 these parts, in the same manner as the citadel of Montpelier 
 docs for the province wherein it is situated. As this castle is 
 a league from the shore, we were not tempted to go to see it. 
 
 Near Notre Dame de Garde is the ancient rich abbey of 
 />". Victor, in which Cassiau was abbot, and which, with Lerins, 
 was the great seminarj of Gaul for many ages. The monks 
 were first Cassianites, but afterwards Benedictines. They 
 had many exemptions and privileges, and never underwent any 
 reformation in discipline ; so that though they resided in one 
 house, each monk received his share of the revenues, and lived 
 on it in his own quarters as he thought proper, almost without 
 subordination, obedience, or rule, merely keeping choir. A few 
 years ago, they obtained a bull from Rome, which secularized 
 them. The kino;, however, has never yet allowed this secu- 
 larization, and the parliament of Aix published so severe an in- 
 vective against them, that it was suppressed even by an order of 
 the king's council. 'ihus the rr.or;ks look upon themselves as 
 no religious, bat as secular canons. Many of them do not even 
 reside ; two live at Aix, enjoying f heir benefices at a distance. 
 The abbey is a very old va^t building. In the courf is a deep 
 well, into which they tell 115 very gravely, the devil fled, when 
 exorcised once by the monks -, and they shewed a mark on a 
 stone at its mouth, where he fixer! hit claw ; this mark i-:- struck 
 deep in the stone, and appears I'.kc tint of the claw o. some 
 wild beast. They p.ro 50 i'rcpc-jsessed with the truth of this 
 story, that they make a precession every Suncuv, in surplices, 
 round the cloisters to this well, with prayers and exorcisms. 
 Their church is a Gothic building, very large, rich in relics, 
 and remarkable for its antiquity. The sacristan shewed us 
 the relics under strong iron gates and bolts, in repositories 
 made in the wall, on each side of the high altar. I chidly took 
 notice of those of St Victor in a silver shrine, gilt, given by 
 Tope Urban V., whose tomb we see on the outside of the choir. 
 'II: z al<b;'V gv:vc an arm of St Victor to that of his name in 
 I'dris. Thcr-,- are also relics of many other saints and ir,artyrs, 
 22 w-Ll '-.z ccr:;o:; of all Uie chief relics cf St Peter's in Rome,
 
 . VII. A TOUR FROM AJX TO MARSEILLES 147 
 
 given by the same pope ; a finger of St Mary Magdalen, Sec. 
 all in rich cases. Jn the lower part of the church, is a subter- 
 raneous chapel, or rather very large church, with many alleys 
 and chapels, which we saw by candle light. 1 hey say one of 
 the chapels here was the first Christian church in France. It 
 has been consecrated by three popes in person, as stones in it 
 testify; and enjoys very great grants and privileges. The chapel 
 of St Mary Magdalene contains her statue, and is the place io. 
 which they say she began her penance, before she retired to La 
 Sainte Baume. The chapel of our Lady no woman is permitted 
 to enter. They shewed us here, in these caverns and alleys, ma- 
 ny ancient monuments and relics, among others the stone torab 
 of St Cassian : Though his name be not in the martyrology, the 
 popes allow this abbey to keep his office, and honour his relics: 
 he never held the Semipelagian heresy, atter it was condemned 
 and looked on as an error. Here is also the true cross of St An- 
 drew, as they assure us ; it is said to be of olive wood; is seven 
 feet long, and eight inches broad in the figure of an X. 
 The bodies of the Seven Sleepers, in a stone tomb, ate likewise 
 here. The story of their sleep of 300 years is fabulous ; but: 
 these martyrs acquired that name from their " sleeping in the 
 Lord" by death ; for this was the church phrase. The tomb of 
 the 'Twenty four Virgins, who disfigured themselves, to prevent 
 their being ravished by the Vandals, is also shcr.vn. An ancient 
 picture of an abbot here is remarkable, to shew how simple their 
 habit, staff, and cap then were : no mitre, crosier, &c. Here 
 are many other curious antiquities. Coming out of the caves, 
 we again examined some ancient monuments, lying in the 
 porch or gallery before the church-door. This abbey enjoys 
 jo,cco livres yearly revenue. The cathedral, called Notre- 
 Dame Major, is very large and ancient. They say it is the 
 :ame building which was a Roman temple of Diana of Ephe- 
 sus. In my opinion the present structure is Gothic. It pos- 
 sesses the head of Lazarus in a silver shrine, gilt and wrought^ 
 that of St Canat, 2d bishop of Marseilles, in silver, gilt, &.c. 
 The tomb of Monsieur Gof f a canon esteemed u saint by the 
 people, is very rich, and filled with donation.,, Ihe parkl^ 
 church of St Ferriol is recemlv built auu in a "orx! Myle,
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Marseilles has three great manufactories of earthen ware, 
 imitating china, situated on the outside of the gate towards 
 Aix. This city by its trade abounds with all the produce of 
 Asia, Africa, and Spain, cc., as cheap as on the spot ; as their 
 Onions, &cc. 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTH. 
 
 TOUR FROM MARSEILLES TO ANTIBES. 
 
 TOULON, Ramparts, Anecdote of the Bishop during the Plague, Arsenal 
 Hkres. Orange Gardens. Frcj us (Forum Julii). Cannes Isles of Lerins. 
 Antibes. Description of the Felucca's. An Account of the Mediterranean. 
 
 Marseilles, 1745. 
 
 E set out from Aix for Italy on the 7th of March. Sum- 
 iner is intolerable in so hot a climate, and winter nearly as bad 
 for travelling here as it is in England, being cold, subject to 
 rains, floods, (the more disagreeable, because in Italy there are 
 few bridges, and many dangerous fords) snows, and bad wea- 
 ther. Spring is the best season, and ought to be taken very 
 early. As we had seen Marseilles on one side, and St Maxi- 
 min on the other, we chose our road by TOULON, i r leagues 
 from Aix : the first part through a plain country of olives, 
 vines, pasture, and some corn ; the latter part rugged and 
 mountainous : yet here the almond trees, covered with blos- 
 soms, had the appearance of full spring ; and even the barren 
 rocky mountains and heaths afforded a pleasant landscape, 
 while the abundance of thyme, lavender, and other odoriferous 
 herbs, with which they were covered, exhaled a most delicious 
 fragrance. I know some virtuosos in Aix, who spend a great 
 \>j.rt of their time in studying the herbs on these hills, which 
 are found here in great variety. Before reaching Toulon, we 
 ree: ruth cipers and c*rrige trees. The former grow here ia
 
 Clap. VIII. A TOUR FROM MARSEILLES TO ANTIBES. 149 
 
 plenty, both on walla and on the ground in plots. The bud 
 must be gathered green, before it turns to a white flower. It 
 is of a disagreeable taste, till boiled with water and salt. It 
 then excites an appetite, is opening, attenuating, and very heal- 
 ing. 
 
 TOULON is a small town, of little trade, but very strongly 
 fortified. The ramparts are faced with fresh beautiful white 
 stone, and the parapets not of a thin brick wall, as in most parts 
 of Flanders, which is broke down by the first fire, but of stone, 
 and a rampart of earth behind, the embrazures through which 
 the garrison fire their muskets being narrow at the wall, but- 
 widening gradually. The cathedral is large and very old. 
 The bishop is beloved and reverenced as a saint, on account of 
 his great devotion, and his zeal in the last plague. As he went 
 through the streets on that occasion to visit the sick, a person 
 in an infected house cried out for the sacraments : the bishop 
 bid his chaplain go in and administer them : He excused him- 
 self out of fear. The bishop went up stairs himself, and ad- 
 ministered them with his own hands, without receiving any 
 injury. The chaplain fell sick and died. Indeed fear would na- 
 turally dispose his body to catch the infection, and intrepidity 
 contribute to preserve the prelate. The arsenal of Toulon is 
 large, and has a good park. It contains the arms for the men- 
 of-war, but not so beautifully arranged as at Marseilles. The 
 port is very deep, the entry well defended by castles, and shel- 
 tered against winds and storms by hills. We saw in it seven- 
 men-of-xvar, and were present at the launching of one of 
 73 guns ; when the props and beams that held it were cut, 
 and it slid down the inclined plane it stood upon iaco the sea, 
 first the fore-part, then the hind-part, plunged deep under wa- 
 ter, the other end rising up high. It produced such a com- 
 motion in the harbour, that our bont seemed ready to sink, and 
 the sea appeared as if in a violent storm. All took oiT their 
 hats to salute her, as she rapidly passed through the po:t 
 into the sea. As BREST in Britany, on the Ocean, with its ca- 
 pScious and safe haibour, is the first, so TOULON" on the Medi- 
 terranean, is the second port in France for seamen 
 of war.
 
 150 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 We went from Toulon to Hi* res, a small poor town, with a 
 good citadel and garrison on a high mountain overhanging the 
 town. This is the finest country for oranges in Europe. All its 
 land is formed into gardens of that fruit. The same tree often 
 displays blossoms, buds, and ripe fruit at the same time, the lattef 
 hanging thick all over like golden apples. I imagine the For- 
 tunate Islands of the ancients were similar to this country, 
 The sweet or China oranges are the principal ; but there are 
 also some sour or Seville oranges, and a few iine lemons. These 
 are all exquisitely good, better than when kept or carried to a 
 distance ; for then the bitterness of the rhind is sucked in and 
 mixed with the sweet juice of the fruit. Many of the sour, 
 and still more of the sweet, areas big asthree or four of such as 
 we commonly have from Portugal, which was the first country 
 in Europe where these sweet oranges (got from China) were 
 planted. At Hieres the oranges which grow on a spot of four 
 gcres of laird can be sold for 1500 livres a-year, and are hi 
 prodigious quantities. The isles of HIERES are two barren 
 sands above water, a league from land. They are become fa- 
 mous for the late engagement between our fleet under Admit al 
 Mathevvs, and the French and Spanish squadrons, of which the 
 spectators here give a very odd account : some having been 
 fighting, others calmly looking on, &.c. "We returned the same 
 dav from Hieres to Toulon, and admired ao;ain its walls and 
 
 ^ ' o 
 
 port, fortified by two moles, each of 700 paces, which almost: 
 shut up the haven. Its arsenal is the best naval one in France, 
 surpassing Brest ; but we could not see it during the war. 
 Toulon is famous for soap, of which it makes and sells a pro- 
 digious quantity ; as does ulso Aix and other parts of Provence 
 and Languedoc, which abound in olive oil. Soap is made of 
 .;shes, oak, &cc. with olive oils, and marrow of olives, or fat, 
 rc. 1 he diffcient quantities of these ingredients make the 
 cluTererice of the soaps of Alicant, Genoa, Toulon, &cc. 
 
 From Toulon to FREJUS it is iS leagues ; the first part good 
 road, though at the foot of the lidge of mountains which runs 
 from the Pyrenees to the Alps. This lower province is moun- 
 tainous, and its valleys full of marshes, &.c. Frejus was the 
 v:J Pcr'ii^i "///'*, Tnad" b uLii's C^-AR the Romans princi-
 
 Cfiffp. VIII. A TOUR FROM MARSEILLES TO ANTIBES. 1 5! 
 
 pal haven, fortress, and arsenal for Gaul. The sea is now half a 
 league distant, and the little rivers Beal and Rairan are not na- 
 vigable to the town, on account of sands, though the port might 
 be opened again : It is a dismal town, seated in a fenny val- 
 ley, having a dead marsh upon the one side, arid snowy barrea 
 mountains hanging almost over it on the other : It is small, 
 poor, thinly peopled, arid from its disagreeable situation very 
 unwholesome. The bishop's palace is very magnificent aftd 
 large, whilst the cathedra), which is also the only parish church, 
 is very mean. Here are still some remains of an old amphi- 
 theatre built, it is said, by Julius Cee.sar. It is constructed of 
 small stones. Without the town are the remains of another 
 wonderful work of that celebrated general, the noble aqueduct 
 which brought fresh water from the river Siana, by a circuit- 
 of eight leagues. I am not surprised that the present bishop 
 of Frejus, who has been too much accustomed to company, 
 should look upon this see as a banishment. He is not, however, 
 likely to be translated in such haste as he seems to desire. Both 
 his situation and character ought to excite in his mind a lovs 
 of solitude. On leaving Frejus, we found the roads, especial- 
 ly at Estrelles, far worse than any we had yet met with, lead- 
 ing over rugged mountains, and by the side of frightful preci- 
 pices. We were gted, after eight leagues of such travelling, to 
 arrive at Cannes, a borough, on the sea formerly belonging to the 
 abbey of Lerins ; but the late Bishop of Grace obtained pos- 
 session, by a decree of the king's council, of this and 24 ether 
 great lordships, all formerly belonging to this abbey, which is 
 ihus stripped of its great possessions. From Cannes we see 
 the two isles of Lerins, as they were called ; now they are only 
 known by the names of St Koncratus an;{ St Marguerite. They 
 are verdant and beautiful, very different from the isles of 
 Hieres. The first indeed is more barren, but the island of Sc 
 Marguerite is very fertile, and covered with olive trees. The 
 sihbey of Lerins was for many ages a seminary of learning anu 
 piety, and the nursery of innumerable saints, as xvell as of the 
 most eminent bishops of Gaul. It received the order of St 
 Bennet. At present it has lost a great part of its lands and 
 manor^ ami cont:uii> only a few monks. Jt is a large modern
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 building of white stone, and is now known by the name of the 
 abbey of St Honoratus, from its eminent alumnut and patron 
 of that name. The isle of St Honoratus is near a mile from 
 the shore. It contains a lofty oblong tower, capable of hold- 
 ing 400 soldiers. The isle of St Marguerite is half a mile from 
 the former, very fertile, and strongly fortified. St Marguerite';, 
 is a good town : On the mole, three miles in circuit, stand 
 three fortresses ; Fortin on the eastj Fort d'Arragon on the 
 west, and the principal of all^ Fort Royal, on a rock. These 
 isles were taken by the Spaniards in the minority of Lewis 
 XIV., but soon recovered by that prince.. Four leagues be- 
 low Frejus, we passed the river $iane, which falls here into the 
 sea : It rfses among the mountains, and washes the walls of 
 Crtace, or Grasse, a small poor town, though an Episcopal see, 
 situated at the foot of a frightful mountain named Vence : We 
 left it on our left hand, and higher towards Dauphiny, Riez, 
 Sisteron, Digne with its hot baths, and Glandeve, all small 
 bishoprics in Provence. 
 
 ANTIEES is eight leagues from Frejus, and 24 from Toulon, 
 It was built by a colony of the Phocaeans from Marseilles, 
 and the Romans had for some time a praetor, or general gover- 
 nor, who resided here. It is now a small gay town, very 
 strong, and beautifully fortified, with a citadel on a high moun- 
 tain, defended by good bastions. It is a great thorough-fare to 
 Italy. Its port is fine, well defended by forts on its entrance ; 
 but so very shallow that no vessel can enter it, except small 
 boat, feluccas, and tartanes, which it is always full of. It is 
 the last town of Provence and France towards Savoy and Italy. 
 It being extremely troublesome to pass the mountains which 
 continue quite to Genoa, and from thence again to Sazzana for 
 above 200 miles, most travellers embark at Antibes in a feluc- 
 ca, which is a flat-bottomed boat, made to pass over the sands 
 and rocks near the coast. But if a sudden wind rises, they 
 are more easily blown over than a fisher's boat, as they are 
 iighter, and not so large. In the summer months they are 
 safe enough, if the weather be settled and fair ; they sail swift- 
 ly, have small sails, and four or live oars ; but if they go too 
 Var into tb.c sea, (as the sailors endeavour to do to have a bet-
 
 Clap. VIII. TOUR FROM MARSEILLE TO ANTIBES. 153 
 
 ter wind, and save themselves the trouble of rowing), the boat 
 is often lost, a circumstance which uniformly happens if the 
 wind be too strong. Even near the coast they cannot always 
 gain the shore, for sometimes the wind is such that it would 
 sink them, were they to attempt it, and frequently the coast 13 
 too rocky and inhospitable to be approached. However, we 
 ventured to take one ("for about four guineas) to Genoa, and 
 put on board our chaise. We s?.iled next day at ten o'clock, 
 with a pretty favourable wind ; but were three hours in mak- 
 ing two leagues, and the whole party sea-sick. The wind, 
 then rose, and turned directly against us. I had often request- 
 ed the mate to go near the land, as he had engaged his word 
 he would 5 but he paid no regard to his promise, sometimes 
 making one excuse, sometimes another. I now insisted on 
 being put on shore at the next cape. The sailors attempted to 
 enter the port of Nice, but could not accomplish it ; the boat 
 leaned almost quite over, and we expected to sink every mi- 
 nute, till at last the sails were turned, though in doing it 
 we had well nigh perished. Thus we returned back to Antibes 
 in half the time we came from it, and never thought ourselves 
 safe till we trode on firm land. We therefore resolved to 
 venture no more on sea in so inconstant a season, when we 
 could go by land. 
 
 ANTIBES, was formerly a bishopric ; but this dignity was 
 translated to Grasse. The popes having afterwards declared, 
 the vicar of Antibes a delegate apostolic, placed the city under 
 him, and exempted it from its ordinary the bishop of Grasse. 
 This independence was confirmed by Clement VIII. ; and th 
 vicar and church still assert their right to it, but the kings have 
 tever favoured the bishop in his authority over it. 
 
 THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, separating Europe fron Africa, is 
 above 40 degrees, or 2400 miles in length, from the streights of 
 Gibraltar to the coast of Syria in Asia ; and four degrees or 240 
 miles in breadth^ in many places broader. It has no tide (ly- 
 ing too far from the course of the moon, the cause of tides) ex- 
 cept a small one in the Adriatic sea or gulf of Venice. This 
 Circumstance is extremely favourable to the ports of Marseilles, 
 Leghorn, &C. because vessels set out or rome in at any hour, 
 
 K
 
 154 TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 without waiting for the tide. Doctor Halley computes that the 
 Mediterranean (at the rate of half an inch a day over its whole 
 superficies drawn up by the heat of the sun in vapours and 
 clouds) emits daily in Summer 5280 millions of tons of water, 
 to fall afterwards in rain. But when that great philosopher cal- 
 culates the waters it receives from rivers to be only 80 times 
 as much as the Thames carries into the sea, he certainly falls 
 far short of the mark* ; for the quantity brought by three ri- 
 vers alone, which he excepts, is immense. These are the Nile, 
 which carries down all the snow and waters of Ethiopia (Egypt 
 gives it a very small supply, for it scarcely rains there,', the 
 Nitptr or Boristhsries, and the Don or Tamils, each of which 
 bring all the waters that fall for 2000 Muscovite miles. 
 
 This sea has near the Streights of Gibraltar (which are five 
 leagues, or 15 miles over) two opposite motions ; by one, on 
 the top, the Atlantic ocean runs into it ; by another at the 
 bottom, it flows back into the ocean. Hence a Dutch ship sunk 
 there, was carried by the under current 4 leagues west towards 
 Tangiers f. The waters of the Mediterranean are so smooth, 
 (having no tide or great waves), that they form a beautiful ob- 
 ject; and one would be apt to suppose them not subject to storms; 
 yet these are as frequent there as in the ocean, unless during 
 the summer months. 
 
 All the states upon the Mediterranean keep so-me armed gal- 
 leys to cruize against the Corsairs of Barbary, which often 
 come up to the very coasts of Italy, and sometimes plunder the 
 open country near the shore, carrying off all the inhabitants for 
 slaves ; as they did three years ago to the whole isle of Yvica 
 belonging to Spain, at a time when no Spanish ship could ap- 
 pear thereabouts for the English fleet. The galleys are 'oblig- 
 ed to go out for two months in summer to scour the seas ; a 
 hard time for the slaves : But for a very little money any of 
 them may get a licence to stay at home to work. Every o-alley 
 has a troop of regular soldiers, who are the tallest and stoutest 
 in France. The rest are slaves employed in rowing. The Turks 
 row best; and every galley is obliged to have some of that na- 
 tion, whom they buy of the Maltese. 
 
 * boc i hilosophkal Transactor s ? No. i6. a:id ;u. f Ibid, for 1724,
 
 Clap. IX. TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 155 
 
 CHAPTER NINTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE, 
 
 St Lawrence. NICE. Monaco. States of Genoa. Mentcn. Ventemille. 
 ?t Remo. Port- Maurice. Ondlle. Alassio. Albengo. Luan. Final. - 
 > Dreadful Roads. Noli Savona Wretched Inns. GENOA. Government 
 of Genoa, Character of the people, Description of the City, Cathedral, Palace 
 of the Dbrias, Doge's Palace, Strada Nuova, Arsenal, Harbour, Galley Slaves; 
 Sostri de Levanti. Port Specie. Sazzana. Masso Carraro. Piombino, 
 Interesting Anecdote of the Princess Piombino. Lucca, Government, 
 Churches. Pisa, Ancient and Present State, Cathedral, Remarkable Hang- 
 ing Tower, Campo Santo, and Knights of St Stephen. LEGHORN, Buildings, 
 Jews, and Mode of Travelling in Italy. 
 
 ANTIBES, March, i;ti 1746. 
 
 -ii IRED of our naval excursion, we sent our baggage in the fe- 
 lucca, and went by land in a chaise to Nice, four short leagues 
 from A.ntibes. Travelling along the sands we first passed over 
 the river le Loup, and then arrived at ST LAWRENCE, the last 
 village of Provence and of France, a small poor place, situ- 
 ated near the foot of the Alps. Its sweet wine is most delici- 
 ous, and in great esteem. About ico paces beyond it we 
 came to the first branch of the river J'ar, which, rising in the 
 Alps, after a very short course divides itself into three very 
 broad channels near the sea. Over these are long wooden 
 bridges for foot and horsemen, but, without a permission from 
 the governor of Antibes, chaises cannot pass them ; and for 
 these the ford is extremely dangerous. On crossing the first 
 bridge, we found ourselves in Italy, in the county of NICE, 
 and after travelling a league and a half more, we arrived at the 
 city of the same name. It is the capital of the cour.ty, and for- 
 merly belonged to Provence and France ; but fell ^fvi-nvards to 
 the princes of Piedmont; and lastly to theDuke of Savoy. Lewis 
 XIV. razed all the fortifications, so that it is a defenceless 
 place, and not very extensive. In it is the sovereign court of 
 
 K 3
 
 156 TRAVIS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLfiR. 
 
 judicature for the county : The Town-house or Palace (for it 
 has often served in each capacity) is a very large and noble 
 building, fit to lodge several princes with their trains together. 
 The Dominican's church is the best in the town : The port is 
 very difficult and dangerous in its entry, and too shallow for 
 any vessels, except feluccas ; properly speaking, Nice has 
 no port but the neighbouring one of Villa Franca. The bi- 
 shop is suffragan to the archbishop of Ambrun. The 
 French pretend a right to Nice, because it belonged to Pro- 
 vence, till Amadeus VII. seized it while the Counts of Pro- 
 vence were busied in their wars in Naples. We found the 
 French and Spaniards in possession of it. The French ge- 
 neral, (Count of Maulevrier) gave us an ample passport, in 
 the most obliging manner. 
 
 The Rarlets are the poor inhabitants of the solitary valleys 
 in the Alps above Piedmont. They were formerly almost all Pro- 
 testants ; are extremely savage ; and for dexterity and cruelty in 
 plundering, are similar to the Queen of Hungary's Pandours. 
 They live on plunder in war, and are very terrible in these 
 parts. They had made some excursions on this road as far 
 as Tourby ; but the governor had placed so many guards in 
 the passes of the mountains, that the roads were then perfectly 
 safe ; and indeed we travelled always within call of some strcnp 
 guard. 
 
 VILLA FRANCA is u small town, with a little castle on a ve- 
 ry high rock, which can contain TOO men. It is near Nice,, 
 and in the same county. Its port id good, but it possesses no 
 commerce. It hr.s on the rock a high Pharos or lantern, to di- 
 rect the ships in the night. Such lanterns are very common 
 in the ports of the Mediterranean, in order that sailors by them 
 may be able to see the haibour at a distance, and to know where 
 the rocks lie. The county of Nice is 22 leagues long and n 
 broad, very mountainous, and in general barren. 
 
 MONACO, (formerly a sovereign state), is 10 miles from 
 Nice, over very rugged mountains and precipices, passable 
 only on mules. We began to ascend as soon as we left 
 Nice. The castle of Tourby, three miles from Monaco, is 
 of no strength : It belongs to the Duke of Savoy and cousty
 
 Chap. IX. TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 1 57 
 
 of Nice. It is impossible to descend the mountain into Mo- 
 naco on this side, any other way than on foot, and even tins lor 
 two long miles of most rugged winding ways, is very difficult. 
 The city is on a small eminence, to which we ascend by 
 very beautiful stone steps, leading to a noble gate, erected by 
 the last prince, Grimaldi. It stands on a cape, and hangs over 
 the sea ; on whicn it has a port much frequented by Feluccas. 
 Its inhabitants are chiefly poor artizans. The market-place is 
 a handsome square, on one side of which stands the prince's 
 palace, a fine building. The other houses round it are all painted 
 and very gay. The French commander of the garrison lives on 
 the opposite side of the square to the prince. Mules can climb 
 up the rocks towering above the town, on the other side to- 
 wards Menton and Genoe ; and in the valley which constitutes 
 its territory, grow olives, vines, and orange trees. The church 
 and the prince's chapel are deserving attention. The town has 
 walls and a citadel, but could not maintain a regular siege, be- 
 ing commanded in a great measure by a lofty mountain ; and 
 must bssides receive its provisions by water. It takes its 
 name from an old temple of Hercules Monacus, or the Solitary, 
 built on this promontory, which was very famous among the 
 Italians. The garrison of Monaco consists of French troops, 
 under their own commander. The prince appoints a judge to 
 determine all causes. It was HoNORA-TUS GUIMALDI II. who 
 put his state under the protection of France : He was created 
 by Lewis XIII. Duke of Valentinois, and peer of France. 
 The Grimaldi have been princes of Monaco ever since the year 
 980, when Gur GRIMALDI expelling the Saracens, founded 
 the sovereignty. The last heiress -of this family married M. 
 Matignon, Count of Thorigny, chief of one of the most power- 
 erful, rich, and illustrious families of France, in lesser Britanny. 
 His son is the present Prince ot Monaco, colonel of the vegi- 
 inento of Monaco in France, and some time ago banished the 
 French court to his regiment, for an affront offered to the dauh- 
 
 O ' 5 
 
 ter of the Duke of Bouillon. 
 
 Leaving Monaco, we enter the States of GENOA ; the first 
 town of which is MENTON, eight irak-s from Monaco, on y. 
 mountain hinging over the sea. 
 
 O o 
 
 K ?
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Nine miles further we saw VENTEMILLE, a small town 
 on the coast, and an episcopal see. The Counts of Vcnte- 
 tniHe, one of the greatest families of Europe, a branch from 
 the Kings of I oily and Marquises of Tvree, were sovereigns of 
 this city in the iith century, but were expelled by the Ge- 
 roese. The elder branch is extinct : One of the younger is 
 settled in Provence, and called Counts of Marseilles and of Luc. 
 
 ST REMO lies four miles beyond Ventemille, in a fertile val- 
 ley, is a large town, but poor, inhabited chiefly by sailors and 
 fishermen. Its port is very boisterous, and only capable of 
 receiving small boats ; but large vessels can come near it. 
 The English fleet not being able to bombard Genoa, came be- 
 fore St Remo last year, and threw in a great many bombs, 
 which only damaged some fishermen's huts. The Genoese 
 have placed fascines, and raised moles on the port, on which 
 they have planted a great many pieces of old cannon to defend 
 it from a second attack. After passing St Remo, the moun- 
 tains become more inaccessible, being higher, and more rugged, 
 and the precipices in many places most dangerous and frightful. 
 
 PORT MAURICE, nine miles from St Remo, is a good burgh, 
 very populous. ]ts harbour was an excellent one, but was 
 choaked up by order of the republic, that it might not injure 
 the trade of their own city. The roads become worse for 10 
 miles from Port Maurice to ONEILLE, which stands in a plain, 
 fertile in olive-trees, &c. It is walled, but has no citadel or 
 castle, and being commanded by the mountains, is of small 
 streng-h. Qneille is a principality belonging to the duke of 
 Savoy, t'-c-u; h surrounded by the territories of the State of 
 Genoa. The Spaniards were in possession of it when we 
 parsed. The town made no resistance against them, only the, 
 duke faintly defended some passes in the mountains. It has 
 no port deep enough for larger vessels than feluccas. Diana 
 is three miles fmthcr, with a weak castle; we left it on the 
 left ; for it is almost two miles from the sea ; and all the road 
 over these mountains lies as close as possible to the shore, and 
 often the precipices look perpendicularly into the waters. 
 is a very long village on the sea, nine miles from O- 
 full cf boatmen, feluccas, and fishermen. It h^s a
 
 Clap. IX. TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 159 
 
 handsome square. It is reported that some eoral is fished here, 
 as well as in the Baltic. 
 
 From the top of the mountains, at the distance of only two 
 miles from Alassio, we could discover GENOA, though above 
 40 miles off sUbengo is a great town and bishopric, six miles 
 from Alassio, in a valley and plain of five miles long, extreme- 
 Jy fertile and pleasant. But the sight of the high mountains 
 xvhich surround it on all sides, except towards the sea, put the 
 traveller in mind that his fatigues are not yet at an end. 
 We see corn fields in the plain, a great rarity in this journey. 
 The air in this place, is said to be very unwholesome from its 
 lying a in a valley under snowy hills. It is five miles to Luan, a 
 small town containing many good houses ; and a pleasant- place, 
 if any can be so amidst such frightful mountains. Luan is a, 
 principality of Prince DORIA the Genoese. FINAL is 10 miles 
 beyond Luan ; but the rock we pass over, forms for three miles 
 the worst road 1 have ever yet seen, being made with hands, 
 and all full of sharp stones, so that it was scarce possible to 
 walk without falling down amongst them at the risk of break- 
 ing one's legs : We led our mules by the bridle : In one place, 
 this almost impracticable road, led along the brink of a perpen- 
 dicular precipice ; in other places the precipice sloped a little 
 down to the sea. It was even a pleasure to go down this horribie 
 mountain, (though the descent is very uneasy,) to the city of Fi- 
 nal, which stands in a very small valley, the most pleasant on the 
 road, being all a garden. Fiy AL is a Marquisate. It was enjoy- 
 ed by the noble family of the Carracts, till Philip III. of Spain, 
 made himself master of it in 1602. The Genoese obtained it 
 during the grand war in the beginning of this century. The 
 Duke of Savoy has pretensions to it, in virtue of a gift from 
 the empress during the present war ; who challenges the right 
 of Spain. He has long had an eye to it ; for its port might be 
 snade bet'.er than that of Genoa, and ruin the trade of that 
 city. At present it is only fit for feluccas and tarlones, 
 though superior to Port-Maurice. It is very strong, both 
 on the sea and land side ; and has an impregnable castle or cit- 
 tadel on a lofty rock, looking perpendicularly upon the place., 
 Add to this, the mountains all around it arc impassable. On. 
 
 K 4
 
 l6o TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 the port is a magnificent triumphal arch, raised by the repu- 
 blic in honour of die heroism of the Governor, who defended it 
 against the bombardment it suffered in 1716. Final contains a 
 great many good buildings. We no sooner got out of the 
 town, but we again mounted other frightful rocks, and after 
 travelling nine miles arrived at Noll, a small town and Spis- 
 copal see. Five miles farther stands Vai, a fortress, and six 
 beyond this place we arrived at SAVONA, an ancient city, and at 
 present the most flourishing of the whole State, next to Genoa. 
 SAVONA is situated in an extensive, fertile, and agree- 
 able valley ; is very gay and well buih\ Both the town and 
 suburbs contain fine palaces, with noble fronts, in which mar- 
 ble is very profusely employed in the pillars, windows, 
 and doors, The walls of the houses are also painted in a live- 
 ly manner. On the Town-house are the statues of three Popes 
 this city has produced, Sixtus IV., and that implacable enemy 
 of France Julius II., both of the family of Roveri ; and Gre- 
 gory VII. The church of the Jesuits here is a finished build- 
 ing, very new : the front of fine marble, curiously cut : the ex- 
 act proportions, richness of the materials and ornaments, espe- 
 cially the charming corridor or gallery that runs round it, 
 make it worthy a travellers notice. Savona is fortified, has a 
 castle of some strength, and a new work is erecting on the 
 shore, with some bastions to defend it from any bombardment. 
 Leaving Savona, we again mounted rocks higher than any we 
 had hitherto passed. Six miles brought us to Vcraggio y 20 
 farther to Utri, and II more to GENOA. After leaving Utri, 
 the road became better, and especially for coaches. From Sa- 
 vona the buildings are more gay, and we meet with many fine 
 villas. Two miles from Genoa we passed Si Pctro d* Arena, 
 a pleasant village, filled with the noblest country-seats in the 
 world. 
 
 Thus in six days we travelled from Nice to Genoa, 135 
 Italian miles, on mules accustomed to these mountains and tre- 
 mendous precipices ; but we had the prudence to lead them by 
 the bridle in all dangerous and narrow roads. Very often thq 
 way is not a yard broad, and the fall would be down a rock., 
 the very sight of which inspires terror. The mules are sure-
 
 Clap. IX. TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. l6l 
 
 footed, but very stubborn, and apt to kick. Some will lie 
 down on the road, out of laziness, and kick at their burden. 
 These mountains form at Nice the lower Alps, and join the 
 Apennines, which run quite through the middle of Italy to its 
 extremity. Here, in their beginning, they lie near the sea, and 
 run through the whole state of Genoa. They are composed en- 
 tirely of rocks, in many places very high. The country, on this 
 mountainous coast, was called Liguria by theRomans: It is bar- 
 ren and rocky. With incredible fatigue and industry, the inha- 
 bitants have reared on it a few vineyards : But their wine is sour 
 and cannot be drunk, except the muscadine, produced between 
 La Rive and Oneille. At Genoa, they are supplied with wine 
 from Provence. These mountains in several places display 
 palm-trees, such as we see in the physic gardens in Oxford, 
 Paris, &c. ; also orange and lemon-trees ; though the fruit thev 
 produce is very bad, and scarcely eatable. The corn, &.c. must 
 all come from abroad. Oil they have in great plenty ;- but 
 their olives are indifferent. However, they export the oils. 
 At Savona they make so much soap, that it takes its French 
 name Savon from thence. 
 
 The inns on these mountains are very mean, and their accom- 
 modations bad. They have seldom a chimney, and when a fire 
 is wanted, they bring a warming-pan, or some small vessel of 
 brass or iron, in which they kindle a few sticks in the middle 
 of the room ; so that those who choose to stay to warm them- 
 selves, run the risk of suffocation ; and in winter it becomes a 
 hard matter which of the two evils to prefer, smoke or cold. 
 For meat, they give the weary traveller sallad and stinking 
 oil, ragouts of roasted serpents and small fish, which are often 
 salted and old. In the principal towns, however, we got good 
 meat and tolerable lodgings. 
 
 Notwithstanding the barrenness and horrid aspect of this 
 coast, it is extremely populous, and fall of houses and villages, 
 a great comfort in such roads. The people live by the sea, 
 and almost all have boars or feluccas. The sea on this coast,. 
 from Menton to Genoa, for above ico miles, and again from 
 Genoa to Lerici, about 70 miles, is called the River of Gznoa, 
 and constitutes, the riches of the commonwealth. The terri~
 
 l62 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 tory of the republic on this coast, where broadest, is nowhere 
 25 miles. 
 
 The REPUBLIC of GENOA was formerly very potent, and 
 waged war many years with Venice, conquered the infidels, 
 the kingdoms of Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus, the isles of 
 Metelin and Chio, and had possession of the important cities 
 of CafFa and Pera nigh Constantinople. At present its State 
 consists of the island of Corsica, and the coast, called the River 
 of Genoa. Corsica is 100 miles round, has BASTIA for its ca- 
 pital, Bonifacio a good port, Ajaccio and Calvi, strong places. 
 It is barren, and thinly peopled, the air very unhealthy ; and 
 its inhabitants are famous plunderers. The mountainous sea- 
 coast from Menton to Lerici is 170 miles long. The public 
 revenues are very small, but the individuals are in general the 
 richest of all Italy, being all very industrious, and paying trifling 
 taxes. The Genoese are the greatest bankers in the world, 
 and do all the business for the nobility and merchants of Mi- 
 lan, Rome, Spain, &c.c. It is said the pope owes them very 
 great sums. Almost all foreign money is current at Genoa : 
 even the pope's sequins, which are deficient in weight. Spanish 
 pistoles are most valued ; but a man gains by the exchange for 
 French, English, or almost any other coin. The money of the 
 republic is the lowest and basest of any, and will not pass but 
 at great loss in other states in Italy. This hinders it from be- 
 ing exported. The people of Genoa are generally reckoned 
 magnificent in their buildings, haughty to strangers, and ready 
 to impose on them. Indeed, none of the Italians possess that 
 free courteous behaviour to strangers which distinguishes the 
 French. The court of Rome, and that of Venice, are e- 
 stecmed the most polite : The Genoese the least so : And the 
 present war has rendered them peculiarly reserved to the Eng- 
 lish. On this account we could not obtain liberty to see their 
 arsenal, or mount their Pharos ; and no person of rank ever 
 spoke to us, unless to give us a salutation in meeting. This 
 shyness made us desirous of leaving their country as soon as 
 possible. Upon our fleet threatening to bombard them, they 
 had ordered away all the English merchants, who retired to 
 Leghorn with their consul. The Genoese seemed to us to.
 
 Chap. IX. TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 163 
 
 correspond to the general character given of them, in nothing so 
 much as in imposing upon strangers. In other countries this 
 disposition is displayed by a few individuals only, but here, even 
 more than in Holland, it seems almost an universal propensity. 
 The very postmasters on the road invent all the schemes andtricks 
 imaginable to make extravagant demands, and there is no tarif or 
 regulation for horse-hire on any road in this republic, excepting 
 that to Milan. The peasants and inhabitants of the mountains 
 are opulent enough. All are obliged to have arms, and to rise up, 
 on summons by the bell, to defend the passes, and their country, 
 in case of any invasion. Every peasant possessed of a gun is a 
 keen sportsman, and there is not a feather to be seen in the 
 mountains ; neither are the laws forbidding the killing- of game 
 in force here. The republic thus maintains no regular troops, 
 except in Genoa, and in a few of its fortresses. But during 
 the present war they have on foot 12, ceo men : Eighteen or 
 twenty thousand would be their utmost effort : nor could they 
 maintain these for many months. The people have a great pas- 
 sion for liberty ; and indeed they gain more by it than any other 
 republic I am acquainted with, as they pay very inconsiderable 
 taxes, and have no armies to maintain. Ihc republic is poor, 
 but the individuals are rich. 
 
 The inconstancy of the people, as is generally the case 
 in republics, has produced changes in the Government, 
 and revolutions in the State. Genoa has sometimes been go- 
 verned by Counts, sometimes by Capitancos, sometimes by Go- 
 vernors, sometimes by Lieutenants, Rectors, Reformers, and 
 Dukes. The State changed the for in of its Government I2 r timcs 
 in 34 years, from 1494 to 1528. But since that time it has 
 continued the same. The Doge or Duke is chosen every two 
 years out of the nobility by the senate. After his office, he re- 
 mains procurator for life. He is obliged to live in the palace, 
 And cannot leave it without permission of the senate He 
 wears a royal crown for Corsica, which once had its king. 
 Whenever he goes abroad in state, which he generally does 
 once a-week, a sword or gilt scabbard is carried before him, 
 <md 24 senators in robes of black velvet accompany him. The 
 streets he goes through are all lined with soldiers on both sides. 
 The senate is composed of 400 persons, and is formed every year
 
 164 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 by 30 electors, who are chosen first. These must be all noble : 
 hence the government is aristocratical. The little council con- 
 sists of ico persons out of these 400, and can decide all things. 
 of smaller importance ; as can the Doge with the eight gover- 
 nors, who are chosen among the senators, arid five syndics ; for 
 these constitute a court. The syndics have a power to examine 
 and punish the Doge after the expiration of his office. The 
 pretor and assessors of the rota are the judges for crimi- 
 nal causes. The assessors determine in civil causes and law- 
 suits. The censors and consuls have the care of the police, 
 and superintend the government of the city, and of trade. 
 
 1 he noblemen have many estates in Naples, which makes 
 he republic in some degree dependant on that kingdom. The 
 principal families of Genoa are the DORIA, (of which there are 
 two branches, the Prince of Doria, and the Duke of Tarsis in- 
 Naples), the Spinola, the Grimaldi, the Pallavacini, the Cibo, 
 the Fieschi, Pamphili, &cc. Pope Adrian V. and Innocent IV. 
 were of the Fieschi : Innocent VIII. , a Cibo. The an- 
 cient families are 28 ; viz., four principal, the Grimaldi, Fies- 
 chi, Doria, and Spinola. The other 24, Calvi, Cattanei, Gius- 
 tiniani, Centurioni, Cibo, Cigala, Fornari, Franchi, Grilli, 
 Gentili, Imperiali, Interiani, Lsecari, Lomellini, Marini, Ne- 
 gro, Negroni, Pallavicini, Pinelli, Promontorii, Sauli, Salvahi, 
 Vivaldi, and Vesodimare. The other noble families are called 
 aggregate, and are to the number of 437. The Doge wears a 
 robe of crimson velvet, with a kind of square bonnet, and when 
 he walks in ceremony, a mitre crowned. He is styled Serenity ,- 
 as senator, Excellency. The nobles are dressed generally in 
 black, like the counsellors of the parliament in France, and 
 never wear a sword. The Doge is chosen alternately out of 
 the ancient and the new nobility. Trading is not esteemed 
 derogatory to a nobleman in Genoa. Bankers and silk-wea- 
 vers are the richest professions here. The great sums lent by 
 the Genoese to the king of Spain, and their possessing lands in 
 Naples and Milan, keep the commonwealth in a state of de- 
 pendence on these countries. The ladies in Genoa dress like 
 ihe French, wear great hoops, but do not cover their faces 
 with veilsj which are so much the fashion in Burund ; and
 
 , IX. TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 165 
 
 in the southern countries, the women are to be seen working 
 in dung and mud with very long white veils hanging almost 
 to the ground. The women here seldom wear caps, but bind 
 up their hair in wreaths and knots, with a needle and ribbons. 
 They are said to esteem red hair most. The proverb of Ge- 
 noa is, " Gente sensa fide, monte sensa ligno, rnare sensa pesce, 
 " ponte sensa flume, et donne sensa vergogna." Which means : 
 " Men without faith, (false and perfidious) mountains quite 
 " rocky, without any wood ; the sea affording fish in much 
 " less plenty than in any other parts of the Mediterranean, 
 " bridges without water, and ladies without shame." As 
 we came into the city from Utri, we passed over a lon^ 
 stately bridge, without any water in the channel beneath, ex- 
 cept in winter. The ladies appear openly, without veils, &c. 
 But it is too much to accuse them of a want of modesty. There 
 arc muny striking examples of devotion in Genoa ; and they 
 seem in general much inclined to enrich their churches. Them 
 is a confraternity of Penitents who attend funerals in proces- 
 sion, in white linen habits which cover them from head to 
 foot, small holes only being made for the eyes, mouth, and 
 nostrils. A procession of twenty of these with a corpse looks 
 extremely frightful. The same confraternity is obliged to 
 pray by turns, ail day, two at a time, in the churches, during 
 any solemnity. In Genoa none but noblemen belong to it. 
 In the south of France they are chiefly the common people, 
 who compose the fraternities of both ihe black and white Pe- 
 nitents. 
 
 GENOA has lost great part of its commerce, but id still much 
 addicted to the meins of getting money ; other studies do not 
 occupy great attention. 'Iherc is indeed an academy of the 
 gentlemen of the belles lettres, but it is called the Academy oi 
 the Adormentatif that is persons a.-lccp. Genoa }; 5*- miles in 
 circumference, and lies along the sea ccast, being confined in 
 breadth by the mountains: Its streets are v^ry narrow, and 
 full of ascents. Hence most of the inhabitants iue litter*, 
 or small chaises in the town, and take their coaches only when 
 they ride out towards St Petro d'Arena for an airing. It i 
 sot true that Genoa is built of marble, a;> Mis^on observe?.
 
 l66 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 But though many of the houses are bj no means elegant, still it 
 deserves its title of Genoa la Snperba, on account of its mag- 
 nificent palaces and churches, in which materials and admi- 
 rable architecture strive to outvie each other ; All the 
 houses, especially near the port, are five or six stories high ; 
 their walls are generally painted very gaudy on the outside, 
 except when other ornaments take place. This gives the city 
 a gay appearance. This taste for painting houses extends it- 
 self also to other towns in the neighbourhood ; and the noble 
 Genoese, either out of custom or vanity, have frequently their 
 arms painted on all the tolerable houses which belong to them. 
 
 The church of the Annunciation is the best in Genoa. It be- 
 longs to the Franciscan friars, and was built by the Lomellini. 
 Its length, breadth, and heighth, are admirably proportioned j 
 its gilded vault, walls covered with fine paintings ; its mag- 
 nificent altars, adorned with good pictures of Rubens, Julius 
 Romanus, and other masters ; its pillars of highly polished 
 marble, of such natural colours that they seem painted, and so 
 excellently chanelled, that one would think them adorned with 
 separate colonades ; the chapels, pulpits, high altars, and choir, 
 all charm a stranger. But this church has no front 3 r et com- 
 pleted, a defect common in the fine churches of Italy, owing 
 partly to a tax laid on by the pope, to be paid to St Peter's 
 in Rome, by every new church when its front is finished, 
 ihe convent of these religious, their gardens of orange-trees, 
 gcc. are delightful. 
 
 The Dome (for so a cathedral is called all over Italy) is de- 
 dicated to St Lawrence. It stands on an eminence, its outside 
 is covered with marble, and its gate adorned with fine pillars 
 of the same material. Within we admired chiefly among the 
 statues of the Evangelists a marble one of St John, a fine pic- 
 ture by BAROCCI, and above all the rich chapel of St John Bap- 
 tist, where, besides a great number of silver lamps, there is a 
 shrine of the same metal, supported upon four pillars of por- 
 phyry, in which they say are contained the ashes of that saint, 
 Above it is seen a prodigious emerald of an octogon figure, a 
 finger thick, and between three or four palms in circumfer- 
 ence. It was brought from Palestine 600 years ago ; and gi-
 
 . IX. TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 167 
 
 ven by Baldwin king of Jerusalem to this republic, as a me- 
 morial of their services in the holy war. Here are some por- 
 tions of St Lawrence's body, and many other relics. The mu- 
 sic of this church is very fine. The Dominicans church is re- 
 markable for its beautiful pillars, paintings, and chapels : That 
 of St Cyr, belonging to the Theatins, surpasses all the rest, 
 in the quarries of marble exhausted on its walls, pillars, steps, 
 balusters, &c. Walking about curiously in it, we were takeit 
 for Hugonotti Francesi. The convent of the Theatins is very 
 noble in its buildings, gardens, and all conveniences, though 
 they subsist only on alms, and cannot beg, as the other men- 
 dicants do. I he church of St Ambrose, served by the Jesuits, 
 the second for beauty in Genoa, that of the Benedictines, and 
 that of the nuns of the same order, are very rich and sumptu- 
 ous ; so is the Jesuits church, but its effect is destroyed, by 
 being situated too near the Doge's palace. A stranger must 
 not forget to take notice of a curious Stephen stoned, by JULIUS 
 ROMANUS, in St Stephen's church; a Stjohn baptizing our Sa- 
 viour, by TINTORET, in St Francis's ; a picture by VANDYKE, 
 in St John's chapel ; and the chapel of the Doria Family in St 
 Matthew's. 
 
 GENOA has 29 parishes, and 20 collegiate churches of canons. 
 The Dorians Palace, built by the celebrated Captain ANDREW 
 DORIA, is the finest in Genoa. It reaches from the sea, near 
 the Pharos, to the mountain. In the lower part of it is a great 
 gallery, paved with black and white marble, with pillars of 
 the same. It is reckoned to be 120 paces long, and has a fine 
 prospect towards the port. The apartments of the palace are 
 most magnificent, and the furniture superb. The posts of 
 the beds are of silver : The tables are of jasper, alabaster, 
 oriental agates, or silver wrought with curious bassc-relievo. 
 One table, it is said, weighs above 20,000 crowns of silver. 
 The paintings, carvings, gildings, are equally magnificent, 
 The gardens are very fine, and in the middle of them is a foun- 
 tain with two basons of white marble, one within the other, 
 with a statue, larger than life, representing ANDREW DORIA, 
 the great admiral, under the figure otv. Neptune, armed with his 
 (frident, in a shell, (his chariot) drawn by three horses, and sf.
 
 1 68 TRAVELS OF REV. ALE AN BUTLER. 
 
 tended by 1 2 mermaids. The alleys about the great parterre 
 are paved with little round stones in Mosaic. On both sides 
 are very good aviaries, stocked with choice birds. The same 
 prince's palace in the country at San Petro d'Arena, with many 
 others, are also very stalely and rich. In the courts and gar- 
 dens at Genoa, artificial grottos of shells and fountains are very 
 common, and well executed. The gin-Jens of Count Neri arc 
 particularly remarkable. 
 
 The Doge's Palace is very noble. His Serenity, together 
 with his family, is lodged, and bin table maintained, at the ex- 
 pence of the republic. On the expiry of his two years of of- 
 fice, the senate sends him a message to leave the palace. The 
 eight senators who rnake up the Doge's council, called tt>e 
 Court of Signorie, also live in it, and are called the Governors, 
 because this court is perpetual. 
 
 The Doge's palace lends into the Strada Nuo"ja, or New 
 Street, the glor\ T of Genoa, and not to be paralleled in the uni- 
 \-erse. It is very long and broad, and the houses are equal in 
 appearance to the most magnificent palaces : Each seems to 
 surpass the other, and the eye is perfectly enchanted. Their 
 fronts, porticos, and courts, are in the most noble style imagin- 
 able, and embellished with pillars, statues, fountains, &c 
 Here marble is lavishly squandered, though none of the walls 
 are wholly built of it. Nothing can be better contrived, more 
 ingenious, or more finely finished, than their apartments*' 
 The order, proportions, and ornaments, are such as to make 
 them perfect models to all the architects of Europe. Some 
 travellers extol Genoa tco high, others, when they do not find 
 every thing correspond to the ideas they had formed, depre- 
 ciate it too much : But this street at least cannot but please 
 and astonish all. A stranger ought also to visit the Exchange 
 and Town-bouse, and will be pleased with many other rich 
 churches, in which the Gsnoese display with prodigality their 
 treasures. The Arsenal is slid to contain arms for 40,000 
 ruen ; but it is chiefly remarkable for its line display of old 
 armour, marks of the ancient greatness of this commonwealth. 
 Amongst these they boast of the armour of many Genoese la- 
 dies, TV ho assumed the cross, and went in disguise to the holy
 
 Clap. IX. A TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 169 
 
 tvar. The little arsenal is in the Doge's palace : Its principal 
 curiosity is said to be the beak or stern of an old Roman ship, 
 called rostrum by the Latins, which was found in the harbour. 
 The port is spacious, and surrounded with good pavements, 
 walls, and fine buildings : But the entry is dangerous i:i stormy 
 weather, especially above Utri. A darse, or a long pier of stone, 
 rnns through the midst of the port, to defend it from tempests ; 
 within this lie the gallies, which at present amount only to six ; 
 so much is this state reduced from its former power both by sea 
 and land : During stormy weather, all other ships also endea- 
 vour to get within the pier, as securer than the rest of the port ; 
 though the Libeccio, or south-west wind, called by the Romans, 
 the African, the most dangerous in this sea, carries the storms 
 even into the darse, but with much less violence. The pharos, 
 or Lantern Tower, was built by Lewis XII., when the French 
 were masters of Genoa: Not being allowed to ascend the 
 building, we were obliged to content ourselves with a prospect 
 of the town from the mountains near it, where the fiat tops of 
 the palaces, like towering terrasses, and the fine buildings, form 
 a noble object to the eve. The slaves in the galleys of Genoa 
 have, as at Marseilles, the liberty of walking in the town chain- 
 ed bv couples together, and of working at their trades, or c- 
 ther labour, the gains from which they employ as they please,. 
 and buy themselves linen, better victuals, &.c. ; their strict al- 
 lowance is a loose poor jerkin, xvithout linen or stocking:, ; 
 They lie on the bare boards in their galley, and are eat up 
 with vermin ; but by their little earnings they ;;re enabled to 
 mend their condition very much ; and most of these at Marseilles 
 seemed to live cheerfully, and even comfortably ; any per- 
 son who has respectable friends, though condemned to the gal- 
 leys, never appears in them, except at his first arrival, but h 
 immediately taken off again, and put into the hospital, where good 
 care is taken both of his temporal and spiritual concerns : At 
 Genoa, many voluntarily sell themselves for about eight se- 
 quins, or four pounds Sterling, to be galley slaves five years;, 
 when any are wanted. 
 
 The Corsairs were formerly the savage Corsicans : At pre- 
 sent the AlgerineS; ard otn;r Africans from Fu.ii?. TripoU 1 ;, 
 
 I,
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 &c. infest the Mediterranean ; and against these the galleys put 
 to sea in the summer months. 
 
 This place being so dear, and the inhabitants so reserved, we 
 Staid only three days to see the city, and set out again along the 
 coast of the river of Genoa di I eiiante, or that which lies to- 
 wards Tuscany. During the first two leagues we had a very 
 good road, but we then entered again on the rugged mountains, 
 and often found the roads narrow, and over high precipices. 
 We passed Rapallo a small town 18 miles from Genoa ; and 15 
 miles farther on the sea is Sesiri di Levante, the largest city on 
 this road.- The mountains are worst nigh Mataran a petty vil- 
 lage lying in the midst of them. At Cape-Fine, is a beauti- 
 ful and strong fortress, opposite to which they told us the 
 sea w 7 as dangerous near die coast. Descending from these tre- 
 mendous mountains, we at last arrived at Port Specie : This 
 is a handsome large town, and possesses a good port and a consi- 
 derable trade : The mountains begin from this place to have an 
 easy descent ; and chaises sometimes pass them, though with 
 great difficulty and danger. We continued our way on mules to 
 Sarzana, a well fortified town, and the seat of a bishop : It is 
 the last place in the state of Genoa, and 75 miles from that city. 
 Lcrici is their last port for feluccas. Sarxana is three or four 
 miles from it and the sea. We felt infinite pleasure in having 
 got over, in the space of two days and a half, these dangerous 
 precipices, and rugged ways, besides four fords, and to find 
 ourselves among reasonable people, in an agreeable plain : And 
 we experienced no less satisfaction in taking leave,, both of the 
 Genoese and their unhospitable country. 
 
 That evening we hiy at Massa, the capital of a small 
 principality of the same name, consisting of this town ; of 
 a village on the frontiers of the Genoese, with a large old castle, 
 8 miles from Sarzana ; and of Carrara, a small town famous for 
 the best quarries of marble in Italy, which furnished materials 
 for the palaces of Genoa, and form the prince's greatest revenue. 
 The family of Cilo, which has flourished in Italy ever since* 
 the pth age, is divided into several younger branches. The 
 eldest son has been for two hundred years sovereign Duke of 
 Massa and Prince of Carrara, which he obtained by marrying 1
 
 Clap. VII. A TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 17* 
 
 the heiress. This family hath given the church two popes, In- 
 nocent 8th and Boniface gth, and many cardinals. The last 
 duke, Alderano Cibo Malaspini, dying without, any male issue, 
 left his dominions to his eldest daughter and sole heiress, Maria 
 Teresa born 172 j ; She is married to Ercole or Hercules, here- 
 ditary prince of Modcnu, but lives still at Massa ; her husband 
 being often with her. Thus this principality will pass to the 
 family of Modena, unless the grand duke of Tuscany gets pos- 
 session of it ; as he has long pretended a kind of dominion o- 
 ver it. The fear of this obliged the duke of Modena to declare 
 in the present war against the Emperor, who is grand duke. 
 The duchess lives in the palace, which is a very spacious build- 
 ding, in the form of a square. The town is handsome enough, 
 but the inhabitants are poor. Carrara is but 2 miles distant. 
 Piombino is another small town and principality on this coast. 
 Its Prince is of the family of the Ludovisii, one of the greatest 
 in Rome. The late Princess of Piombiuo, when herdaughter 
 was dyingj having expressed her concern to see the pious Prin- 
 cess Sobieskij consort of the Chevalier of St George, so assi- 
 duous in attending and serving her, during a long sickness : the 
 Princess Sobieski in reply told her, that she should receive the 
 same offices from her within a year. The Princess Sobieski in 
 fact died within that term, and the Princess Pombino was so 
 moved that she became the imitatrix of her austerities and 
 practices of devotion. Setting out from Massa, after we had 
 paid our respects to the dutchess, we were soon in the grand 
 duke's territories in Tuscany. He has a castle and small 
 troop of soldiers on the barrier. It is twenty five miles from 
 Massa to Pisa : but we went twelve miles out of our way to 
 pass through Lucca. 
 
 LUCCA is a small republic, surrounded by the grand duke's 
 territories in Tuscany, excepting near the borders towards 
 Massa and Modena on opposite sides. From its capital (also 
 called Lvtcca) it extends towards Pisa 5 miles, towards Modena 
 1 6, towards Florence 10 j and is 30 miles in circuit, hedged in 
 by a round ridge of high rcck} T mountains, which we easily 
 passed, the ascents being good roads. The river Serchio passe:; 
 through this state, and has a good bridge. The city of Lure*. 
 L ?, '
 
 I^a TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 is very ancient : In it Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus, formed 
 the Triumvirate. It 13 above 3 miles round, situated in an agre- 
 able fertile plain, which produces the best oil in Italy, but very 
 little corn. On the mountains, in sight of the city, many of 
 the Spanish soldiers, last year, lost their lives by falling down 
 these precipices, and many beasts of burden were also killed 
 when crossing them, from Naples. This city is fortified in 
 the strongest manner : the old walls, the work of Desideriu3 
 king of Italy, are destroyed, and new ones were raised in 1626, 
 defended by eleven beautiful bastions. The ramparts are very 
 pleasant, planted with shady plane trees, and poplars. The 
 arsenal contains arms for 40,000 men. They have a con- 
 stant garrison, and are so suspicious of strangers, that they 
 take their pistols from them at the gate, on entering the town, 
 but restore them at the other gate as they go out. Some say 
 they take swords too ; but they did not from any of us, and 
 only asked for lire arms. They give strangers a ticket at their 
 entry, which they are obliged to deliver to the inn-keeper where 
 they lodge, who must carry it to Government. The streets are 
 broad and well paved ; but the town is thinly inhabited, and very 
 poor, notwithstanding its great manufacture of silk, and its li- 
 berty, which it is extremely jealous of. The word libertas is 
 wrote on their coat of arms, as in that of Genoa. 
 
 The Government is aristocratical, and lodged in the Council 
 or Senate, which consists of about 30 nobles. The city is di- 
 vided into three parts, called 'Tierces, out of each of which 
 three nobles are chosen, called AiiKicnii, and who with the 
 prince are obliged to live always in the palace, (without their 
 wives or families), where they are maintained by the public. 
 These ten make up the Signcrie, who propose all things to the 
 council, and determine requests, &c. of foreigners, but not of 
 citizens without the council. Their commander, who is taken 
 by turns out of each tierce, receives all requests, and may pro- 
 pose them or not as he chuses. The Signorie is all changed 
 every three years. The Gonfalonier is at Lucca, and St Mar- 
 iino, what the Doge is at Genoa and Venice. At St Marine- 
 lie is changed every week, at Lucca he is called the Prince of' 
 <ve Republic, and styled Excellency : He is chosen every two
 
 Cdap. XI. A TOUR FROM ANTIBE3 TO FLORENCE. 173 
 
 months alternately out of each tierce ; he wears a robe of crim- 
 son velvet, with a stole and cap. The three Secretaries of the 
 council possess great authority in the commonwealth, and over 
 the conduct of the prince : The Six Men preside over the exchec- 
 quer and revenues : The Rota, common in many states in Italy, 
 consists of three doctors of the law, foreigners from above 50 
 miles from Lucca ; one of whom is Podestat ; a second Judge 
 in civil causes ; the third in criminal ; but the latter cannot con- 
 demn a citizen, unless the senate confirms his sentence. The 
 council of Discoli can banish any one accused of an idle or wick- 
 ed life : They publish the sentence in the four corners of the 
 market place, and the person banished is obliged under pain 
 of death to leave the city before evening, and not to come within 
 50 miles of its jurisdiction for three years; after which term 
 lie may return, but can be again banished. This is somewhat 
 like the Ostracism of the Athenians, by which they banished 
 great men for 10 years, when they were afraid of their becom- 
 ing too powerful. The Signorie chuses for its own guard ico 
 soldiers, all foreigners, from above 50 miles distance: 'Tis 
 death for any of these to go near the wall in the night: They 
 guard the palace. The walls and gates are guarded by a town 
 militia, who have three crowns a month each man : At each 
 gate a commissary, who is a citizen, is stationed to observe 
 who conies in, and gees out. 
 
 The nobles are verypoor, enjoy ing little landed property: For- 
 merly trade, especially in silk, and in goldsmiths wares, was very 
 flourishing here ; and this city acquired the epithet of Lucca 
 /,' Industriosa : But now the best workmen have left it : Its 
 oil is its chief commodity. The palace is the only building 
 worth notice ; it is not stately nor rich, but very large. The 
 hall of the great council has no other ornaments than wooden 
 forms, or benches for the senators, and a wooden throne, resem- 
 bling a pulpit, for the prince. The great gallery is worthy of 
 notice : The small chambers (in which the An%iani or ancients, 
 with the prince livej, open into it. The Lucchese love mag- 
 nificence in their churches ; they adorn them on festivals wiih 
 innumerable wax candles, lamps, and other ornaments, at a very 
 sjr.?at expeiicc : I believe they almost outdo the Spaniards in 
 
 -L a
 
 174 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER.' 
 
 this point. The bishop of Lucca wears a pallium like an arch- 
 bishop, and is immediately subject to the holy see. The town 
 is full of churches and religious houses of all sorts, except Je- 
 suits, against whom the people and religious here have con- 
 ceived a prejudice. The cathedral dedicated to St Martin, is 
 very large : In it is a miraculous image of our Saviour, called 
 Volto Santo, adorned very richly : They imagine it was paint- 
 ed by Nicodemus. In the third chapel is a Last Supper paint- 
 ed by TINTOEET ; on the left under the porch is an excellent 
 basso-relievo byNicoLAsPiSANo. In the Dominicans churchare 
 two pictures of Guino. The church called Maddena delli 
 Miracoli is very well built, and contains an image famous for 
 miracles wrought by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin : In 
 that of the Holy Cross, is the great rich crucifix, valued at 
 15,000 crowns, pawned by the Pisans to theLucchese, and never 
 redeemed. St Fredian's is a parish church belonging to the 
 Qlivetans, or white Benedictines, who have a very good mo- 
 nastery adjoining to it. In the uppermost chapel of this 
 church, is the tomb of St RICHARD, a King of England, who 
 died here on a pilgrimage to Rome : He is a famous saint in 
 Lucca ; and some other churches possess part of his relics : The 
 monks told me, they had in their library several manuscripts 
 regarding him, which I regretted our time did not permit me 
 to examine. Lucca pays a small yearly tribute to the emperor 
 for being under his protection. 
 
 When we had ascended the hill which bounds the territory 
 of the Lucchese, we had a beautiful view of the city of Pisa, with 
 the delightful fertile plain in which it stands : On descending 
 we passed near the grand aqueduct, a modern building, which 
 brings the best water from the mountains three miles distant 
 to the city. 
 
 PISA, built by a colony from Greece, according to Virgil, is 
 situated in a fruitful plain four miles from the sea, on the 
 river Arm : It was for some ages, so powerful a commonwealth, 
 us to maintain considerable wars in Europe, as well a^ a- 
 gainst the Saracens in Asia: At last, ruined by a great defeat 
 it sustained from the Genoese, and torn by factions at home, it 
 fell under the prince whom it of all others most hated, the
 
 Chap. IX. A TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 175 
 
 Grand Duke of Tuscany, in the ijth century : It is governed 
 by a commissary-general from the duke, under whom are 
 other judges ; and two consuls, who determine causes between 
 merchants and sailors : It has three fine bridges over the Arno, 
 and a good dock and port for small vessels, formed by that river, 
 which is both deep and broad ; but upon its becoming subject 
 to Tuscany, most of its inhabitants forsook it, and its trade fell 
 to nothing ; yet the grand dukes have added several embellish- 
 ments, and granted many privileges to it : It is at present an 
 extensive city, though very poor, and thinly inhabited ; but 
 containing a great many curiosities and monuments of its an- 
 cient grandeur : The streets are large, noble, and well paved ; 
 i>ut grass grows in some of them. The Cathedra!, called St 
 c john's l rebuilt by the grand duke, after the former had been 
 burnt down ; is one of the most magnificent in Italy : We ad- 
 mired the beautiful marble steps leading up to it ; the portico 
 adorned with many fine pillars ; the top covered with lead ; the 
 three vast brass gates artfully wrought with historic basso-re- 
 lievo of the old and new testament : Two of these gates, they 
 pretend, were in Solomon's temple ; the pavement ; the vault 
 curiously painted aud gilded ; the great gallery which runs 
 quite round it ; So marble pillars, each of one solid stone, said 
 to have been brought by the Romans out of Solomon's temple ; 
 the choir all of marble ; the tabernacle oa the hi^h altar of so- 
 lid silver ; the vault over it, admirably painted ; an Assumption 
 of our Lady in Mosaic ; above the high altar, beautiful paint- 
 ings in fresco . the choir-seats inlaid with wood of different, 
 colours ; in the side chapels, many rich altars, as that of St 
 Rumen us patron of Pisa, which is of fine marble, and that <.t 
 the Blessed Sacrament ; two statues of AJum and Eve incom- 
 parably carved ; two large line marble pulpits adorned with 
 "basso-relievos, also the excellent basso-relievo on the tomb OL 
 earix, mother of the Countess Matbildes ; the vast porphyry 
 pillar, all of one piece ; on another pillar before this church 
 stan.lii an urn of white marble, which contains a talent ; it was 
 sent by Chesar hither, to me it u re the tribute of the city, if \\u- 
 may believe the Pisans : The tower is separate from the church, 
 and U buiit in the shap: c: a cylinder, of a rough :i;:rd luarbit; :
 
 176 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 It is about 190 steps hi ,b, and 'adorned with seven rows of 
 pillars, each less and less to the top: What is wonderful, is 
 that the tower, though so high, is not perpendicular, but leans 
 considerably to one side, so that if a weight is let down by a 
 string from the top, it will fall no less than 16 feet from the 
 basis. Some think the tower has been built in this manner by 
 an extraordinary effort of architectural skill : It seems more 
 probable, however, that the foundation had sunk on one side, 
 while t ic solidity of the building kept it standing in the pre- 
 sent position : No architect can answer for a foundation, if be- 
 low the solid there should be hollow or soft earth, into which 
 the weight of the building makes it sink. Thus, the walls of 
 Val de Grace in Paris sunk on one side, because of a large 
 hollow underneath. There is another bending tower in Bou- 
 lo<;na in Italy, though not finished, called Gariserkla, from its 
 builder. The Font is another separate building, covered 
 \vith a handsome dome cr cupola, richly gilded and panted, 
 and su ported by many beautiful pillars of marbn. ; aioui, . it 
 arc vess Is, in which they used to baptize by immersion. The 
 great p.iipit of the cathedral, and its long and broad stairs are 
 admirable : They are cf the fines 1 , marble, excellently carded 
 in basso "v.ievo, representing the Last judgement, by NICOLAS 
 of P'ba: The vauic of tnis church echoes so well, that it will 
 resoui d A voice or the stitke of a hammer very loud for 15 
 mi: utes. 
 
 On th/" north of the cathedral is the Carrpn Santo, or great 
 old buryi' 1 ; place, which is a. vast squ re, firel\ built with a 
 court in e middle. J;i the square art the monuments of many 
 emi ent modern?, and rnany ancients ; several ot these on the 
 pavement and wails are particularly fine. " he earth is said to 
 have been brought frrrn fbefldd Acs. damn near Jerusalem, and 
 that it has t e property of consuming bodies ! nd even bones ui 24 
 hours. The Sacristan told us it still re:ainecl that corroding 
 rmlity but others said it had now lost a great deal of it. The 
 Campo is 180 pecc-s long, Bertl'a, mother of the countess 
 Mciud, in basso relievo, is a master-piece. NICOLAS ot Pisa 
 formed his taste cf carving- frcin it, and beca : . e the great re- 
 former and master of that art. The present Campo Santo was
 
 Clap. V. A TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 177 
 
 built by him in the year 1289. The walls are well painted; 
 and on them are nine historical pieces from Job by GIOTTO. 
 
 We went next to see the church of &t Stephen, Pope and Mar- 
 tyr, patron of Tuscany. On the altar stands the pontifical chair 
 of that pope. The front of the church is of marble, the vault 
 gilt and adorned with innumerable standards, which have been 
 taken liom the infidels by the knights of St Stephen, to whom 
 this church belongs. CCSMO the Great, after a victory at sea 
 gained on that saint's day, instituted the order, built them this 
 church, and a magnificent palace, in which they live together, 
 and hold their general chapter. Thus he fixed their chief re- 
 sidence at Pisa. Their institute is to command as officers in 
 the grand duke's galleys against the infidels. Their habit of 
 ceremony is a white mantle, on which is a red cross, like that 
 of Malta, with a red girdle and sleeves. Monsieur Herman!', 
 in his histoire des ordres de Chei)alerie t ch. 61, says, they take- 
 no oath except of fidelity to their grand master, who is the 
 grand duke, with a promise to defend the Christian religion 
 against the Mahometans. But Pope Pius IV's bull for their 
 foundation in 1561, expressly says, they vow charity to expose 
 their lives for the faith, conjugal chastity and obedience: 
 though they are permitted to m.irry, scarce anv of them avail 
 themselves of this liberty. Facing this church stands a marblt; 
 statue of COSMO the Great on a pedestal, much admired, erect- 
 ed by these knights to their founder. The city has placed ano- 
 ther to the grand duke Ferdinand IT. The grand duke's Pa- 
 lace in Pisa is very large. He used to pass the winter here. 
 It stands on the river. The knights palace is in a style of 
 beautiful architecture built by Nicolas of Pisa, but rebuilt 
 bv the famous GEORGE VASARI. In the Dominicans clmrch 
 are many good pictures of GIOTTO. 
 
 Pisa has on the river a very good dock with fine building^ 
 and every ccnveniency for ship buiLiing. But its commerce is 
 mite sunk. Cosmo the Great reestablished the university, and 
 made the great ALCIAT professor of Law, CURTIUS of medicine, 
 &.C. The college for law is very noble : that called the Sapi- 
 enza is well endowed : that of Ferdinand is for Tuscan scho- 
 lars : that of Puteau for those of Savoy : that of Monte Pui.
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 ciano for natives of that place. We did not see the garden of 
 simples out of town. It was esteemed very curious in plants, 
 monsters, &c. but is now as well as the uaivcrsity on the decline. 
 Nor did we visit the hot baths near the mountains towards Lucca. 
 
 It is twelve miles from Pisa to LEGHORV, over an extensive 
 plain, which was a fen till the grand duke Ferdinand drain- 
 ed it by a spacious canal from Pisa, and made it an agreable 
 country. LEGHORN was a small village on a watery bottom, 
 but by the exertions of the same prince it is now a line town 
 well fortified with new ramparts and beautiful walls and ditch- 
 ts. The streets are broad, long, and well paved. The merch- 
 ants have very magnificent houses and apartments. The grand 
 duke's palace is the governor's house. The churches have no- 
 thing remarkable, except that of the Greeks. The port has 
 been made at a great expence and is adorned with fine build- 
 ings. There is also another small darse or habour, shut up 
 with walls, where the grand duke's galleys lie, which are built 
 at Pisa. Neither of them is quite safe. On the port is erect- 
 ed a fine statue of the grand duke Ferdinand, of beautiful mar- 
 ble, xvith four Turks chained, of cast brass, under his feet. 
 The statue being of a different and finer material than the rest 
 of the figures, gives it a very grand and pleasing effect. 
 
 The duties on merchandise being here very small, this place 
 possesses an extensive commerce ; and as foreigners enjoy great 
 privileges and encouragement, the town is chiefly composed of 
 them, especially English, Spaniards, French, Dutch, Greeks, 
 Armenians and jews : these latter, as well as the Turks, 
 appear in the dresses of their own country, wearing turbans 
 iuid long silk cloatbs, 6;.c. The Jews are more rich and numer- 
 ous here than in any other town I have yet seen. Their syna- 
 gogues are very fine and curious. Their burying place out of 
 the town is particularly remarkable, being a very large field 
 covered with stone ai.d marble monuments, with singular ii- 
 fuires, and inscriptions of the persons names, mostly in Hebrew. 
 The English, Dutch, cc. have also each their burying place 
 out of the town. 
 
 The gentlemen belonging to the English factory would live 
 more comfortably, were tboy more uute<J ; and entertained less
 
 Chap. VI. A TOUR FROM ANTIBES TO FLORENCE. 
 
 jealousy of each other. The consul has about 8ool. a year, 
 arising from an impost on every ship freighted by the factory. 
 Among the English merchants, one MR JACKSON a Protestant., 
 got a dispensation, by means of the present Pope, then only Car- 
 dinal LAMBERTINI, to marry a Catholic Italian Lady, A rat's 
 example in Italy : though we have since seen a similar in- 
 stance: The Pope is god-father to Mr Jackson's eldest son, to 
 whom he has given already a good benefice. The quarter oF 
 the English is extremely commodious, having a fine canal duf;- 
 through it, -which brings their merchandize to their very doors. 
 The old citadel of Leghorn can afford little defence \ n,pr is the- 
 new one much better, tfioagh a regular fortification. 
 
 Taking leave of our countrymen at Leghorn, we returned to 
 Pisa, where the custom-house, desirous to extort money, was 
 very troublesome about a few books. The French chaise we 
 had brought with us being too large for the Italian narrow 
 roads, and too heavy for their horses, we were forced to change 
 it for a lighter Italian one. In Tuscany, in part of the pope'^ 
 dominions, and in the Venetian territores and Napits, the post 
 furnishes a chaise with the horses, and the chaise is left at the 
 next post house, till some one returns in it. This is called the 
 Cambiatura, but it does not go quite so fast as post, nor can :i 
 traveller oblige it to carry him by night. It would be roon: 
 convenient however if it was universal ; for it often leaves u 
 traveller in the lurch with his bap-^ao-e in the midst of a road. 
 
 oo o 
 
 For example, in the road from Sarzana to Rome, it fails a'bou* 
 3 posts beyond Sienna. Thus ;n Italy a traveller may take 
 horses and chaises either by ttti/ravery cheap, but intolerably 
 slow, /or by Cumliatura at 3 Pauls a horse, and 2 for the chaise , 
 or by post at 4 Pauls a horse : So a chaise in cambiature is ', 
 Pauls per post, horses cost as much when a traveller has his 
 own chaise. A post is in general 8 Italian miles, sometime; 
 7, sometimes lo. The tarif of pests and the prices mu-t b.. 
 often consulted by travellers in every different state. 
 
 Leaving Leghorn, and passing by Pisa a second time, we ar- 
 rived in a day and a half at FLORENCE, following, with few ex- 
 ceptions, the course of the river slrnc, which, rising among the 
 Apennines p.^es through Florence and Pisa., and is a very con-
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALEAN EUTLER. 
 
 siderable river. On this road we had great difficulty in regu- 
 lating our travelling so as to arrive always at good inns, which 
 are seldom met with in Italy unless in the principal towns. It 
 was harder on account of its being Lent, and there being no li- 
 berty to eat eggs, cheese or butter. The common dish in the 
 inns of this country, during that season, is, fish, eggs, or milk, 
 and soups made of vermicelli, a sort of paste exactly resem- 
 bling worms, which we could not endure. All over Italy these 
 pastes are exceedingly common ; and to be sold in every shop. 
 They have every where on this road good milk, butter, and ex- 
 cellent Parmesan cheese, very cheap ; but in Lent even this is 
 prohibited in these parts. After Lent was over this vermi- 
 celli, still formed an ingredient of their soups with the addi- 
 tion of scraped cheese, which formed a disagreeable compound. 
 We prevailed on them at last to give us soup without either 
 of these ingredients. Our first word in every inn was, no min- 
 estr'ajidc/e, the name given to their favourite soup.
 
 Chap. X. TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 
 
 CHAPTER TENTH. 
 
 TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 
 
 Account of the Family of MEDICIS. Description of Tuscany, Its Taxes 
 and Government. FLORENCE; The Cathedral, Church of St Lorenzo, Cha- 
 pel of Cosmo, Grand Duke's Library, Church of the Anunchtion, Carmelites 
 Church, Church of the Holy Cross, Tomb of MICHAEL ANGELO B.INA- 
 KO rn . Church of the Holy Ghost, Statues, Palace of the Grand Duke, Gall- 
 ery of Busts, Hull of Precious Scones, Cabinet of Medals Palace of Pitti, 
 Seraglio of Wild Beasts, &c., Palace of Pnuolino. Academia della Crusca, 
 The Arcadian?, Noble Fa'Tiilies and Number of Inhabitants. City an/1 Ab- 
 bey of Fiesoli. Monastery of Caiualdoli. 3ienna. Chitmi. Aquapendente 
 Bolsjaa Monte Frascone. Vittrbo. Milvian Bridge, Patrimony of Sc 
 Peter. Ostia. Civita Vecchia. Ancona. The unwholesomcness of Cam- 
 pagna di Roma accounted for. 
 
 FLORENCE, March 3c 10,1746. 
 
 JF LOREXCE was formerly a commonwealth. When all Italy 
 was divided into the factions of Gnelph; and Gibelins, the former 
 the partizans of the Popes and Duke of Bavaria, the latter of 
 the Emperors, the family of Medicis being of the Gut/phs, was 
 very powerful in Florence. The opposition and conspiracy of 
 the Gibelins against it raised it to a still higher degree of 
 power ; and JOHN" of ?JEDicis was chosen Gonfalonier, or 
 Prince of the Republic : Upon his death in the year 1:464 his son 
 Cosiiio was elected to the same dignity ; but his enemies con- 
 spired against him, and he, to shun the effects of envy and en- 
 mity, retired to Venice, where he was received as a sovereign 
 prince. The Florentines, regretting the loss of this great man 
 invited him back in the most honourable manner, and by a 
 public decree conferred on him the title of Fafkzr cf tie People, 
 and Deliverer ofLis Country, tie was a great patron of geni- 
 us, and maintained in his palace those who excelled, either in 
 arras or in arts and sciences. He lived in the greatest esteem 
 .?:u] prosperity, wm surunm^d Cosrio TI-I:: GREAT., and ws?
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 the founder of the sovereignty of his family. He died uni- 
 versally beloved an. 1464. * After a succession of 6 prin- 
 ces, die eldest branch of the Medicit failing, COSMO, the first of 
 a younger branch, obtained the principality. Pope Pius IV. 
 first conferred on him the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany in 
 1569 ; and he died the happiest prince of his age in I 574. 
 
 This family, eminently distinguished as the lovers of the arts 
 and sciences, became extinct in the late grand Duke, JOHN 
 G ASTON of Medicis, who died in 1737 without issue. It is 
 well known that the Duke of Lorrain (afterwards Emperor) 
 by an exchange became grand duke to the ruin of this fine 
 country, thus reduced to the state of a province. The native 
 princes of Florence, especially the last, were, of all the princes 
 of Europe, the mildest and the best fathers of their people. 
 The inconsiderable taxes they raised out of this rich country,. 
 
 * COSMO was succeeded by liis on PIETKO, an amiable Prince, but whose 
 frequent indisposition repressed his desire of imitating his father's munificence : 
 His son, LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT, rivalled the Great COSMO in h-'s en- 
 couragement of the Arts and Sciences, and, from his unwearied exertions in 
 jiromctifig the glory and happiness of his fellow-citizens, he justly merited the 
 appellation of Tie Sttjnd Father of Lii Country. .Himself an eminent Scholar, 
 Poet, Warrior* and Legislator, Genius ranks him amongst her most munificent 
 Patrons, and Europe acknowledges him one of the great Restorers of Learning. 
 
 Under his fostering care the immortal MICHAEL ANGELO BOVAROTTI first 
 displayed those inimitable talents that have long challenged the admiration o 
 the world ; and who added to the glory acquired by his sublime genius, that 
 of having formed the taste of the divine RAPHAEL D'URBINO, " second to his 
 "* great master in that granduer of design which elevates the mind, but superi 
 " or to him in that grace which interests the heart. 1 ' 
 
 LORENZO patronised innumerable other eminent artists; and during his go- 
 vernment the art of Engraving on Copper was invented in Florence, by TOMASO 
 FiNiGUERRA, by which means, tk-j works of those immortal artists may be said 
 to have been multiplied into innumerable copies, and will be transmitted to 
 the most remote ages. 
 
 Encouraged by the same generous patron, eminent scholars arose IN every de- 
 partment of literature : ^Vmongst these, appear the celebrated PICA of MIRAN'- 
 DOLO; FICINO; PoiixiANO ; the three PULCI ; the learned BARTOLOMEO 
 SCALA, and his accomplished daughter; the eloquent but ungrateful SAVOXO- 
 R.AL.A ; MATTEO Bosso ; and many other distinguished names, whose writings 
 called forth the energies of a slumbering world, and ushered in the dawn of 
 that bright day of science which enlightened the Pontificate of the immortal 
 son of LORENZO, LEO X , wh'jse reign forms one of the Great ./Eras in the 
 history of the world, EDIT,
 
 acip. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. l8? ; 
 
 they entirely employed in enriching and adorning- it, and pre- 
 serving it in peace and plenty.. Now they have it foreigner for 
 their governor, the Duke of Croix, and they complain that al- 
 ready more Tuscan gold sequins are seen in Vienna than in Flo- 
 rence. They add, as an additional grievance, that their gram! 
 duke, (the Emperor) obliges the militia to serve in turns, 
 changing every three months ; first taking them from Florence, 
 then sending them home to till their ground ; and in the same 
 manner from the other towns, by which method all are spoil- 
 ed ; for after three months the peasant returns lazy and unfit 
 for his former life. Thus they are made bad citizens and la- 
 bourers, and never make good soldiers. 
 
 TUSCANY comprises the greatest part of the ancient Etruria. 
 The pope possesses the bes"t of it, viz. Civita Vecchia, Aqua 
 Pendente, &.c It is very fertile in corn about Pisa ; in wine, 
 oil, &.c. about Florence ; yet it is mountainous in some parts, 
 has quarries of marble, alabaster, &c. It consists of the terri- 
 tories of three comrriomvealths, of Florence, Sienna, and Pisa. 
 We may also add Pistoia, which being a small republic, pre- 
 sented its keys to the grand duke when it saw him master of 
 Pisa. Besides the capital cities of these four states of corre- 
 sponding names, and Leghorn, this territory contains the follow- 
 ing towns : Pcggio, where the Grand Duke has a country pa- 
 lace, 10 miles from Florence ; Volterra, (the Volaterra of the 
 ancients, famous for its fine quarries, its antiquities of sepul- 
 chies, epitaphs in Tu-.ciui letters, heathen statues, &c. ; Cor- 
 tona, no less famous for antiquities, and containing in the Friar^ 
 Church the body of St Marguerite of Cortona, a penitent ot 
 the third order of St Francis ; Ai'e-zz,o, the famous Areium of 
 of the Romans ; Orbitello on the sea-coast ; Monte Pukiano^ 
 the frontier of the Pope's territories, situated oft a hill near 
 the lake Chiumi ; Massa, c*x. 
 
 This state u defended by mountains, which surround it 0:2 
 every side except towards the ecclesiastical state, where there 
 are many fortresses, but none of them capable of containing 
 a strong garrison. The Grand Duke's revenues ari^e from 
 the gabelles.: Cattle, fish, aud indeed almost every thing i:: Uxed 
 that is brought to market in Florence : every pound of m^i!
 
 184 RAVELS OF REV. ALBAtf BUTLER. 
 
 pays a quartino or farthing, circumstances that render the go- 
 vernment very oppressive ; marriage-contracts, sales of houses 
 or lands, &c. pay eight per cent., house-rents 10 per cent. 
 They who have any law-suit pay an imposition called sportola, 
 before they can commence it. The grand dukes usually re- 
 ceived from the gabelles of Florence alone 600,000 ducats a- 
 year, of Sienna 3 50,000, from the dogana of Leghorn 1 30,000, 
 from the tax on the mills, except in Sienna, 160,000, from salt, 
 mines of iron, &.c. as much, besides many accidental and extra- 
 ordinary profits. 
 
 The city of FLORENCE stands in a delightful and extensive 
 plain, fruitful, and filled with fine country palaces. The ri- 
 ver Arno runs through it, over which are four fine bridges of 
 stone : That called of the Four Seasons has four large statues 
 of marble, representing the four seasons of the year, at one 
 end. It has but three arches, the vaults of which are almost 
 Hat : They are the admiration of architects. The work is of 
 MICHAEL ANGELO BONAROTTI. FLORENCE is near six miles 
 in circuit, and contains above 9^,000 souls, and as many in its 
 territory. We must not expect to meet streets of palaces, 
 like the StradaNuo vain Genoa,but it is a city so nobly adorned, 
 that a certain person with justice remarked, it ought only to be 
 shewn on holy-days. Its streets are spacious, well paved with 
 large flat stones, called pietra forte, of which most of the 
 houses are likewise built. Its innumerable palaces, churches, 
 cc., are perfect models of architecture. It contains 152 
 churches, 89 convents, 22 hospitals, 16 public pillars, 2 pyra- 
 mids, 4 bridges, 7 fountains, 17 squares, and 160 public sta- 
 tues, agreeable to the inform ition of my guide. Its walls are 
 ia tolerable repair, but its strength consists chiefly in three 
 fortresses : The first of five bastions, the other two failing in- 
 to decay. They are called Belvedere, San Minato, and Saa 
 Giovanni, (or St John.) 
 
 The Domevr Cathedral called our Lady del Fiore , is an im- 
 mensely large Gothic edifice, founded in the year 1294. It is 
 covered with marble, both within and without, is 490 feet 
 long, and to the cross on the globe upon the dome, 380 feet 
 high : it is paved with fine marble : the choir is surrounded
 
 Chap. X. TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. l8j 
 
 '.vith pillars of marble, and with a great many figures of the 
 same material. Over the high altar, all of marble, appears 
 our SAVIOUR in his sepulchre, supported bj Piety, in white 
 marble : above is GOD tie FATHER, holding a book in his 
 hand. On the other side of the altar is Adam and Eve, cover- 
 ed with a leaf, standing under the Tree of Life, exquisitely- 
 carved in fine marble ; all executed, as well as the high aliar 
 itself, by BANDINELLO. Against the huge pillars in the 
 church, stand the 'Twe/ve Apostles, curiously carved. That 
 of St James, by Sansuvin, is most admired. One of St An- 
 toninus, of a gig-antic size, is very well executed. Here are 
 many monuments of great men, as of DANTE, the Tuscan Poet ; 
 of MARSILIUS FICINUS, the modern great Platonic philoso- 
 pher, with his bust and his epitaph. MICHAEL AXGELO used to 
 admire the cupola and steeple. The dome or cupola is an octa- 
 gon, 900 feet high. Each side of the octagon is 75 feet broad. 
 A representation of the Last 'judgment is painted on the inside 
 of it by ZUCCHARO and LAZARI ; the outside is richly gilt ; a- 
 bove the dome is a high capital upon pillars of white marble. The 
 gilt globe seems not larger than a man's head ; yet they assured 
 us it would contain 20 men. This dome is the work of BRUNI- 
 SCHELLI. The steeple, // Campanile, or La Torre delle Campane, 
 is a little separated from the church. It is a square building of 
 a prodigious height, covered on every side with marble of dif- 
 ferent colours, red, white, and black, and adorned with innu- 
 merable great statues of marble incomparably carved, especial- 
 ly one of a bald old man by DONATELLI. This towering 
 steeple is ascended by 406 steps, and is reckoned 180 feet high. 
 It was built by JOTTUS, a famous architect and painter, as we 
 learn from his epitaph in this church, composed by the cele- 
 brated ANGELUS POLITIANUS. It ends thus : 
 
 Miraris turrim eereaiam scicro sere sonantcm, 
 
 O O 
 
 Hac quoque de modulo crevit ad astra meo. 
 Denique sum JOTTHUS j quid opus fuit ilTa referre 
 Hoc r.cmen longi carminis instar erit. 
 
 Obiit an, 1356. Cives po-n B. M. ijSo. 
 M
 
 j86 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER, 
 
 which may be thus rendered : 
 
 This sounding belfry strikes your wond'ring eyes , 
 'Tis by my art it tow'ring mounts the skies. 
 JOTTHUS I am, what need I more relate ? 
 My name is known j all men my fame repeat. 
 
 In the square over against this church stands a chapel, in which 
 are its baptismal fonts. It was anciently a temple of Mars, 
 but now is calkd the Font, and is an admirable work. It is 
 vaulted with a dome, adorned with black, and whi^e marble. 
 In it are 18 beautiful pillars, two in the middle of' porphyry. 
 The font is of fine marble. On the opposite side is the tomb 
 of brass (made by Donatello) of John XXIII., who, after he 
 had been Pope daring the great Schism, to put an endto it, was 
 reduced to be first of the Cardinals, and independent Legate 
 at Florence, under the title of Cardinal BALTASAR CASSA. But: 
 what is most admired in this chapel, is its three Brass Gates. 
 The lowermost is the meanest, and was made by Andrew Ugo- 
 lini of Pisa, in 1330. The two others were made by Lawrence 
 Gilbert, who was 50 years in casting and polishing them. On 
 that on the Gospel side is represented the beheading of St John 
 Baptist, with the hand of the executioner on one side, and He- 
 rodias on the other. Part is in basso relievo, part is cast. Be- 
 low are the four Cardinal, and the three Theological Virtues. 
 Above is wrought, with extraordinary art, the life of St John 
 the Baptist. On that on the Epistle side, are incomparably 
 represented St John Baptist preaching in the desert, with a 
 Scribe on one side, and a Pharisee on the other, listening. Be- 
 low are the four Fathers of the Church, and the four Evan- 
 gelists, with thtir symbols : above is part of the life of our 
 Saviour, from the Annunciation to the Ascension, On the 
 lower gate, is St John baptizing our Saviour. It ii these two 
 fine gates, (as the Florentines affirm) not those of Pisa., that 
 Michael Angelo called Gales fit f^r Ilecmn. 
 
 Dum cernit vulvas aarnLo ex are nitente; 
 In templo, MICHAEL ANGCLUS cb^tupuit. 
 Attonitusque diu, sic alia silentia rupit, 
 O divinum opus ! O junuu digna Polo
 
 Chap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 187 
 
 Such gates divine might grace the porch of bliss ! 
 
 Among the epitaphs I copied one in this cathedral, which pleas- 
 ed me very much. Antony Castalius, a great nobleman and 
 orator*- caused it to be engraven on his own tombstone. 
 
 Quam vixens nunquam potui gustare quietem 
 
 Mortuus in solida jam statione fruor 
 
 Passio, cura, labor, mors tandem et pugna recessit, 
 
 Corporea, et soium mens quod avebat habet. An. 1530- 
 
 That peace and rest now in the silent grave 
 
 At length I tnste, which life, Oh ! never gave. 
 
 Pain, labour, sickness, tortures, anxious cares, 
 
 Grim death, fa:tr, watching, strife, and racking feats, 
 
 Adieu ! my joys at la^t are ever crown 'd ; 
 
 And what 1 hop'd so long, my soul has found. 
 
 We next viewed the collegiate church of San Lorenzo. We 
 took notice, in entering, of the tomb of PAUL Jovius, Bishop 
 of Nocerc, the historian. Some good pictures were pointed, 
 out to us, particularly an excellent one of the Last ^Judgment) 
 by PONTORXO ; the History of Sigismond, by VAZARI ; one 
 of our Lady and St Ann, in fresco, by Fit A BARTHOLOM^O. 
 for which last the Duke of Mantua offered great sums. This 
 church does not display much marble, being built of a fine 
 hard stone, not inferior to marble ; its two rows of round pil- 
 lars of the same material. The old chapel in which the Dukes, 
 with the princes of their family, are buried, is so filled with 
 their monuments, that there is hardly room to stir in it. Hers 
 are good pieces of MICHAEL AKGELO. But the ashes of the 
 grand dukes are to be translated into a most magnificent new 
 chapel, now building, and which opens into this church. I?: 
 was begun by COSMO of Medici--, on a design of MICHAEL 
 ANGELO about the year 1560, and is not yet nearly finished, 
 It is something round, but of an octogon figure, very large and 
 very high. One of the faces of this cctogcn is for the high 
 altar ; another for the door ; the six others have six magnifi- 
 cent Tombs of porphyry, oriental granite, and the finest marble- - 
 
 M 2
 
 l88 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 On the outside it is covered with the finest marble ; on the in- 
 side, simple marble is deemed too mean, except in the pave- 
 ment. All the rest is of porphyry, Sicilian and Corsican jas- 
 per, touchstone, oriental alabaster, pietra pidacchiosa, which 
 is an exquisitely fine sort of red speckled marble, lapis lazuli, 
 and all sorts of precious stones ; and on fine stones of shining 
 colours, are represented, round the chapel, the arms of the prin- 
 cipal cities under the grand duke ; as Firenze, Pisa, Pistoia, 
 Sienna, Livorno, Arozzo, Massa, &cc. Niches of black mar- 
 ble in the wall for the statues, over the six monuments, are 
 commenced. Over each monument is a cushion of various 
 precious stones, and a ducal coronet. They say the meanest 
 of these cushions costs 60,000 crowns ; every coronet still 
 more. Two of the monuments are pretty completely finished 
 When a person views this splendid edifice and all its costly de- 
 corations the glittering jewels, the ducal coronets, the 
 
 statue, the tomb of porphyry, &c. his astonishment must be 
 great ; but can he refrain from reflecting on human vanity, 
 when he considers that all this glittering outside is only intend- 
 ed as a cover for a few ashes ? This chapel, certainly the rich- 
 est and most magnificent in the whole world, will probably ne- 
 ver be finished ; the estates of these princes being now in the 
 hands of strangers ; there are indeed some revenues left by 
 them for completing it ; but what will these be towards such 
 a work ? hardly sufficient to purchase one stone a-year. The 
 late duchess, who survived her brother John Gaston, exacted 
 an oath from the canons of this church, which is engraven on a 
 marble stone put up in their cloister, that they will see the 
 chapel finished. 
 
 In a chamber going up to the gallery of the grand duke, we 
 saw the high altar for this chapel not finished : It is made en- 
 tirely of jasper and other precious stones, joined together, and 
 very large. 
 
 The grand duke's Library of San Lorenzo, is in the college 
 belonging to, and adjoining to the church : The building is 
 according to a plan of Michael Angelo ; very large, filled with 
 figures, and painted on the top : The desks are placed on each 
 side, 45 in number, upon which the books are chained ; they
 
 Clap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 189 
 
 are all manuscripts : The grand duke has another for printed 
 books : These manuscripts were given by Pope Clement VII. 
 (a Mcdicis} ; the rest collected by the grand dukes : They 
 shewed us a manuscript Virgil above icoo years old ; a He- 
 brew bible, not indeed so very ancient, for it has the vowel 
 points ; but much esteemed on account of it's having commen- 
 taries of the Rabbins in Hebrew : The catalogue of all these 
 manuscripts is extant, having been printed at Amsterdam in 
 1622. The Dominicans have in Florence two very beautiful 
 churches and convents : The great convent possesses the church 
 called St Maria Novella, large, beautiful, and of such admira- 
 ble architecture, that MICHAEL ANGELO usually called it his 
 Venus, or delight, and boasted of it as his best performance : 
 In it is the tomb of Joseph, the Greek patriarch of Constan- 
 tinople, who subscribed the decrees of the cou.icil of Florence, 
 and died here in 1422 : The pavement of this large church is 
 nearly composed of ancient fine marble stones, and full of in- 
 scriptions : This church is also rich in paintings ; the best are 
 the Holy Histories, by PHILIP LlPPf, in the chapel of the 
 Strozzi ; others by VAZARI in that of the Cappom ; a Saint 
 Veronica by PONTORMO ; a Nativity, kc. This convent is 
 the third of the order, a;ul is very magnificent : I:i the cloister 
 hang many good pictures of the miracles and lives of St Do- 
 minic, St Antoninus, and St Vincent Ferrerius : Their dormi- 
 tories for summer are below j those for winter above : Their 
 gardens are .esteemed the finest of any convent in Italy : In 
 the church is the monument of Bone ACE, the famous Italian 
 poet, r.nd dlbcr.'le of ?KTRARCIT, whom he excels however in 
 prose, and iu the puntv of the Italian language, which he 
 contributed much to p^riec!: : His Decameron or Novel/e, 
 which 1 5 his principal work i,i pvosr, is injurious to religion 
 and morality, and it, indeed nothing b;:t an idle romance : IT 
 is condemned by the iRoman index : lie 13 rot buried hcic 
 but at Ccitaldo, in the wiy to Sienna, where lie has a marble 
 monument and fine statue : The other Dominican convent 
 35 " j .lleu iS7 Avlaik's, built L-y the grand duke Cosmo: The 
 b ..iy of St Antoninus archbishop cl~ Florence, lies here iu the 
 j'-ch chapel of Signoi'i SaiViaf, which is ialaid with ina;bi \ 
 
 M 3
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 and many precious stories, and adorned with many good sta- 
 tues of saints, 8cc. In this church on the north side is the 
 tomb of the famous JOHN PICA, Duke of Mirandola, and 
 Count of Concordia, who possessed a capacity and application, 
 so extraordinary as to be deemed a prodigy : Scaliger calls him, 
 Monstrum sine vitio : At 10 years of age he studied the law ; 
 at 1 8 he understood 11 languages ; at 24 he defended at Rome 
 theses of 900 propositions in all sciences ; logics, physics, divi- 
 nity, mathematics, scripture, and cabalists, out of the Greek, 
 Latin, Hebrew, and Chaldaic writers : Renouncing his estate, 
 (he had an elder brother Galeoli, \vho was sovereign duke of 
 those places), he retired to Florence, and whilst he was writ- 
 ing a book against judicial astrology, which is published im- 
 perfect, he died in 1494, at the age 33. I|is epitaph is ; 
 
 JOANNES jacet hie MIRANDOLA : caetera norunt 
 .t Tagus et Ganges j-forsan et Antipodes. 
 
 Here lies JOHN OF MIRANDOLA : the rest is known 
 By East and \Ve3t j perhaps too by our Antipodes, 
 
 ANGELUS POLITANUS, the elegant Latinist, is buried qn the 
 other side, without an epitaph. This church has a fine cruci- 
 fix by Giotto. Through the church we went into the convent, 
 to see the grand duke's Laboratory, which is in the hands of 
 these Dominicans, and is furnished with every chemical appara- 
 tus, as the drand gukcs were great lovers cf all the arts, and 
 of every branch of philosophy : The fathers have the best of 
 spirits in small bottles, covered with cases in the form ofsmaU 
 gilt books, to make them portable ; and have all kinds of 
 drugs in the highest perfection : We have carried with us a 
 book of bottles, of delicious spirits ; one drop makes a pint of 
 water a most delightful draught. We admired in this labo- 
 ratory a very numerous collection of small pictures, chiefly 
 by MICHAEL ANGELO, but severals by other great masters : 
 'Tis the finest collection of the kind in the world. The church 
 of the -Annunciation of our Lady is the principal church of the 
 Ser<uites t a religious order begun in Florence in 1233, anc ^ rnuch 
 propagated by St Philip Beniti, who entered it soon after its in
 
 . X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 19! 
 
 stitution : It is called of the Annunciation, or of tie Servants of 
 tie Blessed Virgin ; and is much esteemed in Italy : In this 
 church is an image of our Lady, which is said to have been 
 finished by an angel : It is very richly adorned ; a silver altar ; 
 silver candlesticks ; 50 silver lamps, &c. Here are also good 
 paintings, as 'The Visitation by PONTORMO; several by ANDREW 
 DEL SARTO, &c. la this church are buried BANDINELLI the 
 great statuary ; and JOHN of Bologna the famous carver. In 
 the Carmelites Clurcb, in a side chapel, is the magnificent 
 shrine of St ANDREW CORSINI, of that order : The chapel is 
 adorned with the monuments of two cardinals of that family, 
 and with statues, and the richest embellishments, both for 
 art and matter, at the expence of the Marquis of Corsini, and 
 principally of the late Pope Clement Xll. We did not forget 
 to visit several other churches, as St Michael's, the Holy 
 Ghost's, &c., found rich altars, paintings, Sec. to repay our la- 
 bour ; but it would be too tedious to enumerate all. The 
 church of the Holy Cross however, must not be omitted on 
 many accounts. It belongs to the conventual Franciscan friars, 
 is very large, and the work of MICHAEL ANGELO : It is curi- 
 ously enriched with fine paintings, carvings, and gildings : 
 The pulpit is a master-piece, of white marble, on which is re- 
 presented the life of St Francis, in inimitable basso-relievo : 
 Here are many tombs of great men, with neat epitaphs, as of 
 Leonardus Aretinus, the historian, of Marsupini a poet, &.c. j 
 but the most remarkable is that of MICHAEL AXGELO BONA- 
 ROTTI, the great pattern of painting, carving, and architecture, 
 who \vas born in Florence, and died in Rome in 1564, in the 
 8gth year of his age : His bones were transported to Florence, 
 and buried here in i j'3o : lie drew and left his nephew the 
 design of his own tomb : On a pedestal of marble, under his 
 biut, are represented, Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture, 
 the arts in which he excelled, in the figures of virgins, with 
 their proper symbols : His epitaph in Latin is as follows : 
 " Mich. Angdo Bonarota e vetusta Simoniorum familia, sculp- 
 " tori, picton, et architecto, fa ma omnibus notissimo, Leo- 
 '' nardus patruo amantissimo de sc optime inerito, translates 
 " Roma ejns os^ibus, atque in hoc temple, in majorum suo-i 
 
 3V! 4
 
 192 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 " rum sepulchro conditis, cohortante, ser. Cosmo Med. M. Etr. 
 " duce P. C. an. Sal. 1570 : vixit an. 88 mens. ii dies 15." 
 
 The organ of this church cost the grand duke Cosmo 4000 
 crowns for its workmanship only, so exquisite is it. We also 
 admired here an Annunciation carved by DONATELLI ; an Ecce 
 Homo, and other statues by the ZETI ; and a Blessed Vir^i'n in 
 basso-relievo near Michael Angelo's tomb : And in paincing, a 
 Crucijix by CIMABUE ; a Descent from the Cross, by SALVIATI ; 
 our Saviour carrying his cross by VASARI ; a Last ^vpper by 
 GIOTTO in the refectory : In the cloister lies buried GALILEO 
 the great astronomer, whose name and history are so famous ; 
 His epitaph runs thus : " Gal. Galilpeus Patric. Flor. geome- 
 " triae, philosophise, astronomiae, maxiuius restitutor, nulli 
 " zetatis sure comparanclus, hie bene quiescat. vixit an. 78." 
 
 la the church of the Holy Gbost, belonging to the Augus- 
 tins, is the most magnificent tabernacle for the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment in the world : It and the altar are ?.ll of precious stones. 
 The pillars, statues, cc. ere equally elegant. This tabernacle 
 has cost already 80,000 crowns, and is not yet nearly finished. 
 
 As for public statues in Florence, in the square or piazza 
 near the Servites, is an equestrian statue of the grand duke 
 Ferdinand, never to be sufficiently admired. Near the church 
 of the Blessed Trinity is a lofty statue of prophyry, all of one 
 piece, which represents Justice holding the scales in her hands, 
 erected by COSMO the Grand Duke. Near \k&Aquila Imperiale, 
 our inn, is Hercules overcoming the Centaur, of fine marble, 
 2nd excellent carving, 
 
 In the great square, which is very large, is one oi che most 
 beautiful fountains iu the world. In il are represented Nep- 
 tune drawn by four horses of white marble, of a gigantic size, 
 with his family, represented by four statues of marble, larger 
 than life, and four lesser ones of brass. 
 
 On the side of the gallery of the palace towards this square 
 are many beautiful statues. The most esteemed are a ^juditij 
 holding the head of Holofernes, by Donatelli, and a Perseus 
 with Medusa's head. This is of brass, by Cellini. A groupe 
 of three figures in one marble stone, very natural. Before. 
 "*ie palace is an equestrian brass statue of Cos'io I. by Joha
 
 Clap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 19 3 
 
 of Bologna, with curious reliefs on the pedestal. Here are al- 
 so a David, by MICKAKL ANGELO, a beautiful Sabin ravished, 
 by John of Bologna. 
 
 The palaces of Florence are v ' noble, and more so in their 
 interior than in their exterior. That of the Strozzi, and 
 of Count Ricardi, &c. are esteemed the finest. We contented 
 ourselves with examining the two belonging to uhe Grand 
 
 O o O 
 
 Duke, viz. the old palace, and that of Pitti. 
 
 To begin with the old Palace of the Grand Duke. The porch 
 is surrounded with beautiful pillars of the Corinthian order, 
 and the porticos and corridor are exceedingly noble and prand. 
 But we were chiefly desirous of seeing the great gallery, con- 
 taining the richest collection of curiosities in Europe. We 
 had bargained the day before with the prime minute' of the 
 palace, as they call him, that he should shew us it for a se- 
 quin, which is near half a guinea. They shewed us first the 
 altar that is making for San Lorenzo, composed entirely of 
 precious stones. After which we ascended the gallery, where 
 the prime minister came to us. Ti.is g .-tilery is about 200 
 paces long. All around it, on pcdestab, are placed busts and 
 statues of all the great men of antiquity, Greeks and Latins, 
 of whom effigies could be found. They arp principally an- 
 cient, but a few of them are modern, by the best hands. Those 
 done by MICHAEL ANGELO are easily distinguished by their in- 
 comparable fine stroke-;, and shining beauty. Here painters, 
 carvers, Sec. have the best modeh to study. We see the fea- 
 tures and the very passions of the soul in some measure ex- 
 pressed in the statues of Homer, Aristotle, Cicero, &ec. The 
 moot admired are : The statue of a female, on whose garments 
 we observed certain ancient characters ; that of Lcda; of Bac- 
 chus ; an antique, with a copy by Michael Angelo, not infe- 
 rior to it ; of Julia, daughter of Augustus ; of Venus, Diana, 
 ,NCC. The busts of all the emperors down to Gallien, particu- 
 larly those cf Augustus, Adrian, Pertinax, and Severus, re- 
 mark^Dii; for their carving There is also a bust of Brutus, 
 the murderer of Caesar, began by Michael Angelo, bat kf:, 
 .ai.^erf^c*, U:-der it is this distich
 
 104 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 M. Dum Bruti efEgiem sculptor de marmore fingit. A. 
 B. In mente-n sceleris venit et abstinuit. F. 
 
 The initial letters mean Michael Angela Bonarota fesit. 
 verses may be rendered in English, thus : 
 
 Whilst BRUTUS' face the studious carver drew, 
 His mind abhors perfidious guilt to view : 
 His chisel drops, nor can his work pursue. 
 
 Here are also many choice Roman stone antiquities and inscrip- 
 tions ; as mile-stones, old Roman treaties, a stone with Ap- 
 pius's, another with Fabius Maximus'a dignities, &c. Some 
 very entertaining epitaphs ; as one of a mother-in-law and 
 stepson, whose ashes, remembering their old hatred, refused to 
 be mingled in the same urn. " Pylonici privigni et Dyrchoni 
 " novercse cineres hie conditi pristini odii memores, una renu- 
 '* unt commiscere." Another to this purpose : " Philoetius pri- 
 " vignuj et Duceris novcrca in vita vix credibile unanimes, 
 " mortui hac eadcm urna Concordes requiescunt." 
 
 In this gallery we iind busts which are to be met with no 
 where else. Those of Agrippa, Caligula, Otlio, Nerva, Geta, 
 Sec. are very scarce, and of exquisite workmanship. Over 
 these busts and statues hung quite round the gallery the best 
 and truest pictures of all the kings, ministers, and other great 
 men, whether of the sword, bar, or cabinet, these latter ages 
 have produced. Among whom are our Henry VIII. Ann 
 Bologne, Bishop Fisher, Chancellor Bacon, More, cc. 
 
 After seeing the gallery, we went into the Tribune, as they 
 call it, which is an cctogon hall, 20 feet in diameter, the top 
 vaulted into a dome, inlaid with mother of pearl, the pave- 
 ment of marble of different colours, the windows of chrystal, 
 the tapestry covering the walls of crimson velvet. The dis- 
 play of riches in this apartment is astonishing. It contains all 
 ,iorts of precious stones, a better collection than in the Mu- 
 se urn of Oxford, or even that I saw at Rome. The famous dia- 
 mond, the second largest known, weighing 139-1 carats > * ia3 c ^ 3 * 
 .appeared for some years. There i-, however^ an antique head
 
 Chap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 
 
 of JULIUS CAESAR, made of one tingle turquoise, almost a; 
 large as an egg *. 
 
 The Grand Duke's Cabinet of Medals is very numerous. 
 A little cabinet of gold medals is above all price. It would be 
 loo long to describe all the apartments we went through, the 
 whole filled with the greatest rarities and richest curiosities : nor 
 had I time to take down a catalogue, cr memory to retain them. 
 
 * As we shall have occasion to spe^k of precious stones again in the course of 
 our journey, a short description of the chief kinds of them may i:ot be here 
 improper. 
 
 Precious stones are such as arc remarkable for beautiful co]our, lellc eau (fitic 
 water) or transparency, hardnefs, or such rare qualities. Some are opaque, others 
 transparent. The transparent are, first the diamond or adamant, the finest and 
 dearest of all precious stones, as it excells !! the rest in hardness, fineness of wa- 
 ter, weight, Sec. Diamonds, which are not found in rocks, but in earth, have 
 sometimes other mixtures, and are not perfectly transparent, or have not so fitic 
 a water. These might pass for topazes or emeralds, if they did not sparkle more. 
 The three largest diamonds known, are, that of the GRAND MOGUL, of 279 ca- 
 rats, valued by Tavtniier at it millions French. This of the GRAND DUKE. 
 of 139-5 carats; " n< ^ that of the FRENCH KING'S, called PITT'S DIAMOND, of 
 ic<5 carats *. A ruby is shining and reddieh. If it be of 20 carats, it is called 
 a carbuncle ; it is a fable, that it ever shines in the n ; ght ; a granate h red, and 
 a clear sort of carbuncle ; a hyacinth is yellow or purple ; an amethyst violet, 
 an emerald, (in Latin smaragdiu') of a shining green; that of Peru is of le.ss 
 value ; the oriental emerald is the hardest and best cf jewels after the ruby . 
 the berillus is blue ; fo is the saphire, but of a stronger colour; the topaze, or 
 chrysolite, is of a gold colour, mixed with green, not very hard ; an opalius re- 
 sembles a cst's tye in its colours ; if from Cyprus, Egypf, and Arabia, it is prt:- 
 cious ; from Bohemia, of no valpe. The following are but half transparent, or 
 quite opaque ; the onyx, black and white; the sardonyx, or cornaline, of a pal; 
 and red; a turcois, blue, but somewhat greenish; the lapis lazuli, or azur.: 
 stone is r:zure, and found in mines of gold, silver, and marble. All these j'.wels 
 are commonly reduced to two ,-orts, the jasper, j-.ufttr; and the agate harder, 
 smoother, and more transparent ; the German abates are softer; amber is ru 
 gum, but certainly a fossile dug up in and near the Baltic .^ea. All thoe jewels 
 and amber, as Dr Woodward Kiy-, are only chry.-.tal, or a clear salt; but their 
 colours arise from a tincture of other minerals. The \ouvfau Cw- dt. la 6"^ *>,>, 
 suivant Irs principei d* Neii't^n and Silia'I, p. 51, teaches how to make precious 
 stones, only they will never be lasting, and l^ive not the weight of true ones. 
 False ones are put in the place of true ones, in St Denys'.i treasury, near Paris, 
 to shew strangers ; only the ignorant take them for the real ones. Thus Pitt's 
 real diamond is not shewn, but a counterfeit one in place of ic, 
 
 * OmmjrL, <.r LJ If found cf goll :<,ntj'uis 24 carats ; cm cargt q penryift : ?!:?t _ 
 I at In ji-.v.'.'s or;: can! 1.3; only 4 grains, zrtd ll.n: sc.wiuvi', if:t tljr. Cirnr.-.n,
 
 Zj6 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 These chambers are finished in the most admirable style of 
 architecture, but their beauty is lost amicht the curiosities with 
 which they are all entirely filled. In some we meet with most 
 exquisite ancient statues ; one of the best of which is an an- 
 tique of Laocoon and Ms two sons ; this is entire : that in the 
 the Belvidere at the Vatican is not, though it surpasses this. 
 In the last chamber is the most perfect statue in the world, the 
 VENUS OF MEDICIS ; it stands in the midst of several Venuscs 
 and other statues, which would seem very fine, if not in com- 
 pany with this. They are larger than life, which makes this 
 seem less. Yet it is of the size of an ordinary woman, as one 
 finds by the dimensions of any part of it. It is made of the 
 finest white marble I ever saw. T^ie strokes of the chizel are 
 here so delicate, the proportions so nice, the shape, features of 
 the face, and the attitude so charming, the design so correct, 
 but, above all, the softness of the flesh so sensible to the eye, 
 and the passions so well expressed, that it is certainly nowhere 
 to be paralleled. It surpasses any shape in nature, which is al- 
 \vays subject to some defects ; in short it is beauty in its utmost 
 perfection, and has also the softness and grace of life. By this 
 v/e may judge how much PRAXITELLES, ZEUXIS, and other 
 ancient Masters, surpassed in carving even MICHAEL ANGELO. 
 But this figure is too dangerous an object for any one to look 
 much upon. I wonder indeed the stitues are not more decent- 
 ly covered. The two men wrestling, Morpheus, in the fi- 
 gure of a boy asleep, with poppies in his hand, &-C. arc 
 tery fine statues. Among other rarities which we admired, 
 were flowers, birds, cities, houses, &c. very naturally repre- 
 sented in their true colours, in precious stones, as rubies, por- 
 plvyry, jasper, agates, &x. put together with the most sur- 
 prising art, also tables made up of these materials, little ca-- 
 binets, and scrutoirs, still richer. In one cabinet is represent- 
 ed the whole Passion of our- SAVIQUP : the different stages re- 
 gularly succeed one another to tin view ; the figures are ex- 
 cellently carved in amber. This h valued at 2cc,coo crowns. 
 Others such are carved in white ivory, &cc. We were not sr> 
 much surprised to seq his higliness's plate, 12 cupboards filled 
 \vith vessels^ and plate of solid silver, several of p'njrl and silver
 
 Chap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 197 
 
 gilt. One cupboard is filled with plates and dishes of massy 
 gold. There is a complete altar-service of massy gold, cruets, 
 censers, &.c. among which is a figure of the grand duke on his 
 knees, composed of rich precious stones. The chambers, com- 
 pletely full of fine China ware or porcelain, would have better 
 pleased those who are better judges. All know that this ware 
 is made of a fine fossile earth, light and sandy, only found hi 
 the province of Kyangsie in China : that our China is often the 
 worst sort, made of old pots broken, and sometimes counter- 
 feited by the Dutch. We believed, upon the authority of our 
 guide, the primo ministro, that these were the finest sort, which 
 the smoothness and fineness of the ware seemed to prove. 
 There is at least enough of China here for the tea-tables of all 
 the princes in Italy ; besides a variety of immense vessels of 
 every shape. The Mahometan kings in the Indies eat out of 
 China ware, plate being forbid them : But, in these parts, I 
 know no use for these large vessels, except to be punch-bowls 
 to make a whole corporation drunk, in our elections of mem- 
 bers of parliament. In these chambers are many carious 
 clocks ; some point out the hours, both in the Italian and English 
 manner of reckoning. Among the arms, and other curiosities, 
 are the sword of CHARLEMAGNE, that of ROLAND the Nor- 
 man ; the arms of Turks, and many other oriental nations ; a. 
 Persian all in armour on horseback ; scymeters in scabbards 
 covered with emeralds and rubies, &c. ; fine horse-tails, pistols, 
 cc. ; a loadstone, which draws and holds up 6.7 weight of 
 iron ; the great globes which fill a whole large chamber ; and 
 must have been made in it, these at least can rtever be carried 
 to Vienna, without pulling down part of the palace. There 
 is a room very convenient and well furnished for astronomical 
 observations ; with many pieces venerable as bearing the names 
 of GALILEO and TORICELLI. We next day visited the pnlacu 
 of Pittiy' in which the late grand dukes resided. There is a 
 gallery from the old palace to the palace of Pitti over the ri- 
 ver, for the grand duke's private use. This palace takes its 
 name from Luke Pitti, who begun the building on too expen- 
 sive a plan, and was obliged to sell it for debt. He was after- 
 warik put to ck-ath for treasonable practices. The rru;,u
 
 I9& TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 duke bought this palace, completed it, and made it his princi- 
 pal residence. It is built of great stones, adorned on three 
 sides with beautiful pillars of the three orders, Doric, Ionic, 
 and Corinthian. On the fourth is the garden. The court in the 
 middle is very large. A gallery on the right hand is full of 
 curiosities. In it is a statue of Scipio Africanus^ of black stone, 
 \*alued at 800 ducats. The hanging stairs seem the finest in 
 Europe. The apartments are enriched with innumerable fine 
 paintings. Two female limners were employed in drawing 
 copies of the principal among these pieces to be sent to London. 
 The small chambers in the upper apartments, xvith galleries, 
 Sec. adorned with an infinite number of small pictures, all of 
 the best masters, chrystal glasses, and every kind of rich fur- 
 niture, are quite enchanting. There are lodgings for great 
 multitudes in small beautiful rooms, most regularly and ele- 
 gantly furnished. This palace contains a vast variety of the 
 finest marbles. The gardens are full of solitary green woods and 
 alleys, with fine fountains and statues in the walks and parterre?. 
 In the centre, the alleys terminate at a great bason of water, 
 in the midst of which stands a large marble statue, with many 
 lesser around it ; surrounding the whole, a walk in Mosaic of 
 of stones. At the bottom is the seraglio for wild beasts ; in 
 which are seen in their dens, lions, bears, tygers, wolves, &c. ; 
 also rare and foreign birds ; some at liberty, as ostriches, swans, 
 &.c. in the fountains and parterres ; others in aviaries proper 
 for them. There is a large court, destined for the wild beasts 
 to fight in. It was formerly a favourite pastime here to see 
 a fierce lion attack the wild bull, leap over his horns, when he 
 held them down, and, fixing on his back, tear him asunder 
 through the middle into two parts at once ; to see the ele- 
 phant fight the rhinoceros, &c. As an expedient to make the 
 wild beusts retire into their dens, there is a frightful monster 
 made of wood, painted with glaring colours, a red tongue hang- 
 ing out of his mouth, ugly great teeth, streaks of blue, &c. 
 over the body ; his inside hollow, from whence a man bellows 
 ",vith a dreadful noise. We saw some Indian peacocks in the 
 gardens, far more beautiful for variety and strength of colour 
 n. their plumage, fhan our ordinary ones. They disnlayed
 
 . X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 199 
 
 their tails, feathers, &c. strutted about to shew us their 
 beauty, and gave us the most sensible tokens of satisfaction 
 at our admiring them. After two hours, we returned the 
 same way ; they were still in the same posture expecting 
 our return ; and seemed angry that we did not stay to look at 
 them longer ; they followed, shewing themselves as long as 
 they could. They seemed to outdo our common peacock, the 
 emblem of pride, as much in vanity as in beauty. 
 
 Near Florence, between the mountains, the grand duke has' 
 liis palace of Pratolino. It is a square building, with beauti- 
 ful apartments, statues, the finest paintings, bedsteads and tables 
 of alabaster, &cc. We here admired grottos with the most de- 
 lightful fountains, adorned with figures which play tunes, fight, 
 spout water at one another, and swim about. Amongst these, 
 you see Vulcan and his Cyclops working at their forges, when 
 ihe water works are set to play. The walls of these grottos 
 are artfully made of shells, pearls, stones of various colours, 
 fxc. A mount Parnassus, oa which Apollo and the Muses 
 play on their instruments by the water, pressing the air into 
 iheir pipes on turning a cock : a fine Cupid of brass, with his 
 torch throv/s out water instead of flames ; as does a Jupiter, 
 instead of his thunder. The woods are full of sweet singing 
 birds. The grand duke has also other fine palaces of pleasure,, 
 (particularly that of Poggio, 10 Tniles from Florence, and that 
 of C'astto,} no less beautiful by their natural situation than by 
 :-;rt. It is pity such places must now go to decay for want of 
 a master to enjoy them. There is enough to prove that Flo- 
 rence is justly styled, tie Beautiful, Fircnz-a la Bella. 
 
 Florence is famous for its general council, in 1439 ; for in- 
 uumerable great men, especially many excellent painters, carvers, 
 architects, tic. The Medicis have given the church four Popes ;. 
 Leo X. Cleirunt VII. Pius IV. and Leo XT. 
 
 There arc in the city two academies ; that of Physic, cal- 
 led Academia del Cimsnto, which applies itself to physi- 
 cal and astronomical observations : and that of Delia Cruica, 
 (that is, of Bran) which is employed hi perfecting the Italian 
 language. This academy produced the famous Italian Die- 
 ;ionary, ctuled Fccubutario de gli academki della Crusca. If
 
 2CO TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLEK. 
 
 example gave birth to t!ie Academie Francoise, instituted for 
 perfecting the French language. This of Crusca professes to 
 purify the Italian language, like Bran, to which every thing in 
 the place of its assembly bears an allusion. Its device is-a jfa? 
 for corn, with this motto, II piu belfior ne coglie : that is, " it 
 gathers the purest^ozw." In the chamber of their meeting, 
 their chairs have the shape of a scuttle to carry bread in ; the 
 back resembling a shovel to stir up the corn ? the cushions are 
 of sattin in the shape of sacks of meal ; their candlesticks also 
 resemble sacks. They write Italian best in Florence ; but 
 they have a false accent. They speak it in greater purity at 
 Sienna, and in highest perfection at Rome. Here is also ano- 
 ther academy, though it modestly declines that name, preferring 
 that of Raginaxa, or assembly for discourse ; arid in order to 
 have all things suitable to the characters they assume, which 
 is that of shepherds, they call themselves Orcadians , and make 
 poetry their business. 
 
 FLORENCE is said to contain 85,000 inhabitants, 44 parishes, 
 160 public statues, &c. Its principals families are the Stroz - 
 zi ; Salviati, Vespucci; Altoviti ; Corsi; Corsini ; Ricardi Ni- 
 colini ; Guadagni ; Bonzi ; Bartolini , Cavalcanti, &.c. The 
 country about the town is filled with fine seats, the roads beau- 
 tifully shaded by pine trees, or cypresses. 
 
 Two miles distant at the foot of the Apennines are the ruins 
 of the ancient city Fiesoil, the Ffsula; of the Romans, and one 
 of the twelve great cities of Etruria. As Florence rose in 
 grandeur, this city fell to decay. Here stands the sumptuous 
 alley of Ficsoli founded by COSMO MEDICI. In its deserted 
 mountains were founded the Fesofi, or Mendicant Hieronimites 
 under the rule of St Augustin an. 1400, or 1380. 
 
 Going out of Florence we leave on the left hand Valle Un- 
 orosa 18 miles from town, the chief abbey of the order of that 
 name founded by St John Gualbert anno 1060, and 12 miles 
 farther in the Apennines, Camuldoli, chief also of an order insti- 
 tuted by St Romuald an. 1009. ^ * s a statute of tn i 3 or- 
 der that their convents must be at least 15 miles from arty great 
 fo\vn. The monastery of Camaldoli is situated in a frightful
 
 Clap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 201 
 
 solitude : From the top of the highest and most rugged of the 
 Apennines, there is a very steep descent of an hour and a quar- 
 ter's journey through a wild forest^ and over five or six tor- 
 rents, to arrive at the monastery or hermitages. Here the 
 monks live in austerity, solitude and silence, for the greatest 
 pirt of their time ; and such of them as ate more advanced in 
 religious perfection, chuse to be shut up in their cells, without 
 ever speaking to or even seeing any person except the supe- 
 rior ; imitating in this the life which their holy Founder St 
 R.OMUALD lived for many ye'ars. 
 
 From Florence to SIENNA it is five posts, (about 40 miles) 
 through small villages, San Cassiano, Tuverne and Staggta the 
 roads are good were it not for two fords over torrents' from 
 t'-f mountains, which are sometimes very dangerous. This 
 road leaves a little to the right three considerable burghs, Ctr- 
 taldo, San Gemvu'ano, on a mountain, which produces good wine, 
 and Volterra : on the left Aie-r,~o, Poggibonxi, and Po^gio hn- 
 ptriale, where ij the grand duke's park and forest. 
 
 SlENNA is said to havs been built by the Sencncs Gauls ; but 
 this is uncertain, for they settled towards Ancbna. It stands 
 on an eminence, is five miles round, and is surrounded with a 
 valley resembling a ditch - ; which might be fillet with water. 
 It is the seat of an Archbishopric; and of an University. 
 The great piaz/3 or market-place is hollow in the middle, pu- 
 vsd with fine stone, exceeding spacious, and surrounded with 
 good houses ail uniform and stre ight. The town house, or pa- 
 3ace cifbe Signorie, extensive and well built, is adorned by a lofty 
 tower. At its foot \^ a chapel covered with marble, and over 
 against it stands the .'?/: cf Ophite^ which they say formerly 
 stood in tae temple of Diana, on the top of which are Romufus 
 aid Remus sucking a wolf, in brass ; the arms oi the city. At 
 one end of the square is an arch, without any thing visible that 
 sustains it : *Tis the work of BAI.TAZAR of Sienna, the Restor- 
 er of Architecture. In its cenfre is a fine marble fountain a- 
 dorned with finely executed buiso relievos, called the fountain 
 of Branda. 
 
 Many Popes were born at Sienna : viz, Gregory VII. , Alex- 
 ander II!., Pin? I!., Pius III., Paul V,, Alexander V!!., air
 
 2.02 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 Boniface VI. ; two of these, viz.. Pius II., and Pius III., were 
 of the noble family of the Picolomini, originally of Rome, but 
 settled at Sienna in the 13th century, where it has a very 
 magnificent palace : The Chigi, and the other nobility, also 
 possess fine palaces here. 
 
 The Cathedral, or Dome, though not very large, is ac- 
 counted one of the most beautiful in Italy. ]t stands on an 
 eminence in a square, with broad marble steps leading up to 
 it : The front, composed entirely of maible, has a most mag- 
 nificent effect, and is farther adorned with fine statues, pil- 
 lars, &cc. The whole church is covered within and without 
 with black and white marble, disposed with a most masterly 
 symmetry. It is 330 feet long, and has a pavement of black 
 and white marble, admirable for its extraordinary justness and 
 delicacy, on which are represented in mosaic divers historical 
 representations of the principal events recorded in the old and 
 new testament ; particularly the sacrifice of Abraham; the pas- 
 sage over the red sea ; the History of the Maccabees ; Moses 
 striking the rock with his rod, and the people approaching to 
 receive the waters, all executed with inimitable grace ; the 
 bhades and perspective being more naturally expressed than by 
 the pencil of a painter. This pavement is the finest in Italy. 
 Here are also .represented the arms or symbols of the city of 
 Siervna, and other cities its allies ; a wolf represents Sienna ; an 
 elephant with a tower on his back, Rome ; a lion, Florence ; a 
 goose, Orvieto ; a hare, Pisa ; a vulture, Volterra, &.c. The 
 vault is of a beautiful azure colour, glittering with stars of geld. 
 The dome is well pierced. Between the windows and on the 
 pillars are fine statues. The pillars are all marble admira- 
 bly wrought wilh fruits and foliage twisting around them 
 from the top to the bottom. 'i he very spouts around are ex- 
 quisitely adorned with fine work and engravings ; so are the 
 windows with a multitude of little pillars, retiring one behind 
 the other ; friezes, cornices, &c. The choir seats are cf ?.:t 
 excellent workmanship : the high altar well designed and noble; 
 ths brass angels over it of an incomparable beauty. ThL? 
 church has two chapels very magnificent ; 1st, that of the Chigl 
 aclwraed with 8 piikrs of green marble, good Picture?, and 3tiv-
 
 Clap X. TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 203 
 
 tues ; the best statues are a Migdalene and a St Jero-ne bv Ber- 
 nini : 2d, that of St John Baptist, in which is ko:,t h^s arn in 
 a rich case given by Pope Pius II., to whom Thorn, s Palcelo- 
 gus king of Peleponnesus had sent it. Around the body of the 
 church are the figures of all the popes in white marble, which 
 constitute no inconsiderable ornament. The pulps has this 
 inscription in Latin under it: " St Bernardin thur.d red 
 c here with inflamed words the Law of God." The embellish- 
 ments and proportions of this church are so fine, so ingenious, 
 u:ul so judiciously distributed, that one forgets it is Gothic ; in- 
 deed it is the most finished specimen of that species of archi- 
 tecture in the world ; because it has all the beauties of a per- 
 fect building, excepting its not being erected in the Grecian 
 style of architecture The libraiy was founded by Pope ; ;u5 
 II., but the rare books and manuscripts with which he ennched 
 it are carried away to Florence, except some ancient sin MITO- 
 
 * -t ~> o 
 
 books full of beautiful miniatures. There still remain, how- 
 ever, 10 excellent pieces of painting in fresco, which could 
 not be taken away, being on the wall. They represent the prin- 
 cipal actions of that pope. The design is of RAFK \KL ; and 
 they were drawn by Pietri, Perusini, Bernar iin and pinturic- 
 cio : The Graces in the midst are much admired. On the 
 frontispiece of the church is a Latin inscription which imports, 
 that the Jubilee was ordered to be opened every hundredth year, 
 by Pcpe Boniface VIII. From the dome we went to see the 
 house of St CATHERINE of Sienna, now a chapel or oratory, 
 Here she lived, being no nun, but only of the third order of St 
 Dominic. They shew the place where she performed her 
 greatest austerities, around which the principal actions of her 
 life are painted. We then went into the chapel of the Cro- 
 ci/isso Sant>, which is rich and neatly adorned : In it is honour- 
 ed the great Crucifix before which the saint was in prayer, 
 when she received the sacred Stigmata of our Saviour's wounds: 
 her body is in the Minerva's church in Rome : her head is kept 
 in a side chapel of the Dominicans church here, which we saw. 
 In this church also they shew an excellent picture of GUY o 
 Sienna, though drawn before CIMABUE at Florence had restor- 
 ed the true art of painting. Beneath is an. inscription remark* 
 
 N 2
 
 2C4 TRAVELS OF RE 7. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 able only as giving us an idea of the barbarism of that age. 
 
 Me Guido de Senis dlebus depinxit amujnis, 
 
 Quern Christ'us lenis nullis nolit agere poems . An. i?2r. 
 
 I cannot preserve its barbarism in English. It means : 
 
 Me GUY de Senis drew in pleasant days, 
 I'.Iay CHRIST, in mercy, grant him happv ease. 
 SIENNA after many vicissitudes became a republic under 
 the protection of the emperor. It was divided by factions, and 
 had offered an insult to Charles V 's garrison in it, when that 
 emperor sold his pretensions to Coimo, grand duke of Tus- 
 cany, who by his concurrence made himself master of it. It 
 still nominally retains the same magistrates it had when a com- 
 mon-wealth, a Captain of the People, Gonfaloniers, cc. but 
 they ars only shadows of what they were* The grand duke 
 sends a governor who has the direction and superintendency 
 over them, and commands all : he also reserves to himself the 
 election of the ordinary judge of the auditors of the Rota, of 
 the Capitaneos of the state of Sienna, of the four Conservator! 
 of the state, &c. 
 
 The city is all paved with brick laid sideways ; the houses arc 
 also of brick, and display an extraordinary uniformity. The 
 streets are very clean, Lut'all up hill, from the great square or 
 market place. It was fortified with very strong walls ; but the 
 grand duke has demolished them, and has left only a fortress 
 with a garrison, which commands the town. It is now poor, 
 though the country around it is extremely fertile in good wine, 
 corn, &c The inhabitants are the most obliging to strangers 
 of all the Italians ; and talk that b.nguuge the best. They are 
 .s;tid to join the llocca Romano and Lingua Toscana, the Roman 
 true pronunciation and accenf with the Tuscan language. They 
 have an academy oi' fntronati, or thundering 1 speakers ; nd an- 
 other of Fll'imati, 
 
 SIENNA gave birih to ^t Bernardin, St Catharine of Sienna, ^' 
 Join Colombin, founder of the Jtmiai.:, a religious order, after- 
 wards abolished by Pope Clement IX., in 1668; the blessed 
 Ambrose of Blanoni, a Dominican of the noble family of Sanse- 
 doni, &-c. Three noblemen, of the illustrious families of theTolo - 
 mei, Picolomir.i, andPatrivi, still nourishing, here became monk?
 
 Clap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 205 
 
 under the popedom of John XXII., and founded the great 
 abbey of Mount Olivet, 12 miles from Sienna, standing on the 
 top of a pleasant mountain, fertile ia vineyards and pasture, 
 which produce wine and cheese of a very superior quality : 
 This abbey is the chief house of the Olivetans, who are very 
 .numerous, and possessed of great revenues in Italy : They are 
 Benedictines, but wear a milk-white habit. The Benedictines 
 in Italy are of two congregations ; tbi.f of Olivetans principally 
 settled in Venice, the Milanese, Mantua, Tuscany, &c. : and 
 that of Mount Cassino, whose habit is black. 
 
 From Sienna to Rome, through Radicofani, Aqua Pcndente, 
 and Viteibio, it is 13 Italian posts, (about 110 miles), part 
 good, part nigh the frontiers of Tuscany, very mountainous 
 and bad road. We set out late from Sienna, and passing through 
 Lucignan, Byionconvento, San Quirico, &c., arrived at Seal a 
 a poor house, though the post, at the foot of Mount Radiccfani. 
 Mr Wai pole chose rather to stay here without any accommo- 
 dations, than venture up such a tremenduous rugged rock at 
 1.0 late an hour. We pushed forward, and arrived safe and in 
 good time at the top of this rough mountain, the ascent being 
 but one post or eight miles ; at Radiccfani we found better 
 lodgings than below ; indeed very tolerable, for so wretched 
 ,\ place. This is the last place in Tuscany, a/iu the grand duke 
 has here a castle to command the pass. Near it, on a high hill, 
 of and s Cliiisi, the old Elisium, capital of K, PoRSENNA, and of 
 rise Hetrusci or Tuscans ; and higher up is Monte Pu!cia?u, ;i 
 modern fortified city, in a pleasant fertile plain ; and beyond ir, 
 Cott'Ti'i, an ancient place also fortified, and famous for that holy 
 model of Christian mortification and virtue, St MARGARET of 
 Cortona, whose body is said to be exposed in the Franciscan's 
 church there. These places lav on our left, and form the Tus- 
 can frontiers on that side towards the Ecclesiastical State : Oa 
 the right hand, following the same frontier, the duke has. Cros-* 
 .-ittrj and Ca.stro, both st.'ong castles ; and 6'## Fiore, where iha 
 illustrious family of the Sjorz,,? have their principal palace ; 
 end on the sea coast, Pert Ercolc, or Belio, cc. Tuscany is ir\ 
 many places mountainous, yet in the main a fruitful country* 
 t jlerabiy populous : But to return to oar jouru'/y ; 
 
 N q
 
 2C>6 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 We next morning descended the mountain the length of 10 
 jniles, forded the river Pallia, which after rains is very dan- 
 gerous ; paid the grand duke's last custom -house a Paul, and 
 having crossed the river a second time, were happily in his 
 Holiness's territories, at Ponte Centeno, a small -village. We 
 pursued our journey half a post, (five miles) farther to Aqua- 
 pendente t a large town, but neither rich nor populous : It stands 
 on a rock, and takes its name from the clear waters which fall 
 from the mountain : It is a bishopric, translated from Castrse 
 in 1647. Beyond Aquapeudente we again pass the same river, 
 but upon a beautiful stone bridge, built by the popes. From 
 that town to Bolsena, is one post of nine miles. We pass 
 by the borough of St Lawrence, near which is the lake of San 
 Lorenzo, or Bolsena, Lotus Fulsinius, which we saw agitated 
 by a violent storm : It is 30 miles round. Bolsena is a 
 borough, capital of the ancient Vohln'i, and called in Latin, 
 ttrbs Vohinensium, but now reduced to poor ruins.' Here 
 are some ancient inscriptions en marble. In the lake are two 
 islands ; the one very fertile and pleasant ; being a park well 
 stocked with the choicest game, belonging now to the oishop 
 of Monte Fiascone, who is Cardinal Aldrovandi, at present 
 legate of Ravenna. In it Queen Amalasunta was wickedly 
 put to death by her son Theodatus. The Furnesii of Rome were 
 buried here and their mausolisi are in a small church in the 
 island : It is a post of eight miles from Bolsena to MONTE FJA- 
 SCOKE, the old capital of the FALISCI. The way lies for some 
 miles on the bank of the lake, throuph a wood, in which the 
 
 * o 
 
 ancient heathens sacrificed to Ju.io. It ij a smr.ll town, but 
 hr.s good accommodations for travellers, and sells excellent 
 vine. Its hills produce a very much esteemed muscade wine. 
 F. very body that passes must hear the common story of the Ger- 
 man traveller, who had ordered his man to mark all the places 
 famous for good vine with an Hit, or here j.v, over the door. 
 The man had here marked est three times ; the master stopped, 
 and stuck so many days to his bottle, as to kill himself over it. 
 His servant, being a f.llov/ of humour, put over his grave the
 
 Slap. XI. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 20/ 
 
 Est, est, est ; et propter nimium est, 
 Joannes de Fuc Dominus meus mortuus est. 
 
 The dome is beautiful, but the town contains no curiosities. 
 It is eight miles from hence to Viterbo, the Latin Vetulonia, 
 formed by Desiderius king of the Lombards, out of three 
 villages united, viz. Longola, Tussa, and Turrenna. His edict 
 to this effect is seen in the town-house, engraven on marble. 
 It is the capital of the Patrimony of St Peter, has a wonderful 
 fine fountain in its cathedral, (// Domo~) that throws water 40 
 feet high, which falling into a bason, is from thence spouted 
 out by lions mouths. St Rosa's Church belongs to the Clares : 
 Her body is still entire, as they assure us, and is often shewn. 
 In the cathedral lie four popes, viz. John XXI. Alexander IV. 
 Adrian V. and Clement IV. When the Roman senators cre- 
 ated disturbances in Rome, the popes frequently retired to and 
 lived in Viterbo, till the civil commotions were over. Finding 
 the town so full of Spanish troops, that we could procure no 
 lodging, we wenlron two posts farther to Monte Rosi. The 
 day following was very rainy, but we had only three posts to 
 Rome. The first brought us to Laccano, where we discover- 
 ed the cupola of St Peter's. We passed the Tiber near Rome, 
 over a beautiful stone bridge, on which is a fine statue of St 
 John Nepomucen, as is usual on most fine bridges in ItaH-. 
 This T .VH.3 first built by yEMTLius S-CAUFU3, the censor, who 
 also paved the JEmilian Way, through Bologna to Aquileia 
 from Rimini. It is called Ponte \'oie, or Ponce jllilvio. It 
 was i;car it that CONSTANT IN'!;; the Great saw the cross in the 
 heavens, and defeated the tyrant Maxentius. It is two miles 
 from E.orne. We had passed near Viterbo, a deep lake at the 
 foot of Mount Cimini, and saw some pal ,ces, especially that 
 of Caprarola, belonging to the Farnezii. But our heads were 
 too full of P^ome to pay much attention to any thing else. We 
 were wonderfully pleased when, having crossed Potite Alo/, 
 \ve found ourselves riding between the beautiful villas of, 
 the Roman gentry, which are so many handsome palaces, 
 surrounded by vineyards, groves, and gardens, appearing on 
 ail svik-j iu the neighbourhood of Rome. The name of the
 
 2C$ TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN SUTLER. 
 
 owner is over the gate of each, in large characters, as " V 7 iila 
 Pinciana," " Giustiniana, &:c." The Giustiniani pretend to de- 
 rive their pedigree from the emperor Justinian, as other greatfa- 
 milies do from the old Fabii. At the place near Viterbo where 
 jve crossed the river Cremera, which runs into the Tiber five 
 miles above Rome, the whole progeny of the Falii, 400 men, 
 except one, were killed in a single combat against the Veil, a 
 people who lived near Rome about Viterbo. We entered 
 Rome by the Porta F/uminia, now called Porto, del Popolo, 
 and took private lodgings near the square of Spain, Piazza di 
 Spatta, tb.e most populous and healthy part of Rome, where 
 strangers find all sorts of private lodgings ready, with every 
 accommodation they can desire. 
 
 That part of the territory of the pope we passed through 
 from Aquapendente to the district of Rome, is called the Pa- 
 trimony Q/St Peter, which reaches down to the sea, as far as 
 Ostia, and Civita Vecchia, all on this side the Tiber. The 
 country on the other side that river, quite to the bounds of the 
 kingdom of Naples, is called Campagna di Roma. 
 
 The Patrimony of St Peter was given the Holy See by a so- 
 lemn donation made by MATILDA or MAUD, the pious coun- 
 tess of Tuscany, daughter of Boniface, Marquis of Tuscany, 
 and of Beatrice, daughter of the emperor Conrad II. She was 
 married to Guelf the younger, Duke of Bavaria, but had no 
 children. It is said ahe only married by the advice of Pope 
 Urban, and on condiiicn ^he should ever live in continency. 
 She raised troops, and often was at their head in person, to 
 defend the holy see against the Emperor Henry IV. who in- 
 vaded its rights ; and is represented by historians as a woman 
 of extraordinary piety, and of courage above her sex. Dying 
 an. 1115, 76 years old, she left her whole estate to the See A- 
 postolicj and is buried in St Peter's in Rome. 
 
 VITERBO is the capital of this country. Its other towns are 
 Monte Fiascone, Bolsena, Bracciano, Cornero, Sutri, Nepi; and 
 on the Tuscan sea, Tuscanello, and Civita Vecchia. Th; 
 country is extensive and fertile, and forms the best part of Tus- 
 cany, yet thinly peopled, ill cultivated, and consequently poor,
 
 Chap. XI. A TCftU FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 209 
 
 though it is commonly said the pope has the flesh, and the 
 grand duke the bones of the country. 
 
 As to the sea-coast, PORTO on the mouth of the Tiber, 
 and on the left bank, was a great port built by Claudius and 
 repaired by Trajan, now choaked up, and the town reduced to 
 the condition of .a paltry village j though it is the second among 
 the six ancient titles of cardinal bfehopg. Qt/riA on ihc op- 
 posite bank on the mouth of the Tiber was built by An- 
 cus Martius fourth king of the Romans, was the great sea- 
 port for Rome, and is still used for barges to cirry merchan- 
 dize up the river Tiber. St Monica died here. Its port 
 and the city too are now as much abandoned as Porto, ex- 
 cept that the latter scarce knows where its ancient harbour 
 was. The chief cause which has depopulated both, is the un- 
 \vholesorneness of the air : It ib 13 miles from Rome. The 
 dean of the cardinals is bishop of Ostia t.n I Veletrii. It is 
 not him, but the first cardinal deacon, who crowns the pope. 
 
 CIVITA VECCIIIA, which was probably the Centum Cell* of 
 the Romans, 40 miles from Rome, is now the port for that 
 city, though a very unhealthy poor place, with few inhabitants, 
 and no merchants of any note. Sixtus V. made it what it i ;, 
 and several popes since have formed schemes to declare it a fre - 
 port, and build a great harbour. Nothing could be more ad- 
 vantageous to their dominions, especially if some factories of 
 opulent merchants, as at Leghorn, could, be induced 1 to settle 
 here. But the popes live in too great a dependence on other 
 princes ; and it is visible how much this would prejudice Leg- 
 horn, Genoa, Naples, &c. It is said the grand duke has more 
 than once bestowed great sums on the court of Rome to turn 
 off the design, whenever it was on foot. Thus, the late Cle- 
 ment VII. was obliged to turn his schemes to slncona on the 
 Adriatic ; and before him Clement XL, after making great 
 preparations for Civita Vecchia, had to employ part of them on 
 Antio, the famous old capital of the Volsci, whp inhabited the 
 Campagna di Roma, 20 miles south of Ostia, on the other side of 
 the Tiber. It is objected that Civita Vecchia is too unwhole- 
 some : But the method to make this a healthy country, is cer- 
 tainly to people and till it '.veil, and drain the marshes by canals.
 
 210 TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 Leghorn, while a village, in a country covered with dead waters, 
 was, it is said, as unhealthy, before the grand duke Ferdinand 
 drained it by the canal from Pisa, &c., and made the place full 
 of inhabitants. Sixtus V. before his death, beo;an to drain 
 
 * O 
 
 some marshes in the Campagna di Roma, by which the terri- 
 tories of Sezze and Piperne were enlarged, and the air of Ter- 
 racina much improved, W as not the marsh of Pontin drained, 
 and filled with 24 villages, by Cethegus, and, when again over- 
 flowed, made dry by Thecdoric the Gotli ? Hercules, first duke 
 ef Ferrara, dried up the Samaritan, the Lambertes, the Poggia, 
 Such works would improve in every respect the territories of 
 Ravenna, of Bologna, and especially of Ferrara, as well as this 
 side of Italy. As it is, the climate of Italy, especially of Rome, 
 requires precautions, being very hot in the summer months, 
 and sharp in winter, though not so cold as with us ; yet even 
 the summer nights are too cool. But the air of part of Rome, 
 viz. near St John of Lateran's (and towards the Vatican too, 
 though not to the same degree) is extremely unhealthy, parti- 
 cularly to strangers. The Piazza di Spana and Monte Ca- 
 vallo are very healthy quarters. If an inhabitant of this side 
 of Rome were but to ly one night on the other side of the city, 
 it would cost him his life in the summer months. Even of 
 those who are accustomed to that bad air many die, and all the 
 rest during the heats always look as yellow as if they had the 
 jaundice, and like men hi;lf dead. But the air is still more 
 pernicious out of Rome, towards the sea ; the few inhabitants 
 of that country dying during the heats as if thu plague were 
 ra'my amono-st them, and the survivors exhibiting images of 
 
 & O O * O ^J 
 
 death. Some who are well acquainted with that coast, and 
 are good judges, assured me that from Porto Ercole, the an- 
 cients port of Hercules, to beyond Terracina, over Conet, Ci- 
 vita Vecchia, Ostia, and the coast of the Campagna di Roma, 
 which is above 150 miles in length, there are not 8000 inha- 
 bitants, though above 40,000 country men have come into it 
 out cf Lombardy, some otten from Parma, cc. to till this 
 waste ground : They who survived returned again into their 
 own countries when they had reaped a harvest. Some attri- 
 bute this unwhclesoaaeness of the air to the great quantities
 
 Clap. X. A TOUR FROM FLORENCE TO ROME. 211 
 
 of vipers, which dying there must infect the atmosphere in the 
 heats : others to the stench of sinks, and the muddy waters of 
 the Tiber, which is always dirt 7 as a puddle. A fourth class 
 are of opinion, that the deadly quality of the climate is owing 
 to the woods being cut down, which they imagine intercepted 
 anciently the noxious vapours from the marshes. The true 
 reason is, ("as the most intelligent persons in Rome agree, and 
 observation makes manifest) the small number of inhabitants, 
 joined with the dead stinking waters and marshes, with infec- 
 tious exhalations from a mineral soil, or vipers carcasses, and an 
 air very thick and almost dead. Were there inhabitants enough, 
 their fires, mills, the; r tilling the earth, and continual motion 
 in such things, would agitate, purify, and rarify this grcss dead 
 atmosphere. We see those parts of Rome that are well inha- 
 bited are very healthy. In the present circumstances a stranger 
 must use these precautions, never to drink cold water, never 
 to have the windows open in the night, or be out of doors long 
 at a time before the sun is well risen, or any time after it is 
 set. The sun, when considerably above the horizon, raises 
 the poisonous exhalations or vapours too high to be hurtful to 
 mankind. On the side of the Dominicans church della Mi- 
 nerva, are engraven these admonitions, respecting the air of 
 the Campagna di Roma. 
 
 Enecat insolitos resldentes pessimus acr 
 
 Romatms ; solitcs non bene gr.it us habct. 
 
 ITic tu qv.o vivas, lux septima det raediciRani, 
 
 Absit odor fccdus, sitque labor levior. 
 
 Pelle famem, frlgus ; fructu, luxumque relinque j 
 
 Ntc placeat gelido fonte levare skim. 
 
 During the heats, most people leave the towns here, as wclla-i 
 in the south of France, and all warm clirmtes ; yet I saw seve- 
 ral English and French gentlemen in Rome, who said they had 
 lived many years in that city, without experiencing the least 
 indisposition; and there are as many in Rome of a great age 
 as in Paris or London, or more in proportion, though not so 
 many as in northern or temperate parts A. regular life is a 
 great point any where.
 
 212 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER . 
 
 CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 
 
 CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME, 
 
 Papa! Territories. Their want of Cultivation. Productions. Degeneracy of tiie 
 Romans. Coins. Military Strength. Revenue-; of the Pope. Roman Gran- 
 dec?. Their Abstemiousness. Wines of the Ancient Romans. Election of 
 the Pope. Character of Pope Benedict Xi V. Cardinals The different Dig- 
 nitaries of the Church. Conclave. The Consistory. The Court of Inqni-i- 
 tion. Court of Chancery. The Ptnitentionary Court. Great Officers of t!,e 
 Papal Court. Court of the Rota. Military and Civil Government. Solemn 
 Oificcs of Religion during Passion Wetk and Easter Sunday. 
 
 ROME, 
 
 ^JTuE ECCLESIASTICAL STATE, or, Papal Territories, compre- 
 hends Latium, now commonly called the Campagna di Roma, 
 extending to the kingdom of Naples ; the Patrimony of Si 
 Peter, the donation of the Countess MAUJ) ; the dutchiei of 
 f'ipdleto, Utlin, and i'errara ; the Marquisate of slnconu ; the 
 Bounty of Avignon, in France ; ?nd the dtitcliy and bishopric 
 of Beueventum in the kingdom of Naples, \\hich consists of 
 no more than 12 villages, besides the city of Beneventnm, 
 and was given by the Emperor Henry ill. to Pope Leo IX. 
 his kinsman, in exchange for a yearly tribute -which the city 
 of Bambcrg in' Germany was obliged to pay to the Holy See. 
 These territories, (exclusive of Beneventum and Avignon,) are 
 ^co miles in length, and near ice broad, and contain ab:.ve t;o 
 bishoprics, and a million and a half of souls. They l ; e ;/.i tfu: 
 Adriatic on one side, conveniently situated for the trr,cle cf the 
 Levant ; and on the Tuscan sea on the other, no less advanta- 
 geously situated for the commerce of the Ponente, it Civit;i 
 Vecehia had a port as well deepened as that of Ancono. : Nei- 
 ther coast, however, will afford a secure harbour ior men- 
 of-war. Galleys lie at Civita Yeeehia. Ills holiness has in 
 his dominions the mouths of the two largest rivers* in I tar, , 
 the Po and the Tiber ; ye; \vith the exceptic: 1 . of an inconsider- 
 able trade carried oil at Bologtia, a:y.l in a it'vv ether tovvriji c-: A
 
 Chap. XL CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE* OF ROME. 2*3 
 
 that side, there is no commerce in his dominions, nor any m?> 
 nufactures, not even of silk ; the Romans being obliged to pur- 
 chase everything of the Genoese, Tuscans, Venetians, &c. In 
 Rome no professions flourish except those of painters, carvers, 
 and goldsmiths, ckc . ; yet how easy would it be to plant mul- 
 berry trees, and breed silk- worms, as we see done in the more 
 northern parts of Italy ? The soil is every where, except in 
 the Appenines, extremely good, and yields, if tilled, abundance 
 of corn, wine, and olives j and indeed many of the wines pro- 
 duced near Rome are esteemed the best of Italy, though the 
 I'ino Latino is of a Very inferior quality. But if is surprising 
 to see how small a part of such fruitful land is tilled. Butter, 
 and especially cheese, are exceedingly good and plentiful. 
 The duchy of Spoleturn and other places abound in fine large 
 cattle ; sheep and goats are every where numerous j the woods 
 in the Campagna di Roma, towards Terracina, are fall of pro- 
 digious large boars ; and the flesh of this animal is common and 
 cheap in th.; shambles in Rome, as a] so in Naples and Tus- 
 cany, and is sweeter and better than in Germany, because in 
 most pbces here the boars feed on chesnuts. The Campagna 
 breed of horses is scarce inferior to that of Naples. 
 
 These states have many lakes ; that of Perusia, abounding 
 most ia fish of any in Italy ; those of Bolseiia, Brassiana, Vice, 
 Sublaco ; and the lesser ones of JMonte Rosi, Baccano, Albano, 
 ice. Notwithstanding these*, and many other great advan- 
 ta-'-es, this country, which once resembled a populous city, 
 owarminr with inhabitants, is now thinly peopled and very 
 poor ; t'ae people indolent, though descended of the most labo- 
 rious ancestors. I smilc'd to hear them boast of their prc- 
 gei.itcns, and ailcct to be the posterity of those great mm 
 who we know were called from the plough to be dictators, CtiuJ 
 vvLc often took their names from excelling in some branch cl 
 .'.rricultur.', as \sFiibii from beans ; the PL ones from pease ; 
 she Ltr.tu'.i from kntiles ; the Cicero::es from I-'t-tcke.r, &.c. 
 Xow t.hs ambition of a vulgar Roman is to be servant to some 
 nobleman ; ur of thos-j who aim a little higher, to \\ear a long 
 bind, and ceremony suit, in the service of a cardinal, and M 
 vv ait all day, one oa er.ch side of the door of his eminence*:?
 
 214 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 chamber and anti-chamber, to draw and undraw the cortinc, 
 when any one goes in or out, and to walk i:i a slow, majestic 
 pice by the coach windows, when their master goes abroad. 
 Such ancestors are disgraced by so degenerate a posterity. 
 
 Malo pater tibi sit Thyrsites, dummodo tu sis 
 ./Eacidse simris, Vulcaniaque arma capessas, 
 Qipm te Tliyrsite similera producat Achilles 
 
 JUVENAL, Sat. 8. v. 2uo. 
 
 It is not surprising that the number of beggars should be 
 great over all Italy, and especially at Rome ; for the extraordi- 
 nary liberality and charity of the opulent, especially of the prc-- 
 iates and princes, and the many rich hospitals, tend to encourage 
 this mean disposition in a people who find they can live better 
 in sloth than by labour and industry. To give to the poor, 
 or to the church, money seems never to fail, yet it certainly 
 is a very rare commodity over the whole of the ecclesias- 
 tical state, and no where so much so as in Rome, where 
 all debts are paid in paper bills on the Mount or Bank, none of 
 which ar,e for less than 10 crowns; and it is extremely difficult 
 to get them changed into specie, nor can it be done without 
 paying considerably for it. 
 
 The most common coins in Italy at present are sequins, a 
 gold piece worth 21 Pauls : Pauls or Julies are so called from, 
 Julius II. and Paul V., who first coined them. A Paul 13 
 worth about 10 sols French, and a sequin about 10 livres. 
 The Pope has ordered his sequins to be t\vo grains under 
 weight, to keep them in his own dominions ; yet they go out, 
 though with loss every where except at Genoa. 
 
 The country was formerly filled with robbers and murderers ; 
 but Sixtus V. Clement VIII. and Clement XII. have by their 
 laws nearly extirpated that race : The Iraues and stittets are now 
 greatly out of fashion, nor are the roads infested with banditti. 
 
 The pope has no fortresses of considerable strength on his 
 frontiers. He keeps few soldier::, except the small garrison of 
 the castle of St Angelo, and his own guards, who are horse, 
 foot, and Swiss. They have the best pay of any soldiers in 
 the world, and nctMru- to do for if. The Su2ni?b and Austrian
 
 Ghap. XL CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OP ROME. 215 
 
 armies, by passing and re-passing, have ruined the ecclesiastical 
 states, especially the Austrians, who did not pay for forage, 
 as the Spaniards did. The pope repents he did not arm io,coo 
 men, and oppose their entering into his territories. 
 
 His Revenues from his estates amount to above two millions 
 of crowns a-year : Those arising from taxes, are of various 
 kinds: the Custom-house, or Dogana of Home, is usually 
 farmed out for nine years at once, at about 35,000 crowns a- 
 year : the salt (made at Civita Vecchia, and Camachia, in the 
 duchy of FerraraJ, at 8y6o crowns a-year, and innumerable 
 other impositions. Besides money arising from bulls, dispen- 
 sations, &c. ; great sums are also drawn from Spain, Portugal, 
 -c. Pope Pius IV. received from Spain in six years, 14 mil- 
 lions of crowns. But then his Holiness grants great pensions 
 to cardinals and colleges, missions, and nuncios ; and the salaries 
 of his numerous officers of court amount to prodigious sums. 
 His nuncio with the emperor, at Venice, and in Poland, have 
 each 320 crowns a-month ; in France, 145; in the German 
 prince's court, 130 each, &c 
 
 The Roman princes display great magnificence in their pa- 
 laces, but not at their table. The cardinals are still more 
 splendid in their equipage, ceremonies of honour, &.c.,but scarce 
 any keep a great table : they eat well enough, but sparingly, 
 and without pomp : I must except Cardinal Aquaviva, who, 
 enjoying a plentiful income of about $o,oool. Sterling a-year, 
 from his own rich patrimony in Naples, and his salaries 
 from the courts of Spain and Naples, of both which he is 
 ambassador, thinks it becomes his rank to live in a style of 
 corresponding magnificence : In every thing he is the first in 
 Home, except in his palace ; and his language, stature, and ma- 
 jestic air, distinguish him among the other cardinals still more 
 than his attendants. The Romans are very ceremonious, and 
 count their steps, (this is not to be taken strictly), according 
 to the quality of the persons they are to salute ; but they do 
 this with a becoming freedom, without any of that stiffness or 
 affectation, which characterises the Spanish ceremonious gran- 
 cleur, and in some degree prevails in the court of Vienna : 
 than, vrhic-h nothing can b2 more contemptible, nor more dero-
 
 110 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 gatory of the real dignity of a court : The Italian grandees are 
 extremely courteous, and the ceremony they use is becoming, 
 and so easy, ns scarcely to be perceived : It must be owned, 
 however, that the slow pace in which the cardinals coaches 
 usually drive appears somewhat affected. 
 
 The Italians are still more sober in drinking than in eating, 
 Though they have good wines of their own, and some present 
 the best French Burgundy at their tables, yet they usually tem- 
 per them with a great deal of water, and in summer drink them 
 with ice or snow ; a very unwholesome practice ! Many mer- 
 chants, especially in Naples, gain estates by their magazines of 
 snow, which is kept in cold caves. The old Romans, during the 
 flourishing times cf the Republic, were most abstemious, and 
 and drank chiefly water, at most mixed with one third part of 
 wine, and vinegar, (by which probably was meant sour wine) 
 was the common drink of the armies : LUCULLUS first introdu- 
 ced luxury into Rome, both in his equipage and at his table. The 
 Romans, then masters of the world, and their nobles greater and 
 richer than sovereigns, they could not resist the temptations of 
 enjoying those pleasures immense wealth procures, not longer 
 confine themselves to their forefathers farms aTid laborious tem- 
 perate lives. Caesar's supper, cm occasion of his triumph, is the 
 first at which mention is made of four different wines being on 
 the table at once; viz. those of Falerno, Chios, Lesbos, and of 
 Messena in Sicily : But by that time drinking had become mod- 
 ish in Rome, and made such a progress, that it produced the 
 oreatest monsters the world ever saw, for every vice that can 
 disgrace human nature ; witness Tiberius, Caligula, Helioga- 
 bulus, &cc., in whom pride, lust, cruelty, and debauchery, joined 
 \vith riches and power, shewed what human nature is capable of, 
 -,vhen abandoned to itself, and when reason is subdued by passion. 
 I was a little curious to discover the taste of Horace, and 
 other great men among the Roman topers, and to try the 
 \vines I had so often met with in their writings. But the soil 
 and nature of the vines must be very much changed since. 
 Falerno is in the vicinity of Puzzoli in the kingdom of Na-- 
 pies, and near the road from Rome to that town : Its wines 
 %vere esteemed by the Romans above all others : It was a
 
 Chap. XI. CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 
 
 rough strong wine, and heavy upon the stomach, according to 
 Galen, b. i. Massicum, a mountain and cape, joining Falerno, 
 now Monte Martica, (part of it called Rocca di Mondragone) 
 vva.s esteemed by the Romans second to Falerno for its wines, 
 which Athenaeus says were not drinkable till 10 years old. Ca- 
 tenum, now Carinola, joins to Masso or Marsico, and its wine 
 was much milder than that of Falerno, and agreed betterwith the 
 stomach, according to Athenaeus. Ccecubum, 10 miles beyond 
 lerraciua, produced a very generous, strong-bodied wine, but 
 prejudicial to the head, and not fit for the table, till many years 
 old. Fonnite, now Mo!a, near Cajeta, was also celebrated for 
 its wines : There were some sweet and mild wines of falerno 
 growing towards the top of the hill ; and called sometimes, the 
 one Gauranum, the oilier Fuustinianuffi ; not in so great e^tc-em 
 as the sharp Falernian growing at the foot of the mountain ; as 
 Pliny tells us, b. 14. c 6., where he prefers even to Fulcr-nan 
 the Puc'ne wine, growing on a hill of that name between Aqai- 
 leia andTrieste in the state of Venice ; but which produced only 
 a few flasks, sufficient for a rarity to the emperor's court ; and 
 so noes not occur in Horace, &.c. The Se 'uunx, from Sezzi 
 near Terracina, in the Pope's dominions, was regarded by them 
 as the most wholesome ; and the favourite liquor of Augustus 
 and succeeding emperors. Plinycomplains that the Ccecubum had 
 fallen off even in his time, thro' the negligence of the husband- 
 men, but chiefly in consequence of a navigable ditch made by Nero 
 from Baiae to Ostia ; and that the Faternian had also begun to de- 
 cay by neglect of the vintners, who preferred plenty to a good 
 grape. At present these wines are much altered. I met with 
 some lovers of Horace in Rome, vvhohad often tasted them all 
 as they now grow. The hill Fate no still retains its old name : 
 Its wine, and that of Marsica, Carniola, Mola, gtc. are still good, 
 but by no means of superior delicacy ; much better grows near 
 Rome; tho' not indeed of a body to be kept 10 years, or for a man's 
 life, as formerly*. The best wineof Italy at present is thatof.5a.f- 
 sano, in the territory of Venice : near Rome, that of CastelGon- 
 dolfo is the best white wine : Monte Portico is scarce inferior to 
 it, being strong-bodied, mild, rather than rough, and friendly to 
 
 * Vide Horace, B. .3. Ode 31. Athenauis, &c. 
 
 b
 
 Il8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 the stomach. Magnaguerra is by some looked upon as the best 
 red : slibano, both white arid red, is excellent near Gondolfo. 
 Moscatello is sweet, and in the highest repute. Marsico, 
 from Naples, is very good, and deserves to be tasted for Ho- 
 race's sake, whose cellars were always furnished with it. The 
 win Greco di Somma, is the best white of Naples, and grows on 
 part of mount Vesuvius ; it is called di Somma, from a castle 
 of that name ; and G r eco, because that part of Italy was called 
 by the Romans G eat Greece, from the Greeks who inhabited 
 it : I tula nam teilus Grtecia major erat. Ovid. The Lcicnma of 
 Naples is the finest sweet wine, and of a red colour : It differs 
 very much from the French Muscat of Provence and Langue- 
 cloc ; and does not possess their smartness. 
 
 The inhabitants of ROME are in general rather poor: But there 
 is always a great concourse of strangers from every part of Eu- 
 rope, (many of whom are personages of high rank) : Some of 
 these are attracted to this celebrated city by motives of devotion ; 
 others for the sake of improvement ; and many from mere curi- 
 osity: There are also many noble Roman families, and not a few 
 from Naples, Genoa, &cc. who constantly reside in Rom p . 
 
 The Pope is absolute and despotical. When he dies, the 
 Cardinal Cameriingue, or Chamberlain, breaks immediately the 
 Papal seal, the faker's ring, because the expediting of bulls, &.c. 
 ceases till the election of a new Pontiff. He then sends expresses 
 to absent cardinals, and Catholic princes. The late Pope's obse- 
 quies continued nine days : On the tenth the cardinals enter the 
 Conclave, each having a cell usually in a commodious quarter 
 of the Vatican palace : These cells are constructed of boards, 
 and the cardinals draw lots for them. Every cardinal has two, 
 (a cardinal-prince three) conclavists, for serving him, and who 
 must be shut up with him. The governor of Rome and the 
 princes see the conclave close guarded ; the very dishes of 
 meat (which are introduced into the cells through a hole in the 
 door) are strictly searched; and every precaution is taken to pre- 
 vent any intercourse whatever. But the cardinals have times for 
 conferring together, and they meet daily in the chapel to the scru- 
 tit.i, where each puts into a chalice a ticket, having the name of 
 the person he votes for, with his own name on the back, but co-
 
 Clap. XI. CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 2Ip 
 
 vered and sealed. The first cardinal-deacon reads the tickets 
 aloud, and the person who is legally chosen must have two thirds 
 of the votes. If after many days they cannot agree in the 
 election, they take a second method, called access, in which they 
 endeavour by a friendly conference to unite their votes ; but 
 in the access no cardinal can give his vote for the same candi- 
 date for whom he voted in the scrutiny. There is a third me- 
 thod by inspiration or acclamation ; \vhcn a cardinal, knowing 
 he has two thirds for the same person, cries out, susb a one is 
 Pope ; which is repeated by the rest. The elect then receives 
 the homage of the cardinals, who kiss his feet. He is afterwards 
 carried tc St Peter's, and placed in a chair upon the altar, when 
 all again kiss his slipper. 
 
 This ceremony of kissing the Pope's feet, seems to Protestants 
 an indication of his pride ; yet in its origin, and other circum- 
 stances attending it, others see proofs of his humility. His- 
 tory we know furnishes examples even of emperors and princes 
 (how much more of others ?) who visiting the holy see, would 
 pay this mark of devotion to one whom they viewed in the 
 sacred character of VICAR of JESUS CHRIST ? And the Popes, 
 not to discourage an act of religion so commendable in its mo- 
 tive, and yet at the same time to shew that it is not to them 
 it is due, but to HIM whose servants they are, have a c, oss 
 formed on their slippers, (which are of a rich red cloth) for the 
 faithful to kiss. Indeed, if the Scripture declares the feet of 
 those blessed who announce God's word, If devout persons 
 have often reverenced the ground which holy men trod upon, 
 May it not be an act of piety and virtue to kiss the feet of 
 our chief pastor ? And cannot he have virtue to suffer it 
 without haughtiness and pride ? A man may bs proud or 
 humble himself, with or without honour : And no men have 
 exhibited greater signs of humility than most of the Popes have 
 done ; indeed, I have myself seen his present holiness shew the 
 greatest affability and brotherly affection to the meanest soldier 
 or pilgrim who wished to pay him this mark of respect. 
 
 Protestants are also shocked that the Pope, when he comes to 
 the church door, should be seated in a splendid chair, and carried 
 on mens backs. Are not people carried in chairs by men in Lon- 
 
 O 2
 
 22O TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 don, Paris, &cc. ? The pope indeed is carried higher, his chair 
 being upon poles placed on mens shoulders. This however does 
 not proceed from any affectation of superior dignity,, but that he 
 may see and givehis benediction to the people 1 ; and that they also 
 may see at least hi.s head as he passes. Did not the old Roman 
 soldiers usuallyraise a new ernperor, sometimes even governors, 
 and carry them on t/.rir shoulders, to shew them to the people? 
 The present Pope would c,l^d] v dispense with this ceremony, 3nd he 
 keeps his eyes bunt, being affrighted to see himself elevated so 
 high ; but b.e gives his benediction on both sides, as lie is carried 
 through the church on all great days in which he officiates. 
 These ceremonies are at least older than Pope Gclasius I., as 
 appears by an old Roman order of his time, quoted by Pighius. 
 Some days after the election, the Pope is crowned by the 
 first cardinal deacon in the great porch before St Peter's, and 
 then he goes in a solemn procession to take possession of S" 
 Jvhn of Lateran. He always wears a kind of robe or stole, 
 ;;:id C await, and commonly a red calotte : In church he use:, 
 a mitre. His crown is called a tiara, or triple crown. Crowns 
 were originally merely ribands or fillets round the head, tied 
 behind : afterwards, rings of metal surrounding the head ; at 
 last, kir-gs added other ornaments, semicircles, &:c in which the 
 crov/n of every kingdom differs. The Popes have three such 
 ritns, one above the other, at a small distance, enriched wi'Ji 
 ether ornaments, and many jewels. 
 
 The present Pope Benedict XIV. is now ^r years old, hav- 
 ing been born in 167 5, in the Bolognese, and elected pope in 
 3740. I Li.- is oi a low stature, but of agraceful presence, verv 
 courteous lid nrLble ; ?. gr' ai: lover of jokes, Pusquinc thinks, 
 sometimes rather too much. lie is a very good canonist:, and 
 a most si net observer of ail the canons, both as to himself and 
 r,!-; j.'.'rs. He ii exti?rrfely active, and Ins published a.:i infi- 
 nite number ot constitutions ; so many, in particular, to re- 
 establish the Caiioiv.; nbout Lent, that he \vzs teazed to cler;th 
 aito'it them from ,'Spui;;, &c. und resolved to let men's bellies 
 alone for tlie future. Indeed they are scarcely all calculated 
 Jor every part <,f t!:e wot Id. For example, he complains of 
 iiie aorthcrnnatious cr.ting butter and cheese in Lent ; not ad- 
 ve;t;;:<v vl^r butter J- their Gi:bctitute for oil; as Clement XI u
 
 Clap. XI CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 221 
 
 very justly said in their excuse. He is very devout, always vi- 
 sits the church on the days of public prayers, uniformly offi- 
 ciates on great days, and performs the sacred office with great 
 recollection ana devotion. 
 
 During the vacancy of the holy see, the three chiefs of orders 
 of the college of cardinals, viz.. the first Cardinal-Bishop, the 
 first Cardinal- Priest, and the first Cardinal-Deacon, have the 
 care of the regency ; bat their powers are greatly circumscrib- 
 ed by various laws. 
 
 The cardinals enjoy the principal cflic :: a:rJ authority under 
 the pope. In the reign of the emperor THE JBOSIUS, the chief 
 officers of the empire were called Cunli:iu! (that is Principal} 
 Governors, &,c. ; in like manner, the priests of the Titles, (that 
 is, chief churches or parishes) in Rome were called Cardinal- 
 Priests ; and the deacons, who had care of the principal hospi- 
 tals and revenues of the poor, Cardinal- Deacons. The cardi- 
 nal-priests made up the Pope's council ; and ordinarily one of 
 them was chosen Pope. They and the cardinal-deacons assist- 
 ed him at the altar when he officiated. Afterwards, seven 
 neighbouring bishops, viz. of Oatia, Porto, Sylva Candida, or St 
 Rufin, Albano, Sabina, Frescati, and Palestine, were called car- 
 dinal-bishops, because the Pope assumed them to assist him, and 
 officiate in his place in Stjohn of Later an, alternatelv each week : 
 7 he id and 3^! of these sees being unite-.!, there are now only six. 
 Ihe church of St Mary Major, had seven cardinal-priests, to 
 officiate in turns every day in the w-,,k, viz. the cardinals of 
 SS. Philip and James, St Cyriacus, St PucLutiaua, St Vital!-, 
 SS. Peter and Marcel!! :us, ai,d St Clement. Si Petet's had also 
 seven, viz. of St Mary beyond the Tiber, St Chvysogcvius, St 
 Cecily, St Anastasia, St Laurence in Damaso, St Mark, and 
 SS. Martin and Silvester. That of Sr Paul had these seven, 
 viz. of St Sabina, St prisca, St Baibi.<a, SS. Nerens and Aehil- 
 leus, St Sixtu.^, St Marcellus and St Susanna. That of St 
 Lawrence without the walls, had abo seven, viz,, of St Praxides, 
 St Peter ad vinciild, St Lawrence in Lucina, SS. f jlin and Paul, 
 SS. Four Crowned Martyrs, St Stephen on mount C.lio, and. 
 St Cniirkus. Hence we see the re-son of the five patriarchal 
 
 Q3
 
 222 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 churches, St John of Lateran, St Peter, St. Mary Major, St 
 Paul, and St Lawrence ; and of six cardinal-bishops, and the 
 titles of 28 cardinal-priests. This appears from an old manu- 
 script-ritual in the Vatican, quoted by Baronins in 1057. 
 There were 14 titles of cardinal-deacons ; afterwards, the num- 
 ber of cardinals was increased at different times, and 21 new 
 titles, from other churches in Rome, created for 21 other car- 
 dinal-priests, who came in all to be 49. The cardinal-deacons 
 have their titles from other churches in Rome, as St Mary in 
 Cosmedin, &c. and are increased to 19. Thus we have 6 bi- 
 shops, 49 priests, and 19 deacons ; in all 74 titles of cardinals, 
 but they never have been all complete at once. This vnay be 
 seen at large in Onuphrius, who says the greatest number of 
 cardinals never was 66 ; but this number depends on the pope's 
 discretion. Cardinals wear purple, a red calotte, a red hat, and, 
 in solemnities, a cassock, rochette, mahtelette, cope, &.c. The 
 colour of their clothes as well as of the Pope's, varies in different 
 seasons ; being sometimes red, at other times of the colour of 
 a dry rose, and frequently purple. Regulars always wear the 
 colour of their habit, and never silk. The cardinals, since the 
 year 1160, by consent of the rest of the clergy of Rome, have 
 alone enjoyed the power cf electing the Pope ; to put an end 
 to the schisms which unprincipled sovereigns have frequently 
 created. 
 
 When the Pope creates new cardinals, he says to the consis- 
 tory, " labetisfrxtres" " you have brothers". The cardinal- 
 patron then presents them to his holiness, who gives them the 
 red calotte or cap ; but does not give them the hat till the next 
 consistory, till which time they are incognito, and do not pos- 
 sess an authority. If they are absent, the Pope sends them 
 the cap by one of his domestic prelates, to whom the car- 
 dinal makes a handsome present. The red hat they never re- 
 ceive till they come to Rome to take it from the Pope's hands. 
 Long ago bishops of distant sees were made cardinal-priests, or 
 deacons of the church of Rome. There are at present 62 car- 
 als, viz. 49 Italians, and 13 foreigners: besides 3 received in 
 petto, and 5 vacant caps, amounting in all to 70, which is cal- 
 ed the complement. Some of these are men of learning, as
 
 Clap. XL CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 223 
 
 Quirini &c. others are created for governments, &c. Marini, 
 a Genoese, is the only cardinal who wears a wig ; and a most 
 shabby one it is. Cardinal Quirini and Tamburini are of 
 the Benedictine order : Ruffo, a Neapolitan, vice-chancellor of 
 the church, is the dean and bishop of Ostia and Velletri. 
 Annibal Albani of Urbino, Subdean, protector of Poland and 
 Switzerland. Alexander Albini, protector of Savoy and Sar- 
 dinia ; and of the hereditary estates of the house of Austria, the 
 German colleges, &c. ; a man little esteemed in Rome, though 
 the Romans are dust ians. Collonitz of Vienna, protector of 
 Germany. Trajano Aquaviva, Duke of Ain in Naples, pro- 
 tector of Spain and Naples. Riviera of Urbino protector of 
 Scotland : Lante protector of England. Corsini protector of 
 Portugal, of Ireland, of the Dominicans, &c. 
 
 In the first consistory the Pope shuts the mouth of the new 
 mouth, by which they 'lose a voice active and passive, and can 
 only listen in humble silence. In the next consistory, he re- 
 stores to them the right of delivering their sentiments, after ad- 
 dressing them in a discourse on die duties. of a cardinal*. 
 
 There are also a great many archbishops and bishops in par- 
 tilus iiifidelium residing in Rome, and entrusted with various 
 important employments ; and a still greater number of pre- 
 lates, a clerical dignity that qualifies for many important offi- 
 ces in this court, and is generally a step to higher- honours : 
 They have a right to be addressed by the title of Monsignor, an 
 appellation also claimed by the canons of St John of Lateran, 
 and St Peter's, as well as by many officers of the court : On 
 others this honour is conferred by his holiness. The bishops 
 assistants of the throne, whose province it is to assist at the 
 Pope's side, when lie celebrates the mass, &.c. are now above 
 143, chiefly Italian bishops, some in partible. Pope Ur- 
 ban VIII. forbids the cardinals, not excepting those of blood- 
 royal, to assume any title except: that of Eminence ; and also 
 decrees that this appellation shall exclusively belong to cardi- 
 nals and electors 01 the empire. 
 
 The congregations by whose advice snd assistance the Pope 
 governs the church, are : The Consistory, or Assembly of all 
 
 * See Oauceuhrius, Van Espen, &c. 
 
 O 4
 
 2Z4 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 the Cardinals in Rome, in presence of the Pope in his palace. 
 At the ordinary or secret Consistory, none are present but car- 
 dinals ; and it is held at the Pope's pleasure, but generally twice 
 every month. The extraordinary Consistory is public, and, 
 besides cardinals, the prelates also, and foreign ministers, &.c. 
 have a right to assist at it. In neither is any thing ever decided, 
 nor any sentence pronounced : It is only a gracious or politi- 
 cal court, (as the supreme council of princes ought to be,) for 
 advice or information. Consistorial matters are the bestowing 
 of patriarchal and episcopal dignities, proposing the names of 
 persons to be created cardinals, promoting clergymen to regu- 
 lar benefices, called consistorial, smaller ones being conferred 
 by the datary alone. The cardinals appear in the consisto- 
 ry in their solemn robes ; and it is the most august court in 
 Rome, resembling an assembly of kings. It is generally held 
 on a Monday morning. Even new cardinals kept in petto 
 (that is in the breast, petto being the Italian for breast v have 
 b-:en precognized in a secret Consistory. The Congregation of 
 tJje CoJisistoty examines beforehand points to be proposed in 
 the consistory. 
 
 The Congregation of the Inquisition consists of ten cardi- 
 nals, Cardinal RnfFo, dean of the sacred college, is secretary 
 and his Holiness himself is prefect. Besides these, there is a 
 Commissary of the Inquisition, who is the ordinary judge, and 
 always a Dominican ; an assessor to the commissary ; at pre- 
 sent two conventual Franciscans ; and six divines and canonists, 
 called Consuhors, among whom the general of the Dominicans, 
 and the master of the sacred palace, are always two. There 
 33 also an. advocate for the accused, and a notary. This con- 
 gregation f.lonc can give leave to read forbidden hooks, accord- 
 ing to Pope Gregory XV. 's bull, Apostolatu? offi<;ium. It as- 
 sembles in the Dominicans con vent in Minerva, every Wednes- 
 day. The consultors are heard upon every thins, and an ac- 
 count of all their proceedings is carried to the Pope for his sanc- 
 tion, by the assessor. The same congregation meets again on 
 Thursday in the Pope's palace, he presiding, attended only by 
 the cardi; als. In this council any thing of greater moment is 
 cair/i'-Sicd a^am in his holiness's presence ; for in such the cea-
 
 Chap. XI. CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 22J 
 
 greation on Wednesday never pronounces, but leaves it to his 
 holiness, who pronounces a solemn decree : And this is proper- 
 ly a sentence of the Pope. 
 
 The Congregation oj the Index is to prohibit bad books. It 
 consists of some cardinals, usually six or seven ; a secretary, 
 who is always a Dominican, and who signs the decree with the 
 cardinal-prefect ; a fixed consultor ; the master of the sacred 
 palace ; Efnd a great many other counsellors, learned divines of 
 all orders. Its prefect is Cardinal Quirini. 
 
 The Congregation for propagating the Faith tekes cognizance 
 of the affairs of the missions, &c. Its prefect is Cardinal Pe- 
 tra. That of Rite s is to revise all that regards the church- 
 office. Its prefect is Cardinal Marini. That of interpretating the 
 Council of Trent, merely explains the laws of discipline; but can- 
 not expound the decree relating to faith. That over the affairs 
 of Bishops and Regulars, solves all difficulties which are pro- 
 posed to it, either concerning bishops or regulars, or cases of 
 conscience, complaints against superiors or inferiors, disputes 
 about jurisdiction, &c. It is the most busy of any of the con- 
 p-resjations, and ij composed of the greatest number of cardi- 
 
 o o ' L -^ 
 
 dinals. That of the Examination of tie new Bishops elected, is 
 composed of a great many divines and canonists, besides the car- 
 dinals. There are also Congregations of the Residence of Bi- 
 shops; of indulgences ; of signatures of favour ; of signatures 
 of justice ; of discipline of regulars ; of ecclesiastical immuni- 
 ties, &c. Many regard the ecclesiastical state only, as the Con- 
 gregation of the Apostolic Visitation ; of the Fabric of St Peter ; 
 of Loretto, &.c. Several are for temporal affairs, as the Con- 
 sults, or Consultation from the magistrates of provinces ; of 
 the commerce of Ancona ; of the waters ; of the streets ; huon 
 governo, or of the government of the ecclesiastical state ; of 
 the Tiber, &.c. 
 
 Besides these congregations, there are various great offices 
 belonging to the government of the church 
 
 The Chancery minutes, seals, and registers all affairs of 
 greater importance, as bulls, provisions of great benefices, &c. 
 The Chancellor is an apellation derived from cancellis, the bar, 
 behind which he stood when the emperors, gave judgment,,
 
 226 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 The regent of the chancery revises all bulls, &cc. in order to 
 detect errors that may have inadvertently crept in. He is a 
 prelate, and his post is very important. The residents de mag- 
 giore Parco, who are called abbreviatores, minute the bulls, 
 and decide controversies about them. The rules of the chan- 
 cery must be renewed by every Pope, else they cease to be of 
 any force ; of course they are often changed. The dues for 
 bulls and provisions of benefices, &.c. are also fixed by his ho- 
 liness ; and all the abbreviatores, plumbers, revisers, and a 
 hundred others, share in those dues and emoluments, annats, 
 &.c. The cardinal-dean Ruffo, is vice-chancellor. He is al- 
 ways lodged in the chancery, which is a magnificent palace, 
 and his place brings him 15 or 16,000 crowns a-year. A Ro- 
 man crown may be equal to an English crown. The cardinal 
 secretary of state is Cardinal Valenti Gonzago, of the vinfor- 
 tunate family of the dukes of Mantua. He has the principal 
 management in the temporal government of the ecclesiastical 
 state. The Empress, suspecting him to be in the French in- 
 terest, has (though ineffectually) pressed the Pope to have him 
 removed. However, she has confiscated his estate in the Man- 
 tuan. 
 
 The Penitentiary Court consists of a cardinal, called Major 
 Penitentiary, who is the pious old Cardinal Petra ; of a regent 
 of the penitentiary, (a prelate) of a divine ; a datary, to sign 
 the date ; of a canonist, a corrector, and a sigillator, all pre- 
 lates ; with four secretaries and three clerks. The cardinal-pe- 
 nitentiary grants the dispensations and absolutions for occult 
 crimes and irregularities, when the repentance is such as deserves 
 it ; also for occult impediments of marriage contracted, vows, 
 &.C.. But for all public crimes, the datary alone can give a dis- 
 pensation, and those given by the penitentiary are invalid. 
 All the members of the penitentiary bind themselves by oath 
 to keep secret all they know in it by letters, advice, or other- 
 wise ; and also that they will never receive any thing besides 
 their salary, not even a free gift ; if they do otherwise, they 
 incur the penalty of simony ; for every thing here is done 
 gratis. Nothing can. be taken even for paper, wax, or clerks
 
 Chap. XI. CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 227 
 
 trouble. The major penitentiary's salary is Soco crowns a- 
 year. 
 
 The Qatar y grants benefices reserved, reservations of pen- 
 sions on them, dispensations in marriages, irregularities from 
 age, bigamy, &cc. It \vas instituted, in order that, by dating 
 all collations of benefices, &cc. they might not be granted so of- 
 ten over. Its grants are always taxed, and pass through the 
 chancery to be sealed and enregistereJ. If a Cardinal holds 
 this office, he is called Prodatct f y, because it seemed beneath 
 a person of his dignity. But generally the place is not in 
 a cardinal's hands, and then he is called Datary or Datartus, 
 and is a prelate, at present Mon signer Visconti. The sub- 
 datary, called the Pope's datary, is a canonist, Monsignor John 
 James Millo. This office has two revisers of its grants, &c. 
 and was formerly a part of the penitentiary. The datary may 
 confer benefices when they do not exceed 24 ducats a- year ; 
 for greater ones he consults the pope, but puts the date to the 
 grant. The sub-datary, or pope's datary, reads all supplica- 
 tions, writes at the bottom the summary of each, which he 
 gives his holiness who reads only that summary, and grants or 
 refuses accordingly. 
 
 The Secretary of Briefs expedites and signs all briefs. A 
 brief is a writing in smaller matters, on paper sealed with red 
 wax, with the fisher's ring, and subscribed by the secretary's 
 seal. A bull contains more solemn decrees, and is sealed with 
 lead. Cardinal de Lucca in his Relation of tie Roman Court, 
 explains these matters at full length. 
 
 The Prefect of tie Signature of Justice is always a cardinal, 
 and his appointments are IOC gold ducats a month. He 
 makes the rescripts of all the petitions, and of all the commis- 
 sions of causes of justice, Every Thursday this is done in 
 his palace; where assist 12 prelates referendaries, who give 
 their opinion ; and all the other referendaries, each of whom 
 may propose two causes. The 12 only are pre lati votanti del- 
 la signatura di giustitia. Cardinal Corsini, a Florentine, is 
 present prefect. 
 
 The Prefect of the Signature of Graces or Favours signs all 
 the petitions a;:d graces the pope grants in the congregations
 
 22,3 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 held before him once a-week. It is Cardinal Prosper Co!onna 
 of Sciarra. Kc has also 12 prelati votanti, &.c. The Ca dinal 
 Camerlingue, or Chamberlain, has for substitutes the clerks of 
 the apostolical chamber, a treasurer-general, and a pres : dent. 
 There are indeed properly three presidents., one over the do- 
 gana, or customs, one over the streets, corn, &c., a third over 
 the waters and river : But the chief under him is an auditor- 
 general, or ordinary judge; the next is the treasurer-general. 
 To this chamber belong the commissary of the army, the com- 
 missary of the sea, &cc. The Cardinal Camerlingue keeps one 
 key of the treasure in the castle of St Angelo ; the dean of 
 the cardinals another, and the pope a third. This treasure has 
 sometimes amounted to an immense sum, but has of late been 
 very low. In the vacancy of the holy see, the Camerlingue re- 
 sides in the Pope's apartments and palace, coins money under 
 his arms, with a symbol of the vacancy of the see, &c. His nr- 
 nud appointments are 14,000 crowns. This court regards 
 only the revenues and exchequer. 
 
 The Master of tie Pope's Chamber, Maestro dj'.la Camera, 
 is quite different from the apostolical chamberlain. He is 
 rrujor domo of the palace, presides over the servants., procures 
 audiences, &-c. He is always a prelate, r;t present Monsig- 
 jior Malvezzi, a Bologneze. Cardinal Colonna is pro- major- 
 domo. There are also chamberlains of honour, both of the crown 
 
 iV.c., is always a Dominican ; he liv-vs in the pakce with two 
 fathers of his order, and has- his table and coach. 
 
 The Pope's Sacristan Is always an Augustine friar. Ha has 
 she same appointments as the master of the palace. He keeps 
 the: treasury of the Pope's chapel, and is always a prelate of the 
 Congregation of Indulgences and Relics ; the present is Mon- 
 si;;nor Francis Sylvester Merani, titular buhop of Puryphry. 
 Cardinal Girolami, a Florentine, is prefect of the congregation 
 of indulgences and rehcs. Here every thing is transacted 
 gratis, as in the penitentiary, except for a perpetual indul- 
 gence granted to a place ; in which case some trifle is paid 
 to the clerks. The pope's four masters of ceremonies i emulate 
 public functions, ic ; they wear purple*
 
 Clap. XI. CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROr.IE. 229 
 
 Protonotaries Apostolic enjoy many privileges ; can legiti- 
 mate bastards, create doctors in divinity and law, and apostolic 
 notaries, &c. ; wear purple, and have one pendent at their hat 
 of the same colour. In their arms they have two pendents, a 
 a bishop has three, a cardinal four. There are twelve Profo- 
 notarii participant}, who exercise these privileges ; the popes 
 give often the same power to a lew others. The other Profo- 
 notarii non pa; tiapanti are rather titular. 
 
 *Tt>e Rota is the highest court of judges for civil causes ; and 
 its auditors are the most learned civilians and canonists : 
 They are 12 in number: viz. one German named by the 
 emperor ; one Frenchman named by the French king ; two 
 Spaniards, (one for Arragon, Valentia, and Cataloni ; another 
 for Castille and Leon,) named by the King of Spain ; the 5th, 
 a Venetian ; who with a native of Milan, Bologna, Ferrara, 
 Perouse ; one from the provinces of Uinbria ; and a native of 
 Tuscan v, are chosen by the Pope out of persons presented by 
 those states ; the I2th is a Roman : They have all a seat in the 
 Pope's chapel ; and the dean of the Rota has a right to hold 
 his tiara : Their vacations commence in the beginning of Julv, 
 (when the Pope gives them a great dinner, and to each auditor 
 ico crowns of gold, to the dean 200), and continue till the 1st 
 of October. This court judges by appeal, causes about bene- 
 fices, cc. from the whole Catholic world, and all causes of 
 the Ecclesiastical Estate. It is called Rota from their sittino- 
 
 o 
 
 in a circular form. 
 
 The Pope's General is commander in chief of all the military. 
 His salary is 12,000 crowns a-year ; in war 36000: His 
 Lieutenant has 3000 : The General of artillery 1200: The 
 General of the gallies 3600 : The Governor of St An^elo 
 6cco : This last has I GO soldiers to guard the castle: The 
 General of the Pope's guards has under him two companies of 
 light horse, a company of 300 Swiss, and the other company 
 of guards.* 
 
 * I have extracted the greater part of rhe preceding account from the Netieif, 
 f<.' vresent itatc of Rome, and from Oitufbrixs, lj Stl!e > and .tfs">a AftJtrne,
 
 230 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 For the immediate government of Rome, the first in rank 
 is the Pope's Vicar in Spiritual*, always a cardinal ; at present 
 Cardinal Guadagni, an exemplary man, formerly a calceated 
 Carmelite ; he superintends the whole business of the diocese, 
 the priests, regulars, hospitals, Jews. He has two lieutenants, 
 a criminal and a civil : Under him is the pope's vicegerent, a 
 titular bishop, whose office is to confer holy orders. The vice- 
 gerent is at present Monsignor de Rossi, archbishop of Tarsus : 
 The cardinal-vicar himself, boxvever, often ordains clergymen in 
 St John of Lateran, as Pope Benedict XIII. used to do himself. 
 
 The Governor of Rome is always a prelate, and also vice- 
 chancellor ; he is the supreme judge of the city, both in civil 
 and criminal matters, and has the care of the police, or public 
 peace. The Auditor of the Apostolic Chamber, is the ordinary 
 judge of the court of all princes and prelates, and of all appeals 
 out of the Ecclesiastical State. 
 
 The ordinary magistrates of Rome, are the Marshal, or, as 
 he is ordinarily called, the Senator of Rome, who must always 
 be a stranger : The present is Nicholas Bielk, born in Stock- 
 holm in 1706. On all public occasions he appears in the ha- 
 bit of an old Roman Senator, with a brocade of gold hanging 
 down to the ground, and large sleeves lined with crimson taffe- 
 tas, and has a great golden chain about his neck : His title is 
 Excellence ; and in the Pope's chapel he sits next to the empe- 
 ror's ambassador : He always lives in the Campidoglio, where 
 he occupies magnificent apartments in the front of the Capitol. 
 The three Conservator^ or Judges Convervators of the city's pri- 
 vileges, are next in dignity to the Senator, and have apartments 
 in another part of the Capitol. The Senator has also two Asses- 
 sors, called first and second collateral, and a criminal judge, all 
 three lawyers : These assume the name of Senate in public in- 
 scriptions^ though nothing can differ more widely in every re- 
 spect from the Roman Senate. 
 
 There are in Rome eminent examples of perfect virtue in 
 all ranks of life : But there is also, as in all great cities, a 
 great deal of tepidity and scandal. On great festivals, those 
 churches which have very fine music are the rendezvous oi 
 all curious people, and of strangers of every description.
 
 Clap. XL CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 23! 
 
 many of whom talk, gaze about, and shew, by their whole 
 behaviour, that devotion did not bring them thither. The 
 late Pope Benedict XIII., when at mass, hearing the noise 
 which the people made in the church, turned about and declar- 
 ed all present excommunicated for their irreverent behaviour : 
 But being reminded by his assistants, that he could not go on 
 in the sacrifice, unless all were put out of church, took it off a- 
 gain. The church ceremonies and rubrics are better observed 
 in Rome than any where else, in every particular. The places 
 which have the best music, (and the Italian music is the finest 
 ia the world,) are the Pope's chapel, the Portuguese, and the 
 Spanish churches ; indeed the Portuguese church of St Antony 
 even vies with the Pope's chapel in this respect, and in holy- 
 week was most richly adorned, and blazed with innumerable 
 lamps and candles. These afford a specimen of the great ex- 
 pence lavished by the Portuguese and Spaniards, in illuminat- 
 ing their churches with wax-candles, &c. 
 
 We saw the Pope sing tenebrx in his own chapel at Monte Ca- 
 vallo, in Holy-week, where all the cardinals and a great number 
 of prelates assisted. The office was sung in music by the 
 Pope's musicians, and was over before six o'clock. In St Jago 
 of the Spaniards, and St Antony of the Portuguese, it began at 
 seven, and was not over before ten at night, according to our 
 way of computing the hours, so we did not stay it out, although 
 the Portuguese music surpassed that of the Pope's chapel, and 
 their church was adorned with lights and decorations beyond 
 any other church in Rome ; as is the custom of Portugal and 
 Spain. We saw on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and in the 
 Easter holy days, the relics of St Peter, St John of Lateran, &cc. 
 But these will be more particularly noticed, in describing thes^ 
 churches. 
 
 On Maundy Thursday, we saw the Pope perform all the 
 office in the Sixtine chapel of the Vatican, joining to St Peter' ; ; 
 church. His guards were all drawn up on the great square 
 before the Vatican, which, as well as the two corridors, was 
 filled with coaches. His Holiness came in a coach from Monte 
 Cavallo, and was carried out of the Vatican palace into the 
 Sixtiae chapel in a chair raised on men's shoulders, giving hi-;
 
 232 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 benediction to the populace, on both sides as he passed, but in a 
 very devout posture, saying his prayers with his eyes shut. 
 He was preceded bv a very solemn procession of ihc principal 
 officers of his palace, and of the city, of the generals of reiigi- 
 ous orders, of the prelates, and all the cardinals present in 
 Rome, who are generally at least 40, walking with their ca- 
 lottes on, &.c. The order and majesty of this procession was 
 admirable. Among the bishops walked several Greek, Mar- 
 onite, and other Oriental bishops and archbishops, with one pa- 
 triarch, wearing long beards, Grecian dresses, &-c. The misters 
 of ceremonies, and the Pope's guards all dressed in coir.plete 
 sets of old armcur from head to foot, preserve good order 
 through all the passages. Some of the prelates carried the 
 Pope's mitres and tiaras, refulgent with gold and jewels. We 
 may call the choir a large part of the chapel separated from 
 the rest by great rails : Here the prelates seated themselves on 
 lower benches towards the middle, the cardinals on higher near- 
 er the out walls, all in their ranks. The Pope being arrived at 
 the high altar, entones the Deus in adjutorium meum, &.c. And 
 while this was singing, his holiness was seated on a high throne 
 on the right hand of the altar, and there received the homage of 
 the cardinals, &c. : He then put on his pontifical vestments, 
 which are nearly the same as those wore by an archbishop, ex- 
 cepting that some of them were double, as two camails, or pur- 
 ple episcopal short clokes, &.c. He began mass at the foot of the 
 altar, saying the introibo, &.c. and during the ceremony W 7 as at- 
 attended by a cardinal-priest and cardinal-bishop as officiants or 
 assistants, two Cardinal- deacons, four bishops, or archbishops, 
 arid a Grecian deacon and subdtacon, both of v.hom were also 
 biahops, &c. 
 
 After mass his holiness carried the Blessed Sacrament in pro- 
 cession, preceded by the cardinals, &c. ull carrying wax candles 
 lighted, in to the chapel of St Peter, which was prepared for 
 the sepulchre^ as it is commonly called. It was very rich, mag- 
 niikent, well adorned, yet with a beautiful order and simplici- 
 ty. It had above 400 wax-candles burning in it. His holi- 
 ness alter this was carried in his chair up stairs into the balco- 
 ny over the gates of St Peter's church, looking into the great
 
 Clap. XL CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 233 
 
 square crowded with multitudes of people to receive his bene- 
 diction. Cardinal RufFo, secretary of the inquisition standing 
 on the pope's left hand, read in Latin the bull called In cxna 
 Domini, denouncing excommunication againstall heretics, schis- 
 matics, &c. those who usurp the rights of the church, &c. 
 Another secretary then read it in Italian : and it is publicly 
 read by every curate to his congregation on Palm-Sunday, 
 through the papal territories, by order of the inquisitor-gen- 
 eral. His holiness after this read three or four prayers, and ri- 
 sing cut of his scat, threw down among the people, who strove 
 to catch it as it fell, a burning wax candle which he held in 
 his hand. He then gave a solemn benediction to the multitude 
 assembled, when all the cannons of St Angelo, and small pieces 
 placed in the Vatican, were immediately discharged, and the 
 trumpets quite stunned our ears. 
 
 His holiness was then carried down in his chair into a great 
 hall of the Vatican palace, where he was placed on a high 
 throne, whilst the anthem, Mandatum accept, was sung. He 
 then came down and washed the feet of 13 poor persons, clad 
 in white serge at his expcnce. One of his attendants pours the 
 water on their feet, another holds a bason under, while the 
 Pope wipes them with a napkin and kisses them, giving to eve- 
 ry one of them two medals, one of gold, another of silver. After 
 this his holiness waits on them at dinner, butthe crowd was too 
 great for us to see any thing. The Pope sets the dishes on the 
 table himself, and pours out wine for them to drink , but the 
 prelates bring every thing to him, and present it on their knees. 
 The table is always served in the most sumptuous style, and 
 the confitm cs are dressed up in holy figures and representations 
 with great art. The cardinals then dined at the Vatican, where 
 they were, according to custom, treated by the Pope with the 
 utmost magnificence. 
 
 The sepulchres t as they call them, are pVivate altars richly 
 adorned, in which the Blessed Sacrament is lodged during these 
 holy days, that the high altar, by its nakedness aud mourning, 
 may correspond with the church cfYice of the time, lamenting 
 the death cf her divine spouse. These sepulchres in Rome are 
 xreedingly rich, the music most sweet, and th-j singing- very 
 
 P
 
 234 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 tender and moving ; but the places of greatest devotion are 
 nor those where the music is finest. Good church-music is 
 affecting, and excites a spirit of devotion : St Augustine proves 
 the truth of this assertion, and testifies, that, upon his conver- 
 sion, he was moved even to tears, by the divine harmony of this 
 species of music ; but too many are attracted b mere curiosi- 
 ty to attend the sol-ma oilices of the church. A certain good 
 religious man, who hat! a most ir.clodrous voice, never would 
 sing sweetly in choir out of a pious scruple ; because he knew 
 many came to hear him, rather than to praise GOD. 
 
 In the afternoon the procession of the Penitents came to St 
 Peter's, as usual. ! know not whence they set out, but they 
 walked through the streets with a Capuchin's cross carried 
 before each band ; they were, I believe, 2 or 300 in all, cloth- 
 ed with sackloth, and laden with heavy rattling chains, and great 
 disciplines ia their hands, with which many of them h:id inflict- 
 ed on their shoulders bloody stripes. Some Capuchins followed 
 \vith baskets of sweet-meats to give to any that should faint : At 
 the ringing of a little bell, which one of them carried, they all 
 prostrated themselves around the confessional of St Peter, and 
 said a short prayer ; and again repeated the same ceremony in 
 a chapel on the side ; after which, they went back : They did 
 the same on Friday. This species of devotion may some- 
 times be exposed to the danger of ostentation. There is, as I 
 have been told, a still more strange mechanical devotion prac- 
 tised in some parts of Germ-.my, Spain, and Portugal ; where, 
 the better to represent our SAVIOUR'S passion, and make the' 
 sight more rnovrig, they hire a man to be scourged, tec. : A 
 practice which seems to suit very i'.l with our notions of good 
 se vs2 or s'/tid devotion. 
 
 We spent these thiee days in visiting the sepulchres, and 
 assisting at the divide oflice, ;c. On Easter Sunday, we saw 
 the Pop:' cing n.x, j in the Sixiine ch:.pel adjoining to St Peter's * 
 i:~.3 altar in that; church being taken up with the preparations 
 201' the corcnioay of canonizing three saints on the feast of SS. 
 Peter si id iv.ul : '.the oilice v/,i3 performed with greater pomp 
 ih~.u on i\[,.uiuiv Thursday : After the solemn procession, ho~ 
 mr^e ot the c'-irdx.sii and pr?hie -, t>c, the Pope began masr^
 
 Chap. XL CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL STATE OF ROME. 
 
 4wo cardinals standing one at each end of the altar, besides the 
 ftssistants whom I mentioned before. The epistle was sung in 
 Latin by a prelate, then in Greek by a Grecian } the gospel in 
 L;;tin by the cardinal-deacon Corsini, then in Greek by a Gre- 
 cian bishop : The cardinal-assistant incensed the Pope ; the car- 
 dinal-deacon the other cardinals in the choir : At the elevation 
 ot the host, the Pope made the sign of the cross with it. Hav- 
 ing gone from the altar to the throne prepared on the gospel 
 side', the cardinal-deacon brought him thither the chalice for the 
 iibu.tion, and afterwards the Holy Sacrament', both the host and 
 chalice, shewing it first to be adored by the people : The Pope 
 then lost-, \v. : m down two steps ofhis throne, and on his knees 
 adored the Biased Sacrament ; which he received on a paten 
 h'-ld be i ore l.Lvi by the cardinal-deacon : Me then drank the 
 consecrated wine tlir;;iigh a very long gold qaill ; and cornir.u- 
 rnc::ite-d the cardinal-deacon under boih kinds ; he al c j com- 
 municated with his own hnnJ, the other cardinals, tlie sena- 
 tor, conser\ ators, ambassadors, Constable Colonna, &-e. This 
 ciistoin of the pope communicating on his throne on the side 
 of the altar, 'n an ancient cere-rony of the church. After high- 
 mas;, his Holiness was carried in his chair through St Peter's 
 up into the balcony over the gates of that church under a broad 
 canopy. Here he pronounced an excommunication against the 
 family of SCIARKA CJLONNA, * threw his candle down among 
 
 * I'r.L Cuto.uias liecaiae very rich and powerful in the iZ'h century; and 
 cwcd their estates chiefly to Cardinal Jolin Colonna in r.-i''>, g-ncral uf the 
 croisa.ls aain--t tiie Sir ic<n-. He contributed very n'uch to the taking of Da- 
 mktta i;i 1219; and being taken prisoner, was condemned to be fawn in pieces ; 
 i;i;t the infiiiel.i were so moved at his courage, that they dismisied him without 
 a random. He brought br.ck wirh him the pillar at which cur Saviour was <ourg- 
 eJ, now in St Fruxides. The family received jrrcat augmentations in their for- 
 tv.r.e, from PKOS.'ER COLONNA, Duks of Palliano, a celebrated general under 
 Charles V., who di.'-tinguished himsrlf in the Milanese against the armies of 
 France. The Colonnas are divided into three families ; one i- duke of Palliano, 
 ?.Iarsi, Stc., and high con.-table of Naples ; and they have been ofren viceroys of 
 that Kingdom. The present, prince, commonly called Constable Colonna, is also 
 the Pope's Major Domo, and is very pious. 
 
 The Colom as were the great tnemies of Pope Boniface VIII., who publhhed 
 croisadc, or holy war against them, and be;eged them with his own army p
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 the people ; again took off the excommunication, and pronoun- 
 ced his solemn apostolical benediction. He dined in the Vati- 
 can palace ; but after vespers, returned in his coach to his ordi- 
 nary residence in Monte Cavallo : During these three days 
 which he passed at the Vatican, he came every afternoon to say 
 a prayer privately at St Peter's Confession. 
 
 first in Neri, after in Palestrina ; but they all escaped out of his hands in both 
 places ; and ome time after surprised the Pope himself in Anagnia ; where 
 it is said Sciarra Colonna struck with a gauntlet, which was a sort of iron 
 glove, armed with sharp spikes, to guard and arm the hand in fighting : This 
 happened on the 7th September 1303 Pope Boniface, though dismissed and at 
 liberty, died on the nth of October following, some pretend of the wound, o- 
 thers say of grief or natural sickness. His successor Benedict X!,, restored 
 the Colom.as to tne communion of the church, and to their dignities. In exe- 
 cration however of this attempt, the Pope repeats yearly the excommunication a- 
 gainst the authors of it, the family of the Sciarra Colonna ; but immediately add* 
 the absolution given first by the holy Pope Benedict XL
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 237 
 
 CHAPTER TWELFTH. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF ANCIENT AND MODERN ROME. 
 
 Foundation of Rome. Establishment of the Commonwealth, and its rapid ex- 
 tension. The Virtue of he Ancient Romans, Their Degeneracy. The Walls 
 of Rome, Its Bridges. Principal Families of Rome. Number of Inhabitants. 
 Principal Churches. Pope's Palace. Colleges. Columns and Obelisks. 
 Church of Santi Maria del Popolo. Obelisk of the Holy Cross. Grecian 
 Church Trinity on the Mount. College of Propaganda Church of t 
 Lawrence. Antorinus's Pill'ir. Roman College. Galleiy of Curiosities. 
 St Ignatius's Church. Grand Gieiu Palaces of the Altieri, Pamphili, and 
 St Mark. Church of the Twelve Apostles. Palace of Sante Apostole. The 
 V evidence of the CHEVAHEK ST GEOKC.E. Palace of Colonna. Palace of 
 Chigi. Trr.jan's Pillar. The River Tiber. Mausoleum of Augustus Pa- 
 lace of Borghese. Castle of St Angelo. Hospital of the Holy Ghost, Church 
 of Santa Maria del Campo Santo. Church of St PETER'S. Comparison be- 
 twixt this Church and that of St Paul's in London. The Pauline and Sixtine 
 Chapels. RAHIAEL D'URBINO. The Statues of Lacoon, The Apollo, Venus 
 end Cupid, Antinous, Hi-rcules. The Conclave. The Vatican Library. The 
 Mint. The Church of St John Baptist. Farnesian Palace. HERCULES OF 
 FARNESSE. Statue of Marcus Aurelius. Church of St Andrew de Valle. 
 Academy for French Painters Churches of St Agnes and Giacomo. The Uni- 
 versity. Statues of Pa^-quino and Marforio. Churches of our Lady of Peace 
 and St Mary of Valicella, the French, and St Austin. The Rotunda. The 
 Minerva. 
 
 ROME, 1746. 
 
 , as built by ROMULUS 7^3 years before the Christian 
 ./Kra, or supposed year of the Birth of CHRIST, occupied no more 
 than the Palatine hill, and xvas composed of no other citizens 
 than renegadoes, debtors, and thieves, who had fled from jus- 
 tice. Sue!) \vere the founders of the haughty Roman families, 
 as Juvenal wittily reproaches those who boasted of their pedi- 
 p-rce, in the end of his 8th satire. 
 
 o 7 
 
 At ionge repetas longeque rcvolvas 
 
 Noir-en. ab infanii ^fntein deducis asylo. 
 
 Majorura primus, qulsquis fuit il]e, ti-.orum 
 
 Aut pastor fait, aul ilhul quod dicer-; nolo. 
 
 ROMULUS afterwards ?d-vd the Copito/ine hill to Lis rising 
 
 city ; Mo^-:t Ccdiu\ was included by kin^ Tui.l.Ui HCSTILIUS ; 
 
 jVfc7/.- : * si<i:er.ti;'e by Arcu.j MARCIUS ; and the Quirinal by- 
 
 ^LKV;US TUI.LIUS. Ii-nf, by the emulsion of the Lings, in th' ;
 
 938 TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 reign of the seventh of them, TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS, Rome 
 becoming a commonwealth, extended the boundaries of its walls 
 in proportion as its riches and empire increased. Civil dissen- 
 sions frequently reduced it to the most imminent dangers ; but 
 Divine Providence WHS pleased to preserve it, and finally to 
 raise it to be the last and greatest of the four temporal empires 
 foretold by D'tniel, in order that its prod'giou-. extent, (the 
 greater part of the world being under one monarchy) mi gist 
 facilitate the propagation of the gospel : St Austin adds, th",t 
 God thus recompenced the moral virtues of the heathen Ro- 
 mans by a temporal empire, as they could deserve no eternal 
 rewards. Indeed we cannot sufficiently admire the d:sintere-,t- 
 edness and public spirit of the ancient Romans ; their courage, 
 when the public good called them to dangers ; their temperance 
 and love of poverty, &c. : And we are constrained to acknow- 
 ledge that this people merited the dominion of the world, when 
 we see their princes and dictators called from the plough to 
 command armies, and govern the state ; and, after triumphs, 
 returning to their little farm, poor as when they left it : young 
 noblemen devoting themselves to death for the public safetv, as 
 the Dccii ; -generals, though poor, yet proof against all bribery, 
 and undaunted at the most uncouth frightful sights and sud- 
 den dangers, as Fabricius, cc. But empire, attended by its 
 usual concomitants, riches and luxury, made them so far de- 
 generate, as to become venal, proud, covetous, nnd abandoned 
 to vice and debauchery. The commonwealth was as unhappy 
 a form of government under these degenerate, self-interested 
 magistrates, as it had been happy under virtuous ones ; the 
 number of rulers only increasing the number of oppressors and 
 insatiable blood-suckers, who sold ail thir.gs for thtir o\vi> private 
 ends. Jugurtha, well acquainted with the Roman senator;, with 
 ju t'ce- exclaimed, " O Rorni:, co-.-ldst tiiou find a merchanr,, tru-u 
 <' would s t ioc;u i'ayscli" 'cv sold." Thus the private ambition, 
 avarice, emu ir.xury of the great men. by a t:ital necessity, chang- 
 ed the ^ over. imenr ;.iio a monarchy ; and if. v. ; us under the eii!- 
 perorii Home acquired its greraU^t lustre, particularly ur.der 
 Aui;u.'.i"-^:, of \vho:.; it \vas SLKI, bs found B.ome nf brick, but lift 
 ?t otficirli'. , The K.oi-i^i.5 bcyi:?rriastev-; c r ? .he c-reateit and be^t
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 239 
 
 part of the universe, as then known, transported to Rome all the 
 fine statues of Greece and Asia, all their columns, their Egyp- 
 tian obelisks, &c. Every general, returning from his victo- 
 ries, every magistrate or governor from his province, brought 
 with him all that was valuable or curious to adorn his own houses 
 and gardens. They had also learned of the Grecians all their 
 arts and sciences, and formed to themselves a true and refined 
 taste in architecture. Hence Rome became the most splendid 
 city that ever appeared in the universe ; for Ninive and Babylon, 
 though larger, probably never were possessed of so many no- 
 ble ornaments, nor executed in so fine a taste : indeed, nothing 
 remains to give us a true idea of the magnificent buildings, 
 hanging gardens, -c. of these cities, except very imperfect de- 
 scriptions of them in Hercdotus, Diodorus Sicuius, and Jose- 
 phus. The Egyptian buildings were heavy and m a false taste, 
 as appears from their greatest works, the Pyrumids, that have 
 hitherto braved the fury of the elements, and which are only 
 huge piles, destitute of both order and use, eternal monu- 
 ments rather of the ostentation ai/d folly, than of the power and 
 riches of the kings who He buried under them, moot of whom. 
 are unknown even to their very names, which they took such 
 ridiculous pains to immortalize. But in ancient Rome, the 
 buildings were roust stately, beautiful, and convenient ; though 
 vnst, yet uniform, and in a style of true natural simplicity. 
 The Huns and Goths, Heruies and Vandals, who often plun- 
 dered the city, effaced many of its noblest monuments ; and the 
 piciy of the first Christians destroyed others, that were marks 
 or objects of idolatry and superstition, and which had escaped 
 the gc'.K'ral devastations : Yet ev.ru >.rh still remains to give us 
 the highest idea of the Roma;: ^raudcur and peritction in the 
 arts oi architecture and sculpture. 
 
 The Walls of Rome remain as they were repaired by EELI- 
 SARIUS, Justinian's general, in 550. TOTILA 'he Goth, hav- 
 ing sacked the city, demolished one part of the walls built by 
 Antoninus Pius, t!i';t he might return when lie pleased ; and 
 to prevent this, Belisarius, on coming to Rome, rebuilt in 
 great haste the part broke down, though not exactly on the for- 
 mer site, the new walls being in some phccs contracted, a^c'
 
 2.p TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 in others enlarged, in order to include certain fine buildings in 
 the suburbs. They were flanked by Antoninus with 740 tow- 
 ers, but they have now only 360, and these decayed. In their 
 present state they can afford no defence. The Pomaiium, or in- 
 closure, is of much the same extent as anciently ; but a great part 
 of it is now waste ground, gardens, or rubbish and old ruins. 
 The walls enclose a space of above 13 miles in circumferance, 
 which besides vast suburbs, was formerly filled with houses and 
 inhabitants. Of its citizens, many were so immensely rich, as 
 to be able to maintain an army with their private estate ; 20,000 
 Romans were able to do this. The senators had troops of 
 clients, among whom were great kings. Sovereign princes 
 everywhere waited on the Roman nobles, who sometimes too 
 received them haughtily. They had many great estates, some 
 in almost every province of the empire, and others were possess- 
 ed of nearly whole provinces and kingdoms. Befoie the civil 
 war of Cccsar and Pompey, there were in Rome <_)O3,oco citi- 
 zens, besides a prodigious number of slaves and foreigners *. 
 ROME was called seven-hilled, from the seven principal hills 
 on which it stands : i. // CapitoKno t or Tarpeio. 2. 11 L 3 ala~ 
 tino, now filled with immense heaps of ruins, hollowed undei 
 ground into vaults. On it stood the palaces of Augustus, 
 whence came the word palace ; and those of Cicero, Horten- 
 sius, See. ; it is now occupied by the Farnezian gardens. 
 3. // Celio ; where are erected St John of Lateran, ar.cl the Hcly 
 Cross of Jerusalem. 4. L'jtfventzno, now Santa Sabina, 5. 
 ISEsquilino, on which were Mecgenas's gardens, and now St 
 Pietro in mnculciy &-C. 6. // Vinnnah, on which stood Crassus's 
 house, but now St Pudentiana, San Lorenzo in Panesperna. 7. 
 // ^uinnalc, now Monte C.ivauo ; here formerly were Sallust's 
 house and gardens, &ec. To these seven others were added, 
 making o in all : viz. 8. // Pinceio, or di Santa Trinita, for- 
 merly called Pinceius or Hortulorum ; on it stood the famous 
 temple of the Sun. 9. // Vnticano. 10. Jdnicuiiwi, now- 
 called Montorio ; on it was the temple of Janus. Mons Tes-
 
 Chap. XIL DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 24! 
 
 taceiis, now II Testaceo, is a heap of earth raised from broken 
 pots, and clay thrown out by the potters residing there. 
 
 ROME has eighteen ditts : i. Flaminia, now Port a del po- 
 polo. 2. Gabiosa, now di San jMethodio. 3. Collatina, now 
 Pinc'ana. 4. Quirinelis, now Agonia. 5. Capena, now di 
 San Paolo, or Ostiense. 6. Viminalis, now St Agnes, or 
 Porta Pia. 7. Portuensis, now Porta Ripa. 8. Esquilina, 
 now San Lorenzo. 9. Aurelia, or Septimia, now San Pancra- 
 iio. 10, Ferentina, now Latina. n. Nevia, now Porta Mag- 
 giore. 12. Septimiana, now la Fontinale. 13. Cselimontaaa, 
 now San Giovanni. The others are, Porta Fabricia, Pettusa, 
 Angelica, la Porta del Castcllo; and, lastly, the Triumphal Gate, 
 now di Santo Spirito, leading from the Vatican to the Capitol. 
 Charles V. would enter Rome by this gate. The Romans had 
 30 gates, opening into as many great paved highways. Ro- 
 mului only made three ; the Pandana, the Romana or Trigo- 
 nia, and the Carmentalis, called Porta Scelerata, after the Fabii 
 went out by it to their defeat at Cremera. 
 
 In ROME were anciently eight Bridges : I. The Pans Subli- 
 ciiiSy so called because of wood, built by Ancus Martius. Oa 
 this HORATIUS COCLES so gallantly resisted the Tuscans, fight- 
 ing to restore the Tarquins. It is now ruined ; as is 2. the 
 Triumphal Bridge, the ruins of which are yet seen near the Va- 
 tican. 3. JEliuSy so called from the emperor ^Llius Hadriauus ; 
 now St Angclo. 4. ^aniculcnns, or Aurdms, now Ponte Xis- 
 to, from Sixtus V. 5. Cat us, now St Bartholomeo. 6. Fa- 
 bncius, or Tarpsms, now ^.^uutru Cupt, from a marble stone 
 with four heads carved on it. 7. Senatonus, or Pulatinus, now 
 Trastevere. S. Mifaius, no'.v Mole, two miles out of 
 Rome. 
 
 The city was divided formerly into Tr.les, (which in Romu- 
 ius's time consisted only of three) u::der tribunes or colonels ; 
 each tnbe was sub-divided into ic (.anas ; and each curia into 
 10 DcCi:nas : It is now divided into 14 quarters, called none 
 or regions. The late Popes have adorned and b;autitiecl it ex- 
 ceeding! ,~ by new buildings, fountains, &.C.. and by repairinp- 
 
 O / v U' V 4. O 
 
 the proud monuments of the ancients. It is also lull of most 
 ir.^gnifken': paL.oes, furnished with vast collections of statues,
 
 242 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 busts, pictures, &c., though the other houses are poor, and th 
 inhabitants exceedingly thin. 
 
 The principal Families of Rome at present are the Colvnna, 
 advanced since the I2th century, and divided into the Constable 
 Colonna, and Sciarra Colonna ; the Ursini, which signifies a 
 bear ; hence Zacharie Beer, (or bear) of Silesia, called himself in 
 Latin Ur sinus. This family, (accordingto an It :lian manuscript 
 in folio, in my possession, containing an account of the pedi- 
 grees of the principal families in Europe) begins with Matheo 
 Ursini in the year 1150. It has given the world Jean Baptist 
 Ursini, grand master of Rhodes, in 1467, Pope Nicolas III , 
 Benedict XIII., and many cardinals, and enjoys the honours o 
 Dukes of Gravina, (near Bari in Naples) Marquis of Tripal- 
 da, Count of Pitigliano, Lord di Monte PvOtunclo. The Ursias 
 in France, Lords of la Chapelle Gautier, Barons of Traynel ; 
 and also the Lords of Armentieres, Viscounts of Tournelie, 
 &-C., branched out of them in 1399 T<? Lo nil have made a 
 great figure in Rome ever since the year icco, and boast 6f 
 rnanv great men and cardinals. *Tlje Cajetani derive their pe- 
 digree from a. Spaniard, who settling in Gayetto, or Cajeta, 
 near Naples, took his name from that town about the year 
 080. Pope Boniface VTJI. was of this family, then living in 
 Anaemia, as were many cardinals and other great men. At 
 present only two brandies cf these Cajetani remain, the eldest 
 subsists in Nicolas Cajetan, Duke of Laurenzatio, &cc. ; the 
 second in the persons of the Dukcj of Sermenette and Cisterna. 
 This last possesses a fine forest at Cisterna near Home. 'The 
 Barberini, originally of Tuscany, but long ago settled in Rome ; 
 they have produced many very eminent men for sanctity, learn- 
 in?, &.C., particuhrly that great pope, Urban V1I3. "U ae Btr- 
 rr/joii, originally from Sienna in Tuscany, trace back their gran- 
 deur to the icth century. This family is still extremelj 
 opulent in Ron;e, and consists of three brothers : I shall speak 
 again of them. Pope Paul V. of the Borghesii was very fend 
 of his family , the present prince Borghesi is deranged in his 
 raind. 'He Parnfili, also a very rich family, originally from 
 Ger.oa. llje RospigHoji, originally from Pistoia in Tuscany, 
 Tie fybr-za, of the same family with the Sforza. and Galeasi^
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 243 
 
 sovereign dukes of Milan, who made a distinguished figure in 
 the I Jth century. "The Farrietji, originally from Farneto near 
 Orvietto in Tuscany. It owes ks greatness chiefly to Pope 
 Paul III. of this family, who having had a son in lawful wed- 
 lock before he was an ecclesiastic, created him Duke of Parma 
 and Placentia. There are many other great families in Rome, 
 as the Rovandi, Save Hi, Percti, Vetcili, Buoncampagni, Alteyipi t 
 Cczi, Bagtioni, Maffei, Crescent, cc. 
 
 ROME, at present, according to the Koti^le o f 1746, contains 
 in it 53,910 houses, 149,5^,6 inhabitants, of whom 116,705 
 are communicants, 39 bishops, 27 f 8 priests, 3868 religious, 
 1687 nuns, 1359 scholars ; parish-churches 82, hospitals 30, 
 confraternities of penitents ic6, cc. There are born in Rome 
 one year about 4800 or 4900 children ; and there annually die 
 about 6940, or between 5^00 and Boco. Then are i;i it always 
 tkast 200 foreigners) of whom several^ aretra\ eliers of distinc- 
 tion. 
 
 There are nbout 300 Churches in Rome ; the seven princi- 
 pal ones are, St 'JJjn of Latoan, tit Peter's in the Vatican, 
 Santa Croce, in Hierusalem, ?>t AL; y A'.v/cr, St ?aul, without 
 the walls, V Lc.^a c-ice, without the wcJ]b, o 1 . Fabian and Se- 
 l-astian, also without t'.ie walls. These churches must all be 
 visited by pilgrims before they cbtar.i the usual indulgences ; 
 excepf that in very hot weather the pope substitutes Santa 
 Maria eel Popolo, instead of S3. Fabian and Sebastian. The 
 Static/:*, or assemblies of the faithful for devotion, were dis- 
 tributed arnongsl ail the churches, but are now almost laid aside, 
 since the Lite Popes have instituted public prayers, with expo- 
 sition of the Blessed Sacrament, in the richer churches alter- 
 nately, fur almost h:ilf the days of the year. The present pope 
 never f. ; ib in tiie afternoon to visit the church in which those 
 prayers are sr.id. 
 
 The Pope has three Pa faces, all very stately, the Lateran, 
 too unwholesome for him to live in, except ior a day or two, 
 when he officiates at St John's ; the Vatican^ the largest and 
 most magnificent of all ; and Monte Cavallo, .in which he usu- 
 allly resides for its wholesome air and fine gardens, it is like~ 
 vise nesrcM; ?r T'.Iary Major, thcr.^h at so;ne distance : But
 
 244 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 all the bulls he signs at Monts Cavallo, or the Quirinale . He 
 dates from St Mary Major. Thus he has also three cathedrals, 
 St John the chief, St Peter, and St Mary Major. There arc 
 Jive called Patriarchal ('Lurches, as I mentioned when treating 
 of the title:^ of cardinals. Castel Gondolfo is his holiness's 
 country house, situated nigh Albano in the Campagna di 
 Roma, almost two leagues out of the city. None of the late 
 Popes have lived in the palace of St Mark. 
 
 Pope Gregory XIII. founded Six Great Colleges in Rome ; 
 1. the Roman College under Jesuits ; 2, the College of the Ger- 
 mans; 3. of the Converts from the Jews; 4. of English; 5. ofGre- 
 cians ; 6. of Maronites and Illyrians. Resides fourteen others for 
 the Missions in Japan, Germany, &.c. There are in Rome also 
 six other colleges ; the Sapienza ; the Clementine, built by 
 Clement VIII. ; St Thomas of Aquina in the Minerva; the 
 Cupranicum ; the Nardine ; and St Bonaventure's, founded by 
 Sixtus V. 
 
 There are three famous Columns : The ROSTRATA, in the 
 Campidoglio, erected by CAIUS DULIUS, after the defeat of the 
 Carthaginians ; TRAJAN'S, and ANTONINUS'S. Sixtus V. iais- 
 ed three great Obelisks, by the mechanical skill of Dominicus 
 Fontana ; one before the Lateran, a second before the Vatican, 
 and a third before St Mary Major. There are many other lea- 
 ser ones, and formerly there were many more. 
 
 Rome still displays traces of the old Ci>ci : viz. of the CIRCO 
 MASSIMO, BAGONIO, IL FLAMINIO, arid those of NERO and A- 
 
 LEXANDER. 
 
 The chief Amphitheatres were those of TAURUS, CLAUDIUS, 
 and VESPASIAN, which last could contain 150,000 spectators. 
 
 The Theatres were those of SCAUIUJS, TOMI-EY, MARCELLUS, 
 and CALIGULA. 
 
 BUT to be more methodical : I shall now briefly describe the 
 principal curiosities we observed in Rome, beginning with the 
 the gate by which we entered that city. 
 
 This Gate was anciently called Porta t'lumcnicma, from its vi- 
 ciii'.ty to the river, and afterwards received the name of Flnmi- 
 n'niy from its bciiTj embellished by FLAMINIUS ; it bears uo'v 
 the name of the Gate of tic People, Porto del pop^'n, fa-m tli"
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 245 
 
 church of our Lady del Popolo. Pope Pius IV. and his suc- 
 cessor, Alexander VII., re-built and adorned it in a stately 
 manner, and paved a-new the Corso, which is the longest and 
 largest street in Rome, the beginning of the Flamndan Way 
 reaching from this gate to St Mark's palace : It anciently went 
 a little farther to the Forum, now the ox-market, in the mid- 
 dle of which, being the exact centre of the city, stood the golden 
 mile* stone, from which proceeded 28 high-ways to the diffe- 
 rent parts of Italy, all magnificently paved ; and from hence 
 the milestones began to be numbered. 
 
 Santa Maria del Popolo is a very fine church, though not 
 large. It was built by Sixtus IV. upon the plan of Pintelli, 
 embellished by Rainaldi, but at the expence of the people ; 
 hence called del Popolo. It is said to stand on the place where 
 Nero's ashes were buried. It is rich in paintings, carvings, 
 altars, and tombs. The chapel of the Cibo has a good altar- 
 piece, a dome beautifully painted, and two marble tombs adorn- 
 ed with very fine brass statues. That of Cbigi is also ad- 
 mirably paioted, and boasts of four statues of prophets, by 
 Bernini. In the body of the church we observed eight curi- 
 ous statues of St Agnes, St Martina, St Cecilia, &c. ; and at 
 the bottom two angels in marble supporting the arms of Pope 
 Alexander, the great benefactor of this church. His picture is 
 in the sacristy, holding by his right hand the blessed John 
 Chigi, an Austin friar, and in his left blessed Angela Chigi, a 
 nun. This church belongs to Austin friars, and contains many 
 tombs ; as that of Hermolao Barbaro, a Venetian, and a verv 
 learned prelate, patriarch of Aquileia ; the two Cardinals Pal- 
 livicini of Genoa, &tc. On the marble pavement is this epi- 
 taph on a stone : 
 
 Hospes, disce novum mortis genus, improba felis 
 .Dum traliitur, digitum mordet ; &c intereo. 
 
 Learn a new kind of death, whoe'er this reads ; 
 A cat my finger bit ; tho' scarce it bleeds, 
 I die. Strew on mv rrave sweet flowers and weed.-.
 
 546 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAW BUTLER. 
 
 Before this gate and church is a beautiful square, in which 
 stands one of the finest Obelisks in Rome, though not very high, 
 not bein abov<- S3 feet ; yet it is seen at a great distance. It 
 is quite covered \vith Egyptian hieroglyphics, that is, sacred 
 symbolical characters, v^ry beautifully wrought, and still as 
 fresh as if ne.v. Latin inscriptions round the foot inform us, 
 that Augustus, afrer hio conquest in Egypt, brought it from 
 that country, and placing it in the great circus, consecrated it 
 to the sun. It has been thrown clown, and buried under- 
 ground, till Pope Sixtus V. translated and raised it here, de- 
 dicating it to the Holy Cross. Font ana his architect set it up. 
 Near it is a fountain of equal magnificence, the bason of which 
 is made of the basis of the pillars of Nero's baths, which were 
 six feet in diameter. This obelisk stands at the entrance of 
 the three finest streets in Rome ; the Ripette on the right> 
 on the banks of the Tiber ; the Corsa in the ^centre, and Ba 
 buini en the lef". 
 
 Going along the street Babtuni, we meet with the Grecian 
 Church built by Gregory XiiL, and dedicated to St A than a-, 
 sius. Opposite to it stands the stately College of ihs Grecians, 
 (with good gardens' 1 !, founded by the same Pope. This col- 
 lege educates missionaries for the Grecian countries in the 
 East. In the church we -frequently saw and heard the divine 
 office of the Greeks, especially on Good Friday, when they 
 have a very devout procession. It is always a Greek bishop 
 that officiates on greatfestivals. All the other Oriental churches 
 Lave their liturgies from the Greeks, though many in a dif- 
 ferent language ; as the Maronites in Chaldaic, the Illyrians for 
 f,otne time in Sclavonian, &c., but all in languages long since 
 dead, snd not understood by the vulgar. 
 
 A little beyond the church of the Greeks, is the Piazza </< 
 Spana, so called from the Spanish ambassador's house here,, 
 This place is full of foreigners, especially French. It contains 
 a beautiful fountain, and on the side towards the walls, on the 
 liiyh hill called Pi/icio, is the French church of the Blessed Tri- 
 nity, belonging to the Minims, built by Lewis XL, for the 
 sake of St Francis of Paula. The religious are all French, 
 The olmrch is very neat, adorned with <n>od chapels, and
 
 Clap. XII. OF ANCIENT GREECE AND MODERN ROME. 247 
 
 some pictures of Daniel Volterre, Zucharo, &c. ; and a "Trans* 
 figuration by RAPHAEL URBIN. The Borghesii have a rich 
 chapel here. Our attention was attracted by the epitnphs of 
 th ree cardinals; of LucretiaRcvera, niece of Pope Julius II. mur- 
 dered for her chastity ; and of Muretus, the elegantLatin writer, 
 by birth a Frenchman. The lofty stone-steps leading up the. 
 mountain to this church are very noble, and a great ornament 
 to the square. This mountain is called from the church, Let 
 Santa ' rinita : Its ancient name Pincio was given it from the 
 senator Pinciuo's palace standing upon it. 
 
 Behind the trinity on the Mount are the Mediccean Palace 
 and Gardens, adorned by the cardinals of that family. The in- 
 comparable V-enus y and other celebrated statues, are now in Flo- 
 rence ; yet here remain several exquisite basso-relievos, and 
 other admirable statues, especially that of the Countryman 
 whetting his Scythe, and hearing the conspiracy of Cataline, 
 which he discovered ; a Ganymede ; an Apollo ; and, in the 
 gardens, a Niobc with her 14 children, pierced with arrows 
 and expiring in different attitudes, &c. 
 
 At the upper end of the Square of Spain is erected the mag- 
 nificent college de Propaganda fide, founded by Urban VIII. 
 Jt has learned professors in divinity, controversy, morals,, 
 scripture, philosophy, rhetoric, humanity ; in Hebrew^ Latin," 
 Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, &c. The Congregation of 
 the propaganda holds its assemblies once a week in the cha- 
 pel. The college has a good library, and a garden planted with 
 orange trees. 
 
 The next street from the obelisk del Popolo is the Corso, 
 tir old Via Tlaminia. In it we first meet ^an Giacomo del Incx- 
 ralile, or St James of the Incurables, a very beautiful and well 
 regulated hospital, governed by -a compaii/ of Roman gentle- 
 men, erected and richly endowed by the celebrated Cardinal 
 Antony Maria Salviati ; the church, built by Francis Volterre, 
 is adorned with some good pictures. A little higher is -S'Y. 
 jfinibrose and Charles ncl Corse, R churJi belonging to the Mi- 
 knese nation : Its front i-j nolxb., aud it contains several good
 
 248 TRAVELS CF Rr.V. ALBAN EUTLES. 
 
 Adjoining to this hospitals tsnds the stately palace of Cajetatt, 
 or, as it is now called, Ruspoli palace : we next passed the Lu- 
 dovian palace in Campo Marzo, now callad the Duke of Fia- 
 no's ; one of the largest and most magnificent in Rome. Behind 
 it stands the Church of St Lawrence in Lueina, anciently a tem- 
 ple of Juno Lueina : Pope Celestine 311. consecrated it to St 
 Lawrence in \ic6 : and Benedict II. rebuilt it: But cardinal 
 Hugh, an Englishman, was its greatest benefactor, it contains 
 the bodies of many si-inls, part of St Lawrence's gridiron, &.c. 
 Pope Paul V. gave it to Cleric-minors, who have greatly en- 
 riched it, and built themselves a convent, which is an ornament 
 to the back square on which it stands. 
 
 Proceeding along- the Corso, we arrive at the convent of 
 
 O o 
 
 Penitents, called St Ma' y Magdalene, or le Monadic Conver- 
 tite, for converted prostitutes, who are received here without 
 any portion. The choir with its beautiful pillars, is the gift 
 of cardinal Ptter Aldobrandini. The religious follow the rule 
 of St Austin. Such monasteries for Magdalenes or penitents 
 are common in Italy, Spain, Malta, &cc. 
 
 The palace of the Lhigi looks into the Piaxxa Colonna, a 
 fine square, in the midst of which stands Antoninus Pius's Pil- 
 lar, erected in honour of that emperor by his adopted son and 
 successor Marcus Aureliut'. It is 175 or 27^ Roman palms 
 high : hollow within, where a pair of well stairs of 206 steps 
 leads to the top, on which stands a great statue of St Paul, of 
 brass gilt, placed by Pope Sixtus V., in the room of that of An- 
 toninus. The top of this noble monument, which is surround- 
 ed by iron rails, commands a fine prospect : The stones are 
 of a monstrous size ; some pretend that 28 stones compose 
 the whole fabric, but they are so well and so closely ce- 
 mented together, that this is hard to be discerned. On the 
 outside are carved, from the bottom to the top, the great 
 actions of ANTONINUS ; his victories over the Armenians, 
 Parthians, Germans, Vandals, Sarmatians, Marcomans and 
 Quadcs. An nnagc of Jupiter is sending rain on his army, 
 and thunder on hi> enemies, at the time he was beseiged 
 by the ft'* circGmms in Germany. Many account this rain m>-
 
 Chap. XU. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 249 
 
 raculous, and ascribe it to the prayers of the Christians in his 
 army. See Tillemont, Baronius, &c. 
 
 This Column formerly stood in the extremity of the Campus 
 Martius, which was a field out of old Rome, enclosed with 
 Septa of boards, where the Romans held their assemblies of 
 the people, and performed their military exercises. 
 
 Behind the Piazza Colonna is a palace built by the Ludovi- 
 sii, repaired by Innocent X., and now called I?mocentiana > or 
 Curia Romatia. 
 
 Proceeding along the Piazza Colonna up the Corso, I called 
 at several booksellers shops, which appeared very well furnish- 
 ed with all sorts of books from every part of the world ; parti- 
 cularly from Naples, Venice, Paris, &.c. The i'aticanpr nting 
 louse is situated in this place, though at a considerable distance. 
 It employs a great many hands, who are principally occupied 
 with Popes bulls, constitutions, decrees of the congregations, &c, 
 We passed by the palaces of Sciarra Colonna in the small piazza 
 of the same name ; and of the Caroli, Nevers, &c. We left on the 
 right hand the Dogana or Custom house, antiently the palace 
 of Antoninus Pius : Eleven lofty pillars of the portico, of this 
 palace now adorn the church of St Stephen del Trullo, belong- 
 ing to the Fathers of the Redemption of Captives. The Do- 
 gana is new and too noble an edifice for a Custom-house. 
 
 A little farther up the Corso we turned on the right to see 
 the Roman College, built by Pope Gregory XI. and committed 
 by him to the government of Jesuits, who teach the young 
 Romans all the arts and sciences, especially divinity ; for scarcely 
 any study at the Sapienza ; and the college of the Propaganda 
 is entirely destined to the Missions ; those of Bonaventure and 
 the Minerva teach only their own religious, the Franciscans 
 and Dominicans. Indeed few study divinity in Rome, except 
 the regulars, who here make the best divines ; the canon-law 
 being studied by young prelates, &.c. This Roman College 
 is handsomely built, large, convenient, and magnificent Its 
 great gate and several windows are adorned with marble : its 
 court is spacious ; the chambers, galleries, &x. very commo- 
 dious, well-proportioned, and finely finished. But what i* most
 
 250 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 worthy of attention is the collection of curiosities, both natu- 
 ral and artificial, commonly called the Gallery of the Roman 
 College. Kircber*s Museum m?kes up a part of it. A detail- 
 ed account of this gallery would fill a volume. All things apv 
 pear in a beautiful order. Here we saw all the rarest curiosi- 
 ties that the Indies, China, Japan, or Africa, could furnish : 
 innumerable petrifactions of herbs, elephants teeth, wo >d, a 
 man's skeleton, .c. ; a machine meant as an attempt towards 
 a pe pctucil motion ; (there is a similar piece of mechanism at 
 Milan ;) statues of a drummer and piper ; all the Muses, &c, 
 which, by turning a screw, play upon their instruments -iny 
 tunes, the drummer beating his drum the while most merrily : 
 A vast collection of antiquities ; old Roman coins, weights, and 
 measures ; all sorts of ancient idols, especially Roman, Tusc.vi, 
 and Egyptian ; ?.ll the heathen's vessels and instruments for 
 sacrifices ; an incredible quantity of Tuscan antiquities, more 
 ancient than the Roman ; all kinds of ore find metals ; rare 
 stones, shells, corals, sepulchral lamps, &:c. ; the dresses and 
 pictures of persons of all foreign kingdoms, &c. 
 
 To this College adjoins and belongs St Ignatius's Church, not 
 indeed adorned with pillars, &.C., yet on account of the perfection 
 of its architecture, esteemed the finest building in Rome after St 
 Peter's. The vault was painted by ANDREW DEL Pozzo, a lay 
 brother of the society, one of the best of the Italian painters and 
 architects. In the middle of the vault is a perspective, soingenious 
 as to deceive everv eye : It represents a dome where there is in 
 fact none, as is plain from the outside. The tribune is painted by 
 ZUCCHARO, St Francis by MUTIAV. On the high altar is St 
 IGNATIUS. Cardinal Ludovisio, vice-chancellor and nephew to 
 Pope Gregory XV. built this church. The tomb of that Pope, 
 who was also a Ludovisio, appears nigh the sacristy ; as well 
 i\s those of many others of that family, princes of Plombino. 
 
 ljut the Jesuits richest establishment is their professed 
 house and its church, called // Gtesu, or Grand Glesu, near the 
 palace of St Mark, in the Piazza Altieri. The magnificent 
 trcnt is the architecture oi James de la Porla : Their library 
 is larQ-e and beautiful ; and their cloister adorned with ood 
 
 O o 
 
 pictures. The church w:.s built by Cardinal Alexander F^->
 
 Chap. X r L DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 25! 
 
 nesius, but finished by his nephew Cardinal Edward Farnesir.s. 
 Its exquisite painting, pavement of marble, carvings, and most: 
 rich ornaments, fill a stranger with astonishment. In the 
 j;-cristy are many reliquaries of gold and silver, enriched xvith 
 jewels, crosses, prodigious large candlesticks, surplices, and 
 albs with rich laces of gold thread ; an antipendium of massy 
 silver, with historical basso-relievos wrought upon it, and two 
 other ksser ones for the two first side altars, &cc. The vault 
 ar/i .upola are admirably painted ; the windows are adorned with 
 fine pilasters : But what most surprises is the riches of all the 
 chapels, (which are very numerous, quite rc ; :nd the church) 
 particularly the chapels of our Lady, of the Angels, of St 
 Francis Borgia, of SS. Abundius and Abundantius, and of St 
 IGNATIUS of Loyola, their Founder 5 this last, surpasses all the 
 rest. The body cf the saint lies under the altar in a sil- 
 ver shrine, very rich, and open to view ; but all the other 
 splendid ornaments seemed, to have lost their lustre, when 
 the fathers e:;no=ed lo car view ths statue of' St Ignatius a- 
 
 i O 
 
 bov^ the dtar, somewhat larger than life. It is the most 
 sumptuous figure I have ever seen, composed entirely of gold, 
 silver, and a prodigious number of very bright diamonds, and 
 great jewels. Every part of it quite dazzled my eyes, but parti- 
 cularly his crown of glory. This church possesses the bodies 
 of SS. Abundius a:;d Abundantia.3, martyrs under Dicclesian :, 
 the head of St Ignatius, oishop and martyr; aa arm cf St; 
 Franc's Xavier ; part of the body of St Francis Borgia, who 
 died here ; and many ether relics. The tomb of Cardinal 
 Bjliarmiae is on the right hand near the high altar, upon which 
 are two marble statues by Peter Bernini. The bodv of St 
 Ignatius was first buried here. The best pictures, are a Circum- 
 cision, bv MuciAN'O, on the high altar . a brands Xaw.er, by 
 CHARLES MARAT ; the Martyrdom of several Jesuits in ^fupan 9 
 by AKPINO ; a Trinity, by BASSANO ; and o;i the altar in the 
 Sacristy, a Francis Xavier, by the greii CARRACHI. In a 
 gallery of the convent, they shew true portraits of St Igrutia3 
 and of St Philip Neri. The chamber of St Ignatius is now 
 ronverted into a small handsome chapel, in \vhich are painted 
 iri?.ny actions of the saint's life. His study is another ?mat' 
 
 O 2
 
 4J2 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 chapel, where many prelates often come to say mass. The Je- 
 suits, besides the Roman College, and the Grand Giesu, possess 
 St Andrew for their noviceship, St Vitalis, St Sabas, St Ste- 
 phano Rotundo, the Roman seminary, and the Penitentiary of 
 St Peter. 
 
 In the Piazza Altierii stands the noble Palace of tie Alticri, 
 a fine building by the architect John Rossi. The great stair- 
 case, the magnificent apartments, and exquisite paintings, de- 
 serve attention. But the Palace sf the Pamphili, near the 
 Roman College, is one of the most splendid in all Italy, vast, 
 and finished in all its buildings and apartments, magnificent in 
 its furniture, (among which are prodigious large chrystal look- 
 ing-glasses, precious tables, &c.) and rich in statues, busts, and 
 pictures of the greatest masters, as RAPHAEL, JULIUS ROMA- 
 NUS, &.c. (especially four most beautiful ones of the latter in 
 one chamber) and all in such profusion that 20 noblemen's 
 houses might be furnished from it. Prince Pamphili, the pre- 
 sent proprietor, is a very whimsical being. He is extremely 
 sparing and parsimonious. His equipage is singularly mean, his 
 table still more so ; yet he lavishes great sums on the poor, 
 &c. When two villains had robbed St Agnes's church, and 
 taken away a very rich chalice, the gift of his family, hearing 
 they were taken up near Ancona, he spared no cost to save 
 their lives ; and upon the first news, gave the church another 
 chalice of the same value, saying it was no sensible loss to him. 
 He has another sumptuous palace in Rome, besides his villas, 
 which we shall afterwards take notice of. 
 
 In the Corso, we next visited the church of St Marcellut, in 
 which lies the body of that Pope and martyr, with other relics : 
 it contains also some good pictures of NAVARR A, and ofTHADDEO 
 ZUCCHARO ; a picture of Christ dead, by SALVIATI ; and carvings 
 of NALDINI under the pulpit The Palace Aldobrandinij is 
 sumptuous That of St Mark is a nobleGothic edifice, built by 
 Paul II. It had a passage through a secret corridor to the Arca- 
 cceli and the Capitol. Later Popes having given it in a present 
 to the Republic of Venice, in recompence for certain services, 
 it is now the residence of the Venetian ambassador. Near it is 
 the Church of St Mark the Evangelist, in which are kept an
 
 Clap- XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 233 
 
 arm of that saint ; the body of St Mark, Pope ; relics of S<^. 
 Abdon and Sennon,&c. It contains good paintings in fresco, and 
 a painting of the Resurrection in oil, much esteemed. 
 
 A little on the left from the square of St Mark's and the 
 Corso, is the Square of the Twelve Apostles, and church of the 
 the same name, which is one of the most ancient and venerable 
 In Rome : It was built by the Emperor CONSTANTINE the 
 Great, who carried on his own shoulders the first 12 baskets of 
 earth for the foundations, in honour of the 12 apostles : It was 
 afterwards rebuilt by Pope Julius II. It is a parish church served 
 by Franciscan friars Conventuals, to whom Pius the II. gave it : 
 In it are the relics of many martyrs ; and the tomb of the great 
 Greek cardinal and learned holy prelate BESSARION, celebrated 
 in church history, with inscriptions both in Greek and Latin. 
 The chapel of St Antony of Padua is the design of RAINALDI. 
 The picture of St Francis, receiving the stigmats, is drawn by 
 XUCCHARO. Pope Sixtus V. bought a palace of the Colonnas 
 adjoining to this monastery, and gave it these conventual Fran- 
 ciscans for a college, on which he settled an annual-rent of 1300 
 crowns : They teach St Bonaventure's divinity, and it is called 
 the college of St Bonaventure. 
 
 On the Piazza of the HcOy Apostles, stands the palace called 
 of the Santi Apostoii, very large, but inferior to many other pa* 
 laces in Rome : It is at present the residence of CHEVALIER ST 
 GEORGE : I saw that prince pass by in his coach to the church 
 of the Santi Apostoli, scarce ico yards distant, to hear mass. 
 He was accompanied by two persons, both Protestants, who 
 walked before hira into the church : I was informed that one 
 of them was called Lord Dunbar, and that his name was Mur- 
 ray; the other was Mr Hay: They also told me, he had nobody 
 else with him, except under servants, as cook, coachmen, &x\, 
 and a gentleman of the name of Edgar, who was said to be his 
 secretary. He has a tribune to himself in the church ; and a 
 soldier of the Pope's guard stands sentinel at every gate of the 
 house : This unfortunate prince spends a considerable part of 
 liis time in exercises of devotion : The palace belongs to an 
 old Roman nobleman called Monti. 
 
 Near this, stands the Palace of Constable Colonnci, one of the 
 
 0.3
 
 254 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 first in Italy, in every respect : The lower rooms are painted 
 in fresco by eminent artists, and filled all around with excellent 
 statues and busts, of which there are in this palace near 8coo ; 
 and a still greater number of pictures by the greatest masters, 
 besides other ricii furniture, as silver bedsteads, -c. In many 
 of the chatnbers there are two rich chairs of state, under the two 
 pictures of the present Pope, and the present King of Sicily : 
 Here are also the pictures of 2 Popes, 19 Cardinals, and above 
 50 Gererals of the family of Colonna. 
 
 Facing it stands the Palace of Chigi, built by Cardinal C'ni- 
 gi, very magnificent and rich in its furniture : Among its most 
 admired statues, are, the Gladiator expiring ; Marsyasjlay'd a- 
 li'je, two pillars of yellow marble, on which stand the gods 
 Termini, &.c. There are in Rome two other palaces of Chigi, 
 one in this quarter, the other with fine gardens beyond the 
 Tiber; besides the sumptuous villa Chigi, or Chisesiana. 
 
 A little above the piazias of the Santi Apostoli and of Sao 
 Marco, is the torum Trajanum,n)\v called Marcello de Corvi, in 
 \vhich stands Trajan's Pillar ', the most stupendous monument 
 in the universe. The Romans erected it in honour of thai ce- 
 lebrated emperor, while he was engaged in the Parthian war. 
 Dying at Seleucca on his return, he i.ever had the satisfaction 
 of beholding this beautiful monument of his people's gratitude. 
 Kis ashes were placed on the top of it in a gclden urn. Pope 
 Six'us V. repaired it, and placed on the top of it a statue of 
 St Peter, of brass, o: 14 palms high, and gilt ; jis he did a like 
 status of St Paul on Antoninus's pillar. Trajan's pillar is 
 built of marble, trc inside adorned with cockle-shells. The 
 outside forms a spiral, and is exquisitely curved from top to 
 bottom, representing all the great actions and. victories of Trajan, 
 especially his war with the Dacn. These carvings are justly 
 deemed a mociel for ajl masters in that art, rind far surpass tho:e 
 en Antoninus's, an indeed the whole pillar doe?, for its inimitable 
 workmanship. It is iiS feet higb, besides the base, which is 
 12 feet. It is S'-ud to he all built of no more thrai 24 huge 
 mr.rHe .stones. The winding stairs within it consist of iqo 
 '.tcp?, of which each ctone icrms eight The pedestal is now i 5 
 f/rct. lor/er than the sticet ; so thst a person niuet desccn dto?> >
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 255 
 
 rubbish and ruins having raised the street so much higher. The 
 whole seems to have been the work of giants, not of ordinary men. 
 Upon the Forum Trajanum stand four churches ; the best is 
 that of our Lady of Lorefto, built in a fine stile of architecture, 
 *>f an octogon farm, with a vast and beautiful dome. 
 
 I have joined to the Corso these three piazzas near its upper 
 end. Stopping at the Capitol, we return to the Piazza del Pa- 
 polo, where we will follow the third great street, called Ripetta, 
 which leads nearly along the Tiber to the Vatican. 
 
 Tiie 'iiber^ rising in the Apennines, between Tuscany and 
 Romandiola, is at first a small brook or torrent from the moun- 
 tains, but is soon swelled by 4 2 auxiliary streams; the principal 
 are the Nera and the Anio, now called ! iverone, which falls 
 into it three miles above Rome. After a course of 150 miles, 
 it waters Rome, where it becomes a great river. Fourteen 
 miles below that city, it pours its waters, by two mouths, into 
 the Tuscan sea. One of its mouths is choaked with sands, 
 so that no boats can. pass it ; the other on the right is mucii 
 smaller, and therefore called Fiitmicino, and is kept open at ;i 
 great expence, as it was by the ancient Romans. The waters 
 of the Tiber are as muddy as those of any dirty puddle, even 
 from its source ; as indeed most of the brooks in Italy are ; 
 viz, those which fall impetuously from mountains, and, run- 
 ning through fat land, draw a great deal of soil along with 
 them. Those whi:h run through rocks are clear ; particular- 
 ly the rivers of Lombardv, as the Po, Tesin, &c. The Ro- 
 mans pretend that the wnters of the Tiber become drinkable 
 and clear when mixed with the waters of the SJ/no, winch are 
 sulphureous, and possess the singular quality of settling the 
 ir. ud of the others. The barks of the Tiber are so low about 
 Home, that its floods are very great, frequent, and destructive ; 
 and all attempts to coi.fine the river within its banks have hi- 
 therto been unsuccessful. It was both as muddy and as sub- 
 ject to inundations anciently as at present, as appears from the 
 Roman poets, &.c Hence its first name was slibula, from its 
 white waters, till TJBURINUS, king of the Albanians, being 
 drowned in it, gave it his name, as Ovid says, Fast. B. \\, 
 v, 389, 
 
 0,4
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Albula quern Tiberim mersus 
 Tiberinus in undis, reddidit., 
 
 Albula, from Tiberinus drown'd, 
 
 In latter days the name of 7 iber found. 
 
 And its common epithets \vere muddy, yellow, &C, 
 
 Vidimus flavum Tiberim retortis, &.c. HORAT, 
 
 With boisterous billows, yellow Tiber's stream 
 We saw roll back, and, foaming like the main, 
 Great Rome to threat, its palaces destroy, 
 And Vesta's Temple, &.c< 
 
 In the Ripctta we first meet the Port or Ripetta, the statiou 
 for barges on the Tiber, erected by Pope Clement XI. The 
 great station called Rip a Magna is higher up, near the gate of 
 Ostia, and is intended for the reception of large boats. Close 
 by Ripa Parva stands the hospital of St Koch, behind which 
 is the Mausoleum of AUGUSTUS CAESAR. At present only the 
 lower part of this noble edifice remains, and that greatly disfi- 
 gured and broken, and the obelisks taken away ; one of them 
 now stands before St Mary Major's. Anciently, as appears 
 from the remaining fragments and old descriptions, it was a- 
 dorned with a vast profusion of white marble, porphyry, lofty 
 pillars, an obelisk on each side, and most beautiful statues. 
 It contained 12 gates, three enclosiires of walls, and was of a 
 circular figure, 150 cubits high ; above halfway in its height, 
 a terrace surrounded it ; and then the building running a little 
 higher, a second terrace encompassed it, both of them planted 
 round with evergreen trees, such as laurels, &cc. A high 
 dome rose in the middle of the building, upon the top of which 
 stood a large statue of Augustus of cast brass. Niches were 
 made for the urns, destined to contain the ashes of the succeed- 
 ing emperors : For Augustus designed this Mausolasum also for 
 his successors, though none of them were laid in it besides him- 
 self. This quarter of the valley of the Campus Martins was 
 from hence called Augusta ; and St James of the Incurables is 
 commonly called St James in Augusta.
 
 Cbap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 2j7 
 
 On this port of Ripetta stands St Jerome, the church of the 
 Sclavonians. The palace of the prince Eorgbese commands a 
 view of the same port, and is admirable for its vast extent, fi- 
 nished architecture, splendid furniture, an incredible number 
 of the best modern statues, and a prodigious profusion of the 
 finest pictures, quite filling all the rooms. In the lower 
 chambers are many artificial fountains, which play and furnish 
 water even in the apartments of the palace. There is a very 
 large old cistern of porphyry, in which to make only one hole 
 cost the prince a great sum. There are also many water-works 
 in the gardens, extremely ingenious. The prince's stables are 
 at some distance ; we saw in them 150 fine horses {^exclusive of 
 those abroad) belonging to this family. In the palace they 
 shewed us MICHAEL ANGELO'S famous Crucifix, of which they 
 told us the common story, that, having prevailed on a fellow- 
 artist to permit himself to be stretched on a cross, he ac- 
 tually crucified him, in order that he might obtain a better 
 representation of the posture and passions of one expiring by 
 that agonizing punishment. A notorious falsehood ! The 
 same story is told of a great crucifix of Michael Angelo in the 
 grand duke's palace in Florence, and of another in the rich mo- 
 nastery of Carthusians in Naples. 
 
 We passed by the Clementin College, and St Antony of Padua, 
 a collegiate church of the Portuguese, already mentioned. 
 The palace of the Aheinpsi lies on the lefr, with the Piazza 
 Narona. We went from thence to the bridge of St Angelo, 
 the old Pons JEHus, adorned recently with many large statues 
 of angels. It is very long, takes a winding turn, and is built 
 in a beautiful style. It was first erected by the emperor ^Elitis 
 Adrianus. In the Trastevere, or burgh of Rome, beyond the 
 Tiber, we find the Castle of St Angelo, St Peter's, the Vati- 
 can palace, the palaces of Saliati, and of Riari ; in which last 
 lived CHRISTINA II. of Sweden, after her resignation of the 
 crown of that kingdom. 
 
 The Castle of .i? Angelo, or Mole of Adrian, is the vast mo- 
 nument in which that emperor's urn was placed. It is a round 
 building, very spacious, and its walls exceedingly high, thick, 
 ^nd strong ; the architecture, cornices, &.c. are admirable. A
 
 258 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 great deal of its fine marble, and pillars > &cc, are now in the 
 Vatican palace and church, and its statues have been all car- 
 ried away. It received its present name from an angel seen to 
 put up his sword in this place, when the great pestilence ceased 
 after the processions, litanies, Sec. under t Gregory the Great, 
 in commemoration of which event, a statue of an angel is 
 placed on the top of it. It was used as a fortress by the dif- 
 ferent parties in the civil disturbances in Rome, which made 
 the Popes at last fortify it regularly with live bastions and o- 
 ther outworks, begun by Pope Boniface VIII. ; and it is now 
 very regular, and strong, indeed the only good fortress the 
 Pope maintains. It is an arsenal aiso, and, amongst other 
 arms it contains, they shewed us many stilettos, (that ia, pocket- 
 daggers,) or long knives, taken from murderers. The noble- 
 men formerly maintained bands of such villains, to revenue 
 their quarrels ; and they might be hired by any person for a 
 crown to perpetrate an assassination ; they were called Bravi, 
 though not openly known Sixtus V., by the severe execu- 
 tion of the laws, rid the country in a great measure of these 
 miscreants ; and the late popes have established such good or- 
 der in this respect, that murders now cease to be more fre- 
 quent in Italy than elsewhere. There is a secret corrLor 
 built by Alexander VI. from the Vatican palace to the castle. 
 The governor's apartments here are noble, and from the tip 
 of the building there is a fine prospect of the city, but especial- 
 ly of St Peter's. 
 
 From the bridge T ,ve go to Si Peters, cither through the 
 streets Transponuna and Borgo, or by that of the Holy Ghost. 
 Here stands the beautiful rich hospital of the Holy Ghost, first 
 founded by our Ina, king of the West Saxons, in 71 q, and en- 
 riched by king Off', but restored and richly founded anew by 
 Pope Innocent III. in 119!. Sixtus IV. also very much aug- 
 mented its revenue. In the middle, under a dome, is an altar, 
 in view of four long rooms on every corner, where all the sick 
 in their beds can hear the same mass at once. In a chamber 
 on the side are always 40 nurses, to take care of the foundling 
 children. Its church is of a fine architecture, by San Gal, un- 
 der Sixtus V. There are soaie good pictures in it, but morst
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION CF ROME. 259 
 
 in the neighbouring parish church of Ht James ; adjoining 1 to 
 which is the Penitentiary of St Peter's, a great house, in which 
 the Pope's penitentiaries for that church reside. These are 12 
 Jesuits, who live in a regular community, under an Italian 
 rector, and hear confessions in St Peter's. Two are Italian, 
 two Spanish and Portuguese, two French, one German, one 
 Hungarian, one Sclavonian, one Flemish, one English, one 
 Greek. Their duty requires close attendance in the church, 
 but they have the liberty of walking in the Vatican gardens 
 after dinner. A society selected from nations so dissimilar ri 
 manners, interests, and affections, would not, one should think, 
 be the most agreeable in the world. As to the Penitentiaries in 
 general, they are entirely under the Major Penitentiary, and are 
 called the Lesser Penitentiaries. Those of St Mary Major are 
 Dominicans : the Pope's penitentiaries have each a wand in their 
 hand, as a sign of theii jurisdiction. 
 
 On the side of St Peter's is the church of Santa A: aria de 
 Campo Sanlo. Its church yard (part of the earth of which is 
 said to have been brought from Palestine) is the burying place 
 of the pil.-rims. The church is beautiful and has good paint- 
 ings. The high altar piece i 3 a Descent by MICHAEL ANGELO. 
 
 If we go through the street of Borgo Nuovo, or Transpor- 
 tina, we meet Santa Maria Transport fna, a fine church with 
 good pictures and ornaments belonging to the Carmelite friars. 
 It stands on the site of the Mausoleum of SCIPIO AFRICANUS, 
 the statues of which, great brass peacocks, &-c. now serve to 
 adorn the Vatican palace and gardens. 
 
 Out of this street we enter the noblest square in the world, at 
 the end of which St PETERS presents itself. From the facade of 
 this celebrated edifice, a portico or arcade in the form of a bov f 
 supported by 380 pillars, reigns a great way on each side, un- 
 der whicn people walk, and even coaches stand for shelter. 
 Over it is a balustrade with 88 great statues of saints, a beau- 
 tiful ornament to the square, which between these porticos is 
 an oval 300 paces long, and 220 broad. In the centre stands 
 the finest obelisk in the world, the globe on the top of which 
 was the urn which contained the ashes of JULIUS CAESAR. Six- 
 tus V. translated it hither out of Nero's Circus, and Doti-
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 INIC FONTANA the great architect raised it, as he did the other 
 obelisks placed under that Pope. The machines he used in 
 this work are all described at length in his life by Bellori 
 and many other writers ; and from their taking no notice 
 of the circumstance, the story of wetting the cords may be 
 deemed fabulous, though no doubt possible. This obelisk is 
 of granite, and of one entire stone, engraven with hieroglyphics. 
 Above the globe on its top Sixtus V. placed a brass cross gilt, 
 in which is some of the wood of the true cross : It is above 
 100 feet high, Mabillon says 172, besides its pedestal and base, 
 which are together 37 feet more it weighs 956, 148 pound : 
 It stands on a marble base, enclosed with beautiful rails, with 
 four great lions of brass gilt, and other figures and pilasters of 
 fine marble, &c. Two fountains play one on each side at a 
 considerable distance and cast up vast columns of water. This 
 square with the porticos was executed under Alexander VII , 
 according to a plan given by Bernini. 
 
 St PETER'S CHURCH is the most finished and noble building in 
 the universe, the master-piece of MICHAEL ANGELO. Onuphrius 
 says, that this is the place in which St Peter and St Paul suffer- 
 ed matrydom, and were first buried, and where (in the circus 
 of Nero) innumerable other martyrs were also crowned. He 
 adds, from a popular tradition, that the subterraneous chape], 
 called the Confession of St Peter, was made use of as a chapel 
 by St Anacletus the third Pope and his successors during the 
 persecutions, as being over the tombs of the holy apostles. CON- 
 STANTINE the Great, the first Christian Emperor, chose this 
 holy place to found a church in honour of St Peter, pulled 
 down part of Nero's Circus for this purpose, dug up, with his 
 own hands the first spade of earth, and carried away on his own 
 shoulders the first 12 baskets. Onuphrius gives us an account 
 of the riches that emperor bestowed on it taken from Anasta- 
 sius, and the inventaries of the sacristy. Among these were a 
 gold cross weighing 150 pounds placed over the apostks tombs; 
 4 silver candlsticks, on which were engraven the acts of the 
 apostles; 3 gold chalices of 39 pounds ; 20 silver of 50 pound ; 
 a gold paten, a gold lamp of 5 pounds ; a gold censor adorned 
 with diamonds ; &c. besides, the church itself was covered
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 261 
 
 with brass taken from the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Jus- 
 tinian and other emperors made also great presents, besides the 
 revenues in land settled upon it by Constantine and some of his 
 successors. St Gregory the Great covered the gates with 
 Lamina of silver. The old church falling to decay, the Popes 
 resolved to rebuill it. Julius II. took a plan from Bramante 
 Lazari, which Michael Angelo altered, and finished under Paul 
 III., adding the dome, unquestionably the boldest in the world. 
 It was built by Barnes de la > orta under Sixtus V. Pope Paul 
 V. added the porch and front. This church is in the inside 
 580 feet long, 80 broad, and in the traverse of the Cross 480 
 broad ; 145 high ; in the dome 330 high. The walls both with- 
 in and without are all marble : It is covered with lead and tin 
 gilt. The pavement is marble, and the vault gilt. So asto- 
 nishing is the natural simplicity, the symmetry, and order of 
 the building, and of all its ornaments, that at first sight nothing 
 strikes the eye much : A person must visit it often before he 
 perceives its beauty and perfections ; but after one has viewed 
 it well, he must remain astonished at the whole, and at every 
 part singly. The porch and front, added to the design of Michael 
 Angelo by Paul V., injure the view of the church from the 
 square, because they hide great part of the cupola, and other ten 
 domes, which cannot be seen any where to advantage, except 
 from the top of the castle of St Angelo ; a circumstance much 
 to be regretted, for nothing can be more beautiful. The archi- 
 tecture also of this part is inferior to the rest. The portail is 
 144 feet high, in the Ionic order. Of its five gates, that in the 
 middle is of brass, that on the right hand, is called the holy 
 gate, and is always shut up, except in jubilee year, which is 
 ushered in by the Pope's breaking down this door with a silver 
 hammer, which he gives to one of his cardinals. After the 
 year is expired, the gate is walled up again. * Each of these 
 five gates is adorned with four marble pillars, so thick, that 
 three men could scarcely embrace one. Above are very large 
 
 * In St John of Lateran, St Mary Major, and St Paul's, there are also holy 
 gates. And it is thf carjinal-archpriesf of each church, who breaks them down 
 '"or the Tubilf,
 
 252 TRAVELS OF KEV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 figures in stone of our SAVIOUR and his Twelve Apostles. In a 
 magnificent gallery there, the Pope from a ba'co.-.y gives his 
 solemn benediction to the people on their k;:ees in the tquare. 
 The porch is as long as the breadth of the church, a;:d might 
 of itself form a large church. 
 
 The church is built in the figure of a cross. In the middle 
 of the traverse, is the high altar, which is open, so that the 
 priest at Mass looks towards the people, and does not turn a- 
 bout at the Donnnus yobiscum. The Pope on his election is 
 placed upon it, and none can say Mass at it but himself, ex- 
 cept by his express leave. Over it is a canopy of brass, fine- 
 ly carved, supported by pillars of the same metal, gilt, and 
 exquisitely wrought with spirals and foliage of gold, and or- 
 namented with figures of little children, taken from Agrippa's 
 portico. Four fi ic figures of angels in brass are placed, one at 
 e'ach corner. Under this altar lies one hnlf of the bodies of 
 SS PETER and PAUL, in a rich subterraneous chapel, called 
 the Confession of St Peter, and Limitia Apostolontm. The de- 
 scent is formed of fi:<e marble stairs, with brass rails, ico 
 lamps of silver always burning in it. It is surrounded on the 
 top with a massy balustrade. Ovtr the altar is the celebrated 
 Cupola which Michael Angelo, agreeable to his promise, con- 
 structed of the same dimensions with the entire edifice of the 
 Pantheon or Rotur.da. It is so admirably formed, so bold and 
 lofty, that it seems to the eye to stand by itself. Looking; 
 down from it into the church, men seem like little children ; 
 and the globe on the top, though able to contain twenty per- 
 sons, appears no larger when viewed from below than a man's 
 head. On the top of the cupola is represented the ETERNAL 
 FATHER, with the Four Evangelists, and other saints, in Mo- 
 saic. The bottom is supported by four enormous pillars, in 
 each of which is a fine statue ; viz. St Veronica, St Helena, 
 St Longinus, and St Andrew. The dome is 500 palms to tht, 
 lantern, the lantern is 100, and the cross upon it (which is of 
 brass gilt) 25; so that the whole height is 35 z Paris feet, 
 There are ten ether smaller domes over ten of the chapels,, 
 Some years ago the great dome cracked, which alarmed the whole 
 college of cardinals : but the circuit-set said there was no danger
 
 Clap XII. DESCRIPTION" OP ROME. 263 
 
 However, they put an iron hoop round it of an extraordinary 
 breadth and thickness, which cost ico,oco crowns. Some 
 imagine this accident was occasioned by a subterraneous source 
 of waters from the mountains of Vatican and Janiculus, weak- 
 ening the foundations ; but the true reason was, that the mon- 
 strous pillars which support the dome, and which Michael An- 
 gelo had forbid to be ever touched, were hollowed by Bernini, 
 to make a winding stair-case in each, up to a balcony, from 
 which the relics kept in each pillar, in a nicb above the statue, 
 r.u. ht be shewn to the people. This weakened the pillars, 
 and nearly cost Bernini his life. 
 
 These relics are as follows : Over the statue of Veronica 
 is the holy Handkerchief of Vet onica, on which is represented 
 our sAV .OUK's luce ; over St Helena is a great part of the cross 
 of our SAVIOUR ; ever St Lcnginus, carved by Bernini, is tha 
 lance which opened his side ; over St Andrew is that saint's 
 head, se t to Pius II. by the Prince of Morea ; the head of 
 the lance was sent to Innocent VI11. by the Grand Turk Ba- 
 jazet. These, and other relics, are shewn on Thursday, Fri- 
 day, and Saturday, in holy week, on Easter and Whitsunday, 
 besides other times of the year. In the middle of the tribune, 
 ?.t the top of the church, is placed St Peter's Chair, of wood, 
 covered with metal gilt, &-C. and supported by four figures 
 representing doctors of the church, and accompanied with 
 many other ornaments. It is shewn on the 1 8th of January 
 and ::cl of Ftbtuary, the festivals of St Peter's Epiecopai 
 Chair, f.rst instituted at Rome and Antioch ; so we only 
 saw the case. It is a great arm chair, but many doubt its 
 antiquity : it was at least the chair of many holy Popes. 
 Hcie are the relics of innumerable saints and martyrs. The 
 body of St 'j-obn Ct.-ry^oitcm lies in his clv.ipel ; that of St Gre- 
 gory the Great in his ; of St Gregory NciKian-zen in the cha- 
 pel uf the BLrsstd Sacrament, sometimes called the Grego- 
 tian, which is particularly remarkable, especially the taber- 
 r.ac'e i:i it, for its riches, find more tor its workmanship. In 
 ihnt of our L.uly are the bodies of St Leo the Great, and of the 
 second, tnird, and fourth popes of that n .me. The body of 
 i ;t Pa'rwl/x is under the altar of the cruclSx; those of SS,
 
 264 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Simon and Jude under their altar, &c. The chapel of the 
 baptismal font is very curious, as well as that in which the 
 canons sing the divine office. 
 
 The pictures in this church are all verj good ones, especi- 
 ally a St Peter in mosaic over the Port a Santa ; a St Sebastian 
 in the second chapel, by a Dominican ; a St Jerom, by Mu- 
 TIANI ; a Fall of Simon Magus by VANN'I ; a Crucifixion oj St 
 Peter, by PASSIGNANI, and several "others of St Peter, &c. ; a 
 St Hasitby MUTI^NI &cc., the paintings of the vault of the first 
 chapel by LANFRANC, &c. 
 
 The architecture of each chnpel is wonderful, especially of 
 the Gregorian and Clementine. In the former, finished by 
 Gregory XV. are two twining pillars, with foliage of white 
 marble, brought from Jerusalem by St Helen. The carvings 
 are of all things the most finished, particularly a groupe in 
 marble by MICHAEL ANGELO on the altar of the chapel of the 
 canoas, representing the Blessed Virgin holding our Saviour 
 dead in her arms, and called Our Lady of Pity. 
 
 The tombs of the modern Popes are also finished 'pieces, and 
 the figures finely carved, the design in all very different and 
 admirable; especially those of Urban VIII., of Paul III., of 
 Alexander VII., by BERNINI, &c. In the upper part of this 
 church there are no monuments but of Popes, no others being 
 buried here, except the three following ; I. That of, the Count- 
 ess MATHILDES, made from the design of Bernini, by the order 
 of Urban VIII. The ad, that of CHRISTINA, Queen of Sweden, 
 very magnificent. 3. That of the princess MARIA CLEMEN- 
 TINA SOBIESKI, (spouse of the Chevalier) looked upon by the 
 people as a saint ; this last is placed over a great tomb and urn 
 of porphyry, raised high in the wall ; the figures are of alabas- 
 ter, and represent Devotion, in a female form, as large as life, 
 presenting to heaven a flaming heart with one hand, and, in the 
 other, holding the picture of that princess, an ill chosen one, 
 however, having nothing of the air of piety which the rest of 
 the monument represents her possessed of, and which was her 
 character. Indeed the pictures which were drawn of her, 
 when she came first to Rome, have not that expression. The 
 statues of the founders of religious orders stand against the.
 
 hdp. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 265 
 
 pillars of the church and are given by each order ; though few 
 have jet found money for that purpose : The Jesuits first pla- 
 ced that of St IGNAIIUS. We went down the stairs by one of 
 the pillars into the subterraneous church, which is vast, has 
 many alleys and chapels, all filled with venerable relics and an- 
 tiquities ; the monuments of many emperors, princes, and al- 
 most all the Popes who lived before the new church was built. 
 Ascending to the top of the church, we find there a little town 
 around the cupola and domes, with houses for workmen who 
 constantly reside here, employed about this immense fabric. To 
 sum up in one word the eulogium of this august edifice, it may 
 be sufficient to say, that architects, painters, carvers, Sic. find 
 in St Peter's the utmost perfection to which their art has ever 
 been carried. 
 
 A comparison is sometimes made between this church and 
 our St PauPs in London : On this subject it is told of Lord Pe- 
 terborough, that on seing St Peter's he said to those about him, 
 he wished he was master of as much gun-powder as when he 
 commanded in Spain. Being asked why, he answered, to blow 
 up St Paul's ; for it would not bear to be seen after St Peter's. 
 His lordship was no doubt a good as well as an impartial judge. 
 It is certainly a pity that St Paul's has not a large enough 
 square before it, and that it is so destitute of the ornaments of 
 sculpture and painting ; yet viewing only the naked buildings 
 and architecture, the dome is certainly noble and beautiful in a 
 high degree ; and the paintings on it by James Turnhill by no 
 means despicable : But it is much tuo large for the church, 
 which occasions a disproportion, and in a great measure destroys 
 that exact symmetry which constitutes the greatest beauty of a 
 building. Hence follows another inconvenience ; the pillars ne- 
 cessary to support so great a weight are extremely bulky, which 
 makes them both look heavy, and even darken the church ex- 
 ceedingly ; whereas the second point in architecture is, that a 
 building be light, open and natural. The neatness of the walls, 
 and boldness of the vaults, in St Peter's, cannot be equalled by 
 St Paul's, which, notwithstanding these defects, is, (especially 
 its cupola if taken by itself) a noble pile of architecture. No- 
 thing pleases more in St Peter's than to find the eye so agre?- 
 
 R
 
 366 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 ably deceived by the new beauties which crowd upon a spec- 
 tator every moment ; and which arise from the astonishing 
 neatness, justness, and proportions of all the parts. A very 
 accurate mathematician in Rome gave me the dimensions of 
 both these churches ; by which it appears that St Paul's is not 
 much above half the size of St Peter's, and would easily stand 
 within it. Taking; the dimensions from the outside of the walls, 
 
 O 
 
 and including the portico, St Peter's is 7co feet long, and 500 
 broad, English measure : St Paul's only 519 long, and 250 
 broad. 
 
 To St Peter's church I add the Pauline chapel, in which are 
 rich ornaments and exquisite paintings, particiilarly the inimi- 
 table ones of the Conversion of >>t Paul, and the Martyrdom of 
 St Peter, two large pictures by MICHAEL ANGELO ; and the 
 Sixtine chapel, in which the same artist painted great part of 
 the dome, but was hurried too much by the impatience of Ju- 
 lius II. The end of the chapel over the altar is covered with 
 the great incomparable picture of the Last^udgment, the master- 
 piece of MICHAEL ANGELO. The design is wonderful; the in- 
 numerable variety of figures, their attitudes, their passions, 
 suitable to their state, expressed in the most striking manner, 
 and the shades so artfully disposed to give the greatest lustre 
 
 objects, &c all display the astonishing genius of the great 
 
 artist, and evince his singular talent of expressing in his 
 Works the admirable conceptions of his mind. It is in this 
 ANGELO excels ; in others the images formed in the mind are 
 never fully expressed in the execution. It is true the figures of 
 this picture arc too naked, but when Pope Paul IV. desired him 
 to correct and alter this, he answered, that was no fault, but he 
 he wished his holiness would correct the disorders in the man- 
 ners of Chriflians. Indeed painters, after forming a design in 
 their mind, cannot easily change any part, without injuring the 
 whole. Others object, ttiat lie has not given his angels wings 
 to distinguish them from the juil ; but they have sufficient char- 
 acteristics. The Devil ferrying souls over a lake, feems to 
 some absurd, and more like the heathenish fable of the river 
 Styx than the Christian hell : But since Christian poets (as 
 Dante, Cant. 3 and 9) adopt that emblem to represent the se-
 
 Chap. XU. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 
 
 separation and impassible enclosure of those dungeons, there 
 seems no reason why Christian painters may not employ simi- 
 lar symbols. 
 
 The Pauline and Sixtine clapels though adjoining to the 
 church, are in the Vatican palace, which is the most sumptu- 
 ous and vast of the Pope's residences. It was begun by Sy- 
 machns : Julius II., Leo X. and others added new buildings ; 
 and Sixtus the V. erected that part called the New Palace. The 
 first square and galleries round it are noble ; the apartments 
 of fine architecture. The royal chapel, in which the Pope 
 gives audience to sovereigns, was built by SAN GAL. It is 
 painted in fresco, and contains many good pictures, as the Battle 
 of Lepanto, &c. In this palace are 5^0 chambers, and all of 
 them adorned with the finest pictures in the world, the most of 
 which are very large, and a great number by RAPHAEL D' UR- 
 BINO : The following are highly valued ; viz. Hercules killing 
 Cacus ; an incomparable picture of Attila by Raphael; Co%- 
 stantine's victory over Maxentius, on a design of Raphael's : (Ar- 
 tists from the French academy were drawing copies of these for 
 the king :) RAPHAEL'S Parnassus / the Four Reasons by MA- 
 THEW of Sienna ; Moses ; Silence, &c. We admired RAPHAEL'S 
 St Peter in prison, and the angel resplendent in glory coming to 
 awake and deliver him, thefio-ures in which, bvan admirable per* 
 
 * O ' t> 
 
 spective, seem to project as if separated from the canvas. The 
 chapel, painted by CORTONA, is adorned with the Pc.ssion of our 
 SAVIOUR; in which is particularly admired the taking down from 
 the cross. The gallery, on the walls of which are beautifully 
 painted, in great maps, all the Pop'es dominions, and all the 
 other provinces of Italy is very amusing. It was chiefly ex- 
 ecuted by PAUL BRIL, the Flemish painter. The Gallery of 
 Designs seemed wonderful ; and is adorned with innumerable 
 pieces by the best masters. The long gallery in the Vatican, 
 when the partition-doors are all open, is by far the longest, and 
 to me the most pleasing I ever saw, being adorned with busts, 
 statues, and all manner of entertaining curiosities of art. The 
 Pope's apartments are very rich, hung with red velvet and 
 gold fringes, or with crinason damask, &.c. The tapestry of 
 
 R2
 
 2,68 TRAVELS OF RKV. AT,HAW BUTLER. 
 
 Flemish manufacture, from designs by RAPHAEL, is most curi- 
 ous : The new back buildings, erected by Benedict XIII. pos- 
 sess many ornaments, crucifixes, &c. but their solitary situation 
 gives them the appearance of a large cloister : Below is the 
 court called Belvedere, which commands a charming prospect 
 over the gardens. Its enc osures contains the most beautiful and 
 finished statues of antiquity that are extant, all of white marble, 
 wrought with a delicacy never to be sufficiently admired, justly 
 deemed the glory of sculpture. The finest of them is Lacoon 
 with his two Sons, and the serpents twining about their legs, a 
 groupe. This piece disputes the prize with the Venus of Me- 
 dicis, and is certainly of inestimable value, a real miracle of art, 
 as MICHAEL ANGELO used to call it : An inimitable Apollo 
 with the Serpent Python : .d Venus and a Cupid with this in- 
 scription ' Salliistia ; Helpidius consecrated to prosperous Venus. 
 Another Venus alone : the Emperor Commodus, represented as 
 an Hrrcules, with his club and lion's skin, a character he affect- 
 ed to imitate : The Trunk, as it is called, that is, an exqu.site 
 statue of Hercules, with the legs and arms broke off, esteemed 
 by MICHAEL \NGELO a prodigy of delicacy : Antinous, the fa- 
 vourite of Adrian : A wolf suckling Romulus and Remus : the 
 A'V/eand the Tiber : Cleopatra in a reclining posture, and about 
 to i.xpire. All these are enclosed in different niches. 
 
 The Gardens of the Vatican contain an orange grove, pleas- 
 ant alleys, &c. In them is the pigna, or sepulchral urn of 
 brass, in the shape of a pine apple, which contained the ashes 
 of the Em / ror ADRIAN, with two peacocks of the same metal 
 taken from Adrian's mole. The Italians however are not so 
 curious ir: r aeir gardens as in their palaces. 
 
 The Conclave, where the cardinals usually assemble to chuse 
 
 the Pope, is situated in the second story of the Vatican ; the 
 
 gallery befor the apartments of which is inimitably painted. 
 
 l:i a long con idore ri the ground story, are the Arsenal and Li- 
 
 - , . The first is exceedingly large, filling a great many very 
 
 < c- ;: \ibcrs with all iL.ff; rent sorts of arms: of which a 
 
 :>idi.-r?Me nuiiiti;" are modern for present use; but far more 
 
 ,n ancient ; v ; prodigious shew of suits of armour and 
 
 c,i! cM arms ; .nany them very curious and singular. Amongst
 
 Chap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 269 
 
 others is the suit of armour in which the Constable BOURBON 
 was killed, and in which appears an impression made by the 
 ball which occasioned his death by a bruise on the thigh. 
 
 The Library is the greatest and richest in the world, both in 
 manuscripts and printed volumes. 1 could not learn the pre- 
 sent number with any certainty, but it has been much aug- 
 mented under the present librarian, Cardinal Querini, and a 
 new room added to it. When the duke of Urbin's library was 
 joined to it by Alexander VII. heir of the late duke, arid that 
 of Heidelberg, presented to Gregory XV. by the late duke of 
 Bavaria, (after taking that city in 1622,) it contained 16,000 
 manuscripts, Latin and Greek. It was rebuilt by Sixtus 
 V. and has been receiving augmentations ever since. In the 
 anti-chamber are the pictures of the Cardinals-Librarians, and 
 many desks, in which there are always several persons copy- 
 ing out manuscripts. The library occupies one very long and 
 broad room ; with galleries at the bottom. The books, being 
 for better preservation all locked up in boxes under their 
 classes, do not appear, but the room is adorned with very 
 good pictures, &.c. ; the Councils are drawn on one side ; the 
 Life of Sixtus V. on the other. On the pillars in the middle, 
 the Inventors of Letters, as CADMUS, &c. There is a transpa- 
 rent pillar of alabaster found in the ruins of a temple of Venus 
 in Salust's gardens : Those of yellow marble found with it arc 
 in St Peter's on Montorio. In a box we saw here the largeft 
 piece of asbestos we ever met with, though we saw small 
 pieces in many places. When it is rubbed with the wax of a 
 candle, it burns till the wax be consumed ; and then the cloth 
 appears perfectly clean and uninjured. Pliny says, that nap- 
 kins made of the filaments of this singular stone, when thrown 
 into the fire dirty, and lying ever so long, burning red, were 
 taken out clean. This asbestos or amiantcs is coarse, white, 
 and made of a stone found in Negroponti, which is drawn out 
 into gross threads or filaments. Among the manuscripts here, 
 that of the Greek Scripture is the rarest valuable : Ic is written 
 in great hooked letters without an distinction of chapters, ver- 
 ves, or words : it is judged i;> be at least 1200 years old,
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. AU3AN BUTLER. 
 
 and the Sixtine edition of the Greek is chiefly from it. It is in 
 most places, but not in every instance, the most correct origi- 
 nal, and superior to the ancient Alexandrian manuscript at 
 Cambridge. The other principal manuscripts they shewed us, 
 were, a Greek Gospel wrote by St JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ; the acts 
 of the Apostles wrote in gold letters : a chronicle of Alexand- 
 ria : Among the Latin manuscripts they shewed us a Virgil 
 wrote whilst Paganism reigned ; for the figures in miniature 
 represent their rites and sacrifices, &cc ; an old Terence not so 
 ancient ; the mutual Letters of HENRY VIII. and ANN Bo- 
 LOGVE ; a German bib/e y translated and wrote by LUTHER ; a 
 history of all animals, birds, fish, serpents and insects, beauti- 
 fully drawn from the Urbin library. 
 
 We next visited the Mint behind St Peter's. The wheels 
 that move the engines for coining are turned by water : They 
 were coming only brass bajocks, and a few gold sequins. Near 
 this is the apartment for Mosaic works, in the modern style, ve- 
 ry curious and costly. Whilst colours in painting fade in time, 
 Mosaic pictures always retain their beauty. 1 hey are made 
 of little wedges, or angular particles of stones, minerals, &c. 
 joined together, so as to represent a good painting. The ma- 
 terials are very dear, and, in order to have all sorts of colours 
 strong and lively, even precious stones are often employed, = 
 lapis lazuli, agates, jasper and cornalins, which give stronger 
 colours tiian ordinary painting. There are several Mosaic 
 pieces in St Peter's ; many more are preparing for it ; but three 
 or four years are required to finish a picture of moderate size. 
 The King of Portugal has also workmen here making some of 
 these paintings for the Friars church in his new palace. The 
 ancient Mosaics are mean, as we see in St John of Lateran, 
 &cc. The modern are extremely beautiful, and resemble fine 
 paintings, when viewed from a proper distance. 
 
 Returning from St Peter's out cf the Borgo, we came back 
 by the bridge of St Angelo, from which, on the right, we dis- 
 covered the ruins cf the Triumphal Bridge long since broke 
 down, over which those to whom the Senate had grantd a 
 triumph passed to the Capitol. Having passed the bridge, we 
 turned on our right hand, through an alley iato the via "Julia?
 
 Chap. XII, DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 271 
 
 (Strada Guila) in which we first meet the church of St 'John 
 Baptist of the Florentines, belonging to that nation, a very 
 handsome edifice, built from a plan of James de la Porta, and 
 its majestic high-altar by Cortona. We admired in this 
 church four pillars of jasper marble ; a statue of St John Bap- 
 tist, baptizing our SAVIOUR ; a picture of the Resurrection by 
 LANFRANC, and other good paintings, and the chapels of Sancheti, 
 &c. This church is to be all inlaid with jasper marble ; but 
 it is not probable that this design will be speedily executed. 
 Next, we passed by the palace of Sancheti, built by San I ^ai ; 
 and higher, our Lady of Suffrage, built by Rainaldi, and adorn- 
 ed with good pictures and carvings. It is remarkable for a Con- 
 fraternity for the Dead, to whose relief they consecrate ail their 
 actions. 
 
 The Palace of the Falconieri, a Florentine family, is si- 
 tuated at the head of the via Guila ; and near it, in a great 
 square, the magnificent Fame sian palace built by Paul III. a 
 Farnesian : It belonged afterwards to the dukes of Parma, and 
 now to the King of Naples. The cornices are the most finish- 
 ed carving to be seen, executed after the plan of MICHAEL Ax- 
 GELO. Round the inner court runs a great portico filled with 
 ancient statues, especially the Farnesian Hercules, (which was 
 found in Caracalla's baths,) the finest in the world next to the 
 Laocoon, the Apollo of Befoidere, and the Venus of Ai edicts. 
 MICHAEL AKGELO supplied a leg that was broke efF, and now 
 scarcely to be distinguished from the original ; all the chambers 
 and galleries are admirable for the architecture, and filled with 
 statues, pictures, &c. The gallery painted b}^ AXXIBAL CAR- 
 P.ACHi, is the most curious. The finest statues are a Flora, 
 two captive Parthian Kings, in the dress of their native country ; 
 many Gladiators in their various attitudes ; the "Three Koratii, 
 and Citrii ; a beautiful Fawn; an exquisite ivory Crucifix \>y 
 MICHAEL ANGELO : The busts of Euripides, Solon, Socrates, 
 Diogenes, Zeno, and l^ other old philosophers found in Dio- 
 clesian's baths ; and those of Antinous, Bacchus, &c ; a great 
 statue in a groupe, by ALEXANDER FARN.-SIUS ; many fine 
 paintings by RAPHAEL ; an Adonis and a Vtmis by TITIAN ; 
 e.nd the Can ancc an woman by CARRAGIII ; the Blesss.i Virgin, 
 
 11
 
 27 s TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 by RAPHAEL, &cc. This palace was begun bv the architect 
 SAN GAL, but finished by MICHAEL ANGELO. It was built 
 with the stones of the Colisseo, as was also the Chancery. 
 
 Towards the Tiber, on leaving toe palace, we see a great 
 statue of MARCUS AURELIUS ; near it stands a groupe of statues 
 in marble, representing the whole story of Circe, which may'be 
 read near it : This is the master-piece of the two famous carv- 
 ers, APOLLONIUS and THYAN^EUS, mentioned by Pliny and Pro- 
 pertius, and was found in Antoninus's baths ; The bull, with 
 Circe entangled with her hair on his horns, is admirable ; the two 
 young men stopping the furious animal, the shepherd on his 
 back ; the queen and the stag ; the lion devouring a horse ; the 
 fox, the hare, &c. constitute one groupe. Princes are said to 
 have offered the bull's weight in gold for it. 
 
 The Farnesian Square, or piazza, is very large, adorned with 
 two beautiful fountains resembling one another : In each is a 
 vast vessel of one stone, ingeniously cut. The picture of St 
 "Jerome communicating, in the hospital of St Jerome of the 
 Charity, by DoMINICHlNO, is one of the finest extant : Near 
 this square stands St Thomas' 1 s, or the English College, which 
 is a good building : The church of tins seminary is a plain edi- 
 fice ; but it possesses a very fine vineyard at Monte Portio : In 
 a parlour is a capital picture painted by a Jesuit. 
 
 In going from the Farnesian square to the Navona, and thence 
 to the Cap'tol, we miss on the le.'t some fine palaces, as that of 
 the Sforzee, &.C., and proceed through the \.ampo Fiore, or mar- 
 ket-place of Flora, a very noble square, passing in the front of 
 the palace of the Ursini, and the Chancery, a superb edifice. 
 The church of St Andrew de Valle, which is also situated in this 
 part of Rome, was founded by the Picolhomini, and two Popes 
 of that family are buried in it : The facade is noble ; the dome 
 finely painted by LAN FRANC. The chapel of the Ginetti is very 
 rich in marble, jasper, agates, &.c. The second chapel is of the 
 architecture of MICHAEL ANGELO ; and the statue of the 
 Blessed Virgin of brass on the altar, is of his workmanship : 
 The church belongs to Theatins. 
 
 We also passed by the door of the great house established 
 by Lewis XIV. as an Academy for French Painters, who liv?
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 273 
 
 here in order to perfect themselves in their art, from the in- 
 numerable fine models contained in this city. 
 
 The Vatte leads to the Piaxxa Navona, or^gonis, so called from 
 the word /<?, (of a fight,) the circus Agonalis, or the place 
 of public games and combats having been situated in it : It is 
 the largest and handsomest square in Rome : In the centre ap- 
 pears an obelisk, and a fine fountain, a master-piece of BERNINI : 
 It is an artificial rock, with a bason below, into which the wa- 
 ter is poured by four gigantic statues of men, representing the 
 Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, and Ganges : There is a horse on one 
 side, a lion on the other, &c. Other ornaments combine to 
 render it very magnificent. On the top of the obelisk is a dove 
 ivith an olive branch in its mouth, the arms of Innocent X. 
 who built this fountain, as well as the noble PalaceofPhampkili 
 in this square, which contains the admirable gallery of Cor- 
 tona. The adjoining little church of St slgnes, ("erected on the 
 the spot in which that saint was imprisoned,) is a most finished 
 building in the form of an oval : Its front, of the Corinthian 
 order, its cupola, pavement, basso-relievos, paintings, &.C., are 
 all charming : It was begun by the same Pope. St Giucomo 
 of the Spaniards, on the other side of the square, is remarkable 
 for a statue of St James, by SANSOVIN ; a picture by the great 
 CARRACHI; and its delightful music. Behind St Giacomo is the 
 University, called the Sapienza, a very large and magnificent 
 building ; but only frequented for the canon and civil law : Its 
 divinity professors, have handsome salaries ; and there is a good 
 library belonging to it. 
 
 From the Navona we enter into the square of Pasquino, prin- 
 cipally occupied by booksellers. The Pasquino is an ancient 
 statue, the work of a great master, called also Trunco, from 
 its arms and legs being broke off. It is supposed to represent 
 either Hercules or Alexander ; and is called Pu.,quino, from a 
 tailor, (some say a cobler,) of that name, who lived here, pos- 
 sessed of a singular talent for satire and low wit, and whose 
 shop was the rendezvous of the news-mongers : Ever since his 
 time lampoons and epitaphs are fixed on this maincd statue. 
 Matjorio, a statue, now placed nigh the Capitol, formerly an* 
 swercd Fas.qujnp in a similar manner.
 
 2^4 TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 In this quarter are two churches not to be forgot : 1st, Our 
 Lady of Peace, given to the Austin friars, to induce them to 
 renounce their pretensions to St John of Lateran : Their con- 
 vent, built by BRABANTI, as well as the church, are in a fine 
 style of architecture. The Sybils, and the incomparable 
 Prophet, by RAPHAEL, in the chapel of the Chigi, cannot be 
 sufficiently admired : The chapel of Cardinal Cesi, is finely a- 
 dorned : Besides statues and many good paintings, this church 
 possesses St Monica's body, and on her tomb there is a statue 
 of her pointing to St Austin, with these words : " the fruit of 
 rny tears." 2d, St Maty in I'alicclla, situated near the Via 
 ^fulia, and belonging to the Oratorians of St Philip Neri, whose 
 library contains valuable manuscripts : The church is well 
 built and adorned : Its paintings are, a St Philip Neri, by GUI- 
 DO ; an Ascension by MUTIANO j the pictures of the high altar 
 by RUEENS ; the cupola, painted by CORTONA ;*the sacristy by 
 the same, &c. In the chamber of St Philip is preserved the 
 poor furniture made use of by that holy man. 
 
 From, the Navona to the Rotunda we pass by St Lewis of 
 the French, governed by a community of priests of that nation. 
 Many Frenchmen lie buried in this church. On our left to- 
 wards the Corso is St Austin, belonging to the Augustines : 
 They have a good library : In their church are many pictures 
 \vell executed. The best statue is of our SAVIOUR giving the 
 keys to St Peter, by RAPHAEL URBINO. The College of Car- 
 dinal Capranica, and that of St Apollinaris for the Germans, 
 founded by Gregory XII., possess nothing curious. 
 
 Santa Maria Rotunda is the old Pantheo?t, built by the fa- 
 mous MARCUS AGRIPPA, or at least consecrated by him to all 
 the gods, or, as some say, to Cylcle the mother of the gods : 
 It's fine statues were carried to Constantinople ; the silver, 
 brass, &c. ivhich adorned it, to the Vatican : By this means it 
 is very naked of ornaments, though it has fourteen altars round 
 It. Unadorned however, as it is, some esteem it the finest 
 piece of architecture in the world ; yet it was on hearing some 
 persons commend it, that MICHAEL ANGELO said he could build 
 9. Pantheon in die air ; and made good his promise in building 
 the dome of St Peter's, which is exactly of the same diameter,
 
 Clap. XII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 275 
 
 The Rotunda is perfectly circular, 158 feet in diameter, and 
 of equal height, having neither pillar nor window, but receiv- 
 ing the light from a large round opening in the top, directly un- 
 der which is a sink to receive the rain, covered with perforated 
 iron plates. It is well known that Boniface IV. dedicat- 
 ed it to our Lady and all the Martyrs and Saints ; whence it 
 is called Santa Maria ad Martyres. Before it is a porch sup- 
 ported by fourteen pillars of one granite stone each ; on which a 
 brazen statue of Agrippa Triumphant formerly stood ; as is as- 
 certained by broken pieces dug- up in the ground : A porphyry 
 tomb also, commonly called Agrippa's, lay in a nich in the out- 
 wall ; but Clement XII made it serve for his own monument 
 in St John of Lateran. Alexander VII. caused the square be- 
 fore this church to be lowered to a level with it, there having 
 been previously a descent to it of 1 1 steps, whilst in Agrippa's 
 time there was an ascent of seven : A proof that Rome is in 
 this place raised by rubbish 18 steps above its ancient level : 
 The same appears from Trajan's pillar, the bottom of which is 
 fifteen feet below the present level of the street. 
 
 At a little distance from the Rotunda stood the Minerva, a 
 a place in which Pompey built a theatre, a curia, a portico, and 
 a temple to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, war, and arts : 
 It is now destroyed, and on its site is erected the great Domini- 
 can Convent, called our Lady on the Minerva, the cloister of 
 which is adorned with the best paintings in fresco of any in 
 Rome. On the gospel-side of the high altar, is an incompara- 
 ble basso-relievo in marble by MICHAEL ANGELO, represent- 
 ing our SAVIOUR holding his Cross. The chapel of St Thomas 
 is very noble, and under the altar, which is rich, appears the 
 shrine of St Catherine of Sienna. Here are also many monu- 
 ments of eminent men ; among others, that of the Aldobrandi ; 
 of Paul IV., Leo X., Clement VIII., of the late Benedict XIII, 
 of the Cardinal Alexandria, by JAMES DE LA PORTA ; two 
 fine statues by BONATELLI on the tomb of Cardinal Pucci, 
 Cardinal Cajetan, Massoulie, the great divine, with a pompous- 
 epitaph, &.c. In front of the building stands an obelisk on an 
 elephant ; and adjoining to the convent, the Dominicans have 
 a college for their own religious ; This order, possesses also
 
 1 76 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 seven other small convents in Rome ; viz. the Penitentiary 
 of St Mary Major, St Quiricus, St Sabina, St Sisto Vechio, 
 St Clement, St Nicolo, and Del Rosario on Monte Mario ; be- 
 sides four houses of Dominicanesses. 
 
 From the Minerva we went by the Jesuits, il Giesu, and St 
 Mark's to the Capitol. 
 
 CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF ROME. continued. 
 
 Church of Area Coeli. The Capitol, or Campidolio, Its fine paintings. Mil- 
 liarium Aureum Columna Rostrata. Admirable Statues Gladiator dying, 
 &c. Tulliola's Urn. Tarpeian Rock. Palace of Mathsei. Hospital of the 
 Blessed Trinity. The Cardinals and others wash the feet of the Pilgrim?. 
 Charity Bank of Mons Pietatis. Jews. Hospital of Ben Fratelli. Pauline 
 Fountain. Churches of St Peter in Montorio ; of St Cecily, of St Calixtus, of 
 St Mary Trastavere, of St Pancratius, St Sylvester. Fountain of Treves. Pa- 
 lace of Monte Cavallo. Its Church, Statues, Gardens and Paintings. Santa 
 Maria Maggiorc. Chapel of the Holy A^anger. Obelisks. Barberini I'alace. 
 Villa Ludovisi, Its beautiful Statues and Paintings. Villa Borghesi. Ce- 
 miterium of St Cyriacia and Catacombs Church of St Agnes fuori delli Mura 
 and it* Catacombs. Church of St Constante. Holy Cross in Jerusalem. St 
 John of Lateran. Corsini Chapel. Egyptian Obelisk. Baptismal Font. Scala 
 Santa. Story of the Hopess Joan proved to be a Falsdioad. Lateran Palace. 
 Church of St Peter ad Vincula. San Stephano Rotundo. Our Lady in Navi- 
 cella. Vespasian's Amphitheatre. Triumphal Arch of Constantine Ti- 
 tus's Arch. Church of St Fraucisca. The Hippodrome The Forum. Cur- 
 tius's Gulph. Temple of Jupiter Stator. Triumphal Arch of Septimius Sever- 
 lls . Rostra Nova et Vecera. Temple of Jupiter Thundering. San I-'ietro nel' 
 Carcere. Circus Maximns. B..ths of the Ancient Romans. Churches of 
 Santa Maria in Cosmedin, and Our Lady del Sole. Palace of the 'cesars. 
 Churches of :>t Paul, and of St Sebastian without tlie walls. Description of 
 the Catacombs Tomb of Metclla. Naumachii, oubiaco. Cadtcl Gondolfb. 
 Frescati. Monte Drj,cone. Country Palace of i .udovisi and' Belvidere. 
 Hermitage of Camaldoli. Ruins of Tusculum,Cicero's 'Country Scat. 
 
 C^N the hill of the the Capitol appears the Area C<r!i, the chief 
 convent of the Grey friars, or Franciscans Oh -;ervantiris, standing 
 on the site of an old temple of *Jupitet Ferretrius. Tis faid 
 that Au^'.'.stus L^Viny; lei.r .^, of ihs iiby's ..ad the oracle of 
 Delphos, the Nativity of our SAVIOUR, erected an altar here
 
 Clap. XIII- DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 
 
 to the FIRST BORN OF GOD, which the friars imagine they still 
 possess ; and shew for it a small altar on the gospel-side, on 
 which are some inscriptions almost entirely effaced : But this 
 story, related only by Suidas, &c. is rejected by all good wri- 
 ters. This church seems rather to have been called Area ...celi 
 from its great height ; the ascent to it consists of 123 lar^c mar- 
 ble steps, which formerly belonged to the temple of Quirino, 
 as did several marble pillars that adorn it, on the third of which 
 is engraven : a Cubiculo Augustorum. The church itself is 200 
 feet long, and 165 broad. The vault is gilt. Its best pictures 
 are, an excellent JESUS, Mary and Josepo, by RAPHAEL : an 
 Ascension and a <$/ Paul, by MUCIANO, &.c. It also contains a 
 fine Bambino, or Infant 'Jesus, in the manger, which is magni- 
 ficently adorned on Christmas-day, &c. The Recollects or 
 Observantins in Rome also possess the church of St Bartholo- 
 mew in the isle of Tiber ; the Irish rocellects, St Isidor. The 
 Reformed Observantins St Francisco-a-ripa, San Piedro-in- 
 Montorio and the Penitentiary of St John of Lateran, &c. 
 
 This quarter is by corruption now called Campidolio, or Cam- 
 pitelli. ROMULUS built a fortress on this hill, audit was after- 
 wards the site of the famous temple of 'Jupiter Capitolintts, 
 the gates of which were brass, and the roof covered with plates 
 of the same metal, afterwards carried to the Vatican by Hon- 
 orius I. 
 
 In digging the foundations of this temple, a man's skull was 
 found, from which circumstance it was called the Capitol, and 
 this name was extended to the whole hill, which before was 
 called Tarpeius and Saturnius. It was covered with te.iiples, 
 the principlal of which was the Capitol, dedicated to Jupiter 
 Optimus. This was built first by King Tarquinius Su'.vibus, 
 but not finished till long after his expulsion : It was thrice 
 burnt, and as often rebuilt, being last restored by Domitian. It 
 contained idols of gold, silver and chrystal, of inestimable value $ 
 and was the place where the senate and people returned solemn 
 thanks for victories, &cc. The Twelve Tables of the law were 
 also deposited in it, two of which they pretended to shew 
 113 in one of the Roman palaces ; but the inscriptions were so
 
 2)8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 much effaced by age, that I could not read a word of them, 
 though I almost knew the Twelve Tables by heart. 
 
 The temple next in dignity to the Capitol, was that oJupf~ 
 ler FerretritiSy where now the church of our Lady of Area Cceli 
 stands, as before mentioned. In what part the old Capitol 
 stood is uncertain. 
 
 Boniface IX. built the first part of, the present Capitol 
 as a palace for the Roman Senator : Other parts were added 
 since his time. When a stranger enters the square before 
 the Capitol, the magnificence of the buildings ; the size and 
 beauty of the statues, Sec. quite amaze him. In the square it- 
 self is a fine equestrian brazen statue, supposed, by the best 
 judges to be that of the Emperor MARCUS AURELIUS ANTON- 
 NINUS : The horse is admirably executed. We ascend to the 
 court of the Capitol by a flight of immense stone steps, at the 
 bottom of which on each side is a' lion throwing; water from his 
 
 o 
 
 mouth, and near one of these an old maimed statue of porphyry. 
 On the top are two great horses of marble, and two pedestrian 
 statues of CoNSTANTlNEthe Great, as many think, though others 
 imagine they represent Castor and Pollux. This court is in 
 the form of an oblong square : Its front is a magnificent palace 
 with the statue of Religion on its top : on each side are two 
 other stately palaces, a little separated from that in the front ; 
 in that of the right hand the three Conservator! have their apart- 
 ments; in that on the left are the courts where these magistrates 
 sit with the senator and his collaterals, called by some very im- 
 properly the Roman Senate. Both these wings are full of the 
 most valuable antiquities, especially that on the left. These 
 three buildings all go under the name of the Capitol. The ba- 
 lustrades before them are adorned with statues of old Romans, 
 and the court with other antiquities (such as monuments of Ma- 
 rius's victories over the Cimbri, &c.) and a beautiful fountain, on 
 each side of which appear two gigantic figures of men, reclin- 
 ing on their side, the one representing the Nile upon a sphinx, 
 the other the Tigris, with a tiger, and each holding a cornu- 
 copia. In the middle stands Rome, in a triumphant attitude, 
 in the figure of a woman, the face of marble, and the rest of 
 her body of porhyry. At her sides, appear slaves if. sorrowful 
 attitudes, fiii'.'iv cawed iu rrar 
 
 a
 
 Clap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 
 
 In the corner of the square on the left hand, is the MiHiari- 
 tim Aureum, or Golden Milestone, a short marble pillar, which 
 was adorned with gildings, Sec. and stood in the Forum, in the 
 middle of Rome, from whence, as their centre, the 28 high ways 
 diverged, and the mile-stones were numbered. The statue 
 Marfario lies here broken : It formerly stood on the side of 
 the Forum, from whence it answered Pasquino in satyrs : It is 
 thought to have been anciently a statue of the Tiber. 
 
 Entering first the palace on the left hand, and the next day, 
 that on the right, we were very agreeably amused with the 
 sight of the numerous antiquities. In the small court below, 
 we were shown broken pieces of two Colossus's with their 
 heads, probably those of Augustus and Dormtian ; one of them 
 must have been 30 feet, the other about 40 feet high ; judg- 
 ing from the dimensions of the head, which should be one 
 eighth of whole figure : Neither of these can belong to the 
 Colossus in Vespasian's amphitheatre, which was 120 feet 
 high. We also saw several beautiful old statues of Constan- 
 tirie, &c. three very fine ones of Julius Caesar, Augustus, and 
 a lion devouring a horse ; also the measure of an old Roman, 
 foot, with its parts fixed in the wall. On the stairs is the Cclum- 
 na Rostrata of DCLIUS, in honour of the naval victories obtain- 
 ed over the Carthaginians in the first Punic war ; he being the 
 first Roman that triumphed by sea : The Columna is not high, 
 and is adorned with beaks of ships to the top : The celebrated 
 paintings of the Rape of the Sabines, the Combat of tie Horatii, 
 tc. are by JOSEPFIN, commonly called D'slrgiuo, who lived 
 under Gregory XI II. 
 
 The old Fasti or "Tables of the Consuls, and Memorable Ac- 
 tions, were found among old ruins, and are placed upon the 
 wall. The statues, busts, cc. fill many large rooms. The 
 busts of the ancient Greek philosophers, as Socrates, Plato, 
 cc. ; and those of the Roman emperors and other great men., 
 as Junius Brutus, Cicero, cc. ; are very curious. 
 
 Among the most admirable, are the following ; a brazen one 
 of the wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, aline piece: Oa 
 this we observed the mark made by lightning, as mentioned 
 by Cicero in his third oration againit Catiline ; An inimitable
 
 280 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN EUTLfiR. 
 
 statue, also in brass, of a shepherd sitting down and pulling 
 a thorn from his foot, erected by order of the Senate in hon- 
 our of the zeal of a messenger, who being dispatched with the 
 news of victory, would not stop to pull a thorn out of his foot 
 till he had communicated the happy intelligence : The passions 
 a^e admirably expressed in his countenance : Hercules in brass, 
 Cicero and Virgil in marble ; Nero when a child, and Agrip- 
 pina his mother sitting in a majestic posture : But the master- 
 piece is the dying Gladiator, an absolute prodigy of sculpture, 
 especially of the passions : Young painters and engravers are 
 always copying it. Here are other fine gladiators, a retiarius, 
 &.C., also large statues of brass or marble, of the Popes who have 
 principally adorned Rome, erected by the Senate and people, 
 as the inscriptions bear, amongst which, are those of Paul III., 
 Gregory XIII., Leo X., Sixtus V., Clement XII., &c. all sit- 
 ting, and in the attitude of bestowing their benediction ; also of 
 Alexander Farnesius, Antony Colonna, &c. 
 
 The urns, pictures, &c. are chiefly on the opposite side. The 
 finest paintings, are those of our SAVIOUR, cw Lady, St Joseph, 
 and St *john Baptist, by RAPHAEL URBINO : Among the urns, 
 they shew one which they call 70//ZO&V, the daughter of Cicero : 
 This monument was found during the pontificate of Innocent 
 VIII. in 1489, five miles out of Rome, on the Appian high- 
 way, and contained the body of a girl 12 years old, entire, with 
 a beautiful red on her cheeks, and her mouth a little open : 
 She was carried to the Capitol, where great crowds went to see 
 so great a prodigy : 'Tis reported that many pulled her arms and 
 tongue, and found them still limber, and able to recover their 
 natural posture by their elasticity : But it is impossible that the 
 muscles could retain their spring so long ; though the body 
 may have been preserved by being embalmed : It must be 
 equally fabulous that a lamp was found burning in her se- 
 pulchre, which immediately went out on the admission of fresh 
 air : Nevertheless, this report has given occassion to many 
 dissertations, and to warm contests among learned antiquaries 
 and philosophers, Whether perpetual lamps were possible ? 
 Some absurdly imagine the oily smoke might fall continually 
 back into the lamp, and thus be again burnt ad infinitum :
 
 Clap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 280 
 
 JBut 'tis an erroneous supposition, to imagine that this was the 
 body of Cicero's daughter ; though it appears from the urn 
 to have been that of some person living during the time of hea- 
 thenism. In Cicero's time the Romans burnt their dead, and did 
 not return to their original custom of burying them, until a- 
 bout 200 years after his death. In short, nothing gives any- 
 light who this person was ; and 'tis thought, those who first dis- 
 covered the m jnument, carried away secretly what it contained 
 of most value, lest the lords of the place should claim them. 
 The body, by the Pope's orders, to prevent the danger of su- 
 perstition, was carried out of the Porta-Pia during the night, 
 and buried privately: It began to lose its beauty in the Capi- 
 tol in the open air. 
 
 In the square where the statue of Marcus Aurelius is placed, 
 was the Roman /sylum for malefactors, instituted by Romulus. 
 
 The Tarpeian Roc must have been a higher precipice than 
 it is at present, when Manlius was thrown down from it, On 
 the other side of the Capitol is the Forum Romanum, the centre 
 of Rome : But now the other half of the city is scarcely in- 
 habited, and indeed exhibits little else but vast ruins. Before 
 visiting those, we made two circuits to examine the remainder 
 of the more inhabited part ; viz. one again to the Tiber ; the 
 other, the opposite way to the Porta-Pia, above the Piazza de 
 Spana and the Corso. In going towards the isle of the Tiber from 
 the Campidoglio or Campitelli, that is, the region of the Capitol, 
 we pass near the palace of Matheei, remarkably rich in busts, 
 paintings, &c. The finest are, An Assumption by RAPHAEL ; 
 the Apprehending of our SAVIOUR, by MICHAEL AXGELO ; and 
 a St Peter by GUIDO : A little on the right is St Charles ad 
 Catinarios, or, a Catinari, a well finished church belonging to 
 the Barnabites, built by the architects Rosati and Soria, and 
 adorned with good paintings ; those of the dome by the Domi- 
 nican ; those of the tribune over the high-altar, by LANFKANC ; 
 a Death of St Ann, by ANDREW SACCHI ; a St Charles on his 
 knees, with a cord about his neck, barefooted, Sec. on the high- 
 altar. A little lower, towards the Farnesian palace, is the Hos- 
 pita/ofjbe Blessed Trinity, for the reception of pilgrims, in- 
 stituted by St Philip Neri : Here ail the pilgrims who come 
 
 S
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 to Rome with certificates from their curate, &c. are lodged 
 and very well entertained for three days. The cardinals, pre- 
 lates, princes, and all the gentry in Rome, come here every 
 day to wait on them at table, and to wash their feet. We 
 vent to see this ceremony one evening ; there were that night 
 3 cardinals, and 6co others who put on aprons to serve j more 
 asked, but the servants of the hospital have only 6co aprons 
 always ready for those that come : The oldest cardinal read a 
 short prayer, the rest answered ; then all fell to work, fetching 
 water, washing, wiping, and even frequently kissing the feet of 
 the pilgrims, especially their sores : I saw two with very bad 
 ones ; one by a thorn struck almost quite through his foot, 
 which was very much swelled ; another whose skin having 
 come off, the flesh appeared so raw, swelled, and hideous, as to 
 affright one: His stocking being pulled off with great difficulty, 
 he screaming all the while, one of the cardinals washed, wiped, 
 and kissed his feet ; and then gave him a piece of money: A 
 surgeon and apothecary immediately came to dress all who 
 h d sores; -nd these remain in the hospital till quite cured 
 Aft .-r this ceremony, all go to the refectories, which are very 
 lor.g chambers with two rows of tables, served with three 
 courses of good dishes, even dainties : The same persons wait- 
 ed upon them here, only the cardinals stood always nearest the 
 tables, put the dishes on them, and poured out wine and water ; 
 the others assibted : They told me, there were that night above 
 700 pilgrims at supper ; this was in holy-week ; but the same 
 ceremony is performed the whole year round. The female 
 p. 1;. rims are treated in the same manner, but in separate apart- 
 mt ts, where they are served by ladies, &c., and none but 
 Vv'omen are admitted to see them. Most of these pilgrims 
 shew a great deal of devotion in Rorne as well as on the roads ; 
 they go on foot, and many of them bare-footed, saying their 
 prayei s ; though it must be allowed that some make a trade 
 of this practice, and are little better than common beggars. 
 They all wear a pilgrim's weed, that is, a long staff; their 
 hat covered with an oil cloth ; a broad oil-cloth covering their 
 s s.uklers, and such as c in afford it, a long garment of serge. 
 Tucoc wiio have been at GbmQstella t wear scollop shells^ (and
 
 Clap. Xlll. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 283 
 
 sometimes others too) ; and those who have been at Loretto, a 
 small image of our Lady en their hats. The church of this 
 hospital contains good statues and pictures j above the high- 
 altar is one of the best pieces of GUIDO. 
 
 Near this, is the MOMS Pietatis, a handsome building, with a 
 Bank, founded for the purpose of lending money to the poor 
 gratis for 1 8 months, on receiving a pledge. It must be ad- 
 mitted that the Romans are extremely charitable : There is a 
 confraternity of 1 2 nobles, with a prelate for prior, who gathers 
 alms in all the quarters of the city to relieve the bashful poor, 
 who put their names in a trunk locked. 
 
 From the Monte de Pieia we go to the Sixtine Bridge leading 
 over the Tiber into the Trastavere ; near to which is a beautiful 
 fountain, called aLo Sixtine built by Sixtus V. The Sixtine 
 bridge was anciently called ^ uniciilaris t because it leads into the 
 Janiculus in the Trastavere. After visiting this quarter, we 
 next entered the Isola or Isle, andpas-ingby the church of SS. 
 Vincent and Anastasius near the Tiber, we observed the palace 
 of the Savelli, now belonging to the Ursifii, where formerly 
 stood Marceiius's ^Theatre: The palace of the Ur.,ini, properly 
 so called, is in the Caropo Fiore, where Pon/pey^s Ttoatre stood. 
 litre we pass by the quarter of the jfeii's, which is exreme- 
 ly filthy : It is locked up every night, and no Jew can lie out 
 without leave : This people are very numerous in Rome ; and 
 are generally petty merchants and mechanics : They have a 
 synagogue, and enjoy religious liberty ; bur the men are 
 obliged to wear a yellow scarf in their hats ; and the women 
 an orange-coloured cloth on their heads : They are also obliged, 
 under the penalty of a fine, to assist every Saturday at a ser~ 
 men preached ro them in Italian, but intermixed with Hebrev/ 
 texts: In the neighbouring church, over the door, is engraven, 
 in Hebrew and Latin, that verse of the psalm : " I have ' 
 " stretched out my hands to a people always contradicting and 
 " stopping their ears." Some are yearly baptized at St John 
 of Lateran's, at Easter and Whitsuntide. 
 
 We passed by ths Bridge Fa&ricius t -(now called, ai ^uatro 
 Gai } from a piece of marble on it on which are four heads.,) 
 
 S 2
 
 284 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 leading over an arm of the Tiber into the isle, formed by tlut 
 river : On it is erected the beautiful hospital of the Ben-Fra- 
 tellt, with a small fine church of St Bartholomew neF Isold, be- 
 longing to the Grey Franciscan friars ; under the high-altar 
 of which, in a vault, we were shewn the fine porphyry monu- 
 ment, containing the body of that apostle ; and beneath a side 
 altar is the body of St Paulinus, bishop of Nola, and many 
 other relics : Before the convent door on a stone, is this in- 
 cnption: " Semoni Sanco Deo Fidio Pompeius dedit," which 
 some fancy St Justin mistook for a statue erected by the Senate 
 to Simon Magus : But the heathens would have seen the mis- 
 take ; and St Irenaeils, Eusebius, Tert. Thedor. &c. repeat the 
 same : It was evidently to Semus the Hercules of tne Sabints. 
 See Tillemont, vol. 2. This isle, not above the 3th part of a 
 mile long and very narrow, was dedicated by the heathen Ro- 
 mans to JEsculfipius .of Epidaurus, from whence they said his 
 statue with the serpent was brought hither in a small vessel ; 
 and the figure of it engraven on the end of isle, though this is 
 now almost entirely washed away by the waters. Here also 
 formerly stood an hospital under the tuition of /Esculapius : 
 The jiistory of all this will be found in Ovid, &c. There were 
 likewise other temples in this isle. 
 
 In the region be\ond the Tiber, called Trasteverc, after 
 reaching' the end of the isle, we have a view of the Senator tan 
 Bridge, one end of which is now broke down ; as is the wood- 
 bridge ceiled Pons ?,ubhcius, defended by HOKATIUS COCLES 
 against the Etrurian army. 
 
 The gate of Porto is on the back of ihe Tiber : and just 
 within it is the Ripa Magna, or great port for barges, on mat 
 river, as the Ripetta is near the o;her end of Rome. From 
 thu gate, it we follow the city walls, we meet with nothing but 
 vineyards, waste ground, and straggling houses, quite round 
 the funicular hill, till we come nearly as far as St Peter's 
 chinch in the Borgo : We indeed saw, a good way within the 
 Janicular gate, (now called 5t Pancraces), the truly magnifi- 
 cent Pauline Fountain, or Aque Pauline, erected by Paul V., into 
 wii ch a large aqueduct p-urs a great volume of water brought 
 from the distance of 33 miles. This edifice is of marble built
 
 Clap. XIII, DESCRIPTON OF ROME. 285 
 
 by Fontana ; and not far from it stands St Pietro di Montoria, in 
 Latin de Janiculo, this mountain having been called Janicular 
 from a temple of Janus, and at present Montorio, or golden 
 mountain, from its sands being of the colour of gold. On its 
 summit stands the church of St Peter in Montorio, built by a 
 King of Castile, with the convent of Grey Friers (the same as 
 at Area Coeli) to which this church belongs. It is valuable 
 only for some statues and paintings ; its high altar-piece indeed 
 is one of the best pictures in the world, a transfiguration of 
 our SAVIOUR, by RAPHAEL, possessing every excellency of 
 fine painting, especially the most just design and proportions, 
 and that inimitable touch which distinguishes Raphael's pieces 
 from those of every other artist : It is not placed however in 
 the best light : Here are also fine statues of SS Peter and Paul, 
 and some pictures of MICHAEL ANGELO. Near this convent 
 is also a small marble chapel situated, it is said, in the place 
 where St Peter was crucified, and built in the Doric Order. 
 
 Nearer the river, we saw St Cecily's, a church belonging 
 to a great nunnery of Benedictines. The tomb of the saint lies 
 in a subterraneous vault, adorned with fine pillars, and riches 
 beyond imagination. Marble and silver are here lavishly em- 
 ployed ; and an incredible number of large silver lamps burn 
 continually before it. A sacristy on the side of the church 
 filled with relics in the richest cases, in gold, silver and jewels, 
 is exposed to open view through a strong iron trellis. The 
 high altar was resplendent with precious stones. 
 
 St Cbrystgonuss is a very ancient church HOA- belonging to 
 Carmelite Friars of the Mantuan congregation. 
 
 St Ca!ixtus 1 s with the abbey, has been sumptuously rebuilt 
 by Benedictine monks, and contains some good pictures. Alex- 
 ander VII. built here a noble fountain, the v/ater of which is 
 brought from the Panlin fountain on Montorio. The church 
 of Sc Francis, recently rebuilt, belongs to the reformed Obser- 
 vantia or Grey Friars. St Francis lived here when in Rome. 
 In the chapel of the Blessed Ludovica Albsrtoni, is her statue 
 well carved in marble by Bernini; and in the church 15 an ex- 
 cellent picture of CHRIST cl;ad t surrcunded by the three Ma- 
 rys, the work ANNIBAL CA KACKI.
 
 a86 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 St Mary Trastevere, or, our Lady beyond the Tiber, stands 
 in the place where formerly stood the faberna meritoria built 
 by the senate for the reception of superannuated and disabled 
 soldiers. The church is old but rich, endowed with great 
 privileges and innumerable relics, which are shown only on 
 Low-Sunday ; by which means we did not see them. The 
 principal are, parts of our Saviour's cross, sponge, manger, 
 &c. Near the choir is a well, covered with cross iron bars, 
 out of which they say a very copious stream of oil flowed mi- 
 raculously amidst the soldier's quarters, and ran into the Ti- 
 ber ; but there are no sufficient grounds for believing so ex- 
 traordinary a miracle. This church also contains the tombs of 
 the great prelate Stanislaus Plosius, of Cardinal Altempi, &c. 
 The magnificent new portico was built by Clement XI. 
 
 St Pancratius's church lies without the Trajan gate, on the 
 Via Aurelidy rich in porphyry, &.c. In its Cxmeteruim lie St 
 Calepodius, priest and martyr, and many other martyrs. It is 
 excommunication for any oue to carry off the bones of martyrs 
 from this place without leave. In St Qnuphrius*s church, near 
 the gate of the Holy Ghost, lies buried the celebrated TASSO the 
 Italian poet. Santa Maria, delta Scala is a new church of the 
 Calceated Carmelites, lying' near the Portr-i Settinuami, which 
 opens from Montorio into the Borgo and Vatican. These two 
 compose the Trastavere, and this is the way to the Piazza di 
 Spagna by St Angelo. 
 
 There remains still to be described the inhabited part of 
 Rome from the Piazza di Spagna to the Capitol and Porta Pia. 
 
 Going out by the College of the Propaganda, we pass near 
 St Syfvesier's Church in the Campo Marxo, belonging to Fran- 
 ciscnn MI :.s : Among other relics, they shew here : the head of 
 St Johx Ba;tist; and the Print of our SAVIOUtfS&ce, which he 
 is said to have sent to AfiGARUS king of Edissa* As to the 
 history of thisAbgar, &c 1 refer to Dr Cave, Noel Alexander, 
 and rillemont. 
 
 Higher we often passed through Trevi, in Latin Trivium, a 
 X'cry small piazza, so called from three streets terminating here. 
 The fountain of Trevi was repaired by Pope Nicolas V. and 
 is composed of three streams falling into it from a great acme-
 
 Clap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 287 
 
 duct, formed by Agrippa, the edile which brings wholesome 
 clear water from eight miles distance in the Prenestine road. 
 It passes very low under the mount of the Trinity, and through 
 the Campo Marzo. These waters are called aque Virgine, per- 
 haps on account of their purity and salubrity. The late Pope 
 Clement XII. enlarged and rebuilt this fountain, of marble, in 
 a most magnificent style. An artificial rock, immensely lai^e 
 and natural, forms a beautiful cascade, &c. '1 he present Pope 
 Benedict XIV. continues the work, which is not entireh fin- 
 ished. It would be the finest fountain in Rome (though the 
 figures in that of the Navona surpass it) were it situated in a 
 more spacious and handsome square ; for Trevi is merely the 
 meeting of three streets. 
 
 Turning a little to the left from the church of the Twelve 
 Apostles and the Capitol, we arrive at the palace of Monte Ca- 
 vallO) in Latin, !j>uirinaK f which is the most ordinary residence 
 of the Pope, on account of its wholesome air and agreable gar- 
 dens. This mountain has its present name from the statues of 
 two horses admiralty carved in marble, found in Constantine's 
 baths, which were near this place, and on the ruins of which 
 Cardinal Mazarin has built a palace. They were placed over- 
 against the entry of the Quirinal palace by Sixtus V., and 
 there is an inscription under each bearing, that Phidias made 
 that on the right, and Praxitelles the other, intending them for 
 Bucephalus, in a contest of their skill ; but the teamed deem 
 these inscriptions a modern imposition. The galleries and 
 rooms of this palace are executed in a good style of architec- 
 ture, and well furnished with pictures of the best masters. In 
 the long gallery are portraits of all the great painters. As we 
 were viewing the large chambers here, the Pope happened to 
 pass by. He always wears a long white cassock like a fine alb, 
 a purple camail over his shoulders, furred with ermine, and a 
 rochette, with a red calotte. I often saw him abroad at his walks, 
 sometimes in church at Irs private devotions : In holy week, 
 he visited the lamina Apostoiorum in St Peter's, and at other 
 times the church in which the forty hours prayers, (which are 
 perpetual in Rome,) were said for the dav. This visit lie per- 
 forms about 4 o'clock, after his meridian, or sleep after dinner. 
 
 5 4
 
 288 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 The chapel of Monte Cavallo is finely built. It was here we 
 saw h!s holiness officiate at Tenebra:, His throne on the gospel 
 side is six steps high, covered with a canopy. Two prelates- 
 assistants stand on each side of him. He was always extremely 
 devout in the church. High benches of boards are put up, 
 wherever he officiates, and after service immediately taken 
 down again. On the higher benches, sit on one side, the car- 
 dinal-priests, on the other the cardinal-deacons ; and at mass, 
 &c. the cardinal-priests ia copes of white damask : the cardinal- 
 deacons in dalmatics : The bishops also wear copes, and both 
 they and the cardinals, appear with rich mitres : Generals of or- 
 ders, auditors of the rota, &c. sit behind on lower benches : The 
 prelates who are not bishops, have their scats apart : The se- 
 cular assistants and nobility, near the generals of orders. This 
 was the finest sight in the Vatican chapel on Easter-day. 
 
 The Gardens of Monte Cavallo are adorned with alleys, 
 orange groves, and many fine fountains ; one of which makes 
 organs to play ; others formerly made birds sing a variety of 
 tunes, &c. On the great square before this palace, stands the 
 Maxarin Palace now Rospigliosi, and the church of St Sylves- 
 ter in CUiirinali, rebuilt in 1524: It contains many valu- 
 able pictures. In the choir is one of our Lady presenting our 
 SAVIOUR to St Joh;i in U.i Clildlcod, by RAPHAEL URBINO : 
 In a side chapel, (in which are four marble pillars,) five by 
 the Dominican, viz. The Martyrdom of St Stephen ; idly, an 
 Assumption ; %dly, a ^uditb holding the head of Holof ernes to 
 the people, in which a child, rising up to look out of curiosity,and 
 at the same time shrinking at the sight through fear, is admir- 
 ably depicted, &.c. This church belongs to the Theatins ; that 
 of St Sylvester in Campo Mrizzo, is a Franciscan nunnery. 
 
 The Via Pia, is a long street, leading from the palace of Monte 
 Cavallo to the Porta Pia, anciently called Viminalis : It is the 
 finest street in Rome next to the Corso and below Monte Ca- 
 vallo, it is cut almost to a perpendicular by the Via Felix, a 
 noble street ru-ming from Mount Pincius behind the Trinity 
 to the street of the Hdy Cross in Jersalem, behind St Mary 
 Major on the Esquiliue hill.
 
 . XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 289 
 
 Santa Maria Maggiore, otherwise called of Our SAVIOUR'S 
 Crib (ad rcescpe?) and of snow, (ad Ni'ves,') is one of the 
 Patriarchal churches. The Pope, when at Monte Cavallo, dates 
 from St Mary Major, esteeming this his cathedral, though at 
 some distance from his residence : it is situated where the un- 
 inhabited part o: Rome commences, is an immense old building, 
 though they are now making great repairs on it, and covering 
 a-new part of the walls : It has a Porta Santa opened during 
 the jubilee by its own archpriest. The high-altar is covered 
 with a canopy supported by four pillars of porphyry ; and no 
 one can say mass at it except the Pope, or a cardinal by leave 
 from him, in which case an express bull must be issued for 
 the purpose, which is hung on the altar during the whole time 
 of mass. It is the same at St John of L?iteran, and St Peter's. 
 Under this altar, in a subterraneous chapel, lies the body of 
 St Matthias the apostle ; and near it is the tomb of Nicolas IV., 
 of white marble, on which his statue, and the figures of Faith 
 and Prudence, are excellently carved. The choir is hung 
 round with silk tapestry, on which the Birth of our SAVIOUR 
 is exquisitely worked from the design of RAPHAEL URBINO ; 
 also the Adoration of the Magi ; the Holy Innocents ; the Pre- 
 sentation in the TempV, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost. 
 The vault of the choir is adorned with old Mosaic carvings, 
 and the whole church is paved with black and white marble, 
 intermixed with figures in Mosaic, a variety which produces a 
 beautiful effect : It contains also goo 1 pictures, a Resurrection of 
 Lazarus, by MUCIANO : Pope Liberius tracing the plan of the 
 this church in the snow, by ZUCCA ; an Assumption, by SER- 
 MOXETTE ; the fine Mosaic pictures on the pillars, and good 
 paintings betwixt them &c. Its ornaments are very rich ; con- 
 sisting of an altar of zco pounds weight ; a censer of 1 5 pounds ; 
 and three chains, all of silver ; an image of our Lady, with our 
 SAVIOUR in her arms, of gold, &.c. Its chief relics are, the 
 Manger of Bethlehem ; the body of St Jerome, and of many Mar- 
 tyrs ; a maniple and stole of St Thomas of Canterbury, &c. 
 Its principal tombs are, those of St Jerome, Nicolas the IV., 
 Cardinal Toletus, and other cardinals : But its greatest orna- 
 ments ure, two chapels placed over against one another, so as f
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 with the body of the church, to form a cross. The one, built 
 at a great expence by Sixtus V., is called, of the Holy Man- 
 ger, and is enriched with marble on every side : In the middle, 
 is a place enclosed by ballustrades of marble, opening to a 
 subterraneous rich chape], with many silver lamps burning be- 
 fore it, where this sacred relic is visible at a distance : On 
 Christmas-day, it is exposed to full view at the bottom of the 
 choir : They say it is like an ordinary manger, but enclosed 
 In a manger or cradle of silver, in which lies a Bambino or 
 child JESUS, of the same metal ; above it, within rails, is a re-' 
 presentation of the Nativity, The left side of the chapel ex- 
 hibits the fine monument of the holy Pope St Pins V. ; around 
 which, on the wall, is represented his sending auxiliary troops 
 to Charles IX. King of France, their victories over the rebels, 
 with the trophies hung up in the Lateran church, and the bat- 
 tle of Lcpante. The other side of the chapel exhibits a corre- 
 spondent monument of Sixtus V., perfectly uniform, with si- 
 milar representations of his great actions. 
 
 The other chapel on the opposite side of the church, was 
 built by Paul V., and is hence called the Borghesian : It is 
 still richer and more beautiful, and is esteemed indeed the 
 finest chapel in the world -, for that of San Lorenzo in Florence 
 is not finished. Ovar the altar, in a square cavity inlaid with 
 diamonds and precious stones, appears through a chrystal a 
 miraculous picture of our Lady, painted, some say, by St Luke ; 
 though Tillemont and others are of opinion that that evangelist 
 was no painter, but merely a physician, as he is called : It is 
 surrounded with statues of angels, of brass gilt, and adorned 
 with four pillars of the finest marble, with ornaments also of 
 trass gilt, and many agates, and other precious stones : The 
 paintings of the cupola, by GUY of Bologna, and carvings, bas- 
 so-relievos, &-c. are admirable. Among other statues, are two 
 in fine white marble facing one another on each side, of Paul V. 
 and Clement VI1L On the festival of Easter, we saw the al- 
 tar adorned with the greatest splendour : There were six great 
 silver candlesticks, above 30 silver cases of relics and many 
 gilt ones ; the antependium of silver, and on it was engraven 
 the Blessed Virgin, crowned with twelve stars ; and round
 
 Chap. XIII. DESCRIPTION or ROME. 291 
 
 about her, the symbols by which she is sometimes denoted, 
 as the sun, the moon, an olive, a fountain, a rose, a garden, a 
 a ladder leading to heaven. 
 
 On the piazza before this church is an obelisk without 
 any hieroglyphics, which stood anciently near the mauso- 
 leum of Augustus, but was placed here by Sixtus V. On an- 
 other side, in the middle of a square, stands also a beautiful 
 pillar of white marble, formerly in the temple of Peace, near 
 the arch of Titus ; on the top of which is placed a statue of 
 our Lady, of brass gilt. 
 
 But to return to Monte Cavalto : Going along the Via Pia 
 after passing the Carthusian, we come to the Barbarini Palace, 
 built by Urban VIIL for Prince Palestrine, and commonly called 
 the Palest fine Palace. Many of its chambers were painted by 
 Peter Cortona ; and the great hall is the master-piece of that 
 eminent artist. This palace is the largest in Rome after the 
 Vatican, is most regularly built, and displays every rich and 
 curious ornament in astonishing abundance. Among the statues, 
 a little Diana of oriental alabaster, an admirable Faun, a Tullia, 
 daughter of King Servius Tullius, very ancient, are most de- 
 serving attention. The library is much esteemed ; but we did 
 not see it. Prince Barberini has another palace towards Mon- 
 torio, which we saw before ; and of which the chief ornaments 
 consist in a great vessel of porphyry and some antiques, but 
 many things in it are falling into decay. In the middle of the 
 square before the Palestrine palace stands an obelisk. 
 
 Behind this palace is the Villa Ludovtsit, within the city- 
 walls, reaching from the Salarian to the Piucian gate. It 
 ivas erected by Pope Gregory XV., and is esteemed one of 
 the finest in Rome. Its groves, labyrinth, alleys, bowers, &c. 
 display every variety of form, and are all adorned with cu- 
 rious busts, statues, tombs, baths, &c. The statue of the 
 Satyre talking, especially his face aud mouth, are admirable. 
 The fountains are very fine, and the water works pleasant. In 
 this villa or vineyard are two palaces very well built. In the 
 lesser is a hall, the vault of which is painted in the finest and 
 most pleasing style I have ever seen, and I believe is no 
 where to be equalled : Aurora in her car, the day and night
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAV BUTLER. 
 
 &.c. are represented with all the graces of design and colouring 
 that the highest effort of art can attain to. In another chamber, 
 among many curiosities, is a human skeleton completely petri- 
 fied, which was sent to the Pope from Lybia, as the servant told 
 us. This palace was built by Cardinal Ludovisii, Camerarius, 
 or Chamberlain. The larger palace is stored with innumerable 
 curiosities and miracles of art. Among the statues, we ad- 
 mired that incomparable chef d'csuvre, the Gladiator mortally 
 wounded, reclining upon the earth, with his head bowed down, 
 and about to expire ; a great bust of Bacchus ; a fine one of Sene- 
 ca; others of Cicero, Caligula, &cc. ; a Child bit by a Serpent, and 
 dying : the features and attitudes so strongly expressive of grief, 
 that he seems actually to cry out : the Shepherd pulling a tlorn 
 out of his foot, &c. also many excellent modern pieces : The 
 four Seasons in brass, by MICHAEL ANGELO. *The taking 
 down of our Saviour f; om the Cross : His scourging at the 
 pilbr, in white marble. But the finest is, the Rate of Prosper- 
 pine by BERNINI, with Cerberus and other figures. Prosperine^s 
 face strongly expresses rage and aversion against her ravisher ; 
 while Pluto's love and complaisance are displayed with an art 
 no less admirable. The impression of his finger on her flesh 
 is most delicate. The marble has lost its hardness to the eye, 
 and by the chissel is made to represent all the natural softness 
 of human flesh. 
 
 From the Villa Ludovisii, going out of the Collating, or as 
 it is now called the Pinclan Gate, at the top of mount Pincius 
 or the Trinity, we entered the Villa Borgbesii, which is by some 
 esteemed the finest in the vicinity of Rome. The long fine lawn, 
 the groves of orange trees, cypresses, the great wood, the gar- 
 dens beautified by delightful parterres ; the water works throw- 
 ing showers of rain a great way around, sometimes heavy at 
 other times light, just as they turn the pipes ; a great aviary of 
 the finest birds, &.c. all contribute to make a it most enchant- 
 ing place. The Palace of this Villa is large, of a finished archi- 
 tecture , and filled with all kinds pf curiosities ; fine busts, sta- 
 tues, pictxires, perspectives, tables, &cc. Among the basso-re- 
 lievos of the palace wall on the outside, which are all antione,
 
 Clap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 393 
 
 is one never to be sufficiently admired, of Curtius jumping into 
 the G-ilph. 
 
 We returned into Rome by the porta CoHina, called ancient- 
 ly Saiarm, because the Sabines brought their salt through it to 
 the town. Near it are the ruins of Salusfs Gardens ; and the 
 place now called Sallostrico) where his house and Diana's tem- 
 ple stood ; of which nothing remains but some vaults and heaps 
 of rubbish. There we also contemplated ll Campo Scelerati t 
 in which the vestal virgins, who had violated their chastity, 
 were- buried alive. 
 
 From the Porta Salaria, t is but a s:*p to the next gate, 
 Porta Pia, from whence returning through the Via Ptfi, so cal- 
 led from Pope Pius V., waste ground ppears on both sides over 
 the Viminal hill, till we arrive at the vaults and fragments of 
 wails of Dioclcsiuji's Baths ; near which, on the summit of 
 Monte Cavallo, stands nur Lady of Victory, the chief house of 
 the discalceated Carmelites. The church is small, but very 
 beautiful, especially the chapel of Cornaro, which is a finished 
 performance of Bernini ; and in which the statue of St Teresa, 
 by the same artist, is most admired: The saint seems in an ex- 
 tasy of love almost swooning away ; whilst a seraph is dart- 
 in, at her heart; and rays of glory illuminate the surrounding 
 heavens : all executed in white marble. The church also con- 
 tains pictures and many rich ornaments. Porta Pia was built 
 by MICHAEL ANGELO, as well as the Church ofourLady of An- 
 gels a termini on the Viminale. Near the Thermae, on a spaci- 
 ous place in the Via Pia, is the fine fountain built by Sixtus V. 
 and called 'IqutzFtlice, from the name (Fra Felix) which he bore 
 in the order of Conventual Franciscans. The waters ar^ brought 
 from a distance of 2C miles by the Prenestine way At the 
 fountain a fine statue ot Moses, in devout amazement, gazes on 
 the waters issuing out cf the rock, which he has just struck 
 with his rod. On his right hand stands Aaron beholding the 
 miracle. The people are represented coming to drink and fetch 
 water Four lions round the fountain spout water from their 
 mouths. 
 
 On the Quirinal mount near the Palestrine palace and Villa 
 Ludovisii, appears the Capuchin's Church, dedicated to the im-
 
 $94 TRAVELS OF 'REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 maculate Conception, and built by Urban VIII ; in which we 
 saw some good pictures and ivory crucifixes ; particularly a St 
 Francis by the DOMINICAN : a St Antony by ANDREW SACE: 
 a St Pautby P. GORTON A: a St M'cbaelby GUIDO ; a St Fran- 
 cis receiving the Stigmats by MUTIANO. Here are also many 
 great tombs ; as that of CASIMIR Prince of Poland, &.c. There 
 is one which is remarkable by having only these words inscrib- 
 ed on a large marble slab : " Hie jacet ctds, pufois, et nihil" 
 " Here lie dust, ashes and nothing." It is said to be the tomb 
 of a cardinal Barberini. 
 
 St Bernard's, near Dioclesian's baths, belongs to reformed 
 Cistercians* This order also possesses the abbey of the 'Three 
 Fountains, (so named from three wells in the church, which is si- 
 tuated three miles out of Rome ; on the spot where it is said St 
 Paul was beheaded.) The beheading of that apostle and St Pe- 
 ter's Crucifixion, are good pictures. Near this abbey is the 
 place called Guttajugiter manans, because of water that former- 
 ly dropped there ; (or Scala Cceli, from a vision St Bernard had 
 in that place :) also belonging to the same order ; as doe? the 
 neighbouring church of SS. Vincent and Anastasius, in which 
 is a picture of St Anastasius's head, which the second General 
 Council of Nice relates to have cured sick persons and drove 
 Out devils. Here too, are many relicks. St Bernard's ad 
 Thetmas is an antique Rotunda, similar to the Pantheon, and is 
 one of the round buildings which stood one in every corner of 
 IMoclesian's baths. Upon the Via Felix beyond St Mary Major, 
 on mount Esquiline, we saw St Antony 's, which belongs to cer- 
 tain religious of an order under the patronage and in some im- 
 itation of St Anthony the abbot. On the festival of that saint, 
 being the 171:1 of January, the Romans sent their horses hither 
 to be blessed by these Fathers ; but there is no obligation on 
 any one to do so ; and I was assured that many horses in Rome 
 were not sent. Most people give a small charitable donation 
 to these fathers after the benediction ; but many give nothing 
 at all. Dr Middleton ridicules this ceremony ; but can there 
 be any more harm in blessing cattle than in blessing our meat, 
 or any other creature of God, by a prayer, expressive of our 
 desire that a-s they are the gift of his merciful providence S9
 
 bap. XIII. BESCRIPTION OF ROME. 295 
 
 they may be used in his name and for his glory. In the ground 
 belonging to this convent, were formerly situated Mecaitas'f 
 Gardens, and a temple of Diana ; and here some fine busts have 
 been dug up. 
 
 The front of the church of St Bibiana in Esquilino is bjr 
 Bernini, as well as the saint's statue. 
 
 Near the church of SS. Vitus and Modsstus, which is erected 
 on ihe Macellum Martyrum, a place so called from the many 
 martyrs who suffered in it, we saw the '1 riumphal Arch of Gal- 
 lien, built of hard stone without any embellishments 
 
 Along all this road appear vast ruins of the stupendous aque- 
 duct of the Aquae Mart lie ; often called Antoninus's aqueduct, 
 which enters Rome by the Porta Maggiore, and extends to 
 Dioclesian's baths, it was constructed by Qaintus Martins ; 
 repaired by luarcus Agrippa ; and successively by Augustus ; 
 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Vespasian, as an ancient in- 
 scription on it testifies. It conveyed water from the distance 
 of 40 miles, and consisted of three aqueducts in one : The high- 
 est contain ng the Aqxu Martin ; tiie middle Aqua Tepula : the 
 lowest /iqua Julia. The stones composing this noble aqueduct 
 are enormous ; but it is quite in ruins, tfie arches falling, and 
 many of the stones carried off, A cistern belonging to it, how- 
 ever, called Casitliuni .qua: Martia t is yet standing near St 
 Kusebius's church on the Via Pia. 
 
 The space between the Via Felix and the city walls, where 
 formerly the senutor.- palaces stood, now cilled il Put: icio, con- 
 t:r! s now nothing but heaps of rubbiah, and here also was the 
 old station of the pietorian guards. The vast and magnificent 
 viila of AI-ntalti, now of Savilh, built by Sixtus V., occupies 
 the space behind a-:ta Maria Maggiore. In the Villa Chigl 
 be ides busts, &c. are said to be other sorts of oriental curiosi- 
 ti s, as a buit of cloaths of bird's feathers. 
 
 Being near the Ksquuz e Gate, now called St Lawrence, we are 
 or? the road to the church dedicated to that saint, which lies two 
 miles out of Rome, and is one of the seven principal churches. 
 It is governed by re-ular canons of St Austin. In a cave un- 
 der the high altar are the bodies of St Lawrence and other 
 martyrs j and over it a tabernacle, supported by four pillars o?
 
 296 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 porphyry. On the side of the choir is a stone red with the 
 blood of St Lawrence, whose body, when broiled, was laid on it, 
 as the inscription bears. Under this church is the Cemiterium 
 of St Cyriaca, a Roman lady, who possessed this ground in agro 
 I'erano, in which she buried the martyrs, as an inscription in- 
 forms us, and where, with many others, St Lawrence's body 
 \vas found. A passage, communicating with the church through 
 this cave, leads into the Catacombs, which are so low and nar- 
 row that they can be entered only by creeping : some have with 
 much difficulty penetrated very far, and found every where 
 tombs shut up with tiles, or marble ; some of them containing 
 bones as hard as stones, others, nothing but dust, the bones 
 being consumed. Also bone rings, figures in ivory, small ves- 
 sels, earthen lamps, little vials of earth, &c. This is on the 
 Via Tiburtina, or ancient high way to Tivoli. 
 
 The church of St Lawrence in fonte , between the Viminale 
 and Esquiline hills in the city, stands on the site of St Law- 
 rence's prison ; and it is siad the fountain was miraculously 
 produced by his prayers, in order to baptise St Hyppolitus. 
 There are two other churches of St Lawrence in Rome ; one of 
 them near this on the spot occupied by Olympias's bath, and 
 called, in Panisperna, the title of a cardinal. 
 
 St Agnes's fuon delle Mura, is a church belonging to regu- 
 lar canons of St Austin out of Rome, lies directly out of Porta 
 Numeniana, or Viminale, now called Pia, on the old Via Nu- 
 rnentana, or high way to Numentum, a city of the Sabines : It 
 is finely adorned with porphyry, marble, &c. ; and its cata- 
 combs are the finest in Rome, next to those of St Sebastian, 
 being large enough to walk in with a candle, and extending a 
 prodigious way : In the subterraneous vaults or alleys, on both 
 sides, arc deposited the dead bodies, in cavities made on purpose, 
 each having a door built up with tiles or earth ; but those 
 near the entry are broken up. Here were found many tombs 
 of marble, with very good basso-relievos or figures carved upon 
 them, &c. The body of St Agnes, who was only twelve years 
 old when she suffered, was also found in this csemiterium, and 
 is now placed in a cave under the high altar.
 
 Chap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 
 
 Near this, stands the old circular church of St 
 {daughter of CONSTANTINO; the Great,) who was cured by St 
 Agnes : It had been a temple of Bacchus, and still contains a 
 famous old sepulchre with a fine basso-relievo of Cupid, or as 
 come think, of Bacchus squeezing grapes* 
 
 Returning from San Lorenzo fuori della mura into the city 
 by the Portd Maggiore, or di Santa Croce, we were struck 
 xvith the magnificent ruins of the Aqueduct of Claudia t, with 
 its immense hexvn stones, arches, &cc. It is in some places lod 
 feet high, add many of the archee are still entire. According 
 to the Latin incription on the gate, this aqueduct Was built at 
 the expence of CLAUDIUS the son of Drusus, and repaired by the 
 Emperor VESPASIAN : It conveys the Claudian water frotn two 
 springs 35 miles from Rome, towards Abrouse ; and also wa-i 
 ter from the river Anieni, (now called Teverone,) at the dis- 
 tance of 62 miles, over mount Ccelius, by St John of Lateran. 
 into the Aventine hill. Porta Maggiore is itself a very stately 
 edifice, and seems to have been built of some triumphal arch. 
 
 Ne:ir it is a church called the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, built 
 by ST HELENA, after shehaddiscoveredour4F70& r /'.S'Cross, and 
 restored by Gregory III. and Cardinal Mendosa, when the title 
 of the Holy Cross was found under the tribune of the holy altar 
 in a cavity in the wall. Constantine the Great bestowed on it 
 great riches and costly ornaments, chalices, censers, &c. of pure 
 gold, fully enumerated by Onuphrius : Four marble pillar* 
 support the tribune, and under the high altar lie the bodies of 
 SS. Ccesarius and Anastasius, martyrs ; and behind it, on the 
 vault over the choir, is painted, in various pieces, the whole 
 history of the invention of the Holy Cross, by Pf.RtfGlNI : The. 
 paintings ate very good and fresh, though old : It is forbidden 
 to any woman to enter the subterraneous chapel, except on thft 
 day of the dedication of the church, the 2Oth of March. We 
 are informed by an inscription, that under the pavement of 
 this chapel is deposited earth brought by St Helena from. 
 Jerusalem and Mount Calvary, and which lay under the cross 
 and was moistened with our S dVIQUR'S blood ; whence this 
 church is called, tn Jerusalem, as standing on earth brought frpm 
 
 T
 
 9 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 that city. At the altar of this chapel no body can say mass 
 but the Pope, nor does he himself use that privilege oftener 
 than once a year. In a tribune on the right hand, are shewn 
 on Good Friday, the principal relics kept here ; which are, a 
 vial of our SAVIOUR'S blood, the sponge by which vinegar was 
 given him to drink ; one of the brass nails with which he was 
 crucified ; three pieces of our SAVIOUR'S cross, with the title in 
 three languages, which was put over his head, adorned with 
 gold and jewels &.c. ; also some ef the cross of the good thief. 
 This church belongs to the Cistercians, and stands at the bot- 
 tom of Mount deems under the city walls. Near it were the 
 j4mpbitJjeatre of Statllius Taurus the friend of Augustus, the 
 stones of which have been all carried off to repair the monastery,. 
 by order of Paul III. 
 
 At a little distance stands St 'John of Laterals, near the 
 Porta Coeli montana, now called St John's gate. This church 
 \vas built by Constantine the Great, and dedicated to our SAVI- 
 OUR. It is called St Job/Ss from a famous chapel of that saint, 
 and Lateran, from its being built in the place where formerly 
 stood the palace of a great senator called Lateranus, put to cbath 
 by Nero for being an accomplice in Piso's conspiracy. It is 
 the principal church in Rome, and properly the Pope's cathe- 
 dral, as several of them declared ; snd there are engraven on if,. 
 two bulls in particular, decibive cf its preeminence over St 
 Peter's, the canons of which pretended, that, as the Popes had 
 left the Lateran palace, and lived chiefly in the Vatican, their 
 church ou^iit to be deemed the patriarchal. The penitentiaries 
 attached to it are Observantiu Franciscans. The church was 
 bun:t and rebuilt several times. The present one is the work 
 of many Popes, and is a very large and magnificent structure, 
 above 300 feet long, and 48 broad ; the traverse of the cross 
 222 : The vault, which is covered with paintings and old Mo- 
 saic, is sustained by four rows of pillars, the same as built by 
 Constantine the Great. The high altar is in the middle of the 
 cross, adorned with four marble pillars supporting a very rich 
 tabernacle, in which are kept the heads of S3. Peter and Paul, 
 The royal arms of France are put up as well as the Pope's in 
 three places, because the French king is the first canon, and a
 
 Clap. XIH. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 
 
 benefactor. Though many parts of the church are Gothic, they 
 are all very noble, and many parts too are of fine architecture * 
 by BORROMINI, &cc. On the pillars appear, in niches, the 
 Twelve Apostles, well carved, as are also the Twelve Prophets, 
 by various eminent artists. It contains many good paint- 
 ings in fresco, by NOVARE and NOGARI, &c ; that of our 
 SAVIOUR and SS. John the Baptist and Evangelist, by ARPIN-) ; 
 of the Annunciation, by MICHAEL AKG LO. In the cnapel of 
 the Blessed Sacrament, are four brass pillars gilt, said to have 
 been brought from Jerusalem, or according to others, trom the 
 old Capitol. The angels, and other statues of this chapel, are 
 by the greatest masters. The Corsini Chape!, is a finished 
 edifice in point of architecture, riches, pictures. Its chalices 
 and other ornaments are of great value, and gold, jewels, &.C. 
 every where display their lustre : The very gates, (which are 
 of brass, N cost prodigious sums : It was built by the last Pope 
 Clement XII., of the family of Corsini, and endowed indepen- 
 dently of the church. He is buried in an open subterraneous 
 chapel under it, where all the family of Corsini are also to be 
 interred in future. Over his tomb, in the upper chapel, is 
 placed the beautiful porphyry tomb supposed to have been 
 Agrippa's ; and transported hither from the Pantheon. 
 
 The front of this church is very fine, with five gates, one of 
 which, the Porta Santa, is open only during the jubilee year j 
 over the portico is the following inscription in Latin in large 
 characters : " This is the head and mother of all churches." 
 
 In the middle of the square in front of St John of L-.teran, 
 rises a lofty obelisk, which was transported from Egypt to Con- 
 stantinople by Constantine the Great, and from thence to Rome 
 by his son Constance, raised here by Fontana, by order of .Six- 
 tus V., and by him dedicated to the cross. It is 112 feet high 
 besides the basis, and at the bottom nine and a half feet by- 
 eight in breadth, not being an exact square. 
 
 Behind the Lateran church is the Baptismal Front, built by 
 Constantine the Great, the chapel of which is veiy large, and 
 forms a separate building, of an octogon form, paved with rnar- 
 fele : The dome is supported by eight pillars of porphyry. A- 
 
 T 2
 
 300 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN" BUTLER. 
 
 round the walls are painted Constantine's victory over Maxeri- 
 tius, and the vision of the! Cross in Heaven, by SACCHI. The 
 fonts are \vry large, and above them is painted the life of St 
 John Baptist. At one end is an oratory of that saint, where 
 women are never permitted to enter, and under the altar of 
 which are innumerable relics of martyrs. On the other side is 
 a small oratoiy of St John Evangelist, with a brass statue of 
 of him on the altar. The Cardinal-Vicar baptises here, on 
 Easter and Whitsuntide, any adults converted from the Turks 
 or Jews. But the principal riches of this church consist in 
 its relics. In a chapel near the high-altar, the sacristan shewed 
 us the ark of the testament ; Aaron's rod ; the table on which 
 our SAVIOUR eat the Last Supper, &tc. In a tabernacle over 
 the high-altar, where only the Pope can say mass, are the heads 
 of SS. Peter and Paul, which are shewn on Easter Monday, 
 and some other days of the year. The altars, especially that 
 of St Mary Magdalene, are enriched with many relics. The 
 Scala Santa, or stair which our SAVIOUR is said to have 
 gone up, in Pilate's palace, is now placed apart in a sepa- 
 rate new building erected for it by Sixtus V,, upon the plain 
 before the church. It consists of 28 steps, which are cover- 
 ed with marble, apertures being left, through which the old 
 wooden stairs can be seen ; the place where our SAVIOUR is 
 said to have fallen and left some stains of his precious blood > 
 is covered with a brass grate. The pillar on the side is 
 said to have been split at his death. Many persons out of 
 devotion go up this stair on their knees, which has worn the 
 marble steps. They go down by one of the four other stairs 
 of marble, of which there are two on each side of it. At the top 
 of the stair-case, is a gallery in which, on the altar, is a picture 
 of our SAVIOUR and in a middle chapel, the window taken out 
 of the house of Nazareth, at Loretto covered with marble. 
 The small chapel called the Sancta Sanctorum which women 
 can never enter, is full of relics, and was the proper sacristy, 
 or sacred cabinet of the Pope, in the Lateran-palace. It con- 
 tains the heads of SS. Anastasius, Agnes, &.c. 
 
 In the old square adjoining to the church, the sacristis^i 
 shewed us many curious antiquities, such a the magnificent
 
 Clap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 301 
 
 monument of St Helen, &c. Here also we saw the two fa- 
 mous chairs so much spoke of by Protestants as connected with 
 the now exploded fable of the pretended Papess Joan.* It is 
 
 * The whole story of the Papess Joan, though adopted by Platina. a dis- 
 graced and digu?ted courtier, fcas been demonstrated by all good authors, to 
 be a complete fabrication. This is acknowledged, and indeed proved, even by 
 Blondel, a very bitter, but learned French Calvinist, in a particular dissertation 
 for that purpose. She is said to lave sat between Leo IV. and Btncduf IIF. 
 in the ninth century : But all the writers and monuments of that age prove 
 that Benedict HI. immediately succeeded Leo IV, Thus Lupus of Ferrura, 
 in Ep. 103. to Benedict III., congratulates him upon succeeding Leo >V,o, in 
 his chronicon on the year 855, say*, Benedict was immediately elected upon 
 the death of Leo Anastasius the librarian testifies that Bert-diet was f.eace- 
 ably placed in Leo's throne, on the 2gth of September an. 8.55, and that Leo 
 IV. died the Jyth July the same year. The annals of St Berlin's confirm 
 this account, an. 855, Regiro, in his Chron. ad. an. 855, says that the K:n- 
 peror I.otharius d;ed an. 855, 27th, September, having- placed Benedict III. 
 in the Apostolical Throne after Leo's death, the I7th of July in the same 
 year. Hincmaru-, Archbishop of Rheims, (Ep. 26.), writes that ht had sent 
 deputies to Leo IV., who hearing on their journey he was dead, yet went tQ 
 Rome, and obtained from Benedict III. the favour wanted. Nicolas the I., 
 who directly mccceded Benedict III. in his Ep. 46. to the Council of Soissons, 
 an. 860, says Benedict was Leo's immediate successor. Moreover, the greatest 
 enemies and most malicious calumniators of the see of Rome, who lived im- 
 mediately after that time, and in the same age, though they make a handle 
 of the most triflirg things imaginable to serve their purpose, i*evi_r venture 
 to throw out any reproach of this kind. Nay Photius, the author of the 
 schism of Constantinople, in his book on the Procesi-ion of the Hoiy Ghost, 
 and Mctrophanes of Smyrna, in his on the Divinty of the Hoiy Ghost, the 
 two most violent and furious enemies of the Popcdom, give "catalogues of 
 the Popes of iheir times, and insert Benedict III. immediately after Leo IV. 
 Natalis Alexander, quotes their words at length, disc, ^d in Sxc. y. p. 230. 
 Prynne and others object, that Marianus Scotus, who died in joS6, in his 
 chronicle on the year 853, write- that Leo died and was succeeded by Joan 
 a woman, who ?at two years, five months, four days. Martinus Polonus 
 Sigebert, Chrcn. ad. an. Sj4, St Antonin. pr. 2. Chron. tit. 16. c. i. 6. 
 Platina, in the lives of the Pop^s in John VIII. relate the same. But besides 
 that Marianus Scotus wrote 200 years after the dsath of Benedict III. ar. 
 1083, this story al'o is wanting in the most authentic copies oi his works. 
 Martinus Polonus wrote in 1:77, under John XXI.; but this iact is not 
 found in the old and genuine manuscript copy in the Vatican library, as Leo 
 Albtius testifies ; r.r.d Dr Burnet says he saw a manuscript copy in England^ 
 ;n which this story was not in the text, but added in the margin by a differ- 
 nt hand, (Kouwllct J: In Refulllqut Jet Litircs, Mars, an. 1687 p. 20y), a cer- 
 i.;i prooJ ". WJ un addition foi-n.d into this Chronicon. Indeed the very cir
 
 303 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 not possible however that they could ever have been used for 
 the purpose which some maliciously pretend. They are made 
 of porphyry, exactly resembling each other, with backs, and 
 a hollow in the seat like a close stool ; indeed some think they 
 have been intended to serve the Popes for that use during long 
 ceremonies, some of which were formerly of 10 or 14 hours 
 continuance, particularly the taking possession of St John of 
 Lateran's church ; though that at present is made a very short 
 one. It is besides universally known, that the art of cutting or 
 working poryphry, was lost longbefore the aera of the pretended 
 papess, nor was it again discovered till the time of COSMO the 
 Great of Medicis. OF course these chairs must, in all proba- 
 bility h :ve been pierced by the ancient Romans or Grecians, 
 perhaps for some superstitious use, or for their baths. The 
 Popes formerly used them merely because they were precious. 
 It is not one of these which was called Stercora) ia, but ano- 
 ther entire one, in which the Pope first sat, at the bottom of 
 St John's church, whilst that verse was sung : Suscitat de pul- 
 vcre egenum, et de stercorc engit pauper em. After which he 
 was seated in one, and before the end of the ceremony in 
 tiie other, of the chairs above mentioned. The curious who 
 Wish to be satisfied on this subject, may consult the learned 
 Jvlabillon, Bollaudus, &.c. 
 
 cumstances of the story are coirradici'iry and absurd; for instance, that *he 
 studied at Athens, where no school, had for a long time been kept; and o. 
 thet things highly ridiculous. The ftory is also an evident addition to Sige- 
 btrt'i Chronicle, for it agrees not with what precede* it, and 's wanting in 
 the original MS. copy kept in the abbey of Geniliiour^ and published by 
 M.-rneus. St -\r,to:anus speaks of it doubtfully, Si -jeriua fuit So docs 
 Platina : Hac qua nlxi -jtihn lircun-ftruntur, interns ijmtn et obaur'ts auctorilius. 
 Some pretend to find a confirmation of it from a marble statue in Rome, re- 
 presenting a woman with child, and which they pretend was erected in the 
 street whe_re she was brought to ' -ed , but nothing can be more absurd. 
 That figure carried a bough upon one shoulder, and wa>. evidently an old Ro- 
 m.in statue, peihaps of POIUC god, not of any Pope, bsxtus V. commanded it 
 to be thrown n:ro the fiber, hr.-au-T it v/a-. not decent enough, and disfigured 
 the street, wl.;ch he c:il:.rgtd. ?nd n;;.cu < nc oi the finest it R< .me, 'ituatei 
 fcetwvicu Lknicr.;/* and the Coiosscc. ciec Natalis Alexander, p. 2jj. T. 6,
 
 Clap. XIII- DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 303 
 
 All the ornaments of this church are very curious and rich, 
 though scarce any thing remains of those treasures Constantine 
 the Great bestowed on it ; among which were two statues of our 
 SAVIOUR, one 320 and another of 140 pounds ; also statues of 
 the Twelve Apostles, each five feet high, and of 90 pounds 
 each ; and four angels all of silver ; four crowns of pure gold ; 
 seven altars of 200 pounds, &.C.* 
 
 The Pope's palace of the Lateran, which is near the church, 
 is a very spacious and noble building. The present was erect- 
 ed by Sixtus V., but finished and adorned by the late Clement 
 XII. The Hospital of St John of Lateran is a magnificent 
 edifice, and possesses very great revenues. 
 
 On the road from hence through the Coliseo to the Forum 
 and Capitol, we meet with St Clement's, one of the oldest 
 churches in Rome, and deserving of notice. The sub- deacon, 
 when singing the epistle here, turns towards the people. 
 
 Near St Mary Major, on Mount .Esquilino, stands the church 
 of St Praxides : In one of its chapel?, which no women is per- 
 mitted to enter, we were shewn the pillar at winch our SAVI- 
 OUR was scourged, brought from Jerusalem by Cardinal John 
 Colonna, and which is about a foot and a half hiph. The hio-h- 
 
 " *D 
 
 altar is adorned with six pillars of porphyry and two of black 
 marble, spotted with white. Under it lie the bodies of SS. 
 Praxides and Pudentiana. Towards tlie bottom of the church, 
 is a large square marble slab, covering a well in which these 
 two holy sisters buried many martyrs. Their house stood 
 here,.and in it St Peter is reported to have said mass. The 
 church contains some very good pictures ; as a Scourging of 
 cur SAVIOUR by JULIUS ROMAKUS ; others by ZUCCHARO and 
 SALVIATI. There is a similar well to the above in the church 
 of Pudentiana on the Viminale hill belonging to the reformed 
 Cistercians, wherein also is a wooden altar, on which they say 
 St Peter celebrated his first mass in Rome. 
 
 St Peter fid Vincula is on the Esquiline hill near the Coliseo. 
 This church was built by Eudoxia, wife of the Emperor Ar- 
 
 * Ses the Inventary of them in Ontiphriu*.
 
 304 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 cadius, upon the ruins of the old Cvirin, or senate house. Sixttis 
 V. rebuilt it. It is very large, and is sustained by four rows 
 of pillars of white marble, enriched with many relics. The 
 Chains with which St Peter was bound in prison in Jerusalem, 
 are deposited tinder the high altar , and were sent by Eudoxia 
 to her daughter Eudoxia, wife of the Emperor Valentinian III. 
 Here are many other relics, and several fine monuments, among 
 vjh'ich are those of Cardinal Sadolet, Cardinal Turin, &.c. that 
 of Vecchiarellio is a finished piece of sculpture. But the tomb 
 of JULIUS II. surpasses all others in Rome : It is MICHAEL 
 ANGELO'S master-piece in carving ; as he was not hurried in 
 executing it, but kept it a long time by him. Amongst the 
 other admirable figures on it, that of MOSES is incomparable. 
 In this indeed that great artist seems to have surpassed himself. 
 
 On the other side of this road appear the following edifices : 
 San Stefano Rotunda, situated on Mount Ccelio, and chicijy re- 
 rnarkable for good paintings in fresco, and particularly a fine 
 landscape of Mathew of Sienna : Our Lady in NaviceLa, (so caU 
 led from a piece of marble in the shape of a ship ;) built on the 
 design of RAPHAEL ; and possessing some good paintings in 
 fresco by Julius Romanus: Ana behind this church appears the 
 Villa of Matthcci, the gardens of which, also situated on mount 
 Coelio are filled with curious antique statues, busts, &c. among 
 which is the head of a Colissus eight feet high ; consequently 
 the statue must have been 64 feet. 
 
 The CoUsseo is a place corruptly so called frorn a Colossus 
 of Nero, 120 feet high, which formerly stood upon it. Here 
 are the astonishing ruins of VESPASIAN'S AMPHITHEATRE just- 
 ly esteemed the greatest work of the Romans, and by MartiaJ 
 preferred to the seven wonders of the world : 
 
 Omnis Cesareo cedat labor Amphitheatri, 
 
 Unum pro, cu.nc.tis fama loquatur opus. 
 
 Tismuch to be regreted that some individual should have been 
 permitted to destroy this magnificent pile by carry ing offits stones 
 tc, adorn their own palaces. The side which remains is yet very 
 solid, is 1 20 feet in height, and divided into four stories. There, 
 are five or six galleries, or rows of vaults, in the thickness of the
 
 Chap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 305 
 
 wall, and on the outside four orders of pillars rise one above ano- 
 ther: In short its extent, thickness, immense stones, and exquisite 
 architecture, quite astonish the spectator. Eighty arches formed 
 its vast exte.it, which measured in all 1612 feet. The stairs lead- 
 ing from the outside are numerous and spacious as well, as those 
 by which the spectators retired, called F omit ana. 1 he build- 
 ing was rouud on the outside, but oval within, and could easi- 
 ly contain without confussion ; on its seats 80,000, some say 
 150,000 spectators ; 20,000 Jewish captives were employed 
 12 years by Vespasian in building it ; nor was it completed 
 until the accession of TITUS, who on its dedication, exhibi- 
 ted in it 5000 wild beasts, besides gladiators. This towering 
 edifice rivals in height the smrGUirding mountains of Cajlius, 
 Esquiline and Palatine. 
 
 Near the Colissco also stands the triumphal arch of Constan* 
 tine the Great, erected by the senate and people with this in- 
 scription : " To the deliverer of the city, the founder of quiet.' 1 
 The statues and basso relievos at the bottom are very ordi- 
 nary, whilst those towards the top are executed in a superior 
 style, especially eight stcttues wanting their heads, which have 
 probably been stolen to enrich some cabinet of busts. These 
 must have been more ancient, perhaps taken from Trajan's arch, 
 for the art of sculpture was lost in Constantine's time. 
 
 TITUS'S ARCH, the most ancient of any now extant, is a step 
 farther at the entry of the Forum, upon the old Via Sacra. On 
 it are engraven, very distinctly, an Emperor triumphant, in a 
 chariot drawn by four horses, with all the pomp usual on these 
 occasions. Among the trophies, appear the spoils of Jerusa- 
 lem ; the ark of the testament, the candlestick with seven, 
 branches ; the tables of the loaves of proposition ; the tables of 
 the ten commandments ; the golden vessels of the temple, &-C. 
 
 Near this was the ancient Comitia. And at a little distance 
 appears the Temple of Peace, commenced by Claudius and com- 
 pleted by Vespasian, burnt under Domitian, and what escap- 
 ed the fire, plundered by Alaric. Of this building there re- 
 main only three prodigious arches, sufficient to shew its former 
 magnificence*
 
 3C TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 The church of St Francisco, is near these ruins : The singular 
 and magnificent subterraneous chapel under the high altar, in 
 which the shrine of that saint is honoured, is built of jasper 
 marble, after a design of Beraiui, and is adorned with the saint's 
 statue of brass gilt. The tomb of Pope Gregory XIV. in the 
 same church is very noble and curious ; the basso-relievos ex- 
 cellent. 
 
 Here was the site of the Hippodrome, destined for the races 
 of chariots drawn by four or two horses. 
 
 The Forum of Rome (lying behind the Capitol) is now cal- 
 led Campo Vaccino, because it was the market for cattle. Here 
 v:e were shewn a pit, called CurtiuSs Gulph, into which when it 
 opened that celebrated Roman Knignt is said to have rode in 
 full armour ; thus gloriously sacrificing his life for the safety 
 of his country. 
 
 Three pillars sunk in the earth at the foot of mount Pala- 
 tine alone remain to point out the ruins of thetemple of jfu- 
 pitcr Stator, built by Romulus. 
 
 At the foot of the Capitol stands the Triumphal Arch of SEP- 
 TlMius SEVERUS, erected after his victories over theParthians, 
 which are represented on it, with an inscription to his honour. 
 
 The Rostra Nova was a pulpit in the Forum, adorned with 
 the beaks of ships taken from enemies, where the orators ha- 
 rangued the people. The Rostra l^etera was ia the Comitia, 
 from, whence also the orators addressed the senate and people 
 In their assemblies held there. The temple of Jupiter Tbn;i- 
 dering stood on the ascent leading to the Capitol, and was built 
 by Augustus, in consequence of a thunderbolt having killed a 
 servant by the side of his litter : A few pillars only remain of 
 this magnificent structure. In the middle of the forum as form- 
 erly mentioned, stood the Milliarium Aureun^ from whence the 
 28 great high roads began, and this was considered as the cen- 
 tre of Rome. Now only that half towards the Tiber is inhabi- 
 ted. The other side, including mount Ccelius, Aventine, and 
 Palatine, and great part of Esquiline, displays little else than 
 ruins, vineyards, a few churches and scattered houses ; and the 
 Campo Marzo towards the river is the most populous part of 
 the city. It. occupied all the ground from the square of tlia
 
 Chap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 307 
 
 Twelve Apostles to the river. Several churches have been 
 erected in the streets surrounding the Campo Vaccino : These 
 were ^anta Francisca : )S Cosma and Damien, which posseses 
 the bodies of these saints, and was anciently a temple of ROMU- 
 LUS and REMUS, as is proved from monuments found under it : 
 St Adnari'sy belonging to the fathers of the Redemption of Cap- 
 tives, (once a temple of SATURN, and the public treasury) : St 
 Martina, (once a temple of MARS the revenger} embellished by- 
 Urban V1I1,. paintings by CORTONA, fctc. : )an Pietro *el Car- 
 cere, standing at the foot of the Capitol, formerly called La 
 Tulliana, a prison built by Ancus Martius. Its dungeons, for- 
 med by Servius Tullius, are frightful, dee.) and extensive caves 
 in the rock. Here Catuline's accomplices were put to death by- 
 Cicero's orders ; and here St Peter was imprisoned. This dun- 
 geon, to which there is a descent of 20 steps, is now converted 
 into a chapel, containing the statue of that Apostle enclosed 
 within iron bars. 
 
 From Campo Vaccino we ascended the Palatine hill, (now 
 called Palazzo Maggiore), passing b> the Furnesian gardens; the 
 vaults and rubbish where stood the Palace of the Caspars, and the 
 CD co V<agissimo. These Circuses were large areas of an oblong 
 form, where games were exhibited, and prizes, accompanied with 
 a myrtyle crown, were given to those who shewed most dexter- 
 ity in driving chariots (which was then the exercise of gener- 
 als and great men) ar.d in other athletic sports. There were 
 many Circuses in Rome : that of Nero on the Vatican : that of 
 Caracalla on the -\ppian road, beyond the monument of Metel- 
 la : the Agonal Circus, now Navona : and that of de Flora, on. 
 the Quirinal. But the principal was this Circus Maximus, 
 between the Aventine and Palatine hills. It was 400 paces long 
 and 125 broad, and paved with a h^rd metallic dross, called by 
 the Italians crisocollo, or dross of gold. It was surrounded 
 with fine pillars of three orders, supporting a triple portico, ca- 
 pable of containing 150,000 spectators, with a ditch in .ront tea 
 feet broad, and ten deep, full of water, to keep them off. 
 
 We passed by Si Gregory's church, erected on the Clivus 
 Scauri, that, is, the brow of Mont Ceelius, formerly St Gregory 
 the Great's house, and stili containing m.ujy -. Jico of that a
 
 3*3*8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER, 
 
 here are to be seen some statues given by Cardinal Baroniua ; 
 also tombs of his family ; and of some English Catholics, &.Q. 
 The church of St Sabas belongs to the Jesuits. That of SS. 
 John and Paul stands on the site of the Curia Hostilia, of Tullus 
 Hostilius. There were 35 Curii in Rome, some for the priests, 
 others for the senate. That built by POMPEY in the Campo di 
 Fiore was demolished on account of Caesar having been there 
 assasinated. On this mount also stand the churches of SS. Nere- 
 us and Achilkus, &c. and the baths of Antoninus Caracalla, 
 called 'Thermae Slntoniaiue. 
 
 The ancient Romans greatly delighted in the use of cold andhot 
 baths : For this purpose immense edifices were built in the most 
 sumptuous style, generally paved with the finest marble, and 
 their lofty walls covered with the same materials, beautifully 
 variegated. The warm baths were heated by vaulted stoves un<. 
 clerneath. Those of the nobility were separate, and still more 
 magnificently adorned ; they contained a variety of chambers, 
 one of which was called Apodyterion, for undressing ; others 
 were used for exercising in ; some for refreshments, contain- 
 ing large vessels of pophyry, filled with perfumes to anoint their 
 bodies : there were also some set apart for speptators ; all these 
 rooms were adorned with elegant paintings, carving, &.c. In 
 Home we saw the ruins of many Thermae or baths ; sucty 
 as those of Dioclesian, Agrippjna, Agrippa, Nero, Titus, Con- 
 stantine, &.c. ; but the most magnificent were those built by 
 Antoninus Caracalla, and lying at the foot of mount Aventine j 
 of which however nothing now remains but the vestiges of the 
 pipes and canals, vast vaults, walls which, by their thickness 
 and height, strike terror into the beholder, and three or four 
 spacious courts, presented to the Jesuits for the use of their 
 boarders by Alexander VII ; and yet these ruins, immense as 
 they are, did not consitute one tenth part of the extent of these 
 magnificent buildings. Of Settizone, or monument of Seve T 
 rus on the Palatine near the Via Appia, ly ceils alone re- 
 main, which no man can guess the use of. Above this 13 
 the Porta Latina, near which is the little church of St John. 
 Jot far distant is the gate of St Sebastian., anciently Porta
 
 Clap XIIL DESCRIPTION OF ROME. gc*} 
 
 pena. On the Aventine also stand the churches of St Sixtus, of 
 fit Sahina, formerly a temple of Diana j and of St Alexius, in 
 which is a rich shrine of that saint. 
 
 But to return : Below the Cerco Massimo in the Foro Boario, 
 near the old forum, is the 'Temple ofjanus with four faces, Ar- 
 cus Juni quadrifrontis, a square eld building, still entire : 
 Adjoining to which stands the church of Santa Maria in Cos- 
 jntdim, where St Austin is said to have taught rhetoric. It 
 was called Sclohi Gneca and Bocca di l^erita, and probably was 
 a school of the Greeks. 
 
 In this piazza stood the temple of the Vestal Virgins now the 
 Church of our Lady del Soli. It is so near the Tiber, that it 
 is no wonder it suffered from the floods in Horace's time. 
 
 Notlung else memorable occurs either on the Tiber, or 
 over the Aventin, and the little Monte Testaceo. And here 
 we arrived at the gate of Ostia, or of St Paul, near which we 
 saw the only pyramid in Rome, a small but entire monument : 
 It is the tomb of Caius Sextius Epulo, or feaster, tribune of 
 the people, and Septemvir Epulonum, (probably one of the or- 
 derers of the public feasts^) built in 130 days, according to the 
 inscription. It is 100 feet high and as many broad at the bot- 
 tom, terminating in a point at the top, and contains in its centre 
 a chamber adorned with ancient paintings, in some places very 
 little faded. 
 
 Those parts of the city which we have last described, though 
 mere heaps of rubbish, vaults, and fragments of walls, display, 
 in a striking manner, the incredible magnificence of ancient 
 Rome, and impress the beholder with awe. The most stupen- 
 dous of these monuments of antiquity are the Colisseo, Anton- 
 inns' 1 * baths, and the Palace of tie Cr.rrvrj, the ruins of which 
 occupy nearly the whole extent of the Palatine hill, which is en- 
 tirely hollow with immense vaults. Those of Nero's palace 
 now serve as stables for the cattle. Its porch was a mile long ; 
 marble, poryphry, gold, silver, and jewels, constituted its princi- 
 pal materials and embellishments. The Sette Sale, or seven 
 Chamber?, near the- bath" of Tojan, built by Vespasian for tlv.
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 college of priests, are wonderful vaults : they are now shut up, 
 lest they might become a receptacle tor banditti. In those ca- 
 verns liie incomparable LAUCOON of the Belvedere was found. 
 
 In this survey of Rome, we first visited the populous parr, 
 viz. the Corso ; the second day the bank of the Tiber to the Va- 
 tican, returning through Campo Fiore, on which stood Pom- 
 pey's senate house, Navona, the Sapienza, &:c., to the Capitol nnd 
 Forum. On the third day, we visited the Campidoglio, Fo- 
 rum, and Transttveres. On the fourth the Piau and Pi.ician 
 gates, Trevi and Monte Cavallo : We then surveyed the ruin- 
 ous quarters of this celebrated city, beginning with Dioclesian's 
 baths, St Mary Major, and Si John of Lateran. On the sixth and 
 seventh days, the Colisseo, the .-Vvtntme and St Palatine hills, 
 and the rest of the ruins. Going out: oi" Rome, to visit St Paul's, 
 our attention was attracted by the citv wails, on which are still 
 to be seen towers at 30 paces distance from each other ; and on 
 the inside of the walls towards the town, appear the ruins of a 
 gallervor covered portico, which formerly extended their whole 
 lenuth. Oil our road we passed by a fine chapel, where SS. Pe- 
 ter and Paul are said to have taken a fiaal leave of each other 
 when about to receive their crown of martyrdom. 
 
 St Paul's (belonging to an adjoining opulent abbey of Bene- 
 dictines of the congregation of Mount Cassino) situated five 
 miles from the toru-m of Rome, is one of the five Patriarchal 
 churches and also one of the seven which must be visited by 
 pilgrims for the indulgences. It is an immense old Gothic 
 building, 4*77 feet long, i;8 brond, supported by 140 pillars of 
 white marble taken out of Antoninu^'s biths. The church is 
 finely paved with marble, covered with ancient inscriptions, 
 and its vault is painted in mosaic. The high altar is adorned 
 with pillars of pophyry, :r:d a very good mosaic picture. Un- 
 der the patriarch ,1 altar, in the centre of the cross of the church, 
 is a subterraneous vault richly adorned, in which are deposited 
 one half of the bodies of SS. Peter and Paul. This church con- 
 tains many good paintings i:; fresco by LAN FRANC ; and an As- 
 sumption of MUUAN. The altar of the Blessed Sacrament ij
 
 Clflp. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 
 
 in a good style of architecture, by Charles Madern. The great 
 crucifix, which is said to have spoken to St Bridget, is greatly 
 reverenced in this church we saw it exposed, which is only 
 done in holy week, and on every first Sunday of a month. 
 
 From St PauPs we went by the Appian road to St Selas- 
 t tan's, an ancient church, now belonging to Cistercian monks. 
 Paul the V. first give this rich abbey in Commendam, bestowing 
 it on his nephew Cardinal Borghesi. The body of St Fabian 
 lies under the high altar, and that of St Sebastian under an al- 
 tar in a chapel on the left hand. St Sebastian's is one of the 
 seven principal churches, and is famous for its Catacombs, the 
 finest in Rome, formerly the Ccemeterium Calixti, in which so- 
 many martyrs were buried; it was began by the pious Lady Lu- 
 cina in her own farm almost all the first Popes are said to be 
 interred in it. The catacombs are divided into secret and pub- 
 lic. Into the first, strangers are never permitted to enter. 
 The fathers assured us, that some have penetrated very fzr r 
 both to the city and the hospital of St John of Lateran, in one 
 direction, and a great way under the fields, by another : that 
 they in some places are six feet high and upwards, and two 
 feet broad ; but in other places so low that a person can with 
 difficulty creep, every moment in danger of the earth falling in, 
 or of being lost in the labyrinths : that most of the tombs are 
 without inscriptions, or devicrs, though in sonic of them, they 
 observed palms, crowns, flames of fire, doves with olive branches 
 in their mouths: on others, hearts, figures of brass or ivory, 
 small earthen vessels filled with blood, &.c. \Ve only examined 
 the public one, each of us carrying a wax candle, %vh ; ch we were 
 verr careful to keep always lighted, and to keep close to cnc 
 another. These excavations are si:: and eight feet high ; but 
 in some parts lower ; and. broad enough for a m?.-i to wr.lk in. 
 The tombs appear en each side in cavities, ar.d were found 
 shut up by titles or earth. Most of them have inscriptions, 
 other; various devices : and some of them have certain!*,- ser- 
 ved as monuments for heathens. I myself observed on cue the 
 letters, D. M. /. e. ; " to th? infernal gods ;" a certain mark 01 
 heathenism. Yet these iX'i'-ht afterwards serve Chrii:i;uis : as
 
 l3 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 in other places, I have frequently seen a D. M. on one sid^ 
 and a cross on the other, on the same tomb-stone. 
 
 Catacombs are discovered everywhere around Rome, but 
 there are five principal ones ; viz. thtfse of St Sebastian, St Ag- 
 nes, St Pancratius, or St JVlarcellus, St Priscilla, and St Calix- 
 tus : the two former are sufficiently large : but the rest are too 
 low for persons to walk in : In all of them we find chapels, in 
 xvhich the primitive Christians celebrated the divine mysteries 
 during the persecutions. Some have imagined that none bat 
 martyrs were buried here, which is certainly a mistake ; though 
 it is probable some particular places were set apart for their 
 tombs, on the farms or in the houses of some pious Christians : 
 for several crypta, or grottos at the e:;rrj of some of these Ca- 
 tacombs, were filled with martyrs tombs. Others are of opinion 
 at the least, that none but Christians were burled here, and 
 that the Roman Heathens at all times burnt their dead : but 
 this Is a mistake. The ancient Romans originally buried their 
 dead ; for about 200 years indeed they followed the practice of 
 the Greeks in burning the corpse ; but after that period 
 they again returned to their former practice. For we find 
 not only urns with ashes, but monuments containing bones in- 
 scribed with D. M., to the Infernal Gods, in almost all the towns 
 I have seen ; where are any Roman burying places ; as well as 
 in these Catacombs. Nor can I be persuaded that the Chris- 
 tians, during the persecutions, could dig such vast caverns un- 
 discovered, or fill them. The Catacombs uniformly lie on the 
 sides of highways, where the heathens first buried their dead ; 
 nnd extend almost to the sea, and to several miles distance from 
 Rome, in every direction ; much farther, indeed, than any bo- 
 dy has followed them. Dr Burnet pretends these are the bu* 
 rying places of heathens only, but is certainly mistaken. Marks 
 of Christianity, such as crosses on the monuments, See. are very 
 evident ; we allow indeed that many heathens have been buried 
 here ; so only such are to be looked on as martyrs, who are de-j 
 clared so by ancient authentic inscriptions and marks. I also 
 grant, that palms & olive branches, on these tombs, or vials con- 
 taining some kind of coagulated liq.uour, supposed to have been 
 "blood, are very ambiguous signs, if unattended by any others-
 
 Chap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 313 
 
 On this account it is forbid, under pain of excommunication, 
 to carry any thing out of the Catacombs. Nor can any thing 
 be called a relic, before it is examined, and approved of by a 
 prelate^ deputed by the congregation of relics. The catacombs 
 lying within the city walls appear to be more modern ; because 
 the old Roman law of the Twelve Tables prohibited burying in 
 the city : " In urbe ne sepelitoneve urito." The catacombs of 
 Naples are more beautiful and extensive, being in a rocky 
 ground > and many feet broad, and very high ; whereas those in 
 Rome are in soft earth, which falls in if the vaults be made large. 
 
 The word catacomb seems derived from the Greek Kxr--. near, 
 and Kvp/Sos' a hollow hole. It at first signified only the ca- 
 vern in which SS. Peter and Paul's bodies were deposited for 
 some time under St Sebastian's church. By abuse it is now 
 applied to the old burying places about Rome* 
 
 At a little distance from St Sebastian's on the Via Appia, 
 stands a chapel, which they call Domine qui vidts ? .-rc- 
 ted in the place where our SAVIOUR is said to have met St Pe- 
 ter flying out of Rome from Nero's persecution. St P'.ter 
 said to him, " Lord, whither are you going?" He answered ; 
 " to be crucified again :" upon which St Peter returned aud 
 was crucified, as is related by St Ambrose. On a stone in this 
 chapel is shewn, covered with an iron grate, the print of oar. 
 Saviour's foot ; but the mark is not well proportioned. Ano- 
 ther stone with a similar mark is kept in St Sebastian's church. 
 The Via sJppia (paved byApp. Claudius Coccus, the censor, 
 from Rome to Capua} passes here, and was denominated by the 
 Romans, " The Prince of Highways :" It was afterwards car- 
 ried on to Naples and Brundusium, the sea port for Greece on 
 the Adriatic. The Roman Highways, the wonder of the 
 world, were pz 'ed with very broad flags, laid on a foundation 
 ten or twelve : ? cet deep of peebies mixed with lime, &c. which 
 has stood firm these 1600 years, is still so solid as even now to 
 resist the mattocks, and almost as hard as marble, though the 
 stones are scarce so big as an egg. It is a pity the covering flags 
 topsare in most places carried oiFby individuals. la the above 
 chanel Cfor the highway passed through it) they remain entire 
 
 U
 
 314 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 as they do also about Terracina : The smoothness of these broacV 
 stones renders the road so slippery as to be inconvenient, which 
 makes the best judges rather think the true reading is, tersarum 
 smooth, not as many read it, longarum ; in that passage of 
 Statius Sylv. 2. : " Appia tersarum teritur regina viarum". 
 Procopius, 700 years after this road was made, remarks that, 
 though continually beaten by heavy carts and carriages, &-c. 
 it was entire as at first, not a stone being in the least deran- 
 ged or broke, and still retaining its smoothness. This was ow- 
 ing to the hardness, polish, and the even and firm placing of the 
 stones. We might have said the same of it now, if people had 
 not plundered it. 
 
 On the right hand of St Sebastian, appears a temple of Apol- 
 lo in rubbish, and near it a large circular temple of Mars Gra- 
 divus, dedicated by Sylla when edile. 
 
 On the side of the Appian high way, we also saw the vast 
 Tomb of Metella, wife of Crassas, as an inscription intimates. 
 The building is circular, inclosing an immense cave and pit. 
 Its walls are 20 feet thick, with basso relievos wrought around 
 it. Being very strong, it was used in the civil wars between 
 the Ursins and the Colonnas, as a place of defence like a ci- 
 tadel : though smaller, it somewhat resembles the Mole of 
 Adrian. 
 
 Near it is CARACALLA'S CIRCUS, the most entire of any, 
 though its ornaments and obelisk are all carried away. The 
 Carceres or starting bounds are very plain : fivexhariots coulcl 
 run abreast on it. There is also a place in it, which could for- 
 merly be inundated for naval fights. Such places were called 
 NaumackLr. DoMiTiAN's NtiumacLia was under the mount 
 of the Trinity : NERO'S at the foot of San Pietro in Montorio ' 
 TULIUS CTESAR'S in Trastavere, At present the'piaz.zaNavone 
 in Summer is sometimes laid iinder water; but this does not 
 resemble the Naumachice. 
 
 The principal country seats of the old Romnns, were, 
 "Tibur, now 'Tivoli, situated in Latium, that is, Campania di 
 Roma, 16 miles from Rome to the east, on the river 
 Tiverone, which forms here a beautiful cascade.
 
 Chap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 313 
 
 Tusculum, now Frcscati, 12 miles from Rome, and as far 
 from Tivoli. 
 
 Antium, 30 miles from Rome, on the road to Naples, now 
 Antio, a village two miles from Nettuno. 
 
 Pr<:e/.>este, now Pralestrina, 2 t miles from Rome. Its castle 
 on the hill was destroyed by Boniface VIII. 
 
 Anxur^ 60 miles from Rome, now called Terracina t the 
 Pope's frontier on the kingdom of Naples. 
 
 Subiaco, in Latin Sublacum, is 3 5 miles from Rome, toward? 
 the kingdom of Naples. It is an abbey of Benedictines and 
 possesses 14 towns and villages. A commendatory abbot, (al- 
 ways some Cardinal) enjoys the greatest part of its revenues. 
 This is the place of St Benedict's solitude. We were not tempt- 
 ed to go to see it, as it is said to be of very difficult access, be- 
 ing situated in the midst of most craggy mountains, like those 
 of La Sainte Beaume in Provence. The si^ht of the retreats 
 
 O 
 
 of the saints at Chartreux, Camaldoli, and of Subiaco, &c. is 
 most edifying : to others those places would have appeared 
 inaccessible. 
 
 Caste! GoudolpLo, a few miles from Rome, finely situated on 
 a noble lake, is the Pope's country palace, and is admired more 
 for the salubrity of its air, than for the elegance of its buildings. 
 Two miles farther off is Alkano another country palace : and 
 hear it stands the square monument on the tomb of the "Three 
 Honitii. 
 
 Frescatl, so called from its fresh air, is the most beautiful 
 palace in the neighbourhood of Rome, in or near it are m,.ny 
 most curious and agreeable palaces. The principal of which 
 are Monte Dracoxe, belonging to Prince Borghesi : toe Belve- 
 d.re of Prince Pamphili : and the Palace of Prince Ludovisii : 
 to say nothing of the Falco neri' s palace , '^c. 
 
 Monte Draconc is surrounded by pleasant woods, and situat- 
 ed on a small hill. It is a vast building, consisting of three 
 great wings, in the finest stylo of architecture. The apart- 
 me its are enriched with innumerable busts, statues, basso-re- 
 lievos, together with curious antiquities, and the best pictures 
 of Raphael Urbino, the Carrachi, Zucharo, Michael An^elo,- 
 1-Ue Dominican^ Sarti, Alberto Duier 7 (whose painting oft 1 -': 
 
 TJ >,
 
 316 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Last Supper is particularly fine, &.c.) At the end of the. court 
 are very ingenious and amusing water works, whieh constantly 
 play by turning the pipes ; fine grottos and fountains j in one of 
 which stands the statue of Bacchus furnishing water by his grapes, 
 &c. This palace is too extensive, for which reason the prince 
 lives in a smaller one in the neighbourhood, which is beautiful 
 and very richly furnished. In one of the chambers here, we 
 saw Prince Borghesi himself, whose unfortunate malady we 
 formerly noticed. It was aftecting, to see the master of so 
 many truly rich and magnificent palaces, (and these adorned 
 with such inestimable furniture, and exquisite rarities and trea- 
 sures, maintaining 150 fine horses in his stables, &c.) in so 
 melancholy a state. Even his servants made a game of him before 
 his face, in such an indecent manner as to affect me with the 
 strongest indignation. 
 
 The palace of Prince Ludoiiisi'is not inferior to his two mag- 
 nificent ones in Rome. Its Gardens are charmingly beautified 
 with alleys, statues, fountains, &c. But the Cascade is the 
 most striking object. The water is conducted some miles 
 over the mountains, and falls perpendicularly from agrcat height 
 into basons of beautiful workmanship. 
 
 But the most curious and agreeable sight of modern Rome, 
 is trie Belvedere of Prince Pamphili in Frescati : The palace 
 exhibits a perfect model of the finest architecture, though not 
 so large us Monte Dracone. Its pictures and ornaments all re- 
 late to the family of Aklobrandi ; having been built by a Car- 
 dinal of that name, though by marriage of the heiress, Prince 
 Pamphili became master of it, about 60 years ago. Standing 
 at the front of the palace, (about which the waters under the 
 Hags and terrasscs may be made to rain on a sudden, and play 
 very agreeably), \ve command a view of a fiue semicircular 
 building under a rock, down which we see a torrent of wa- 
 ter, conducted from the distance of 5 miles over the mountains 
 fall from bason to bason, and through steep descents among 
 shrubbery for 1200 feet : In its channel many figures of differ- 
 ent animals receive and pour out to the next the waters, which at 
 last fall perpendicularly nto a fine fountain on the plain, about 
 '.v high ail kinds of water works play to a great distance. On
 
 Clap. XIII. DESCRIPTION OF ROME. 3! 7 
 
 the top of a pillar 2,0 feet high, the water plays without being 
 visible in the ascent or descent : In one bason, a lion throws 
 water 20 feet high, &c. But the finest of these is the middle 
 grotto, where an immense stone statue of Atlas supports the 
 world on his snoulders, through which the water is made to 
 play in a hundred different beautiful figures, &x. In the mid- 
 dle of the bason, the water gushes out with an incredible im- 
 petuosity and noise ; falling again, first like hail, then smaller 
 in rain. Hie noise it makes underneath is very loud, resem- 
 bling thunder, and sometimes the Cyclops beating on their an- 
 vils, though these figures are not visible as they are in the Ro- 
 man college. Other fountains constantly push up new figures, 
 as the hands and heads of giants out of the waters, &.c. 
 
 On the left side of this semicircle, is the figure of the god 
 Pan, with his flute, which he plays on very sweetly, by means 
 of the water pressing the air condensed within the statue 
 through the pipes. On the right hand is the statue of a Cen- 
 taur with a great horn in his mouth, which, when Pan ceases, 
 (by turning the cocks belonging to them), he blows so loud 
 that it may be heard at a distance of more than two miles. 
 From this bellowing but harmonious music, we went into th r - 
 hall of Parnassus, under the door of which is this dystich : 
 
 " Hue veni Musis comitatus Apollo : 
 
 *' Hie Delphi, hie Helicon, hie ir.ihi Deles erit." 
 
 " Apollo v.itb my Muse?, here I chuse my scat. 
 *' Tins Delos, Helicon, this Delphi, my retreat." 
 
 At the end of the hall appears a beautiful artificial moun- 
 tain, an admirable imitation of nature : Apollo sits cu the top, 
 and the Muses on the different craggs, each with her proper 
 instrument, as if playing on it with her mouth or fingers, ex- 
 hibiting all the characteristics and drapery as they are repre- 
 sented by the poets. On the sides cf the mountain, are the 
 statues of two new Muses, on the left ; viz.. Connnla, with this 
 inscription : " Vlcisti quinquies Tindarum ; at drcino cantu 
 cnptu, C'jrinnla luc translala, facta es mum lyrica." On the 
 right side is the statue of Sappho, with this inscription : 
 o-!v?ho ir arr ? r*urc transported hither, is reckoned the ninth 
 
 t* 3
 
 qi8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBA1I BUTLER, 
 
 o 
 
 muse " Under the mountain are concealed large organs, which 
 by the means of water and condensed air, play all tunes of them- 
 selves, it being only necessary to set the pipes and turn the 
 cock. The Muses phy also on their instruments in a har- 
 monious concert truly enchanting, intermixed with the warb- 
 ling of birds, while the horse Pegasus, striking the rock with 
 his foot, makes a spring of water gush out. Oa the whole, 
 nothing can be more delightful than this pi rice. 
 
 The Hermitage of the Camaldoli at Frescati, in which St 
 Romuald lived some time, is very solitary and beautiful. The 
 cells are all separate, and the religious live in great austerity, 
 seldom seeing each ether. We could not see the new curi- 
 ous little solitude of Cardinal Passionei in this place, because 
 his eminence was at that time in his retreat. Tne Capuchins 
 have a good seat a mile from the town. 
 
 The ruins of ancient Tuscnlum are two miles from the pre- 
 sent Frescati, though it be called Tusculum in Latin. What 
 is here pointed out as the ruins of Cicero's house and villa, 
 may pass for any thing, being little else than vaults, and im- 
 mense heaps of rubbish. We did not visit Tivoii, as the fine 
 paldce there, belonging to the Duke of Moclena, and originally 
 built by the Duke d'Este, is fallen to decay. 
 
 I shall here add a table of perpendicular heighths, which was 
 given me by an eminent mathematician, calculating ersch heighth 
 above the level of the pavement cf St Mary ad Martyres 9 
 commonly called the Rotunda. 
 
 'TABLE oj < tie Perpendicular Heigbtis of tie principal Building;; 
 in ROME. 
 
 Roman Palms. ' Roman Palms 
 
 top of the Farn'.s;an ' The floor of the the Lib- 
 
 Pttlace. - 157 
 
 The floor of the Pope's 
 Chapel on Monte Ca- 
 vallo. 182 
 
 The top of the Rotunda. 205 
 The t:>p of the Cross up- 
 on the Holy Trinity of 
 
 rary of Trinity on the 
 
 Mount. 
 
 247 
 
 The top of the Cross on 
 the front of St Igna- 
 tius. - 252 
 
 Front of St Martina. 259 
 of St John of the 
 
 Pilgrims. 237 jj Florentines. 261
 
 Clap. XIV. A TOUR ROM ROME TO NAPLES. 
 Roman Palms. 
 
 Front of St Ivo's in the 
 
 Sapienza. - 281 
 of the church of the 
 
 House of the Professed 
 
 Jesuits. 
 of St Agnes. 
 
 of the Trinity on 
 
 Mount, and of St An- 
 drew on the Quirinal. 320 
 of St Andrew de 
 
 Valle. - 342 
 
 319 
 
 Roman Palms, 
 Top of the Mount Jani- 
 
 cular. - 3150 
 
 Front of St Peter in Mon- 
 
 torio. 
 
 . of the Pope's Palace 
 
 365 
 
 of Monte Cavallo, and 
 
 of the Capitol. 378 
 
 - of the Chapel of the 
 Holy Sacrament in St 
 Mary Major. - 433 
 
 of St Peter's in the 
 Vatican. - 671 
 
 CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM ROME TO NAPLES. 
 
 Abbey of Monte Cassino. Capua 1 . NAPLES, Churches, Royal Palace, Charac- 
 ter of the Inhabitants. t'oVihatara. Mount Vesuvius. Lucern Lake. Baix, 
 Lake Avernus. Puteoh. sweating Cave. Grotto of Naples. Grotto del 
 Cane. Cumx, Sybil's Grotto. 
 
 JL HE kingdom of Naples, not including Sicily, comprises near- 
 ly one half of Italy : It is 1400 miles to sail round it. From 
 Rome to Naples, the road being circuitous, on account of moun- 
 tains, it is 140 miles ; and it is 62 from Rome to Portello, the 
 boundary between the kingdom of Naples and the Ecclesias- 
 tical State. 
 
 The Abbey of Monte Cassino is very little out of the high 
 road ; but since its manuscripts, S-c. were destroyed, when it 
 \vas sacked by the Moors, it contains nothing very curious, if 
 we believe Father Mabillon : It is indeed rich, hospitable to 
 strangers, entertaining them as pilgrims three days, and is 
 accounted the chief lr.>use of the Benedictines ; though this 
 order is divided into so many congregations, who have their 
 own irchevcilj, tiu:t ^Icntc Casino can uovv cnH" be considered
 
 320 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 as the chief of the congregation of the Cassinates, into \vhick 
 is incorporated the congregation of St Justina of Padua, and St 
 George in Venice. 
 
 The great men of ancient Rome possessed palaces and sump- 
 tuous country houses on the coast, particularly n gh Capua, 
 J3a:Ee, Pouzzoli, anc Naples. Old Capua displays nothing but 
 rubbish ; the stones of the ancient buildings having been carri- 
 ed off to build the new city of Capua, which is no mean place. 
 As Capua of old v. as esteemed the principal seat of debauchery ; 
 so the new city, two miles distant from the old, is also a place 
 abandoned to pleasure. 
 
 The country from Capua to Naples, (an extent of 13 miles), 
 is accounted the most delightful part of Italy, being a continued 
 grove of orange trees, and all kinds of the most delicious fruit. 
 
 NAPLES is a most beautiful city ; nor is its elegance display- 
 ed only in one street, as in Genoa, nor in scattered palaces, as 
 in Rome, but all its- streets and houses are noble ; amongst 
 ivhich the Strada di Toleda is principally admired for its ex- 
 tent and breadth. The churches here are all finished both in. 
 tl'eir ornaments and fronts : in snost oiher parts of Italy, many 
 of them want fronts, to the great detriment of their exterior 
 r.^pearance In Naples the most admired buildings are, the 
 Cathedral, or at least its chapel of St Januarius, (bishop of 
 Pouzzoli and martyr :) The Carthusians House and church, 
 \vhich is esteemed a finished piece in architecture, and a com- 
 plete cabinet of the finest pictures and carvings in the world ; 
 as indeed are all the churches in Naples : The Royal Palace 
 is of immense extent, and of fine architecture ; and the palaces 
 of the nobility display a corresponding magnificence. Notwith- 
 ing these local advantages, the character of the Neapolitans 
 is singularly unfavourable : They are accounted sensual in. 
 their lives, false, treacherous, and excessively prone to imposi- 
 tion. The curiosities near Naples are, the antiquities of Baiae 
 and Pouzzoli the natural wonders of Mount Vesuvius, 
 Grotto del Cane, -The Solphfatra, Mount Pausilippe, &.c. 
 Mount i'csuvius rises amongst the Appenines eight miles 
 cast of Naples. It is always coveicd with a thick cloud of 
 r'_nokc, and the ground near the top is covered with calcined
 
 Chap. XIV. A TOUR FROM ROME TO tfAFLES. 321 
 
 atones, frequently so hot as to burn the shoes of those who 
 walk over them. An inscription on the road warns travellers 
 not to venture farther ; yet people frequently approach the 
 crater, when no symptom, such as the air impregnated with 
 sulphur, fortels an immediate eruption : Many, however, have 
 perished by their idle curiosity ; as did PLINY the Elder, who 
 prompted by his anxiety to investigate the appearance and effects 
 of such an astonishing phenomenon, during the great eruption 
 in the year P. C. 79, was suffocated by the sulphureous smoke. 
 The crater, and indeed the wiiole top, assumes a new form from 
 every subsequent eruption. Burning mountains are found 
 in countries abounding with nitre, sulphur, and subterraneous 
 caverns full of heavy pent up air ; and did not this find spira- 
 cles, the eruptions would be more common and more frequent- 
 ly destructive; indeed were there no vulcanoes in such countries, 
 whole provinces would be necessarily blown up. The principal 
 burning mountains in Europe are, Hecla in Iceland, JLtna in 
 Sicily, and Vesuvius in Naples. The eruptions of ./Etna and 
 Vesuvius are frequent, and often so formidable as to destroy 
 the neighbouring villages. The greater eruptions happen once 
 in an age, and threaten with entire destruction, Naples, Catana, 
 and cities at a still greater distance : These cities have been pre- 
 served only by turning aside, with immense labour, the course 
 of the burning lava. The following phenomena preceded the 
 eruptions of TEtna in 1669, as described by BORELLI ; and of 
 that of Vesuvius in 1717. (See a particular history of both 
 in the Philosophical Transactions No. 354) : After great earth- 
 quakes, attended by a strong smell of sulphur in the atmo- 
 sphere, balls o fire, melted metal, stones, &x. were thrown out 
 of the crater to the distance of several miles ; and burning sand 
 and ashes covered the surrounding country 20 miles round dur*. 
 ing the space of two or three months. At last the top of the 
 mountain burst open, a mighty torrent of burning lava 
 flowed down its sides, and, digging itself a channel two or 
 three miles broad, directed its course like a river or violent tor- 
 rent of fire, through the valley into the sea, destroying towns md 
 every thing in its way. The ashes and stones thrown out fre- 
 quently kill and suffocate the inhabitants at a great distance.
 
 3 12 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 BORELLI computes 100,000,000 cubic paces were thrown out 
 ./Etna in that eruption alone. Italy and Sicily are very subject 
 to earthquakes from the sulphur, nitre, and caverns in the 
 earth. Some think Rome less subject to them on account of 
 the hollow catacombs on all sides. I should rather ascribe it 
 to the ground not abounding with inflammable materials. Ve- 
 suvius is now called La Somma : The nitre with which it a- 
 bounds produces on the other side the most astonishing degree 
 of fertility. On it grows the delicious lachryma, or sweet 
 wine of Naples. 
 
 The Solphatara, within a mile of Pouzzolo, is a moun- 
 tain of alumn and sulphur. It contains a channel 1500 feet long, 
 and 1000 broad, out of which cotinually rises smoke during the 
 day, and flame in the night. The ancients called it Vulcarfs 
 Seat, and the burning field, Forum VitlcanL Near it is a lake, 
 filled with black boiling water. 
 
 Avernus, now Lago de Averno, is a lake three miles from, 
 Baiae towards Pouzzolo, of smaller extent than it was anciently. 
 The water is now clear ; nor is the lake, as formerly, pestilen- 
 tial to birds and other animals, from its noxious exhalations. 
 
 The Lucern Lake, now Mar Morto, lies between Averno 
 and the sea, is a small lake formerly abounding in delicate fish ; 
 from the effects of earthquakes, it is now merely a muddy marsh. 
 
 Baicr, three miles from Pouzzolo, is in a state of ruin. A 
 small town a little way from the ancient city, built by Charles 
 V. bears still the name Bayes : Its port (the entry to which 
 is very narrow) is in a fine bay, sheltered on all sides by pic- 
 turesque mountains. 
 
 Pou'z.'zoloy called Puteoli, from its numerous fountains and 
 baths, and lying eight miles from Naples, was the delight of 
 the old Romans. Cicero, Hortensius, Piso, Marius, Pompey, 
 Csesar, Nero, &-C. had here fine palaces, the ruins of which 
 are still remaining. The town was destroyed partly by bar- 
 barians and partly by earthquakes, but rebuilt in a style of 
 considerable elegance, St Proculus's church was formerly a 
 temple built by Calphurnius to Augustus. The ruins of an 
 amphitheatre and an aqueduct, remain as mohumeuts of its 
 former magnificence. Round it are many mineral baths ;
 
 Clap. XIV. A TOUR FROM ROME TO NAPLES. 323 
 
 one called Bagno Ctceroniano, which rises and falls as with a 
 
 tide. 
 
 Near Cicero's bath is the Sweating Cave, in one side of 
 which the water is so hot, that one's finger feels almost burnt if 
 it only touch the surface. In the bottom the vapours are hot 
 enough to melt the wax of candles ; nor is it indeed safe to pene- 
 trate to the end, the vapours being so thick, as to threaten suffo- 
 cation, Caligula built a bridge of boats over the gulph from 
 Baiae to Pouzzolo, 3900 paces, or four miles long, to ride over 
 the sea in imitation of Xerxes. Near each end, it appears to have 
 been built on pillars : For at Pouzzolo 24 pillars like square 
 towers advance into the sea ; and similar rui:;s appear before 
 Old Baioe, named Caligula's Mole : Indeed some writers are of 
 opinion that these did not belong to his bridge, but are the re- 
 mains of a pier running into the ssa to protect the harbour. 
 
 Pausiiippe is a lofty and rugged mountain, on the road 
 from Naples to Pouzzolo, through which is cat the surprising 
 way, cailed by Seneca the Crypta Neapolitana t now the Grotto 
 of Naples. This wonderful excavation is a mile and a half long ? 
 broad enough for two coaches to ride a-breast ; and at each 
 end 400 or 500 feet high, but, becoming gradually lower, about 
 the middle it does not exceed 20 feet high ;, this form was ne- 
 cessary for the admission of light to the centre. The rock 
 forms a wall on each side, and a vault overhead. A few per- 
 forations from above admit 1 ght here and there, but so sparing- 
 ly, that it seems "like the twinkling of a star. Alphonsus 
 First, King of Naples, made these windows, and enlarged the 
 road. In the centre is cut in the rock a c*npel of our Lady, 
 with a lamp constantly burning. The light from both ends of 
 the grotto is gathered ingeniously enough, even to the middle, 
 towards mid-day : In the morning or evening, it is necessary 
 to carry lights. The dust pent in is extremely troublesome. 
 The old Roman road to Naples led through Pouzzolo and this 
 grotto ; the present road lies through Capua. It is generally be- 
 lieved that the Cimmerians, who loved to reside in deep grot- 
 tos, avoiding the sun's rays, and who were settled in this coun- 
 try, first commenced this astonishing work, and that the Ro~ 
 ifians completed it, nicking it a public road. Some people arc
 
 3H TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 of opinion, that this passage owes its origin to the quarrying 
 of stones ; although it must have been finished by prodigious 
 labour, and on a regular plan. To form such an immense ex- 
 cavation, in a rock so hard, and to make it level with the 
 ground at both ends, would now be deemed an absolute im- 
 possibility. 
 
 VIRGIL'S Tomb, (in the skirts of Naples in the street lead- 
 ing to Pausilippe), is a plain stone, almost concealed amongst 
 nettles and thistles, and is by some writers deemed an impo- 
 sition. Ihe situation in which he found the' monument of the 
 grtat Roman poet, excited the indignation of Misson. 
 
 The Grotto del Cane is situated at the distance of a mile 
 from the alumn and sulphur mine, bolphatara, and is particular- 
 ly described by Misson and Adciison. The poisonous exhala- 
 tions of nlumn, &.c. rising to one or two feet, (at least not sen- 
 sibly higher), not only kt]l a dog, if he is not revived by being 
 immediately plunged into the neighbouring water, but are 
 even discernible by a good eye, in the appearance of smoke. 
 If one holds a candle in these exhalations, it is extinguished ; 
 but on immediately raising it to the height, of three or four 
 feet, ii kindles itself again, as a candle will in the smoke of a 
 fire. 
 
 Lumce stood three miles from Baiae, but for many ages it 
 has been completely ruinous. There remains nothing but the 
 Grotto oi Cumes, commonly called the Sybils Grotto. Here 
 reigns perpetual darkness : There first appears an entry cut in 
 the rock, loo paces long and , 2 broad ; from whence, the passage 
 being extremely low, persons must creep through it with their 
 candles, and 30 paces farther, there is a large chamber in the 
 rock, called the Sybil's room ; its vault was painted of an 
 azure colour, embellished with gold, and its sides were adorn- 
 ed with coral, pearls, and Mosaic: now all those embellish- 
 ments are destroyed by the dampness of the place, but some 
 small traces uf a^ure and Mosaic still remain as proofs oi its 
 former beauty. Advancing on a little farther, we arrive at 
 three other chambers, separated by an equal number of alleys, 
 or passages. It is generally believed that this grotto has 
 been formed hj an ancient Korean for some particular pu>
 
 Clap. XIV. A TOUR FROM ROME TO NAPLES. 315 
 
 pose, and as not the residence of the Cumaean Sybil, though 
 she certainly lived some where nigh this place. 
 
 The ruins of the pa 1 aces all along the coast of the gulph of 
 Baiae, add greatly to the beauty of the country ; and many are 
 very curious, especially the arches of Hortensius's fish-ponds, 
 who was so fond of his fishes, that he wept for the death of a 
 lamprey. These fine palaces, added to the delightful situation 
 of the country, made Horace sav, the pleasant Baiae surpassed 
 all places in the world. " Nullus in orbe locus Baiis prseiucet 
 " amaenis." 
 
 The kingdom of Naples contains few fortified places. Gaieta, 
 situated on a cape, at a little distance from Foadi, is the strong- 
 est fortress ; and has on one side a castle, on the other a citadel. 
 The city of Naples contains three castles ; the New Castle, that 
 of the Egg, and that of Elma. Capua also is possessed of a 
 castle. This kingdom enjoys no good sea-ports. Naples boasts 
 of the best ; but it is exposed to the south wind, and when that 
 blows, the great ships retire from it into the bay of Baix. 
 
 On this coast are situated, Salerno, famous for its Univer- 
 sity in medicine, Reggro, the passage for Sicily. On the other 
 side, on the Adriatic we find Otranta, an inconsiderable part, 
 but capital of the province, Amalphi, where the Sailor's com- 
 pass was discovered, Brundisium now Brindisi, the great sea- 
 port for Greece, Bari, where St Nicolas of Myro's body is 
 said to be kept ; and Gargano, with the church of St Michael 
 the archangel. The Apennine Hills, rnning quite through this 
 country, make many parts mounni,:rus ; but in general it is 
 very fertile and pleasant, particularly around Capua, Pouz.- 
 zolo, and Naples. 
 
 After the excursions usually made by travellers ont of 
 Rome, I shall in .ny next take leave of that city to pmsus 
 our journey back by Lorctto.
 
 326 TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALFAtf BUTLEft. 
 
 CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM ROME TO LORETTO. 
 
 Via Flatnima. Civita Castellano. City of Narnf, Pieti. Terni. Celebrated 
 Cascade] deli Marmorc. Spoktum, Antiquities- Orvieto. Cortona. i-'olig- 
 ni. .A :-,isium. Monte Falcone Tolentino. LORE i TO, Account of Santa 
 Caso, Sf.c. 
 
 from Rome, (on an excursion to Loretto) by 
 the gate del Populo, we passed the Tiber on the Ponte Mol, of 
 Pons Milvius, rebuilt by Sixtus V. ; on which there is a fine 
 statue of St John Nepomucen, as is common on bridges in Italy, 
 Bohemia, &.c. Turning to the right we travelled by Mount 
 Soracte, now called St Sylvester's mountain, from a small ab- 
 bey built on it by King Pepin, in memory of that saiut. Ad- 
 dison's mount Saint Oreste, was not easily found among the 
 common people by that name. It is part of Soracte, which is 
 rugged and of difficult access, and in winter its hoary head is 
 covered with snow, equally deep as it was in the days of Ho- 
 race. The snow melting, or being blown off by winds in 
 March, &c. makes the air very cold near the Italian mountains. 
 This road is the old Via Flaminia, and we found it still entire 
 for several miles. It is broader, and not so slippery as the 
 Via Appia, though paved with broad smoth, blue stones. On 
 each side are raised stones placed sideways, forming a ridge 
 and from space to space stones to assist travellers to load or 
 get on horseback. Where the pavement has been caried oiF 
 there remains only the hard layers, or strata, the foundation of 
 the old Roman toad. 
 
 On the side of this high way, 29 miles frofn Rome, we SP.W 
 vast catacombs recently discovered, which they had begun to 
 search, but the water dropped so fu^t on all sides in them, that 
 \ve declined going a -reat way into them. They are not perfectly 
 like those in Rome. I saw skuUs, boaes, &.c. in the niches or
 
 Clap. XV. A TOUR FROM ROME TO LORETTO. 327 
 
 or caverns on each side, wherever the wall of earth or brick 
 which immured them was broke down. Few of the dead have 
 any names or inscriptions. But the workmen pretend to have 
 found two martyrs, named Maximus, and Rufinus, judging 
 them to be so by vials of blood and palms, &c. It is a ne- 
 cessary and good law, that nothing here can be accounted a re- 
 lic, before it be approved by the congregation appointed for 
 the examination of them. 
 
 Civita Castellana, five posts, or 32 miles from Rome) is a 
 small town with a fortress situated on an inaccessible rock, and 
 and kept in bad repair. Jt was the old Fejcertnium, capital of 
 the Falisci. Here we enter the Apennines, in the midst of rug- 
 ged mountains, so that though this road is by no means ne- 
 glected we found it very bad, especially at Otricoli. The 
 ruins of the ancient city Otriculum are two miles off the 
 road. Pursuing our route we passed the Tiber over Ponte 
 Felice, a noble stone bridge built by Sixtus V. and repaired 
 by Urban the VIII. ; who also raised dikes to defend this count- 
 ry from the floods ; in memory of all which a very fine monu- 
 ment is erected to him in this place. On our right hand on a 
 mountain, we left Magmano, capital of Sabina. But the an- 
 cient Sabins inhabited all the country between Latiiira, E,tru- 
 ria and Umbria, or the rivers Tiber, Anio and Nera, closely- 
 adjoining the territory of Rome itself ; and Rieti was their 
 capital. 
 
 Eight miles from Otricoli stands the city of Nftrm, (the 
 old Interamne^) which is situated oa the brow of a hill, betweea 
 two brooks, or rather two branches of the- same river, Nera ; 
 it is now decayed, being a poor, though large town. In the 
 cathedral is a fine altar of the Blessed Sacrament, and at the 
 hiyh altar are four marble pillars supporting a canopy of fine 
 architecture. The great clock represents the sun, moon, Sec. 
 performing their revolutions. In the ruarket-^lace is a Lirge 
 brazen fountain, adorned with fine carving. I went to see the 
 famous bridge of Augustus which joins two mountains across 
 the Nera, a mile from Narni. The vast stones of which it is 
 composed have, without any cement or hooks, held-fast toge- 
 ther for so many ages merely by theif artful position ; origi~
 
 TRAVELS OP REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 nally it consisted of four arches ; one still remains entire, is 
 feet wide, and very high. There is said to be found earth of 
 a particular nature on the banks of the Nera, which softens 
 into mud in dry weather, and in rain hardens into dust, as ro- 
 sin does ; but we did not see the experiment made. 
 
 We left on our right hand Rieti> the ancient Riete, the centre 
 of Italy, on the frontiers of the kingdom of Naples. Ten miles 
 farther to the north, is Norcia,in the Apennines, which, though 
 under the Pope, is a sort of commonwealth. It chuses its own 
 four magistrates, who must neither be able to read nor write. 
 
 From Narni to Terni it is eight miles. The Tiber and all 
 the brooks hereabouts, falling with impetuosity from high 
 rocks, through a fat soil, are as muddy as any puddle. Terni 
 rise.; by the decay of Narni, is a good town, and contains 5000 
 inhabitants. The Duke of Spadha's palace in this city is re- 
 markable for its immense stones and fine architecture. We 
 went four miles out of town to see the famous Cascade, (the 
 finest at least in Italy,) called^/ M armors from its being near 
 some veins of marble. It is formed by the river Velinao, 
 which, after several smaller continued falL near the summit of 
 some high mountains in the Appeniues, at last rushes perpendi- 
 cularly in one great volume over this precipice of above 100 
 feet in height, foaming on the stony bottom, with great fury, 
 and again rising like a most beautiful water-work in a prodi- 
 gious body. As the sun attracts a vast quantity of these 
 waters, already pushed upwards by its own motion, a thick mist 
 or cloud ascends fo the sky, and forms by the reflection of the 
 sun-beams a most beautiful rainbow, of a quadrant of a circle. 
 The river by several cataracts ialls lower into the Nera, and 
 that into the Tiber. 
 
 Spoletttm was our next stage, situated at the distance of two 
 posts or fourteen miles from Terni. It was a Roman colony, 
 and once capita] of the kingdom of the Goths in Italy. It is 
 a large rnd handsome city, but destitute of commerce. Tne 
 streers well paved, but so steep that coaches and waggons are 
 obliged to go round the town. It displays the ruins of Theo- 
 di'-~us'- palace, of a heatre and amphitheatre. The cathedral 
 has> marks of Gothic architecture ; the pavement chequerei
 
 Chap. XV. A TOUR FROM ROME TO LORETTO. 329 
 
 with different colours ; the vault fine Gothic-Mosaic j the founr, 
 the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, St Vitalis's shrine, &c. are, 
 rich in ornaments. On the front of the church there is a pul- 
 pit facing the street : another that corresponded to it is broke 
 down. These seem to have been intended for the lectors to 
 read to the people. In the church is a good picture of a Vir- 
 gin in the clouds offering golden manna to the Child 'Jesus, by 
 CARRACHI, and others of LIPPI, who was poisoned from mo- 
 tives of jealousy, and who has a tomb here with an epitaph by 
 Angclus Politianus. The chief monument of Spoletum is a 
 bridge over a very deep dry valley, 900 feet high, and 300 long 
 but extremely narrow ; the arches close and exceedingly high ; it 
 is not built in a just taste, is apparently Gothic, and inferior to 
 the pont du Garde near Nismes. It supported an aqueduct, 
 conveying waters 20 miles off, which had fallen into decay, when 
 the late Clement XII. repaired it : and it now supplies a cis- 
 tern in the city. Without the gates there are two large 
 triumphal arches with inscriptions relating how this city brav- 
 ed the attacks and threats of HANNIBAL, when he besieged it af- 
 ter his victory at Thrasymene ; and had the honour of giving 
 the first check to his victorious career. The dutchy of Spo- 
 letum is the ancient Umbria. 
 
 On the left hand we left the Pope's frontiers on Tuscany, 
 also Orvieto, famous for wines, built on a rock, and possess- 
 ing a fine cathedral. Destitute of fountains, it enjoys the ad- 
 vantage of a deep well, to which mules descend by 550 steps, 
 and come up by ethers, constructed by the architect San Gal : 
 Opposite to Spoletum stands the great city Permia, in which 
 are many good pictures. Cortona is a strong frontier of the 
 grand duke's in Tuscany, renowned for the body of Margaret 
 of Cortona, a penitent of the third order of St Francis, still en- 
 tire. Between Cortona and Perusia is the Lake 'Thrasymene, 
 where there still remains an inscription in memory of the vic- 
 tory obtained there over the Romans by Hannibal. 
 
 Foligni, in Latin Fulginium t is a populous flourishing city, rich 
 and trading. Of late it surpasses SpoJetum. The high altar- 
 piece in the church of St Anne belonging to nuns is one of the 
 best pictures in the world, a finished work of RAPHAEL URBINI, 
 
 X
 
 330 TRAVELS OF REV. ALDAN BUTLER. Clap. XV. 
 
 In the Franciscans church is the shrine of blessed Angela of 
 Fulginium, whose life, wrote by herself, breathes the greatest 
 love of holy poverty, suffering, and most profound humility. 
 From a mountain near this city, on which stands the town Tre- 
 vi, rises the river Clitumnus, celebrated by the Latin poets 
 for the property ascribed to it of making cattle white, that 
 drank of it. The breed of white cattle still stocks this country. 
 Assisium, 12 miles from the direct road, is a pitiful small 
 town on a rugged mountain, but surrounded with a pleasant 
 fertile country. The Cathedral possesses nothing remarkable. 
 All sorts of Franciscans have convents in the town. The Con- 
 ventuals, or such as by Urban VlII's concession enjoy founda- 
 tions, have the chief house of the order here, in which the 
 general resides. Their church is rather three churches in one. 
 The principal or middle one, is dedicated to St Francis j the 
 second, \vhich is above this, and has a stair-case leadiiig to it ? 
 is called the church of the Twelve Apostles, from an admira- 
 ble picture of our Lady, and the Twelve Apostles. It contains 
 other good paintings, and a fine choir. The lower church, 
 which is subterraneous, was consecrated to St Francis by Pope 
 Innocent IV., in 1228, and is the Mother Church of the order, 
 and very large. Its sacristy is exceedingly rich, and contains 
 many relics in costly cases ; amongst others, they possess a^ 
 large veil of the Blessed Virgin, brought from Palestine ; 
 pieces of our SAVIOUR'S Cross, Crown of Thorns, &c.; writ- 
 ings of St Francis, of St Bonaventure, of St Charles Borromeo,, 
 and others. In the middle of this church is a great marble 
 chapel, exquisitely wrought, with a rich spacious vault under 
 it, where it is said the body of St Francis is preserved entire, 
 an.1 stands in an upright posture ; but the vault having been 
 shut up by Gregory IX. nobody can go in to see it, a small 
 opening only being leit, through which a person may look by 
 the light of a lamp burning in it. The same Pope in 1228 
 caused a long Latin epitaph to be engraven on a stone of mar- 
 ble, in honour of the saint. This place is situated on the top 
 of a mountain where malefactors were buried ; from whence it 
 was called Colle d" 1 Inferno ; but Gregory IX. on building the 
 chapel, changed its naoac into Calk del Paradiso, which it still
 
 Clap XV. TOUR FROM ROME TO LORETTO. 331. 
 
 retains. As this, the Patriarchal church of the Minors, be- 
 longs to the Conventuals, the Recollects or reformed Francis- 
 cans possess the saint's house, with the prison or den in which 
 he often did penance, which is too small for a person either to 
 stand up or lie down in, without greatly bending the body. 
 This is but a small poor convent, and that of the Capuchins is 
 still poorer. The poor Clares have a good convent and church. 
 The high-altar is even magnificent, and in a vault under it 
 lies the body of St Clare, with a lamp burning before the open- 
 ing to it. In a sacristy, they shew with great veneration the 
 large crucifix which spoke to St Francis, and give its dimen- 
 sions in ribbans. The convent of the Portiuncula is possessed 
 by Recollects or reformed Grey Friars, and is a mile from 
 Assisium. The house is handsome and large, especially the 
 refectory and dormitory with the cells ; yet not sumptuous nor 
 anywise inconsistent with the strict poverty which these monks 
 profess. There are 140 of them besides strangers. The church 
 is very magnificent, and every where adorned with a profusion 
 of marble. It contains the pulpit of St Anthony of Padua, and 
 many relics of St Francis, &cc. The Portiuncula is a little 
 chapel, a separate building inclosed in the middle of this 
 church, and filled with rich gifts, silver lamps, and a sumptuous 
 altar. It was an old chapel of St Benedict, in which St Fran- 
 cis used to pray, and received so many favours from heaven. 
 This church is called Madonna de Angeli t being dedicated to 
 the Blessed Virgin, and angels having been heard to sing in it. 
 It is said near 20,000 pilgrims from Italy, Sclavonia, &c. come 
 to visit it on its festival, the second of August. 
 
 f o 
 
 Monte Falcone is a small town, five miles from Foligni, fa- 
 mous for a convent of poor Clares, where, in a silver shrine, 
 is shewn the body of St Clare of Monte Falcone, quite entire, 
 but perfectly dry. 
 
 We returned to Foligni, and went from thence, 4 posts, 30 
 miles, to Tolentino, by Saravalla, Trava, and Valcimara. Here 
 terminate the Apennines. All along this road, as well as in 
 many parts of the south of France, the wine will not keep 
 without having been boiled, though it is sometimes very good 
 when new. Tbe boiled wines are sweetish ; and we found 
 
 X 2
 
 33* TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 them both agreeable and wholesome, though many do not think 
 them very palatable. 
 
 Tolentino stands on a hill, and is a small town. In a side 
 chapel of the great church belonging to the Austin Friars, is a 
 vault containing; the shrine of St Nicolas of Tolentino, but it 
 
 O ' 
 
 is shut up under iron doors, of which the religious have one 
 key, and the magistrates another. However, they shewed ua 
 his arm in a rich reliquary, and his instruments of penance, 
 iron chains, disciplines, cc. ; the very sight of which makes 
 one shudder. 
 
 Here we enter the marquisate of ANGOLA, the ancient 
 Picenutn* Macerata the capital is ten miles from Tolentino, 
 and stands on an eminence, in a most fruitful charming coun- 
 try. It is the residence of the governor of the Rota, Sec. and 
 the seat of an University. The new chapel of our Lady of Pity , 
 built by a gentleman of this city, though very small, is a fini- 
 shed piece of its kind, for its style of architecture and costly 
 ornaments in carving, painting, gilding ; and it has a rich 
 shrine of St Prosper martyr. From Macerata to Recanati, (12 
 miles), the roads were almost absolutely impassable for mud, 
 On the bank of the river Potenza, we saw the ruins of the 
 Roman colonv, Heh'ui RecLitt, with an amphitheatre, &.c. It 
 was destroyed by the Goths. Recanati rose on its rains, which 
 is only a small town situated on an unpleasant hill. 
 
 Three miles farther stands Lour. TTO, whi-Ji is a new town 
 built around the Santa Casa or Holy Home, and consists chiefly 
 of one large street, containing litcle else than inns and great 
 shops for beads and medals. It !.-; nearly t'.vo miles from the 
 sea. Sixths V. surrounded it with '.vails and bastions to pre- 
 vent its being plundered by the Corsairs ; and Paul V. built a 
 great aqueduct to supply it with water. The palace is a larive 
 building begun by Pius IV., up^i a plan given by Bramanti ; 
 b:.: only finished by Urban VIII. It contains three storey.:, 
 and three rows of galleries, one above another, of the Doric, 
 Joijic, r.nd Corinthian order. The bishop, governor, canons, 
 penitentiaries, &.c. ii.e in different apartments in it. In the 
 ctiir.rs beneath, for thir vice as well as that of the pilgrims., 
 there is one tun which LclJs 420, a:id mother which holdj
 
 Clap. XV. TOUR FROM ROME TO LORETTO. 333 
 
 365 barrels of wine, &cc. Before this church is an extensive 
 square embellished with fountains and a brass statue cf Slxtus 
 V. On the gates cf the church, which are also cf brass, is re- 
 presented in basso-relievo the history of the Blessed Virgin, 
 by JEROME LOMBARD and his sons, See. The same artist also 
 made the four gates of the holy house. The church is vet v 
 spacious, built in the form of a cross, paved with red ar.d white 
 Parian marble, and covered with lead ; in other respects it is 
 not very remarkable, except for one good picture ; the rest 
 being tolerably only. It contains six sacristies. In the mid- 
 dle stands the SANTA CASA, of which every one knows the 
 history. It may be sufficient therefore briefly to say, that the 
 house at Nazareth, in which the Blessed Virgin lived, and 
 God became man, was visited with great devotion by St 
 Paula in the xnirth century, as St Jerome (Kp. to Eustochium) 
 test -lies, ana afterwards by St Lewis in his holy wars, Cardinal 
 Vitry, and many others. In the year 1291, it was miraculous- 
 ly transported by angels into Dalraatia, aud shortly after into 
 this district, where it changed its place twice before fixing in 
 i-ts present site. The proofs of this translation may be seen in 
 Baronius's continuators, in Turselin's history of the House of 
 Loretto, and in the n?\v history of it by the present Bishop of 
 Monte Feltro, though he is not exact in every tiling. His re- 
 lations of the miracles nil folios. But although this were not 
 the real house, the devotion of pious people would not lose its 
 reward, as it is not to the house itself it is directed, but to Him 
 who condescended to make it so long .the r.b.ce oi his residence 
 when on earth. Loretto is certainly the greatest place ot de- 
 votion to our Lady in the world. Pilgrims from Italy, Gcr- 
 jnanv, and above all Sclavonia, conttuually crewel ail the roads 
 leading to this place. They have three meals given them at 
 Loretto ; and the like at an hospital in Venice, ns th;y pa-s 
 through ; that being the road of the Dalmatians. The holy 
 house is 30 feet long, 12 broad, and 15 in height, of course 
 sufficiently high to have had two stories. The walls are built 
 of a mouldering red stone, like brick : At the bottom or west 
 end is a window ; in the eastern end a chimney : Originally 
 ihere was but one door, now there are two. Under the wu- 
 
 X 3
 
 334 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBA? BUTLER. 
 
 dows is the altarof the Annunciation. Theprincipal altar, which, 
 is exceedingly rich, is near the eastern end ; at this a perpetual 
 succession of masses is celebrated from day break till two 
 o'clock in the afternoon. Behind this altar is the sanctuary, 
 separated from the other part, into which pilgrims are per- 
 mitted to enter all morning, by a low wall or ballustrade of 
 solid silver. Just by the door in this sanctuary, is a silver 
 cupboard fixed in the wall, containing a wooden dish and other 
 vessels, which they say our SAVIOUR used. Here also is the 
 famous image of qiir Lady, said to be painted over by St Luke. 
 The head is encircled by 71 great topazes, and crowned with a 
 tiara of emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, a rose of 
 pearls and diamonds on the forehead, given by two English 
 ladies, another tiara of gold and jewels, before the neck a 
 fleece glittering with precious stones ; A necklace of rubies 
 and diamonds worth 60,000 crowns presented by King Lewis 
 XIII. encircles the neck : She holds an infant Jesus of gold 
 and diamonds in her arms. The robes which cover these 
 images are rich beyond imagination, both in the cloth and em- 
 broidery, and in the profusion of great jewels. The sanctuary 
 is quite filled with costly offerings. Before the chimney is a 
 second balustrade of massy silver ; a praying desk of pure 
 silver, statues, members, hearts, lamps, and above all bambinos, 
 or little infants representing our SAVIOUR, of gold and silver, 
 enriched with jewels. Among the rest is a babe of gold, repre- 
 senting Lewis XIV. presented to our Lady by an angel of 
 silver, the gift of his mother Queen Ann of Austria. The 
 house itself is all covered both within and without with the 
 richest marble, except near the bottom, in the inside, to 
 shew the holy wall, and how it stands without any foundation, 
 but torn off. The covering ofwhite marble was the work of 
 Tulius II. Leo X. Clement VII, Gregory XIII. &c. It is 
 carved all round by the greatest of MICHAEL ANGELO'S scho- 
 lars, Contucci, Sansovino, Delmonte, Dela Porta, Raphael de 
 Monte Lupo, Lombard, Bandinelli, St Gal, &c. The history 
 of our Lady's life is executed in admirable basso-relievo. Be- 
 low are the incomparable statues of the Sybils and all the pro- 
 phet 1 ^ as having foretold the incarnation, Among these, the
 
 Clap. AT. TOUR FROM ROME TO LORETTO. 335 
 
 most admired are, Jeremiah weeping, by Contucci ; Moses and 
 several figures by Lombard, &.c. This incrustation of mar- 
 ble is said to have cost about 300,000 crowns, although the 
 carvers gave their work gratis. The Treasury is an elegant 
 large square hall or sacristy, opening into the church. The 
 vault is painted ; one figure by perspective, turns its eyes on 
 you in all parts of the room wherever you stand, in the same 
 manner as that formerly mentioned of St John Baptist in Prince 
 Borghesi's palace in Rome. Here the liches exceed all esti- 
 tion, and indeed the articles can scarcely be counted, thoughl was 
 a general catalogue of them. There are innumerable crowns, 
 collars, beads, necklaces, chains, crosses, images, and vessels of 
 gold, silver, and precious stones ; many thousands of diamonds, 
 rubies, sapphires, amethysts, emeralds, Stc. An eagle of dia- 
 monds presented by the Empress Mary of Austria ; a collar of 
 diamonds by her son ; a heart of gold enriched with diamonds 
 by Catharine Henrietta Queen of England; diamond of aa 
 extraordinary size, by Prince Doria. Suns, roses, leaves, Sec. 
 of jewels. Chalices, and other vessels of gold, cc. A pearl 
 as large as a pigeon's egg, with the image of our Lady, and the 
 infant JESUS engraven upon it, given by one who concealed his 
 name ; as were many other things. Here is a rock three feet 
 high, full of precious stones and adamants, just as it was 
 dug i*p in Golcouda ; another in which the diamonds, &c. are 
 r.ot perfectly formed, but growing only, given by the Medici 
 of Florence. Garments and vestments, &c. of all sorts: Oa 
 one vestment alone they count 7000 jewels ; a set of service 
 for an altar, consisting of a cross, cruets, a chalice, paten, and 
 six candlesticks of amber, others of gold, of silver, and of 
 chrystal, &c. In a word, all things of these kinds that can 
 be imagined : Agates, jaspis, lapis lazuli, &_c. lose their value 
 here, from the great profusion of them. The towns of Milan, 
 Bologna, and a dozen others in silver. 1 he castle of Vincen- 
 nes in silver, given by the celebrated Prince of CONDE, Grand" 
 father to the present, who was long confined as a state prisoner 
 in that fortress. Catholic princes from all quarters send their 
 richest jewels, &c. as tokens of their devotion to the Mother 
 cf God.
 
 336 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 The fixed revenue of the Santa Casa, is 24,000 crowns a- 
 year for the canons, &.c. It is forbid, under pain of excommu- 
 nication, to scrape or carry off the least dust from the ori- 
 ginal building, nor can absolution be granted, till the person 
 has himself brought back what he had taken, be he never so 
 far off. Without this prohibition, the walls would have been 
 long since carried away. Almost all religious orders have their 
 hospitia here of two or three fathers. The Penitentiaries are 
 twenty, (all Jesuits), under an Italian rector. Their great 
 confinement, diversity of countries, interests, manners, inclina- 
 tions and parties, render their situation not the most agreeable 
 to flesh and blood. They are for the Italian, German, French, 
 Spanish, Slavonian, Polish, and English tongues. Father Boothe 
 is the English Penitentiary, brother to the counsellor. They 
 have a small poor library of old Casuists, in which, however, 
 Is a valuable old manuscript of the Latin vulgate. La Spccie- 
 ria, the apothecary's shop of the holy house, furnishes drugs 
 gratis to all its officers, &c. It is very large and well stocked; 
 but what is most valuable it it, are the inestimable earthen 
 pots and vessels, so inimitably painted by RAPHAEL, and the 
 greatest amongst his scholars, representing all the personages of 
 the old and new testament. They are ranged on shelves, and 
 Ull the walls of two large rooms. The most esteemed are St 
 Paul, the Four Evangelists, Job, &-C. 
 
 The inn-keepers, and indeed all the inhabitants of this place, 
 are guilty of imposing upon strangers. It is 155 miles front 
 Rome,
 
 Chap. XVL A TOUR FROM LORETTO TO VENICE. 337 
 
 CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM LORETTO TO VENICE. 
 
 Ancona, its Public Buildings and magnificent Harbour. Sencgalia. rano. 
 Urbino. Pesauro. Catholica. Republic of San Marino. R.irm"r.i. Rubicon. 
 Ravenna, Public Buildings; Mausoleum of Fheodoric the Goth, its Wonder- 
 ful Roof. BOLOGNA ; Its Trade and Public Buildings ; Celebrated I a Inters, 
 and Paintings, University. Ferrara, Account of the House ofEsTE. Con> 
 macio. The Rivers \'o, Adige, aiid Ada. Palace of Moselle. Adria &~c. 
 
 JL 1 ROM Loretto, after travelling two posts around a great 
 mountain, we arrived at Ancona, leaving, at a little distance 
 on our left hand, Osimo, now a paltry village, though once the 
 great city Auximum. ANCONA, the Pope's harbour on the Ad- 
 riatic, is commanded and defended by a strong fort on the top 
 of a mountain. Clement XII. built a fine Lazaretto, surround- 
 ed by the sea, in which strangers coming by sea pass the Quaran- 
 tine, which is very strictly observed in all ports of the Mediter- 
 ranean, to prevent the plague being imported from Turkey, &c. 
 We saw in it an English gentleman, who had come from Na- 
 ples by sea without the precaution of a bill of health. This 
 Lazaretto is the finest in italv. The town stands on the shore, 
 and partly on the brow and on the top of a hill, so very steep 
 that it is difficult to climb up some of the streets. On the top 
 of this mountain are many churches. In that of the Nans of 
 St Lawrence is an inscription to the Malatestee. St Ann's, 
 founded by a rich Grecian merchant, is a very fine small church 
 of the Greeks, whose office and ceremonies I saw here perform- 
 ed even better than in the church of St Anastasia in Rome. 
 Every one, as he comes into the church, advances before the 
 altar, and makes three very low bows, and three very quick 
 siims of the cross. The form of their altar is singular, and 
 
 O O * 
 
 the Grecian pictures are drawn in a very particular manner re- 
 eemblir^ some that \vc meet with of St Basil; St Chrysostom,
 
 33$ TRAVELS OF RET. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 See. Many rich Grecian, Muscovite, and Slavonian merchants 
 reside hei'e- St Cyriacus, the Cathedral, stands on the highest of 
 the hills, and is approached by a long flight of stone steps. 
 In it are a magnificent altar, and a great marble receptacle to 
 contain the relics. The church also possesses many relics of 
 of the Holy Family, which were brought from Palestine during 
 the holy wars. St Francis de Scala of the Franciscans, which is 
 approached by 50 stone steps ; the Dominicans, St Augustin 
 of the Augnstinians, &c. are good churches. In St Dominick's 
 is an admirable crucifix by TITIAN; in St Francis another fine 
 picture of the same master. The quarter of the Jews is neater 
 here than in Rome ; they are also richer, and carry on great 
 trade, but they are obliged to observe the same rules. The 
 port is noble, and might easily be made an exceeding good one. 
 It was built by the Emperor TRAJAN and is very spacious, 
 particularly near the Exchange. It is a pity so fine a harbour 
 should have so inconsiderable a trade, and scarce any vessels but 
 j>inks and tartans. I saw in it one Dutch, one English, and 
 several French and Spanish vessels. The pier, or mole, 
 built by Trajan, which runs a considerable way into the sea, 
 is very magnificent, quite in the taste, and suitable to the con- 
 ceptions of the old Romans. It is embellished with a fine mar- 
 ble arch erected in honour of Trajan, with a long inscription, 
 in which he is styled Conqueror of the Parthians, See. as fresh 
 and beautiful as if the marble was new. 'Tis surprizing so 
 few inscriptions should remain of an emperor whose name ap^ 
 peared on so many of the walls and buildings of Italy, as to 
 fix upon him the appellation of Parietinus, or wall-written. 
 The late great prince, Pope Clement XII., made Ancona a free 
 port, built a pier or mole much farther into the sea, and be- 
 gun several other works which remain unfinished. If the 
 mole was carried on a little farther still, the port would be 
 completed ; but the Venetians, who call themselves Lords of 
 the Adriatic, would view with much jealousy so formidable a 
 rival to their trade, especially were his Holiness to keep here 
 any gallics. The city, from motives of gratitude, has erect- 
 ed a statue of v.hite marble to tlut Pope, on the great market- 
 place before the Inquisition belonging to the Dominicans, and
 
 Clap. XVI. A TOUR FROM LORETTO TO VENIC. 
 
 on the side of the town-house. On the pedestal of marine is 
 this inscription : " Clementi izmo P. P. ob extructtis, ad 
 " Pestem avertendam, in medio mari amplissimas aedes, pro- 
 " ductum, tutioremque factum Trajani Portum, et Portorio 
 " sublato, cunctis apertutn nationibus, commercium et pub- 
 " licam rem auctam, S. P. A. statuam. P." 
 
 From Ancona we travelled along the sea-coast (passing many 
 old castles, built as a defence against the corsairs and pirates) 
 to Senega/ia, 20 miles distant, which is a small city, (originally 
 built by the Senones Gauls) fortified with ramparts and strong- 
 bastions, in no good order. It has a quarter for Jews. A 
 post of 8 miles farther brought us to Fano, so named from an 
 heathen temple, Fanum Fortunse. Near one of its gates is an 
 honorary arch to Avigustus, one of the finest and most entire 
 in Italy, erected by this city probably to immortalize some 
 beneficence of that emperor, or his good fortune. It has been 
 somewhat injured in a kind of seige which the town endured, 
 but the inscription is copied out on a wall near it. This town 
 has a good modern theatre, though it detained us longer to 
 see it than was worth our while. However, we that night 
 reached Pesauro, one post farther. The waves of the sea had 
 continually washed the wheels of our chaise almost all this 
 road ; but here we drove a considerable way into the sea it- 
 jself under a mountain ; the sand, however, was very solid, and 
 the waters not above 2 or 3 feet deep. We left on our left 
 hand Urbino, capital of that dutchy, situated among mountains. 
 The ancient palace of the dukes is said to be a magnificent 
 building, and their tombs, with several good pictures, are still 
 to be seen in the cathedral ; but Pope Alexander VII., after 
 the death of the last duke, transported the library to the Va- 
 tican. 
 
 Pesauro,il~ie ancient Pesaurum, is one of the richest snd most 
 gay cities of the coast, well built, and a place of commerce and 
 industry. The palace in the great square is very stately, and 
 there are many other sumptuous houses and churches. In the 
 cathedral are valuable pictures of St Jerome and St Thomas, by 
 GUIDO RENI. The duke's park is near the town. Though the
 
 540 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLEft. 
 
 port be ruined bv sands, this is the place to which merchandize 
 is brought from Venice for Rome. 
 
 About 15 miles from Pesauro, we find Catboh'ca, a small vil- 
 lage, so railed, according to an inscription over the church 
 door, because the Catholic Bishops retired thither from the 
 Council of Rimini, to celebrate the divine office. 
 
 We had a mind to go 15 miles out of our way, to see the 
 little republic of San Marina, consisting of 6000 inhabitants, 
 bituated on the top of an inaccessible rock. But the roads were 
 bad, raid we have a most particular account of its government 
 and laws in ADBISON, a great lover of petty commonwealths. 
 The mountain is so called from its having been the retreat of 
 Si: Marinus, a hermit. The commonwealth was founded, as 
 Venice was, by people who fled hither for shelter against the 
 incursions of the barbarians. A faction in it called in Pope 
 Clement XII. to their assistance, offering to subject their coun- 
 try to his dominion ; but he generously ordered his legate of 
 Bologna to adjust their differences and confirm their liberty. 
 
 Rimini, a post beyond Catholica, is still a great city, but its 
 cathedral is quite changed since it was the scene of the forced 
 Council of Constantius. In the great square is a small chapel 
 greatly reverenced, dedicated to St Antony of Padua, and con- 
 taining some of his relicts. The squares of Ri-nini, Pesauro, 
 Fano, and other towns, are generally embellished with fine sta- 
 tues, of marble or cast-brass, of one or more Popes, with in- 
 scriptions commemorative of some benefactions received. The 
 most common are of Paul V., Urban VIII. , Clement XII. , &c. 
 This custom of erecting statues was much in vogue among the 
 fincients, either out of flattery, or to excite their princes to be- 
 neficence, by such monuments of honour and gratitude ; they 
 are at least a great ornament to the squares where they are 
 placed. This town suffered much in 1671, by an earthquake, 
 which quite destroyed Ragusa in Dalmatia. 
 
 Beyond Rimini, we crossed the Rul)ico?i, the bounds of lh,e 
 country of the ancient Gauls in Italy : Cresars passing this fatal 
 river, was equivalent to a declaration of war against the country, 
 which made him exclaim, ' the die is cast.' This river is not
 
 Clap. XVI. A TOUR FROM LORETTO TO VENICE. 341 
 
 peasants know it by no other name than that of Rucon, it 13 
 called Pisatillo, before its confluence with the Butrio, not long be- 
 before that river joins the sea. A Roman inscription was lately 
 found on a stone in the sands, which had been set up upon, its 
 bank, forbidding any general or soldier to pass it armed, when 
 they returned to Rome. Some persons, however, suppose the 
 Luza to have been the old Rubicon. 
 
 The straight road from Rimini to Bologna is good, but in 
 consequence of rain we found it deep, and therefore travelled 
 along the sands to Ravenna. The Via TEmilia, which led from 
 Rimini to Bologna, lies through Cesina, a handsome town : 
 Forli, the old Forum Livii ; and Facenza, famous for its 
 earthen ware, which from hence is calk-d by the French Faye/ic?, 
 though ?.t present the fabric is much inferior to the delft of 
 Marseilles, and above all of Saxony, where the secret of the 
 art is kept very close, as this manufacture forms the chief 
 source of the wealth of that electorate. 
 From Loretto to Bologna it is 140 miles. 
 After travelling about 32 miles, along the sea shore, from 
 Rimini to Ravenna, we arrived at the latter city before it was 
 dark ; and indeed light was very necessary and comfortable, 
 
 amidst the iparshcs through which we passed near the city 
 
 Six miles before we came to it, we travelled through a long 
 beautiful forest, stocked with deer, Sec. belonging to a rich new 
 abbey of the Fathers of the SC--T.VOLA PIA, of late famous in 
 Rome, and other parti of Italy, a sort of regular clerics, who 
 'instruct youth. RAVENNA was once the capital of Itdy, when 
 it was for 70 years the seat of the Gothic kings, and after- 
 wards of the exarchs or governors for the emperors of Con- 
 stantinople. Aiiolph, king of the Lombards, expelled these 
 latter out of it : But Pope Zachary, fearing the incursions of 
 those barbarians, implored the protection of PiiiPix, king of 
 France, who retook Ravenna in 756, and gave it, with the five 
 principal cities of the exarchate, to the Pope, which his son, 
 CHARLEMAGNE, confirmed. This province is now called Ro- 
 tnagnifif or Romandio!a t that is, a little Roman province and 
 exarchate. It comprises Ravenna, Faci.za, Imola, Forli, Rimini, 
 Cervia, Ccscne, &c. and is governed by a Pjpal L'.'Cjate, v/ho i>
 
 34* TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 almost sovereign. Except the Marquisate of Ancotia, all the 
 other four provinces of the Ecclesiastical State beyond the Ap- 
 pennines are governed by Legates, viz. the Dukedom of Urbin, 
 in which are Senegalia, Pisaro, Urbin, &c. The Bolognois, 
 which has no other great towns besides Bologna ; Castel Bolog- 
 nese, Bentivoglio, and Rossi, being only small towns. Fer- 
 rara, which has under it Comaccio, a paltry town surround- 
 ed by marshes, 5 miles from the sea. These governors are al- 
 ways cardinals and legates a later e, and have a great jurisdic- 
 tion both spiritual and temporal, each having a vicegerent un- 
 der him named by the Pope. The present legate of Romag- 
 na is Cardinal Aldrovandi, a Bolognese : Cardinal Crescenzi, 
 a man of singular genius, is governor of the Dutchy of Ferra- 
 ra : Cardinal Doria, of Bologna. Ravenna is surrounded by 
 many great marshes, as taken notice of by the ancients, which 
 made Martial say, 
 
 Meliusque ranee garriunt Ravennates. 
 
 Ravenna's frogs in better music croak. ADDISON. 
 
 Its port, once the greatest in Italy, being neglected, is now fil- 
 led up, the sea having thrown so much sand and earth into it, 
 as to have raised it to a level with the rest of the land ; and 
 Ravenna is no\v 3 miles distant from the sea ; nor is there any 
 thing to she y/ where the harbour formerly was, except some 
 old remains of the Pharos near the town, and now buried al- 
 most under ground. The city is very large, but thinly inha- 
 bited. The cathedral is a vast Gothic building, the vault of 
 which is adorned \vith Mosaic, and supported by four rows of 
 pillars of Oriental marble. The pavement is also of marble, 
 Tn the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is a fine picture of the 
 Manna in the Desart, by GUIDO RENI. Among the paintings 
 of the dome, are our SAVIOUR on tie Cross, our Lady, and 
 Sf Join, by the Dominican. Before this church, which they 
 ure now repairing and embellishing, is a pyramid, erected in 
 honour of Clement VI. On the window is painted the Holj 
 Ghost, under the figure of a dove, in memory of ai, Archbishop 
 having been, chosen, in consequence of a dove entering through
 
 Clap. XVI. A TOtTR FROM LORtTTO TO VENICE. 343 
 
 the window, and placing itself over his head. Of this we saw 
 more monuments in the old church of the Theatins, on the 
 other side of the city. St. Appollinaris, sent by St Peter, was 
 the first Bishop of Ravenna. St Peter Chrysologus was its 
 ornament. The Benedictine abbey of St Vitalis, a very rich 
 and magnificent edifice, was built by the Emperor JUSTINIAN, 
 as a mark of respect to St Benedict his cousin, according to an 
 inscription in the same church, which is of Gothic. architecture, 
 but has many new rich chapels, especially one called the Holy 
 of Holies, where many martyrs were buried, and which wo- 
 men are never permitted to enter, out of veneration to the 
 relics it contains, among which is the body of St Vitalis. In 
 the Sacristy are rich reliquaries and good paintings. The pil- 
 lars in the chucch are formed of bright coloured marble, brought 
 from Greece. Near the door appear many anci^fct monuments, 
 and in a small chapel, paved with marble, in the gardens of this 
 monastery, are the fine marble tombs of the Emperor Hono- 
 rius, of Galla Placidia, his sister, of Valcntinian III., her 
 son, and of two chief servants of the Empress. These mo- 
 numents are distinguished by no ancient inscriptions ; bat a 
 modern one has been inscribed upon them. 
 
 The same Empress also built the church of St John the 
 Evangelist, in which are old Mosaics of her family, and two 
 good pictures. In the Franciscans' cloister lies buried DANTE, 
 the Italian Poet, who, having been banished from Florence, 
 died here ; Cardinal Bcmbo erected this tomb to his memory. 
 Near the Porta Bella are the ruins of a sumptuous palace, pro- 
 bably Theodoric'i. On the city-gates appear many ancient 
 monuments, and we saw on a fountain a fine statue of Her- 
 cules. The great market-place is adorned with a noble brass 
 statue of Alexander VII., and a column with a statue of our 
 Lady upon it, Sec. 
 
 About a mile from town, on the high way leading to Venice, 
 stands Santa Muria Rcionda ; built by Qjveen Amalasunta, as 
 a. mausoleum for her father, King Theodoric. The bottom is 
 an immense vault, full of grass weeds and faggots. I was about 
 to enter, but the prodigiou-j number of vipers I encountered 
 completely checked my curiosity. The c!:apcl consists of two-
 
 344 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 stories, lofty, and entirely circular, and covered with one huge 
 granite stone, hollowed so as to form a vault, and which, 
 according to our information, is four feet thick, 116' in 
 circumference, and about 34 in diameter. Verses to the 
 following purport are hung up hard by : " Be astonished, 
 *' traveller, how one stone, so vast, could be cut in the hardest 
 " marble, and by what art it could be raised to this place. But: 
 " if you be not disposed to believe this prodigy, admire the art 
 " by which the stones could be so cemented that the most severe 
 * { scrutiny cannot discover the junction." This stone must be 
 above ioo,occ Ibs weight. On the top of the dome, surrounded 
 with the statues of the twelve apostles, was formerly placed 
 the porphyry tomb of King Theodoric, eight feet long, and 
 four broad. Bat when Lewis XII. besieged Ravenna, (its 
 \valls are at present too ruinous to afford any defence,) a 
 bomb knocked it cloivn. It is now placed in the wall of St 
 Apollinaris's church. 
 
 Near Ravenna is a fine bridge built by Pope Clement XII. 
 From the want of aqueducts in this as in many other small 
 towns, good water is a clear commodity. It was the same in 
 Martial's time, who wished to have a fountain rather than a 
 vineyard at that city, and complains of his inn-keeper 
 having cheated him by giving him wine instead of wine ancS 
 water. 
 
 Ca/iicliis ;n;pi^ui> nupcr mibi Caupo Ravenna- , 
 
 Cum peter cm t:^.\tum t vend ul it die merum. 
 
 Martial, I. 3. Epig. 50. 
 
 Lod^'d at Ravenna (vraler sells so dear), 
 
 A cistern to a vineyard I prefer. Ib. b. 3. Et-.. j^. 
 
 But \ve experienced more inconvenience from the want of 
 this necessary clement in some other towns on this coast. 
 
 BOLOGNA, Iving between the Lombards and the Exarchs of 
 Ravenna, erected itself into a republic, till, being divided by 
 factions, and torn in pieces by civil wars under the Lambertazzi 
 and Gieremin, and afterwards the Pepoli, Visconti, and Benti- 
 voglios, it voluntarily put itself under the Pope, by whom if; 
 lias been ever treated wit!" 1 ; the greatest distinction, looked upon 
 as a sister of Rome, not a subject, arrd has even its ambassador
 
 Clap. XVI. A TOUR FROM LORETTO TO VENICE. 345 
 
 residing at the papal court. It is situated in a most fertile 
 country, carries on the most extensive trade of any town in 
 the ecclesiastical state, and exports silk, soap, flax, fruits, &.c. 
 Very good, but high seasoned, thick sausages are made 
 throughout this country in such abundance, that there is no 
 village in which every street and almost every house does not 
 contain vast shops filled with them. Bologna is five miles 
 in circumference, three long, and in the centre one broad; 
 contains 179 churches, 33 parishes C'out only one baptismal 
 font), and 80,000 inhabitants. It is the second town of the 
 Ecclesiastical State; the third in Italy for paintings, after 
 Rome and Florence. Many masters of the Lombard school 
 lived in it ; among whom the DOMINICAN, the three 
 CARRACHI, and Gmoo RENT, carried that art to the greatest 
 perfection. Its paintings in Fresco are above all others 
 admired, but there are excellent pictures without number in 
 every church and palace. The most remarkable of them is 
 that of St Cecily by RAPHAEL URBIN, who sent it to FRANCIA, 
 the famous Bolognese painter, to Correct it, if he could discover 
 any fault in it. Francia is said to have died of grief on seeing 
 himself so greatly excelled. This painting is to be seen in 
 St John's in Monte, belonging to regular canons, in which 
 church, the chapel of the Rosary is incomparably painted by 
 the Dominican, besides many other excellent pieces. 
 
 The principal families of Bologna are at present well known 
 in Rome, and many of them enjoy places in that city under the 
 present Pope, who is himself a Bolognese, born in the territory, 
 and of the family of the Lambertini. 
 
 The chief Palace? in Bologna are those of Fepoli, Malvezzi, 
 Favi, Ranucci, Tanari, Bentevogli, Casali, Monti, Caprara, 
 Velta ; and the Toivn-uoiise. In the great square is a fine foun- 
 tain, adorned with a brass Neptune, which, with its ornaments, 
 measures eleven feet in height, and is all cast by John of 
 Bologna. In a summer-house, or villa of the Senator Volta, 
 was found the famous riddle, or enigmatical epitaph, " ^lia, 
 " Laelia, Crispis," &c. on which Misson gives us a long 
 dissertation in his book of travels. I am inclined to deem ir 
 
 Y
 
 346 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 a ridiculous forgery of some idle scholar, and cannot help 
 applying to it the axiom of Mr Locke : " If thou wilt not be 
 " understood, I will not study thy meaning." 
 
 But the magnificence of this city appears chiefly in its 
 streets, piazzas, and churches. The Dominicans have here 
 their best convent. Jn the church, the paintings are singu- 
 lar! / beautiful; and the chapel of St Dominic, is extremely 
 rich in marble, paintings, silver, &cc. Its statues are by 
 MICHALL ANGELO, Nicolas Pisa, Donatello, Lombard, &c. 
 Its paintings by TIARINI, the GUIDOS, and other great masters. 
 The body of St Dominic, who died in this convent, is here 
 deposited in a shrine of white marble, with historical basso- 
 relievo. The fifteen mysteries of the Rosary are finely painted 
 in the chapel of the Rosary by the celebrated CARRACHI, 
 GUIDO RENI, &c. The other chapels are also rich in pictures, 
 &z:c. The magnificence of the cloister and dormitories, and 
 its vast cellars, are much admired; but its extensive library is 
 still more valued. 
 
 The convent of Corpus Christ! of poor Cla-res has a very 
 good church, which contains the body of St Catherine of 
 Bologna, which Mr Lassels saw entire ; the skin was indeed 
 very much dried. She appears as sitting in a chair. The 
 church of the Jesuits, St Proculus, a great abbey of Bene- 
 dictines, the cathedral, &c are sumptuous in a high degree;, 
 but above all the great collegiate church of St Petronius, built 
 by the Senate of Bologna, and with nearly the same expedition 
 as that of San Lorenzo in Florence. In St Pttronius's is 
 drawn Cassini's meridian, marked on a brass plate. 
 
 The University of Bologna is the first in Italy, and the most 
 famous in the world for canon law ; liberally endowed, espe- 
 cially the rich Spanish college in it. The two towers of 
 Garizenda and GH Asinella were built by two families of 
 those names. The former is a hanging building like that of 
 Pisa; that of Asinelli is thought the highest in Italy. In the 
 Carthusians' house of Bologna, among others, is a good picture 
 of St Jerome receiving the Viaticum, byAugustin Carrachi.. 
 It is said to be the original of the St Jerome communicating in 
 Rome, by the Dominican.
 
 Chap. XVI. A TOUR FROM LORETTO TO VENICE. 347 
 
 FERRARA is four posts from Bologna, situated on the banks 
 of one of the branches of the Po. It is four miles in circum- 
 ference, and one time contained 50,000 inhabitants, but now 
 scarcely 8000, having fallen greatly to decay since it lost its 
 dukes, princes of the house of Este, which -lerives its origin 
 from the city Este near Padua. AZON, first Count of Este, was 
 vicar of the empire in Italy in the year 970. The Emperor 
 Otho made his son TIBAUD marquis of Este, Lord of Lucca, 
 Cremona, Mantua, and Ferrara. His son BONIFACE left 
 an only daughter and heiress, the famous MAUD, who be- 
 queathed her estates to the Holy See. The Popes bestowed 
 Ferrara, with the title of Marquis, on her nephew Asxotf 
 d'Este, and created his successors Dukefi. The Emperors 
 made them Dukes of Modena and Regio. ALPHONSUS II. 
 died, without lawful issue, in 1597 CAESAR d'EsxE was 
 accounted a bastard, for which reason the Pope refused him 
 Ferrara, though the Emperor Rodolph II. confirmed to him 
 the dukedom of Modena. Clement VIII. entered Ferrara 
 and built a citadel, but allowed Caesar to enjoy the patrimonial 
 lands of his family in this duchy. This duchy is governed by 
 a legate, and enjoys many privileges. Though poor, Ferrara 
 still boasts of its nobility, such as the Bentivoglio, &c. It is 
 a large territory, and, when joined with Modena, was 160 miles 
 long, from Magna Vacca to the territory of the Venetians. 
 We travelled through it 42 miles. 
 
 COMMACCIO was once a very large city, but now thinned of 
 inhabitants on account of its unwholesome air. It stands in 
 the midst of marshes and lakes which abound with fish. It 
 supplies all Italy with eels, some of which are said to weigh 
 40 or 50 pounds. The town of Commaccio is four miles from 
 the sea. This province has been frequently ruined by the 
 inundations of the Po, which often swells very impetuously, 
 and then leaves all the lower parts of the country little better 
 than lakes or marshes. The Dukes of Modena had begun to 
 erect strong ramparts on its banks, to prevent these mischievous 
 effects, an undertaking which, if completed, would preserve 
 n great deal of land now entirely drowned, besides rendering th* 
 t.limate much more salubrious. 
 
 Y 3
 
 348 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 From Ferrara it is but three posts to Padua. We chose to 
 go from Ravenna directly to Venice. Two posts brought us 
 to Magna Vacca, the frontier of the duchy of Ferrara, and 
 three posts more (in which we had several rivers to pass) to 
 Gorro, in Latin Portus Gauri, on the mouth of the little Po. 
 From hence, passing the branches of the Po in boats, two posts- 
 more brought us to Cheoggia, and from thence we reached 
 Venice by water, over lakes open to the sea, 20 or 25 miles. 
 But we found the whole territory situated within the branches 
 of the Po, so completely flooded that the postmaster, though he 
 went to try their depth on horseback, durst not venture his 
 horses, and indeed I should have been afraid to have ventured 
 by such perilous roads. We therefore preferred going along 
 the banks of the river to Ariano, and from thence in a barge 
 traversed the different branches of the Po, and the Adige, the 
 cut canals, and the Brent, to Lisa Fusina, and from thence to 
 Venice. 
 
 The Po, the king of all the rivers in Italy, as it is called by 
 Virgil, rises in Mount Vise amongst the Alps, out of three 
 springs between Dauphiny and the marquisate of Saluces. 
 It passes by Carmagnole, Carinian, the suburbs of Turin 
 (where it has already swelled to a large river, though only a 
 few miles from its source), Verrue, Trin, Casal, the Milanese ; 
 receives the Tanaro (which, taking its rise amongst the Appe- 
 nines, passes Asti and Alexandria), and on the other side of the 
 Tesin from the Alps, a little below Pavia, waters Placentia, 
 Cremona, the Parmesan and Mantuan. In the duchy of Fer- 
 rara it divides itself into two branches ; the greater called 
 Po grande, or di Vcnetia, is the most northern ; the lesser 
 called Po ci 1 Ariano falls into the Adriatic Gulph at Porto di 
 Goro at the distance only of 10 miles from the southern branch. 
 Another channel, still smaller, branches out from the two great 
 channels called Po di Ferrara, or L'o Morto, which in summer 
 is entirely dry, nor dees it resume its course, until it has 
 received into its thirsty channel a small brook, named the 
 Rhine, which passes by Bologne, and some other tributary 
 rivulets, augmented by which, below Ferrara, it divides into 
 two channels, the northern of which enters the Adriatic by 7
 
 Clap. XVI. A TOUR FROM LORETTO TO VENICE. 349 
 
 mtmth called Porto di Volano, the southern at Porto di Primaro. 
 Thus the Po has four mouths, Fossa Philistina, or il Po grande ; 
 Fossa Carlonaria, or ilPo d" 1 'Iriano ; Vo'ana, or ilPo di Volana^ 
 and Padusia, or // Po d? Argento^ or di Primaro. Caprasia 
 and Sagis are inlets into the sea from the lake Commacchlo, 
 not branches of the Po. The Po is a very deep, broad, clear 
 river, and running through the valley under the Alps, receives 
 as tributary streams all the rivers of Lombardy except the 
 Adige, which also bends towards it, and must have joined it 
 if its course had been a little longer. 
 
 The /:dige ( likes?.*') rises in mount Brenner amongst the 
 Alps, in the county ot Tyrol, washes Trent and Verona, and 
 falls into the Adriatic to the south of Venice. It is a broad 
 and very rapid river. 
 
 Theddu has its source in mount Braulio, passes through the 
 Valtelme and the lake of Coino, and enters the Po near 
 Cremona. 
 
 Along the coast from Ancona are numerous pits, in which 
 salt is made in summer by the admission of sea-water, which, 
 being evaporated by the sun, the saline particles are left in the 
 bottom. The Pope possesses similar salt pits near Ostia. 
 
 Moselle is one ot the largest and finest palaces in Italy, 
 but unfurnished ; it belongs to the Duke of Modena, and was 
 built by Alphonsus II., last Duke of Ferrara, who employed, 
 in erecting this edifice, those men whom his predecessors had 
 engaged for the generous purpose of raising bulwarks to defend 
 the country against the inundations of the Po. Foreseeing that 
 the duchy was to fall to the Pope, hs felt no concern for its 
 advantage, but preferred raising this palace as a standing 
 monument of his family, though infinitely less praise-worthy, 
 or even durable, than the former more beneficent undertaking. 
 Moselle stands near Goro on the opposite bank cf the Po di 
 Ariano, in the island between the mouths of the Po. The 
 Duke of Modena leaves it unfurnished, and allows that of 
 Tivoli to go to ruin. 
 
 Adria is an old town now in ruins, and its bishoprick has 
 been translated to Ruieo, a town between Padua and Ferrara,
 
 350 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN CUTLER. 
 
 Adria at present consists merely of a few cabins of fishermen, 
 though it gives name to the Adriatic Sea, or the Gulph of 
 Venice. It stood 50 miles from Ravenna, and as many from 
 Venice. The Adriatic Sea is one of the largest gulphs in the 
 world, noted for being dreadfully tempestuous in storms. 
 Jldria iracundior was an old proverb. Though there be no 
 tide in the Mediterranean, in this gulph the tide rises at 
 Loretto a foot and a half high ; at Venice sometimes three 
 feet With the Ecclesiastical State 1 finish ray letter. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 
 
 Origin of the City of VENICE. Changes in its Government. Principal Families 
 of the Noblesse. Cittadini. Great Councils of State. Powers of the Doge, 
 and of the other great Officers and Tribunals. Laws of the Republic. Sea 
 and Land Forces. Revenues. Amusements. Singular Situation of Venice,^- 
 Canals and Bridges. Public Buildings. Ducal Church of St Mark. Its 
 Riches. Gospel of St Mark holograph of the Saint. Palaces uf the 
 Procurators.' Library of St Mark. Arsenal. Ceremony of the Doge's 
 Marriage to the Sea. Isle of St George Major. Isle of Murano. Glass 
 Manufactory. Impregnable Situation of Venice. 
 
 VENICE, 1746. 
 
 "ty ENICE is, from its situation, perhaps the most singular town 
 in the universe. Other cities resemble each other in many 
 respects. But Venice is in every thing quite unique, not having 
 its parallel in the world. 
 
 The inhabitants of Aquileia, Concordia, Padua, and other 
 places in that part of Italy, flying from the Goths, by whom 
 the continent was ravaged under their kings Radag, Alaric, and 
 Atulph, from the year 407, and still more cruelly by the Huns 
 tinder Attilainthe year 457,' took refuge in the small islands 
 upon which Venice now stands. They built on them 22 small 
 towns, each of which was governed by its tribune. After 270 
 years had elapsed, they all united together, and chose a common 
 ruler, whgm they called Doge, or Duke. The third doge having
 
 Clap. XVII. DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 35! 
 
 been deposed for his tyranny, they substituted an annual elective 
 magistrate, whom they called M'.stro Miles, of Magister Mill- 
 trim. The fifth of these being condemned for treason, they 
 reinstated the son of their ancient doge, in the year 742. From 
 this period to the year 1173, 34 doges governed with an 
 absolute authority, but constantly engaged in civil wars. The 
 last being killed on Easter-day 1173, a great counsel of 460 
 was chosen annually from among the chief citizens, and the 
 doge made an honourable cypher. The DogeGRADENico II. 
 in 1298 procured a decree that the great council should consist 
 of those who had been members of it during the last four years, 
 and their descendants in perpetuity. Thus the government 
 from democratical became aristocratical, and so it continues. 
 
 At present there are about 3000 nobles, out of whom 1500 
 are annually elected to offices in the government, either in the 
 councils in the city, or as capitaneo?, or governors, in their 
 towns on the continent. The nobles are divided into four 
 classes. The first class consists of the families of the twelve 
 tribunes, who elected the first doge in 709, which all subsist, 
 by a kind of miracle, to this day, and are called the electoral 
 families : They are the Contarini, Morosini, Gradenighi, Badu- 
 ari, Fiepoli, Micheli, Sanucli, Memmi, Falieri, Dandoli, Polani, 
 and Barozzi. There are four others, nearly as ancient, who 
 signed with the former the Foundation of St George Major, iu 
 Boo, viz. the Justiniani, Cornari, Bragaclini, and Bembi. 
 There are eight other houses nearly of equal antiquity. The 
 second class is composed of those who were written in the 
 golden book, cr register of nobility by Gradenigo II. when he 
 instituted the aristocracy in 1298. The third class-is made up 
 of such as have purchased their nobility for 100,000 ducats ; 
 these consist of 80 families. The fourth class is of foreign 
 nobility aggregated. The Bentivogli, Picos, cc. have the 
 titles of nobles of Venice. 
 
 The Cittadini are such families as held a share in the 
 government before the establishment of the aristocracy, and 
 also great merchants, lawyers, physicians, master-glass- 
 workjr.-;, &c. These wear the dress of nobles, viz. black 
 gowns with plaited sleeves, and are made podestats, &c.
 
 352 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 Artisans, boatmen, &.c. are excluded all share in the govern- 
 ment. If a nobleman become a merchant, &c. he Is degraded. 
 If he marry a lady of inferior rank to the nobles or cittadini, or 
 if he neglect to inscribe his sons as soon as born in the golden 
 book, his children are not noble. 
 
 The state is governed by three councils. 
 
 The Great Council consists of all the nobility, and assembles 
 every Sunday in a great hall in St Mark's palace, in order to 
 chuse people to fill up all vacant magistracies, and establish 
 laws. 
 
 The Seco?td Council is the Pregadi or Se/iafe, which has the 
 principal direction of all important affairs. It concludes peace, 
 forms alliances, and declares wars ; imposes taxes, and has the 
 entire disposal of the treasury; disposes of all places civil 
 and military, names ambassadors, &c. It consists of 120 
 senators, exclusive of the Council of Ten, and the Judges cf 
 the Quaranta, amounting at present in all to 300, but the 
 senators alone have the privilege of voting. All must observe 
 the most perfect silence. They cannot even speak to one 
 another about public affairs except in the Broglio. The 
 senators are changed yearly, that the whole body may have an 
 opportunity of exercising its privileges. 
 
 The Third Council is that of the College, which gives audience 
 to ambassadors, deputies, &.c., and consists of 16 nobles, viz. 
 the doge and his six counsellors, of the seignurie, three of the 
 quaranta, named Capi di Quaraata, and deputies from the other 
 courts. 
 
 TheDoge holds his office for life ; he is chosen by 41 electors, 
 who are first appointed by the great council after five succes- 
 sive elections before they are finally nominated. These 
 are shut up in the senate-house as the cardinals are in the 
 conclave. They generally terminate the election in six or 
 seven days. The doge is stiled S.erenissime. On days of 
 ceremony he sometimes wears brocade of gold or silver, some- 
 times scarlet, and always appears with his ducal bonnet. He 
 presides in the three councils with his signoria, can do nothing 
 without their advice, and is intitled only to one vote. He is 
 subject to the judgment of the council of ten ; and after Ij is
 
 Clap. XVII. DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 353 
 
 death his conduct is examined by three inquisitors and live 
 correctors, who confiscate part of his estate for small faults. 
 He cannot stir from Venice without leave of the seigneur ie ; 
 and on the continent he is not acknowledged doge except he be 
 at the head of an army. The doge receives from the republic 
 only Bcoc sequins a-year. The Seiineutie consists of the doge 
 six counsellors, who constantly attend him, and the tnree 
 inquisitors can visit his closet and papers at any time they 
 please. 
 
 There are five Great Sages who assemble the senate and per- 
 form the offices of secretaries. Five sages are also appointed 
 for the continental territories of the republic. 
 
 The Procurators of Si Mark are keepers of the treasury of 
 St Mark, and guardians and judges of hospitals, pious legacies, 
 colleges, prisons, c^c. Originally there was but one ,- their 
 number was afterwards increased to nine. Besides these there 
 are now extraordinary procurators of St Mark, who have 
 bought that dignity, (some persons, during the war of Candia, 
 paid J co, ceo ducats for it) or have acquired it by embassies, 
 or other merits. They take place of all other senators, \vear 
 black, or purple, with ducal sleeves, or a black stole. 
 
 The Council of 'Ten fudges pass sentence, without appeal, on 
 all crimes of state. They can arrest and put to death privately 
 whoever the} r please. They sometimes condemn the unhappy 
 persons to be publicly executed on the square of St Mark ; but 
 more frequently cause them to bi; secretly drowned in the 
 channel d'Orfana, or to be first strangled and then thrown into 
 that channel. It sometimes happens that the friends of the 
 accused send them meat many days after they have been exe- 
 cuted. This is indeed the most terrible tribunal in the world. 
 It takes cognizance of all the transgressions even of magistrates, 
 podestats, and other public functionaries. The doge and hi? 
 counsellors usually sit with them, which forms the council 
 of 17- 
 
 The Three Inquisitors of State are chosen from among the 
 Ten Judges. They can visit the doge's private cabinet, at any 
 time, and, if they be unanimous, cause him to be strangled. 
 They are informed by their spies cf all th?.t is dene or said;
 
 354 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 may cause lo be drowned in Orfano any who have spoke ill of 
 their government, or order strangers to depart that city imme- 
 diately under p'lin of death. 
 
 There are T/jrec Councils of ^uaranta -. "ist, The new Civil 
 Quaranta, which judges all appeals from provinces. 2dly, The 
 old Quaranta, which judges appeals from city magistrates, 
 3diy, The Great Council of Forty, or the Criminal Quaranta, 
 which judges of all crimes except those of state. The three 
 Capi di Qna..T.nta may be deemed the three presidents. The 
 three Avagadors are appointed to defend the rights of the 
 public in all causes. 
 
 The Magistrates cf Pomp are created in order to prohibit 
 every species of extravagance in table, dress, or equipage, and to 
 enact sumptuary laws. For here every thing, particularly the 
 style of dress and living, is regulated by certain laws. The 
 gondolas are all black, and destitute of ornament. None but 
 a procurator of St Mark can have a gentleman, or keep above 
 two men-servants, with two boatmen, &c. Foreign ambassa- 
 dors are not indeed under the superintendence of these 
 magistrates of pomp, and therefore frequently display most 
 splendid gondolas, &c. Even the dresses of the ladies must 
 not exceed a certain expence ; a regulation, that tends to check 
 their natural extravagance. 
 
 Churchmen are excluded all share in the government. The 
 patriarch of Venice is primate of Dalmatia, Candia, and Corfo 
 &cc. St Lawrence Justinian was the first patriarch in the year 
 1451, when the pretended patriarchate of Grado was abolished. 
 The patriarch must be a noble* Venetian. He possesses little 
 authority even over his owu clergy, and enjoys only the nomi- 
 nation to two benefices ; the theologal in St Peter's his cathedral, 
 and the curate of St Bartholomew, his vicar by office. The 
 ducal church of St Mark is exempt from his jurisdiction. Its 
 chief priest is called Primicerius, officiates with a mitre, 
 cross and ring, gives his benediction, and indulgences of 40 
 days, confers the four minor orders, &c., all by the conces- 
 sions of popes. 
 
 The Patriarch of Aquilcla (- city now in ruins) resides at 
 IJdini, is primate of Istri?, .and inetrctrolitsn of Treviso,
 
 Clap. XVII. DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 355 
 
 Ceneda, Caorli, Ftltri, Belluno, Concordia, Padua, Vicenza, 
 Verona, Como, and Trent. As the ruins of Aquileia now 
 belong to the house of Austria, the emperors pretend to 
 the right of nominating this patriarch ; to prevent a dispute, 
 the Venetians make the patriarch always chuse a coadjutor in 
 his life-time. 
 
 The Inquisition of Venice is limited ; and seculars from the 
 senate sit \vith the ecclesiastical judges. 
 
 The republic of Venice sends governors to its subject cities 
 and provinces ; to each, a capitaneo to command the military, 
 and a podestat to preside over civil affairs. This latter officer 
 enjoys powers similar to the Roman prsetor, and, assisted by 
 lawyers of the city as his assessors, judges all causes. These 
 governors are changed every 18 months. Governors of pro- 
 vinces are called Proveditores. Thus, the proveditor of 
 Palma-nova is general of Ferioul, of which that place is the 
 key and bulwark. 
 
 The Captain-gene ral of the sea exercises an unlimited power ; 
 and the proveditor-general of the fleet, in time of peace, when 
 there is no generalissimo, enjoys a very extensive jurisdiction 
 over the navy, and in war is a spy on the captain-general. 
 These two admirals are obliged to surrender themselves as 
 prisoners, when their command is expired, till they have 
 given in their accounts. 
 
 The commonwealth always keeps six gallies cruizing in the 
 gulph, the admiral of which is called General of the Gulph. 
 It maintains besides thirty gallies in readiness on this sea. 
 
 The military of the republic is pretty formidable; but 
 militia, (Albanians, Sclavonians, &c., accoutred in the Hunga- 
 rian manner), are employed to maintain the public peace. In 
 Venice no soldiers are permitted to do duty The doge him- 
 self has no guards, herein adopting a custom directly the reverse 
 of that of Genoa. The arsenal, three miles in circuit, built on 
 several islands joined into one, is surrounded with walls, with 
 only two gates ; and has sentinels and guards. 
 
 The Revenues, in time of peace, amount to 1 8 or 2C millions 
 of livres a-year, viz,
 
 356 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 Ducats. 
 
 From Venice nnd its ports - 1,000,000 
 
 From the marquisate of Trevisane - 280,000 
 
 From Padua 400,000 
 
 From Vicenza and its territory - - 200,000 
 
 Ver'-.na and its terrifory - 400,000 
 
 Bergamo and i-s jurisdiction - 300,000 
 
 Crema and its jurisdiction - - 160,000 
 
 T ; > Hrescian - 1,200,000 
 
 Frioul - - 400,000 
 
 From the Polesin, or County of Ruigo - 140,000 
 From their states in Dalmatia, and the isles 
 
 Corfu, Cefalonia, &c. - - 800,000 
 
 5,. 80,000 
 
 Besides some other sources of revenue, amounting in all, 
 with the above, to nearly 8,000.000 ducats. 
 
 Each ducat is little more than two shillings Sterling. 
 
 VENICE is debarred all the pleasures of exercise ; and the 
 state is so excessively jealous that the people dare not amuse 
 themsel.es in the discussion of news or politics. Ihe 
 magistrates are obliged to permit and encourage all diversions- 
 possible in such a place compatible with their rigid maxims of 
 government ; hence it may be called a city of pleasure above 
 all others in the world, for masquerades, operas, &.c. Its 
 Carnivals, are too well known, and are continued from Christ- 
 inas till Lent. All people are masked during that time, as 
 well as at the feast of the Ascension, on account of the splendid 
 solemnity of marrying the doge to the sea. Their rope-dancers, 
 &c. are perhaps the most daring in the world. The Givovo 
 tli Forze, or play "of strength, with six rows high of men, 
 upon each others shoulders," not improperly named Forze 
 d" 1 Ercole, or Strength of Hercules, is certainly an astonishincr 
 instance of strength and ingenuity combined. 
 
 Venice is not properly built in the sea, but on immense 
 lakes, 35 miles long from north to south, and five or six broad, 
 communicating with the main sea, except where separated by 
 the Lido, a natural rampart 35 miles long and two broad, and 
 in some places only ico paces broad. The Lido is cut through 
 by the sea in. five places, v.liich form so luany ports to Venice,
 
 Chap. X7IL DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 357 
 
 where vessels of heavy burden stop, viz. Treporto, the Castles 
 of Lido and of Crasmo, two miles from Venice ; Malamocco, 
 the best of them, five miles* from Venice ; Chioggia, 20 miles 
 from Venice, and Brondolo. This singular city stands on 72 
 islands joined together by 500 bridges. The houses open 
 on one side into canals, (which are their streets) covered with 
 gondolas, or small swift boats ; on the other side into narrow 
 streets for foot passengers. There is no place in Venice to 
 which one may not go either by water or by land. No horses, 
 coaches or carts are ever to be seen in this place. A gondola, 
 with two rowers, will cost about seven or eight Pauls a-daj, 
 not half-a-crown English ; and this is quicker than, and deemed 
 as genteel as, a coach and six in London. All commodities, 
 though brought from the continent, are very plentiful and 
 cheap, especially victuals. The nobles are seldom attended by 
 even one servant. By this means a person may make a figure 
 in Venice at a trifling expence. There are about 14,000 gon- 
 dolas in the city. 
 
 Among the innumerable Canals which pass before the doors 
 of every house in this city, that called the Great Channd, 
 1300 paces long, and in some places 40 broad, divides the 
 town of Venice. The architecture of those of Cornaro and 
 Grimani is principally admired. Over II Car/al Grande is 
 thrown the finest bridge perhaps in the world, called Ponte 
 Realto. Its foundations rest on 7000 piles, it is built entirely of 
 marble, and consists of only one immensely bold arch reared 
 at the expence of 30,000 ducats, and carrying- upon it two 
 rows of shops, twelve on each side. The radius of this arcli 
 is 22 feet. It is 70 round, and 43 bro;id. In these islands, 
 the ground being swampy and low, the houses are built on. 
 piles of larch wood, to make a firm foundation, in the same 
 manner as in the cities of Stockholm, Amsterdam, Martique, 
 &.c. To lay the foundation of these houses is more expensive 
 than to erect the whole edifice. Venice is situated five miles 
 from Lisa Fusina, where the continent coivm>ences. Gondolas 
 sometimes venture over, but the sai'er and more common way 
 is to use either a paloeote, which is a long, narrow, swift-sailing 
 barge, or a bucentnur, still larger, and more alow aud heavy.
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALfcAN BUTLER. 
 
 Venice contains about 140,600 souls. Its commerce is not 
 very considerable, but its manufactures are sources of great 
 wealth. The city is divided into six quarters called sestiers, 
 of which that of St Mark is the principal, wherein are two 
 squares adjoining each other, both called by the common name 
 of St Mark. In one of these squares, on the east sidcj stands 
 the palace and church of St Mark. On the west, the palace of 
 the proctiratorships ; and on two pillars of granite brought 
 from Constantinople (the third was lost in the sea), are placed 
 the statues of the two patrons of the commonwealth, viz. 
 of St Theodore, and of St Mark, with a lion looking towards 
 the sea, signifying that he keeps a watchful eye over his domi- 
 nions. The tower or steeple of St Mark, separated from the 
 church, is said to be higher than that of Bologna. It is cer- 
 tainly one of the highest in Italy, being 330 feet, and very 
 large. Its ascent is by a winding stair within the walls. The 
 prospect from the top is singularly beautiful. On the three 
 masts round it hang three old standards, in memory of three 
 kingdoms formerly under the dominion of Venice, viz. Cyprus, 
 Candia, and Negropont. 
 
 The Ducal Palace on this square is a fine building, having 
 its two principal fronts adorned by noble porticos. The great 
 gate is of marble, surmounted by a lion. On one side appears 
 a statue of the doge FOSCARI; and at the entry to the great 
 stairs, called the Stairs of Giants, are two marble colossuses of 
 Mars and Neptune by Sansovin. Mars represents the land 
 dominions ; Neptune is a symbol of the sea ; and on the top 
 of these stairs are two beautiful statues of Adam and Eve. 
 In the Chamber of the College, or of audiences, are paintings 
 by PAUL VERONA, of the reception of Henry III. king of 
 France, at Venice j and some by TITIAN. The Chamber of the 
 Great Council, 15 feet long, and 74 broad, sustained without: 
 any pillars, is esteemed a more wonderful edifice than the 
 Sleldonian Theatre in Oxford. In this chamber hang six 
 great paintings representing Alexander III. presenting a ring 
 to the doge, in sign of the dominion of the Adriatic sea ; and 
 the Pope's reconciliation with the Emperor Frederick Barba- 
 rossa, through the mediation of the Venetians, by BASSANO,
 
 Clap. XVII. DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 359 
 
 PAUL FIAMINGO, and ZUCHARO. The cieling is gilt. Over 
 the doge's throne is an incomparable picture by TINTORET, 
 displaying the glory of Paradise, and containing above 1000 
 figures in different attitudes. In the Sala dello Scrutinio, 
 strangers are admitted during the deliberations of the great 
 council. The nobles put each a ball into a vessel, in which are 
 three holes ; one for the affirmative, one for the negative, and 
 one bttvvixt the other two for neuter ; so that no person can 
 see where they put their balls. In different parts of the palace 
 are boxes, on which is written, <e Secret Denut:ciation y " and 
 intended to receive anonymous accusations against persons 
 relating to matters of state. These boxes are opened only by 
 the council of ten. The doge's apartments are by no means 
 superbly furnished. His private chapel, in which we saw him 
 at mass, is painted in Fresco by TITIAN. 
 
 The Ducal Church of St Mark is 1 86 feet long, and served 
 by 26 canons under a priraicer, all appointed by the Doge : Its 
 architecture is Grecian, has five low domes ; aud it is paved 
 with small pieces of porphyry, serpentine marble, and different 
 sorts of stones in Mosaic. Its front is adorned by five brass 
 gates, wrought with basso-relievo, with pillars of porphyry. 
 Upon the ballustrade, or tribune, on the top of the church 
 looking into the great square, are placed four fine statues of 
 horses of brass gilt, originally cast for Nero, carried from Rorne 
 to Constantinople, by.Constaniine the Great, and thence brought 
 by the Venetians, when they took that city. 
 
 In the pavement of the porch of this church, they point out 
 a square flag of red marble, on which they say Pope Alexander 
 III. put his foot on the neck of the Emperor Barbarossa, pro- 
 nouncing those words : " Thou shah walk on the aspic and 
 " basilisk." The same story is painted in a hall in the palace 
 of the Signoria, it being deemed the most glorious action of the 
 commonwealth to have humbled that proud Emperor. Indeed, 
 it is true that the Venetians assisted the Pope against that mo- 
 narh, who had set up an Antipope, and invaded the Ecclesias- 
 tical Patrrmony : But the above instance of insolence and pride, 
 so unworthy a Christian, is a notorious forgery, as Noel Alex- 
 ander, who lived in the I2th age, (can. z, art. 9.) and all other
 
 3^0 TRAVELS OF THE REV. ALBAN BUTLtR. 
 
 good Historians even the greatest enemies of the holysee, de* 
 monstrate. Romuald, archbishop of Salerno, who was present 
 at the absolution of Frederic, in the Council of Venice, and 
 wrote a history of Alexander III. wherein he particularly men- 
 tions this absolution, says nothing of such a circumstance ; 
 nay, he even extols Alexander's mildness and humility, who 
 admitted Jie aotipope himself penitent to his table, treating 
 him with the utmost attention and humanity in 1178. Mat- 
 thew of Paris, William of Tyre, and Roger of Hoveden, say 
 nothing of any such circumstance, though minute in their de- 
 tails of other less important matters . 
 
 In the chapels of St Mark's church arc good pictures by 
 TINTORET and other great masters, &c. The high altar is 
 adorned by a canopy of marble admirably wrought, set off with 
 jewels, and supported by four fine marble pillars. The chapel 
 of the Blessed Sacrament, is adorned with four pillars of ala- 
 baster, clear as chrystal, said to have been brought from, Solo- 
 mon's Temple, with some others of serpentine marble in this 
 church. The body of St Mark, brought from Alexandria in 
 827, is said to lie under one of the oriental pillars. Only the 
 primicer and one of the procurators of St Mark are acquainted 
 with the place, which they swear not to discover. Through 
 a great door painted in Mosaic, in the middle of the church on 
 the left hand, a procurator of St Mark at certain hours leads 
 strangers to shew the Treasury, in which are twelve gold 
 crowns adorned with jewels, crosses, candlesticks, lamps, tc. 
 of gold and silver ; a great number of inestimably precious 
 stones ; a Greek mass-book covered with silver and jewels, 
 from St Sophia in Constantinople, &c. ; a sapphire of ten 
 ounces. In the sacristy is another treasury of relics, among 
 which is preserved a viol of blood which issued out of a cruci- 
 fix, pierced by the Jews of Berytus in 675 ; a Greek gold 
 cross, in which is some of the wood of our Saviour's cross, one 
 nail and thorn ; theA: ; s of the Apostles, said to be in the 
 hand-writing of St Chrysostom ; and St Mark's Gospel, said 
 also to be written by the Evangelist's own hand. The two 
 last leaves are at Prague, sent as a present to one of the Em- 
 perors of Germany. Mabillon, \vhea at Venice, could not sec:
 
 Chap. XVII. DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 361 
 
 this manuscript, Iter. Ital. p. 32. But Montfaucon did, Ital. 
 c. 4, p. 55, and thinks it is written on Egyptian paper ; but it is 
 so eaten and worn with dampness and age, that it must soon be 
 quite consumed. The characters are almost effaced, and the 
 leaves cannot be touched. Some have thought they discovered 
 the characters and words to be Greek ; but Mountfaucon 
 proves they are Latin : The ducal crown, which the Doge 
 wears at his coronation, in which are many jewels,, especially 
 a great ruby and a diamond. 
 
 The Procuratorskips on the great square, are superb- pala- 
 ces, and built in the most noble style of architecture of any in 
 Venice. The- Hall of Statues is remarkable. In it is an ad- 
 mirable picture by TITIAN, of a woman holding in her hand a 
 brief. On the right hand is the Library of St Mark, found* 
 ed by the celebrated PETRARCH, who bequeathed his books to 
 the Senate of Venice. It was afterwards encreased by many 
 other private libraries, especially that of Cardinal BESSARION, 
 who bestowed on it his collection of most rare manuscripts, con- 
 taining amongst others Photius's Bibliotheca, Sec. This librarj 
 is adorned with 25 fine marble statue's of goddesses, Stc. and its 
 structure is after the design of Sansovino. The Museum is 
 rich in statues, busts, altars, See. The pictures in these palaces 
 of eminent procurators, doges, &c. are principally by TINTO- 
 RET, some by TITIAN, PAUL VERONESE, Sec. Before this 
 building is the Broglio ; and facing the two Procuratorships 
 stands the Mint, called Zccctc, whence tne name of the gold 
 coin Zechine. Tt is entirely of iron, having no wood even for 
 doors and windows, constructed after the plan of Sansovino. 
 It contains good pictures by TITIAN, TINTORET, and others. 
 The works of the same great masters also adorn the church of 
 San Geminiano, on the same square. 
 
 The Venetian nobles in the square of St Mark converse free- 
 ly with foreigners ; but they are forbid to visit foreign ambas- 
 sadors. 'Tis in the Broglio, or Portico, or square under the 
 Procuratorship, that they talk together about public affairs ; 
 during which time, in the morning, no others can enteri; 
 
 z
 
 36*2 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 In the Sestier di San Pietro di Castello, is St Peter's, the pa- 
 triarchal church, on one of the altars of which is placed an urn, 
 containing the mortal remains of St Laurence Justinian. 
 
 The arsenal is the largest in the world, and is the only 
 great one in the state. It contains numerous gallies, of which 
 the republic constantly maintains 40, and several men-of-war, 
 of which a new one is always building In it also are maga- 
 zines of cannon-halls, masts, cables, with a rope-manufactory, 
 flax, matches, &cc. an innumerable display of ancient armour, 
 and great quantities of modern arms, in good order. We ob- 
 served here the arms of the famous Scanderbeg, and other ce- 
 lebrated warriors, cannons made for the prince of Denmark, 
 others with many barrels, to shoot a number of balls by one 
 charging. Near 2000 men are perpetually at w. rk here. 
 This arsenal is situated in an island composed of several islets, 
 3 miles round, surrounded with walls. In one of the docks of 
 this arsenal, under cover, lies the fine Bucentaur, or vessel in 
 which the Doge, every Ascension-day, with prodigious pomp, 
 sails to Lido, and, throwing a gold-ring into the sea, affects, by 
 this ceremony, to marry that element, thus asserting the per- 
 petual dominion of the republic of Venice. The Bucentaur is 
 gilt, and exquisitely wrought with innumerable symbols ; is 
 loo feet long, and 2t broad ; but a volume would be necessa- 
 ry, (and one is actually printed) to give a description of it. 
 
 The church of St John and St Paul, belonging to Domini- 
 cans, is a fine edifice, and contains the picture of St Peter Mar- 
 tyr, one of the best pieces of TITIAN. The Sestier of St Paul 
 contains handsome churches, as does that of Canal Reggio, in 
 which is the new magnificent church and house of the Jesuits, 
 readmitted into this state at the intercession of King Lewis 
 XlV. Many of the Venetians, however, still retain a jealousy 
 and prejudice against this learned body ; but they also begin 
 to have many friends, and possess one of the richest churches 
 in Venice. At Verona, and other towns belonging to this state, 
 when I enquired if any Jesuits were established amongst them, 
 I was answered, as at Lucca, " God be thanked, there are none," 
 a sentiment entirely opposite to that entertained by all tb.Q 
 other towns of Italy.
 
 Clap. XVIll. DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 363 
 
 The remaining Sestiers, or sixth-parts, are that of the Cross, 
 so called from the church of the Franciscans of the Holy Cross, 
 full of fine paintings ; that of Dorzoduro, in which the church 
 of the religious of St Sebastian, is almost all painted by PAUL 
 VERONESE, with a St Nicolas of TITIAN, &c. Paul of Vero- 
 na's monument is in this church. He died in 1588. The 
 church della Salute, built by the senate, is dedicated to the Bles- 
 sed Virgin, according to a vow made during the plague of 1576. 
 It is served by fathers of the congregation of Somascho ; is an 
 octogon paved with marble, and rich in gildings and pictures : 
 The Descent of the Holy Ghost, is the celebrated piece of TITIAN; 
 and the tribune or vault was painted by JOSEPH SALVIATI ; 
 the four Evangelists, by TITIAN, were also transported hi- 
 ther. The Sacristy contains, if possible, paintings still more 
 admirable : a Saul throwing a lance at young David, a Jo- 
 sue, an Aaron, and a Supper, by SALVIATI ; the Supper 
 of Cana by PAUL of Verona, three pictures of TITIAN, &.c. 
 The church of the Redeemer, belonging to the Capuchins, is 
 of very regular architecture by PALLADTO, and possesses good 
 pictures. 
 
 Venice was the seat of the Lombard school of painters ; so 
 that almost all its churches and palaces are stocked with fine 
 pictures, among which, those of TINTORET, PAUL VERONESE, 
 and TITIAN, excel. The curiosities of Venice consist in the 
 singular situation of the city itself ; St Mark's church, 
 square and palace ; the Procuratorship ; the Broglio ; the 
 Arsenal ; the churches of the Jesuits ; Carmelites ; Domini- 
 cans ; Capuchins ; and Della Salute ; its pictures and glass- 
 houses. 
 
 Around Venice, (without the city) are 60 separate isles, al- 
 most covered with religious houses, &c. St George Major, a 
 very rich abbey of Benedictin monks, occupies an island, in 
 which are beautiful gardens belonging to it, and a magnificent 
 house and church, built after one of the noblest plans of PAL- 
 LADIO. The corridors are extremely spacious, and every 
 thing else in a stile of equal elegance. Their library is ex- 
 tensive and valuable. In the church are, a round picture of 
 our Lady by TITIAN j a Blessed Trinity, and a Resurrection 
 
 7, 2
 
 364 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 of our Saviour, by TINTORET ; a Nativity, by BASSANO ; and 
 many other incomparable pieces. In their refectory is the 
 finest picture in Venice, a large Supper of Gana, by PAUL of 
 Vernna, justly deemed his masterpiece, in which are 120 figures. 
 He has painted himself in the person of the bridegroom, and his 
 mistress in that of the Bride. St George Major lies on the 
 other side of the port, facing the city. 
 
 Murano is another island, a mile from Venice ; the streets cf 
 the city are cut by canals, in a stile similar to these of Venice. 
 It is embellished with the palaces of the noble Venetians, but 
 its importance is principally derived from its glass-houses. 
 The master glass-workers all pretend to derive a patent of no- 
 bility from King Henry III. of France, when that monarch vi- 
 sited Venice. The chrystal glass made here is admirably 
 beautiful ; nor less wonderful is the art by which they make 
 all sort of figures of it, some of them correct imitations, both 
 in colour and shape, of emeralds, topazes, and all kinds of pre- 
 cious stones. Our English glass-manufacturers, by running the 
 glass, form larger glasses ; and many other nations, having now 
 acquired the secret, this manufactory has lost much of its for- 
 mer profits, by the sale of its articles being greatly circum- 
 scribed. There is a small manufacture of chrystal-glass in 
 Venice itself, in which the magazine of fine chrystal- ware is 
 infinitely greater and more precious and curious than at Mu- 
 rano. 
 
 Forcello, containing many noble antiquities and churches ; 
 Burano, &-c. are also very famous islands. 
 
 St George in Alga is a convent of reformed Carmelite Friars, 
 occupying a whole island towards Tusinoe. It was formerly a 
 monastery of an institute by St Laurence Justinian, suppressed 
 by Clement IX. during the war of Canciia. Malamoceo is 5 
 miles from Venice, in the mouth of the Brent. The great 
 ships stop here. Chiozza is fortified, and the key of the Vene- 
 tian territories. It stands on little isles, with many canals simi- 
 lar to Venice. The Lido, which separates the lakes from the 
 sea, is cut into 5 isles, naturally very sandy, but rendered fruit- 
 ful by art : The largest of these is 5 miles long, and 300 or 
 \ 20 paces broad, between Chiozza and Malamoceo. On the
 
 Chap. XVII. DESCRIPTION OF VENICE. 365 
 
 side towards the lake, stand fine palaces, from designs by Pal- 
 ladio. San Nicolao de Lido has a good church of St Nicolas, 
 in which the Doge, and Seigneurie, ambassadors, &c. hear mass 
 on Ascension Day. Between this island and that of St James 
 de Palude, is the great passage from Venice. Here the Doge 
 throws .the ring into the sea. On each of these two is a strong 
 fortress, which commands the passage and defends Venice, which 
 has neither garrison nor fortifications ; but it cannot be ap- 
 proached by any enemy. Land-forces cannot cross j miles in- 
 to the lakes, in many places deep, in others shallow, marked 
 out with stakes for the boatmen to avoid ; and by sea, no man- 
 of-war, or great vessel, can come nearer than the Lido. It is 
 the only great city in the world that was never besieged and 
 never taken. In Venice all things are very cheap. 
 
 We did not see in the Doge's palace the Armamento del Con- 
 siglio di Dieci, or little arsenal ; nor the Musaeum of Medals, 
 presented by the noble Venetian PETER MOROSINI, and des- 
 cribed by the famous professor of Padua, CHARLES PATIN, in 
 a large volume. These medals consist of both ancient and mo- 
 dern gold and silver. The Forestiere liluminato in Venezia, 
 1740, gives a more full description with copperplates^dividing 
 the city into six days.
 
 366 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM VENICE TO MILAN. 
 
 Account of the Islands and Stales belonging to Venice. 
 
 Elands of Corfu. Cephalonia, Zante. Territory and City of Istria, City 
 of Trcistf. Ferioul. Forum Julii. Maran. Grado. Monte Falcone. 
 
 Palma Marquiiate of Treviso. River Brenta; Palaces of Pisani and Grim- 
 ani. PADUA, Its Delightful Situation, Town House, and other Public Build- 
 ings, St AXIONY of Padua, Celebrated University of Padua Bassana 
 Trent Vicenza Verona, Antiquities of '."erona, Its Amphitheatre and other 
 Buildings Lake della Guarda Brescia Cremona Casa! Major- Bergamo-- 
 
 Crcma .Canonica River Adda Lodi. 
 
 JL HE Venetians possess some provinces on the continent in 
 Dalmatia, and the following islands : Corfu, ^antieatly Cjr- 
 cyra) the country of the Phaeacians, celebrated in HOMER. 
 This island is one mile from the continent of Albania, and 
 60 from Otranto in Italy ; 54 miles long, 25 broad : Cephulonia, 
 lying also on the coast of Albania, and somewhat larger than 
 Corfu : Znnte t the old Zadnthus, opposite to the gulph of 
 Corinth, now called of Lepan to, 60 miles in circumference. In 
 these places the Creek religion prevails. The Turks have 
 wrested from the republic the Morea, or Peloponnesus ; Candia, 
 the ancient Crete, whence come the Malvaise sweet wine ; and 
 Cyprus, famous for its sweet wines. 
 
 On the continent of Italy, the Republic of Venice possesses, 
 First,- -Istria, on the head of the gulph, a mountainous fertile 
 country, reaching to Dalmatia : Its capital, Lapo d 1 Istria, in 
 Latin Juttinopolis, from its founder the Emperor Justin, is said 
 to be i place of great strengh, from its being situated on a 
 rock in the sea, joining the continent by a bridge of 500 paces 
 
 in length The old Pccla, called anciently, Colonia Pola, or 
 
 Pie fas 'Julia 3 contains many antiquities, and valuable old M, S,
 
 Chap. XVIIL A TOUR FROM VENICE TO MILAN. 367 
 
 The emperor possesses in Istria, the ruins of Aquileia, and the 
 city of "Trieste, which has a commodious and deep harbour on 
 the Adriatic, that muft prove greatly advantageous to it, if the 
 Emperor encourages its commerce. 
 
 idly y The Ferioul : The capital of this province, Ci-vitad del 
 Friuli, the Forum Juli of the Romans, is a very rich city, and 
 contains a fine cathedral nobly adorned. It was the residence 
 of the> Patriarch of Aquileia, who afterwards retired to Udino, 
 a large town given him by the Emperor Otho the first. Ma- 
 ran is a strong town. Grado is situated on an Isle ; Monte 
 Falcone on a rugged mountain. Palma, the frontier against 
 Stiria, is a strongly fortified regular city. Its streets all di- 
 verge in a streight line from the Governor or Proveditor's 
 palace in the centre, one to the gorge of every bastion in the 
 walls. It was built as a rampart to defend Italy against the 
 incursions of the Turks and Germans. Ferioul was created 
 a dutchy by the Lombards : These places submitted to the Ve- 
 netians about the icth or i2th century. 
 
 3^/y, The Marquisate oj Trevho, 50 miles from north to 
 south, and 40 from east to west, erected by the Lombards. 
 From the Carraresi and the Scalas it fell under the dominion of 
 the Venetians in 1388. Treviso is a very large ancient city, 
 and stands a little above Padua. 
 
 We travelled in Lombardy, along the foot of the Alps, about 
 150 miles. It contains the most delightful plains, watered by 
 the Po, Adda, Brent, Adige, &cc. ; and the ground is fatter and 
 more fruitful than Bologna, whence the Italian proverb : Bo- 
 logna la grassa, ma Padua la passa. 
 
 We took a palaeote, or boat for passengers, which sails swift- 
 ly : The bucentaurs are broader, and move slower : The gon- 
 dolas are generally too small to venture out of the streets, though 
 they sometimes visit the continent We left Venice, in our pa- 
 la;ote and after sailing 3 miles reached the continent atLisa-Fusina 
 a village, and continued our route by water up the Brent to 
 Padua. The river Brenta rises in the Alps, passes by Bas- 
 sano and Padua, and falls into the sea five miles below Venice; 
 which is of great advantage to the city, as the water in the 
 Jakes is all salt, and that of the canals dead and stagnating. On
 
 368 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 the banks of the canal, and especially along the Brenta we pas- 
 sed by the splendid palaces of tlie Venetian nobles ; amongst 
 which the most magnificent seemed to be that of Pisani, with 
 its beautiful gardens and labyrinth. Pisani was the last doge ; 
 the present is Grimam, whose palace here is accounted the se- 
 cond in architecture and riches. The Grimani, Pisani, and 
 Macenigo, are at present the most flourishing families of the 
 Venetian nobility, though only of the second class, viz. of those 
 wrote in the Golden Book by the Doge Grademgo in the fa- 
 mous Serrav del Consiglio. Those of the fourth dass, who 
 bought their nobility in the last war of Candia, have been 
 hitherto excluded all great places by the others. 
 
 PADUA is 2c miles from Liza-Fusina, 25 from Venice, and 
 is watered by the rivers Brenta and Baciglione. Padua is more 
 ancient than Rome, and, according to Livy and Virgil, it was 
 built by Anterior the Trojan. All its inhabitants enjoyed the 
 privileges of Roman citizens, and were adopted into the Fa- 
 bian tribe. After the Lombards were expelled by Charle- 
 magne, Padua had its Lords, the most celebrated of whom was 
 the tyrant Ezelin, who lived in the I3th century. This city 
 formerly was mistres of all the other towns possessed by the 
 Venetians in Lombardy, viz. Vicenza, Verona, Bassano, &c. 
 but it was at last conquered by the Venetians in 1406, when 
 governed by its Lords the Cararesi. It is a great and hand- 
 some city, but very thinly inhabited, delightfully situated in a 
 most plentiful and cheap country. Its bread is the best and 
 whitest in Italy, and it has good wine from its own neighbour- 
 hood, though the common wines in Venice are very bad. Large 
 line porticos reign along the sides of almost every street, before 
 the houses, so that people walk always under shelter both from 
 rain and from the sun. This is the same in Bologna, and in 
 almost all the cities of Lombardy. 
 
 The To-ivn-house of Padua, or Palais de la Ragionc, is one of 
 the finest buildings in Europe. It is covered with lead and 
 supported by brass beams, without any pillar in it ; though 
 256 feet long, and 136 broad. One hall, the largest in Europe, 
 is no paces long, and 40 broad, without any pillar. The vault 
 And part of the walls are admirably painted by GIOTTO and hi:
 
 Chap. XVIIL A TOUR FROM VENICE TO MILAN. 369 
 
 scholars. The influences of the 12 signs of the zodaic are re- 
 presented symbolically. In the figures the painter has delin- 
 eated the manners and dresses of the ijth century. At one 
 end is the monument of Livr, the Roman historian, (who was 
 born in this city) with a modern inscription informing us, that 
 one of his arms was given to Alphonsus king of Arragon in 
 1451. But all good judges are of opinion that this monument 
 is not genuine, nor that which they call Anteno^s^ in the corner 
 of a street, amidst other tomb-stones, all raised above a man's 
 height from the ground. The inscription on the-rnonument of 
 Anterior is evidently Gothic ; and was probably engraven on 
 an old Roman tomb, for such the structure shews this to have 
 been 
 
 The Palace of the Podestat and his collaterals, in another 
 fine square, is a most splendid building, containing many fine 
 halls and a public library. 
 
 The Palace of the Chevalier Pcipafava is the rendezvous of 
 the gentry in Summer. Its groves of pomegranates and its sum- 
 mer houses, &c. are eternally fresh, green and cool ; and its 
 parterres most beautiful The palace is well bu;i: :-r.c! defen- 
 ded by a moat of running water from the river. Every stra.. o er 
 must be left to lose himself in the ingenious labyrinth. Pa- 
 dua contains many other fine palaces, of the Counts Zabarella, 
 of Bonaviti, &.c. Bat the solitary appearance of the streets of 
 this city throws over it an unpleasant gloom. 
 
 The Dome or Cathedral, dedicated to St Prosdechimus, is a 
 very large and well built Gothic edifice, adorned with rich 
 ornaments and monuments, the most noble of which is that of 
 BERTHA Empress of Henry 4th. This church is repairing in 
 a very sumptuous manner. I sought among the old tombs 
 of this church for that of Petrarch, but could not distinguish 
 it, though some writers assert it is to be seen here. The 
 people of Padua informed us that his monument is at Arquato, 
 a little distance from Padua towards Mantua, where they say 
 his house and the skeleton of his cat are shewn ; and this ac- 
 count was confirmed to us by a fellow-traveller from France. 
 
 PADUA contains irany othergood churches, among which those 
 worthy of notice are,--the Dominicans, the Austins, the Carrnes,
 
 37 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 the Benedictin Nuns. But they are all eclipsed by St Antony's 
 and $t "f latino's. St AMTONY of Padua is here held in so great 
 veneration that all their deeds and writings begin in the name 
 di Oio, et di Sant A. itonio ; and his shrine Attracts many 
 pilgrims to this town : He is called throughout the country, il 
 Santo, the saint. The convent of Conventual Franciscans (the 
 order of the saint_) is extremely rich ; the church very sump- 
 tuous, and adorned Dy six domes. The choir-seats are finely 
 carved, and the chapels are all sumptuous: But the chapel of St 
 Antony is singularly magnificent. The saint's shrine is of sil- 
 ver enclosed in marble and placed on the back part of the altar, 
 Twelve great silver lamps perpetually burn before it. Rails 
 of marble finely carved encompass it around. The chapel wall 
 is entirely laid with marble, in which the saint's miracles are 
 finel carved by Sansovin, and by Tully and J Lombard, two 
 sons of Peter Lombard. There are 12 costly pillars, pieces of 
 paintings by TITIAN, silver statues, &-c. The Treasury of St 
 Antony's is to be equalled only by that of Loretto. 
 
 St yustina's is a rich magnificent abbey of Benedictin Monks. 
 It was formerly the first reform of Benedictines in Italy, but 
 is now united to the Cassinats, or the congregation of Monte 
 Cassino. This Abbey, that of St George Major, and two 
 other richhouses in thecountry, form one community, and every 
 fourth year change their abbots ; for example the abbot of St 
 Justina, after his term in Padua, goes to St George Major, 
 and passes the same term in each of the other t .vo monasteries, 
 before he comes again to St Justina's. By this mean s thoughthe 
 abbots are chosen for life, as in the Benedictin rule, yet the reli- 
 gious are not settled perpetually under the same superior ; 
 which is often troublesome to some. The abbey of St Justina 
 is a recent building, very magnificent, situated in a fine square ; 
 besides its outer courts, the dormitory, or gallery with thecells, 
 is very broad, long, and uncommonly well lighted by two great 
 windows at each end. The library is elegant and well stocked 
 with all sorts of valuable books. The church of St Justina, 
 next to the Vatican, is one of the most magnificent in Europe, 
 built in an admirable style of architecture ; perfectly light, open 
 and disencumbered. Its form is that of a cross, it is 368 gecw.
 
 Clap. XVIII. A TOUR FROM VENICE TO MILAN. 3} I 
 
 metrical feet long, 42 broad ; from the pavement to the arch 
 82 high, the tranverse is 252 feet, and has at each end two fine 
 chapels, especially that of St Justina. The choir was began 
 in 1555. The seats are made of wallnut-tree, on which are 
 finely carved the principal actions of the life of our Saviour, 
 and many historical representations from the Old Testament, 
 and various hieroglyphics, generally one to each historical 
 event : For example, to the baptism of Christ corresponds the 
 ark carried through the Jordan. Over the seats are the statues 
 of David and Samson. The high altar is most judiciously and 
 richly adorned : The martyrdom of St Justina is an incom- 
 parable picture by Paul Veronese. There are in this church 24 
 other altars, all admirably finished, of the rarest marbles chiefly 
 from Africa and Greece ; but the design of each is new and 
 different. In the first on the right hand appears the Conversion 
 of St Paul, by Paul Veronese, adorned with four pillars of 
 Grecian marble, lapis lazuli, mother of pearl, coral, &cc. In 
 the church are two very good sets of organs, of a new and sin- 
 gular structure, and perfectly harmonious. The church con- 
 tains eight cupolas covered with lead, four great and four small 
 ones. The largest is in the middle, 196 feet high. On the 
 top is the statute of St Justina 14 feet high. All of these cu- 
 polas have many windows which make the church exceeding 
 lightsome ; 36 square pillars support the structure, of the com- 
 posite order and finished workmanship. The workmanship 
 is of red, white, Grecian, and other sorts of fine marbles, vari- 
 ously and curiously wrought. The steeple is 222 feet high, 
 square, beautified with ornaments of the Tuscan and Corinthian 
 orders. In large old chapels are many good pictures and curi- 
 ous antiquities, and under ground the prison of St Justina and 
 Prosdecimus ; a marble stone, on which many martyrs were 
 beheaded, with this distich : 
 
 Quam lapis hie pretiosus ! ubi tot; colla piorum 
 Martyrii titulo deposuere caput. 
 
 In the small church of St Thomas of Canterbury, belonging 
 to NunSj are buried several Englismen.
 
 37'i TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 PADUA is the most celebrated university in Italy. The 
 Venetians appoint two procurators from amongst their princi- 
 pal nobility, whom they call Reformatori dello Sudio di Pa- 
 dua, and who superintend the University. By liberal salaries 
 they are careful to draw learned professors from all parts of 
 Italy and France, especially of religious orders, Dominicans, 
 Franciscans, -c. I was very much pleased with the lectures 
 of the professor^, at which I assisted. The Palaz%ci degli ^fu- 
 dii is a noble and spacious building, forming a fine square, with 
 two rows of porticos, to walk under, before the schools, 
 which are great halls for every science. The chool for anato- 
 my and experiments is the most ingenious in the world. It has 
 seats aroiind it from top to bottom, like an amphitheatre, which 
 easily contain 6co scholars, who may conveniently see all the 
 operations, or philosophical experiments that are performed in 
 it. The Musezum t or collection of curiosities, both artificial, 
 but principally natural, abounds in petrifactions, belamites, as- 
 troites, and such like stones ; of all which this is, I believe, the 
 most extensive magazine in the world. It contains many rari- 
 ties no less deserving of notice. A professor explains, in the 
 Latin language, all these stones, tlieir nature and formation, 
 to all that come to hear him. In the lecture I heard, he en- 
 deavoured to prove that all shells were petrefactions, in oppo- 
 sition to the opinion of Dr Mead, &c. But I must not launch 
 into a dissertation, though in my favourite line. Amongst the 
 arms of these gentlemen who have studied here, hung up in the 
 schools, there are many belonging to English families. In Pa- 
 dua there are 10 colleges ; but the greater part of the students 
 lodcre in citizens houses. The great liberty and privileges 
 they enjoy make them unruly and licentious. Tis said, by the 
 signal qui i)a la> they assemble and beat any stranger in the 
 itreet, after it is dark ; though now they are more orderly. 
 The Bishop's Seminary is truly a noble palace. The church is 
 adorned with fine pictures of the Lombard school. Its library 
 is a very good one, so are the libraries of St Austin's at the 
 Dominicans, of St Antony's, &c. I wonder Burnet could find 
 no Books in Italian libraries, except the works of the school 
 .iivines. All the libraries of Rome, Milan, and of every
 
 Clap. XVII. A TOUR FROM VFNICE TO flilLAN. 373 
 
 city, in taly contain all the best writers on scriptures, fathers, 
 history, criticism, &c. 
 
 The mineral baths of Abano 5 miles from Padua are deemed 
 efficacious in many diseases. 
 
 We left on our right hand nearer the Alps Eassano, a 
 good town, where is manufactured the finest' silk of Italy, 
 litle inferior to that of China. Its territory produces soiree 
 of the best wine in Italy, and the best cherries and other 
 fruit. TRENT, situated in a narrow passage between the 
 snowy Alps, very hot in summer, and very cold in win- 
 ter, with its small territory, belongs to its bishop, a prince of 
 the empire. In its cathedral was held the council of Trent, 
 VICENZA is ten miles from Padua, through roads made extreme- 
 ly bad in that fat soft soil. We made very little stay in it, 
 though it be a handsome town enjoying many privileges, because 
 it voluntarily submitted to the Venetians. According to Livy 
 and Justin it was built by the Senones Gauls. Here arc seen 
 the ruins of an amphitheatre and of Roman baths. In the 
 palace de Ragione, in which the Podestat resides, is TITIAN'S 
 line picture of the Last 'Judgment. The churches have many 
 pictures of Paul of Verona and other Lombard masters. St 
 Prosdecimus was the first bishop of Vicenza. The Madonna 
 is the best church ; though not so large as the cathedral. T:ie 
 walls of this city afford no defence ; nor can the town be micle 
 tenible, being commanded by mountains. Within the enclo- 
 sure is a Campo Marzo, in which fairs, &.c. are held. The 
 town has a modern theatre, built upon the design of Palladio, 
 who was a native of this place. Vicenza is a much smaller 
 city than Padua, yet contains as many inhabitants, viz. about 
 30,000 in 13 parishes. Its territory is extensive, being 250 
 miles in circuit. The Venetians draw from of it 80,000 du- 
 ats annually. 
 
 VERONA, is 38 miles from Vicenza, the glory of Venice, 
 and the second city of the state. It stands on a beautiful plain, 
 and is intersected by the Adige, which is a broad, clear and 
 rapid^river. The territory of Verona is extremely fruitful 
 except to the northward of the city, where it is very moun- 
 tainous. It is from east to west jo miles, from north to South
 
 374, TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 80. At Verona we found everv body masked in the streets, 
 it being then one of their principal fairs. The mask is esteem- 
 ed part of their dress in Venice and in its dependant towns. 
 Verona has walls, curtains, bastions and moats, according to the 
 rules of modern fortification ; but it is not a strong place, be- 
 ing commanded by impending mountains on the north. It is 
 defended by three castles, Castello Vecchio in the valley ; Saa 
 Pietro on a mountain ; and the most important of all, San Felice, 
 on the highest mountain. In this city are many things deser- 
 ving of attention : First, the old Via JEmilia, formed by the 
 consul ./Emilius, which commenced at Rimini, where the Fla 
 minian road terminated, and was carried through Bologna, Pla- 
 centia and Verona to Aquileia. Immediately without the gate 
 of Verona appear many Roman antiquities ; and an old castle 
 built by the former tyrants of Verona, idly, An arch, in 
 honour of the Emperor GALLIEN, still entire. It seems to 
 have been erected by the people as a mark of gratitude for his 
 embellishing this city- Such honorary arches as this, and that 
 of Fano, differ from the triumphal arches, both in the inscrip- 
 tions and in the motives that produced their erection, but they 
 are nearly similar in the fabric. The distinction of these not 
 having two smaller arches, besides the great one, is not uni- 
 versal. This arch was dedicated to Janus Quadrifons ; and 
 stands in street upon the Via ^Emilia. $dly, A triumphal arch 
 to MARIUS for his victory over the Cimbri ; and near it an. 
 amphitheatre, the most entire in the world. It was built by 
 Augustus, Maximian, and completed by Gallien. The stones 
 having been in part carried off, the city repaired it ; applying 
 fines and confiscations for crimes to defray the expence of this 
 work, so that a great part of the steps are new. The porticos 
 on the outside are in a ruinous state ; but the walls and seats are 
 perfectly entire ; these measure on the top 530 paces in circum- 
 ference ; but at the bottom on the inside only 240, 44 rows of 
 stone seats run entirely round, each a foot and a half high, and 
 29 inches broad. Over its opposite gates, adorned with fine 
 portails, are two balconies. i he vomitoria, by which the 
 spectators entered and retired, without crowding the arcades, 
 are useless, because the porticos and their stairs on the outside
 
 Chap. XF1IL A TOUR FROM VENICE TO MILAN 1 . 375 
 
 have been partly demolished. The prisons of those criminals 
 who were condemned to be exposed to wild beasts are some of 
 them entirely dark ; others admit a glimmering light through 
 a small aperture, which is very artfully reflected to the bottom 
 of the dungeon. T he dens for the wild beasts, and places for 
 the gladiators, are very remarkable j but the iron rail, that se- 
 parated the spectators from the arena, has been destroyed By 
 a hole in the arena it is visible that it is now raised much above 
 its former level. They here bait bulls and wild beasts, and ex- 
 hibit spectacles for the amusement of the people : gtbly, The 
 lofty Monuments of the Scaligers, lords o-t Verona, are very 
 curious, and their engravings, odd fancies, and inscriptions, are 
 not a little diverting, all having allusion to a dog, whence their 
 name is derived. They were originally named detla Scala t which 
 in Latin was turned into Scaliger ; and were chosen Lords by 
 Verona, then a republick, or free principality. John Galeas 
 Duke of Milan conquered Verona, but the Venetians after- 
 wards made themselves masters of it. 
 
 The Palazzo della fiagione, or court of justice is a very 
 magnificent edifice, and was formerly the palace of the Sca- 
 ligers. It contains capital paintings. On the ballustrade 
 which looks towards the great square are raised the sta- 
 tues of five celebrated natives of Verona : viz. Catullus, 
 Cornelius Nepos, A milius Marcus, Pliny the elder, Vi- 
 truvius the great architect. Jerome Fracastor's statue is 
 erected on an arch. In the merchant's square is a fine foun- 
 tain, and statue of the city of Verona. The Academy t or 
 assembly of gentlemen who have formed a club for conferences 
 on the belles lettres, contains halls and chambers well furnished 
 with pictures, books, a chamber with instruments of musick, 
 &c. How commendable are such academies of young gentle- 
 men, compared to those clubs whose amusements consist in 
 drinking or gaming ! Among the ancient urns, &c. here pre- 
 served, we observed many modern Jewish grave-stones in the 
 Hebrew languages. The antiquarian our conductor was net a 
 little puzzled by a fine monument lately dug up. The letters 
 D. M. distinguished it as the tomb of a hea-hen; while the 
 rosses no less decidedly declared that it had belonged to a Chri?
 
 3)6 TTAVELS OT REV. ALBAN BUTLER.' 
 
 tiar. Its fine basso relievo represeuted troops of soldiers, and 
 m-Tj s^boecl ard beheaded evidently intended lor martyrs. It 
 haa evidently been first heathenish ; but afterwards served .-;cv:ne 
 Christian. An inscription engraven round it in Gothic letters 
 manifestly unriddled it : " Hanc sacram fecit Eonifacius Albas. 
 " Abbot Boniface made this tomb sacred " I must not forget 
 the bridge over the Adigi, in Latin Atbesis, remarkable for 
 its very large and bold arches. Verona received the faith by 
 St Exuperius disciple of St Peter. St Z.eno was one of its most 
 illustrious prelate']. Hn body is interred in a church built in 
 his honour by King PEPIN, father of Charlemagne, in which is 
 a porphyry vessel fo^ holding holy-wr.ter, 26 feet in circumfer- 
 ence. The church belongs to a rich Vbbey of Benedictins, not 
 reformer], consisting of noble Venetians. The abbey s given 
 in commendam. King Pepin lies buried in a vault in St Procu- 
 lus'^ c! tirch yard. In the cathedral are seen the tomb of Pope 
 Lucius III. 5 also a fine picture of the Assumption of our Lady 
 by TITTA.N*. The other churches possess many good pictures, 
 especially of Paul of Verona. In St Anastosia's., belonging to 
 the Dominicans, in the chapel of the Fulgosi, are rich monu- 
 ments of that family. Under the great porphyry vessel appears 
 a good statue of a very deformed man, carved by Paul of Ver- 
 ona's father. On the opposite side is placed a corresponding 
 disfigured statue; which was made by his rival, who had im- 
 printed so strongly in his imagination the image of the statue 
 which had excited his jealousy, that his next son was born as 
 deformed as the obnoxious figure. In St Peter Martyr's church, 
 belonging a'so tc Dominicans, are some relics of that saint, 
 a native of Verona. I he palaces of the Counts of Bir.-i!aqua, 
 Justi, &c. are worthy of notice ; but v. e did not go into thi.m. 
 In that of Maffbei, is a very broad high pair of well stairs. We 
 desired to see the palace and cabinet of antiquities of Count 
 Moscardi, once the choicest in Italy. But within these few 
 years he will not suffer it to be shewn to any. It is imagined 
 he has sold some of the rarest curiosities. Out of the city 
 stands a b-V'Utiful new church, belonging to !? Olivetans. 
 
 Fi::v -::.' r o Hivscu Is r.bov'.". 40 a.iie.--. ;; e po- ;. The 
 first 14 over a barren plain, often stained by oioociy battles.
 
 Clap. XVII. A TOUR FROM VENICE TO MILAN. 
 
 brought us to the stormy lake della Guarda, called by the an- 
 cients Benacus, 35 miles long from north to south, and i 
 broad. It is full of very large eels. The winds gathering 
 easily under the hills, this lake is very subject to violent storms, 
 which agrees with Virgil and other ancient writers. At the 
 time we passed it, it was very calm. The road lies between 
 this lake and the mountains ; but the rains having made it im- 
 passible, we were under the necessity of travelling along its 
 opposite side, and obtained leave of the governor, to go through 
 Peschiera a strong fort of the Venetians on the river Mincio, as 
 it issues from the lake. It is regularlyjbrtified, has extensive 
 moats, and is deemed indeed a passage of importance, com- 
 manding easily the pass here. The Mincio is denominated by 
 Claudian"the slowMincius;" it is broad and a considerable ri- 
 ver, passing entirely through the lake from the Alps. It may 
 indeed be called a new river, when it issues from the lake. It 
 waters Peschiera and Mantua, and falls into the Po a little 
 below that city. 
 
 From the lake Guarda it is almost 30 miles to Brescia, in 
 Latin Brixia, a gay and populous trading city, governed by a 
 Venetian podestat, and a capitaneo, who commands the garri- 
 son. In the churches are many good paintings : the palaces I 
 did not visit. The church of the Italian Oratorians or Philip- 
 pin^ lately built, is in a fine style of architecture. The whole 
 vault is admirably painted in perspective ; every figure de- 
 ceives the eye, and seems to project in such a manner as to be 
 mistaken by a spectator for fine statues. The church of St 
 Julia or of St Euphemia, built by king Desiderius, possesses 
 rich ornaments, and belongs to Benedictine nuns ; a sister and 
 a daughter of that king died in this nunnery. la the cathedral 
 they pretend to shewConstantine'sZ^^r^OT, or heavenly ensign. 
 It is a cross of azure. The Brescian is an extensive territory, 
 ico miles long, and 50 broad, including 450 towns and vil- 
 lages. It is a very rich extensive bishopric, containing 7 or 
 8000 souls, besides 50,000 in Brescia itself. Cardinal !j>utrini 9 
 a Venetian, enjoys it together with the prefecture of the Va- 
 tican library. The present pope informed him that each re- 
 quired residence, and so seemed incompatible. The cardinal 
 
 A a
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 answered, he could divide the year, and satisfy both obliga- 
 tions, for the public service. 
 
 The road from Brescia to Milan is between 50 and 60 miles, 
 leaving, on the left, Mantua, on the Mincio near the Po ; 
 and in the Milanese, Cremona, on the Po, an ancient, large, and 
 handsome city, regularly fortified, and containing a small uni- 
 versity ; Casal Major, also on the Po, and Pfaxicbettom upon 
 the Seria, a very strong fortress near Crema. We went to 
 Milan by Bergamo, an inconsiderable city, situated on the river 
 Serio, very dangerous in all its fords. The country is extreme- 
 ly fertile to the south, but north of Bergamo begin the snowy 
 mountains. Bergamo is a regularly fortified barrier town, be- 
 ing but 32 miles from Milan. But the Venetians strongest 
 bulwark on this side is the castle of Brescia, on a rock ; Bres- 
 cia itself being also fortified. Bergamo stands on a hill. On. 
 the left from Bergamo, also on the banks of the Serio, stands 
 Crerna regularly fortified, capital of the Cremascho subject to 
 the Venetians. A little below Crema the Serio falls into the 
 Adda, which there separates the Milanese from the Venetians. 
 Eergamo and Brescia once free, afterwards fell under the do- 
 minion of the Dukes of Milan, and after remaining some time 
 under their jurisdiction, they submitted themselves to the Ve- 
 netians. Tne Dukes of Milan have upon every occasion re- 
 newed their pretenjions to these places. 
 
 The territories of Bergamam, Verona, &cc. produce the best 
 cherries, pears, apples, &.c. in Europe : Vicenza is generally 
 called the garden of Venice. The innumerable brooks and ri- 
 vers issuing from the Alp?, that water this country, and ris- 
 ing principally from the snow, which abounds with nitre, 
 the great principle of vegetation, render this whole tract ex- 
 tremely fertile. But on the right hand, all this way, we saw 
 nothing but very lofty barren mountains, white with snow. 
 Three rallies indeed run into the Alps about the Bresciau. La 
 Valle del Sole, 20 miles long, in which runr, the river Chiesa. 
 La Valle Troppia, six miles from Brescia, 120 miles long : in 
 it lies the river Mela, on which Brescia stands ; find La Valle 
 Canonjc^, 50 miles long. This last runs into the Giisons, and 
 up to Tirol, divided by the river Oglio, deriving its origin
 
 Clap.XVIL A TOUR FROM VENICE TO MILAN. 379 
 
 from the small lake Isis. The Oglio Is a large river, and falls 
 into the Po below Cremona, near Mantua and the Mincio. At 
 Canonica a large borough we met the Adda, a very consider- 
 able river, which from the Lake of Como passes by Canonica 
 and Lodi, and enters the Po at Cremona. Lodi'is a strong burgh, 
 well fortified, the frontier of the Milanese near Crema. It is 
 called Lodi, or Lacus Pompeii, though situated at some distance 
 from Pompey's colony near Pavia, now entirely in ruins. The 
 inhabitants retired hither when their city was burnt by the 
 Milanese. The Adda here separates the Venetian territor-ts 
 from the Milanese. We crossed it in a barge, and then enter- 
 ed Canonica the first place of the Dutchy of Milan, and 20 
 miles from the city. The roads near it on every side are sin- 
 tjularly pleasant and beautiful.
 
 380 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 CHAPTER NINETEENTH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 
 
 Description of the City of MILAN, Noble Families, Trade, Citadel, Cathedral, 
 Church of St Ambrose, of St Victor, Madonna delle Gratie, San Lorenzo, 
 St Nazarius's Church, Hospfdale Maggiore, Ambrosian College and Library, 
 Works of LEONARD VINCI, Wonderful Echo, Revenues of Milan, History, 
 PAVIA. Charterhouse. MOD EN A. MIRANDOLA. MANTDA. The Parme- 
 san. Account of the Dukes of Parma River Tesin City of Novara Verceil 
 TURIN House of Savoy Montserrat Casal Trin V'errue Nice Al- 
 ba Acqui Piedmont Marquisateof Saluces Marquisate of Suze Savoy 
 Chamberry Montmelion Sardinia CagHari Savoy Passes of the Alps 
 Ivraie Bard Chatillon Aost Passage over the Alps The Valais Bishop 
 of Sion Disease of the Goitre prevalent amongst the inhabitants of the Alps 
 Rhone- St Maurice Canton of BerneMilitary Strength and Manners of 
 the Swiss Lake of Geneva Lausanne Pais de Vaud- Charterhouse of Ri- 
 paille Thonon Annecy GENEVA, Its Commerce and Territory Poverty 
 of the Savoyards LYONS. 
 
 MILAN, 1746. 
 
 JMiLAN is situated so admirably, at a convenient distance from 
 the Alps, yet in sight of these stupendous mountains, in the 
 midst of a most fruitful country, betwixt the Adda r Tesin and 
 Po, that though it has been taken 22 times, and often razed to 
 the ground, (the emperor Frederic Barbarossa even sowing salt 
 on its foundations) yet it always rose rapidly from its ruins, 
 and has been ever accounted one of the greatest and richest ci- 
 ties of Europe. It is 10 miles in circuit ; contains nearly 
 300,000 inhabitants, 230 churches, besides many chapels, 96 
 parishes, and 10 hospitals, which always maintain, in a most 
 comfortable manner, 6000 poor and sick. Its streets are large, 
 the houses stately, but not built in a fine style of architecture. 
 Its churches are magnificent, and the palaces of the nobility are 
 noble edifices. The principal families are the Sforsse, Visconti, 
 Trivulsi,Marini, Medici, Borromsei, Turriani, Massentii, &.c. 
 This city enjoys a very considerable trade with France, Spain, 
 and all parts of Italy, Its chief commodities are its silks, bro-
 
 Clap. XIX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 381 
 
 cades, gold and silver ware, fine work of chrystal found in the 
 Alps, See. The city itself cannot maintain a siege, but its cas- 
 tle, or rather citadel, situated on an eminence closely adjoining 
 the town, is very extensive, and deemed almost impregnable. 
 It being in time of war we could only see the out-works, hence 
 I can give no description of the arsenal, &c. 
 
 The Cathedral, dedicated to our Blessed Lady and St Thecla, 
 was founded by the Duke John Galeas. Some extol it as the 
 finest church in the world, next to St Peter's in Rome ; others 
 depreciate it too much. It is certainly a most stately and sump- 
 tuous edifice, but it has many capital defects. Its architecture 
 is Gothic, and far inferior to the Gothic cathedral of Sienna, 
 for perfection, order and beauty, though much more magnifi- 
 cent. It is 500 feet long, 200 broad ; and though so vast, all 
 its walls are covered with very fine marble, and adorned all a- 
 round with innumerable fine statues. This gives it an astonish- 
 ingly noble effect on the outside. The building is covered with 
 lead, and resembles a small town on the top. The pavement 
 is marble. Six domes rise from this edifice, the highest of 
 which is 160 feet high, the others 100. The vault is sustain- 
 ed by 1 60 marble pillars, so large that three men can hardly 
 embrace them, and it is adorned by 4000 statues, above 600 
 great ones of marble, all by eminent masters, each of which cost 
 1000 crowns. The statues of Adam, and of St Bartholomew 
 {lead alive, (whereon the muscles and veins are admirably 
 pourtrayed) are inimitable monuments of the genius of CHRIS- 
 TIAN CIBO. The quire is beautified with fine basso relievo 
 representing the histories of the New Testament. In an ex- 
 tensive subterraneous chapel lie the bodies of SS. Celsus, Na- 
 zarius and other saints and martyrs. In another is that of St 
 Charles. His shrine is of chrystal, adorned with jewels, gold 
 and silver. The altar of silver, the vault, and a good part of 
 the sides of chapel, are almost all covered with plates of silver. 
 A great number of silver lamps burn continually in it. On a 
 marble stone we read the following epitaph : " Charles, cardi- 
 " nal of the title of St Praxides, archbishop of Milan, desiring 
 " to be recommended to the more frequent prayers of the cler- 
 *' gv, people, and devout sex, living, chose to himself this monu- 
 
 A a 3
 
 o 
 
 82 TRAVELS OF REV. 4LBA.N BUTLER. 
 
 " ment." He lived 46 years, one month and one day ; and go- 
 verned this church 24 years, 8 months and 24 days. He died 
 on the 4th of November 1584. There are two sacristies full 
 of rich ornaments, the principal of which is a large silver sta- 
 tue of St Charles, &c. In this church are several tombs of 
 the dukes of Milan and others, and four pillars of porphyry, &c. 
 But the astonishing profusion of riches lavished on this church 
 has not been displayed to the best advantage. Many fine sta- 
 tues are placed in situations where the birds alone can admire 
 their beauty. The divine office is said according to the Ambro- 
 sian rite. The mass is much longer than the common. 
 
 St Ambrose's church is large, but very old. The gates, 
 which are extremely ancient, are said to be the same which 
 St Ambrose shut against the Emperor Theodosius. The 
 body of St Ambrose, and his sister Marcellina, those of SS. 
 Gervasius and Prctasius, and many other holy persons, rest 
 here A serpent of brass, raised on a marble pillar, is to be 
 seen in this church. Protestants pretend it is to represent 
 the idol of the serpent in the desert, and that Catholics 
 adore it. Though I waa repeatedly in this church, I never 
 saw one raying a prayer near it. It is merely emblematical of 
 Christ on the croso, as the JewLh serpent was ; which 13 quite 
 another thing from what Addison, Misson, and others, repre- 
 sent it to be. This church is now served by Cistercians, who 
 have aflne monastery, recently erected, in the form of a square, &cc. 
 St Francis's church is situated within an ancient burying place 
 of the primitive Christians, in which are found the relicks of 
 SS. Gervudus and Protasius, Nabor, and Felix, tc. It is a- 
 dorncd with good pictures. 
 
 St Victors is a fine rich abbey of Benedictine Olivetans, 
 lately built in a very magnificent style. The church, as an in- 
 scription over the door intimates, was originally erected by 
 Portias, and accounted the principal church of the city ; was 
 afterwards usurped by the Arians, who were expelled by St 
 Ambrose, was honoured by many relics by St Charles, and 
 is indebted for its present magnificence to the Olivetans. The 
 high altar dazzles the eye with a profusion of the brightest 
 marble, l^Is lazuli, jaspis, &c, All the dtars ""c emi;i?iy
 
 Clap. XIX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 383 
 
 splendid, and the paintings are capital, especially that of St 
 George killing the dragon, by RAPHAEL URBINO. The vault- 
 ed cieling is incomparably worked. The domes are spacious 
 and lofty, resplendent with gold. In a vast subterraneous 
 church are the rich shrines of SS. Victor, martyr, Satyrus St 
 Ambrose's brother, &c. 
 
 The Madonna delle Gratle is a handsome church of Domini- 
 cans. The choir is particularly fine, especially the high altar 
 of wrought marble. The paintings are the most capital in 
 Milan. The most remarkable are an Ecce Homo of TITIAN. 
 St Paul and the Angels in the dome, by GAUDENTIO. In the 
 refectory of the convent, our Saviour's Last Supper by LEONARD 
 VINCI. 5". Eustorgius's is a church of the Dominicans in the 
 city, wherein ly the bodies of St Peter Martyr, and of St Mag- 
 nus. It contains also a chapel, in which we were told are kept 
 the monuments that formerly contained the bodies of the three 
 eastern Magi or kings, brought from the east by St Philostor- 
 gius, till the Emperor Frederic the II., in the plunder of the 
 city, transported them to Cologn. The epitaph of George Jlfe- 
 nda in this church pleased me much : It is as follows : 
 
 Vixi aliis inter spinas, mundique procellas ; 
 Nunc sospes caelo Merula vivo milii. 
 
 San Lorenzo is a rotunda similar to the Pantheon in Rome. 
 It is beautiful, but its gildings, Mosaics, and other ornaments, 
 have been spoiled by fire. The seminary and holy sepulchre are 
 under the cllati. The Jesuits possess the house of the sup- 
 pressed Humillati. The church of 57 Celsus is remarkable for 
 his shrine, and the fine architecture of Bramante. 
 
 The church of StNazarius is adorned with pavement of Lybian 
 marble, the gift of Serena wife of the celebrated STILTCO ; but 
 being now broke, it displayed no finer appearance than ordinary 
 pavements. The tombs of the 'Trivulsi are placed in lofty 
 nitches around the porch. 
 
 The church of St Alexander under the Barnabitcs, contains 
 a very magnificent high-altar, formed almost entirely of agates, 
 jaspis, lapis lazuli, &c. inlaid with great art. It is also adorn- 
 ed by two line confessionals, one of which is completely cover,;.' 
 
 Aa 4
 
 384 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 with similar precious stones, inlaid in a kind of Mosaic. A sight 
 very extraordinary. St Barnaby is said to have preached the 
 gospel in Milan. They shew his well, chapel, &.c. at St Eu- 
 Storgius's. 
 
 The Ospidale Maggiore, or great hospital, is a most exten- 
 sive and magnificent building, containing every conveniency 
 within itself, arranged with astonishing neatness, as well as the 
 various trades necessary for its subsistence. St Charles gave 
 his patrimony to it the day it fell to him. Its yearly revenues 
 are 100,000 crowns. It maintains 4000 persons. All the ser- 
 vants observe as strict rules as Religious, read at table, &cc. 
 The principal nobility of Milan are the directors of this noble 
 foundation, meet together in a splendid hall, and every day 
 visit all the sick, &.c. I was particularly struck with their 
 alembic, or great still, which by the same fire distils 57 waters 
 at once into different capitals or glass vials. A rich merchant 
 of Venice lately built a magnificent burying-place without the 
 city for the poor of this hospital. He encompassed it with 
 SL stately portico, and walls with fine gates, a chapel in the 
 middle, &.c. It cost him two millions of lire, or Milanese livres, 
 exclusive of th-j iron gates and rails, which were added by his 
 wife after his death. Jn the lodge of the porter of the hospital, 
 facing the street, there is placed a basket, in which infants are 
 deposited during the night ; the person who leaves the child, 
 rings a bell, which reaching to the porter's ear, he immediately 
 receives the little strangers. He told us that three or four 
 children were generally brought him every night. This be- 
 nevolent contrivance is to prevent children being destroyed or 
 abandoned. These foundlings, amounting commonly to 1500, 
 are brought up by nurses and masters in St Celsns's hospital. 
 Those who have not been diligent in learning a trade, during 
 their apprenticeship, or prefer laziness to labour when they 
 come out, are consigned to the great hospital, or left to beg. 
 Italy is the only place in which I have met with beggars, who 
 cried out, to excite our compassion, they were a poi^ro las- 
 tardo. The other hospitals are, St Lazarus, for those affected 
 with contagious distempers : St Vincent, for lunatics ; St Am- 
 brose for old men unable to work j St Simplician for the incur-
 
 Clap. XIX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 385 
 
 able ; St Denis, for orphans, &c, and five miles out of the 
 town, the Lazaretto for the plague. 
 
 The Colonna Jnfame, or pillar of infamy, is an extraordinary 
 punishment. It stands on the ruins of a house never to be re- 
 built, to perpetuate the memory of two villains, who had con- 
 spired to poison the citizens during the plague. 
 
 The Cabinet of Curiosities of Mr Settala, is deemed one of 
 the finest musaeums in Italy. 
 
 Cardinal Frederic Borromaeo, nephew and successor to Sfc 
 Charles, founded the Ambrosian College, appointing 16 doc- 
 tors to teach all sciences gratuitously, and joining to it the fa- 
 mous Ambrosian Library. The front is noble ; the hall, ex- 
 clusive of the antichamber, is 900 feet long, 24 broad, 35 high, 
 the ceiling gilt and painted. It contains 38,000 volumes, of 
 which 15,000 are manuscripts ; amongst these they shewed us, 
 as the most curious, all St Charles's sermons, wrote by him- 
 self ; also a very ancient Pliny ; a fine manuscript of St Gre- 
 gory of Nazianzen's works in Greek, extremely old, in fine 
 characters, illuminated and adorned with handsome drawings in 
 miniature, at the bottom of the leaves, illustrative of ancient 
 customs and ceremonies ; many of those drawings are unfor- 
 tunately cut out ; a circumstance which gave Cardinal Frederic 
 infinite regret. In the same building are galleries and 
 chambers filled with very curious statues, antiquities and paint- 
 ings, particularly four admirable pictures. But what is justly 
 esteemed the greatest curiosity of this place, is, the works of 
 LEONARD VINCI the celebrated painter, in 12 volumes in fo- 
 lio, in Italian, with fine cuts in miniature. They consist of a 
 collection of ancient customs and various antiquities. King 
 James I. as the librarian informed us, offered 3000 zechins, 
 that is 1500!. for this valuable collection, but the owner, un- 
 willing to deprive his country of so rich a treasure, chose ra- 
 ther to present it to this library. The oldest manuscript ex- 
 tant of Rufirfs Church Hiitory, is also preserved here. 
 
 An Echo three miles from Milan repeates a voice 40 times, 
 by two parallel walls reflecting it to one another, in the house 
 of Signer Sermonetti, who, to avoid the trouble and expence,
 
 s 35 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 *.* 
 
 occasioned by the numerous strangers whom this curiosity 
 attracts, has abandoned the place, and resides in the town. 
 
 The 'Tax imposed on Milan by Charles the V called Mer- 
 *nle, was 12,000 crowns a month, now augmented to 25,000, 
 or 3000,000 a-year ; exclusive of a very heavy tax for the main- 
 tenance of the garrison : The custom-house for importation 
 and exportation of goods, brings in generally about 620,000 
 crowns : The gabelle, or salt-tax, which rises every year, 
 (as the farmers out-bid one another) amounts at present to 
 300,000 crowns; also a tax on tobacco and two million of 
 crowns from the dutchy. 
 
 Milan, after the death of CHARLEMAGNE, sometimes obeyed 
 the emperor, at other times was governed by its own lords, who 
 in the time of John Galeas Visconti the first, obtained the title 
 of dukes ; and these sovereign dukes were chiefly of the two 
 families of the Visconti and the Sforsce. The emperors have 
 generally maintained, that all principalities dismembered from 
 the empire, ought to revert to it again, when the issue-male 
 fails ; and thus the house of Austria has aggrandized itself by 
 such principalities; for it always added them to its own state, 
 Hot to the empire, which some writers assert their coronation- 
 oath imports. The French claimed it, in right of a daughter 
 of Duke John Galeas the I., hence the cruel war between 
 Charles V. and Francis the I. King of France, &c. But the 
 Milanese has generally proved the burying place of the French. 
 
 The Milanese is one of the most fertile countries in Europe. 
 Its ancient capital was Pcivici, in Latin ^Ttctnum, from the river 
 Tesin, ^n which it stands, near the Po, 12 miles from Milan. It 
 VMS du ring 200 years the capital of Lombardy, and the residence of 
 ic Lombard Kings, till Charlemagne destroyed their Empire. It 
 is now very thinly inhabited, unable to maintain a seio-e, but is 
 
 J O " 
 
 still the seat of on university. On the great piazza is a brass 
 statue brought from "Ravenna, intended, as some imagine, for 
 Constantine, others for Antoninus. St Augustin's great church, 
 wherein the saint is interred, is a very rich and magnificent 
 Gothic edifice. In it are also buried Francis Duke of Lorrain, 
 and Richard Dnkc of Suflblk. In the Cathedral, is shewn a
 
 Chap. XIX. A TOUR FORM MILAN TO LYONS. 387 
 
 ship-mast, called by the people, the lance of Roland, nephew of 
 Charlemagne. 
 
 On the road from Milan five miles from Pavia, stands the 
 rich Gbarttr-bouse, the greatest in the world, next to that of 
 Grenoble. Its cells are handsome ; its church completely fin- 
 nished, and rich in admirable statues, and the most beautiful 
 ornaments : The tabernacle of the high altar is of onyxes, agates 
 and other precious stones, and said to have cost 80,000 crowns. 
 The convent was founded by John Galeas the T. and is extreme-? 
 ly rich. The Emperor Charles VI. exacted so exhorbitant a 
 gift from them in his wars, that since that time they have been 
 unabled to practise their former hospitality. 
 
 Nearer Mantua lies Lodi, Cremona, Pizzighitone andSoncino 
 on the river Oglio, also cities of the Milanese. 
 
 From Milan towards the Alps it is a pleasant ride to Como, 
 a small city 15 miles off, which gave birth to PLINY the youn- 
 ger, Paulus Jovius, and Pope Innocent XL Odescalchi, and 
 other eminent men. It is called in Latin Novoccmum, and stands 
 on a lake, called from it Lago di Como, by the Romans, Lacus 
 Larius, four miles long and three broad. Three miles beyond 
 Como is situated the fort Fuentis, the barrier against the Gri- 
 sons. On the lake Lcuco, a branch of that of Como, towards 
 Bergamescho is a fortress called Letico ; and in those parts is 
 the valley Sommascho, which gives name to the regular clerics 
 of Sommascho, begun here. 
 
 A little farther west is the La^o MaggiorCj called by the an- 
 cients Lacus Verbanus, the largest of all the lakes at the foot 
 of the Alps, 46 miles long and five broad. In the western part 
 of this lake appear the two Borromcean Islands, on which the 
 noble family of that name possesses most delightful gardens 
 and palaces. Arone, a town belonging to the same noblemen, 
 contains a statue of St Charles on the banks of this lake, which 
 must be crossed in travelling to Geneva by the vvay of mount 
 Sapion. Mount Vrarallo, St Charles's solitude, lies in the 
 way of Milan to this lake. 
 
 Towards Piedmont is Novara, nearer the Po lies Vigevano, 
 and on the other side that river, we fi:;d Bobbio/ the frontier 
 to the Pannez'nn ; nr.d three strong towns 'T or tana ^ Alexandria t
 
 3S8 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 and Valenza, now belonging to the king of Sardinia, as they 
 bordered on Montferrat. 
 
 The armies in the Parmezan prevented us from seeing the 
 Modenoese, Parmesan and Mantuan territories, which would 
 have been the nearest road from Bologna to Milan. 
 
 MOD EN A the ancient Mutina, is a small city, about 30 
 miles distant from Bologna ; passing the river Panaro. The 
 churches are said to possess good pictures : and the duke's pa- 
 lace is distinguished for its rich furniture. The emperor Fre- 
 deric III. made Borso d'Est Duke of Modena in the year 
 1452. This prince's territory is very inconsiderable. Mr 
 John Talbot was banished the court for two days by King James 
 thell'sQueen, for say ing, that as the duke of Modenawas agood 
 jumper, he must take care not to leap out of his dominions. 
 He possesses an extensive patrimony in the Ferrarois ; and re- 
 cieves from his dutchy 3000,000 crowns a-year ; but pays 
 40,000 to the emperor as tribute. He hoped to have added Massa 
 Carrara to his dominions, but the war will be very unfavourable 
 to his designs. The Modenois is extended by the Bolognois, 
 Urbin and the Ferrarois, contains Rcggio a good town, and on 
 the borders of the Mantuan, Carpi and Corregio, once small 
 principalities, and still fortified. The principal families of 
 Modena are Canossi, Montecuculli, Caprara, &c. of Reggio, the 
 Canossi, Manfredi, &c. 
 
 MIRANDOLA, situated between the Mantuan and Modenois 
 is a small but strongly fortified place. The family of Pico have 
 been the sovereign dukes of it these 600 years, many of them 
 eminent for learning. The state does not contain above 6000 
 subjects. The late Cardinal Pico was the last of this family ; 
 and the house of Austria seized this Dutchy even in his life- 
 time. 
 
 MANTUA is the strongest city in Italy, situated on a lake 
 formed by the Mincio, which nearly surrounds it: The ground 
 in its immediate neighbourhood is very swampy, and is crossed 
 by a bridge. The duke's palace is an immense edifice, but its 
 rich and curious furniture was cruelly plundered b? the Em- 
 peroi's soldiers. Thj duke, refusing to pay homage to the em- 
 peror, and joining with France, was divested of his dominions.
 
 Chap. XIX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 389 
 
 Thus the family of Gonzagua, after many ye^.rs possession, has 
 fallen to nothing. The Order of Knights of the Blood of Christ 
 was instituted by Duke Vincent, in :6o8, in honour of the 
 miraculous blood kept in St Andrew's church in this city. 
 Guastalla was a principality of a younger branch of the Gon- 
 zaguas. Twelve miles from Mantua, near the Po, is Polirone, 
 one of the richest abbeys of the Benedictines, &cc. he pious 
 Countess MAUD was buried in the church of Polirone founded 
 by her father ; but Urban the VIII. transported her ashes to 
 St Peter's in the Vatican. 
 
 The Parmesan lies on the opposite side of the Po to Mantua, 
 between the Modenois, the Milanese, the Genoese, and Tus- 
 cany. The city of PARMA, four miles in circuit, is said to be 
 a place of great gaiety. The duke's palace is much admir- 
 ed for neatness of architecture, rich furniture, and capital paint- 
 ings, especially in the great gallery and cabinet of medals and 
 antiquities. A library of manuscripts was presented to it by 
 Paul III.,8cc. But all these things, we were informed, have been 
 allowed to fall into decay since the commencement of the pre- 
 sent wars, and the extinction of the Farnesii. Ptacenza, (or, 
 as foreigners call it, Placentia) 36 miles from Parma, is situat- 
 ed on the Po, and takes its name from its pleasant situation. 
 The duke has here a handsome palace. The chief families of 
 Placentia, are the Landi, Fontana, &c. ; of Parma, the Palla- 
 vicini, Pepoli, Rossi, Lupi, &.c. The Furntni have been great 
 generals since the icth century, and the defenders of the popes 
 both in their wars in Italy, and when attacked by the emperors. 
 Paul III. of this family being chosen pope, gave Parma and Pla- 
 centia, which then belonged to the holy see, in sovereignty to 
 his son, whom he had by a marriage before he was a clergy- 
 man. The Emperor Charles V. disputed the donation, but 
 compromised matters by giving his own daughter Margaret in 
 marriage to the second duke, after the first had been murdered 
 by the Pallavicini, &cc., it is insinuated by the emperor's orders. 
 MARGARET was governess of Flanders. Her son was the great 
 general ALEXANDER FARXESIUS, third Duke of Parma, who is 
 buried in the Capuchins' church in Parma. The male-line being 
 extinct, the queen of 3pain ; us the female heir, claimed it for
 
 390 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUfLER. 
 
 herself and sons : the emperor pretended a right to it, as being 
 a male fief of the empire. The pope put in a weak claim, which 
 he durst not support, but merely to hinder prescription against 
 his pretensions. 
 
 The Modenois, Parmesan, &c. are very fruitful, like the 
 Boulognois and Lombardy. The Parmesan furnishes all the 
 neighbourhood with excellent muscade wines, and exports to 
 Genoa and all Italy, nay to Constantinople, France, &c. its cele- 
 brated Parmesan cheese, which is about sixpence a pound 
 at Genoa, Milan, &c. The Cremonese cheese is large, and ve- 
 ry little inferior to that of Parma. 
 
 I have mentioned above that we were unable to pass through 
 Modena, Mantua, Parma and Placentia, to Pavia and Milan, on 
 account of those places being in the occupation of the hostile 
 armies. We indeed suffered no great loss ; the palaces of Mo- 
 dena, Parma, and Mantua, having been plundered, and the 
 country thrown into the greatest confusion and misery. All 
 these countries once belonged to Tuscany, and composed the 
 dominions of MAUD, the benefactress of the Roman see, toge- 
 ther with the present Tuscany, and the patrimony of St Peter. 
 Her residence was at Canossi between Reggio and Parma. 
 
 From Milan to Turin it is 70 miles. The country is very 
 fruitful, and the roads beautiful. About 25 miles from Milan, 
 we passed the 'Tcsi'/i, divided into two branches forming an is- 
 land, a very watery country. The Tesin runs through the Lago 
 Maggiore, is broad, deep, and excessively rapid. Yet Dr Bur- 
 net will never persuade me that he sailed down its stream at 
 the rate of 30 miles an hour, though he were a man of greater 
 veracity than his writings prove him to be. The Tesin is very 
 clear and salubrious ; below Pavia it joins the Po. Novarra 
 is a regularly fortified town, but it did not appear to be a place 
 of great strength. It is the frontier of the Milanese. We pas- 
 sed through it without stopping. The river Sessia separates 
 this duchy from Piedmont. In the Novarrese and neighbour- 
 ing country, a great quantity of rice is sown. The fields are 
 flooded with water admitted by little channels covering every 
 flat or bed, half a foot deep, or more. The rice sprouts up ur- 
 <ler the water, as the grain does in Egypt.
 
 Clap. XIX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 391 
 
 From Novarra it is 10 miles to Verceil, the first town m 
 Piedmont. It stands near the banks of the Sassia, which a little 
 below falls into thePo. Verceil was formerly very strong, though 
 situated in a plain. Now its fortifications are so completely 
 demolished, that a few scattered ruins alone remain. Its ca- 
 thedral is St Mary Major, a mean building. But we now 
 take leave of sumptuous churches, rich ornaments, &c. The 
 body of St Eusebrus, the champion of the church against the 
 Arians, lies in a shrine above a side-altar. In its sacristy is a 
 manuscript of the gospels of St Matthew and St Mark, wrote 
 by St Eusebius, covered with plates of silver by king Berenga- 
 rius. Here lies also the body of the blessed Amadeus, duke 
 of Savoy, famous in church history. St Andrews is a royal 
 convent, with a fine church and remarkable steeples, belonging 
 to canons regular. The town itself is very poor. 
 
 By the way of Trin and Verrue, two very strong fortresses 
 on the Po, the road is good to Turin upon the same river, which 
 is even there very large, though near its source. The new 
 city of TURIN is much admired for the beautiful regularity of 
 its buildings. It is the same in all new towns, built all at once, 
 after a regular plan ; such as Manheim, the new capital of the 
 palatinate, Northampton in England, &-C. It is computed to 
 contain 80,000 souls, and the residence of the court renders it 
 gay. The royftl palace, with its gallery of pictures, &.c. h 
 much admired, as well as the chapel, in which is kept the 
 holy shroud, a relic much honoured in all these parts. The 
 walls and fortifications of Turin, and its citadel joining the pa- 
 lace, and consisting of a regular pentagon, or five royal bastions, 
 make it a place of great strength. 
 
 The house of Savoy, according to the most probable opinion, 
 descends from the ancient and illustrious house of Saxony, and 
 from die emperor Otho II. They were first princes of IMau- 
 rienne, a little pro\iace of Savoy ; soon after counts of Sa- 
 voy, before the year 1000. Amadeus the VIII., commonly 
 caUed the I., was made first Duke of Savoy by the Emperor 
 Sigismund, at the council of Constance. Ke became after war Js 
 ii hermit, and was chosen pope, but illegally, by the council oi 
 Basil. These princes acquired likerci:e ths sovereign marqiv.-
 
 39* TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 sate of Suze, the principality of Piedmont, and lately Montser- 
 rat. The last duke, Victor Amadeus, got Sicily, but was 
 soon obliged to exchange it for Sardinia, which brings nothing 
 so valuable as the title of king. The present king, Charles 
 Emmanuel the III., by this war will probably add to his do- 
 minions the important town and fort of Finale, which com- 
 mands the mountains of Genoa, and may have a good harbour. 
 He has also pretensions on the city of Geneva ; and by the 
 marriage of a daughter of the prince of Achaia, and certain con- 
 tracts, has claims on Achaia and Jerusalem in the right of the 
 Emperor Paleologus. 
 
 MONTFERRAT, lying between Piedmont, the Milanese, and 
 the mountains of Genoa, is a fertile country : CASAL its capi- 
 tal, was once a very strong city, but its fortifications were to- 
 tally razed in 1695. It also contains Trino, a small town, 
 fortified, on the left bank of the Po ; Verrue, a very strong 
 town, situated on an eminence ; Nice, called de la Paille, from 
 the little province in which it is situated ; Alba on the Tanaro 
 (which runs into the Po), a weak place commanded by moun- 
 tains : Acqui, an ancient city on the river Bormia, near the 
 Genoese mountains, &.c. 
 
 PIEDMONT contains Verceil, at present dismantled ; Ivrea, 
 regularly fortified ; Turin ; Pignerol, a large town, strongly 
 fortified ; Quiras, on the Tanaro ; Mondovi, built on a hill j 
 Coni, a strong town, also situated on a hill ; Carignan, also 
 strong by its situation, though destitute of walls. 
 
 The Marquis ate of Saluces lies to the west of Piedmont. 
 The city of Saluces is defended by a castle ; Carmagnole en- 
 joys the protection of a very strong citadel. Below it is the 
 city and county of Nice. 
 
 The Marquisate of Suze lies at the foot of Mount Cenis. 
 SUZE is a small town, ill peopled. Its castle stands between 
 the town and the river Doire, and is impregnable, if any place 
 could be so now-a-days. It absolutely commands the pass. 
 
 SAVOY is mountainous, but its valleys produce corn, and its 
 hills afford pasture. Chamberry its capital, is small, ill-built, 
 and destitute of walls, Montmelion, two leagues distant, ris- 
 ing on a rugged mountain, was formerly deemed an inaccessible
 
 Chap. XIX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO 1YONS. 393 
 
 fortress, but it is now dismantled ; as isalso that of St John de 
 Maurienne ; Mousliere, capital of Tarantais'e ; Annecy, near 
 Geneva ; Ripaille in the lordship of Fossigny ; and Thonou 
 capital of the dutch y of Chablais. 
 
 SARDINIA is an island, 200 miles long and 40 broad. Cag- 
 liari is its capital. It is extremely unhealthy on account of its 
 marshes and south winds. It is thinly inhabited, but produces 
 a great deal of corn, olives and wine, and pays in taxes above 
 300,000 crowns a-year. 
 
 SAVOY has no commodities to export, and is very poor ; yet it 
 pays heavy taxes. Piedmont is abundantly fertile and populous, 
 but its trade is not encouraged. Some merchants of Turin, 
 complained to us grievously of its laws and customs being de- 
 structive of commerce. The king follows very much the 
 French method in raising taxes ; and indeed he gets all the lit- 
 tle money that is in his dominions 
 
 The different passages from Italy into France, by land, 
 are either by the Lesser Alps, that is, by Nice, and the moun- 
 tains of Genoa ; 
 
 Or, secondly, by Mount Cenis into Savoy, the best of the 
 passages over the Alps, unless we except that by Trent. Suze 
 i.3 20 miles from Turin. From Suze to Novalise, the last vil- 
 lage of Piedmont and of Italy, it is eight leagues through a val- 
 ley between lofty mountains. After leaving Novalese, passen- 
 gers begin to mount the steep rock for above a league to the 
 inn of the great cross on the top. Most travellers going into 
 Italy, get themselves carried down this descent by two men in. 
 a litter, which is but a jolting mode of conveyance. On reach- 
 ing the top of the hill, it is two leagues along n plain to the 
 post-hcuse and hospital. It is but one post down again from 
 Mount Cenis to Lasnebourgh at the bottom in Savoy. 
 
 The third passage leads over the old Alpes Graii and Mons 
 7V:7.r, now called little Mount St Bernard, from an hospital 
 kept on the top by a father and lay-brother of Cistertians, or 
 Bernardins, where those who are able pay for their accommo* 
 dation. The road is from Aost, and decends into Moutiers ca- 
 pital of the Tarentaise in Savoy, situated in a deep valley. On 
 7o-'/.c ? or Mvns Bardus, nigh the Column?. To vis, is *
 
 394 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 castle absolutely impregnable. This road is in some places 
 very dangerous. 
 
 The fourth passage is over great St Bernard, where the 
 snows are soonest over, and the dangers shortest; of course 
 we preferred it. 
 
 Th~j/&, is over the mount Samplon, or, as the Italians pro- 
 nounce it, Mount Sampion : This Mr Walpole preferred : 
 It is the ordinary post-road from Geneva to Venice -, as ;.i-reat 
 St Bernard is for merchandize. From ?4ilan to the Lago 
 Maggiore, a chaise goes in Jess than a day. From Sesto, where 
 chaises must be left, passengers cress the lake in a boat to 
 Marguzzi. Thence the road is still good in a vallev to Domo- 
 Dossola, a large lurgh. Devedra, a little beyond, is the last 
 village of the M^la, cse. There they begin to ascend Mons 
 Sempronius or Symplon, a most craggy and stupendous rock, 
 at the snmmit of which, in an extensive plain, stands the village 
 St Ploin. Descending this mountain, we arrive at Briga at 
 the bottom, and from thence go to Sion and St Maurice. Mount 
 Samplers is very dangerous for above two days journey, unless 
 the snows be melted in August, or very hard with a settled 
 frost. This road takes 12 days travelling on mules. 
 
 The last common passage, and the best of all, is into Germa- 
 ny, to Inspruck capital of Tyrol, by Trent, where the road?, 
 though somewhat rugged for two days, are not dangerous, 
 and the chaises do not require to be dismounted. In Tyrol, 
 however, they must have four wheels, or an avant- train, to 
 spare the roads, which are good there, though bad in most 
 other parts of Germany, except about Frankfort. 
 
 One might also pass through Switzerland from Como to 
 Chiavennes 9 thence over Mount St Gotard, the highest among 
 the Swiss mountains, and which it requires three hours to as- 
 cend. On the other side by Splugen, Tossano, and Coire on 
 the Rhine, capital of the Grisons, from thence to Zurich, So- 
 leure, Lausanne and Geneva. 
 
 Besides these, flv are five or six other petty roads, espe- 
 ciall^ 1 bftwec-: M - '.^en; ^.r..d Nu~e s frr>:n Dauphiny into 
 Piedmont. Th. .nnc";:--i ..--'. e o^ e r Mount Viso, in 
 
 which the Po has its sotirce, one of which has been cut
 
 Clap. XIX. A TOUR FROM MILAN tO LTONS. 395 
 
 about half a mile long, leading from the valley of the Po, by 
 Ristolas, to Queiras in Dauphiny. 
 
 The second is from Suze by a bad road to Susane, or by a 
 good one from Pignerol along the valleys of Perouse, and Prage- 
 las to Susane; from thence ascending Mount Gene v re, and going 
 down it into a valley, after half a league it leads to Brianqon, 
 and thence to Ambrun. This \vas the road by which ANNIBAL 
 and ASDRUBAL passed the Alps into Italy ; and Caesar the first 
 time he marched out of Italy into Gaul. Charles the VHIth, 
 &c. passed through it. 
 
 The highest of these mountains are, Samplon, great St Ber- 
 nard, and Cenis. All of them are covered with snow ; in some 
 places 30 or 40 yards deep, which freezes so hard that it bears 
 passengers and mules heavy laden. This snow, especially on 
 those parts which are most exposed to the sun, melts in part at 
 mid-day, and runs off on all sides in rapid torrents. But in Au- 
 gust all the snow is melted off, except in hollows and other 
 places, where the sun's rays do not reach; and then it is the saf- 
 est time to pass these mountains. i he chief dangers of pass- 
 ing the Alps, besides slipping upon the precipices, arise, first 
 from the snow being sometimes too soft to bear, so that it sinks 
 under one's feet ; and if the unfortunate traveller happens to 
 step upon a soft place, he very rarely can recover himself, for, 
 by striving to get out, he plunges himself deeper in, till he is 
 literally buried in this frozen mass. Secondly, from being o- 
 vertaken by a shower of snow, which flying all about the be- 
 wildered traveller, so blinds him that he cannot discern the 
 track, and soon sinks into some abyss. But the greatest 
 danger of all arises from the Levancbes, as they call them, 
 which are fleaks of snow that fall like mountains, from the 
 higher parts of the rocks, and bury the passengers, or carry 
 them down the precipices, or into the torrents. There is most 
 danger of these in winter, when the snow is falling-, and in sum- 
 
 O * O* 
 
 mer, when the warmth of the sun has softened the snow on the 
 tops of the mountains. Chaises pass over Mount Cenis, re- 
 quiring only to be to taken in pieces, and carried on mules o~ 
 ver one steep hill. But over all the rest, (except by Trent in- 
 
 B b 2
 
 396 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 to Germany) passengers must be content to travel many days 
 on mules. 
 
 We went in a chaise from Vercell to Ivrale, a small city 
 regularly fortified, standing on the river Dona, which falls in- 
 to the Po near Verrue. We travelled on mules through the 
 long valley of Aost, on the banks of the Doria. Nine miles 
 above Ivraie we passed the fortress Bard, built where the val- 
 ley is narrowest, and absolutely impregnable by castles on the 
 rocks, and by moats, bastions, &.c. filling the whole passage in 
 the valley. Chatillon was once governed by its lord, who en- 
 joyed almost sovereign powers, but the king of Sardinia has 
 stripped him now of alibis jurisdiction. 
 
 Aost, called by the ancients Augusta Pretoria, capital of 
 the dutchy of Aost, consisting of six fertile valleys, was a Ro- 
 man colony, and still displays the ruins of a triumphal arch of 
 Augustus, an amphitheatre, &cc. It is a large city, and a place 
 of some trade. The cathedral contains several antiquities, and 
 some old tombs of great men. Here, and at Ivraie, we met 
 with gentlemen who had lost horses, &c. in the snow on great 
 St Bernard ; but hearing the snows were hard enough and the 
 passage good in a morning before the sun had exerted its influ- 
 ence, we got passports from the governor, (without which the 
 guard of the mountain would let none pass), and set out at 1 2 
 o'clock, to sleep at a paltry house at the foot of the mountain. 
 I had designed to take its perpendicular height ; but could not 
 find a place where I could, without great trouble, and several 
 days time, measure a horizontal level. We had continued to 
 ascend, (and sometimes up very steep rocks), almost always 
 from Aost, for ten miles, and were already very high. We 
 had travelled all the road from Padua with snowy hills on our 
 left hand perpetually in sight, and longed very much to sur- 
 mount them. Next morning we set out by moon-light at 3 
 o'clock, accompanied by IOG mules, I believe, loaden with mer- 
 chandize and passengers ; our mules climbed up the side of a 
 mountain which sloped abruptly on our left hand, down into a 
 deep valley full of vast masses of soft snow, which every day fell 
 from the top, and rendered more dreadful by a furious torrent 
 v/hkh rolled at the bottom ; so that had we quitted the tract
 
 Chap. XX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 
 
 made, we had been lost in the snow After rain, wind, or 
 snows, which change the surface, the villages hire men to make 
 a new road before ny can pass it. It is four miles to the 
 church and convent, or hospital of Cistercians on the top, which 
 is a good house with tolerable accommodations in tiie midst of 
 this frigid region. We got a good fire ana some retreshmeat, 
 and after prayers made haste down the mountain into the 
 Valteline, and got safe to the small village of S^ Peter's, be- 
 tween one and two o'clock. On the top of the moa ,t in an 
 iron spike rose above the snow, designed as a march between the 
 King of Sardinia's dominions and the Valteline. TV-e convent is 
 near it, on the Valteline side. It enjoys considerable revenues 
 and benefices in the valleys. We had a day's journey more, by 
 easy descents, before we cleared the Alps, which were agree- 
 able for their curiosities, and the great variety of new prospects 
 and objects which they presented every moment. The ex- 
 treme difference of manners between the Piedmontese and the 
 Swiss, appears most surprising in so short a step from the one 
 to the other. The Valtelines are a very industrious, manage- 
 ing, thrifty people, and enemies of shew or grandeur. All 
 neat, but nothing gay in their dress. Their houses are all 
 built of boards, without any stone or brick, and free from 
 superfluous ornaments, or any appearance of splendour or 
 magnificence. 
 
 The Vaiais consists of long narrow valleys between high 
 rocks ; divided into the high valley of which Sion is capital, 
 and the low, of which St Maurice is the place of most note : 
 In the first, they speak German, in the hitter French. The 
 Bishop of Sion is sovereign of the Valais, and stiled Count. 
 He is always chosen by and from amongst the chapter of the 
 cathedral. His palace and equipage are ordinary, without any 
 state or grandeur. He exacts almost no taxes, and is rather a 
 father than a sovereign ; whereas the German, and especially 
 the Italian princes, to support their pomp, severely fleece their 
 subjects. Sion is a small town. 
 
 It surprises a stranger to see almost every body he meets of 
 the country among the Alps afflicted with the goitre, a great 
 protuberance of swelled flesh, two or three inches long or n?.or 2 
 B b 3
 
 398 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 in the neck ; incurable, but not mortal. 'Tis commonly attri- 
 buted to their drinking so much snow water ; for all the t reams 
 here arise from melted snow. But others say the air itself 
 contributes to it ; for those have it, who never drink of sucli 
 water. It is a frightful deformity. It was an amusement, on 
 the other hand, to see in the rallies such a variety of new herbs, 
 strange butterflies and other insects, Here marrnotts and other 
 small animals are said to sleep in holes all the winter months. 
 
 We had three days journey from Great St Bernard to St 
 Maurice. No chaises are to be had in this country, though 
 the roads are tolerably good, and we preferred mules to their 
 waggons. We travelled in a continued valley between two very 
 high rocks, over which torrents of melted snow fall in every 
 part, and form beautiful cascades. These all encrease the Rhone, 
 on the banks of which we here rode ; that river, rising in mount 
 St Gothard, passes bySion and St MauricCjaud falls into the lake 
 of Geneva. St Maurice is a small city in a fertile part of the 
 valley, and is the place where the saint whose name it bears, 
 with the whole ThebcEan Legion, was martyred, and in whose 
 honour the abbey of Cistercians here was built by Sigismund 
 King of Burgundy. The abbot is very rich, and a prince of 
 the empire. Leaving this town, the valley opens a little wider 
 on the left hand of the Rhone into Savoy, by a narrow passage 
 at the bottom of high rocks ; on the right side into the canton 
 of Bern. This narrow passage is easily defended, has a castle 
 with a governor for the Valais, and shuts up the whole country, 
 though it is every where narrow. 
 
 P-.ssing over the Rhone by a bridge out of these streights, 
 we entered the (.'union of Berne, which is a very fertile and ex- 
 tensive country. In a wide plain, we saw theirtroops, in a great 
 body of 3 or 4000 men, performing their exercise. They were 
 strong good locking men, as the Swiss ingeneral are, well cloath- 
 ed and armed, and perfectl v well disciplined. The Canton oblig- 
 es every town and village constantly to maintain a certain num- 
 ber of men, ready armed, and provided with a good suit of 
 regime: i ca) uniform. These are obliged to meet on certain 
 days to learn their exercise under a major ; on other days, they
 
 Clap. XX. A TOUR FROM MILAN TO LYONS. 399 
 
 follow their own employments. Thus the Republic has al- 
 ways an army ready of 100,000 men, as I was assured, in this 
 canton alone ; which indeed is the most powerful of the Swiss, 
 and gives the law to ail the rest, who dare not take any resolu- 
 tion without the advice of Berne. The two Protestant cantons 
 of Berne and Zurich are greater and stronger than all the rest 
 together. The Swiss, having formerly tasted the sweets of 
 liberty under Charlemagne's successors, and not relishing the 
 heavy oppression of the emperors and their governors, rebelled, 
 as every body knows, against Albert the first emperor of the 
 House of Austria, and after many civil wars at home on account 
 of religion, seven cantons remain Catholic, four Protestant, 
 two mixed. Their allies are the city of Geneva, Basile, the 
 Grisons, divided into three parts between the Milanese, Tirol, 
 the Swiss, and the Valais. They hold their General Assem- 
 blies at Coire their capital, on the Rhine. The Valais is al- 
 lied to the Catholic cantons only. The mountains are their 
 ramparts, and being also barriers against luxury, softness, am- 
 bition and sloth, constitute the felicity of these people. 
 
 In the Valteline, and part of Switzerland, most of the houses 
 and barns are built altogether of wood. Great blocks placed 
 under every corner raise the floor about two or three feet from 
 the ground, that they may not feel the inconveniency of damp- 
 ness. In this country, no chaises are to be met with except 
 such as are brought from Milan or Lyons, mules or waggons, 
 are used in place of them. 
 
 The Lake of Geneva stretches 12 leagues along the coast by 
 Savoy to Geneva, and 18 by the Swiss from Villeneuve. la 
 the Canton of Berne, towards Geneva, on the Swiss coast, 
 stands the strong castle of Chilian, and the great town of Lau- 
 sanne, governed bv a bailie sent every three years from Berne. 
 The -Pats de, Vaux near Geneva, formerly belonged to Savoy ; 
 but was agreed to be left to rhe canton of Berne by the Treaty 
 ot St Julian, lu Vaux the inhabitants are all Catholics, chough 
 in the canton of Berne they are all Protestants. The hatred 
 of the inhabitants of Berne against the Savoyards is incoticeiv- 
 able, which makers them wish for rhe success of the French in 
 this war. Nor are the Savoyards behind them in a recip ro- 
 Bb 4
 
 40O TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 cal aversion, and they mutually shew it almost as often as they 
 meet. 
 
 We took a boat at Ville-neuve, and crossed the lake to 
 Evian, an inconsiderable town in Savoy. But the weather 
 beginning to be boisterous, we preferred land to water from. 
 that place. The Drance, a pretty large river falling into the 
 lake, we passed on a bridge, and returned a little out of our road 
 to see the charter-house of Repaille. The convent and church 
 are nothing extraordinary : But the woods, walks, and alleys, 
 are finely cut, and the longest I have ever met with. The 
 Vistas terminate on the one side upon the lake, and on the 
 other upon frightful gloomy broken rocks. It was here the 
 Duke Amadeus I. retired and built a monastery, when he 
 quitted the world. From hence, it is but two miles to Thonon, 
 also on the lake, the capital of the dutchy of Chablais, the 
 country in which St FRANCIS OF SALES employed his talents 
 with so much zeal. It is a large town : The Seminary, the 
 fruit of that saint's labours, is a good building, and well endow- 
 ed. The convent of the Nuns of the Visitation, is the second 
 of that order. Annecy is a large city thinly inhabited, situated 
 on a very deep lake, and under high mountains. The Bishop 
 of Geneva, banished from his own city by the Calvinists, re- 
 sides there. Here also is the chief convent of the Nuns of the 
 Visitation, in whose church is kept the body of St Francis of 
 Sales : His heart is preserved in Lyons, where he died. An- 
 necy is seven leagues north from Chambery, and as many 
 south from Geneva. 
 
 GENEVA is a large town, full of merchants, but contains few 
 gentryor palaces, though it be handsomely built. Their church^ 
 to use their own expression tome, when I desired to see it, re- 
 sembles a barn : The crosses on its bells, &c. shew who built 
 it. Several young English gentlemen learn their exercises in 
 the academy at Geneva. It is the thorough-fare of merchandise 
 from Italy to Lyons, &x\ and a place of great trade. The 
 rules and customs of the place, au well as the laws, promote 
 commerce, and the public advantage, whilst in Piedmont and 
 Prance thev are destructive of it. The arsenal is neat and 
 arge. The scaling ladders, taken from the Savoyards, when
 
 Chap. XX. A TOUR PROM MILAN TO LYONS. 40! 
 
 they endeavoured to surprise the town in the night, are its 
 chief curiosity. The Rhone on one side, another river., which 
 falls into the Rhone on the other, and the lake, contribute to 
 its defence. Its fortifications are also very extensive and re- 
 gular, and all its avenues and gates are constantly guarded by 
 a great number of centinels. The whole commonwealth is 
 almost confined to the town ; its territory reaching on one 
 side only a quarter of a mile ; on the other a mile or little 
 more. All the surrounding country is filled with pleasant 
 villas and gardens, some of which display a considerable degree 
 of magnificence* On the immediate confines of the territory of 
 Geneva on both sides, in Savoy are planted great crosses, as it 
 were to shew how far the cross triumphs ; one stands across 
 the Rhone, in sight of the town. 
 
 On leaving Geneva we passed the Rhone again into Savoy. 
 This country though in general mountainous, is not barren : 
 Near the lake of Geneva it is very fruitful and pleasant : 
 But its inhabitants are universally poor, though very industri- 
 ous, being oppressed by heavy taxes. Swarms of young Sa- 
 voyards are continually leaving their country, to seek their 
 fortune elsewhere. A marmote (a little animal caught in the 
 Alps) which has been taught to dance, is a child's fortune ; 
 and by the trade of a chimney-sweeper, or poor pedlar, many 
 raise themselves to great opulence. We had the pleasure of 
 .seeing a young lad of 13 years old, in good cloaths, with a little 
 money in his pocket, travelling to Paris from Turin, carrying 
 his cloaths on his shoulders to save them. He went with us 
 as far as Ville-neuve. We passed through part of the Pais de 
 Gex, a small country under the dominion of France touching 
 the territory of Geneva : and through the diocese of Bellay and 
 Bresse, in which Montluel was the best town we saw. Ja 
 three days a post-chaise brought us from Geneva to LYONS, to 
 our old hotel du Pare, 32, leagues, or 16 posts. Though at pre- 
 sent this route is not provided with post horses ; yet the roads 
 are good and pleasant, running along the banks of the Rhone 5 
 but the country is neither rich nor fruitful, except near the 
 rivers =
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTIETH. 
 
 A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PARIS. 
 
 River Loire. Roane. Province of Bourbonnoif . Bourbon Laney. Bourbon 
 d'Archambauld. Moulins. Abbey of Sept Fonts. Nevres Pouges. Nc- 
 mours--Bourges.--Orleans. Blois. Vendome. Amboise. Tours Saumur. 
 Nunnery of Foncefraud. Poictiers. Abbey of St Maur.Anjou. Angers. 
 Its celebrated Academy for riding. &c.- River Mayenne. Nantes.-- -St 
 Malo. Brest. Rennes. La Fleche. Mans. Province of Normandy. 
 Rouen. Account of the celebrated Monastery of La TRAPPE. Chartrcs 
 -Route to PARII. 
 
 PARIS, JUNE 1746. 
 
 e left Lyons, taking the grand route to Paris by la Tour, 
 Bresle, Croisette, Tarare ; passing through La Fontaine, St 
 Siphorien and L'Hospital, \ve arrived at Roane, a small town 
 on the Loire, which here begins to be navigable. It rises about 
 30 leagues higher in the Cevennes, is here very broad and ra- 
 pid, as it is indeed during its whole course, which is near 200 
 leagues, by la Charite, Orleans, Blois, Tours and Nantes, 
 into the Atlantic ocean. It is the greatest river in France, 
 which it divides into two halves, the inhabitants of which differ 
 much from each other both in language and manners. The 
 people beyond it are more obliging to strangers, and talk an un- 
 intelligible Patois, especially in Burgundy, Provence, Langue- 
 doc, Gascony ; although French is spoken universally by the 
 gentry as well as in all the towns. 
 
 ROANE is 22 leagues from Lyons. Here merchandize is embark- 
 ed for Nantes, but the greatest part of it goes only to Orleans 
 by '..atcr to be there put on land carriages. Monsieur de Gri- 
 maldi, Bishop of Rhodes, going to Paiis, desired we might tra-
 
 Chap. XX. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PARIS. 403 
 
 vel together, thinking there would be less danger of robbers, as 
 he had all his plate with him : We accordingly did so for four 
 or five posts ; but left him at Roane, being unwilling to lose 
 the best part of the day ; and went three posts farther that af- 
 ternoon, to Fringale, Pacaudiere, and St Martin d'Estreaux, 
 having passed through part of the three small provinces of 
 Lyonnois, Beaujolois, (so called fromBeaujeu,the capital though 
 a small town,) and Forres, the capital of which is Tvlontbresson. 
 We next morning entered Bourbonnois a large province very 
 fertile, in the vicinity of the Loire and the Allier : Chesnuts 
 are exceeding plentiful in all these parts. 
 
 BOURSON LANEY, in Latin Bourlonium Ansilmlum, is a town 
 in Burgundy, en the frontiers of Bourbonnois, seven leagues 
 from Moulins. This place is famous for its mineral wa*. 
 ters recommended in cases of palsy, sciatica, rheumatism, 
 dropsy, gout, barrenness of women, &.c. The baths are Ro- 
 man, built of fine marble, white at the bottom, grey at the sides. 
 There are five of them, and ten fountains, seven hot, three cold. 
 They are impregnated with a mixture of sulphur, bitumen, a 
 little salt, nitre, alum and vitriol. Two of these wells are said 
 to be hot enough to boil eggs, and those who drink of them are 
 almost scalded, though they only sip the water. 
 
 The other city of this name is in the county itself to which 
 it gives name, though it be not the Capital. It is called Bour- 
 Lon d? Archambauldj and enobled by the Royal Family of France, 
 which came to the crown in the person of HENRY IV. after the 
 failure of the race of VALOIS. The Bourbons descend from 
 Robert Count of Clermont, son of St Lewis, who married 
 BEATRIX, heiress of Bourbon, in the year 1327, and in his fa- 
 vour King Charles the fair made it a dutchy. 
 
 MOULINS (Molirium^ is its capital, ; 3 posts and one half from 
 Roane through Fringale, la Pacaudiere, St Martin d'Estreaux, 
 Droiturier, la Palice, famous for good boots, St Geran, Va- 
 rennes where is a great abbey, Eschirolles, Bessay and Sannes^ 
 all villages or small burghs. 
 
 Moulins is a large town, but very thinly inhabited and ill 
 built. It is more famous than Senlis for the manufactures of 
 excellent knives, scissars, &.c. which the women tease a strati-
 
 404 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 ger to buy at ever y step. They are indeed well tempered and 
 neatly made, but dear The chief ch arches are those of our 
 Lady and St Peter, belonging to the Jesuits college. The 
 Dukes of Bourbon lived here. Their old palace is still very 
 stately and spacious, with fine gardens and fountains. 
 
 The abbey de Sept Fonts was founded by the Dukes of Bour- 
 bon, by St Bernard's direction and called our Lady's of the Seven 
 Fountains ^Bcatce Marine de septem jantibus). It stands five 
 leagues from Moulins and two from Bourbon Laney, on the ri- 
 ver Bcsuerc, which falls into the Loire a little below it. ts 
 extensive gardens are planted with herbs, for the sustenance of 
 the religious. The monastery and church preserve their an- 
 cient simplicity, without any thing gay or pompous. There 
 are ico monks, who in choir seem to have but one voice, all 
 "begin, pause, aiiclendso exactly together. Their pauses in the 
 middle cf the verses are lonp, to jjive the heart time to feed it- 
 
 O ' O 
 
 self on the sense of the prayers. One perceives no other mo- 
 tion in them but that of their lips : they seem like statues. At 
 conference^ as they term the recreation after dinner, he who 
 presides proposes some subject of piety and nobody speaks, ex- 
 cept when asked by the superior. Whenever they go to church, 
 or to their labour it is always with the greatest order, and most 
 edify ing modesty and recollection, their eyes cast down, and their 
 arms across. The same appears in all their actions. It is sur- 
 prising to see with what vigour those worn-out and mortified 
 bodies apply to their work. Their silence is perpetual; herbs 
 and legumes are their ordinary food ; eggs are deemed a deli- 
 t.acy lit only for the sick and strangers ; flesh and even fish 
 are never allowed, except sometimes for the sick in the 
 infirmary. The late Abbot Dom Eustache de Beaufort found 
 but five religious here, and these without discipline. He ac- 
 complished a reform according to the primitive rule of St Ber- 
 nard, and instead of five left 500 religious ^choir-monks, and 
 lay brothers^. They never jufFer the examples of piety, or any 
 thing that passes within their wa'-ls to be published abroad, 
 much less to be printed, their great desire being to lead an un- 
 known hidden life with God nlon", ^cad to the esteem of men 
 .veld to the world*
 
 Clap. XX. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PARIS. 405 
 
 Setting out from Moulins after dinner, we arrived by 
 5 o'clock at NEVERS, which is 8 posts by la Perche, Villeneuve, 
 Chantenay, St Pierre le Monstier, Villars and Magny, all small 
 places or villages. The Nivernou is a fertile province having 
 on the east the dutchy of Burgundy, and the Loire on the west 
 separating it from Bourbonnois and Berry. 
 
 NEVERS, capital of this province, is a large town, and in one 
 part handsomely built and populous ; on the other side remark- 
 ably thin of inhabitants. The fruitfulness of the soil, with the 
 trade upon the Loire, on the bank of which it is built, contri- 
 bute to render it flourishing. It possesses the best glasshouses 
 in France, with workmen in chrystal, and all ingenious inven- 
 tions that are made of it. There is a law made by the canons 
 of the cathedral that any dog found in the church is to be killed 
 by the battonier. This is notified by an inscription over the 
 door, with a caution to ladies to keep their favourite lapdogs 
 out of the danger. The Duke of Nevers's palace in this towa 
 is fit for a petty king. He is of the family ot Marcini, which 
 marrying the niece of Cardinal Mazarin, took the name of 
 Mazarini Marcini. 
 
 From Nevers, we rode two leagues next morning to PoKges, 
 where we breakfasted. Pouges, is a handsome village, and ce- 
 lebrated for the salubrious qualities of its mineral baths. It is 
 a post also from Pouges to Barbcloup, and another from thence: 
 to La Charlie, a good borough, the best town of Nivernoas af- 
 ter Nevers. The great road to Paris lies I o short posts to 
 Briare, where it leaves the Loire, bending west towards Or- 
 leans ; and from Briare, a small place, enioving r.o sm:ul olinre 
 of commerce on the river, six posts and a half to Afo/?- 
 targis, capital of GatJnois : and six posts and a half thence to 
 Nemours, which gives the title of duke to a prince of thefcuni- 
 ly of Savoy ; and thence two po-'.s ?.:vl a lulf to ountai*ibhau, 
 
 Instead of taking this ro'id, we crossed Berry towards An- 
 gers. At La Charke, there 13 :t very noble bridge over UK-, 
 Loire, separated in the miduie by u small island covered with 
 houses, so that it forms in reality two bridges, as is comrade- 
 ly the case with mc;t of the bridges over this bread river, 
 ILviruv pns^d it, we !em::..i our^t-lve.- in 7? ';>->', and after tr,:-
 
 40<J TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 veiling 1 2 leagues we reached BOURGES, capital of the province, 
 the Avaricum Ehurigum of CAESAR. This city, situated on a 
 small eminence, surrounded by marshes and deep brooks, is a 
 place of considerable strength. Its old walls are very thick, 
 and are defended by above 80 towers. The castle, called La 
 Grosse *Tour, is partly ruined. The river Eure receives here 
 the Auron, the Aurette, the Molon, the Colin and other rivulets, 
 by which it is made navigable. The city is very large, but 
 exceedingly thin of inhabitants. The houses seem to cry out 
 for any that will come to reside in them. The cathedral is a 
 vast Gothic building, one of the largest in France. They keep 
 a furious mastiff in it when shut, to guard it against robbers. 
 There are seven other churches of canons, one of which (the 
 holy chapel) is immediately subject to the holy see. Bourges 
 has 17 parishes, a rich college of Jesuits ; many monasteries and 
 old palaces. St Jeanne Duchess of Berry, and queen of Lewis 
 XII. diedherein the nunnery of the Annunciation, which she had 
 founded in 1504, and is buried in the holy chapel. The diocese is 
 one of the largest in France. Bourges was made an university by 
 St Lewis ; and has had very eminent professors in law, as Alciat, 
 RebufFe, Balduin, Cujas, &c. It is termed the centre or mid- 
 dle point of France, and is cheap and healthy. Berry likewise 
 contains the cities of Issoudon, Chatoux Roux, St Aignan, 
 Chateauneuf, Aubigny, S;c. small towns. The province is 
 commonly called fertile ; but it certainly has little to boast of, 
 consisting principally of extensive woods, barren heaths, and to- 
 wards Touraine of sandy ground ; still it is said to be a finer 
 country than Poitou, Limosin, Sainctogne, &c. At Bourges 
 they talk good French, though situated beyond the Loire ; but 
 the language here soon begins to alter. 
 
 It is 21 leagues from Bourges to ORLEANS, so called from 
 the Emperor AURELIAN, to whom it owed its original splendor. 
 The situation of this city is most agreeable and advantageous, on 
 the prince of the rivers of France. But in consequence of its 
 many disasters, ithas declined considerably from its former gran- 
 deur, being greatly deserted. Even the churches have never 
 recovered themselves since pillaged by the Huguenots. Its 
 bridge over the Loire, divided into two by an island in the mid-
 
 Clap. XX. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PARIS* 407 
 
 die, consists of 1 6 arches, and is adorned with brass statues of 
 our Lady, of King Charles the VII. and of the Pucelle d' Or- 
 leans. The revenue of the bishop of Orleans is 30,000 livres. 
 We took cross roads from Bourges by Ville Franche, and 
 Romorentin to BLOIS, in Latin Blesce, capital of its little county, 
 situated on the Loire, eight posts below Orleans. The banks 
 of the Loire are in Paris boasted of as the most agreeable and 
 healthy place in France, particularly Blois, in so much that 
 the French kings frequently retired thither, and their children 
 were often brought up in that city ; which was sufficient to 
 make it the rendezvous of all strangers. One reason for this 
 however might be that the French language is certainly spoke 
 in its greatest purity at Blois and Tours of any part of France. 
 Good roads, a fruitful, country, and so fine a river, which 
 is full of islands large enough to contain pastures, houses 
 or woods, contribute to render it a delightful spot. But 
 Blois has now lost its greatest charm, its genteel and agreeable 
 society, nor has it any pleasant houses fit to accommodate a 
 stranger. Part of the town and the cathedral is situated on a 
 very steep hill, which it is troublesome to climb. The marsh- 
 es on the other side of the river, extending above a league in 
 breadth, are very disagreeable, and must be unhealthy. So that 
 Blois is not the town I should prefer for my residence. All I 
 could find worth notice in it, are, the fine stone bridge over the 
 Loire, the bishop's palace, delightfully situated on a hill, on the 
 bank of the river, and the fine gardens adjoining : also the ca- 
 thedral, though nothing extraordinary, and the pleasant walk 
 on the other side, resembling a cours : The city is still rich, and 
 the bishop enjoys 25,000 livres a year. Its greatest ornaments 
 arc, the ancient king's palace on the rock over the riser, and 
 its Park. The castle of Buzi or Buri, is three leagues from 
 Biois. In its court, raised on a pillar, is a fine brass statue of 
 King David, said to have been brought from Ro : ne Vendome 
 is remarkable for a lake, which is said to be regularly dry eve- 
 ry seven years ; but this must be a traveller's tale, for the 
 people in Blois have no proof of it. Its dukedom, enjoyed by 
 Henry the IV,, was settled by that prince on a natural son.
 
 408 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 The banks of the Loire are in many places very low, and its 
 floods easily drown the country towards Berry. The waters 
 left in the hollow and low grounds form great marshes, espe- 
 cially during winter, and after the rains. On the other side, in 
 Orleanois, Blesois, Touraine, &c., a very broad rampart, called 
 the Levee, is raised and kept in exceeding good repair, forming 
 not only a strong dyke to preserve thecountry against the floods, 
 but also a very good highway ; an example which ought to 
 be imitated in many other places, especially by the Pope on the 
 banks of the Po, in Ferrarois and Commacchio. From Blois 
 to Amboiss we had five posts on the Levee, and three and a half 
 more to Tours through the posts Chousy, Veuve, Haut Chan- 
 tier, Amboise town, Lussanr, and Mount Louis j to Tours 
 seventeen leagues. 
 
 Ainboise stands on each side the river, a small town, but bet- 
 ter built than Blois. Its bridge over the Loire is separated in 
 the middle by an island full of houses ; and the first part of it 
 is of wood, the other of stone. The French kings used often to 
 retire hither as well as to Blois. Their palace is still an entire 
 strong edifice, situated on a rock, called the castle of Amboise. 
 Its walls are of an incredible thickness. There are preserved 
 in it a pair of gigantic stag's horns, too large to be natural. 
 At Montlouis, a small town, many of the houses are not built y 
 but cut in the side of a rock ; the chimneys only appearing a- 
 bove ; and the doors in the side. One post brought us from. 
 Montlouis to TOURS, a great town, displaying long and spacious 
 streets, and many handsome houses. 
 
 The province of T^ouraine, is the most agreeable in this part 
 of France. By many it is esteemed the most charming coun- 
 try of the whole world, the delight of France, as "Tempe was 
 of TLcssaly and Greece. TOURS is the glory of the Loire. It 
 contains the greatest number of inhabitants of fashion ; and is 
 a very cheap, as well as most agreeable place. The Cathedral, 
 built by the English in honour of St Gratian, is a great Gothic- 
 edifice. Amongst the epitaphs in it, one of Ouvrande, master 
 of music in this place, pleased me very much ; importing, that 
 his only concern on earth was to praise God, and this he pray- 
 ed might be his only recompence for eternity.
 
 Chap* XX. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PARIS. 409 
 
 Laus divina mihi semper fuit unica cura ; 
 Post obitum sit laus divina mihi unica merces. 
 
 St Martin's church is spacious, but dark and old. Tha' 
 saint's tomb is shut up with iron rails ; it was plundered, and 
 the sacred ashes, held in the greatest veneration by all France 
 for mar.y ages, burnt by the Huguenots under King Charles IX. 
 in 1562, as some Latin verses inscribed near the place relate. 
 The other relics and monuments in the churches here, met the 
 same fate. A handsome bridge over the Loire joins the town 
 to the suburbs. The silk and cloth manufactures have muck 
 enriched this city. The Archbishop de Rastignac is very- 
 young, but assiduous in his diocese. His yearly income is 
 18,000 livres. Kis suffragans are, Mans, whose income is 
 27,000 livres; Angers 16,000; Rennes 1 6,000 ; Nantz 25,000; 
 Quimper, 14,000; Vannes, 16,000; Leon, 8,000; Treguier, 
 14,000 ; St Brieu, i8,cco ; St Malo, 30,000 ; Del, 20,000. 
 
 The Calif maille is a pleasant place for walking and playing. 
 Marmottstier is a great abbey on the other side of the Loire., 
 said to have been founded by St Martin. In Tcurair.e arc-, 
 three manufactories of silk : The first and greatest founded by 
 Lewis XI. in 1470. When Cardinal Richelieu was minister, 
 Tours alone employed 20,000 men in this branch ; 50:10 mas- 
 terships ; 700 mills to prepare the silk, and above 40,000 per- 
 sons to divide it, according to the account of Boulainvilliers, 
 in his Etat de France, and at that period, the tarif of the silk 
 manufacture amounted to iCjOOO,ooo livres per annum. Since 
 the ministry has ceased to protect it, this is so much diminish- 
 ed, that Tours at present employs but 1200 masterships, 70 
 mills, and 4000 -persons to prepare the silk. This city for- 
 merly consumed 90 oxen a week, now it does not require 25, 
 
 The fens near the Loire must render Tours, Blo:3, S--C. very 
 liable to fevers. I should chuse Tours for my residence i;>. 
 midsummer ; Bourges, in rainy seasons ; but Aix and Mont- 
 pellier during the inclemency of winter. From Tours by 
 Luynes, (a borough which gives title of duke to a family o 
 flie Albert, called Maille Luynes) next by La PiV, c t Mar-.. 
 
 C c
 
 410 TRAVELS OF RFV. ALBAN BUTLEK. 
 
 Langets, Trois Valets, Chouze, St Catherine de L'Isle, Auger, 
 Saumur, St Martin de la Place, Roziers Ministre, and Dague- 
 nierc, it is 14 posts to Angers. 
 
 Saumur, 16 leagues from Tours, is a tolerable handsome 
 town, with a good bridge on the Loire. Fontevraud (Fans 
 Ebraldi) the greatest nunnery in France, is a league distant 
 from the Loire, delightfully situated on the frontiers of Tou- 
 raine, and is the chief house of the religious order of that name, 
 a reform of St Benedict's rule, founded by the blessed St RO- 
 BERT of Arbrlssel in noo. The order consists of 57 priories 
 in France ; and had several monasteries in England before their 
 dissolution. The abbess of Fontevraud is general of the order, 
 and has the jurisdiction over the monks as well as the nuns, 
 in their separate houses ; an extraordinary regulation. The 
 present king's daughters are brought up here. 
 
 We just entered Poitou at Cvouz,?, a large province, fertile in 
 wine, corn, and cattle, bnt thinly peopled. We did not think 
 it worth our while to visit POITIERS, though once so great a 
 city, and celebrated on account of the signal victory obtained near 
 it in the year 1356, by the heroic BLACK PRINCE, over the 
 French army commanded by King JOIIM, and where that mo- 
 narch was taken prisouer. The only thing which is mention- 
 ed as remarkable, is La Pierre Levee, a huge square stone 25 
 feet long and 17 broad, placed upon four s-tones, half i league 
 out of the town ; famous for the fables related about it. The 
 other cities of Poitou are still less curious and inconsiderable. 
 The principal are,Zoz^z//?, famous for the story of its spirits, and 
 Chatelherault\ t renowned for a broad bridge, its chrystal works, 
 manufacture of false jewels, &.c. and Saumur y which was the uni- 
 versity of the Hugenots in France. Here are many fine seats, 
 as that of Count de Repalicr, that of Mons d'Aubigny, cc. 
 
 Near Ministre is situated the famous Alley of St Maur 
 sur Loire. The congregation of St Maur is a reform of Bene- 
 dictines commenced in France, and confirmed by Gregory XV. 
 in 1621, and aguin by Urban VIII. in 1627. It is divided in- 
 to six provinces. The abbeys of St Denis, of St German de Pre:: 
 In Paris, of St Remigius in Rheims, of Marmoutier in Tours, 
 
 ' This ci'.v giv-3 tith of Dal:: uf ChatclhcravJt to the Dir-rr of Hamilton in Scethn;?.
 
 Clap. XX. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PAR^J. 411 
 
 St Peter of Corbie, of Fleury, or St Bennet's on the Loire, of 
 the Trinity of Vendome, &.c. The chief abbey of this con- 
 gregation is this of St Maur sur Loire four leagues from Sau- 
 mur, and five from Angers. It is a very magnificent building, 
 recently erected in a most solitary place, and almost inaccessible, 
 unless by crossing the river. This reform is very austere. 
 They never eat flesh, &c. The many editions of the fathers, 
 and other learned works published by them, are proofs with 
 what application and success they cultivate learning. 
 
 Almost two leagues before we reach Angers, the road leaves 
 the banks of the Loire, and we found the country a continued 
 marsh till very near the town. Ingenious flood-gates confine 
 the waters within some bounds, otherwise they would over- 
 flow the whole country. It was now the month of May. We 
 were informed that, after long dry weather, these marshes are 
 pretty dry. 
 
 Anjou is famous in our English history from the time of 
 King Henry II. This duchy is 30 leagues long, and 20 broad, 
 is in many parts very fruitful, and abounds in game. Some 
 d partridges are to be found, but they are by no means supe- 
 rior to those in England. 
 
 ANGERS is a large city, pretty populous, but its buildings 
 are generally inelegant. Although it be the seat of an univer- 
 sity, it can boast of few professors or students. The Ora- 
 torians, who have here n good college, are esteemed the best: 
 scholars ; but they are at present under a cloud on account of 
 the disputes respecting Jansenism. The bishop is chancellor j 
 and his grand vicar vice-chancellor. Kino; Lewis XIV. insti- 
 
 o o 
 
 tutcd here a Royal Academy, consisting of 30 members, exclu- 
 sive of the bishop and king's lieutenant. 
 
 He also erected an Academy, or Menagerie for riding, settling 
 a handsome income on the director or master, besides his emo- 
 luments from his pupils. Old Monsieur Pignerolle, formerly 
 Ecuyer to the Duke of Loraine at Nancy, who holds this 
 situation, has greatly improved the institution. His son. 
 at present continues the same indefatigable application, and 
 
 ioins to a most laudable care of his exercises a creat pr ^ " y 
 
 01 iiurc/ 
 .ind Christian pifty ; Most essential qualities in such o!ace" ; 
 
 C c ?
 
 412 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 which are generally debauched and licentious, as is that cf 
 Paris. The greatest part of the scholars live as boarders with 
 the master. Most of the French live in the common gallery ; 
 and only learn to ride a very short time. Almost all foreigners 
 have their own apartment with their servant, &c., which may 
 cost them, including the fees paid their masters, their exercises, 
 &c. 1 80 or 2ocl. Sterling a-year. The Menagerie is superior 
 to any I saw in France, except that of Versailles, far better 
 than those of Lyons, Paris, Aix, &tc., having a double yard 
 under cover, in a large handsome building, having the centre 
 and the points in the round all marked. The French, Germans, 
 and Spaniards, ride by rule ; other nations without any. This 
 art teaches to sit on horse-back gracefully, to ride firm in all 
 paces, and is of singular advantage to officers in learning them 
 to manage their horses, both during an engagement, and when 
 fightine a dviel. 
 
 o o 
 
 The Cathedra! of Anger?, dedicated to St Maurice, is ?. 
 large old Gothic building. The tombs of its ancient bishops, 
 and of Renatu:; Kir.g of Sicily, are its chief ornaments and 
 curiosities. The old epitaphs arc generally paltry and barbar- 
 ous. In the puvcli are hung up huge bones of some unknown 
 sea-imnEter. Jn the town and suburbs are four rich Bene- 
 dictine abbeys, vi?.. St Aubiii'sy in which are the shrines ci 
 St Aubin and of St Clarus, in silver gilt, and adorned with pre- 
 cious stones ; the high altar surrounded with fine brass pillars. 
 St A T ..:^t7j-'j' monastery is more recently built, on a hill on the 
 c'hcr s: le of the t-wn ; thst of St Cyr or St Cerge has tolerable 
 st-stues, Li the treasury of the cathedral, is shewn the swor.I 
 of St iM.'.urLf, and they say one of the vessels which our 
 SAV;OU.\ used at the marriage of Gana. 
 
 An go i^: i.-j Ir.silt on two rising hills. The river Mayenne 
 runs in the valleybetvveen, over which has been lately thrown 
 a handsome bridge, adorned with a small pyramid. The 
 M'ayennt iises uI h Abnqon, runs bf Mayenne, a small town, 
 ?.-\d has become a broad river at An-err, a little btlow which 
 . tv it falls 1:1:3 tlie Loire. At Angers it receives the Loir, 
 ''Jhir^ ?'." v>r dU-rcnt froai L:i Lvi-'i^ which risin not ft:
 
 Chap. XX. A TOUR FROM LYON^ TO PARIS. 413 
 
 from Chartres, passes by Vendome, Fort du Loir, a strong 
 castle three leagues from Tours and La Fleche to Angers. 
 
 It is nine posts by the Loire to NANTES, the richest city of 
 Brittany, well fortified, being surrounded by wails, and defend- . 
 ed by a strong castle on the river. It is a town of great trade, 
 as is also St MALO on the other side of Brittany, and Ent.ST 
 which is the principal naval station of France ; as its secure deep 
 harbour is ?lmost shut in from the sea by a tongue of lard.. 
 Though RENNES is capital of this fertile province, we saw 
 but very little of it, for after a week spent at Angers, we 
 returned by La Fleche and Be.lesme to Paris. 
 
 We travelled five posts or ten leagues of very bad road by 
 Bourgneuf, to La Fleche, there being neither pavement nor 
 any hard bottom, and the soil extremely fat and soft with 
 rains ; halt a mile of it was entirely in water, but as the bottom 
 here is sound and good, there is never any danger except in a 
 flood ; and we had in Italy travelled through water, (perhaps 
 not so far), as deep as here, even up to the axletree. La Fleche 
 is a good burgh, and I believe the most moderate place to live 
 in of all France, (even more so than Lambcse in Provence), and 
 is celebrated on account of the great college of the Jesuits, 
 built by King Henry IV. This seminary is a palace large 
 enough to lodge three kings ; ar.d is indeed more magnificent 
 than many royal houses ; but it is dirty, nor has it that neat- 
 ness which pleases the eye. The great gallery is the n cst 
 remaikable part of the edifice : Ic has three courts. 1 he 
 boarders, who are always numerous, are kept very strictly, 
 and in great confinement. The church is built in an elegunt 
 style of architecture, with a large corridor and upper gallery 
 around it. The heart of King Henry IV. is kept in a gilt 
 case hung up near the high altar. La Fleche stands not on 
 the Mayenne, as some say, but on the Loir, a small river, for- 
 merly mentioned, which f;.lls iato the Mayenne at Angers, 
 nears its confluence with the Loire. 
 
 Five posts more of bad road, by Guesselard, brought us to 
 
 MANS, in Latin Cenomanum, one of the most ancient cities of 
 
 Gaul, but greatly injured by the wars of the Normans and 
 
 English, and by fire: yrt still possessed of some churches 
 
 C c ?
 
 314 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 remarkable enough, and a new beautiful convent of the 
 Annunciation : It is the seat of a bishopric and capital of 
 the province of Maine. From Mans, we experienced better 
 road by Savigny, Bonnestable, and St Cosme, six posts to 
 Bellesmc, capital of the little province La Perche, the soil of which 
 13 like that of Normandy, which we only entered. 
 
 The soil of Normandy perfectly resembles that of the best 
 part of England, exceeding fertile in corn and pasture, apples 
 and pears, and abounding in large cattle ; cyder is the ordinary 
 drink, very good for those who can purchase it ; nor is the 
 best cyder extravagant. Normandy is above 70 leagues long, 
 38 broad,' and 340 in circumference. The wars with the 
 Normans constituting no inconsiderable part of the English 
 history, this people is very \vell known in Britain. They are 
 called Normans, that is Northern Men, are esteemed very 
 crafty, and to have so many cheating fellows and thieves among 
 them, that a rogue in France is usually called a Norman ; 
 though the inhabitants of Maine are, at least in the proverb, 
 said to surpass the Normans : Un Manceaux want un Norman 
 t*t de??::. Normandy enjoys seteral privileges ; but seems not 
 happier for them. In the generality of Rouen are 1850 parish- 
 es, ant! about 7:0,000 souls ; but of these there are scarcely 
 50,000 that live comfortably; the greater part lie on straw, if 
 \ve may credit Count Boulainvilliers. The Normans are the 
 most addicted to Iu\v3v,it3 of any people whatsoever. 
 
 ROUEN the capital lay too far out of our road ; and the 
 churches were plundered by the Hugenots, as they were indeed 
 In ail these parts. This city was formerly esteemed the thud 
 in France, and is still of great extent, but thinly inhabited. 
 The Seine brings up to it vessels of 200 tons. The things most 
 deserving a traveller's attention in it are, the royal abbey of 
 St Out-n ; the Cathedral qf our Lady, which is very large and 
 curious, and contains the greatest bell in France, called from 
 the archbishop who made it, George Amboise : It is 13 feet 
 hish, ii in diameter, and of a stupendous thickness ; weighing; 
 
 O * * ' O CJ 
 
 4 0,000 pounds, according tn the inscription upon it. In the 
 name church i: - , the F,^i'>.r :Tc;;rr, Luilt by the same George 
 Amboise, with the rronc-- which the- peonle gave to the church
 
 Clap. XX. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PARIS. 415 
 
 in compensation for a leave to eat butter in lent. The arch- 
 bishop of Rouen has 60,0000 livres a-year. His suffragans 
 Bayeux 70,000, Avranches, 20,000, Evreux, 15,000, Seez, 
 10,000, Lisieux, 40,000, Contances, 14000. 
 
 The wooden bridge over the Seine, built on barges is 270 
 paces long, and rises and falls with the tide. The other prin- 
 cipal towns in Normandy are, Dieppe, a sea-port, with a small 
 safe harbour ; Harfleur, Honfleur, and Havre de Grace on the 
 mouth of the Seine ; Lisieux, Bayeux, Cherbourg, Coutances, 
 Avranches, Evreux, (remarkable as being the place where the 
 heroic Pvcelle of Orleans was burnt) Alenqon and Seez. 
 
 In the diocese of Seez in Perche, on the borders of Normandy 
 stands the Abley of La Trappc, which we went from Bellesme 
 by Mor-tagne, the distance of five leagues, to visit. The his- 
 tory of its reform is shortly this : Abbot ARMAND JOHN LE 
 BOUTHILLIER DE RANGE, of the illustrious family oi Bouthinier, 
 then possessed of several high offices in the King's council and 
 court, had embraced an ecclesiastical state, was destined to the 
 archbishopric of Tours, and for his eloquence esteemed the 
 oracle of the French clergy. The king had heaped upon him 
 great church revenues. Being 30 years old, he bega/i to enter- 
 tain many scruples whether his life and the employment of 
 his revenues, were agreeable to the dictates of religion and duty, 
 especially his spending church lands on extravagant equipages, 
 and table ; and his time in diversions and sports. He chose 
 counsellors who were the least disposed to flatter him. By 
 their advice he sold his paternal estate, and which brought him. 
 3V CC livres a-year in land; all this he gave to the poor, to 
 make restitution for the ecclesiastical revenues he had already 
 squandered away. Next he resigned three abbeys and two 
 priories which he held in commenda?n, and then took upon 
 him the Cistercian habit in one of his own abbeys, called our 
 Lady's of La Trappc. Finding here such a neglect of discipline, 
 and so many relaxations, that filled him with horror, he was 
 resolved to introduce a reform according to the primitive in- 
 stitute by St Bernard, which with much difficulty he at last 
 effected, commencing it in 1664: He died in the year 1700, in fhe 
 75th year ofhis age ; having spent 37 in that austere solitude. 
 
 C c 4
 
 416 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 These religious live entirely dead and buried to the world. 
 They never speak even to the nearest relation that should 
 call to see them, though he may see them without speaking. 
 They are completelv ignorant of what passes in the world j 
 war, peace, &cc. they know nothing of, unless the abbot in gene- 
 ral terms recommends to their prayers the king during the time 
 of war. Of their nearest relations, they are permitted to hear 
 no accounts, and can never either write or receive any letter 
 after their profession. Indeed if the parent of any one of them 
 dies, the abbot, when he is informed of the event, tells them all 
 together, that a near relation of one of them is deceased, that 
 all may pray for him ; and every one who left a parent in the 
 world, knows not but it may be him. They can never speak 
 to any one, but to the Superior, or Father-Confessor, unless by 
 signs ; nor one word even then, without necessity ; only 
 the abbot, if he be expressly called for, or he who is to receive 
 strangers, may speak to those who come to visit them ; but I 
 was astonished to see how much he was afraid of speaking or 
 heiring one word superfluous, or one word of news. In silence, 
 among one another, they are stricter than St Bernard ever was. 
 
 Their drink was formerly poor cyder ; at present it is either 
 that or small beer ; every one on entering may cause either of the 
 two, but must always keen to his choice. Almost all of them 
 except natives or" Normandy prefer the small beer, the sour cy- 
 der being verv unwholesome. They at no time eat fisli, nor 
 ever touch flesh or eggs, unless when very sick : Nay even on 
 he bed of i!eaLh, ther arc permitted to e:it nothing which may 
 "raufy their palate. On fustinjr days they eat herbs oil- 
 
 J t; / 
 
 <'d with a link- sr,lt a;iu writer, on other thy 3 roots or legumes, 
 or herbs boiled with a little milk mixed with some cyder or 
 -,mall beer ; and a slice of course bre:-;d. The brother who had 
 ihe charge of the bakehouse, having once made the bread what 
 the Abbot R-mct judged a litle too line, he put the whole house 
 under penance to appease God. At collation they have nothing 
 but three ounces ; snJ on fasting days only two ounces of dry 
 <:reacl. Their beds are hard, r.ad uneven, worse than boards. 
 i or r<?crc:uio;i they arc pcrniiiteJ to till the fields an hour and 
 half in il,e morning, and aj much in the afterncjn ; this lay 
 brothers wo: 1 !; a ^o^ navt of r!:? dr.v. On sunr!ny: ; the hour-
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 417 
 
 and half is spent in walking alone, or reading in their cells, 
 which they scarce ever enter, but when going to bed at night. 
 They are never allowed above five hours for sleep ; and this is 
 interrupted. They are nine hours every day in choir, and sing 
 in a firm high voice. They have many disciplines, long pro- 
 strations, and a perpetual mortification of all their senses. 
 Abbot de Ranee turned out a novice, because in weeding the 
 garden, he observed he put by the nettles with his hand not to 
 be stung by them. They never change, or put off" any of their 
 clothes when overheated at their work, nor put on more in win- 
 ter. When they come to the fire, which is seldom, they muse 
 stand and read, not very near ; and never put out a foot or pull 
 up their clothes to warm themselves. Their recollection is 
 singularly edifying and astonishing. They never know w 7 hat 
 passes in their own house, except they hear something confes- 
 sed in chapter. They never even see any thing but what they 
 cannot help : They know one another at most by sight only, 
 and no one is ever named or known to another except by the 
 namehe assumedon entering into the order. They never contract 
 familiarities ; even brothers, if there happen to be such here, 
 have no acquaintance together ; so that it has sometimes hap- 
 pened that a brother has died in the persuasion that his brother 
 was still in the work!, who had been many years in the 
 convent. They know not what novices are admitted, go 
 out, &c. Indeed they generally see no one but such as 
 are next themselves, and of them only the habit. Their 
 eyes are always cast down on the ground, and never look 
 up even at strangers, when they meet them. We walked in 
 their refractory ; yet I could not observe one look up to see 
 what sort of persons we were ; not even those who passed by 
 us, and saw our feet, swords, and made low reverences. Thh 
 put me in mind of St Bernard, whose monks were so mortified, 
 so dead to curiosity, and so recollected in the presence of God, 
 that not one lifted up his eyes to see one of the greatest Popes 
 that ever was, with his extraordinary train. They appear 
 ihvays absorpt in heavenly contemplation, insensible to all 
 curiosity, sensual! tv, distraction, or passion, crucified to the 
 ilesh. a;::! T ,vc:l :, v:n~ ~>n!v to God. Tlicir recollection i:;
 
 418 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLEH. 
 
 the fields, at meals, and every where, is most moving ; but 
 their respect and devotion in the church is truly astonish- 
 ing. The three things among these solitaries which are 
 hardest to flesh and blood are. First their continual em- 
 ployment without interruption from exercise to exercise, with 
 such poor sustenance and so great watchings, &c. while the 
 cold makes them subject to such severe pain and rheumatisms, 
 thr.t many can scarce drag themselves to choir, or kneel or bow, 
 yet they do all chearfully, though after a short time, at first, their 
 legs generally swell through fatigue The second thing is 
 that rule of their institute by which every one is obliged to 
 follow in every thing the will of any other, though expressed 
 only by sign, as much as that of a superior. Once a lay- 
 brother, on a high tower sat on a loose tottering stone to 
 work, because another had pointed it out to him. Another put 
 the singing books all wrong willingly, because an ignorant per- 
 son of the community had pointed cut that method of placing 
 the notes. The third is the harshnes with which the superior 
 treats them when sick. Abbot de Ranee, having asked one of 
 them, who was in his last sickness, how he had slept ; and De- 
 ing answered by the dj ing man, that he had not sl?pt well, 
 said to him, in a severe tone, that he was delicate indeed, 
 for he had slept too well. Next morning, when asked again, 
 he answered, he had slept well ; though as the brother infirma. 
 rian told the abbot, he had not shut his eyes ; being chid by the 
 Abbot and asked the reason, he said, because he had slept as 
 well as the night before, which his reverence had told him was 
 veil. They are carried to the church and laid on ashes on the 
 floor to receive the last sacraments and die ; the moment in 
 which these martyrs of penance are usually most chearful. 
 
 La Trappe stands in the midst of woods and fields In the 
 forest, in which they often hold their conferences in great 
 retirement, is this inscription. 
 
 Seigneur, quc jc me plals a i'ombre cie ces bois, 
 Ou j' enteiids resonncr sans cesse a mes oreilles 
 !Hes '.5-ju:x Ics plus deuces voix, 
 O'u ran ntt ?it ? }.' fnvlo Ics rlur, rarcs mcrvcilks :
 
 Clap. XX. A TOUR FR01VI LYONS TO PARIS. 419 
 
 Mais helas ! que je suis confus, 
 
 Quand je vois ces chenes, battus 
 
 Par les vents, qui leur font la guerre 
 
 Malgre tous leurs efforts s' clever jusqu' aux ctetix 
 
 Et que mon foible coeur se presente a res yeux 
 
 Lachement rampant sur la terre. 
 
 They have similar inscriptions in every part of the house, 
 too long for copying. The convent is a league from the village : 
 and has no house near it, but its own out-buildings, viz. an inn 
 for strangers, consisting of rather small rooms ; but the lodg- 
 ings are tolerable. Here they eat flesh, and live very cheap. 
 The abbey itself is a low simple building, of considerable ex- 
 tent, built in the form of a square. The lay brothers cannot 
 speak ; but three or four sort of third brothers, who wear a 
 particular habit, can. One of these came to the door to us, and 
 having prostrated himself before us, conducted us first to the 
 chapel to say a prayer, then to the guest-room, where are put 
 up rules for strangers, never to speak of news, &tc. To be 
 short, we saw the cloister, dormitory and cells, and chapter- 
 house, on which is written : 
 
 Le plus leger defaut passe ici pour un crime, 
 Sans pitie, sans excuse, il est toujours puni, 
 Et le corps, de 1'esprit 1'innocent ennemi, 
 Par des rigueurs en devieni 1?. victime. 
 
 Their severity in this is so grear, that when an old strangers- 
 abbot, 70 years of age, by a sign signified to a brother who 
 would shew him his cell, not to give himself the trouble, which 
 the other obeyed by rule, De Ranee reproached this abb or 
 in chapter, that, not content to ruin discipline and souls at home, 
 he came to spread scandal among them too ; and inflicted pe- 
 nances on him for the fault. All these places are clean and 
 neat, but simple and small, without any ornaments. The gar- 
 den has no parterres, &.c. but is planted with necessary herb-. 
 The bury ing- place is in the open air. Abbot De Ranee ha^ 
 a monument in the middle. 'I he rest :;re interred around their 
 holy patron, but without the least inark to distinguish their 
 crave. On Saturday ri;^^ *vc saw them r^vform the FrfzrJj-
 
 4ZO TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 turn, or washing of one another's feet in the cloister ; and sing 
 in the church the Salve Regina, whkh ~vith the M ' serere, is the 
 most moving ceremony of La Trappt ; with such a spirit do 
 they cry as penitents, and as pilgrims and exiles in this valley 
 of tears, sighing towards heaven. On Sunday the religious 
 dined on herb soup, a dish of lentiles, and for a desert small ra- 
 dishes. We had herb soup, dishes of harricots, or kidney- 
 beans, great beans, lentiles, and water hasty-pudding or crowdy, 
 with radishes, apples, and walnuts. 
 
 Of 100 that enter on a noviciate in this monastery, scarcely 
 one stays to be professed, on account of their health, See. There 
 are 57 choir religious, 1 8 of whom are priests. None are pro- 
 moted to orders after taking the habit here ; and no priest en- 
 tering is permitted to say aiass during his noviciate. There 
 are about 60 lay-brothers. 
 
 Amongst other virtues in these souls so dead to all sentiments 
 cf this world, I was peculiarly edified in observing their extra- 
 ordinary humility ; ?.nd with what care they avoided all things 
 that could tend to any commendation of their house, order, re- 
 form, &.c. Amongst their books of piety, they took care to 
 shew none of their own ; conceiving, with the utmost simpli- 
 city and sincerity, themselves and all that belonged to them, to 
 be the last and out-cast of the whole creation. I cannot omit 
 mentioning a knight of Malta, a rich French nobleman, who 
 lives a most holy life in the abbey, and distributes his 35,000 
 livres revenue a-year altogether among the poor ; also a chap- 
 lain of the queen's, who spends here the six months of the 
 year he is absent from the court, where \ve saw him. 
 
 We returned from the road of Alenqon and Brittany, (which 
 is now the great post road to Port d'Orient, as that of Angers 
 was formerly) into that of Angers and Mons. From Belesm- 
 to Paris it is 17 posts by Remelard, Loupe, Digny, Chateau- 
 neuf, Dreux, Houdan, a tolerable borough, La Qj.ieue, 
 Neauphe, and Versailles. Near Houdan, we passed by the 
 finest house in France, after the king's, and Chantilly, lately 
 bought by Madame Tournonc, to be near the court, though ir 
 }-, without stables. Chartres is on the right towards Orleans,
 
 Chap. XX. A TOUR FROM LYONS TO PARIS. 421 
 
 Paris, and enriched with relics. We found the diocese in great 
 affliction on account of the recent death of their holy bishop DC 
 Merinville, a father of the poor, and pattern of all virtues. 
 Dreux is said to be so called from the old Druids. It is fa- 
 mous for some battles fought there. 
 
 We passed very near Rambouillet, but did not visit it. They 
 told us that that palace is now much neglected, though the 
 countess of Toulouse frequently resides there. 
 
 After 33 posts, or 66 leagues from Angers, we are now 
 safely returned to Paris, where it is no small pleasure to look 
 behind us, after having run over above 2700 miles of direct 
 route, besides many excursions to places out of the way. 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY FIRST. 
 
 1. Reflections on Travelling, and the Means by which it might be rendered trulv 
 useful. II. Observations on the State of Italy, and the causes of its extrem: 
 poverty, notwithstanding the natural fertility of its soil 111. An Account of 
 the Grecian, Roman, and Gothic Style of Architecture, with Remarks on the 
 most eminent Architects of Italy. 
 
 PARIS, 1746. 
 
 HAVING seen and described the principal parts of Italy, I 
 shall add a few reflections on this country, which is the chief 
 school of improvement to travellers. The many wonders of 
 nature, the qualities of the country, the manners of the inhabi- 
 tants, the government and policy of the numerous states whic'u 
 compose tins part cf Euiope ; the antiquities we meet wit'i 
 at every step, the palaces and churches, the most perfect mo- 
 dels of true architecture both ancient and modern ; the finest 
 pieces of painting and sculpture ; the libraries ; ar.u ;n a word, 
 every thing which can either gratify curiosity, or instruct the 
 mind, render Italy em admirable theatre for men who seek 
 t ^i -nv :/ the br^nchc? of knowledge. It is ore-
 
 422 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 viously necessary to procure a guide well versed, if possible, 
 in all the above lines, accustomed to the best company, anjl 
 able to behave himself with propriety on every emergency. 
 The German nobility are great travellers in these parts ; and 
 from motives of economy, they frequently send a young gentle- 
 man accompanied by a faithful old servant who knows the 
 languages, customs and manners, and who whilst he assumes the 
 office of conductor and guardian against dangers, can also act 
 
 O o O * 
 
 as a steward in regulating the expences, and at the same time 
 do the duties of a servant. Such a method is good, when a 
 servant so qualified can be found, and when his young master 
 will be advised by him never to expose himself to any dangers. 
 For a mere governor is then a very useless thing, unless by 
 his observations and instructions he is able to improve his 
 pupil in every particular ; and where is such a one to be easily 
 found ! Most young noblemen seem to travel merely to dine 
 and sup, or at least to visit their countrymen in every town 
 they pass through, which they might have done with much 
 more propriety within the circle of their acquaintance at home. 
 But travellers, who desire to improve themselves, observe in 
 manners, arts, and all other things, whatever may extend their 
 knowledge, pay ing attention chiefly to those things, which tend 
 most to their improvement in their own way of life, yet so as 
 not to neglect other things that are useful. Some travel as if 
 they only designed to be painters, &.c. and the greater number 
 merely to spend the most precious time of life in wandering 
 throughout Europe, acquiring no useful knowledge, but squan- 
 dering a great deal of money. Travelling is certainly highly 
 beneficial. If history be so very instructive, by placing past 
 ages before our eyes ; travelling is in many respects more ad- 
 vantageous, in as much as it instructs, not only by the hear- 
 ing, but by all the senses, and conveys a knowledge of many 
 things, as of manners, sculpture, :c. not to be taught with 
 equal advantage by books : It is in many respects necessary to 
 some, to all amusing, and productive of great advantage. 
 
 Of all parts of the world, Italy is certainly the principal which 
 a traveller ought to see ; and next to France, it has the best re- 
 gulations r.nd conver.iencies for travelling. Greece, Egypt, and
 
 Chap. XXI. REFLECTIONS ON TRAVELLING. 423 
 
 Asia, once the seats of learning and arts, are now laid waste and 
 barbarous. The few curiosities and improvements s^ill to be seen 
 in those celebrated countries cost too many dangers and fatigues. 
 In Spain few of the arts flourish ; there being only a vast pro- 
 fusion of riches, and gaudy pomp. Lamps and candles in their 
 churches may seem something pleasing to the eye ; but it has 
 really nothing of advantage in it. The Escurialis now almost 
 burnt down. The king of Portugal's new palace, with the 
 stately convent of Friars in the middle, according to the cus- 
 tom of the Spanish courts, is not near finished. Besides, the 
 post horses are under very bad regulations, and the inns are 
 still worse ; as they furnish only lodgings, and the traveller 
 must buy in the market, and cook his victuals for himself. la 
 Germany, many of the princes courts are very well worth 
 seeing. Bat there are no voitures ; slow waggons, or a few 
 very dear four-wheeled heavy coaches beiug used ; and except 
 in Tirol, and in the neighbourhood of Frankfort, and some 
 other parts, the roads are said to be generally bad. In France 
 and Flanders the high roads are excellent, and the inns good. 
 But no traveller must venture on a cross road ; for ihese have 
 only paltry ale houses. This is pretty much the case in Italy ; 
 where, even on great roacls, good inns are commonly to be met 
 with only in great towns ; which a person may contrive al- 
 ways to have at night by a little foresight, if he goes post, but 
 not otherwise. 
 
 The post is very well regulated in France, 20 sob a horse 
 for riding, and 30 sols in chaise, every post of two leagues ; 
 which are much longer near the frontiers them about Paris. In 
 Italy it is about the same price per post eight or nine mile;\ 
 three pauls a horse ; except in the Venetian territories, and in 
 Piedmont, where it is almost double. The princes f:um out 
 the posts at high rates on the roads that are much frequented. 
 On the others post-masters are scarce able to keep their horses. 
 In France, the postillion, or guide, has at least 10 sols per po.-t ; 
 in Italy two Pauls, and usually something more, to drink as a 
 Bonamente. 
 
 Italy, near the Apennines, and Alps, which fill great part of 
 it, is very mountainous. Hence originate many lakes and r:-
 
 424 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 vers. The valleys and the flat countries are the more agree- 
 able, being fertile, and having a variety of objects to delight the 
 eye. Palm-trees are exceeding common. On Palm-Sunday, 
 they gave us twigs of true palm. The cardinals in Rome then 
 carried straight long branches, with a green tuft at the top, 1 2 
 or 14 feet long, yet very light. Orange trees, olives, &c.. are 
 very common, always green ; cork trees, of two species, grow 
 in great plenty. Whole woods "of them are sometimes met 
 with with on rocky or heathy ground. They are of a middle 
 height, very like the holm tree, or green oak. They grow al- 
 so in Biscay in^Spain, in Gascony, &c. The bark may be ta- 
 ken ofFin dry weather, without hurting the tree, unless it rains 
 immediately after, contrary to the nature of other trees. The 
 corks are made of the second bark. The cork tree which grows 
 in the north of England, being less porous, makes the best and 
 closest corks for bottles ; hence it is much esteemed in France. 
 This has a broader leaf which falls in winter, the other is pe- 
 rennial. 
 
 Italy is very thinly inhabited, and consequently poor. The 
 riches and strength of a nation consist in the number of inhabi- 
 tants; which obliges allto be industrious, and to turn every thing 
 to the best advantage. The ancient patriarchs had a very just 
 riotion cf this. Holland confirms the assertion ; possessing so 
 ;;reat riches in so small a spot, and that naturally very ungrate- 
 lul. Princes who diminish the number of their subjects by 
 wars, or force them to emigrate by heavy taxes and restraints, 
 devour their own vitals ; but the number of hands is the great- 
 est treasure as well as strength of a state, now, as well as dur- 
 
 O f w 
 
 ing the time of the ancient patriarchs. What else makes the 
 line country of Italy so poor, and Holland in spite of its unfa- 
 vourable soil, so astonishingly opulent ? Italy abounds in good 
 meat ; wild boar fattened in their woods of chesnuts, more 
 dainty than that of Westphalia, young kid, which is tender 
 tincl very good in the season, &c. Cattle, excellent cheese, oil, 
 tec in great plenty. But of this, and of its antiquities, &c. 
 and of the government of its states, I spoke in describing ou t- 
 iournev.
 
 Clap. XXI. ON THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE. 425 
 
 Academies are instituted in all the considerable towns in Italy, 
 and are composed of societies of such as love arts, sciences, mu- 
 sick, &.c. who meet for the purpose of conversing on such mat- 
 ters. They take fantastical names, of which Mr Pelisson gives 
 us the list : For example, at Rome, there are the Humoristi, 
 Lynccei, and Fantastic! ; at Cortona, Humoroct ; at Sienna, In- 
 tronati ; at Bologna, Otiosti ; at Padua, Ricourati and Orditi ; 
 at Vicenza, Olympici ; at Parma, Innominati ; at Ancona, Ca- 
 hginosi ; at Perusia, Insensati, &.c. There are also academies 
 instituted in France, inArles, Nismes, Soissons. &c that of the 
 Lanternists at Toulouse, &c. I have mentioned some of them 
 before, I think, in Padua, Florence, &c. Some writers com- 
 plain of those societies as encouraging an excessive refinement 
 in the language, as that of Crusca for Italian, and the Academic 
 Franqoise in Paris, and apply to them what Petronius said to 
 the Roman grammarians : Pace vestra dixerim primi omnium 
 eloqrtentiam perdidistis. It is certain that their too great nicety 
 impoverishes and fetters a language. Cicero thought it pro- 
 per to enrich the Latin tongue with words from the Greek ; 
 and in Britain, an expressive word, if wanted, by the autho- 
 rity of a Dry den or Pope, receiving a due termination, often, 
 obtains bythe suffrage of the public,the sanction of trueEnglish. 
 How absurd was the nicety of th<e emperor Tiberius, and the 
 impudence of that grammarian, who said to him : " Emperor as 
 " you are, you can give the freedom of the city to men, but not 
 " towards?" These fantastical gentlemen certainly destroyed the 
 purity of the Latin language by their nicety and absurd laws. 
 The Italian languao-e is the sweetest and softest of all others. 
 
 O O 
 
 How it was formed from the corrupted Latin, is shewn with 
 admirable perspicuity in the Noiwelle methodc d" 1 apprendrc. 
 Vltahenne. For example, for greater softness, they turn L in 
 /, saying, Monte Sampione for Samplone ; Piombino for Plom- 
 bino ; Pianta for Planta ; Piu for Plus, &c. I had former- 
 ly occasion to remark, that the Italian is spoke best at Sienna, 
 wrote with greatest purity and perfection at Florence, and pro- 
 nounce'd with the most proper accent by the Romans. These 
 last indeed, make the first person plural of the imperfect sub- 
 junctive, in cssimo for iwo. They always express themselves 
 
 D d
 
 426 TRAVELS OF REV, ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 in the superlative degree. Almost a cobler will be styled, Sig- 
 nor illustrissimo, and padrone colendissimo. They never speak 
 to any unless to servants or vassals in the second person, but 
 always in the third, Sua Signoria, and Ella. The servant we 
 engaged in Rome continually intermixed, in every short sen- 
 tence, three or four times, Suo Illustrissimo ; and it was al- 
 ways Illustrissimo, si : Illustrissimo, non. Yes, or no, Most 
 Illustrious. Among the bankers clerks, there is the primo 
 ministro. The plainest gentleman's house is a palazzo. The 
 French language is understood in the inns in Piedmont, and as 
 far as Genoa. The Italians universally indulge themselves with 
 a meridian, that is, a nap after dinner till about three or four 
 o'clock, and then the church doors are shut, as during the 
 night, and no one is seen in the streets but Frenchmen and 
 dogs, as the Italians say. 
 
 The Italians reckon the hours of the day in a manner peculiar 
 to themselves ; from sunset to sunset 24 hours : at sunset it 
 h always four-and-twenty o'clock, and then begins one, &.c. 
 Thus, mid-day and midnight rise higher, and fall lower, accord- 
 ing to the seasons ; which, say what they will, is certainly a 
 troublesome manner of calculating time, and requires a com- 
 putation to find mid-day, &c. for which indeed they have long 
 tables in their almanacks, according to which the 4 1st degree 
 of latitude, on the first of January rnid-day, is at 19 o'clock. 
 On the 2.} th February, at 18 o'clock; on the l6th May, at 
 a quarter past 16 o'clock ; on the 26th August at 17 o'clock, 
 cc. Midnight, on the 1st of January > is at 7 o'clock ; on the 
 i.;t of Tune, at 4 o'clock, &c. Aurora L. on the 1st of January 
 r.t 12 and three quarter:; j on the 2^d of March, at 10 o'clock. ; 
 on the jth of April, at 9 o'clock ; on the 2yth of April at 8 
 o'clcck ; on the 3:! of June, at 6 and a quarter, 8-c. There are 
 clocks in the Grand Duke's palace in Florence, which mark the 
 hours bydifferent figures, both in the French and Italian modes, 
 Orel di Francia ei di Italia. 
 
 It appears strange at first to dine and go to bed at :;nch un 
 couth hours. The Italians however maintain that this is the 
 
 ost convenient manner of calculating- time. The bear rnitfht 
 
 O O 
 
 moi- ::;:! '7 n'.Tauade me that her cubs ?.rs beauties.
 
 Chap XXIL I. ON ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY SECOND. 
 ON ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE, AND PAINTING. 
 
 .A.S the arts of Architecture, Painting and Carving, constitute 
 the principal subjects of the observation of a traveller in Italy, 
 who on the models found in this country forms his taste and 
 judgment, I had previously formed a collection of remarks 
 on the most distinguished masters in these arts, chiefly 
 abstracted from Felibien, Vasari, De Piles, Du Fresnoy, 
 Graham, Perrault, &.c. I will give a brief sketch of these for 
 the better understanding the descriptions. 
 
 I. As TO ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 THE Corinthian Order is the most beautiful and perfect. 
 The capital of this pillar is ornamented with two rows of eight 
 leaves each, and with eight small volutes between the leaves to 
 sustain the abacus or plinth, that is, topper part. Its height is 
 34 diameters and a half; viz. the pedestal, three and one-third: 
 the column 10, arid the entablature two : the diameter is the 
 thickness of the shaft at the bottom. 
 
 The Ionic is next in workmanship to the Corinthian. It;; 
 capital has only ears, volutes or rolls, twisted downwards under 
 the entablature, and a little embossed work, or raised circles 
 round the pillar between and under these ears. Its cornice is 
 adorned with denticles. MICHAEL ANGELO gave it a single 
 row of leaves at the bottom of the capital ; all other architects 
 give it none at all. Its height is 13 diameters and a half; viz, 
 the pedestal two and two-thirds, the column nine, and the en- 
 tablature one and four-fifths. The famous temple of Diana of 
 
 Kphesus was In this order. 
 
 D d?
 
 428 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 The Doric is more simple. Its capital is adorned with 
 two small raised circles round the column, and its frize is or- 
 namented with triglyphs, or simple square apertures, and me- 
 topes, or square spaces betwixt the triglyphs. These metopes 
 and triglyphs must regularly follow one another, and resemble 
 a lyre. The metopes are often adorned with ox-heads or the 
 like carving. The height of it is 12 diameters and one-third ; 
 viz. the pedestal two and one-third ; the column eight, and the 
 entablature two. TheDoricorderis gracefulonly in places which 
 require nothing delicate or ornamental, but an air of solidity, 
 strength and bulkiness, as in vast halls, great stables, &c. and 
 never but on the floor. The same rule holds for the Tuscan 
 order. It is beautiful often to place these different orders one 
 above another on the same front ; the Doric at the bottom, the 
 Ionic above, and the Corinthian highest, as we see on the finest 
 side of Versailles towards the gardens. 
 
 The 'Tuscan order is entirely rustic. Its capital consists of 
 two raised circles like the Doric, from which it is to be distin- 
 guished by its frieze ; for the Tuscan, in its capital, base, and 
 pnt^blature, has but a few mouldings or projections for orna- 
 ments. Its height consists of to diameters and three-quarters ; 
 viz. the pedestal two ; the column and capital seven ; the en- 
 tablature one and three-quarters. Trajan's pillar is of this or- 
 der, and it is esteemed the finest monument in the world. It 
 is still much affected in Tuscany. Some would have the Tus- 
 can order banished, as too rustic and heavy ; but if ornament- 
 ed a little, it may suit very well instead of the Doric. Neither 
 Tuscan nor Doric suit well but in great stables, porches of 
 vast edifices, &tc. where such rustic huge pillars are graceful. 
 
 The Composite or Roman order, was composed among the Ro- 
 mans of the Corinthian and Ionic. Its capital is adorned with 
 the two rows of leaves, of the Corinthian, and the volutes of 
 the Ionic. Some give it the same proportions as the Corin-' 
 thian ; others 15 diameters and one-third. In a colonnade, or 
 range of pillars, the intercolumniation, or distance between the 
 pillars is in the Tuscan order, four diameters ; in the Doric, two 
 find three-quarters ; in the Ionic, two and a quarter ; in the 
 Corinthian two j in the Composite, one and a
 
 Clap. XXII. I. ARCHITECTURE. 429 
 
 The Attic order consists of small low pilasters, xvith an archi- 
 traved cornice for an entablature, as that in the palace of Ver- 
 ' sailles over the Ionic, in the side towards the garden. 
 
 Some admit the French order, which adds cocks heads, flower 
 de lys, and the like carvings on 'the capitals, such as that adopt- 
 ed by Le BRUN in the grand gallery of Versailles, &c. But 
 this is an accidental difference from the Corinthian, the Greek 
 orders not admitting any such embellishments. 
 
 The Gothic is that which deviates from rules of ornaments 
 and proportion ; has columns too massive, or too slender like 
 poles ; capitals without any just measure, and carved with 
 leaves of thistles, cabbage, &.c. Some will admit only the 
 three Grecian orders used in buildings ; and indeed these, in an 
 eminent degree, comprise all the embellishments that are suit- 
 able, and reduced to rule and art. No new order can be in- 
 vented which will not be, in its principal parts, contained ia 
 these. Hence they may be deemed sufficient for every pur- 
 pose of elegance and use ; and the old Romans used only these 
 three, except in Trajan's pillar, \\here, for the honour of Italy, 
 they would admit of nothing foreign. 
 
 A Pillar is divided into three parts ; the Pedestal, the Co- 
 lumn, and the Entablature. The Pedestal has three parts ; the 
 base, the die or square, and cornice on the top; many make the 
 pedestal in any order to be in height a third of the column, or 
 a fourth of the whole pillar. The breadth of the die to equal 
 the plinth of the pillar, or somewhat longer, if it have no base 
 or cornice, as is often done, and then it ought to be a square pe- 
 destal, that is, as high as brouu. The Column contains three 
 other parts ; its liase, Shaft, and Capital. The shaft or body of- 
 ten diminishes in thickness towards the top, beginning from 
 
 * ' o O 
 
 above the first third. It is sometimes canalled, sometimes a- 
 dcrned Avith twining or bossed work, or foliages, See. Some- 
 add fillets imbossed, 6cc. But such rustic ornaments suit 
 only the Tuscan order, at the entrance of city gates, cc. 
 
 The Capital is the crowning of the column, or its uppermost 
 part under the entablature. It is the most essential part cf c- 
 very order. The Doric and Tuscan capitals have mould- 
 ings, entirely destitute of; the Ionic and Corinthian arc 
 
 D c! 3
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 always adorned with leaves and other ornaments. The Tus- 
 can capital is most simple, having only an abacus or square 
 table, list or plinth ; under this an ovolo, or roundlet, and un- 
 der that a neck or collarino terminating at the bottom in an as- 
 tragal or fillet, belonging to the shaft. The Doric has fre- 
 quently annulets under the ovolo, instead of the astragal. The 
 Ionic has an abacus, not square, but consisting of an ogee, or 
 moulding in the shape of a 5 : under this a rind in which are 
 grounded the volutes or ears, and below this an ovolo adorned 
 xvith eggs, with a rind at the bottom. We now usually add 
 festoons, that is, garlands of flowers or leaves interwoven to- 
 gether. The Corinthian capital has its abacus, not square but 
 round, and hollowed inwards with a rose in the middle of each 
 sweep. It has no ovolo, but a briui enriched with a double 
 row of leaves, eight in each row, and divided into three ranges 
 of lesser leaves, cc. The Entablature of a pillar is the part 
 xvhich is over the capital. It comprehends three parts : First, 
 the Architrave, immediately, above the capital representing 
 a beam, as lying on the column. In chimneys the mantle -piece 
 is an architrave : Secondly, the Freeze : Thirdly, the Cornice. 
 These vary in the different orders. S-ethe builder's dictionary. 
 The ancient Jews displayed great taste in architecture, as is 
 apparent from the noble edifice of Solomon's temple, and their 
 royal palaces. The Assyrians and Persians seem also to have 
 built not only with magnificence, but with singular art ; wit- 
 ness the hanging gardens and walls of Babylon ; though nothing 
 now remains of those splendid works. The celebrated cities 
 of Ninive, Ecbatana, and Persepolis, are mere undistinguish- 
 uble heaps of rubbish and caverns, the dens of serpents, and 
 haunts of wild beasts. The description of Babylon in Dean 
 Prideaux,B. i. part I. page 95. is extremely curious. The ruins 
 of Palmyra afford us admirable proofs of the true state of the 
 ancient oriental architecture, intermixed with the Grecian *. 
 The arts and sciences flourished in Egypt, especially ma- 
 
 * Sec the Antiquities and History or Pu.myra by Seller, in 1795, in Svo , 
 >.nd the description c: these antiquities in 50 plates in folio, by Mr Wood, in 
 175', who v:t!i Mr Sfi;;rt, ait::r-.!e;l . Davvkirs Y.n. i". hi? travels : r, the
 
 Clap. XXII. I. ON ARCHITECTURE. 431 
 
 thematics ; yet their taste in architecture was by no means 
 just or delicate, if we may judge from the pyramids, heavy mo- 
 numents, remarkable only for their enormous size, and the im- 
 mense expence at which they must h.-^ve been built. The Gre- 
 cians, indeed, at least under Alexander the Great, and his suc- 
 cessors. introduced the fine architecture into that country ; ar 
 obelisks, though of the hardest granite marble, are w.ll c; 
 polished; yet most of them are certainly older than Alexander, 
 as is evident from their hieroglyphics. 
 
 The Grecians excelled in architecture, as in all other arts. 
 The Mausolaeum, built by (X Artemisia for her husband Mau- 
 solus, King of Caria, and carved by Praxiteles, Scopas, &.c. was 
 accounted one of the seven wonders of the world. The temple 
 of Diana of Ephesus, which was 200 years in building, was 
 another: It was 142 yards in length, and was surrounded with 
 two rows of pillars, in form of a double portico, and had in it 
 127 pillars of marble, given by as many kings. That finished 
 by Scopas was its greatest ornament. This magnificent edifice 
 was set on fire and burnt by Herostratus on the day ALEXAN- 
 DER was born, out of the mad frolic to make himself famous, 
 which he had not been able to accomplish by good actions. 
 They had in Greece itself the Pyrcevm, the noble port of 
 Athens, two leagues from the city, built by Themistocles and 
 Pericles ; the Arsenal of Athens ; many famous temples, as 
 that of Jupiter Olympics in Athens, of the Corinthian order ; 
 that of Ceres and Proserpine, at Eleusis, of the Doric, capable 
 of containing 30,000 persons, &-C. ALEXANDER the Great 
 built in Egypt the city of Alexandria, in this perfect taste, 
 with walls, aqueducts, towers, squares, palaces, &c. in the 
 utmost style of magnificence. Ptolomy Piladelphus built the 
 tower or light-house, in the Isle Pharos, seven stadia in the sen ; 
 and Cleopatra formed the Heptostadia or mole joining that 
 isle to the land, two stupendous structures. None of the many 
 great buildings of the Grecians remain entire ; but numbers 
 of beautiful pillars are still preserved in Rome, Venice, &cc. 
 and many left in the east at Constantinople. 
 
 In Italy, the Tuscan order of building, though rustic, yat 
 regular, shews that architecture was at a very early peri'vl 
 
 D d 4
 
 43 4 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 carried to considerable perfection. This is confirmed by the eje- 
 gant edifice of King Porsenna's Monument, mentioned by Livy; 
 by the Capitol, the Common Sewers, for conveying the filth of 
 the city into the Tiber, begun by the same king, though finish- 
 ed by Tarquinius the Proud, a most astonishing, solid, and 
 vast work, as appears by the present ruins. The art of build- 
 ing, however, did not appear in perfection in Rome, till it v/as 
 communicated with the other arts and sciences by the Grecians. 
 It was one Cossimus, a Roman citzen, who introduced the 
 perfect style of building about 200 years befor Christ. He 
 excelled so much, that Antiochus the Great employed him to 
 build the temple of Jupiter Olympius in Athens, as Vitruvius 
 relates. The Romans being possessed of immense riches, and 
 every necessary means, soon filled Italy with the most finished 
 structures ; and every noble Roman, by violence, fraud, or pur- 
 chase, plundered the provinces in which they served in the 
 army, or were governors, of all the curious statues, or what- 
 ever could serve to embellish their houses. Vitruvius wrote 
 his admirable book on architecture under Augustus ; in which 
 Le lays down that first principle too often forgot by builders, 
 to proportion the house to a man's estate. Too magnificent 
 a house for the owner's circumstances, is more absurd than 
 too mean a one, and consumes an estate which might otherwise 
 respectably maintain his family. He observes, that all ought 
 in prudence to reckon upon the expence of a building surpass- 
 ing the exact computation by a-fourth, notwithstanding the 
 greatest care ; and he often repeats, that as nothing in private 
 life is more commendable than good and suitable buildings, 
 whether for beauty or pleasure, or for use and convenience in 
 life, so nothing is more extravagant and mad than a passion 
 for building, which always verifies the proverb, we often meet 
 with in all languages, and xvhich Sir Thomas More has express- 
 ed in an ingenious epigram ; that he who loves to be always 
 in stone and mortar, will soon be poor, though his estate be 
 never so great. 
 
 Architecture was carried to the highest degree of perfection 
 :n Rome under Augustus, of whom it is said, " That he found
 
 Chap. XXII. I. ARCHITECTURE. 433 
 
 " Rome of brick and left it of marble." And it continued to 
 flourish under Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Trajan, Adrian, 
 Septimus Severus, (his Settizone indeed is too much destroy- 
 ed to give us a just idea of its magnificence, or the beauty of 
 its architecture, but his triumphal arch is entire) ; under Anto- 
 ninus Caracalla this noble art was considerably corrupted : 
 The Antonine baths did not possess a suitable delicacy, and 
 are more distinguished for their immense extent, profusion of 
 expence, and multiplicity of ornaments, than for their architec- 
 ture. Under Alexander Severus, the good taste recovered 
 again what it had lost under Caracalla, as appears from the 
 Alexandrine baths, his aqueducts, temple, theatres, and palaces. 
 But after his death, the Grecian architecture was entirely lost ; 
 and during a period of 1200 years, it seems to have been un- 
 known in Europe. It is visible from Gallien's triumphal arch 
 still extant in Rome, how much this art was decayed even then. 
 Dioclesian's baths, though vast, are too ruinous for us to judge 
 of the elegance and justness of the structure. Constantine the 
 Great adorned Constantinople, but we know of no buildings 
 erected by him in a true style of architecture. He indeed 
 transported thither the best statues, columns, and obelisks, from 
 all parts of the universe, some of which have been since brought 
 back to Italy ; many have been destroyed, and some still remain 
 there. Indeed the natural situation of that city is allowed to 
 be the finest in the world, and the entry up the Bosphorus is 
 the most agreeable and noble prospect in the universe ; as that 
 of the Louvre towards the river side, is by some deemed the 
 second. But palaces, built in just proportion and measure, 
 would have greatly heightened the grandeur of that city. 
 I have remarked, that Constantine's triumphal arch is built 
 partly in a bad, and partly in a fine style of architecture : 
 This is accounted for from the more elegant part of the struc- 
 ture having been taken from some older edifice erected in bet- 
 ter times. 
 
 Among the Goths in Italy, King Theodoric and his daugh- 
 ter Queen Amalasunta, by the advice of Boetius, Symmachus, 
 and Cassiodorus, laboured to preserve the finest pieces of Ro-
 
 434 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 man architecture, and executed something in Spoletum, Ra- 
 venna, and in other cities, in a manner not altogether depraved, 
 barbarous, or Gothic. In the Gothic buildings, more atten- 
 tion was paid to the strength and durability of the structure, 
 than to the rules of architecture, and justness of proportion: 
 The imson? of those times deemed the preparation of their 
 mortar, and t!v choice of their materials, objects of more im- 
 portance ; runce their work was rendered extremely durable 
 and solid, as v:e see in the square steeple of St German-de- 
 Prez in ptvis, and St Peter's at Charters, the two most an- 
 cient Got'-ic edifices in France. The English, the Lombards, 
 and the French, under King Dagobert and Charlemagne, built 
 Gothic churches in great perfection, but with incredible labour 
 expence. These buildings were at first entirely destitute of 
 ornaments ; but at length, carving, worked piiiars, painted 
 Classes, &c. were universally used : and it is incredible witli 
 
 O ' 
 
 what indefatigable pains and industry we find the very least 
 part in windows, &c. polished, cut, and worked. The expence 
 of one Gothic edifice of this kind would build many churches 
 in the ancient manner. But this style of architecture, though 
 generally so costly, magnificent, solid, and even majestic, pos- 
 sesses numerous faults ; First, we find that no rules are ob- 
 served, nor any proportions or measures ; but every thing left 
 to the mason's fancy or random guess, hence if he hits tolera- 
 bly right, it is more owino- to chance than to ?.nv regular de- 
 
 f O * O * o 
 
 sign. The ornaments are too lavishly employed ; nor do they 
 generally agree together ; though each by itself may be well 
 executed. The churches are overcharged with materials, and 
 too dark and gloomy for either beauty or convenience : But it 
 must be confessed that this gives an air of majesty, and im- 
 presses the rnind of the beholder with sacred awe and respect. 
 The Gothic masons knew not how to build for convenience, 
 cr to take the shortest wnys ; could not make an arch without 
 raising it very high, and taking a great deal of room ; could 
 do nothing without a great deal of space and materials ; conse- 
 quently in a clumsy heavy manner ; and many things they 
 could not compass at all. Yet, although destitute of regularity 
 ctliic rnc 'sitcrt: hr.vo ?r erected won-
 
 Clap. XXI 7. I. ARCHITECTURE. 435 
 
 derfully well. The cathedral of Sienna is an admired struc- 
 ture in this style of building ; but it was indeed perfected by 
 artists who completely understood true and regular architec- 
 ture. The ancient light, disencumbered, regular, solid man- 
 ner, was infinitely more convenient. To answer well every 
 purpose intended, is the principal desideratum in a building : 
 The second is, that it be simple, tending the readiest way to its 
 ends, and imitate nature the most perfectly : The third qua- 
 lity is beauty, which depends principally on the exact pro- 
 portion of every individual part, and the general uniformity of 
 the whole structure ; for nothing more powerfully or more insen- 
 sibly enchants the eye, than this symmetry both in the struc- 
 ture and in all the ornaments, which must be suitable and cor- 
 rectly finished, in a just position, and well chosen. Ex- 
 amples of all these defects and perfections occur every where 
 So it is needless to quote any examples. 
 
 Amidst the Gothic ages in the beginning of the eleventh 
 century, one BOSCHETTO DA DULICHIO, a Grecian, endeavour- 
 ed to restore the true Grecian architecture in the city of Pisa, 
 where he acquired a high reputation by building the Cathedral. 
 Though the pillar and marble ornaments were antique, yet he 
 shewed great art and science in disposing them in just order, 
 lie left scholars who raised other handsome buildings at Pisa, 
 Pistoia, and elsewhere ; two of them Bonanno and Gulielmi 
 built the wonderful steeple of Pisa, which leans 36 feet from 
 the perpendicular, by the foundation sinking on one side ; yet 
 it stands firm, owing to its admirable structure and circular 
 figure. Under the Doges, Domimco, Morosini, and Ziani, 
 about the year 1150 and 1170, the Venetians could boast of 
 several true architects, who built St Mark's tower, and after- 
 wards the church there, all of marble, enriched with precious 
 stones and gildings : Its porch is yet standing, in which the 
 chief architects are represented in relief. Among them, the 
 stranger is always shewn an old man, with his finger on his 
 mouth ; which he did to confess his fault, in having said to the 
 Doge, that that work was nothing to wlirt he could have done. 
 if he hfid given himself more trouble.
 
 436 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 During the same century, the Popes raised many buildings 
 in a taste still more correct, as St Nicolas's, &x. In France, 
 it is incredible what a number of churches St Lewis built, 
 all Gothic, yet magnificent, finely worked, and very expen- 
 sive ; those of the Jacobins, Cordeliers, &c. in Paris, may 
 serve for an example ; the rest being much in the same manner. 
 
 NICHOLAS OF PISA, in the I3th century, restored ancient 
 architecture in greater perfection. He built the fine Domini- 
 can's convent in Boulogne ; the steeple of St Nicholas of the 
 Austins in Pisa, octogonal without, and circular within, &c. 
 This accomplished architect, observing the ground of Pisa to 
 be too soft, and the ancient buildings fail in their foundations, 
 never built there but upon piles, upon which he laid massive 
 mason work, with arches counterplaced, so that none of his 
 buildings ever yielded. 
 
 The city of Florence soon after gave birth to various cele- 
 brated architects, whose history is to be found at great length 
 in Vazari, Fife de Ptttori, Scultori e Arclnt. They built 
 the incomparable Santa Maria Novella, and soon after, Santa 
 Maria del Fiore. The Florentines had been above an age in 
 building the cupola of this last edifice, and were never able to 
 complete it by their Gothic architects. Brunileschi had studied 
 the true architecture from the antiquities in Rome, and re- 
 turning home, he offered to finish it easily : The others rallied 
 him, but he overcame their opposition, and executed his pro- 
 mise. 
 
 In France, the cathedral of Rheims was rebuilt in 1250, as 
 it stands at present : It is a very noble Gothic structure, 420 
 feet long, 150 broad in the cross, worked with delicacy, and 
 adorned with a great number of pillars, figures, and other 
 carvings, particularly its portail, which is entirely covered with 
 them. In the same age, and under the direction of the same 
 great architects and carvers, John Ravy, &c. was built the 
 church of Notre Dame, the cathedral of Paris, 39 feet long, 
 244 broad in the cross ; the two square towers on the sides 
 of the principal entry are 204 feet high. The church of St Chven 
 at Rouen is still admired, and was raised in the year 1318. 
 The magnificent cathedral of Bourses was erected in 1324, aad 
 is allowed to be one of the most stately in Europe.
 
 Clap. XXIL I. ARCHITECTURE. 437 
 
 That of Strasburgh, however, even surpasses the rest. It 
 was rebuilt in 1300, and cost 4 years labour: The architec- 
 ture resembles those of Paris and Rheims, full of ornaments 
 delicately finished. It is 140 feet high, though less in the 
 wings ; the principal front is 240 The steeple, (which is square 
 as high as the church, then octogonal and conical), is 480. 
 The clock of this church, besides the minutes and hours, marks 
 the days of the month and week, the age of the moon, signs 
 of the zodiac, and ages of the world, by a wheel which per- 
 forms only one round in a hundred years. At noon, a cock 
 appears and crows, clapping its wings, and stretching out its 
 copper neck : Our Blessed Lady appears praying : The twelve 
 Apostles comes out, and each knocks the bell with a hammer. 
 
 After NICOLAS of PISA, his son JOHN of PISA, (who besides 
 other great performances, finished the beautiful Gothic cathe- 
 dral of Sienna^), and innumerable other accomplished architects 
 arose in Italy, more especially after the Greeks came into it, on 
 the Eastern Empire being overturned by the Turks. They, 
 together with knowledge derived from the works of Vitrumus 
 and studying the ancient monuments still remaining, re-esta- 
 blished the true architecture, of which the best models are to 
 be seen in Italy ; and though several elegant buildings, such as 
 the palace of the Thuilleries, have since been erected after the 
 most correct models in Paris, in Aix, in Provence, and in other 
 parts of France, as well as in England and other countries, yet 
 Italy still possesses superior means of excellence to foreign 
 architecture, not only by the daily sight of admirable antique 
 models, and by the long application to this art, but by the 
 great plenty of marble quarries, and the incredible number of 
 ancient pillars, statues, &.c. to be found there, all the greatest 
 miracles of art of all ages. English stone is not hard 
 enough to make a solid pillar of one piece, like hard marble 
 and granite, constituted one of the principal beauties of the 
 columns of the ancients. Stucco makes pillars seem without 
 juncture, and is very beautiful and perfect. The hardest and 
 best marble is porphyry, of a reddish brown, with small white 
 spots, brought from Egypt : Next in hardness, is serpentine, 
 ef a dark green, with yellow winding circles : Granite is the
 
 438 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 hardest of all stone or marble, next to the serpentine and por- 
 phyry ; it is a rought unpolished stone of a dark colour. 
 
 //. ON SCULPTURE. 
 
 As to Sculpture, to which may be reduced all figures cast as 
 well as carved, it is an invention of very remote antiquity, as 
 is evident from scripture, being first used in clay, wax, See. 
 then in ivory ; and lastly, it attained its highest perfection in 
 marble and metals. Among the Greeks PHIDIAS the Athenian, 
 patronized by Pericles, 500 years before Christ, was the first 
 who brought sculpture to perfection. His works are faithful 
 imitations of nature, and executed with admirable taste. This 
 artist made a statue of Minerva for the Parthenon (her temple) 
 built by Pericles : The image was of gold and ivory, 49 feet 
 high, upon which were carved the Athenians victories, &.c. 
 But Phidias was accused of not having employed the whole 44 
 talents of gold (almost 60,000 pounds Sterling) given him for 
 the statue. He easily took out the gold, weighed it, and prov- 
 ed his innocence ; but retired to Elis, and there made the finest 
 of all statues, the 'Jupiter Olympius t one of the seven wonders 
 of the world. It was formed of gold and ivory, 60 feet high, 
 and by its transcendent beauty filled every beholder with ad- 
 miration. It is described in Pausanius. Phidias and other great 
 masters, adorned Attica with innumerable exquisite statues. 
 
 LYSIITUS shone unrivalled in this art under Alexander the 
 Great, who forbade by an edict any one to paint him, except 
 Apelles, cr carve him except Lysippus. 
 
 PRAXITELES lived almost 100 years after Phidias, and is se- 
 cond only to that great master in this art. His chief d'oeuvre 
 was a Cupid placed at Thespia, and carried to Rome by Mum- 
 mius. Verres carried ofF one of his pieces- from Sicily. His 
 Venus, for the Enidians, was very famous. He copied nature 
 -most successfully, but Phidias gave more life to his figures. 
 SCOPAS performed wonders in this art 450 years before Christ. 
 
 MICHAEL AXCELO BUONAROTTI, the greatest of modern 
 
 ' O 
 
 carvers, could never equal those ancient master-pieces ; the 
 difficulty of distinguishing the lost member added by him to 
 the Farnesian Hercules ; and his Cupid being taken for an an- 
 tique when dug from the earth, where he had hid it after he 
 Ji.ad broken off an arm, would almost indicate the contrary ;
 
 Clap. XXII. II. SCULPTURE. 
 
 but this Cupid, fine as it is, falls so far short of that of Praxite- 
 les, that De Thou and other excellent judges, after having at 
 Mantua enthusiastically admired it, were so much astonished on 
 seeing that of Praxiteles produced, that they felt ashamed at 
 their admiration of the former ; and de Thou says, the one seems 
 animated, whilst Angelo's, in -comparison of it, appears a mere 
 block. 
 
 The preeminence of the ancients appears evident in Florence. 
 None of Buonarotti's most capital pieces in that city can bear 
 any comparison with the Venus ofMedicis, in which the marble 
 seems perfectly soft and breathing. We may see the same in 
 the statues of the Belvidere at the Vatican, particularly in the 
 incomparable one of Lacoon, son of Priam, and priest of Apollo, 
 with his children devoured by serpents. His noble air and 
 features, his firm and nervous legs, broad chest and shoulders, 
 strong muscles, exact proportions, lively expressions, the flesh 
 and sinews, appear in as great sweetness and strength as in na- 
 ture itself, but nature in the highest perfection of beauty : In 
 the attitude and whole figure, all the characters of a prince, 
 priest, and hero ; and the passions of sorrow, fear, horror, 
 sadness and despair, are admirably pourtrayed. His grief 
 shews itself in the posture of the whole body, in the very 
 contraction of his tecs. See Van Opstal's description. This 
 groupe was looked upon as the most perfect piece in eld 
 Rome by Pliny 1. 34. c, 5. Three great Grecian artists had 
 exhausted in it all their skill, viz. Agesander, Polytlore, and 
 Athenor. It was found in Vespasian's palace, as the Ven us of 
 Mcdicij was in the Medicean Gardens behind tlz Holy Trinity 
 on the Mount. 
 
 On the Beauty oftl-e Human figure. Fclibien (Entr. :;. t. I.) 
 gives us a dissertation on beauty in- man agreeable to the idea.-; 
 of the ancient statues. No human figure;, he observes, can bi 
 called beautiful, without having in all its parts a just prcpcrtioa 
 and perfect harmony and symmetry. The stature must not be 
 low, or the size small ; but moderately tall and proportionably 
 built, yet by no means gigantic ; for as all the members of a body 
 ought to correspond with one another, to rn-fike a beautiful, 
 whole so is there a proportion cf every particular whr !<?, which 
 ia relative to other boilies of its kind. T .
 
 440 TRAVELS OF REV. A LEAN BUTLER. 
 
 men : The he ad ought to be somewhat roundish, not too sharp 
 or pointed, like that of Thersites in Homer ; nor must it be big : 
 small heads convey a much higher idea of grace, as Lvsippus 
 happily convinced the ancient statuaries. The forehead must 
 not be too large, or wrinkled, but like that of the Venus Me- 
 dicis, small ; the skin of a luminous white, perfectly smooth ; the 
 form neither flat, nor much raised, gently round on both sides. 
 The hair contributes greatly to beauty, disposed of in an easy 
 flowing manner. The old statues prove that the ancients paid 
 great attention to this matter ; and Homer finds nothing that 
 furnishes a finer epithet for his incomparable Helen, than her 
 beautiful dressed hair. We see the same idea among the Jews, 
 Romans, and Egyptians; and indeed no one can deny it to be one 
 of the greatest ornaments of nature. Thick hair was always 
 most esteemed. The ancients most highly valued the light co- 
 loured flaxen hair ; which they attributed to Bacchus, Venus 
 and Apollo. Next the hairinclining to black or chesnut colour. 
 The light coloured is most esteemed in France ; though the 
 black is not despised. The Italians prefer the yellowish or 
 that inclining to red. Those are much mistaken who think the 
 red is commended by the ancient painters and poets, when they 
 speak of theruti/us, &c. They abhor red the red as much as we, 
 and meant a shining deep yellow. Such was Phaeton's hair in 
 Ovid, Sec. 
 
 The eyes are the most distinguishing feature of the human 
 face : In them are found the greatest beauty and the greatest 
 deformity. Large eyes are most beautiful, and small ones ug- 
 ly. As to the colour, the red or dark eyes are hideous, ravus 
 or ramdus color The blue, azure, or inclining towards green, 
 is beautiful, cccsius caerulius. Even light coloured or yel- 
 lowish, flaws, and black, are agreeable, but they must possess 
 a certain vivacity and life full of an air of chearfulness, and a 
 shining brightness, which expresses the interior. The dead 
 green is very disagreeable, called berbeiby Plautus, (Curcul.act 
 2. sc. i.) The finest eye is painted in the principal orb with a 
 white inclined to grey, but so little that it is imperceptible ; 
 the middle of the apple with a shining black. This contrast
 
 Clap. XXIL II. SCULPTURE. 441 
 
 produces the greatest grace. But it must be accompanied with 
 a certain chearful air, gaiety and sweetness, which does not de- 
 generate into impudence. Black semicircular eye-brows on a 
 white forehead add a peculiar beauty; red are as unbecoming 
 as red hair. The ancients sometimes wore short false hair, for 
 want of natural ; but long perriwigs had their commencement 
 in France, anno 1629. The cheeks form the beautiful oval 
 so agreeable in the composition of the face. They must be 
 somewhat plump, soft, and delicate, but very firm, not bloated, 
 mixed with strong white and red, with an admirable gaiety and 
 chearfulness, joined to a certain glowing brightness, which must 
 result from the whiteness and freshness of the paint. The ears 
 ought to appear of a moderate size, not too large, with all the 
 little foldings tipt with an agreeable vermilion. 
 
 A handsome nose is a great ornament; too big is monstrour, 
 and a little one was justly looked upon by the ancients as a defor- 
 mity. The aquiline or eagle nose was most admired by the 
 Romans, Greeks, and Persians. Cyrus's was such ; and the 
 poets give it to their beauties ; witness Aspasia, Archilles, Pa- 
 ris, Martial's boy, 1. 4. Ep. 42. Plato calls it the royal nose. 
 In this the bend is gentle and almost insensible. If it be too 
 great or too sudden, it is called the parrot-nose, which is a de- 
 formity : vide Plautus, Heaut. act 5. sc. 5. But the most 
 beautiful nose is the straight and square, a little insensibly rais- 
 ed in the middle of the bridge, exactly placed and proportioned, 
 like that of Venus of Medicis. The camus or crooked nose, as in 
 the satyrs or fauns, was also esteemed. The mouth ought to 
 besmall, though not to an excess ; the lips well turned, smalt 
 and delicate, and of a lively die. If large, too little, flat, equal 
 in thickness, pale, &cc. they disfigure the face. The teeth t if 
 meant to be shewn, must be milky white, and well made. Yel- 
 low, or uneven ones, or with any wanting, are hideous. The 
 neck must be straight, exceeding white, supple, not too fat, ra- 
 ther long than short, enlarging itself towards the shoulders, 
 which must be broad ; the sides long ; the hands and fingers 
 long, delicate and tender j the Joot very small, and the toes 
 exactly finished, 
 
 K e
 
 442 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 III. ON PAINTING. 
 
 PAINTING is an art which by lines and colouring represents 
 visible objects. Felibien, in his Idse du peintre parfait, consi- 
 ders all the qualifications necessary to excel in each part of this 
 art. The first is a natural genius, which is a gift of nature in 
 the understanding, directing to the ends of this art with ease. 
 This must be cultivated by rules and practice, as well as by 
 an universal knowledge, a study of nature, and of the works of 
 the greatest masters. Art must be an exact imitation of na- 
 ture, and without the imperfections found in all individual ob- 
 jects. Hence Plautus, extolling a beautiful youth, says, ' You 
 ' would think him a finished statue/ In this sense art sur- 
 passes, or aims to surpass nature : but nature is really always 
 beyond the highest efforts of art. 
 
 The first part of painting is called bysome INVENTION, but by 
 Felibien, more accurately, COMPOSITION, which consists of two 
 parts, Invention, and Disposition. Inventionis the choice of objects 
 for a picture, a faculty that may be improved by the reading of 
 history: and Disposition is an advantageous management of oi>- 
 jects according to the justest economy and rules of art. 
 
 The second part is DESIGN, which is the outline of objects, 
 determining the measures and proportions of the whole and of 
 each part. It requires, 1st, Correctness, or a justness of propor- 
 tions and parts, according to true anatomy and nature, idly, 
 Altitude, or posture in each figure, according to the laws of 
 ponderation and contrast, grounded upon nature. In every ac- 
 tion these rules are to be observed in each part, else the action 
 appears motionless or forced, %dly, Elegance, or the embellish- 
 ing of objects without prejudicing their justness, ^tlly, Cha- 
 racter, or marks by which each personage is easily distinguish- 
 ed, and the spirit of each figure animated and expressed in its 
 strokes. $thly, Diversity, or a variety in the countenances, 
 gestures, passions, &c. of the different figures. The same pas- 
 sion must be new in every face. 6thly, Expression, that is, the 
 representation of an object according to its character in nature. 
 , Passions, or an expression of the emotions and inward
 
 Clap. XXII. III. ON PAINTING. 443 
 
 dispositions of the soul, in the eye, the gesture of the body, and 
 the lineaments of the face. $>thly, Perspective, or a representa 
 tion of objects according to the difference their distance may- 
 require, either as to the figures or colour. Lineal Per* 
 spective consists in the just abridgment of lines : Aerial t 
 in the just and gradual decrease of colours by the manage- 
 ment of strong and faint, of lights, shades, and tints. Without 
 this in every stroke, a picture will be found greatly defective. 
 
 Perrault falsely accuses the ancients of being ignorant of per- 
 spective, which they observed in the most exact gradation in 
 all their performances, as is demonstrated in the Memoirs of the 
 Academy of Inscriptions, t. 8. It is indeed neglected in 
 Trajan's pillar, because that great master rose above common 
 rules. It must be observed in every line, in every stroke of 
 the pencil. Michael Angelo is blamed for too much neglecting 
 it. Felibien explains and lays down very correctly the rules 
 of perspective, Entr. 5. t. 3. p. 25-, &c. As to expression, the 
 same author speaks of it at large, Entr. 6. t. 3. Le BRUN has 
 drawn excellent copies of the passions in all their different ges- 
 tures and effects on the countenance, &.c. 
 
 The last partof painting is the COLOURING, or the disposition 
 of different colours, mixed with such art as to imitate the natural 
 appearance of bodies. To this belongs the chiaro oscuro, or doc- 
 trine of light and shade. This shadowing is a distribution of 
 shade, or almost imperceptible gradation of light, which deceives 
 the eye, and inchants the beholder. 
 
 Paisages are the easiest performances ; next Portrait* 
 painting, or life-pictures : Historical-paintings are the most 
 difficult and the noblest, especially when they include a great 
 multitude of figures. The principal figure must be placed in 
 such a manner as at once to meet the eye. If it cannot by its size, 
 Sec. it must by its striking colours, drapery, or characteristics. 
 The rest in proportion to their importance. The extremities 
 of each figure, as the head, toes, &c. ought to be accurately de- 
 fined. The draperies must be so disposed as set to off the figures 
 to most advantage. A light fold or scarf produces the finest 
 effect. See Felibien, Idee d' un peintre parfait, and notes oa 
 Fresnoy.
 
 444 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 The different kinds of painting are thus defined by Limiers, 
 and from him in fewer words by Rollin. 
 
 Painting in Jresco is done upon fresh plaister with colours 
 mixed with water. It is used on walls, &.c. Such paintings 
 are immoveable, and the painter's hand must follow the laying 
 on the plaister; but it is in this species he can best shew his art. 
 
 In water-colours it is done with colours ground and diluted 
 with water and gum, or glue made with rags of parchment or 
 old gloves. This mode of painting is not lasting, especially if 
 exposed to the air. It is used on a very dry wall, on boards, 
 or a linen cloth. 
 
 Painting in oil was only invented in the I jth age by JOHN of 
 BRUGES. Colours ground with oil of walnuts or linseed, mingle 
 better and make acolouring more smooth, delicate, soft, agreeable 
 and lasting. It is more tedious to work in oil than in water co- 
 lours, as oil-painting dries slowly, and must be often retouched. 
 
 Miniature-Painting is performed on vellum or ivory with 
 simple but very fine colours of laques, fine resins, green juices, 
 Sec. mixed with water and gum. It cannot be performed 
 but on a very small scale, whence it has its name. It is 
 done with the point of the pencil, consequently is most tedious 
 in performing. 
 
 Painting on Glass is executed in the same way as on jasper 
 and other fine stones. It has the finest effect when done under 
 the glass and seen through it. The ancients possessed the art 
 of incorporating the colours with the glass, but this is a very 
 imperfect way, if they had no better method of doing it than 
 we have at present. 
 
 Enamel-Painting is done with tin and lead, &c. calcined in the 
 lire, to which other metallic colours are added, according to the 
 subject, and is a kind of glass coloured. Indeed all work per- 
 formed with mineral colours by the heat of the fire, is called 
 enamelling. China, Deli't, and pots varnished or glazed with 
 earth, are so many different kinds of enamel. This is the most 
 durable of all painting. The finest ever executed, is that in the 
 specierie of Loretto, painted by RAPHAEL, (Seep. 336.) 
 
 Mosaic is composed of many little pieces inlaid, diversified 
 with colours and figures. The antique Mosaics in Italy are 
 rather paltry. The modern Mosaics in Rome are very fine.
 
 Chap. XX11I. EMINENT PAINTERS. 445 
 
 Rollin is inclined to think the master-pieces of the old Gre- 
 cian painters, Zeuxis, Apelles, &c. surpassed any thing mo- 
 dern. PHny, Cicero, &.c. own that nothing of their times 
 equalled them, especially the Graces of Apelles. But none 
 of those now remain, by which we can make the comparison. 
 The few old Roman paintings in Rome, faded too, are inconsi- 
 derable, and mean, viz. the fragments of fresco foind in Adri- 
 ano ; the little in St Gregory's church ; that which is seen in 
 the ruins of Titus's baths, and the celebrated Marriage in the 
 Aldobrandine palace. (See Pelibien, Entr. 41. Rotlw, t. 11.) 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF EMINENT PAINTERS. 
 
 School of Florence. 
 
 Clambue Gaddo Gaddi Marguaritone Giotto Giottino Pietra Francises 
 Pinturrichio Philip Lippi Francis Francia Bellini Mantegna Leonardo da 
 Vinci Perugino KATHJEL Andrew Durcr MICHAEL ANGULO BUONAROTTI 
 Julio Romano Polydore John d'Udinc Andrea del Sarto Volterno, &c. 
 
 Lombard School. 
 Giorgioni Titian Corregio Paul Veronese Tintoretto Bassano, &c. 
 
 School of Bologna. 
 The Carrachi Guido Reni San Frank Sacchi Tht Dominican Maratti. 
 
 UT was in the I3th century that the rtue Art of Painting was 
 restored by CIAMBUE, a young gentleman of Florence, who first 
 shewed his genius for that art when a boy, by continually 
 drawing scrolls and figures in his books, instead of studying. 
 He afterwards improved this talent by an acquaintance with 
 certain Greek painters who arrived at Florence ; for the true 
 taste was not so entirely lost among them as in the west. He 
 painted a fine picture of our Lady, which was placed with great 
 triumph in the church of Santa Maria Novella. He died in 
 great honour in 1300, 72 years of age. 
 
 His scholars and imitators constitute the School of Florence. 
 The most esteemed among them are GADDO GADDI, MAR- 
 GUARITONE, who painted many things in Rome, Arezzo, &c. 
 and died in 1275 GIOTTO, who surpassed all the rest, and 
 who is so well known by his having formed an O, with his 
 pencil alone, so exactly, so equally traced, and so perfect in tli^ 
 
 EC 3
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 figure, that on sight of it Benedict the IX. preferred him to all 
 others of his age. His master-piece is the great picture in 
 Mosaic, at present over the great door of St Peter's, being, 
 St Peter walking on the sea, called La Nave del Grotto. He 
 painted also at Milan, Naples, &c. and died in 1336. 
 
 GIOTTINO was so called from his imitating well the manner 
 of Giotto. He painted several pieces in the palace of the Po- 
 destat, &.c. in Florence, and died in 1356. 
 
 PIETRO BELLA FRANCisCA excelled also at Florence. He 
 was employed by Pope Nicholas V. in the Vatican palace. 
 
 BERNARDJN PINTURICHIO painted the library of the cathe- 
 dral of Sienna with the history of Pius II. ; and in the Vatican 
 palace part of the Belvidere, and in an outer corridor the cities 
 of Rome, Milan, Genoa, &.c. still admired. 
 
 PHILIP LIFPI and others excelled in this school, especially 
 MASACCHIO, a great improver of his art. 
 
 FRANCIS FRANCIA of Bologna strove for the pre-eminence 
 with Raphael, but on seeing that artist's picture of St Csscilia 
 sent to Bologna, he is said to have died of melancholy, tc find 
 himself for ever overcome, though these two great painters 
 had ever been the greatest friends. His death happened in 1518. 
 
 At Venice, JOHN BELLINI and GENTILE BELLINI also paint- 
 ed admirably. Their chief work is the series of the Republic's 
 Victories ever the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, who had razed 
 Milan, set up three Antipopes. &.c. In a number of large paint- 
 ings, in the hall of the great council, ara represented all the 
 history of the confederacy and victories of Alexander the III. 
 and of the Venetians. The palaces of Venice, the persons of the 
 then most eminent senators, &.c. are admirably drawn. The 
 best of these pictures represents Pope Alexander setting his foot 
 on the emperor's neck, a false story, or mere poetical fiction. 
 Gentile Bellini died in the year i <,oi. His brother JOHN liv- 
 ed some years after him. At the request of Mahomet the II. 
 Gentile was sent to Constantinople b}' the Commonwealth, 
 where he painted many pieces which Mahomet was wonderfully 
 pleased with, loaded him with presents, and recommended him, 
 en his return, to the republic, which settled an annual salary up- 
 on him. That despot had told him that the neck, in his picture
 
 Clap. XXIV. EMINENT PAINTERS. 447 
 
 of the decollation of St John, was too short, and to convince him 
 of it, immediately sent for a slave, and ordered his head to be 
 cut off in their presence ; which he shewed to Gentile, who 
 could never sleep after till he got leave to return to Venice. 
 
 ANDREA MANTEGNA, born at Padua in 1431, was admired 
 for correctnes of design, "but had a pencil too hard and stiff. His 
 best pieces are the Triumphs of Julius C8esar,now at Hampton 
 Court. He died in 1517. 
 
 LEONARDO DA VINCI, nobly born at Vinci, a castle near 
 Florence,was an accomplished sculptor,architect, musician, poet, 
 anatomist, chemist, and mathematician. In painting he excel- 
 led all who had preceded him, and was the first master of the 
 third or golden age of modern painting, as CIMABUE was of the 
 first ; and MASACCIO of the second, all three Florentines. Vinci 
 lived many years at Milan, in great honour and opulence. The 
 Library, or rather the halls adjoining, possess many of his per- 
 formances. The best is the famous piece of the Last Supper of 
 our Lord. His bocks of prints there are most valued. He 
 made the canal from the Adda to Milan. Finding MICHAEL 
 ANGELO'S reputation begin to eclipse his, at the invitation of 
 king Francis the I. he came into France, and soon after died in 
 the arms of that monarch in 1520, being 70 years old. 
 
 PETER PERUGINO, or of Perouse, designed correctly, but his 
 name is chiefly honoured for his having been the divine Raphael's 
 master. 
 
 The Art of Engraving, found out by MASSO FINIGUERRA, a 
 goldsmith of Florence in 1460, was of great service to painters, 
 who were thus enabled easily to multiply their smaller works 
 by copperplates. 
 
 ANDREW DURER, who painted so well in Flanders, that Ra- 
 phael lamented very much his knowing no better than the 
 Gothic taste, and who also painted the emperor's palace at 
 Prao-ue under Maximilian the first, (he and Holbein being by 
 the strength of their extraordinary genius, the two great mas- 
 ters of the Flandrican School) made great use of prints ; so did 
 Raphael himself, and induced Mark Antonio of Bologna to learn 
 that art in its greatest perfection, merely to serve him in draw- 
 ing his prints. 
 
 E e 4
 
 TRAVELS OF RE.V. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 RAPHAEL D'URBINO, surnamed the divine, the Prince of 
 modern painters, was born in the city of Urbln in 1483. He 
 commenced his art under Pietro Perugino, whom he soon sur- 
 passed. He travelled to Florence to perfect himself by seeing 
 the performances of Leonardo da Vinci, and of Michael Angelo. 
 Soon after Michael Angelo was called to Rome, the Pope invit- 
 ed Raphael also to paint in the Vatican. His chief performances 
 there arc large historical paintings in the Chamber of Sig- 
 nature, the School of Athens, a great picture of many bi- 
 shops, &.c. before an altar ; our Saviour and saints above in 
 the clouds; the emperor Justinian promulgating his laws ; Pope 
 Gregory issuing the decretals ; a representation of mount Par- 
 nassus, with all the great poets. In the next row, the history 
 of St Leo, meeting king Attila ; (that king in astonishment and 
 fright ; the horse, the figures of SS. Peter and Paul, &c. are 
 singularly beautiful). In the chamber called Torre Borgia, 
 the miracles of S. Leo, his driving away a serpent by his pray- 
 ers ; extinguishing a great fire in Rome by his benediction ; (in 
 which is an admirable figure of a young man carrying off his 
 old father). His defeating the Saracens at Ostia with a small 
 troop of men, &c. In the great hall the victories of Constan- 
 tine the Great ; that over Maxentius we saw a French painter 
 copying out for the French king. His pictures of our Saviour, 
 crucifixes, our Lady, See. are numerous. His prophets in the 
 church of our Lady of Peace, are incomparable, though he took 
 the idea from those he saw Michael Angelo doing in the Vati- 
 can, at which this latter was much offended. The St Michael 
 which he sent to Francis the I. of France, is a most beautiful 
 picture. Raphael also drew the designs of the richest tapestries 
 in the world, made in P landers for the Vatican, and many for 
 the French king, who keeps them as the most precious furni- 
 ture of his wardrobe, being exposed only on great festivals. 
 Ten pieces of this line tapestry, upon Raphael's plan, are hung 
 up in the cathedral of Chartres, being 40 ells de cours, present- 
 ed to that church by the bishop de Thou. In the king's ward- 
 robe the eight pieces of the history of Josua, 43 ells, are in- 
 comparable. The 26 pieces of Psyche even surpass painting, 
 and consist of ic6 ells. The nets of the apostles, in 10 pieces
 
 Chap. XX1IL EMIHEXT PAINTERS. 44$ 
 
 of 53 ells, are the most esteemed of any ; especially the history 
 of St Paul in seven pieces, or 4 2 ells. These are the master, 
 pieces of the Flemish manufacturers, who chose rather to sell 
 them to king Francis the I. for 22,000 crowns, a great sum at 
 that time, than to their own master Charles V. Raphael's last 
 work and chief master-piece was the 'Transfiguration, now in St 
 Peter in Montorio. The Possessed Youth at the foot of the 
 mountain with the disciples, is admirable. He seems absolute- 
 ly aliVe, and so visibly does he suffer from the agitation of the 
 devil in all his members, that you almost think you hear him 
 cry out with all his strength ; his eyes are inverted and 
 almost bursting out of his head ; his veins swelled, his skin 
 stretched and hard, and of an extraordinary colour, through the 
 violence of his efforts. The old man that holds him exhibits an 
 incomparable expression ; as do all the other figures with their 
 different and extraordinary airs. The figure of the Son of God 
 in glory is quite divine. His eyes raised to heaven, his gar- 
 ments whiter than snow, his arms stretched out, and his whole 
 body, ravish the beholder, who seems to discover the Trinity 
 and the Divinity itself, in the graces of the pencil. Moses and 
 Elias are penetrated with his brightness ; the three disciples 
 prostrate are dazzled with the effulgence of light which streams 
 from every part of his body. 
 
 Though Raphael had not so grand a manner in his paintings 
 as Correggio, nor understood or managed the art of light and 
 and shades which Titian excelled in, nor designed naked bodies 
 so well as Michael Angelo; yet he understood anatomy, as well 
 as the strength of light, and the beauty of colours, and had an 
 admirable manner in all his performances : In other respects, he 
 outshone at least all other moderns : His design is the most 
 correct and of the best tase, purer than Michael Angelo's ; 
 his choice of every thing is the most perfect and happy in all 
 his figures. He never omitted or lost any embellishment in 
 the composition. The beauty of the whole, and the exact pro- 
 portions of all the parts, the variety and contrast of the figures, 
 the disposition of their attitudes, the draperies and all other 
 ornaments that can enrich a picture, cannot be paralleled. His 
 expression of the gesture?, action of ?,11 the members, and c r
 
 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 all the passions which appear on the face, is so wonderful, that 
 the interior and all the sentiments and passions of the soul, 
 joy, admiration, veneration, modesty, &.c. are manifested to 
 the senses ; but above all his other qualities, he had a singu- 
 lar talent in giving an extraordinary grace and sweetness to every 
 part of his work ; his pencil conveyed nothing but graces j for 
 example, in all his pictures of our Lady, from the elegance of 
 the draperies, the glowing of the colours, and all the external 
 embellishments, but above all from the modesty and virtue 
 which shine forth in her face, result graces which perfectly 
 enchant the eye. Those who desire to learn more of the ex- 
 cellencies and beauties of this incomparable artist, may read 
 Le Brun's discourse in the first, and Mignard's, in the 4th Con- 
 ference of the Academy of Painters in Paris, p. 31. and 59. and 
 Felibien's life of Raphael T. I. I shall only add, that he quite 
 eclipsed the glory of the Florence and Lombard schools, and 
 raised the Roman above all competition. The most conspicu- 
 ous amongst his great qualifications were, an unparalelled 
 genius, the most correct and true design, which he studied moie 
 than any other from the ancients, an expression above the reach 
 of any other pencil, and a taste so exquisite as to obtain him 
 the distinguished appellation of the Divine Raphael : He died 
 in 1520 in the 37th year of his age. His principal scholars 
 were Julio Romano, Polydore, Gaudenzio, Giovanni d' Udine, 
 MICHAEL ANGELO BUONAROTTI, born of a noble family at 
 Florence in the year 1474, was the greatest of modern archi- 
 tects and sculptors, and the most admirable designer : No 
 painter ever understood or drew anatomy so well ; and he is 
 generally allowed to be the second amongst modern painters j 
 nay, whilst alive, he was often compared, and even preferred 
 to Raphael. His love for designing drew upon him repeated 
 punishments for the neglect of his school-tasks, till he got 
 leave to apply himself to his favourite arts. His first finished 
 piece was the statute of our Lady of pity, now in St Peter's 
 in the Vatican. Julius II. invited him to Rome, where 
 he commenced a most rich tomb for that Pope, which was 
 never finished. After Julius's death, he executed that tomb 
 for him which is now seen in St Peter's ad Vincula. Under
 
 Clap. XXIII. EMINENT PAINTERS. 45! 
 
 Julius II. at 29 years of age, he painted the vault of the 
 Sixtine chapel, his master-piece, is "The Universal Judge* 
 meut, which covers the wall on the top of this chapel, an4 
 which I have already described. His decollation of St Paul, 
 and crucifixion of St Peter, in the Pauline chapel, are ad- 
 mirable. He shewed his skill in architecture, in St Pe- 
 ter's, in the Vatican, in the Farnesian palace, on the Campi- 
 doglio, &.c. He was invited to Constantinople by Solyman the 
 magnificent, to make a bridge over the Hellespont. He lived 
 in great splendour, honoured and esteemed by all the Princes of 
 Europe, by six successive Popes, Julius II. Leo X. Clement 
 VII. Paul III. Julius III. and Paul IV. ; by Charles V. Soly- 
 man, Francis I. our Henry VIII. Cosmo of Medicis, the Vene- 
 tians, &c. and died in Rome in the year 1564 ; having lived 
 80 years, II months. His defects as a Painter, are pointed 
 out in Felibien, Entret. 4. p. 174. Da Fresnoy gives us his 
 opinion of him in these words : " He designed more learnedly, 
 " and better understood the knitting; of the bones, with the 
 
 O ' 
 
 " office and situation of the muscles, than any of the modera 
 " painters. There appears an air of greatness and severity in 
 " his figures. But the choice of his attitutes was not always 
 " the happy. His design was not always the best, nor his 
 " outlines the most degant : The folds of his draperies and 
 " the ornaments of his habits were neither noble nor graceful : 
 " He was not a little fantastical in his compositions : His 
 " coulouring is not over true : He knew not the artifice of the 
 " lights and shades." 
 
 JULIO ROMANO was the best and most universal of Raphael's 
 scholars. He painted many things in the Vatican palace, as 
 the Creation of Adam and Eve, and the animals ; Noah ; Moses 
 taken out of the Nile ; Constantine beholding the cross in the 
 heavens ; defeat of Maxentius, (this is his mater-piece, and is 
 upon a design of Raphael,) Constantine's baptism, &c. He 
 painted innumerable other things in Rome and Mantua, where 
 he also built, with the greatest art, an admirable palace for 
 the Marquis of Gonzagu, described by Felibien, Entret. 3. p. 
 112, &c. Julio drew the plans or designs of beautiful pieces of 
 tapestry, executed by Nicolas and John Baptist Roux, the two 
 greatest of the Flemish weavers and artists ; among v;hich are
 
 45 * TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER. 
 
 the Battles and Triumphs of Scipio, in 22 pieces of 120 ells, 
 bought by Francis I. and Henry II. and at present in the 
 French King's wardrobe ; the History of Lucretia, in 5 pieces 
 21 ells ; the Tnumphs of Bacchus, in 7 pieces 21 ells ; those 
 of Orpheus in 8 pieces, 28 ells ; 10 pieces of grotesques in 43 
 ells ; the Twelve Months, in 12 pieces, 45 ells; the Rape of 
 the Sabins, in 5 pieces, 43 ells ; all these in tissue of silk and 
 gold ; also the history of Scipio, in i o pieces ; the Fruits of 
 War, in 8 pieces, 55 ells ; and the Triumph of Venus, in 3 
 pieces, 15 ells in all. These specimens, which are preserved in 
 the King's wardrobe, and exposed in Paris on great occasions, 
 shew Julio's design to have been no less incomparable than the 
 Roux's workmanship. The French King has also Flemish 
 tapestry after the designs of some of the best Dutch painters, 
 as the ^even Ages in 7 pieces, upon the plan of the famous 
 Lucas of Harlem ; several of Albert Durer, &.c. 
 
 Julio Romano died at Mantua in the year 1546, of his age 
 54. He gave more life to his paintings than Raphael himself, 
 and was wonderfully happy in his choice of attitudes. But 
 his manner was dryer and harder than that of his great master, 
 says du Fresnoy : He copied all from the antiques. 
 
 POLYDORE designed exceedingly well, excelled in frizes and 
 paisages, and has left some groupes happily executed. 
 
 JOHN D'UDINE, a third of Raphael's great scholars, from 
 the vaults of Titus's palace revived stucco-work, a composition 
 of lime and marble powder. He painted in the Vatican, &cc. 
 excelled in animal?, fruit, flowers, &.c. and died 1564. 
 
 ANDREA DEL SARTO, a taylors son in Florence, painted 
 well, but abused his good fortune, he died in 1520. 
 
 SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO was esteemed at Venice and 
 Rome : He died in 1545. 
 
 DANIEL OF VOLTERRA, -was a great proficient in Sienna 
 imd Rome : His Descent from the Cross, in the Minim's church 
 of the Trinity in the Mount, is esteemed the third picture that 
 adorns the churches in Rome. The first is Raphael's Trans- 
 Jigurailon in Montorio : The second St Jerome receiving the 
 Viaticum by the Dominican, in the Charity, near the Farne- 
 ;i?,n palace. Daniel, by Paul IV'o. orders, covered sonic of
 
 Chap. XXI11. EMINENT PAINTERS. 453 
 
 of the naked pieces in Michael Angelo's Last Judgement. He 
 died in 1566. * 
 
 THADDEO ZUCCHARO, for his good design, composition, and 
 florid invention ; and his brother Theoderico excelled in the 
 Roman school, f 
 
 But to mention the Lombard School of Painters : After the 
 BELLINI, whom I have already mentioned, as having distin- 
 guished themselves in Venice, came Giorgione, Titian, and 
 Correggio, who raised this school to great celebrity. 
 
 GIORGIONE under John Bellini, and after Leonardo da Vinci, 
 attained to great perfection in the art added, the artifice of strong 
 lights and shadows, and of beautiful glowing colours. He 
 drew many excellent pictures, both portraits and histories. His 
 best is our Saviour carrying his cross, in Venice. He died 
 there in 1511. 
 
 TITIAN, of the ancient family of Vecelli in the Venetian 
 territories, fellow-apprentice to Bellini with Giorgione, raised 
 the Lombard school to the highest pitch of glory. Not having 
 studied antiques, he (as well as the whole school) designed in- 
 correctly, but in colouring he excels all the moderns, by which 
 his pictures possess a peculiar beauty. In painting wo- 
 men and children, his design is very pleasing ; the negligent 
 head-dresses and draperies being in a style peculiar to himself j 
 but he is not so happy in the figures of men. In landscapes, 
 he surpassed all others. His pencil gives the greatest spirit, 
 and is at the same time wonderfully sweet and delicate. His 
 colours are admirable, his carnations seem real blood. He 
 was honoured and enriched exceedingly by the Emperor 
 Charles V. ; and filled Naples, the Escurial at Madrid, &.c. witli 
 admirable paintings. He died in 15/6, of his age 99. His 
 two most eminent scholars were Paul Veronese and TintoreL 
 Bassano and his sons were his contemporaries. The chief pieces 
 of Titian which I saw were, the three miracles of St Antony 
 in Padua ; St Peter Martyr, in Venice ; several in the Ducal 
 palace, and many others in that city ; not a_few in Rome, some 
 in Paris, &cc. 
 
 * See Fclibicn F.ntr. 4. P. 153. r laid. P. 158. \ Sec tiis ad Conference 
 of the French Academy, P. 47.
 
 454 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 CORREGGIO did not equal the exquisite colouring of Titian, 
 but he designed better, though not perfectly. His beauty con- 
 sists in the great strength of his colours, and in certain easy 
 delightful graces his pencil gave. He painted most at Parma 
 and Modena. He died in 1534, of his age 40. 
 
 PAUL VERONESE, born at Verona of the family of Caliari, 
 was in some respects greater than Titian, and if not the first, was 
 at least the second in the Lombard school. He was wonderfully 
 successful in the attitudes and grace with which he painted 
 women, in his variety of shining draperies, and in the natural 
 easy stroke of his pencil : His copious invention, and the grand- 
 duer and majesty of his composition, his exquisite ornaments, 
 and above all his noble colouring, make the Italians style him, 
 I! pit tor felice. He painted almost always in Venice, from 
 whence no offers of Philip the II. could draw him, though all 
 the princes of Europe got pictures done by him. He died 
 greatly honoured, and extremely opulent, in the year 1588, of 
 his age 56. On the beauties of Paul Veronese see the 5th con- 
 ference of the French academy of painters, p. 74. and Felibien 
 entr. 5. p. 92. t. 2. His principal pieces which I admired in 
 Venice are, St Mark's library, the Marriage of Cana, 30 feet 
 long, containing above 1 20 most beautiful figures in the refec- 
 tory of St George Major, the best picture in Venice. The Ban- 
 quet of Simon the leper in St Sebastian, and another in the re- 
 fractory of Servites, with the Magdalene at our Saviour's feet, 
 something different from the other. Some blame Paul for 
 painting the guests sitting, because the ancients lay on couches 
 at table : But that they sometimes so sat appears from Homer 
 Odyss. 1. i. 8. and. I. kings 20. 25. 
 
 TINTORETTO was so called because son of a dyer of Venice. 
 His true name was James Robust! ; he is called the furious for 
 his bold strong lights and deep shadows, and for the rapidity 
 of his genius. His colouring is admirable, like Titian's, whose 
 pictures some of his performances equal, but in others he is 
 far beneath himself, as he worked for all prices. He was not 
 laborious enough, though possessed of an excellent genius. His 
 composition and dresses are generally improper. He died in. 
 the year 1594.
 
 Chap. XXIII. EMINENT PAINTERS. 455. 
 
 BASSANO the father died in Venice in 1592. He was cal- 
 led Giacomo da ponte da Bassano ; his three sons followed his 
 manner of painting Francisco, who painted in the ducal palace 
 with Paul Veronese and Tintoret ; Leandro who excelled most 
 in face painting, and the other two, who copied excellently their 
 father's works. The Bassani had a very mean taste, and de- 
 signed incorrectly. Their composition also was very faulty ; 
 yet they had a good gusto in colouring, and excelled in drawing 
 all kinds of animals. 
 
 The other great Venetian painters are, BAPTISTA FRANCO, 
 who filled Italy with his pictures, remarkable only for the cor- 
 rectness of their outlines. PALMA VECCHIO, and his nephew, 
 PALMA JUNIOR, stocked Venice, Rome, &c. with their paintings. 
 The younger only copied j the elder imitated his master Titian's 
 manner to perfection. 
 
 PARMEGIANO painted well at Parma : but he may be consi- 
 dered as belonging to the school of Lombardy. 
 
 CARAVAGIO painted first at Venice, afterwards at Rome, and 
 diedanno 1609: His manner was very odd and mean, peculiar to 
 himself: His design and composition are very poor and false ; 
 but his colouring is admirable, and strong. 
 
 SPAYNOLETTO, a poor Spaniard, scholar of Caravagio, paint- 
 ed with great reputation at Naples, perfect in design and co- 
 louring, but chiefly remarkable for frightful subjects, and from 
 his singularly bad temper. 
 
 BOLOGNA justly deserves to be looked on as a distinct emin- 
 ent school : Its greatest glory are the Carrachi and Guido Reni. 
 
 LEWIS CARRACHE, born at Bologna in 1555, excelled in de- 
 sign, and colouring with the greatest gracefulness : He taught 
 his two cousins german, Augustin and Hannibal, and surviv- 
 ing them, died in 1619. 
 
 AUGUSTIN CARRACHE painted little, applying himself prin- 
 cipally to graving. His communion of St Jerome, in Bologna, 
 is a most finished piece, and makes us feel sentiments of sor- 
 row. After executing this chief d'ceuvre, he never again used 
 his pencil. He died at Parma anno 1602. 
 HANNIBAL CARRACHE far excelled the other two, and united 
 in himself the sweetness of Correggio, the strength and colour
 
 456 TRAVELS OF REV. ALB AN BUTLER* 
 
 of Titian, and the correctness of design and imitation of an- 
 tiques of Raphael : but he could not attain the nobleness, graces 
 and charms of that prince of painters, says du Fresno} 1 : He had 
 such a veneration for him that he would be buried in his tomb 
 in the Pantheon, which was done anno 1606. His chief work 
 and master-piece is the painting of the gallery in the Farnesian 
 palace. Fehbien is very copious on Hannibal, and the academy 
 established by the Carrachi at Bologna, entr. 6. p. 165. 
 
 GUIDO RENiborn at Bologna anno 1576 learned this art un- 
 der Calvert, the Flemish painter setled at Bologna, but perfected 
 himself under the Carrachi. His performances possess an un- 
 common degree of gracefulness and beauty. His heads are not 
 inferior to Raphael's in other respects ; he does not equal the 
 Carrachi, though he charged higher prices. He died in 1642. 
 
 In the same school of the Carrachi, JOHN BAPTIST VIOLA 
 excelled in landscapes, ALBANI in small pictures, but none came 
 
 up to DOMENICKINO. 
 
 LAN FRANC at Naples, BODOLOCCHI at Rome, ANDREW 
 SACCHI also in Rome, under Urban, for their correctnes and 
 elegance of design, and admirable colouring, &.c. maintained 
 the fame of this school. 
 
 DOMINICO ZAMPIERI, commonly called Don Enichino was a 
 scholar of Hannibal Carrache, whom he assisted in painting 
 the Farnesian gallery. He excelled in the correctness of his 
 design, and in expressing the passions and affections of the soul. 
 His St Jerome receiving the holy Communion, in the Charity 
 near the English seminary, is eteemed the second picture in 
 Rome. It is wonderful to see the devotion and penitential 
 spirit of that saint expressed so naturally. Domenichino died 
 anno 1642. 
 
 The Dominican was a famous painter of the School of Flor- 
 ence, a religious of St Mark under Nicolas 4th. 
 
 CHARLES MARATTI, for his correct design, elegant pencil, 
 charming airs, draperies, and above all an inimitable graceful- 
 ness, surpassed his master Saccll. He painted at Rome, much 
 honoured by Innocent II., Sec. and deid in 1731 age 88.
 
 Clap. XX III. EMINENT PAINTERS. 457 
 
 The PROCACCINI, leaving the Carrachi, set up an eminent 
 branch of the Lombard school in Milan, in which flourished 
 GloSEPPINO, a tolerable master. 
 
 The above is an abridgment of the remarks I had formerly 
 abstracted from the works of Monsieur de Piles, Perrault, du 
 Fresnoy, Vasari, and chiefly Felibien. Without some knowledge 
 of these arts, it is impossible to judge of them ; and a person 
 is deprived both of the pleasure and improvement he would 
 otherwise receive from seeing the most curious objects : 'Tis 
 true, as Quintilian observes, the skilful understand and admire 
 the art, and the most unskilful receive a pleasure ; yet this 
 pleasure excites our curiosity to the study of the art. 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY FOURTH. 
 
 Remarks on the Italian Stage. An Account of the most Celebrated Vocal 
 IVrfomiT.s of that Country : Sunta Stella, Faustina, Farinclli, Cuzzoni, &c.~ 
 On the Religion of the Italians, &c. 
 
 IN Italy we meet with inscriptions prostituted to every trifling 
 occasion, or most insignificant person. Very soon the coblera 
 may put their names on every shoe they mend, without carry- 
 ing the extravagance much farther. Indeed, the ingenious 
 here have a better knack at them than in other countries ; paltry 
 inscriptions and wretched epitaphs tire one's curiosity in other 
 parts ; but in Italy it always meets something to repay its la- 
 bour. Sir John Dolben at Aix in Provence got a tomb-stone 
 made in Italy ; theinscription is affecting, far superior to 
 the rude attempts in that church, and makes the reader mingle 
 his tears with those of the whole city in the father's sorrow, 
 giving a very high, yet modest idea of that gentlemen, whose 
 children all lie buried under one stone, having died in their in- 
 fancy of the small pox,, of whom it says, Parvxhs tarn cita per 
 
 Ff
 
 458 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 fecere clrculos, cxlestis festinantes mdtum intueri Patris, 8tc; 
 One now and then picks up an ingenious one among these pal- 
 try inscriptions, but it costs as much labour as to rake a jewel 
 out of a dung-hill. That in France is fit for the old wife of 
 Bath. 
 
 Cy git ma femme ; ob, qrfelle est bien 
 
 Pour son repos et pour le mein ! 
 
 The Stage Entertainments I can give no account of, as I never 
 would see any ; these amusements being very dangerous, the 
 school of the passions and of sin, and most justly abhorred by the 
 Church and Fathers ; among us, Collier, Law, &c. amongst the 
 French, the late Prince of Conti, Dr Voisin, Nicole, and others 
 have said enough to satisfy any Christian on this head ; though 
 Tertullian, St Cyprian, St Chrysostom, &.c. are still more impla- 
 cable enemies of the stage. However, we visited the stages on 
 account of their architecture, where this was curious. Such 
 entertainments were first restored in Italy by imperfect farces ; 
 and chiefly by Representations of our SAVIOUR'S passion, dis- 
 played with great pomp at the Colisee or Vespasian's Amphi- 
 theatre in Rome, (which was far more entire before the Far- 
 nesian Palace was built of part of its stones) and on the Arno 
 in Florence : The same sort of stage-amusements were much 
 
 o 
 
 practised in France and in England ; we have some on Adam, 
 &c. and on the Passion of our SAVIOUR, exhibited by the Friars 
 of Coventry in Steven's Monasticon Anglic. Regular profane 
 comedies succeeded those first in Italy, then in France, England, 
 &c. the Spaniards still retain, besides profane, a sort of those 
 pious plays, if we may so call them because their subject 
 Is such. These are called Autos Sacrame?itales, and are chiefly 
 designed to represent the love, humility, &c. of our Saviour, 
 in the Blessed Sacrament. The Italians date the commence- 
 ment of their regular comedies from the ijth century; 
 the French of theirs from Moliere, at the end of the I7th; 
 yet Moliere did not so much perfect comedy, as Corneille 
 and Racine did tragedy. The Italian and French stage- 
 entertainments appear to be most generally relished. In 
 Germany, the Italian are chiefly exhibited, The English
 
 Clap. XXIV. THE ITALIAN STAGE. 459 
 
 are of a thoughful temper, and must reflect much, and be 
 strongly moved before they are pleased. Shakespeare knew 
 this our genius, hence his pieces, though filled with the 
 most admirable passages, are in many respects faulty, devi- 
 ating from the true rules given by Aristotle, and from the 
 great model of Sophocles's CEdipus, proposed by Aristotle as 
 the standard ; yet that ought not to be deemed a fault which is 
 really a beauty and excellency in regard of those for whom it 
 is designed ; but the licentiousness and immorality of our 
 English stage, especially, is a disgrace to mankind, much more 
 to Christianity, as Mr Echard, in his preface to his translation 
 of Terence, Mr Hutchinson, and others, most justly remark. 
 In Rome, no woman is ever permitted to appear on the 
 stage, since Innocent Xl's prohibition. Indeed, for a man 
 to put on woman's cloathes, is against the law of nature, as 
 appears from Deut. and all divines with St Thomas. 
 
 In Rome, the stage is open only during the last eight daya 
 of Shrovetide, and the diversions of that season are kept within 
 decent bounds, consisting chiefly in the overflowing the square 
 of the Navonna, and the exhibition of chariot-races in that 
 place, &c. In other parts of Italy they are more extravagant ; 
 but in Venice they exceed every measure of propriety, where 
 from Christmas to Ashwednesday they indulge in every 
 species of licentiousness ; and during all which period the 
 gentry never go abroad without masks, a custom which is a- 
 clopted by the other cities of that Republic. The stage is open 
 in Lombardy during the greater part of winter and spring ; 
 but in Venice it remains open from October until the first 
 day of Lent : In that city and in Naples it is also open at 
 other times, on particular occasions. All the nobility of 
 Venice may go to play masked, a custom which saves them a 
 considerable expence : Even the Doge may in this manner go 
 as a private person. Kortnerly, at Venice, no one could stir 
 abroad without a mask, dar g the seasons of Shrovetide and 
 and Ascension ; and indeed this custom prevails very generally 
 at present ; yet the Pope's nuncio, Monsignor Carocciolo, bishop 
 >f Cnlcedon inpariibus, a young prelate much esteemed by the
 
 460 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 Doge, goes abroad at all times, and during all their ceremonies, 
 without any mask. 
 
 There arc in Venice eight theatres, which derive their names 
 from the parishes in which they are situated, in four of which 
 operas are exhibited. The decorations and machinery of the 
 Italian stages seem to be very expensive. Formerly the most 
 eminent musician might be hired in enice for a year, (z. e. 
 from October until Lent.) at the rate of 150 Roman crowns, 
 generally for ico crowns, which is 600 French livres, or 21 
 guineas ; but within these few years past, first-rate singers have 
 received extravagant salaries. Santa Stella, Faustina, Cuzz-oni, 
 and FartneUo, always received above 1000 gold sequins a-year, 
 near 500 pounds Sterling The most celebrated Italian singers 
 at the end of the last century were, Pistocco, Pasqualino, Siface, 
 Mattecncclo, Cortcna, Linyino ; amongst the female voices, the 
 most distinguished are, Francisco, Vaini, Santa Stella, Filla, 
 Salceli, Reggiani, &c. In the present age, Cu^z-oni held the 
 first place in Italy: In the year 1724 she sung, with the 
 greatest applause, a motet and psalm in the chapel of Fountain- 
 bleau, and was six years admired in London. She then re- 
 turned to the Italian stage, but was recalled to London in the 
 year 1734, where she enjoyed a salary 1500 guineas a-ye?.r : 
 .During the same period Francis Ecrnardi excelled all former 
 ages in the admirable style of his composition* 
 
 Faustina Burdoni was no less admired over Europe, for the 
 exquisite sweetness of her voice, and her admirable muiraer of 
 singing : Many endeavouring to imitate her manner, but not 
 possessed of her power of voice, have only murdered the finest 
 music. 
 
 Carlo Broscln., commonly called Yarinelli, sings in the ma;;~ 
 ner of Faustina, but far excels that accomplished performer. 
 He was invited to London in the year 1734, where he sung 
 during three winters, with incredible applause. In 1736 he 
 visited Paris, and :ung before the king, court, arid nobility. 
 It is well known to what a degree he inchanted and infatuated 
 the late King cf Spain, (Philip V. ), who seemed pleased 
 cnly when in the company of l^irinctfa, w/J who lavished the.
 
 Chap. XXIV. RELIGION OF THE ITALIANS. 461 
 
 highest honours of his throne on a musican, a species of merit, 
 however distinguished, certainly undeserving so high rewards. 
 
 In Rome, they perform a sort of sacred opera, called Oratorio, 
 in which are exhibited the Passion of cur Saviour, and other 
 scriptural events, accompanied by machinery, music, and sing, 
 ing. As the opera is intended to please the eye s and the ears 
 only, its music being unaccompanied by words, fitted to con- 
 vey mental instruction or amusement, and its machinery cal. 
 culaled merely for show, so the concerts of music are adapted 
 to gratify the ears alone. In Italy, these concerts are perform- 
 ed in a style of exquisite delicacy ; and they are generally held 
 in the academies in every city cf that country : They are also 
 very much relished in die South of France. 
 
 The Italians are generally very diffuse in their writings, 
 even move so than the French, whose volubility of tongue, and 
 verbosity in writing, are pretty generally known. For in- 
 stance, " s Tbelf$'u?tonismfor the Ladies" (written by a gentle- 
 man of Venice) contains nearly as much instruction in the whole 
 bock as an Englishman would communicate in three pages. We 
 "love to study and reflect, and thus continually seek new matter, 
 which is the charactei cf the men of letters among the ancient 
 Athenians,- hence Demosthenes is much closer in his writings 
 than Cicero. 
 
 As to ]\cti^ion and Piety : The Italians have all a great 
 deal of exterior devotion, which they display in enriching 1 
 their churche.-, and in similar practices : But the marks of true 
 interior devotion are by no means correspondent in the genera- 
 lity of this people. Venice is said to be the most profligate 
 place in Italy ; and Sunday is worst observed there. The 
 grand council for the election of magistrates and other af- 
 fairs of state, chooses that day for its assemblies, which employs 
 the whole morning , so that a stranger who wishes to be pre- 
 sent at these meetings, must take care to hear mass very early, 
 else he will lose an opportunity cf assisting at that sacred office 
 cf religion. The characteristic anecdote of this republic, re- 
 lated by Monsieur FLECHIER, bishop of Nismes, is still suffi- 
 cientlv applicable. That prelate having expressed to a Venetian 
 nobleman his surprise at the above scandalous practice, was in-
 
 462 TRAVELS OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER. 
 
 finitely more shocked at the answer he received : " Siamo Ve- 
 " neziani e poi Christiani." " We are first citizens then 
 " Christians" Sunday is much better kept at Rme, where 
 no one dares sell, even privately, the most trifling book, from 
 the dread of being fined. The hair-dressers are indeed permit, 
 ted to exercise their business about two hours on Sundays and 
 holy-days ; but they are prohibited strictly from working at 
 any other time, throughout all the Ecclesiastical State ; which 
 seemed to me a very commendable regulation. The rubric in 
 the church ceremonies and office, and the canons, are observ- 
 ed at Rome with exemplary strictness. 
 
 No beggars are permitted to ask alms in the churches of 
 Italy, except a very few who have a special licence. The con- 
 trary practice in France is justly complained of. 
 
 THE END OF REV. ALBAN BUTLER'S TRAVELS,
 
 IN3DEX 
 
 TO THE 
 
 REV. ALBAN BUTLER'S TRAVELS. 
 
 Page- 
 
 A 
 
 dLcademy of Painting, 72, of Architecture, ib., of Sciences 73 
 The Trench of Lewis X1J J. ib. 
 
 Academies for the improvement of the Italian Language 425 
 
 Adda, a River in Italy 349 
 
 Adige, a River in Italy ib. 
 
 Adria, a Town of Italy, gave name to the Adriatic Sea 350 
 
 Aire, Town of Nunnery of English Poor Clares 36 
 
 Aix, description of, 114, Mineral Baths of nS 
 
 Albi^eois heresy, acccount of the 13^ 
 
 Alps, Passages ot the, described 30.3 
 
 Amand^s St, City of, described 42, 
 
 Ambrosian Library at Milan, account of the 385 
 
 Amboise, City of 408 
 
 Amiens, City of, 10 
 
 Anecdotes, of a German at Fiascone 2c6, of the Venetians 461 
 Ancona, the ancient Picenum 332 337 
 
 Angers, City of, described 411 
 
 Anguienne, City of, 25 
 
 An^elo Si, Castle of, or, Mole of Adrian 257 
 
 Antwerp, City of, described 17 
 
 the Third School of Painters 1 8 
 
 Antibes, town of, a Colony of the Phocseans 152 
 
 Antoninus''^ Pillar at Rome 248 
 
 Aqueduct of Claudius, at Rome 297 
 
 Architecture, Orders of, described 427 
 
 of the Jews and Assyrians 430 
 
 . of the Grecians 431 
 
 of the Italians . ib. 
 
 of the Goths 433 
 
 Arras, City of, description of 36 
 
 Aries, city of, Account of its Antiquities I2O 
 
 Assisiurn, town of, birth-place of St FRANCIS 330
 
 464 INDEX. 
 
 1'age 
 
 ASTIER, GABRIEL, a fanatical prophet of Dauphiny 133 
 
 AUGUSTUS C/ESAR, Mausoleum of 256 
 
 Aver nin, celebrated Lake of, 31? 
 
 Avignon, City and County of 105 
 
 B 
 
 BOCCACE, a celebrated Italian Poet 189 
 Baice, town of 322 
 BALTA/.AR of Sienna, Restorer of Architecture 2Ci 
 BANDINELLO. a celebrated Sculptor 1 8 $ 
 Barbarini Palace, contains fine Statues 201 
 BASSANO, an eminent Painter 4-,- 
 Baths of the Romans described 30$ 
 Baume, St, the Holy Cave in which St Magdalene did penance 141 
 Beauty of the Human Figure, analysed 439 
 Belvedere, court of, at Rome, celebrated on account of the ad- 
 mirable Ancient Statues it contains 268 
 'Belvedere, Palace of Prince Pamphili, described 316 
 BELLINI, John ami Gentile, eminent Painter, history of 446 
 BENEDICT XIV. visits the Limina Apostolorum, in Holy Week 287 
 Bergen-op-Zoom, described 14 
 Bergues, origin of 4 1 
 Black, or Uyrctnian Forest i ^ 
 Blois, City of described ~ 407 
 Bois-le-duc, City of, described i ,; 
 Bologna, City of, described 
 
 Boulogne, City of, described . ID 
 
 Bourbon Laney, City of 4:3 
 Bourbon d" 1 Arckambauld, City of 
 BOURBON, Family of, vrhence descended 
 Bourges, City of - - 
 Brabant, Province of 
 
 British Channel^ Account of the 9 
 
 BRILL, Mat/hew and Paul, eminent Painters 19 
 
 BROUWER, the celebrated Painter 19 
 BROWN, Mrs, Fouudiess of the Convent of Poor Clares, at 
 
 Dunkirk 4.0 
 
 BrusseL, City of, described 22 
 
 Bruges, City of 30 
 
 BRUGES, John of, Inventor of Painting in Oil 20 
 ]3auN, LE, a celebrated French Painter, 67 Account of 71 
 
 Paintings by 7?. 
 .BUONAROTTI, MICHAEL ANGELO. patronised by Lorenzo de 
 Medicis, 182, his works 184, 187, 190, 191, 193, 2<f7, 
 266, 271, 272^ 27 s, ?8o, 285, 2Q2, 293, 299, 304, 346 
 Hutorv of ~
 
 INDEX. 465 
 
 c . 
 
 Calais, City of, described 1 1 
 
 Cama/do/i, Monastery of 200 
 
 . Hermitage of, at Frescati 318 
 
 Cambray, Province and City of 48 
 
 Campagna de Roma, Umvholsomness of 2:9 
 
 Candid, the ancient Crete 336 
 
 Capitol, or Camfidogho, of Rome, described 277 
 
 Cardinals, their Offices and Duties 221 
 
 CARRACHI, celebrated Painters, Pictures by, 251, 271, 27 ?, 
 
 285, 329, 346, History of the Carrachi, 455 
 Cassino, Monte, Abbey of 319 
 Casal, Capital of Montserrat 392 
 CASTEL, PERE, Professor of Mathematics at Paris, an oppon- 
 ent of NEWTON 65 
 Catacombs, in Rome, described 296-311 
 Ccphalonia, an Island belonging to Venice 366 
 Chartreuse, Grand, Monastery of 99 
 CHBV ALTER ST GEORGE, Son of James VII 253 
 CIAMBUE, Restorer of the true Art of Painting 445 
 Citeaux, Abbey of 89 
 Civita Vecchia. Port of Rome 209 
 COLONNA, Family of. 235 SCIARRA COLONNA took prisoner 
 
 and struck Pope Boniface VIII. in 1303 236 
 
 Cotnmacia, City of, described 347 
 
 Conde, City of, described 25 
 
 Corsairs, originally Corsicans 169 
 
 CORTONA, an eminent Painter, 267-274 
 
 Corfu, anciently Corcyra, an Island belonging to Venice 366 
 
 CORREGGIO, a celebrated Painter, 454 
 
 Courtray, City of 27 
 
 Cumce, celebrated for the Sybils Grotto 324 
 
 Cressy, City of 51 
 
 D 
 
 Delia Crusca, Academy of, 199 
 
 Denys. (St) the Burial Place of the Kings of France 52 
 
 Dendermond, City of 28 
 
 Dixmunde, City of ib. 
 
 Dijon, City of, 88 
 DOMINICAN. The an eminent Painter, Paintings by, 264, 288, 
 
 294, 342, 345 Account of 4j6 
 
 DOMINICHINO, Paintings by. 272-456 
 DONATELLI, an eminent Sculptor, 185, 192, 275, 
 Douay, City of. its Arsenal and Foundery for Cannon, and 
 
 Religious houses, described 44 
 
 Dunkirk. Citv of 3Q 
 
 B
 
 466 INDEX. 
 
 Page, 
 
 DURER, Albert, a Dutch Painter 207-315 
 
 Dutch Netherlands, Account of, and Causes of their Opulence 
 
 and Population 31 
 
 E 
 
 Ecclesiastical Territories, Account of the, 2 1 2 Revenues, 215 
 
 Courts of Judicature, 225 Military and Civil Judges, 229 
 
 English Jesuits at Boulogne jo 
 
 English College of Jesuits at Leige 1 6 
 
 English Nunnery of Carmelites at Antwerp 21 
 
 . ' of Dominicanesses at Brussels 22 
 
 . at Burnheim near Louvain ib. 
 
 of Poor Clares of Gravelines 38 
 
 ' '-" of Dunkirk > 40 
 
 English Nuns at Princenhoff. near Bruges 30 
 
 t3 O %/ 
 
 ... College of Jesuits of St Omer's 
 
 Poor Clares of Aire 
 
 -' Religious Houses of Douay 
 
 Austin Nuns of Paris, founded by Mrs Mary Fred- 
 
 way 70 
 
 Benedictin Nuns at Paris ib. 
 Engraving on Copper invented by TOMASA FINIGUERRA a Gold- 
 smith of Florence 182 447 
 
 
 
 FARINILLI, a celebrated Italian Singer 460 
 
 FAUSTINA, a cejcbrated Italian Singer ib. 
 
 FENELON, the celebrated Archbishop of Cambray 49 
 
 Ferrara, Principality and City of 347 
 
 Feriouh a Province belonging to Venice 367 
 
 Fiascone, Monte, Capital oi the Falisci 206 
 
 Final, Marquisate of 159 
 FINIGUERRA. Tomasa, or Masso, Inventor of Engraving 182 447 
 
 Flanders, County of 25 
 
 Flaminia Via, a Roman highway 326 
 
 Florence, City and State of 181 
 
 Fontainblsau, Palace of 80 
 
 Forum of 'dome, or Campo Vaccino 3 6 
 FRANCE Account of its Government, Revenues, Noblesse, 
 
 and Population 53 
 
 FRANCIS FRANCM a Bolognese Painter 446 
 
 Fresca'i, Pal act of 315 
 
 Frejus, the Forum Julii ? CJESAR. 150 
 
 FRESNOY, a French Paiuier - 72 
 
 G AUDr.sTio, Paintings by 383 
 
 Geneva-, City of, described - 400
 
 INDEX. 467 
 
 Genoa, Republic and City of 162 
 
 Ghent, City of 26 
 
 GIOTTO, an eminent Painter, history of 445 
 
 GIOTTINO, 446 
 
 GIORGIONE, ' . - 453 
 
 Gladiator Dying, admirable Statue of 280 
 
 Goitre, a Desease prevalent amongst the Alpes 397 
 
 Grave/ines, City of 38 
 
 Grenoble, 99 
 
 Grotto of Naples, description of 323 
 
 Grotto del Cane, _ 324 
 
 GUIDO RHENI, a celebrated Painter, Paintings by 274, 280, 
 
 283, 294, 339> 34 2 > 34 6 >~ History of 456 
 
 H 
 
 liainault, Province of 24 
 
 HOLBEIN, HANS, a celebrated Dutch Painter 20 
 
 HUBERT, St, Patron of the Hunters 15 
 Huguenots, absurd behaviour of the, 102, destroy the 
 
 churches of Montpelier 124 
 
 -1 
 
 IGNATIUS of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits, Church and 
 
 Statue of, in Rome 250 
 
 Irish Benedictine Nuns at Ypres . 29 
 
 College at Douay , 46 
 
 .. Lombard College at Paris 71 
 
 Istria, a Province belonging to Venice 366 
 ITALY, Reflections on 461, 424, to the end 
 Janscnists, an acccout of, and of their principal leaders (Note) 134 
 
 Jesuits, English College of, at Leige 1 6 
 
 College at Paris 53 
 
 College of Bourbon at Aix 116 
 
 - College and Church of, at Rome 250 
 
 JOAN, Papess, Story of, proved to be an arrant Falsehood 301 
 
 (OSEPPIN, d'sirgino, Paintings by, 279 
 
 [OTTUS, an eminent Painter raid Architect 185 
 
 JULIO ROMANO, Paintings by, 503, History of 451 
 
 L 
 
 Lacoon, an admirable ancient Statue 268 
 
 Lamps Perpetual, Account of, 280 
 LANFRANC, an eminent Painter 264, Pictures by, 271, 272, 
 
 280, 310, 456 
 
 Languedoc, Province of, 123, Its Canal 125 
 
 Laterals, St John of, described 298 
 
 Leghorn, Town of 17$ 
 
 Lcige, City of, described 15
 
 468 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Limbourg, City of, 15 
 
 LIPPI, PHILIP, an eminent Painter, 189 3 "9, * -i tory of, 446 
 
 Lisle, City of, described 42 
 
 Lizards, abound in Province I ' O 
 
 LORETTO, city of, described 3?2 
 
 Louvam, City of, ditto 23 
 
 Lucca, Republic of 171 
 
 Luf/uvuii Villa, at Rome, contains admirable Statues 291 
 
 Lyons, City of, described 92 
 
 M 
 
 Maestrich!, City of 14 
 
 Mans, a < 4ty hi France 4 r 3 
 
 Mantua, the strongest City of Italy 388 
 
 Manger of our SAVIOUR, shewn at Rome <- 290 
 MARY, ^neen of Scots, Letters of, preserved in the Scotch 
 
 College at Paris . "J r 
 
 MAR.RATTI, CHARLES, an eminent Painter 456 
 
 Marseilles, City of 143 
 
 Marino, St. a petty Republic , 3-P 
 MATILDA, Countess of, the great B nefactressof the Roman See 208 
 
 Mfissa Principality of 17 
 Ma\"'wut., St, Town of, celebrated on account of the Relics 
 
 of St Mary Magdalene, St Martha, and St Lfixarus 138 
 
 Meridian Line, drawn by CASSIM 74 
 
 Mediteranean Sea, described, 153 Fish most frequent in, H2 
 
 Mtchiine, City of - 22 
 
 MLDICIS. Family of iSi 
 
 MIGNARD, painted the (Gallery of St Cloud 68 
 
 M'/an City of described 3^ 
 
 Modena, City and Princpality of 3^ 
 
 Mirando/a, City of described ib- 
 
 Mvntpelier, celebrated for ita University under CHTROC J 24 
 
 Monaco , Principality of >5 
 
 Money of Italy described 214 
 
 Monte Cavallo, Palace and Church of, described 287 
 
 Mcntc Draronc, Pal:ice of, celebrated for its Paintings 315 
 
 Moselle, a River in Italy 349 
 
 Mont. ter ret, Princijviiitv of 39 2 
 
 Moulin.t, City of, cU-^cr:'. ed 4^3 
 MUTIANO an eminent Painter, Pictures by, 250, 264, 274, 
 
 277, 289, 294, 310 
 
 N 
 
 Namur t Earldom and City of J 7 
 
 $at>/cs, Kingdom of, 319 City of 3 2 
 
 Netherlands, Account of the l2 
 
 Nevers, City of, described 45
 
 INDEX. 469 
 
 rv c Page * 
 
 , City or z , . 
 
 NICOLAS of Pisa, an eminent carver, . 476-177 
 
 Nismes, distinguished for its Antiquities . 127 
 
 Normandy, Province of 
 
 O 
 
 0//w Trees, manner of cultivating, and making the oil of 
 Omer, St, City of, history of 
 
 College of English Jesuits at 
 
 Orange, City of ___ 
 
 Orleans, City of __ 
 
 Ostend, City of __ 
 
 Ostia, a Port of Rome _~ 
 
 P 
 
 Padua, City and University of, described 368 
 Painting, Remarks on 442 
 Painters, Account of the most celebrated 445 
 Parma, City and Principality of, described 089 
 PARIS, Account of, from p. 57 to 78 
 Pasqwno, Statue of , 273 
 Patrimony of St Peter 308 
 PERUGINO, Paintings by 207 
 Peter's St, Church of, described 259 
 compared with St Paul's of London 265 
 PETRARCH, the celebrated Italian Poet 160-361 
 Picardy, Province of IO 
 PICA, John, Duke of Mirandoln, a celebrated Scholar 190 
 Pilgrims, at Rome, Cardinals wash the feet of 282 
 Pisa, Republic of 174 
 PINTURICCHIO, an Italian Painter 446 
 Po, King of the Rivers of Italy . 348 
 Poitiers, City of, described 410 
 POLYDORE, a celebrated Painter 452 
 POLITIANUS, Angelas, an eminent Latin Scholar, born at Flo- 
 rence 190 
 Pont-du-Garde, at Nismes, description of 131 
 POPE, election of the, described 218 
 i. Ceremony of kissing his feet, proved to be no indication 
 
 of pride 219 
 
 .. performs the Divine Offices during Holy Week 231 
 
 Provence* County of 108 
 
 POUSSIN, an eminent French Painter 7 1 
 
 Pouxzo/o, ancient City of " 322
 
 47Q INDEX. 
 
 R 
 
 RAPHAEL, Prince of Painters, Pictures by, 72 252 267, 
 271, 274, 277, 280, 285, 288, 289, 329, 336, 345 his- 
 tory of, 448 
 Savcnaa, Capital of Lombardy 341 
 Religion of the Italians 461 
 Rheims, City of, described 84 
 Rhine, River, its origin and course 96 
 Rhone, River, ditto, ditto ib. 
 Rimini, City of 340 
 Roane, a City of France 403 
 K.OMUALD (St) Founder of the Monastery of Camaldoli 201 
 Romans, Ancient, Luxury of 216 
 Modern, Sobriety of 215 
 . Virtue and Bravery of the Ancient 238 
 .... their Degeneracy ib. 
 ROME, Description of, 237, to 318 
 Roman Highways, described 313 
 Rotunda or Pantheon, at Rome, described 274 
 Rouen, Capital of Normandy, described 414 
 RUBENS, a celebrated Flemish Painter, an account of, 18, 
 
 Pictures by 274 
 
 S 
 
 SACCHI, Paintings by 280-294 
 
 SALVIATI, an eminent Painter, 192, 252, 303, 363 
 
 SANSOVIN, a celebrated Carver 370 
 
 Sardinia, Account of the Island of 393 
 
 SARTO, Andrea del 452 
 
 Savoy, Account of the Family of 391 
 
 Scala Santa, or Holy Stairs, described 300 
 
 Scottish College at Douay 46 
 
 at Paris 71 
 
 Scorpicns, found in Provence in 
 
 Sculpture, Remarks on 438 
 
 Sculptors, Account of the most eminent ib. 
 
 SERMONETTI, Paintings by 289 
 
 Sens, City and Archbishopric of 84 
 
 Sept-Fonts, Abbey of, its Monks singularly austere 404 
 
 SEOER., Lc, French Painter, 66 Pictures by, ib. and 68 
 
 Sleepers, Seven, 147 
 
 Sienna, City of, described 2Ci 
 
 Solphataro, Mount 322 
 
 Spoletitm, City of 328 
 
 Stage Entertainments of the Italians 45 iC > 
 
 Stones, Precious, description of 195
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Page. 
 
 Siibiaco, Monastery of __ ^ 1 5 
 
 Swiss Cantons, An Account of the 398 
 
 T 
 
 Tarpeian Rod-, at Rome ib, 
 
 Thionville, City of, described 15 
 
 Tournay, on the Scheldt 28 
 
 Toulouse, City of, described 126 
 
 Toulon, City of, ditto 149 
 
 Tours, Capital of Touraine, described 408 
 
 Tiber River, its origin and course 255 
 
 TINTORET, celebrated Painter, pictures by, 174, 354, 360, 
 
 3 6l 3 6 3< 3 6 4 History of 
 
 TITUS'S Arch, at Rome 
 
 TITIAN, a celebrated Painter, 338, 358, 361, 362, 363, 371, 
 
 373> 37 6 < 3 8 3>--History of 453 
 
 TRAJAN'S Pillar, dimensions of 254 
 
 Treviso, a Marquisate belonging to Venice 367 
 
 La Trappe, Monastery of, celebrated for the austerity of its 
 
 Institutions 415 to 420 
 
 Travelling. Remarks on 421 
 
 Trevi, Fountain of, at Rome 287 
 
 Trent, City of, described 373 
 
 Trieste, a City belonging to Venice 367 
 
 TURENNE, Marshall of France 52 
 
 TULLIOLA'S Tomb, Story of erroneous 280 
 
 Tusculum, Ruins of 318 
 
 U 
 
 UDINE JOHN D', an eminent Painter 452 
 
 V 
 
 Valais, County of 39 
 
 Valenciennes, City of 25 
 
 Valentia, City of 102 
 
 VANDTKE, a celebrated Painter, account of 18 
 
 VAN LAER of Harlem, ditto ib, 
 
 Vaucluse, fountain of, the Retreat of Petrarch 104 
 
 VAZARI, a celebrated Painter 189 192 
 
 VENUS of Medicis , celebrated Statue of 196 
 
 Venice, Republic and City of fully described 350 
 
 VERONESE, PAUL, Paintings by, 72, 358, 363, 371, History of 454 
 
 VERSAILLES, Palace of . 76 
 
 Verona, City of, described 373 
 
 VESPASIAN'S Amphitheatre described JCA
 
 \ 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 W f ill 
 
 , City oi t g 
 
 447 
 
 VINCI, NA t0 .' of - 45* 
 
 etninent Painter _ ?2 
 
 "VouET, a 
 
 W 216 
 
 ns described 
 
 V 29 
 
 of Irish Bene&tine Nuns 
 
 366 
 
 ~
 
 "TW 
 
 V
 
 \RV 
 
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