THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT OF William B. Vasela LETTERS FROM ITALY. VOL. II, LETTERS FROM I T A L Y. VOL. II, 8 3 T 1 T i IM A "^vS- LETTERS FROM ITALY, DESCRIBING THE Manners, Cuftoms, Antiquities, Paintings^ &c. of that Country, In the Years MDCCLXX and MDCCLXXI, T O A FRIEND refiding in FRANCE, By an E N G L I S H WOMAN. VOL. II. LONDON: PRINTED FOR EDWARD AND CHARLES DILLY. MDCCLXXVI< DG 12H , I v.Z. A \ .'vS. LETTER XXV. Bologna, Dec. 30!, 1770^ I SEIZE the firft opportunity to con- tinue the defcription of Bologna. You will eafily account for my filence for fome days paft by my laft letter, in which I told you of the large fociety we are in. Al- though nothing can be more agreeable than our manner of living here, yet the fre- quent interruptions we neceflarily meet with, are considerable impediments to our feeing the pictures, &c. of which there are a prodigious number, as well as of other curiofities in this town, and which will oblige us to flay three or four days longer here than we at firft propofed. Dining abroad breaks in upon our mornings ; for it is impoffible to vifit fome of the palaces but at fixed hours. The days VOL. II. B being 8S5371 E a- 1 being fhort, there is no feeing the churches early ; the evenings and moft part of the nights pafs away between the opera and private aflemblies; the afternoon is foon gone, fo that we enjoy fcarce any repofe. We are determined, both at Rome and Naples, to make it a rule neither to dine out, or have company at home at that meal, but to employ our mornings entirely in feeing and taking notes, to dine alone at whatever hour happens to be moft conve- nient, and dedicate the evenings to amufe- ments and to the fociety of our friends ; for if there is too much to fee at Bologna, what muft be our fituation at Rome and Naples. Although I do not mean to give you a catalogue of all the valuable paintings f that adorn the Italian palaces and churches, yet I fhall fo manage my time, as to notice thofe which pleafed me moft. To begin ; Palazzo the Palazzo Publico is a very large old building, and anfwers to what is called in France F Hotel de Ville. In this palace the cardinal [ 3 ] cardinal legate and gonfalonier * are lodged commodioufly with all the officers and domeftics of their houfeholds; here are alfo offices for public notaries, -&c. guard- rooms for the Swifs halberdiers attendant upon the legate : in fhort, there is no end of the people who inhabit this palace. To render it convenient to its inhabitants, the great ftaircafe is fo contrived, that loaded mules may eafily afcend and defcend. It is paved with brick, fcarce any rifers, but what there are, are very broad, and flope confi- derably. I am perfuaded it is more trouble- fome to human creatures to mount this flair- cafe than to that obftinate proud brute a mule. The whole building is of brick, and by no means remarkable in point of ar- chitecture. There are fome good pictures in this palace ; the principal as follows : a large picture painted on filk by Guido ; Guide, it was intended for a church-banner at the time of the plague in 1630; its fubject, * Or great ftandard-bearer. B 2 the f 4 ] the Virgin feated upon the rainbow, under which are all the tutelar faints of Bologna, praying to her to remove the diftemper ; the colouring is in his pale clear manner (but not greenifh) ; it is not as highly finifhed as many of his paintings ; however, the heads are peculiarly graceful, the faces ex- preffive, and finely defigned. Another pic- ture by the fame, reprefenting Sampfon, who finding himfelf thirfty after the (laughter of the Philiftines, is drinking co- pioufly out of the jaw-bone of an afs ; his figure is not fufficiently coloflal for the feats he has performed, and his left leg is fo far jftretched out on one fide, that his outline forms flrongly the Roman figure for the number ten ; yet the colouring of this' pic- ture is fine and glowing, and the ftiadows well difpofed. Raffaello. A St. John the Baptift, by Raffaello ; he is young and in the defert ; this is a moft beautiful pidure, and appears to be a du- plicate of that in the Palais-royal at Paris, which t 5 ] which I am fure you muft remember; it feems to be in the beft confervation of the two : there is a colouring and an animation in the figure that is worthy the greatefl admiration. A St. Jerome, reading, by Simon Pe- simon r . . . re i r Pefaro, faro; his attention is exprelfed fo natu- rally, that one can fcarce believe the pic- ture does not -think: we faw with regret, that it is become darker than it ought to be. A fingular pidure * by Leonardo da Leonardo Vinci, reprefenting a child in a little bed ; the infant's body does not appear, the bed- clothes covering every part but the face and neck. It is thought to be a portrait. Round the neck is a double row of large pearls; the drapery of the bed is muflin, orna- mented with a great quantity of fine lace wonderfully well imitated : the bed is like a cheil with the cover off, and beautifully fineered with feveral forts of woods. This * This is in a fmall room, and is not generally (hewn. B 3 picture, I 6 ] pidure, though it makes no great figure in description, is finely executed ; and what is very furprifing, the colours made ufe of are but two, a brown, and a yellow white ; which does not ftrike one at firft, as the want of the other tints is by no means apparent. This brought to my mind the famous an- tique painter, Apelles, whom Pliny men* tions to have made ufe of but four colours, black, white, red, and yellow. If Apelles made as good ufe of his four as this painter did of two, I fhould eafily believe the ma- gick force of Apelles's colouring. In the fame room is a head of Raffaello, fuppofed to be done by himfelf, hut we, could not be of this opinion. Two pictures by Donate Creti, a modern painter, who died but a few years paft ; the fubjeds, the head of Argus prefented to Juno, and the judgment of Paris ; they are but indifferent performances : gaudy, flut- tering figures, and the rules of perfpedive fp ill obferved, that the perfonages flick I tq [ 7 ] to the fky. The blue is fine; but a {hell of ultramarine is a finer blue. There is nothing either ftriking or magnificent in the furniture of the grand apartments of this palace. In a great faloon, called that of Farnefe, upon the fecond floor, are painted in frefco reprefentations of fe- veral memorable events in the hiftory of Bologna, Without fide is a ciftern for water, over which is an arcade of elegant architecture ; its proportion is twice the breadth for the perpendicular height, ex- clufive of a baluftrade which furrounds the ciftern ; it is a. fmall thing, but very correct Belonging to this palace is a tower where Entius King of Sardinia was imprifoned in the year 1242, and where her died, The palace Caprea is worth feeing ; the Palazzo Caprea. apartments are noble, but contain few pic- tures worthy of obfervation. Here is a great gallery ornamented with Turkifh fpoils, the warlike trophies of a famous general, #n anceftor of the prefent family. They B 4 confift [ 8 J confift, of bucklers, fabres, bows and arrows ; the bucklers are lined with human fkin drefied like leather; (I found means to bring away a* morfel of this fkin ;) they told us it was that of the backs of Chriftian prifoners taken in battle; and the Turks efteem a buckler lined with it to be a particular fe- curity againft the impreffion of an arrow or the ftroke of a fabre. A curious fervice of Turkifh plate, cryftal goblets, turbans, or- naments of great value fet with precious flones ; the fcabbards of the fabres,, Gfc. richly adorned with diamonds, rubies, eme- ralds, &c. ; here are feveral turquoifes as large as an old Windfor-bean, and perfect in their kind ; but I faw no precious ftones of the lize and luftre of thofe which for- merly ufed to dazzle my fancy in the Ara- bian Nights Entertainments. Here are alfo fome pretty Indian cabinets and fmall pic- tures very proper to ornament a lady's , dremng-room, T:;W ?m This l^noa Jk 3 [ 9 .1 This palace does not contain a collection of fine pictures ; here are but few, yet it di - is one of the fir ft at Bologna in refpect to its furniture, neatnefs, and elegance, and the moft habitable palace I have yet feen. Here is a fine faloon coved ; the com- partments painted in frefco, by Stephana Stephana Orlandi, the figures by Vittorio Bigari : Vittorio the colouring is too yellow, yet, upon the whole, the ceiling is ftriking, and you may obferve fome ingenious thoughts in the grouping and compofition. The beft pic- tures in oil are thefe : a Jupiter under the form of a Satyr, flealing a bow from An- tiope, who appears to be in a profound fleep; a Cupid fleeping by her. The great merit of this picture confifts in its expreflion; the colouring and drapery are alfo very good : it is by Pafmello. A Pafmello. Head of John the Baptift in a green porcelaine dim. by Leonardo da Vinci : Leonardo da Vinci. extremely well done. All the works of this old painter are in fuch high eilimation 2 with with the connolffeursy that I am not fur- prifed at the great prices given for them, although they are far fhort of many other pictures; failing continually in keeping and the clair obfcure ; yet there is a finifli and a colouring which produces the effect of what the Italians call foave t that I can- RefH- not well define to you. A Head by Rem- brandt. brandt ; fine, and one of the beft I have feen by that painter. Here is a gallery orna- mented with feveral antique buftos : one of the beft of which reprefents one of thofe women called fraficce, who were hired to howl and fhriek at funerals; fo horribly ugly is this beldame, that I could not ba- nifh her countenance from my mind for a confiderable time after. Palazzo In the Palazzo Bow are fome fine pic- Bovi, . . . tures : the principal, in my opinion, are the following ; two large paintings by Al- Albonefe. j^gfe. their fubjeds Sampfon and Dalila, Hercules and lole: the firft reprefents Sampfon afleep, with a truth feldom ex~ preffed [ II .'] prefled by the greateft painters : Dalila is beautiful in point of face, limbs, and co- louring, but does not pleafe like lole. The fecond has as much merit as the firft ; and I think is a more agreeable picture, on ac- count of its fubject: an innocent theft, by way of badinage, being an amiable fubjedt; the other, a cruel piece of treachery. Her- cules is deeping, as is Sampfon, and lole is Healing away on tiptoe, fearing to wake him, having poflefled herfelf of the lion's fkin and his maffive club. She is an ele- gant figure. A capital picture by Guercino ; but the Guercino. fubject is dreadful j much too mocking to be reprefented on canvas, and contem- plated by people who are not void of all feeling : it is the martyrdom of St. Bartho- lomew ; he is bound to a pillar of wood, the executioners are fleaing the ikin off his breaft, arms, and moulders; the finews and mufcles are laid bare; the blood, <&c. is re- prefented fo exactly, and feems clofeto one; fo [: 12 ], fo that there is no bearing the fight. Ther cruel infulting faces of the bloody butchers that iurroimd him, certainly help to cofl- traft his countenance, which exprefles the moft perfect refignation an4 heavenly patience. There are many other hor~ rible circumftances in this picture ; but I will not detail reprefentations of fuch monftrous cruelty. It is my opinion, that in a well-governed Republic, painters whofe pictures excite horror and rage, and poets whofe tragedies infpire the fame, in- ftead of terror and pity, ought to be fe- verely punifhed. But to return to the pic- ture, fuffice it to fay, that this capital cr,u- elty of Guercino's is perfectly well exe~ cuted in point of anatomy, colouring RafFaello. A portrait of a Duke of Urbino, by Raf- faello. I can no better defcribe to you the merits of this picture, than by the lines the fight of it brought to my mind. The [ 13 I The image of a wicked heinous fault Lives in his eye. That clofe afpect of his Does fliew the mood of a much troubled bread. A Holy Family, by Parmegianino. Fine Parmegi- anino. ih his ftyle. The Palace Sampieri. A fine ceiling* Pailazzo s~* i Sampieri. by Luigi Carracci : a hardy compoiition, Luigi and executed in the manner the Italians call terribile-) namely, with great boldnefs and force : it reprefents Hercules and Ju- piter. Another ceiling by Annibal Car- Annibal racci, is quite as fine as the firft. The fubjecl: is, Virtue opening the Heavens to receive Hercules. An admirable portrait by the fame mafter. The Angel Gabriel, half-length, by Gui- do. A moft amiable picture. Cupids dancing round a tree, others forming dif- ferent fports, and in the Iky Venus appears with her fon. This picture is on copper, and is highly finished ; in refpect of neat- nefs, colouring, variety, grouping, and ele- gance, f 14 ] gance, it is perfect. Its pendant does not reprefent the rape of Proferpine, as Cochin aflerts ; nor is it on copper, but on canvas : the fubject is a triumph of Venus. A very Albano. wretched picture. Both are afcribed to Al- bano, but the fecond is certainly not by him : as to the firft, there is no queftion of its being worthy of the greateft painter. The Woman taken in Adultery : a good picture, but the colouring too dead ; by Agoftino Agoftino Carracci. The Canaanite, by Luigi Carracci : there is grace and finer co- louring in this picture than is generally to be feen in the works of this painter. The Annibal Samaritan, by Annibal Carracci. This pic- Carracci. .7-111 i ture is well known m England by the en- gravings from it: the drawing is admi- rable, and the colours beautifully blended. Guido. Five Apoftles together, by Guido, in his ftrong manner : the fhadows are very dark, and the demi-tints yellowifh, Over [ '5.1 Over a chimney is a very fine drawing, rather than a painting, by Luigi Carracci: Luig! r by Cara- Caravagio, a beautiful fimple ftyle of paint- Carracd. ing. A frize in frefco, by the Carracci, reprefents the hiftory of Brutus and Csefar, the confpiration, <&c. A ceiling divided into fmall compartments painted in the old manner, with feveral devices ; amongil many others are two, which I parti- cularly remember: a thunderbolt falling into the ground, produces a Laurel-tree ; its t 25 1 its motto de fulmine Laurus .' the others a fire blown by the wind ; motto, Crefcit in Adverfis. I fhould not mention thef trifles, but from my partiality to the quaint conceits of former times : by the way, I have increafed my collection of mottoes for fun -dials. In this palace is a fmall cabinet furnifhed with fome good drawings by Guercino and Gaerc j n <,, the Carraccis ; one particularly of a pro- Carrac 1Si ceffion, compofed of a multiplicity of fi* gures. The Palazzo Pepoli is richly furnifhed : Palasza there are fome good frefco paintings on the ceilings and cornices, &c. by Columna Columns! di Catuti, Donato Creti, and Grazianij Donatd alfo fome ae'rian perfpedtive, by Spaniroli. Grazianj; The moft remarkable objea: here is a 8 P amr6il * clock of perpetual motion ; the ball runs over a picture of Cupids, by Albani. Albani* This picture is placed horizontally upon the top of the iniide of the clock, a look- ing-glafs in a floping inclination reflects D 2 it, t 36 ] it, and the Cupids appear in the glafs play- ing at ball. Palazzo Palazzo Ranuzzi ; containing the largeft collection I have yet feen of bad pidures ; the moft tolerable amongft them are a Jo- feph and Potiphar's Wife; it is a copy Sementi. from Guido, by Sementi. A Rape of He- Lucca len, and a Rape of Proferpine, by Lucca Giordano. XN . Giordano. St. Francis, and an angel playing on the Guercino. fiddle ; by Guercino. St. Gieralimo liften- ing to the trumpet of the laft judgment ; Annibai by Annibal Carracci. A piece of perfpedive, well enough ; by Agoftino Agoftino Mitelli. With regard to the me- rits of this collection, I am fo unfortunate as to differ widely from Cochin, who I flirewdly fufpect never faw them, as he mentions feveral pieces unknown here. The front of this palace is in a good ftile of ar- Pafladlo. chitedure, the defign .Palladio's ; and the ftaircafe, which is afcended by two flights, inge- [ 37-1 ingenioufly contrived and well proportioned ; but upon the whole, the palaces of Bologna are not comparable in refpect to architec- ture, furniture, and magnificence to thofe of Genoa: they are much out of repair, and contain a prodigious number of bad pictures, which ought to be banimed their collections ; for of what ufe can fuch mi- ferable trafh be to posterity, unlefs merely to ferve inftead of filk, tapeftry, or paper, to cover the walls ; and I think any of the three preferable to old, rotten, ill-daubed canvas. I am now come to the churches. In the facriftie of La Madonna di Galiera Madonna is an old portrait of a monk of the order A Monk.' of St. Phillipe de Neri, by himfelf, but fo well done, that there is no antique painter except Raffaello who can excel it, in my opinion ; it has all the merit a portrait can boaft, except that peculiarity of colour- ing I have fo often mentioned in Raffaello's pictures. D 3 A very I 38 ] A very agreeable pidure of a Holy Fa- Jcffi. mily, with a concert of angels; by Jeffi. Guide. A beautiful Madonna ; by Guido. Seve C&vi* donne. ral miniatures by Cavadonne and Albani, Albani. Annibai nunciation. I have yet feen, by Annibal Carracci: it is wonderful how well and how ill this painter has worked. In the firft chapel to the left on entering the church, is a picture of St. Philip in ex- Ouercino. tacy ; by Guercino. In the fecond, a good Albani. pi&ure by Albani; the fubjedt an Infant Jefus (landing between the Virgin and St. Jofeph, to whom the angel prefents Gli Jlrumenti della paffione in the prefence of God the Father; the heads are graceful: if there is any fault, the glory appear^ top confufed, though well illuminated, Adam and Eve, and other frefco pic- tures in the fame chapel, are in fo bad a light, there is no forming any judg- pient of their merits. In the third chapel js a -St. Thomas touching the wounds of ou? C 39 J our Saviour in prefence of the other apoftles ; the dra\ving is fine, the colouring too grey ; by Therefa Muratore Moneta. In a chapel detached from the church is a Moneta. painting on the wall, by Ludovico Carracci ; Ludovico reprefenting an Ecce Uomo, and Pilate, wafhing his hands : it is finely compofed, the colouring flrong and vigorous. The church of Giefu and Maria ; in the Giefu 5? firft chapel, a picture of St. William on his Church, knees before a crucifix ; above is a glory, with a Virgin, St. Magdalene, and feveral little children ; in the back ground are two little devils creeping into the earth; the glory is the ftriking part of the pic* ture; they are well grouped; the heads are graceful ; but the St. William fails in character ; by Albani. Over the great altar Albani, is a capital picture of the Circumcifion ; by Guercino. This fubject is admirably executed, and worthy the infpection of all ftrangers, Guercino having exerted all his Guercino, powers in the completion of this excellent P 4 model, [ 40 ] morfel. The architect of this church was Bonefacio Socchi ; it is fmall, but elegant, and its decorations are of the Compofite Order, Mondi- The Mendicants di Dentro, a well pro^ Dentro 1 portioned church, contains feveral capital rch * paintings. In the firft chapel, to the Aleflan- right, is a moft interefting picture, by Alef- jjni. ' fandro Tiarini ; St. Jofeph brought by angels on his knees to the Virgin, to beg pardon for his unjuft fufpicions. The co- louring is ftrong, and the drawing cor^ reel: : the Virgin is not as graceful as fhe ought to be, and the air of her head is too ignoble. However, fhe pardons St. Jofeph with an air of great,condefcenfion, raifing him up with one hand, and pointing to heaven with the other. In the fourth \ivadcne. chapel, to the right, is a picture of Cava- done ; here St. Alo and St. Petronio are on their knees, adoring the Infant Jefus, who appears in a Glory with the Virgin :" there is a verity in the cpmpofition, clair obfcure^ and [ 41 ] and the fluffs that form the drapery truly admirable, although that of the Virgin, by way of giving it relief ] has been too much blackened in fome places. The large picture of Guido, placed over Guido, the great altar, is more efteemed at Bologna than I think it defer ves. Another chapel , contains fix fmall pictures of angels, finely coloured, by Bertrozio, a fcholar of Ludo- Bertr 2i vico Carracci. In the chapel is a charming picture, by Guido; the fubject St. Giobbe Guido, replaced on his throne, and receiving mag- nificent offerings. Amongft many other graceful figures is an elegant nymph, who bears a white dim full of jewels, and a boy carrying a precious vafe, of the laft beauty : there is fomething wonder^ fully ftr iking in his figure and face. We lament that the object of all this homage appears an infipid, ftupid-looking perfon^ age, I mean St. Giobbe. Though there are feveral figures, they are free from con-* fufionj the painting is thin and delicate tQ to a great degree, the complexions trank parent, the drapery light, and. the plaits numerous and diftinft ; the clair obfcure is beautifully blended, and the out-lines melt into air, fo as to give a beautiful foftnefs and union as in nature. We gave a good half-hour to the confideration of this pic- ture. The vault of the chapel is painted Cavadpne. by Cav^done. There is a very extraor- dinary picture in this church, which nei- ther Lalande nor Cochin have noticed; it reprefents our Saviour fitting in a car- ver's fhop, drefled in a purple robe lined with blue fattin, and fcarlet filk (lockings \ he is carving a fort of TERM, which has a woman's head and a bird's beak and wings: an old beggar-man feemfc to have bought a wooden goblet, and offers to pay for it, but his money is refufed, Behind the man is an old woman, well done ; in the back-ground St. Jofeph is planing a board ; above all is a glory, in which, I 43 ] which appears the Virgin and two angels defcending, one bearing a mitre, the other a crofier ; by Tiarini. Tiarini. Corpus Domini^ a church belonging to Corpus JDoroini the convent of nuns of the order called in Church, France Clarifies. It is a very elegant church, and finely decorated with columns of the Compofite order : the vaulted roof is painted, and the ornaments are in a good tafte. Over the fourth altar, to the right, are two pictures, by Ludovico Carracci ; one repre- Ludovicq P c n i Carracci. tents the Apparition or our oaviour ; the other, an AfTumption of the Virgin, and the apoftles feeking the body of Jefus in the tomb; they are both good pictures, but of a dead and lead-coloured tint. Over the fourth altar, to the left, is a fine painting, by Annibal Carracci, of the Re- Annibal furrection : the forefhortening is ingenious, the drawing is fine, but fails in refpect to the colouring ; a defect rarely found irj this mailer. [ 44 3 St.A^nefe St. Agnefe; in this church, over the Church. great altar, is a charming pidure of the SiS! ni " Martyrdom of St. Agnefe; me appears about thirteen years old ; and is expiring from the ftroke of a dagger juft plunged into herbofom. Imagination cannot paint a more innocent beauty, with fuch angelic dignity and meeknefs ; me is robed in white, and her amiable figure is finely contrafted by an old wicked wretch, who having juft ftabbed her, feems tranfported with fuper- ftitious zeal and fantaftic cruelty. Some young girls, apparently her acquaintance, exprefs their grief and terror in the moft natural manner: on the fore-ground is her mother and fifter ; the former is fainted away, and the latter weeps bitterly, hiding her head in her mother's lap to avoid feeing the dreadful cataftrophe. At the feet of St. Agnefe is a lamb me had brought up ; this poor animal heightens the diftrefs ; he ap- pears to be bleating, and looks up to his 'mjftrefs with a moft exprefiive forrow. At the I 45 '] the top of the picture is a glory of angels playing on various inftruments of mufic ; an angel receives the palm for St. Agnefe from God the Father. The drawing and colour- ing is fine, and full of expreffion : it is certainly a moft capital picture ; but as there is nothing abfolutely faultlefs in the works of art, fo the connoffiurs object to the glory, alleging that it forms as it were a fecond picture, being placed too low, &c. This I do not deny, but fuppofe that Do- minichini could not have a church built on purpofe for his picture, but was obliged to confine himfelf to the fpace allotted him, in which cafe he is blamelefs ; for had he leflened the glory, to make it appear higher up, and fore-fhortened his angels, they could not have been diftinguiihed the one from the other. Saint Dominico : in the fifth chapel is St. Do- minica the famous Maflacre of the Innocents, by Church. Guido : it is a very fine picture, but a dread- Gu ido. ful L 46 ] ful fubject to contemplate. A much ad- mired little Cupola, painted in frefco by the the fame. The Apparition of the Virgin to St. Giacinto, who is about to celebrate the mafs, by Ludovico Carracci. The Ado- ration of the Magi, by Bartholomeo Cell. St. Raymond walking on the fea, by Lu- dovico Carracci. The chapel of the Rofary contains a quantity of plate, received in prefents from various perfons, and given upon condition of never being melted down for the profit of the community : here are a great many filver bouquets, which are remarkably well wrought at Bologna. Under the portico which furrounds this church are many frefco paintings, reprefenting miracles performed by St. Benizio the Firft ; the beft of CarlpCig- thefe frefco's is by Carlo Cigniani ; it re- prefents a dead child lying at the foot of the Saint's monument, and a blind man. who touches the tomb. In the church, and over t 47 ] ever the feventh altar, is a picture called la Madonna del Mondo> by Tiarini ; a fine Tiarini. picture, though it has fuffered by time. A Crucifixion, by Elizabeth Sirani. A Sirani. picture which reprefents the Prefentation of the Virgin when a child in the temple, with St. Anne and St. Joachim: the colour- ing, drawing, and the heads are fine ; by Tiarini. A fine picture, frefli and highly Tiarini. finifhed, by Albani : its fubject the Ap- Albani. parition of our Saviour to Mary Magdalen. The Church of St. Georgio in Monte; a ^ celebrated picture, by Raffaello. In the M nt ? J Church. feventh chapel, to the left, St. Cecilia ap- pears with St. Paul and other Saints ; their two figures are worthy of RafFaello ; hav- ing fo faid, it is needlefs to add more, than that it is efteemed one of his moft capital performances. The Birth of the Virgin, a beautiful picture : the two women who embrace each other are of amiable and graceful charac- ters ; by Arectufi. la t 48 ] In a chapel, I think the eighth to the right, you fee a very large picture, by Domini- Dominichino ; it is confufed, the lights and fhadows broad in an extreme, and the declination from light to darknefs too fud- den ; the fubjed is called the Virgin of the Rofary; the draping is finely executed. This is the laft church, and I dare fay you are not forry for it ; I mean it is the laft I have feen, for there are many more in Bo- logna, which we do not mean to vifit. I muft referve the theatre and the inftituto for my next letter ; therefore adieu, &c. LETTER XXVII. ', '..:.., , -' .-''. ' ,>. -<~ Bologna, Dec. 13, 1770. T AM in high fpirits, having received *" three letters at once from you. [As the firft part of this letter confifts of family- occurrences, entirely uninterefling to the 8 public, [ 49 J public, the Editor has omitted them, and proceeds to the farther defcription of Bo- logna.] The Injlituto is a vaft palace, which for- inftituto. merly belonged to the Cellefi family ; the architect Pelegrino Tibaldi. The Senate p e iegrino of Bologna purchafed this palace in the Tlbaldl - year 1714, for the reception of a great collection of curiofities, which the famous Marfigli bequeathed to his countrymen. This extenfive building is divided into feveral apartments, clafled according to their contents ; fomewhat in the man- ner of the Britifh Mufseum. Here is an academy for the fciences, a library, an obfervatory, a great collection of natural hiftory, a hall for chemiftry, a fecond for anatomy, and one for painting and fculp- ture j here are alfo profeflbrs for every art and fcience, who, though upon fmall appointments, yet by their knowledge and exact attention to their different depart- ments, do honour to their country. The VOL. II. E whole whole of their falaries does not exceed two thoufand fcudi. This fine eflablifhment is under the direction of fix fenators. The Jnjlituto is diftind from the Uni ver fi ty , which is the moft celebrated in Italy* and where is chiefly ftudied grammar, rhetoric, philofo- phy, phyfic, and jurifprudence; they trace the antiquity of its eftablifliment up to the Emperor Theodofius. The Academy of Sciences makes part of the Inftituto, and was begun in the year 1690, by a young man aged fixteen years only, one Euftatio Man- fredi ; he formed a little fociety, who met together at ftated times to confer upon in- genious fubjecls. The Count Marfigli in- vited them to affemble in his palace, and fet on foot a little academy of painting. Some years after, he obtained the concur- rence and encouragement of the Senate to extend the plan he had fo happily begun ; profeflbrs, &c. were then appointed. This took place about the year 1714, as I have faid above, and has continued ever fmce to fiourifh t p ] flourifh and augment under their and its prefent ftate is not unworthy to be compared with the Societies of Arts and Sciences of London, Paris, and Berlin. The obfervatory called here the Specola, is a high tower, well furnifhed with aftrono- rnical and mathematical inflruments* The Library contains one hundred and Library, fifteen thoufand volumes (you will readily believe we did not count them). This col- lection is open for the infpedtion of the pub- lic for feveral hours every morning, except Wednefdays, and is much frequented. The flair-cafe and antichamber contain many curious infcriptions. They conferve in the library, with the gfreateft care, four hun- dred manufcript volumes, fourteen of which confift of figures of plants and animals, with their defcriptions. This vaft work was the labour of one man, the celebrated Aldrovandi. There are alfo manufcripta of Pope Benizio and the Count Marfigli. The library is adorned with the portraits 2 of of all the illuflrious perfonages who have been benefactors or protestors of this col- lection. Here is a hall for the ftudy of midwifery, which has been of great fervice to the Bo- lognefe, containing about feventy different models in wax, &c. <&c. Before this art had been properly taught and lectured up- on in the Inftituto^ many wretched women fell facrinces to the ignorance of the Bo- lognefe midwives. Natural The colkaion of Natural Hiftory is ex- Hiftory. tremely curious; here is a fine Egyptian mummy, and feveral rare animals ; amongft others, is a toad whofe young ones feem to proceed from her back. In the hall for experimental philofophy are curious in- ftruments for electricity ; for experiments refpeding light, fire, folids, and fluids, the properties of air, thermometers, baro- meters, <&c. <&c. Here is a Hall containing curious mo- dels of civil, and another of military ar- chitecture, [ 53 1 chitecture, with plans in fortification, efteemed very, valuable, prefented to the Society by the King of Sardinia : ano- ther for the marine, furnifhed with mo- dels of fhips and other naval matters. In the Hall of Antiques, which parti- Hall of ' Antique*, cularly attracted our cunolity and atten- tion, are feveral idols ; and amongft the inftruments of facrifice is a Patera, on which is reprefented the birth of Minerva, one of the rareft curiofities in the collection ; alfo feveral fine Etrufcan vafes, fepulchral lamps, Roman urns, and many culinary utenfils ; together with a fine collection of me- dals ; but our time did not admit of exa- mining them; they confift of a feries of fifteen hundred, beginning with Pompey and Julius Csefar, and ending with Hera- clitus ; befides many others equally cu- rious. Alfo a collection of falfe medals, refembling the true, for the inftruction of thofe who apply themfelves to that ftudy, and to enable them to diftinguiih the true from the falfe. E 3 ^ t 54 ] Gallery j n fa e Gallery of Statues are feveral ori- ofStatues. ginals, and fine copies or models from fome of the moft famous at Rome ; as the Lao- coon of the Belvidere, the Hercules and Flora of Farnefe, the Mars, with the Aria and Foetus of the villa Ludovifi. The Prince Piombino caufed this to be made, but had the mould broke and deftroyed im- mediately after, to prevent any other co- pies being taken. The Meleager of Piccini, the Arrotirxo of Florence, added, that I feared it muft be particularly incon- venient to them, upon account of their early church-fervice ; he replied, that they were not novices, and never deprived themfelvcs of their natural reft for ceremonies, but always went to bed and rofe when agreeable to them. Happy Monks, thought L! For you muft know I had been dreading all the evening fome holy vigil, at which perhaps our attendance might have been expeded. An elegant lamp being placed in our cham- ber for the night, and a pair of wax candles, Wi went into as good a bed as, I believe, his his Holinefs himfelf ever occupied : the curtains were of fine broad- cloth, the room wainfcoted with oak, and the cleanlinefs of the convent and its furniture was quite quakerly. We did not wake till nine o'clock next morning, and might have flept the four and twenty hours round from a cefTation of every kind of noife ; for ex- cepting the wind, which did not blow nor whittle loudly, there reigned a quie- tude unknown but in a convent on the Appenines. Upon our entering the fa- loon next morning, the Monks imme- diately joined us; breakfaft was ready, and confifted of excellent Turin chocolate and fcorched bread. We ordered our horfes as foon as we had breakfafted, and quit- ted our kind hofts with regret. How de- lightful would be the tour of Italy, if the Convents were permitted to entertain flran- gers ! We were greatly diftrefled how to contrive to leave fome little acknowledg- ment with thele Monks ; it was impoilible G 4 to ' [ 88 ] to offer them money, fo we employed our own e valetdechambre (who you know is aa Italian) to find out with delicacy from the fervants how that might be done; but he told us they never took money, and the fervants refufed alfo : however, we really forced a fequin a-piece upon them, through our vale t dc chambre^ and under a promife not to divulge it to the Monks. I forgot to mention that it appeared in the courfe of converfation, that no woman had ever been received into this convent befide xnyfelf, excepting Ghriftina Queen of Swe- den, the prefent Emprefs of Hungary, and the Queen of Naples ; and that only for one night's lodging each, on their journey. Ought not I to be very proud to have the honour of forming a quartetto with this illuftrious trio ? What pity it is that roy- alty is not catching, for we had all flept on the fame bed. As I efteem this night's lodging a memorable epoch in my life, I hope you are not tired with the length of this [ 89 ] this relation : but to teach me humility, and diveft me of all my royalty, I muft proceed to inform you, that after this de- licious night pafled at Scarica 1'Afmo, by our fetting out late in the morning, we were obliged to lie at a village called Mafchieri, where, in the dirtieft of all poflible inns, Inn - and the moft miferable bed, " we courted fleep in vain," after having fupped upon, what think you ? a pork foup with the boulliee in it, namely a hog's head, with the eye-lafhes, eyes, and nofe on ; the very food the wretched animal had laft eat of before he made his exit remained flicking about the teeth ; we wanted neither " nofe of Turk, nor Tartar's lip," and had there been a tiger's chawdron for the ingredi- ents of our cauldron for fow, (at leaft hog's blood was not wanting) " to make the gruel thick and flab," we fhould have been able to have raifed ghofts from the charmed pot. This foup was removed by a difh of broiled houfe-fparrows. Need I fay we went [ 9 } went to bed fupperlefs ? I now return to the road : From Scarica 1'Afmo we came to Pietra Mala, already mentioned in the for- i ictnx Mala. n^er part of this letter, leaving Fierengola goS!"" n the left. They pretend that this little FideSia. tow Q- was the ancient Fidentia. The river Santemo Santerno bathes its walls. The valley in> which it is fituated is well cultivated, and clofely planted with olive and fruit trees, vines, rows of cyprefs, pines, and other Capagiu- rs< ^ Capagiuolo, which is about four-. teea miles from Florence, is a pleafure- palace belonging to the Grand Duke ; from, thence to Florence the road is beautiful. St. Gallo T} ie entrance of this city is by the gate St. Gallo : over which is placed a large ftatue Frandsi. of the late Emperor Francis the Firft. The Florence. Qr igi n o f t ^i c i t y i s attributed to the Etruf- cans, after whom the Phoenicians inhabited it, as Lami afitrts, in his work intitled Lezioni di Antichlta Tofcanata ; others fay, the ^bian Hercules was the founder. Thefe forts of refearches are generally fp doubtful, and [ 9' ] i and authors difpute and differ fo widely, that I mall leave them to argue the matter, at their leifure, and proceed to inform you. of its prefent appearance. It is well built; and the ftreets in general fpacious. There are feveral palaces belonging to particulars, the architecture of which are in an excellent tafte : their windows and doors remarkably well proportioned* Thofe virtucfi who arc \iolent partizans of lightnefs, object to fome ruftic bafes, which they efteem too maffive and heavy ; but, in my opinion, an appear- ance of ftrength is abfolutely neceflary to give a noble air to a palace ; and a bafe and rez de chaujjee may eafily be built fo as to mock the fpectator with an apparent weak^ nefs, although each member of the architec- ture be in reality fufficiently ftrong for the purpofe it is defigned to anfwer. The ftreets are well paved, and the broad pave- ment at the fides, for foot-paflengers, is ex- tremely convenient ; but there are no pi- azzas or porticos ranging along the fronts 6 <*f [ 92 J of the houfes in a continued line, as at Bo- logna. This city is well fupplied with wa- ter; here are many fountains worth re- marking, and which I mall mention more particularly in another letter; alfo four bridges. The river Arno runs through the town; but is at prefent muddy, and by no means comparable to our Thames for beauty. The outfides of the churches make a fine appearance. But I muft haftcn to conclude this letter ; as our flay here will be fhort, I mail not be able to give you as many particulars as you may perhaps ex- pedt from me. We fhall begin to-morrow with the Grand Duke's palace, &c.' &c. and fee as many of the churches and pa- laces as the time we have deftined to this town can admit of. So adieu, for dinner is ferved, and excellent Britifh minced pies compofed by Madame Vanmi fmoke upon the board. I am, as ever, $v. t 93 1 LETTER XXIX. Florence, Dec. t8, 1770. T Hope you have had no alarm from any Earth- article in the Gazettes relating to the (hock q of an earthquake felt here yefterday morn- ing at five o'clock. I happened to be awake, and heard a confufed noife, which at firft feemed to be at a confiderable diftance, but came rolling on, and was immediately fol- lowed by a (hock, which feeming to pro- ceed from the foundations of the houfe, afcended to the very top. I do not know any thing it refembled fo much (but in a far greater degree) as that of a horfe making himfelf when you are upon his back, with this difference, that this being the fhuddering of a houfe inftead of a horfe, the various moveables in ,the room ba- lanced to one fide and the other, and fome light furniture fell down. The bed- dead was lifted up a little way from the ground, t 94 ] ground, and came down again with a great fhock. M waked, and perfuading me there was no danger, added to there hot being any uncommon noife in the hotel, and Mrs. Vanini's keeping quiet, I was not alarmed, though an almoft in- fupportable clofenefs of air continued for more than a 'minute, as well as I could judge. All the 'bells in the churches Were rung out, to warn the people to quit their houfes. Many of the poorer fort fled from their habitations, and repaired to the churches. After fitting up about a quarter of an hour, and perceiving all to be ftill, I went to fleep, and did not wake till nine o'clock. The earthquake had done no mif- chief to any of the houfes in the town. This morning a violent clap of thunder fell on the Duomo, and fplit fome of the pin- "ftacles and other ornaments on the top, but did no further damage. Several rifible ftories have circulated brifkly in regard to the difturbances the 'earthquake occafioned amongft [ 95 1 amongft fome polite focieties here * * * ********* * * * The famous Gallery at Florence, under which Gallery, name I comprehend many rooms befides, . ^ called here gabbinettes, has taken us three " whole days to fee ; not but that two hours would have fufficed for thofe who walk as faft as they can through this labyrinth of the powers of art ; but as we chofe to ex- amine every particular morfel, we had not allowed ourfelves more time than was abfo- lutely neceflary. I am forry to find fo frequent occafion to criticife Lalande, but one is under a kind of neceflity to expofe fuch grofs mif- takes; he obferves Upon, and commends modern ftatues and buftos for antiques, and vice verja. This aflertion is not folely upon our own judgments, but from the mouth of -the Abbe, who is ciceroni to this collection. This fuperb depofitory of curiofities was made chiefly by the Me- dici family, the articles of it arc fo nu- merous, that I (hall confine myfelf to thofe 6 only only which appeared to us moft ftrik- ing, fome flight description of which may be brought within the compafs of a long letter; and fhall firft begin with the building, then proceed to the antique feulpture, cameos, &c. and mention the pictures by themfelves. The approach is by a large court, which refembles a beau- tiful ftreet, with uniform fronts on each fide, and a piazza ranging along them. The entrance to this open place is by the piazza of the old palace ; the other extremity is terminated by a grand arc, refting on two intercolumniations : this arc unites the two wings which form the ftreet, and from thence is a view of the Arno. The fronts of thefe wings prefent a rez-dechauffict from which fprings a Doric order of co- lumns, bearing plat-bands, upon which the arches reft that cover the porticos; under thefe arches people are permitted to walk. Over the entablature is an Attic, and windows which light the vaulted roof [ 97 ] roof of the portico. Above this is a ftoiy decorated with baluftrades and pediments, where are windows alfo, and where the artifts employed by the Grand Duke are conftantly at work. Over this ftory riles the fa- mous gallery which contains the curiofities. This gallery is difpofed in much the fame tafte of architecture as the rez-dechaujffee, and between the intercolumniations are large windows. In that part at the end of the ftreet which looks on the Arno, the architecture changes, and prefents three great arcades ; in the center is placed an Equeflrian Statue of Equeflrl- Cofmo the Firft, which when feen from a of Cofm* r . the Firft; proper point or view, appears as an open- ing fky. Immediately on the top of the ftair-cafe which conducts to the gallery is a Veftibule, containing many fine antique Veflitwie; fculptures, farcophagoufes, bas reliefs, and antique infcriptions, which have been in- fertcd into the walls. A beautiful oval vafe draws the attention of the fpectator oil VOL. II, H hi* [ 98 ] his firft entrance ; this vafe is a bas relief Emperor of the head of the Emperor Nerva, and is Nerva, Vafe. in the higheft conservation. Antique Two fine antique dogs, admirably well dogs. done. A Gladiator; a fpirited athletic figure, holding a buckler in one hand, and grafping in the other two dagger-hilts, in the attitude of parrying a ftroke from his adverfary. Pieratti. A Modern Statue, by Pieratti, a fcho- lar of Bernini's; it is a good thing in its way, yet retains too much of Bernini's ftyle, what the French call manieree ; fo that the contours are too flowing and twifted, the rage and fury exprefled in the face is quite terrific. Antique A fine antique Statue of Juno ; the dra- Statue. pery noble and graceful : here are feveral farcophagoufes worthy the attention of the curious traveller, for the beauty of the bas relievos on their fides : we particularly re- marked two that are finely executed : the fubjeds, the expofition of Csefar's bloody mantle to the Roman people, the other re- prefents t 99 ] prefents a child lying on a fofa, with other figures weeping near him. Here is a cu- rious tablet, on which the names of the horfes who won the prizes in the Hyppo*- drome are entered, with the country where they were bred oppofite the names, and the numbers of prizes they had won; I give you a few of thefe illuftrious courfers names and countries, copied from this claffick Heber: GRAPHY, SPH. X. B A LUST, AF. XIII. MEM NO, LAC.E. XIIL DROMO, HISP. RAPAU, AF. PARDO, AF. LUPO, AF. They are about fifty in number. It is fm- gular that no writers of travels that I have read, have taken the leaft notice of this an- tique catalogue. H 2 f Upon the bafe of a farcophagous are baflb relievos reprefenting tools of a me- chanic ; apparently a carpenter, in one com- partment, and in the other, an eflence-bottle, a comb, a looking-glafs, a bodkin, a pair of fhoes (fabots)i &c. which little things I copied on a leaf in my pocket-book, in order to fhew you how precifely this antique furni- ture of a toilette agrees with that of the pre- fent age : the refemblance of the figures on the man's fide is not fo exact to the tools now in ufe ; the plummet is different ; the rule for meafuring is about eighteen inches (Englifh) long ; there are divifions marked on it about half-way of its whole length ; each of thefe divifions are equal, and want a line to make them as long as our inch. Whether this meafuring-rule is the Roman foot or not we muft not venture to decide, the learned have already fo much difputed that matter. From this veftibi>le you Gallery; enter the Gallery ; it prefents two wings, each [ 101 J each four hundred feet long v Paris mea- fure; they are joined on the fouth-fide, which looks upon the Arno, by a gallery about an hundred feet (Paris) ; the ceilings are vaulted, and faid to be painted by the fchoiars of Raffaello; one fide reprefents, in Scholars fymbolical figures, the fciences and arts, e u . with the portraits of many learned and in- genious men, who have excelled at Flo- rence ; thofe of illuftrious ecclefiafticks, profeflbrs of philofophy, phyfick, jurif- prudence, &c. On the other fide are the portraits of all the Princes of the houfe of Medicis, fo that the ceilings form a kind of complete feries or hiftory of remarkable perfonages. Along the fides of thefe gal- leries are ranged with as much fymmetry as poflible, flatues and buftosj this attention to fymmetry, intended to pleafe the eye upon entering the gallery, is rather teafing to thofe who mean to acquire knowledge in antiques, or to judge of the procefs and de- li 3 clination [ 102 ] clination of fculpture in different ages, as they are not claffed agreeable to their order of time, nor the countries from whence they came : here Greek remains and Etruf- can are confounded together ; and amongft this great number of marbles are many which do not merit a place in fo fine a collection, either by their antiquity or the merit of their workmanfhip. I fhall mention only thofe we particularly admired, and take no far- ther notice of the remainder ; the whole col- lection (excepting the contents of fome rooms which are fhut up, and not {hewn to Itrangers in general) being enumerated in a trumpery-book fold at all the bookfellers ihops in Florence. Antique, To begin then according to the rule I Smbat" ^ ave P remi fed, a S rou P f Hercules com- ing Nf- bating the Centaur Neflus ; it is antique, but not highly finifhed ; the head of the Centaur appears to have been fupplied : the right foot of the Hercules is worthy admi- ration for the juftnefs of the anatomy. An [ 103 J An Agrippina fitting; the attitude fimple and natural, the folds of the drapery very fltun S' fmall, and in great number. Julius Csefar, a bufto of bronze : Cochin, T u jj U8 Ge ^ in noticing this bufto, aiTerts it to be of ar * black marble, and having obferved it to be coarfely and flightly finifhed, adds, *' ce qui pent venir de la nature de ce marbre" A beautiful bufto of Cicero. Cicero. Sappho; a bufto rather lefs than the life; Sappho. highly finifhed ; the air of the head very graceful. The Abbe who (hews the col- lection told me, that I might always know Sappho's buftos by the fingular projection of her -chignon, which has the appearance of the narrow end of a fugar-loaf, placed horizontally at the back of her head. A Statue of a woman holding a bird Statue, 3gainft her thigh ; the head and the body antique, but the arms and feet have been fupplied ; the flefh, in particular the bofom, is finely executed ; the head is beautiful, H 4 the the drapery treated in a large manner, the folds finely thrown, and the plaits are broad. Buftos. The following buftos are rare, and worthy of attention ; Pertinax, D. Juli- anus, Herennius, a Roman bufto unknown, of black porphiry; Manila Scantilin, Dedia Cupid P and CIara 5 a S rou P reprefenfing Cupid and Pfyche. pfyche. The attitudes of thefe ftatues are moft graceful, and the character and ex- preffion amiable. Etrufcan An Etrufcan Chimera; nothing can be Chimera. more terrific than the appearance of this monfter ; the creation of a difordered ima- ** f * *"" * \ 4 k gination. Famous The famous bufto of Alexander appeared Bufto of Alexander to me to exprefs more of the fentimcnt of indignation and reproach in the counte- nance, than of a fenfation proceeding from bodily pain, though it is here ftyled Alex- ander dying; the features are extremely handfome, and wonderfully interefting; the character noble. A Nymph [ "5 ] Statue. A Nymph wounded by a thorn. Nymph wounded A Baccante and a Tiger, antique; the by a thorn. group is light and graceful ; the neck of the Baccante rather too long. A bufto of Poppa ; I mention this buft Poppa. only on account of the colffeure^ which is arranged in buckles, one under the other, and terminated with a drop-curl, much in, the fafhion of about three years paft. Galba, a bufto, treated in a great man- Q a \^ t z ner; the hair is fmgularly well done, bufto ' An admirable bufto of Seneca. Seneca. A Veftal, antique, and finely fculptured; A Veilaf. the folds of the drapery beautiful. A Paris holding the apple ; part of the Par j $ . figure has been well fupplied. A fine antique bufto of Caligula. Caligula A Bacchus, by Michael Angelo; in a Jjjg^ great manner, but not without many inac- gL^ 1 *^ curacies and other faults. A Pomona with fruit; fhe appears in p om0 na. motion, her drapery floats upon the wind. Julia, [ io6 ] Jwlia, Julia (Titus's daughter) fa coiffeurs eft trop apretec, and the tapee is too forward. Endymi- An interefting ftatue of Endymion, who on. -^^ gazing at the moon, has his hand raifed up to prevent being dazzled by her light ; a dog who ftands clofe by his mailer, is bay- ing the moon. A Viaory A Victory and an Urania, both fine fta- and an Urania. tUCS. A Ceres. A Ceres, whofe drapery is fo ingenioufly executed, that her figure appears as if co- vered with a thin gauze. Flora. A fine Flora. Plotina. A good bufto of Plotina. Adrian. Another of Adrian of admirable fculp- ture, particularly the hair and beard. An Apol- An Apollo with one foot on a ttfrtoife ; the trunk only is antique, and very fine. Antinous. A beautiful Antinoiis. Another admi- rable bufto of Antinous. Marcus Marcus Aurelius ; there is too great a Aurelms. hollows [ '07 ] hollows formed by the curling of the beard and the hair. A graceful and well finifhed flatue of a statue of a conful ; great foftnefs and flexibility in the drapery. A young Marcus Aurelius ; a bufto, and A young extremely handfome. Aurelius. Lucius Varus, a bufto finely fculptured. Lucius A group of a Bacchus and a young fawn j Varus. very pretty, though not deferving the firft rank arriongft the ftatues. A large head of Sabina, the coiffeure has Head of a good effect, though very fingular ; her hair is drefled in a double tapee. A bufto of Bernini's miftrefs, by himfelf ; her head has a graceful and lively air. The famous (ketch of Brutus, by Michael Brutu?,by Angelo ; of the two infcriptions wrote un- j 0< * der, I believe every native of the Britifh empire will give the prefrence to that wrote by Lord Sandwich, to the lines of another ftranger. I think it evident that Michael Michael Angelo did not find himfelf equal to the finifhing this bufto, agreeable to the great idea he had formed, fo left it pur- pofely in its prefent ftate ; and though but a mere fketch, yet it feems to breath, and conveys to the admiring fpedator's mind the character that Anthony gives of Brutus jn Shakefpeare's Julius Casfar. This was the nobleft Roman of them all : All the confpirators, fave only he, Did that they did, in envy of great Casfar : He, only, in a general honeft thought, And common good to all, made one of them, His life was gentle, and the elements So mix'd in him, that Nature might ftand up,' And fay to all the world This was 3, man ! Laocoon. A fine copy of the Laocoon ; the wri th- ings and diftortions of the old man and the two youths are rendered with a verity that {hocks humanity. And And firft around the tender boys they wind, Then with their fharpen'd fangs their limbs and bodies grind. The wretched father running to their aid With pious hafte, but vain, they next invade : Twice round his waift their winding volumes roll'd, And twice about his gafping throat they fold. The prieft thus doubly choak'd, their creft divide, And tow'ring o'er his head in triumph ride. With both his hands he labours at the knots, His holy fillets the blue venom blots j His roaring fills the flitting air around. See Dry den's Virgil. But confidered at fome diftance as a group, the old man appears of a fize gigantic, when compared with the two young ones ; and you would be apt to think them of a different fpecies or race of men. A fine antique wild boar, whofe briftles are wonderful ; yet the chifTel has been lefs employed in fculpting this favage, than one could eafily believe without feeing it ; I own I felt fomething like fear when I approached him, I think I think I have not omitted any fculpturea in the gallery that we particularly liked ; Tribune. tnere f ore i now p roc eed to the Tribune, which is a large o&agon room, lighted from the top, and glazed with oriental cryftal ; the ceiling is in the form of a cupola, and .is incrufted with mother of pearl ; the walla are hung with crimfon velvet, and the floor beautifully inlaid with various forts of marble. The fix On entering, the fix famous Greek fta- flatues. tues draw the attention ; and it is not till after thefe have had a full examination, that one can attend to the pictures and other curiofities with which this room is The Ve- filled. Thefe ftatues are, the famous Venus nufes - of Medicis, the celeftial Venus, Venus Vic- trix, the Fawn, the Wreftlers, and the Arootino. The fa- x^e Venus of Medicis exceeded in beauty mo us Ve- f nus of and grace all the ideas we had formed of Medicis. her ; we cannot but regret that it is not yet decided who was the fculptor of this incom- parable r in. i parable ftatue. Her ftatue, as written on a paper by the Abbe who {hews the collection, is as follows; Altezza ddla famofa Venere^ detto di Medici, fecondo le mefure di diverfi Paefr. Braccia Florentine 2,foldi n, denan 8. Palmi Romani 6, once 8, Minuti 4. Piedi Ingkji 4, pallid n, lines 5. Piedi Parigim 4, pollici 6, linee 6. The above meafurement includes from the top of her hair to her heel ; we meafured her from the roots of her hair, or top of her forehead to her heel, and found her to be exactly four feet nine inches and three quarters, Englifh meafure. After having thus taken her height, we meafured her feparately, and I {hall here give you fome of her dimenfions : from the heel to the ex- tremity of her great toe, eight inches and a half and half quarter ; juft above her ancle- bone, five inches round ; round her leg, im- mediately beneath her knee, eleven inches and an half; round her wrift, meafuring on the top of the round bone, fix inches ; the thickeft t 3 thickeft part of her arm below her elbow j ten inches ; round her wafte, two feet ten inches and an half ; round her fhoulders, paffing the firing under her arms acrofs her breaft, three feet ; round her throat, at the thickeft part, twelve inches and an half; her face, from her chin-bone (not including her double chin) to the root of her hair, Ifrve inches and an half; her ( mouth (for fhe fmiles) is one inch and an half from the extremities ; her arms and hands are modern, and her fingers appear to be too long : the reft is antique, and fhe is compofed of forty-two pieces, which are fo delicately united that it is fcarce poflible to difcover the joinings; her face, is the prettieft I ever faw, and fhe has a fweetnefs of countenance rarely feen in a living beauty : her hair is beautifully tied up in a knot on the back of the top of her head; fhe has a great quantity of it, and you may plainly perceive the feven points the French ladies are fo ardent to poflefs : her flefh feems flexible* t "3 1 flexible, and the foftnefs and tendernefs, yet juftnefs of the mufcles is truly admirable : (he feems as if fpeaking, her lips being a little divided. I think fhe is placed on too high a pedeftal, as it makes her appear fhorter than fhe would otherwife do. This chefd'cenvre, or ftandard for female beauty* was found in the villa Adriana, amongft more than thirty-eight Greek ftatues of admirable workmanfhip : the infcription on the pedeftal importing her to have been formed by Cleomenes an Athenian, fon of Apollodorus, has been evidently inferted at the time her arms were fupplied. Whe- ther fhe was that Venus fculpted by Praxi- teles, and which the inhabitants of Gnidos refufed to Nicomedes King of Bythinia, al- though he offered to pay all their debts in exchange for this marble lady; or whe- ther fhe was the workmanfhip of Phidias, and the fame that in the time of Pliny was placed at Rome under the portico of Oc- tavia; or whether fhe was the Venus of Alca- VOL. II. I menes, [ "4 ] menes, and placed near Athens, ftill re- mains matter for controveriy to anxious antiquarians, who have never yet been able to agree upon this fubjed. The ce- The next Venus is called Urania, or the leltial Ve us. Celeftial; me appears to have juft quitted her bath ; one hand prefles the water out of her hair, while the other is employed in ga- thering up her drapery, with which me is half-covered. The character of this ftatue is, no doubt, charming ; and fhe would ap- pear to much greater advantage, had the Venus of Medicis flill remained undifco- vered in the villa of Adrian. Venus Venus Vi&rice, who is in pofleffion of Vidrice. the apple, is much larger than the others, and too haughty and magnificent to pleafe me. I do not queftion her making a fine appearance in a garden, but here fhe feems to be mifpfaced. TheFawn. The Fawn is a ftatue of merit ; he is about to flrike the cymbals, or crotali t to- gether; one of his feet is applied to ano- 8 ther ther mufical inftrument, fhaped like a bel- lows; " Quips and cranks and wanton wiles" appear in the mirthful phyfiognomy of this creature. His whole figure feems in movement ; yet the head and hands have been fupplied by Michael Angelo. The Wreftlers are a group I could never The Wreftler*. fufficiently admire; I walked round and round them until 1 was quite weary. Their attitudes are amazing, fo regular an en- tanglement is marvellous; the countenance of the vanquifhed exprefles the feelings of his foul; his humiliating fituadon, dif- appointment, rage, and fhame fit on his brow: in the other's face, triumph, courage, a contempt of fatigue, with an expreffion that fpeaks to the mind of the fpectator in a language that no words of mine can pof- fibly convey to you. The Arrotino, or as it is here called, the Arrotino. Rotatore, is evidently liftening, and ftruck with horror and difmay at what he over- hears ; this flave's character is finely ex- I 2 prefled, [ M6 ] prefled, and his face, though very ugly, feems as if worn by a cruel fervitude into the hard lines that mark his features ; his attitude is perfectly natural, and this ftatue well deferves the great character all connoif- feurs have given it. Lion and A fmall group of a lion devouring a group! horfe, which is well known by the many prints, cafts, and copies taken of it ; but it has never been well copied, at leaft all thofe I have feen have fallen very far fhort of the original. Table of In the middle of the tribune ftands a work. Table of the moft beautiful Florentine work, as it is called here; the defign is admirable; it is a reprefentation of foliage, fruits, rows of pearl, &c. elegantly intermixed. The incruftations, or Sneering, is for the moft part formed of the loweft order of precious ftones, fuch as agates, cornelians, jafpers, &c. the pearl is fo well imitated, that at firft fight it deceives the eye. The Abbe told us, that fome few years ago the little daughter [ "7 .1 daughter of Lord B cried to have one of thefe firings of pearl, miftaking them for necklaces thrown carelefsly upon the table. The ftone which imitates pearl fo well is, I think, the fpecies of onyx called chalcedony. Amongft many other curiofities this Cabinet in form of a room contains (for 1 am not as yet come to taber- the pictures) is a Cabinet, in the form of a Tabernacle, which is rilled with various curious morfels, more rare for their coftly materials than workmanftiip ; the nails, on which are fufpended a great variety of thefe articles, are headed with rubies, emeralds, topazes, fapphires, amethyfts, &c. This Cabinet is ornamented with fourteen pillars of lapis lazuli ; their bafes and capitals are of maffive gold well wrought, and bas relievos on the pedeftals, Gfc. highly exe- cuted. Here are a great collection of antique gems in intaglio ; a canopus of agate, an epimacus of chalcedony j a head of Tiberius of one fingle turquoife as Urge as a hen's I 3 egg, I "8 ] egg, a very great curiofity : here is alfo a pearl as large as a chefnut, but not round ; i\ is what the French call a barroch^ and the Italians zfcaramouche ; alfo leveral gob- lets and other vafes of rock-cryftal, lapis lazuli, &c, with a great number of articles in gold fculpture, &c. I now come to the pictures in this room, but do not imagine that I have mentioned a third part of the curiofities to be found here ; it is not pofiible I mould, my time will not countenance the attempt. Pianres. 'Here is a Mofaic in different gems, which Mofaic in gems. lurpafTes a picture ; it reprefents a variety of birds : the excellence of the workman- mip renders this piece more valuable than do the precious materials of which it is Compofed. Wander- A picture by Wander werf; the fubject WC*f* the Adoration of the Shepherds : it is well executed, the dcfign is uncommonly cor- rect for this mafter, but it is highly finimed, as are all his pictures, to a fault. A Gherar^ [ 9 ] A Gherar-dow : a candle-lipht piece of dow. admirable touch and expreffion ; the light rather too red. Another of the fame mafter, reprefent- Another. ing an old woman with other figures ; this is an excellent morfel. Two portraits by Holbeins ; one of Lu- Holbeins. ther ; the drawing is correct but hard, and the colouring dry ; the whole is flat and void of relief. The three Graces in Grifaille, by Rubens ; Rubens - they are indeed full of grace and elegance. A large Virgin with the Infant Jefus ; finely coloured, by Tiziano. Tiziano. A picture by Miens, reprefenting a moun- M^"*- tebank exhibiting to a crowded audience ; it is finely done. A fmall picture by Rubens; the fubjecl: Rubem> a Silenus drunk : it is not highly finifhed, but there is an eafe in the drawing, and a glow in the colours, for which this mafter is often commended. 14 A fmall J Rem- A fmall picture of the Nativity, by Rem- brandt. .. . . n . brandt. The reprefentation is in a molt ig- noble ftyle ; St. Jofeph is a common car- penter at work, behind is the Virgin in the character of a fort of parifh girl, and St. Anne like the miftrefs of a work-houfe ; 1 yet this is a very good picture. Andrea ^ portrait of Andrea del Sarto, by him- del Sarto. J felf. Giorgi- A head, by Giorgione ; in a very good ftyle. Annibai & fmall picture, but excellent, of the Carracci. Virgin, by Annibal Carracci. A Crucifixion, with a St. John and a Mary Magdalen ; the figures are about a Michael foot high; by Michael Angelo. It is in high confervation, and of a correct defign executon. Carracci. An excellent portrait, by Carracci, of his confeflbr. Mieris. A fmall picture, by Miens, a candle-light piece ; the effed is {hiking, the colouring ingenious, A portrait L "i ] A portrait of Raffaello, by Leonardo da Leonardo Vinci; delicately defigned, and of a fine natural flefh- colour. A fine picture reprefenting a Madona admiring the Infant Jefus, who is lying upon a cushion or fome fuch thing. This painting is by Gorregio ; it is highly finifh- Corregb. ed, and in furprifing prefervation ; the Virgin's head is extremely graceful. Co- chin thinks it too large for her body ; he admires the right-hand, and criticifes the left ; he alfo thinks the child fmall out of proportion. In all his aflertions with re- gard to this picture I am perfectly of his opinion; neverthelefs, the drapery is eafy and graceful, and it is a picture fo deferv- edly admired by all connoiffeurs, as to have been frequently engraved from. An admirable portrait of a cardinal, by Tiziano. Tizlano. An old man's head, by Paul Veronefe; p au i Ve - a fine glow and frefhnefs in the colouring. ronefe - A moft [ 1*2 ] Annibal A moft ftriking picture in the grand Carracci. flyle, by Annibal Carracci ; the perfonages that compofe the group are larger than the life, but are only half-lengths; the fubject a Satyr who offers a bafket of flowers and fruits to a nymph, whofe back is turned to the fpectators. There is a verity in the drawing, in the ana- tomy, and in the colouring, worthy of the greateft admiration. The mufcles of the nymph's back are rendered with a deli- cacy never to be feen but in the moft beautiful nature ; her head is graceful, the hair is fantaftically drefled, yet the inven- tion has an elegant effect ; her hand is fine, and very expreffive. The character of the fatyr agrees to the moft frenetick 'poet's idea ; and one of the Cupids in particular is finely done. In this picture the tone of colouring, or prevailing tint, is a kind of tanned vermillion. Raffaello. Three pictures by Raffaello, in his firft, fecond, and third manner ; the two firft re-. prefent prefent a Virgin, the Infant Jefus, and a a little St. John ; there is great delicacy and grace in the heads, but the manner is rather dry and clear : the third appears to be exactly parallel with that famous St. John that graces the collection of the Duke of Orleans in the Palais Royal, and that I well remember you fo much admired. There exift three of thefe duplicates (if I may be allowed the expreflion) one I al- ready mentioned to you at Bologna, and it is impoflible to fay which is the beft, without feeing them all together; yet if I might venture to decide from my me- mory, (and M is of the fame opinion) I mould give the preference to that at Bo- logna in the Palazzo Publico. A beautiful Virgin by Tiziano. Tiziano. Another by Andrea del Sarto; great foft- Andrea :' v " : . delSarto. nefs, yet, as in all the pictures I have ever feen by this painter, the eyes feem as if the pencil he had ufed to them had been dipped pounded charcoal ; and in tinting his flefh M. An- gelo. f flefh there is too much of a tan-colour or a light bay. A picture in a circular form, by Michael Angelo ; St. Jofeph is placing the Infant Jefus on the Virgin's flioulder ; in the back ground are feveral figures. This picture is one of thofe that are never fhewn unlefs par- ticularly afked for. The drapery is fine ; if there is any fault, it is in the manner, which is rather dry : the drawing is fuffi- ciently correct. A Virgin by Guido, in his laft manner ; beautifully graceful, defigned with great delicacy, of a clear colour, the (hades ten- derly rendered, which are in general grey. A Cleopatra by the fame ; the fhadows black, the drapery correct. Tintoret. A monkey combing a child, by Tintoret. This picture is by the Italians faid to be in his terrible manner. It is painted with a boldnefs and freedom of touch common to all the works of this mafter. Guido. Same. A picture [ 125. 1 A picture by Jacopo Baflano, reprefent- Jacopo Baffano, ing himfelf and family performing a con- cert ; he holds a mufick-book, one of the daughters plays upon an inftrument fome- thing like an harpfichord (I fuppofe it is an old-fafhioned inftrument called virginals) ; the reft of the perfonages are alfo melodi- oufly occupied : the colouring is ftrong and mellow, but there is a great want of grace, which may be accounted for from its being a family-piece. A picture by Pietro di Cortona; the fub- Pietro di ject is taken from the Book of Genefis : Hagar received again into Abraham's fa- mily ; his character is that of a venerable old gentleman. The draping is good ; he has an hofpitable countenance. Hagar feems well pleafed at the event ; the angel has grace and dignity; the colours are finely meliorated, but the painting up- on the whole has too yellow a caft. A Notta di Nat ale ; the clair obfcur finely contrafted j the finiihing admirable. This picture, picture, whether confidered all together or in detail, is equally pleating. The Virgin's hat, which lies on the ground, is fo well done, and the brightnefs of the ftraw (of which it is made) joined to the weaving it together, is fo correctly imitated, that it is almoft a deception. Need I fay that this Wander- exquifitely finifhed picture is by Wander- werf, that prince of Flemifh painters, unlefs this dignity may be difputed by the great Gerar- Gerar-Dow, his rival, who has exerted him* felf in the reprefentation of an Old Woman, of whom a girl is purchafing fruit: the avaricious caution of the old woman, who doubts the goodnefs of the money, is in- comparably well exprefled j the girl's cha- racter is as natural and as well done. This picture is highly finifhed. I now come to two moft famous and moft remarkable pic* tures, and which are the laft I fhall mention of thofe that adorn the Tribune. The Wife Titian. of Titian, by himfelf, large as the life. This woman appears very handfome; and one one cannot avoid obferving on her beauty and the glowing warmth of the colours, when, lo ! a curtain rifes and difcovers an- other beauty, placed below the firft, who is in truth tranfcendently handfome. All mankind are wrapt in filent admiration at the beauty of this lady, called Titian's Miftrefs, but is more probably the por- trait of a miftrefs of one f the Medici family. She is reclined upon a fofa, fup- ported by pillows, covered with white linen : in one hand me grafps a mat of flowers, and has no other ornament than a ring on her fourth finger and a bracelet on her arm. She is in that ftyle of beauty the French call a claire brun, and appears lan- guid, as if exhaufted by the heat of the weather : the colouring is as near that of the moft beautiful nature as can be ima- gined. The declinations of the ffcading, the paffing from the ihadows to the demi- tints, which are united in a manner imper- ceptible with the chiaro, can never be fuf- ficiently [ "8 ) ficiently admired. A little dog fleeps at her feet ; and in the back ground are two figures who appear to be waiting-women : one is on her knees, fearching for fome- thing in a large coffre ; the other appears to be indefatigable in the purfuit of a flea on her own arm. Thefe figures are too fmall in proportion to their diftance from the fore- ground; and, upon a ftricT: fcrutiny, it muft appear that Titian has neglected the rules of perfpective in the back-ground of this picture. I forgot to mention a very fine picture of Wander- Wandcrwerf ; the fubject, the Adoration of werf ' the Magi. I now take leave of the Tribune, and Gabinetto come to t ^ ie Cabinet fo of Antiques. I find . f An " that I cannot, without perplexing you and myfelf, conform precifely to the rule I pre- fcribec^ myfelf, for I think it may occafion confufion if I take notice of fome of the antique gems, buftos, &c. in the remaining apartments, and return back again to thofe rooms [ 1*9 1 rooms to mention the pictures, fo I fhall particularize them now as they happen to occur in their different pofitions. Amqngft the antiques with which this gabinetto abounds, thofe that appear to us the moft valuable and curious are the fol- lowing : A goddefs Cibylle, in bronze ; the atti- Antique?. 7 . Goddefs tude, drapery, and expreffion admirable. Cibylle. A Juno Sofpita, very antique and curious. j uno A Roman Eagle in bronze, large as a fpar- row-hawk, appears to have been ufed as age ' a ftandard ; it is numbered thus : XXIIIIO, which figures muft have alluded to the le- gion or divifion it belonged to. An open hand ; another Roman ftandard, called ma- nipuliiS) being the enfign of a company, as M - informs me. Several Etrufcan implements of facrifice, Etrufcan. ufed for the pouring out of libations, with figures and characters engraved upon them. A Mural Crown in bronze, fo fmall that Mural it would fcareely fit upon my head. VOL. II. K The t *3 ] Tiberius The Emperor Tiberius, large as life, of mp* bronze, and much efteemed. Tickets. Tickets of bronze, with infcriptions and numbers, for the moft part not legible, but fuppofed to have been for the admiffion of fpedators into the theatres and other public fpectacles. A Collar to wear about the neck, proba- bly as a mark of ignominy, or difgrace for foldiers, &c. ; the infcription is very legible, and runs thus : MinervinusA fug A. Mil 'A Fes A CokA XII UrbA Weights. A great variety of antique weights, re- prefenting bufts of warriors, with crefted helmets, which have perforations in them to hook them upon fteelyards. Sybil. A Sybil in bronze, with a moft magical face ; fhe is only half length, but is a fine antique. Cafquc. A Votive Cafque, as green, and fmooth as the darkeft green jafper. This kind of varnifh can be acquired by no other means than than that of remaining very long in the ground. The abbe aflerted that no chemi- cal preparation can procure this effect ; nor is it by any means univerfal amongft the antique bronzes, it depending upon a qua- lity peculiar to the kind of earth with which they have been covered ; the bronze muft be of the very beft and hardeft kind to gain this appearance. Two beautiful heads of Antoninus. Amoni- A beautiful twifted Column of oriental heads of. alabafter ; it is confiderably above feven feet high, and in one entire piece, the bafe and capital of African marble. Four antique Fouran- buftos, reprefenting Tiberius, Antinous, Fauftina, and Homer : they are of bronze of Greek fculpture, and were found in the fea near Leghorn by fome failors, endea- vouring to fifh up certain bales of goods> part of the lading of a floop wrecked upon that coaft. Vefta, a fine antique. K 2 Two [ 132 ] Two Two Minervas i Minerva Salutare and Minervas. Minerva Ergane, with their infignia. A Veflal, A Veftal bearing the vafe acerra, ufed to S(c. t conferve the incenfe for facrifice. Houfe- Several Houfehold Divinities. A great va- hold Di- vinities, riety of Jupiters and Venufes, amongft which, one who is adorning herfelf with her ceftus, is worthy the attention of the Head of vifitor. A beautiful head of Tuno. A fmall Juno, J ofVefpa- head of Vefpafian. fian. Tiberius A Tiberius, his Wife and Daughter; and his Wife and both cameos, large and fine, cameos. ' An Etrufcan athletic figure with horns on figure. his head. A figure of a woman, fuppofed Amazon, to be an Amazon; me is wounded under the left breaft, extends her right arm to- wards heaven, and feems to fuffer great agony of body and mind from her wound and from her defeat. * ' Vidory. Two figures rcprefenting Victory and Reputation, the firft draped, the laft naked. Skeleton, A little Skeleton in bronze : as there is no doubt of its originality, it is highly efteemed, [ '33 ] efteemed, being a felf-evident demonftra- tion of the knowledge of the ancients in anatomy. A very rare and curious figure, conjectured by fome to reprefent one of the Lamias of Africa ; her hair is difhevelled, Lamia, her body naked to the wafte ; her afpect breathes ferocity, though her features are fine ; the left arm wanting. Here are a prodigious number of Egyptian Divinities Egyptian Idols, in bronze, Serapis, Ifis, Ofiris, Anubis, Ca- nopus, &c. and many of Greece and Rome, Grecian alfo talifmans, lamps, tripods, feveral pa- Roman, teras, on one of which is engraved the Rape of Proferpine, inftruments of facrifice, and upon the whole, fuch a collection of idols, as I fhould imagine are no where elfe to be found in the fpace of one fingle room. One of the tripods is fo conftru&ed as to fold - up, and therefore convenient for moving from place to place ; the other, which is differently fhaped, is fupported by feet in the form of ferpents, terminated by wo- men's heads veiled. , K 3 There t There are here two Chriftian antiquities ; antiqui* ties. one reprefents Mofes ftriking the rock, the otr^er St. Peter and St. Paul in a bark; the former is at the helm as pilot, the latter is preaching. Thefe antiques are rudely executed; but there have been drawings and engravings made from them formerly by order of cardinals and popes. Another Table. beautiful Table of Florentine work, as well executed as that in the Tribune. There are feveral pictures in this room ; thofe moft to our tafte are the following : Figure by One by Pietro da Cortona, reprefenting Cortona! .the angel fitting on the fepulchre of our Lord, and fpeaking to the three Marys ; it is in a clear manner, and has the appear- ance of not being finifhed. Venus combing Love ; the colouring is frefh, but the demi-tints fail, fo that the degradation of the lights to the dark {ha.- G. qio- dows are too fudden j this is by Gio. Gjo- vani. .... A large [ 135 ] A large picture by Suterman ; it repre- Suterman. fents the Florentines performing an ad; of fubmiffion to a prince of the houfe of Me- dici : he is feated between his mother and grandmother : the compofition is noble and the colouring vigorous. All the draperies are black; the heads being portraits, make this an interefting picture. Two pictures by Baffano ; one reprefents the Deluge, the Baflano. other Dives and Lazarus. A fine landfcape, by Salvator Rofa. Saivator Paul Veronefe's family, painted by him- p au l* felf : this has been a fine picture, but is now much injured- A fine picture by Guido, the fubjedt Guido. taken from the ftory of Armida, in Taffo's Jerufalem Delivered. Before I quit this room, I muft mention an Amber Luftre with Amber figures, flowers, &c. in bas relief, of grey amber, inferted as ornaments to the luftre. The Cabinet of Arts is a room containing Cabinet a great number of prefles with glafs doors, containing very curious performances in K 4 ivory, [ 136 J Ivory. ivory, ?6\ One prefs is filled entirely with Amber, vafes, fmall ftatues, and crucifixes in Amber. Amongft the turned and carved ivory, thofe like ftaircafes, in fpiral and perpendicular lines, are wonderfully curious ; for they are no more than from eight to twelve inches high, the latter in particular being almoft as fine as a hair ; they fpring from a pe- deftal, and fuftain themfelves upright, tho* terminated at top with mouldings, balls, &c. Two vafes, containing upwards of a quart each, fo thin, as to be tranfparent like a dufty wine-glafs. A compafs, turned by the Czar Peter the Great ; his firft eflay in the art of turning, and prefented by him to one of the grand dukes. A Curtius leaping into the gulph, well carved. Here is an ingenious reprefentation in Wax. wax of the five ftages of the plague ; it is terrifying to contemplate ; fuffice it to fay, that it is efteemed perfectly well done ; and r 137 i was executed by one Gaetano Zummo, of Catane in Sicily j alfo another piece of wax- work reprefenting a dead head, attended with circumftances and a variety that in- fpire horror. Several fine tables in precious (tones ; one Work in precious reprefents the port of Leghorn with a view Hones, of the ifland of Corfica in agate. Other tables in petrified woods. One a Get* Petrified woods. man landfcape, the bodies of the trees remarkably well done. Here are two great chairs, part of the old furniture of Cofmo I. and carefully preferved on ac- count of their being exceeding fine old ja- pan upon leather ; although their feats and backs are foft and flexible, yet the varnifh is not in the leaft cracked : the ground of one is fcarlet, with figures in gold and fil- ver ; the other black. A curious organ, ornamented with amber, Organ, and feveral paintings ; by Brughd. Brughel. A picture reprefenting a trophy, but when reflected in a cylinder, becomes a J> portrait I. 138 ] portrait of one of the princes of the houfe P. Nice- of Medicis ; by P. Niceron. Amongft the pictures is a moft beautiful Pietre Pietrc Nef, reprefenting the infide of a church illuminated; the effect of the lights and fhadows, and the truth of the perfpec- tive, cannot be fufficiently admired. Nefcher. ; i A fine picture by Nefcher (Cochin fays by Kneller, which is a miftake) ; the fub- jecl:, a woman prefenting an offering to Venus; the head, hands, the fattin, and other fluffs are admirable. Rubens. A fine picture by Rubens, reprefenting Venus and Adonis ; a Cupid endeavours to hold Adonis by the thigh; the graces dif- cover Venus : Envy and fome other fury is dragging away Adonis by -his drapery; feveral Cupids are coupling the (porting dogs, and very bufy to fecure them. Venus is delicately handfome. Same. A picture by the fame ; Hercules between Vice and Virtue ; it is fine, yet both Vice and Virtue have rather too much of the Fie- muli coarfenefs. A [ 139 I" A Sybil in mofaic, after a picture by Mofaic. Guido. Two other faints in the fame work- manfhip, which far exceeds any painting. Two pictures of great merit of Ifaiah and Job ; by the brothers Bartelemi, of the Bartelemi. port. A head of John Baptift; by Leo- Leonardo nardo da Vinci. A Prefentation ; by Old Palma. Tobias, by Old Palma, &c. &c. A Drunken Woman, a very good pic- ture, by Terbourg. Terbourg. A Woman playing on a Lute, by Bega. Bega. Another, tuning her Lute, by Gherar Gherar Dow. Dow. A picture pretended to be by Teniers, but unworthy of him. A picture by Berghem. Ber fc hem. Two figures painted on touch-ftone, by Bamboche. Bam- The Devil confined in a Bottle, a very good picture, by Mieris. Mieris. A fine portrait, by Vandyke, of a very Vandyke. large man in black, half length. The Graces, by Rubens. Rubens, In t In the middle of this room is placed a Cabinet, Cabinet formed of ebony and a red wood, which is very hard and highly polifhed ; the workmanfhip is extremely neat: this cabinet is divided into threefcore and ten pannels, formed of lapis lazuli, verd an- tique, jafper, and other precious ftones : on which are painted in oil, and in the moft diminutive miniature fize, moft of the afxt*.*-- principal events recorded in the Bible ; by Brugfeel Brughel de Velours and his fcholars. lours. 6 " The Supper of Nebuchadnezzar pleafed me much : there is an incredible number of figures, all amazingly well done, confider- ing how little place they occupy. In the infide is a reprefentation of Mount Calvary, the apoftles, and many other perfons, all well done in amber. On the top a clock and an organ, but both out of order at prefent : their movements are not connected with each other, as Lalande aflerts. Table and There is alfb in this room two tables of aiabaftw. oriental alabafter, on one of which is placed au L an antique vafe of the fame materials in the form of a little bark. The Chamber of Aftronomy and Phy- chamber of attro fics contains many mathematical inftru- r.omyand ments. Two globes which meafure more than fix feet in diameter. A very large magnet, and other move- ables proper for this room. The ceiling is Ceil ' n g- Zucchari. painted by Zucchari. In the Saloon of the Hermaphrodite (ib Saloon Herma- called from a ftatue which is draped with a phrodite* lion's {kin. As there is another at Rome which rivals this, I fhall fay no more of it at prefent, than that either I am no judge of its beauties, if it has any, or rather, that I think it has no beauty at all). Amongft other antique ftatues, is a groupe of Drufilla Antique and Caligula ; they are well fculptured and groape * very expreffive. A Satyr, very good. A Satyr . A Terme, or antique Hermes : the head Hermes. coiffed like the ftatues of Mercury, but the beard [ '4* ] beard that of a fatyr. He holds a goat under his left arm, under his right a vafe for water : the drapery on the fhoulders is in the ruftic tafte. Here are a great col- Fine lection of fine drawings by the moil cele- drawings. brated matters. This feries commences with the defigns of Michael Angelo and Raffaello, fome of whofe drawings and fketches are fo admirable, as to be deemed ineftimable. A large drawing of Michael Angelo, greatly efteemed ; it is a reprefentation of the Laft Judgment. There is a ridiculous ftory related of this painter and the organift of a chapel by whofe order this drawing had been made, who afterwards difputing the price, Michael Angelo threw in his- own portrait, and placed him among the damned. The figures in this drawing are about eight inches high, the contours fine, and the com- pofition ingenious. A drawing by Andrea Martinia of Judith and Holofernes, &c. A fketch, reprefent- ing [ '43 ] ing the rape of the centaurs, by Giordano; it is warned in bifta, and finely done. One of the Virgin, the Infant Jefus, and St. John ; by Andrea del Sarto : befides a vaft number of curious drawings, which I had not time to examine. There is a fmgular curiofity here, which is called the Portable Gallery ; it is a kind Portable Gallery. of cabinet, and contains between three and four hundred fmall portraits in miniature. That which reprefents the great Cofmo, furnamed the Father of his People, is re- markably well done. It was the Cardinal Leopold of Medicis, who collected thefe por- traits in the laft century, and caufed this cabinet to follow his motions, whenever he had occailcn to change place, and efpecially to the conclaves. The Cabinet of Medals, or medal-room, Cabinet . r .., , . . of Medal*. is furmihed with the moft rare and valuable collection of medals (as afferted) in all Eu- rope; amongft thefe are two Othos of bronze. This cabinet is faid to contain thirteen [ 144 ] thirteen hundred antique gems, amongft which are fome of very fine workman- ihip, and many others very indifferent ; amongft thofe that are mod efteemed is a head of Vefpafian : there is another, fhewn principally on account of its variety, it re- prefents Tiberius and his wife. Here is a Natural fine aflemblage of Natural Hiftory in all its branches, plants not excepted. Piftures. There are fome good pidures in this room. I fhall mention but a few (my letter being already almoft a quire). A grand Pietro da fketch, by Pietro da Cortona ; the fubjed, the Donne Sante going to the Sepulchre. It is much to be regretted that this great painter left it unfinifhed. A fine picture upon the fubjed of Render unto Cefar^ <&c. by Capu- cino of Genoa. Carlo A Magdalen, by Carlo Dolci, half length, Dolci highly finifhed, and in the fofteft and fweet- eft ftyle of colouring imaginable. A picture, reprefenting our Saviour about nine years old, with feveral angels, who bear the in- ftruments [ 45 ftruments of the paflion : this pidure is by Albani. The Jefus is a moft amiable and Alban!. beautiful child, full of grace and dignity. An Adoration of the Shepherds, by Leo- Leonardo da Vinci. nardo da Vinci. Though this picture has fuffered, its remains are ftill eftimable. Four pictures by Paul Veronefe: the Paul Veroncfe. Temptation, and three whofe fubjeds arc Adam and Eve in Paradife, and their ex- pulfion thence. In one of the former is a blafphemous reprefentation of God the fa- ther in the garden of Eden drefled in a green coat. One of the moft curious collections which belongs to the gallery, is a room filled with the portraits of the moft eminent painters, Painters* portraits. by themfelves, to the amount of more than two hundred. The moft efteemed amongft them are thofe of Vandyke, Rubens, Rem- brandt, Guido, Annibal Carracci, Julio Ro- mano; the great PxafTaello, Luc Giordano, Wanderwerf, Mieris, and fome others, which are not very valuable. VOL, II. L Raffaello's [ 146 ] Raffaello's portrait has the countenance of a mere fimpleton ; his arched eyebrows, his frefh complexion, joined with a foolilh look about the mouth, is convincing that the face is not always the true index of the mind. Vanderwerf is finely done, mod highly finimed ; he holds in his hand the picture of a woman and two children ; the woman is fuppofed to reprefent the fcience of painting.. Portrait of Uump, 1646 ; the defign very ingenious ; as there are three reprefenta^ tions of him, he is feen in the aft of paint- ing his own picture ;. his face is reflected in a looking-glafs, from which he has tranf-. mitted it upon the canvas fupportcd by the ezel. Guido's portrait is well done, and in his beft ftyle, which is more than can be. faid of the Carracci's, Dominichino, and all thofe of the Bologna fchool, which want ex-, preffion, colouring, and keeping. Rem- brandt, though reckoned good, is not equal to his Turkifh Rabbi, (whom he refembles) in the Palazzo Durazzo at Genoa, Thr t 147 ] The Saloon of Arms contains a great va- Saloon f riety of different kinds of armour, amongft rms ' which are feveral facks filled with iron fhirts ; and, confidering the materials, they are wonderfully flexible. They appear to have been knit with ftrong iron wire, though this cannot have been the method of manu- facturing them ; as in that cafe the wire muft have been in an ardent ftate, to admit of its being fo worked ; and if fo, where fhall we fuppofe the knitters could be pro- cured ? I never heard nor read of any perfon capable of fuch a handicraft, unlefs you choofe to except Talus, Spenfer's Iron Man. In fhort, let your own imagination work out, if you will, how fuch fhirts were made; fuffice it for the prefent, that they appear evidently to have been worn. A fhield of iron, on which is a bas relief, Bas relief, tolerably well executed; it reprefents Caefar, to whom is prefented the head of Ptolemy: L 2 Csefar Cosfar turns away his face with great ex- preffion of horror. Armour The complete armour of a Sultanefs; of a Sul- tancis. her vizor is compofed entirely of turquoifes, forming a Mofaic; feveral pair of flip- pers made like thofe of the Chinefe ; they are leather and embroidered : her breaft- plate, fhield, &c. are richly ornamented with chryfolites, as large as beans, of an apple^green ; a faddle, maffive gold enrich- ed with various precious flones, but clum- fily fet. Bow- Here is alfo a Turkifh Bow-ftring, the fort, fo frequently ufed for ftrangling ; it is rather thicker than a ftag-lace, made of crimfon filk, and each end is ornamented with a large tafTel of pearl. Saloon. In Another faloon are the magnificent ornaments deftined for the chapel of St. Laurence ; the altar is formed of a beau- tiful block of jafper; the tabernacle re- prefents the model of a ; church, and is incrufted [ *49 1 incrufted with precious ftones. As to the reft, church-ornaments and priefts veft- ments are no very agreeable objects of con- templation, fo I (hall trouble you no far- ther with the contents of this room. There are feveral other rooms belonging to this gallery, which are rarely fhewn to ftrangers : many of the articles contained in them are in diforder; but there are amongft them a vaft collection of fine an- tiques. Here arc a variety of fummer and winter Summer and winter rings worn by the ancient Romans ; that they changed their rings with the change of the feafons is evident. Charg'd with light fummer-rings his fingers fweat, Unable to fupport a gem of weight. Dryd. Juv. Sat. I. Several of thefe rings are entire, with the ftones ftill in their fetting : of thefe the greater part are intalios^ others cameos; many of the former I take to have been L 3 talifmans, talifmans, amongft the latter, griffins and eagles are common. There are feveral which open, and the cavity under the gem is fuf- ficiently large to receive as much matter as might be contained in the bowl of a tea- fpoon; probably thefe cavities were defign- ed to hold poifon. Some of the hoops of thefe rings are fo large as to admit with eafe fopr of my fingers. I fhall fay no- thing of the Etrufcan vafes and fepulchral lamps, of which there are a great abundance, having mentioned fuch before ; nor of the Egyptian idols, except that their number and variety is amazing. Here is a very Vafe. curious filver Vafe covered over with a plate of gold, pierced through, and defcrib- ing various figures of men, beafts, &c. in Etrufbn ^ e bottom is an Infcription in the Etruf- tion" P ~ can l an g ua g e which has not yet been de- ciphered. This vafe is about eight inches high, and might, I judge, contain about two quarts. The Abbe told us we fhould fee t 151 J fee fuch in the cabinet of Portici, and of much more curious workmanfhip. An antique head of one entire gem, call- Egiade, T-> n f Antique cd Jbgiade : this precious none is of a Head, dufky pea-green, not quite opaque, nor yet tranfparent ; one of the eyes is formed by a cat's eye, as it is commonly called, or belus, which is a kind of agate, or onyx, and refembles ftrongly the pupil of an eye; it is tranfparent, and like a hazel eye. The ancients frequently inferted gems, to fup- p]y the eyes, in their ftatues and buftos; and although there are but few now to be feen, yet the fockets which remain evi- dently prove the reality of the practice. Here are various keys of whimfical fhapes in bronze ; alfo a variety of chirur- gical inftruments, bodkins, and other ap- pendages of the toilette, of bronze, bone, and ivory; the antique Jtylus for writing on tablets of wax; vafes for wine of Terra- cotta, called Diata ; they finilh in a point, in order to be ftuck upright in the earth, L 4 to t 152 ] to keep the wine cool. There are fome elegant figures on thefe vafes, one of which I copied on the fpot, and {hall fend you in- clofed in this letter. Bror.ze A Bronze Helmet, which they pretend Helmet. to have been worn by Hannibal, from be- ing found near the lake of Thrafimene, as they aflert,. and having fome African cha- racters infcribed on it; but M ob- jected to the origin of this antiquity, al- leging that it was not probable that great general fhould have loft his helmet either at Trebia, Thrafimene, or Cannse : had it been found upon the field of Zama, the con- jecture might have bore ftronger marks of probability. Venus. Here is a fmall marble Venus, about the fize of a girl of thirteen years old ; fhe is fuppofed to be juft born from the fea; her attitude is what is called that of a Crouch- ing Venus. She is preffing the water from her hair, which is in beautiful diforder ; the drops trickle down her breaft ; her fea- tures t tares are charming, her countenance ex- prefles a moftinnocent gaiety; the anatomy of the back is furprifmgly fine. A Greek ftatue of Minerva, of bronze; Greek it appears to have fuffered by the fire at Rome ; one arm has been fupplied by plaifter, and is very ill done; the other appears through the drapery, and is admi- rably proportioned. The drapery feems tranfparent ; fo as to ihew the limbs and mufcles of the body through it : the foot and toes are plainly to be feen, though completely covered ; the gems that filled the fockets of the eyes have, probably, been flolen. Three Roman Infcriptions upon bronze, Roman In- and perfectly legible, are highly efteemed bronze!"' by the curious ; the firft is a declaration of the people of Fiorentino, (a village which to this day preferves nearly its antique name) that they chofe for their protector and patron, one named BafTus, &c. The other two are forms for the difcharge of 5- foldiers [ '54 ] foldiers who had ferved twenty campaigns, which were to be precedents for all fuch difcharges ; one in the reign of Domitian, the other of Nerva. You may guefs to whom I am indebted for the fubje&s of thefe infcriptions, as well as of many others of my claflical quotations and ob- fervations. Statue of A fmall Greek ftatue of Victory ; it is of very fine fculpture, though only feven inches high. Antique At Volterne, about fixty miles from Flo- Lrns. * rence, were found, on digging in the grounds of Cavaliere Galowzi, twenty-four antique oblong urns, about fix inches broad, two feet long, and eighteen inches high each; they have bas relievos in front, fome of them tolerably well executed. It is now forty years fince they were difco- vered, and were bought laft year by the Grand Duke for about two hundred and twenty-five fequins, and are now placed in his gallery between the ftatuea. The [ 155 1 The Abbe B - , late guardian of the A theft precious depofits in the gallery, ftole and (Ufpofed of antique idols, gems, <&c. and twenty-four pounds weight of pure gold, the ornaments of columns, <&c. of near the value of five thoufand pounds, to Jew bro- kers. He was taken, tried, and condemned to be hanged and embowelled, yet after eight months imprifonment, humanely par- doned, but banimed the Grand Duke's ter- ritories, and is now faid to ferve as a pri- vate foldier in the Neapolitan troops. Before I end this letter, I mult add two of Mr. or three obfervations in regard to fome af- Addifon. fertions of Mr. Addifon. He fays, vol. iii. p. 207, " The brazen figure of the Conful with the ring on his finger." This ftatue is of an Etrufcan prieft in his proper habit, in bronze, and is a very great curiofity. Mr. Addifon, in his Remarks on the Mor- pheus, appears to have fallen into a very great miilake : I fufpeft that perhaps his time, [ '56 ] time, his ftate of health, or opinion of others, had led him to truft too frequently to re- port, not only in this, but in other inftances. As to the Morpheus, I think it a heavy, dif- proportioned lump, more chara&eriftic of dulnefs and ftupidity than of fleep. The thighs and legs are much too large for the body, and feem as if they had been made fe- parately, and afterward ftuck on to the hips, He does not feem to repofe, but to have been choaked by a repletion ; nor is there the leaft refemblance between this ftatue and that of any Cupid I have ever feen, either in drawing, painting, or fculpture, though Mr. Addifon fays, " I at firft took it for a Cupid, till I had taken notice that it had neither a bow nor a quiver." He then quotes a Dodor Lifter, who in certain re- fkdions the good Doctor had made, it feems calls it " the deeping Cupid with poppies in his hands." Mr. Addifon aflerts alfo, in- a decifive manner, that the ftatue of [ '57 1 of the hermaphrodite is a copy ; his words are, " A beautiful old figure, made after the celebrated hermaphrodite in the villa Borg- hefe." It is well, known by all the fomioif- Jeurs that this ftatue is antique, and what- ever may be faid of it, the accufation of old age is certainly mifapplied. At laft I think I may take leare of this vaft colledion; and truft that the fubje&s this letter treats of, beguiled the time you beftowed upon its perufal; if it has pro- cured you amufement, my end in writing is fully anfwered. I am, as ever, yours, Ofc *no* LETTER XXX. Florence, Jan. ift, 1771. T F I was writing to a Frenchwoman I ** {hould take care to avoid wifliing her a happy new year; as in that polite nation fuch a wifh is fuppofed to imply a pofliibi'lity of the year proving unhappy, aod they even [ '58 ] even efteem this compliment as a kind of memento mori when one adds, and many of them: but to you I repeat in the old Englifh fafhion, our fmcere wifh, that this year may prove a moft happy one to you, and may a long fucceflion of annual funs gild all your profpeds, your happinefs ftill, if poflible, increafing, and augmenting with them. We (hall quit Florence in a day or two ; therefore this is the laft letter you will have during our refidence here. We were yef- tercjay to fee the Palazzo Pitti, which has a communication with the gallery and the old palace : the corridor that joins them was contrived by Cofmo the Firft, in order to procure a free egrefs and regrefs from one to the other, with eafe and privacy. Palazzo ^ e Pa ^ azzo Pitt * * s *" ca ^ e( l from a Flo- Pitti. rentine gentleman who built it for himfelf in the year 1460, but being afterwards re- duced in his circumftances, Cofmo the Firft 6 purchafcd [ '59 ] purchafed it, and refided there with Leo- narda of Toledo his wife ; fince which time it has been always inhabited by his fuc- ceflbrs. The architecture I think heavy; you may form a pretty competent idea of it from that of the Luxembourg at Paris ; the plan of that palace being taken from this. Wings are added to it by Cofmo. The apartments are grand, and finely de- corated ; the mouldings gilt, alfo magni-. fkent tables incrufted in Florentine work ; but the pictures are what I mean particu- larly to notice, for there are but few &&<* tues. In the apartment below, or the rez de Apart- . ment be* chaujjey, a room, to the right, has its low. ceiling painted by Pietro da Cortqna; the Cortona, fubject represents a young man who quits the arms of La Volupte at the remonftrances of Virtue ; he is reprefented by Hercules : the fymbols of pleafure furround the young man. Round this middle piece are eight paintings, fan-fafhion; one reprefents Se- leucus, [ 160 ] leucus, who refigns his wife to Antiochus. Another, the continence of Scipio. A third, Potiphar's wife, 6'C. and thefe diffe- rent pieces are admirably well compofed ; the architectural ornaments, which ferve- as frames to them, in art excellent tafte. The ceilings of the firft five rooms, namely the ornaments, are all decorated by ' the fame mafler, with a furprifing variety and ingenuity In the choice and invention, ad Room. The ceiling of the fecond room is by Giro CiroFerri. p^ from the de f ]gns o f p ietro da Cortona ; the fubjed: a young man in the clouds, between Apollo and Poetry. The Attic Four paintings adorn the Attic of this feme. faloon ; the fiibjecls allegorical, and refpect the arts. 3 d Room. The ceiling of the third room is by Pietro da PJetro d'a Cortona : the painting has a Cortona. fine effecl: ; it fhews the arms of the Me* dici triumphant, and furrounded by guar- dian genii : the border of the ceiling re- prefents a nava'l combat. Thefe paint- ings t '61 ] ings are of a clear, diilindt, and vigorous colouring. Jn the fourth -chamber is another ceiling, which (probably by its tone of colouring) is the execution of Giro Ferri; it reprefents the apotheofis of a hero, to whom Hercules has lent his mace: Jupiter is crowning him. In the fifth room is another ceiling sthRoom. painted by Pietro daCortona: this is infe- P' etr da Cortona. rior to the others ; the fubjet, Hercules on the pile. In one of thefe rooms is the following remarkable picture by Rubens; Rubens. Mars is reprefented as dragged from the arms of Venus by the Fury, or Dsemon of war; Venus in vain endeavours to detain him, the Cupids weep, the Daemon treads under foot a robuft man, fuppofed to re- prefent Agriculture ; women and children are put to flight by Fear ; the temple of Janus is fallen to the ground : on the fore- ground is a woman crowned with the mural crown, and who, by her cries and lamen- Voj., II. M tations, [ 162 1 tations, endeavours to prevail with the Dae- mon to defift. This is a fine picture. Ami- In the anti-chamber to this apartment is chamber. the portrait of a famous dwarf; it is well Nicoio executed as a pidure, by Nicolo Caflano. Caffano. In the great faloon, called the Impe- rial, are eight paintings in frefco on part of the wall, which fo well imitate bas re- liefs in marble, as to be almoft a decep- tion. In other parts of the fame faloon are painted in (I think) ten great compart- ments, the reprefentation of thefe fubjeds: . The Ruin of the Arts in Italy, expreffed emblematically by Harpies, Satyrs, Time, and Mahomet, who are occupied in de- ftroying the productions of the moft cele- brated Artifts. The fubject of another com- partment is the Deftrudion of Parnaflus; here Sappho appears lamed by a Fury, Pe- gafus torn to pieces by Vice, the moft fa- mous poets opprefled and ill-treated by Sa- tyrs and Harpies ; the former are endea- vouring to feek refuge in the Houfe of Laurento f 1*3 ] Laurento the Magnificent, into which Ho- mer is the firft who gains a fafe retreat. In another compartment appears Virtue, taking refuge at Florence by the orders of Pallas, who mews herfelf from the fides: Virtue is received by Tufcany, affifted by Generofity ; one offers her hand to conduct her and the other poets to the houfe of Lau- rento of Medici, to the end me may fhew the way to many philofophers who form her train ; amongft whom appears Empi- docles mourning for his loft works : thefe GK da three are by Gio. da San Giovani. vani. In another diviilon Apollo appears to invite the Mufes to the friendly protection of Lau- rento, who is furrounded by thofe learned men his cotemporaries or his favourites : their reception is announced to the world by Fame. This is by Cecco Bravo. Bravo. In the other compartments are the fol- lowing fubjects ; Laurento by the wifdorn of his government has caufed the gates of the Temple of Janus to be clofed : Bel- M 2 lona t '64 ] lona confoles herfelf upon the occafion, Mars is taking his leave, and Peace is de- fcending from heaven to crown Italy with a wreath of olive : this is by the fame maf- ter. Religion accompanied by an Angel (who holds the Scriptures) fhews to Lau- rento the heavens, from whence proceed rays of light to conduct him in all his en- terprifes. In the air appear the rewards promifed to his pofterity by a tiara and two oaavio crowns borne by angels : by Odtavio Van- Vanmni. ^;* nini. Laurento having founded in his garden of St. Mark a fchool for painting, fculp- ture, and architecture j his fcholars prefent him with their effays : Michael Angelo is diftinguifhed from the others by the bufto of a fawn ; his production is executed in marble without the help of a m after. In another pannel, to fhew the rewards due to Merit, Liberality appears fitting at the foot of a laurel ; at her fide is Pru- dence and two children ; one of which leans 3 leans on a book, the other ftrikes the ground with a lance. Thefe two laft are by the fame ma Peer. A Platonic Academy is reprefented as eftablifhed by Laurento in his country- houfe at Corregio. The ftatue of Plato is placed on a pedeftal, on which is wrote Platonsm laudatums et file et mlr are \ and lower down, fal in mente y mel in ore : Elo- , quence and Mufick are on each fide. In a corner is Geometry; near her Philofo- phy, who has overthrown Error. This is by Francefco Turino. Tunno. Another compartment reprefents the death of Laurento. The three Fates are introduced in this picture : Atropos has fcarcely divided Laurento's thread of life,, when Mars appears already defcended upoa the earth, from whence Aftrea, Peace, and Fame are retiring : the Arts are endeavour- ing to make their efcape on all fides, and in their confufion let* fall various compli- mentary medals ftruck in honour of this great Prince. M 3 The [ '66 ] The two rooms enfuite from this apart- ment contain no paintings worthy obfer- vation. Beyond thefe you enter a fa- loon, in which is a fine bath of A picture reprefenting a Nymph Rubens, furprifed by Satyrs, of Rubens. Four Battle-pieces, hiftorical, of the houfe of Medicis and Bourgignon : they are well done ; but it is a fubject I do not think fuc- ceeds on canvas : the beft of them is that in which is a view of the frightful moun- tain Radicofani, of which I fhall be better able to judge when we reach it ; it lies be- tween this city and Rome. A fine picture Raffaello. by RafFaello ; the fubjed: a Virgin, the In- fant, and feveral Saints. A portrait of Car- Vandyke, dinal Bentevoglio, by Vandyke ; this is an admirable picture. The Pilgrims of Em- Paul Ye- maus, by Paul Veronefe. Abel dead,- by Carlo Lotti ; the drawing fine. The fa- Raffaello. mous Madonna della Sedia^ by Raffaello; this capital picture can never be fuffi- ciently admired ; it is finifhed to the laft perfection : in my opinion this is the only reprefentation of the Virgin which feems L 169 ] feems to bear a probability of its being like the original ; truth, innocence, and all the virtues are aflembled in her modeft coun- tenance; the child refembles her, but I think it not fo greatly fmimed as the Ma- donna: it is to be wimed Raffaello had draped the Virgin with more fimplicity; her clothing is like that of an Eaftern Princefs, and the great chair in which me is feated, adorned with velvet and gold fringe, refembles the furniture of a Cardi- nal's palace. A portrait of a boy with thick hair combed down upon his forehead ; the colouring fine, but the body is not of the fame mafter : this portrait is given to Vandyke. The portrait of Paul Vero- Vandyke. Paul Ve- nefe, by himfelf. -Two fmall pictures; be- ronefc. ing the reprefentations of two parables; one, of the labourers of the vineyard ; the other, of the woman fearching for a loft piece of filver : thefe are by Feti, and very Pcti. good. A portrait of Raffaello, by Andrea Andrea del Sarto. A Holy Family, by Palma Vecchio; Vechio * [ '70 ] Vecchio; in this picture is introduced a monarch offering the globe of the world to the Infant Jefus. Another Holy Fa- mily finely done, in which St. John brings Rubens, a lamb to the Infant, by Rubens. A por- trait of a Lady in crimfon fattin; the drapery beautiful ; by the fame. The Michael Fates, by Michael Angelo ; this picture is much blackened. A fine portrait of a PaulVe- Lady drefled in black, by Paul Vero- ronefe. ^^ ^ Magdalen emaciated by fafting and prayer: it is a very fingular pic- ture; me is draped in crimfon-velvet Leonardo lined with fur ; by Leonardo da Vinci. A blafphemous reprefentation of God the Father, fupported by angels and winged Raffacllo. griffins, by Raffaello. An Infant St. John afleep, with St. John watching him -, it is a beautiful picture, and finifhed in the high ftyle of Wanderwerf, but attributed to Carlo Dolci. Cain flaying Abel, by Schia- vone. The conteft for mufical excellence between Apollo and Marfyas ; the expref- fion t 171 ] fion is admirable in this pidure ; by Carlo Loti. Carlo Loti. A Battle-piece, by Salvator Saivator Rofa; he has drawn himfelf in a cor- ner: the various attitudes of the horfes and warriors are executed with great free- dom and fpirit. Three heads in one pic- ture, by Ruftichini. A good Bacchante, ^ ftidli - by Riminarly. A pidure over a door, re- R ''minar- prefenting a calf as large as the life, ex- tremely well done : alfo another of cocks and hens, by Caftiglioni. A Defcent from Caftigli- cni. the Crofs ; the Magdalen fine, by Andrea Andrea del Sai-to. del Sarto. The Supper of Lazarus ; the moment the painter has taken, is that of Martha's complaining to our Saviour that her fifter does not affift her in domeftic concerns : there is a great abfurdity in this pidure ; one of the convives at the table ' is dicing a Bologna faufage ; by J. Baf- j Baflano. fano ; its pendant, by the fame painter, re- prefents the Supper of the Pharifee. A Madona in extafy, by Guercino. A St. Guerdno. John playing with a Lamb, byCefaroGe- cefaro naro. Genaro ' naro. A Sybil mewing the Emperor Juf- tinian a Glory, in which appears the Vir- gin and Infant over an altar, and feems to reprefent a vifion ; his admiration and eager- nefs to be further informed is finely ex- prcfled j the Sybil is quite infpired : by Falma Palma Vecchio. A Mufician, who appears Yecchio. to be competing mufick; he ftrikes a chord, while another man and woman Handing by him, appear as judging of his per- formance ; it is interefting, fpirited, and wel1 coloured; by Giorgione del Caftel Franco . There are feveral other pictures in this palace, that I make no doubt have their merit ; as well as many which I do not think worth noticing ; but thofe I have mentioned pleafed us moft. The ftatues are very indifferent ; the apartments well furnifhed, and clean. Dec. 2gth. We leave Florence the Fair to-morrow ; and after feeing our baggage packed up, I dedicate this evening to you. The [ 173 1 The few days we have pafled here have been employed in viewing the gallery in particular, and the palace of Pitti ; and having dined abroad fome of thofe days, by which our time has been confumed, the afternoons always found us engaged to the theatre or private aflemblies, the cqffino, &<:. We have not had it in our power to /fee many of the churches, and thofe in fo curfory a manner, being hurried to death, that I fhall not attempt to fay more of them, than that I believe the chapel of St. Laurent will be the fineft of all poffible chapels; and that, according to the Flo* rentins, &c. the meridian of // Duomo, (the cathedral church) is the beft conftrucled me- ridian in the world. I know you will not be difappointed in regard to the churches, as you do not expect impoffibilities ; for the fame reafon, and others I fhall not trouble you with, you will excufe me for not attempting a defcription of a picture we have feen (in private hands only) ; fuch a picture, [ 174 ] a picture, of which even your imagination, from any help my pen could give it, would form but a very faint idea. The fubject is il pioggia cToro. Suffice it to fay, the beauty of Danae could not be excelled by the Ve- nus of Medicis, were (he animated. The anatomy, the mufcles, the colouring of the flefli are fo natural, that the picture is very near a deception. A Cupid, with his bow unftrung, points to the fhower of gold with great archnefs, which is defcending in yel- low pieces refembling guineas, from a dark- ifh cloud. Every particular of this picture is perfectly well done. The only ornament worn by Danae is a bracelet, and a ring on her fourth finger. I have often heard it obferved by connoijfeurs in Italy, that nothing 'dif- graces a fine hand more than rings worn on any finger except the third and fourth. It certainly deftroys the proportions, and gives a gouty or rickety appearance to the hand in general j the firft and middle fin- ger t 175 ] ger looking very ugly when loaded with rin-s. This chef d'auvre is by Tiziano. I cannot imagine why the Grand Duke, like another Jupiter, does not purchafe this beauty by another fhower of gold ; for, in my opinion, neither the Venus nor the miftrefs of Tiziano in the Tribuno, are comparable to it in any refpect. This inimitable piece is in the pofleffion of two gentlemen (brothers) of the name of Carig- nani. The environs of Florence are beautiful. Tufcany was the ancient Etruria ; a people who originally came out of Afia: they were confide rable and powerful long before the time of the Romans. At prefent the coun- try is highly cultivated, divided into farms, and the peafants appear rich and happy. Some of the high mountains contain mines of alum, iron, and filver; there are alfo quarries of alabafter, porphyry, and other marbles. The plains are fertile in corn, vines, faffron, and all kinds of kitchen-gar- ' den t 176 ] den fluff, which is alfo in great perfection. Silk worms thrive here, their produce is a considerable branch of commerce to the citi- zens ; it is remarkable that thefe worms breed twice in a year, and even three tim'es ; but there is an order from government which forbids the third increafe; the reafon is, be- caufeit would occafion a dearth of mulberry- leaves, were the trees to be thrice ftripped for the nourifhment of the worms, and con- fequently there would few or none remain to feed their cattle, in cafe the fodder fhould fall fhort, which frequently hap- pens, as there is here but little pafture- land. The fruits held in the higheft eftimation are, the cedars, water-melons, and grapes. Befides that wine which is known in Eng- land by the name of Florence, and which is the many many ladies in England would not be afhamed of wearing. They have filk corfets without fleeves; their fhift-fieeves are puffed and tied with ribbon, the fhoul- der-ftraps of their corfets are ornamented with long ribbons, which wanton in the wind as they walk ; the corfet is covered with fcarlet or blue luteftring, and the pet- ticoat is of the fame. On working-days, when they bring their goods to market, their hair is entirely concealed by a kind of netted cap of crimfon, fcarlet, or blue filk drawn tight over it, by means of two firings ornamented with taflels, which are fre- quently made of gold and filver. A pretty woman looks beautiful in this odd coiffeure. The taflels, after they are tied, hang care- lefsly down on the left fide, and almoft touch the fhoulder. Their corfets and pet- ticoats on thefe days are of callimancoe, and their ear-rings and crofs plain gold. Provifions are reafonable, and the mar- kets ^well fupplie"d. Lalande is extremely 2 particular mi , . , . ?.r';un. ; r n i * particular in his account of Florence ; his catalogue of illuftrious learned men isjuft. I refer you to him for fome very entertain- ing and curious anecdotes. There is but one theatre open at prefentj the performers are wretched, and their plays, if poffible, worfe ; though it is un- grateful to criticife, as the piece is always in honour of the Englifh. A crew of Eng- liih failors are introduced on the fcene, who ridicule, and in the end beat fome trench characters, which are much outreed. The theatre is convenient, but nothing remark- able ; it is called the Little Theatre, to di- ftinguim it from another, where they fay operas are finely performed. The orcheftra at the Little Theatre is eompofed of good muficians. This city is in high favour with young Englimmen; who are perfectly at their eafe during their refidence here. The la- dies in general of eafy virtue, and their expences light, as a genteel prefent is N sf [ lgo ] from two to five fequins ; it is true, thefe ladies are apt to borrow to fupply their play-purfes, but the fums are but fmall, and bear a certain proportion to the prefents I have mentioned. There are few private afTemblies ; before Sir Horace Mann came here there was not any ; but he has been of great ufe to them in teaching them how to live: his table is, elegant, ; and his polite manners pleafe every body; none more than his own countrymen. He has aflemblies alfo. Monficur Barbantin, the French re- fident here, . has (hewn us many civilities ; we had letters to him from the ambaffador of his nation at Turin. ******** We fet out for Rome to-morrow ; fo adieu, &c. cW. Y w LETTER XXXI. Sienna, Dec. 30, 1770. TTI7E are arrived here in good health and without accident, though obliged to walk up a deep paved mountain, which was fo iced over, that the horfes falling down frequently, induced us to get out of the carriage by way of lightening the draft, which fucceeded. We did not flop any where on the road, as we had not quitted Florence early in the morning. The road is praUfed over mountains, fq that it is a continual afcent and defcent. We paffed two or three mallow rivers, not dan- gerous. There are many agreeable views of the country from thefe mountains, oicqa/- t-ff f ' fioned by the irregularity of their fituation. They feem to inlerfect each other, and ftrikc the eye with a pleafmg variety of tints, fome being covered with vines, others with olives, and others are ploughed ; now and N 3 then I 182 ] then a wild uncultivated mountain forms a beautiful contraft. Four poft-horfes were not fufficient for mofl part of the road, fo we were fre- quently obliged to have fix. To-morrow we are to reach Radicofani, and to pafs the night there. This town appears to confift of ruined palaces and very wretched houfes for poor people, if we may be allowed to judge from only paffing through it. If you fliould meet with any body going to Florence, do not forget to recommend the Vaninis. We had no difpute at part- ing, and they have behaved fo as not only to merit the character of honeft, but even fomething more than what is ufually meant by that word ; theirs is an honourable ho- nefty, a rare quality in holts. I think we fhaU have no reafon to complain of the people who keep this inn ; they are women, and feem much humanized and Jervzable. I break off this letter, as a tolerable fupper }s juft fcrved, and I am a little fatigued . , with with the day's journey. No poft quits Sienna to-night for France, fo I fhall take this letter with me, and continue it as I fee occafion. Sienna is five pofts from Flo- rence. Radicofani, the 3 1 ft of December. Here we are, and lodged in a palace, which whilom was the delightful fpot fixed upon for a repofe from the chace, for princes : but what a palace I oh that it was but an Englifh ftable ! Here is room enough to lodge the King of Pruffia's Pandours and Croatians ; and I fuppofe in the envi- rons, wild boars enough to glut them. Ima- gine an extenfivey^zYf of rooms, long gal- leries and paflages, the ceilings, or rather the beams, in fuch aerian perfpective, as nearly to evade the fight ; the walls literally bare and green, from damp ; the pavement more rugged than Berkley-Square, and \ believe has not been cleaned for many years. An eternal fog conftantly enwraps this cloud-cap* d tQ t wer- ) through which the fun- N 4 beams beams rarely penetrate in his annual coorfe. At the end of the abovemeritiohed dreary wafte, or fuite of apartments, are we. A table of an enormous fize, and-which feems in a ftate of progreffion towards petrefac- tion, graces the middle of this fpacious chamber ; no power on earth I believe is equal to the tafk of moving it from its an* cient fcite. A chimney of amazing fize, japanned within and without with fmoke, (the fire won't burn, the wood being always damp here) large puffs defcending into the room, with gufts of cold wind. Two bro- ken chairs, exceffively high, and of antique fculpture in wood A mattrefs, fluffed with the refufe knots and ends of hemp, covered with fheets that are wet, and prickly like hair-cloth The blanket I fcarce dare look at it ; but when we are about lying down to fleep (if that be poflible) I mail, by the means of an enormous pair of tongs, endeavour to drag it into a corner of the room, as far as poffible from the bed by the the glimmering light of the candles, 'it ap- pears at this diftance like a map of the world feas -lakes terra firma iflands and undifcovered countries, from whofe bournes I have no intention of returning, as I do not mean to explore them In fhort, I am in fo ill a humour, fo weary, and fo hungry They make us wait for fupper moft cruelly. The winds howl in the paflages on brie fide, and are re-echoed in another tone from the other fide: a French- woman would think que le grand Diable tennoit le fabbat id pour toute lesforcieres du monde^ <& quits alloit tout arrivee en loups-garou : " but to " what purpofe complain ?' fays M '-, " there is no help for it, and you muft be " patient : it is only for one night." I am fatisfied I am on my journey to Rome, and to be fure was it worfe, Rome is an objecl: worth fuffering fomething in its purfuit ; fo, till fupper comes, and to prevent me from being afraid of fpirits, I will write on, and inform [ '86 ] inform you that the road from Sienna hither i$ in length fix pofts, the laft port exceflively bad. The grim inhabitants of the palace, who feem as if defcended from the cyclops, have juft been with us to announce the long wifhed-for approach of the fupper, which is upon its march from the kitchen. Supper is over ; it confided of a difh of eggs, which I had ordered to be boiled in the fhejl ; but, alas ! they were all rotten : then appeared an animal, which I am fure w,ou!4 have puzzled the moft ingenious au- thor, that ever wrote upon zoology to fay what fpecies of winged creature it had been. It had extended legs and wings, was black, smd appeared to have been diflocated alive ; they infifled upon its being a poulards ; had &ey aflerted it to have been a griffin, I fhould have been inclined to believe, it; fome wretched bread, of what date I know not, and fome fauce made with ftinking oil concludes the bill of fare the wine poi- fpnou? the water muddy. Good night. For [ i8? J For me, if fleep fhould kindly lend her aid, may I dream of a piece of Englifh bread and cheefe, and a draught of fmall beer. My little barbett is fo difcontented and J crofs, that fhe barks inceflantly at the howl- ing of the wind, and difdains to eat. LETTER XXXII. Viterbo, Jan. I ft. E now come clofe upon Rome, having pafled dreadful roads and frightful mountains ; but any thing is bet- ter than a repofe at Radicofani. We reached this place before night ; the laft poft here from Sienna is a good road. Two bad accidents happened laft night ; the poft-mafter, who had himfelf rode as poftillion to the Roman courier, was killed on a mountain by falling from his horfe ; and in another part of the road, the beft horfe belonging to the poft-mafter of Aqua- fendente was fwallowed in a Hough, where he , he expired, they not being able to get him out : however, bad as this road is at pre- fent, it is now better than ever it has been ; for juft before the Emperor was expected, the Pope and the King of Naples agreed to make good the roads in their refpective dominions : we are told that on the Neapo- litan fide, is .by much the beft. We pafled by the ruins of the ancient Volfium this morning, near the Bolfena : thefe veftiges are fo demolimed, that they appear like a confufed heap of ruined vaults. For many miles our road lay on the borders of the beautiful lake of Bolfena ; the water is tranfparent; it is furrounded with hills clothed with hanging woods, whofe Various tints are reflected in its tranflucent bofom. Two beautiful iflands rife from it ; one is a majeftic ruin: this ifland is about five miles from the more. They told us at Bolfena, that the lake is thirty-five miles in circumference. The foil on the fides of the road is in- corporated with a kind of burnt iron or drofs, drofs, which bears ftrongly the appearance of extinguished volcanos. The accommodation here is bad and very dear ; our fupper confifted of "a foup, the chief ingredients of which were all forts of livers and gizzards, collected from various birds, and I believe were of as various dates, failing after each other in a muddy pool, very unlike the lake of Bolfena; broiled pigeons with oil, and a friture of livers, &c. ; the foup the Barbet conde- fcended to eat of. You may be fure we are in no danger of a furfeit this night. To- morrow we fhall reach immortal Rome; it is only four pofts thither; fo good night for the prefent. Rome, Jan. 6th. Having arrived the fecond inftant too late for the French courier, I now relume my pen, this being the firft opportunity. We are lodged at Pio's Hotel, Strada della Cmce, Piazza di Spagna, are well ac- commodated, and reafonably. Our table is is ferved rather in the Englifh flyle, at lead there abounds three or four homely Englifh dimes (thanks to fome kind Englifh predc- ceflbrs who have taught them), fuch as bacon arid cabbage, boiled mutton, bread- puddings, which after they have been bbiled, are cut iri pieces, fried, and ferved with a wine fauce ftrongly fpiced, fyc. to don't think we are likely to ftarve here. You may, from the commoneft print, form a very good idea of the entrance into Rome. The town for the moft part is not paved, and the houfes in general make a wretched appearance ; i db not mean the palaces : there are many fine buildings, whofe appearance is the more furprifing, from their being furrounded with miferable habitations. The part of the town W2 are r in is by much the beft for ftrangers, and the accommodation any where elfe ex- tremely bad ; for you know one cannot occupy the palaces nor the churches, which latter abound. We "We have received the utmoft civilities from the families to whom we have pre- fented our letters of recommendation ; thofe who are moft troubled with us are the Duke and Dutchefs of Monte Libretti ; they have undertaken to Jerve us t in the polite Italian fenfe. The Duke is fon to the Princefs Paleftrine, who is now in years and infirm ; the Dutchefs, daughter to the noble Prince Barromeo of Milan 5 they were fo very obliging as to call upon us the fame day we fent our letter, and the next morning. We have been introduced by them to the Dutchefs of Bracciano, at whofe aflembly we were laft night. The Dutchefs of Bracciano is of the blood royal of France ; Ihe is efteemed not only a very fenfible woman, but alfo witty and learned : fhe is extremely polite, and pofleiTes evi- dently a great knowledge of the world. The Duke her fon is a fine young man of the firft clafs, fpeaks Englifh well, and is lively and agreeable : there was a numerous cotiver- [ '9* j converfazionc : from hence they conduced us to the ConteJJa Carpigna 1 ^ where there was alfo a brilliant aflembly : this lady has the manners to appearance of an amiable French-woman. The Cardinal of Bernis came immediately on the reception of the letter of recommendation ; he gave us the moft obliging invitation to his table and aflemblies. We go to-morrow. The 7th of Jan. at night. We have dined and pafTed the evening at Cardinal Bernis's ; his niece, Madame la MarquiJJe de Puymontbnm does the honours of the table, &c. Nothing can be more elegant than his manner of living : he has united the French refinements to the' Ro- man magnificence. There were about fifty perfons at table, confifting chiefly of cardi- nals. The ladies were Madame de Puymont- bruii) the Princefs of Santa Cruce and her mother. After dinner more company en- tered, and we were introduced to the Prin- cefs [ '93 1 cefs Altlere and a Polifh family who are ftyled Princes ; their name is Prezbendow- fky : I could think of nothing but Potto- wifky, and was going to call her fo more than once. The Cardinal of Bernis being fubject to the gout, ftarves at his own table, as he thinks living low the only means of keeping the fit off. He feeds on nothing but herbs boiled and all the juice prefled out; neither gravy, butter, fait, cream, eggs, oil, nor any kind of meat, fim, or fowl, does he ever tafte, eats very little bread, and that extremely ftale. Though he is himfelf thus fuffering famine, his dimes are of the beft kinds, the greateft variety the feafon can afford in profufion, and the beft drefled : he knows whether jcach dilh is as it ought to be by its look and fmell j and has the moft hofpitable manner imaginable ; he is extremely cheer- ful, poffeffes a great fhare of fpirits, has a brilliant wit, and ready upon the moft trifling occafions ; enjin, il eft petri de VOL. II. O fart fart dc fcavoir vwre. It is impoflible to converfe with him a quarter of an hour without being fenfible that he is a man of deep penetration, learning, a great ftatef- man, and perfectly well read in the belles lettres ; he has a noble air, though not tall, and rather inclined to corpulency j his countenance is fenfible, and changes with his thoughts ; his eyes quick and piercing, though not large ; and he is marked with the fmall-pox. I told you in this letter that we pafled part of the evening at the Dutchefs of Brac- ciano's : As we were there early, before much company was arrived, me was fo obliging as to enter into a particular con- verfation with me. We were feated ^on a fofa, when one of the gentlemen in wait- ing entered and announced il Re. As there were many rooms to pafs before thisperfon- age could appear, fhe feized that opportunity to defire me upon no account to fpeak to, or [ *95 1 o take the leaft notice of him, as it was not only what fhe infifted upon in her houfe, but that it was the Pope's defire that no ftranger, particularly Englifh, fhould hold any converfation with him. I aflured her my principles were diametri- cally oppofite to thofe of the Stuart family and their party, adding more of the like fort ; but I concluded with faying, that if he fpoke to me, I could not, as a gentle- woman, refrain from anfwering him, con- fidering hinvdnly in the light of a gentle- man, and fhould treat him as I would do any other foreigner or native, with that general civility requifite on fuch occafions; fhe ftill infifted upon my not anfwering fhould he {peak to me, with which I re- fufed to comply : I think I was right, my reafons were thcfe : I knew before, that no gentlemen of the Britifh empire make them- felves known to him, but on the contrary avoid it, except fuch as declare themfelves difaffected to the prefent royal family ; at O 3 leaft, ' [ igc J leaft, fo it is underftood at Rome. I had alfo heard that he politely avoided embar- raffing them by throwing himfelf in their way : but as I am not a man, it ftruck me as very ridiculous for me, a woman, not to reply to the Pretender if he fpoke to me, as fuch a caution would bear the appearance of pafiing myfelf for being of political con- fequence; added to thefe confiderations, I had great curiofity to fee him and hear him fpeak But to return ; he entered, and bowing very politely to the com- pany, advanced to the individual fofa on which I was placed with the Dutchefs of Bracciano, and feated himfelf by me, having previoufly made me a particular bow, which I returned with a low curtr fey ; he endeavoured to enter into conver- fation with me, which he effected by ad- drefling himfelf equally to the dutchefs, another lady, and myfelf; at laft he ad- dreffed me in particular, and afked me how many days fmce my arrival at Rome, how long [ '97 ] Long I fliould ftay, and feveral fuch que- ftions. This converfation pafled in French what diftrefled me was how to ftyle him -^-1 had but a moment for reflection ; it ftruck me that Mon Prince (though the common appellation (as in France) to every ftranger whofe rank as a prince is the moft dubious) would not come well from me, as it might admit of a double fenfe in an uncandid mind Highnefs was equally im- proper, fo I hit upon what I thought a middle courfe, and called him Mon Seigneur. I wifhed to fhorten the converfation, for all on a fudden he faid " Speak Englifh, Ma- 44 dam." Before I could reply, the Dutchefs of Monte Libretti came up, and pulled me by the fleeve ; I went with her to a card- table at which me was going to play : I declined playing, not being perfect in the games ; befides, you know I hate cards. At my departure, I took leave of the Dutchefs of fkacciano (agreeable to the cuftom) and the Chevalier*) who played at P 3 her C ber table, officioufly civil, rofe up, and Ydfhed me a good night. He is natu- rally above the middle fize, but ftoops exceffively; he appears bloated and red in the face, his countenance heavy and fleepy, which is attributed to his hav- ing given into excefs of drinking; but when a young man, he muft have been efteemed handfome. His complexion is of the fair tint, his eyes blue, his hair light brown, and the contour of his face a long oval ; he is by no means thin, has a noble prefence, and a graceful manner : his drefs was fcarlet, laced with a broad gold lace; he wears the blue ribband outfide of his coat, from which depends a cameo (an- tique) as large as the palm of my hand; and wears the fame garter and motto as thofe of the noble order of St. George in England; upon the whole, he has a me- lancholic, mortified appearance. Two gen- tlemen conftantly attend him; they are of extraction, and Roman Catholics- you may [ 1.99' 1 may be Cure. This evening, after quitting the Cardinal's, we were at the Princefs Pa- leftrine's converfazione, where he was alfo. He addrcfled me as politely as the evening before. The Princefs defired me to fit by her ; me played with him : he afked me, if I underftood the game of Tarocchl, (what they were about to play at) ; I anfwered in the negative, upon which, taking the pack in his hands, he defired to know if I had ever feen fuch odd cards : I replied, that they were very odd indeed ; he then dif- playing them faid, Here is every thing in the world to be found in thefe cards, the fun, the moon, the ftars ; and here, fays he, (mewing me a card) is the Pope ; here is the Devil, (and added) there is but one of the/r/0. wanting, and you know who that fhould be. I was fo amazed, fo aftonifhed, though he fpoke this laft in a laughing, good-hu- moured manner, that I did not know which way to look ; and as to a reply, I made none ? but avoided cultivating converjation. 04 tt [ 200 ] as much as poffible, left he fhould give our converfation a political turn. What patted afterwards was relative to fome of the Englifh manners and amufements ; fuch as, whether whift was in fafhion at London, the aflemblies numerous, Gfc. I was hear- tily glad when my vifit was finiihed. Before I clofe this letter I fhall mention St. Peter's and fome other particulars. We go from hence to-morrow or the day fol- lowing ; a quiet moment prefents itfelf, and I feize it to conclude this long letter. You have feen many prints reprefenting the out- fide of St. Peter's church, but they are all (that I have met with) on fo fmall a fcale, as to give but a very faint idea of the mag- nificent original. The piazza great court, -or approach to the church, is divided into two parts, one of which forms an oval, the other a rectangle ; the oval opens as you fee in the prints, and prefents at once a view of the church in front : this opening has a wonderful effed. The colonade which [ 201 ] which ranges on each fide, creeled on the oval plan I mentioned, forms a piazza (I ufe this word here in the fenfe it is confined to in England) covered at top ; the entabla- ture, &c. fupported by four rows of large pillars ; the whole is crowned by a balu- ftrade, on which are placed ftatues of faints, &c. I think not lefs than thirty-fix holy perfonages. There appeared to us both, at the firft fight of this cotenade, a moft ftrik- ing fault in the architecture; the pillars, which are of ftone, fhow heavy and crowd- ed. This is the more furprifing, as the defign, &c. are Bernini's ; all the ftatues and architecture we have hitherto feen of ' that mafter being univerfally too light. The floor is paved with brick, and is at prefent fo out of repair as to make walking on it dangerous. The pavement of the open place is of ftone. In the center ftands a fine Egyptian antique obelifk * of ori- ental * This obelifk (as alfo fome others at Rome) is of the molt remote Antiquity, probably from the times of the firfl Kings pf [ 202 ] Cntal granite ; it is one piece, and, as they told us, meafures feventy-four Paris feet in height; the pedeftal, and brafs crcfs at top included, give one hundred and twenty- four feet from the furface of the pavement. To the right and left of this obelifk are two moft magnificent fountains. Our Ciceroni, f while we were admiring them, gavevus an anecdote of Chriftina Queen of Sweden, up- on her firft feeing thefe fountains; after confidering them fome minutes with filent admiration, flie turned to thofe about her and faid, " Ma foi cejl affez, c'cft a/ez> que ces bons gens nefe donne pas la feine de les faire jouer d* advantage" I could not learn whether they left her Majefty in, the of Egypt, more than a thoufand years before the A (Tynans penetrated into that country : it was difcovered where the facrifty of St. Peter's now ftands, which was formerly part of the Circus of Nero. Pope Sixtus the Fifth eiefled this pbelifkj in its prefent pofition. The machines ufed for that purpofe, and the manner of raifing it up, fcfr. with a com- putation of the vaft fum expended on the occafion, have been engraved and publilhed. I think the calculation of ihe ex- pence amounts to 37975 Roman crowns. error t "3 ] error of fuppofing them playing merely for her j but I think it quite worthy the Italians to defpife her benignity upon the occafion, fo much as not to give them- felves the trouble to undeceive her. The water which fupplies thefe foun- tains has its fource in the Campagna di TrevtgnanOy Lago Sabbatino^ et Lago Brac- ciano. The rectangle immediately before the front of the church commences at the ex- tremities of the colonade. Thefe two build- ings are decorated with pilafters which join on to the church, and in the middle of each is a door. Here are two fine Mofaic pic- tures ; that to the right reprefents St. Peter and St. Paul, and was executed by Calan- dra : the fubject of the fecond is the con- verfion of St. Peter; by Pie'tro Spagna. Thefe fide-doors open into the grand por- tico of the church. The great door of entrance, which exactly fronts the middle j?f the break between the two oval colo- nades, [ 204 ] nadcs, is elevated upon a kind of terras, which you afcend by three fteps of prodi- gious breadth. This entrance is ornament- ed with the Corinthian order, crowned by an Attic; above which rifes the fuperb dome, appearing as at a confiderable dif- tance. The fteps above mentioned are of marble, compofed of the antique remains of a magnificent pyramid, called the Tomb of Romulus ; at the foot of the firft ftep are two ftatues, St. Peter and St. Paul, ^ by Mino, placed there by Pius the Second. After the fecond ftep is a kind of terras, (for I cannot call it a landing-place) where the Pope receives Emperors and Kings in pontifical ceremony, who come to vifit St. Peter's church. The front of the church is adorned with ftatues, bas reliefs, &c, which I hope you will take for granted. I think I hazard nothing in fpeaking my real fentiments in refpeft to the front in general, as nobody will difpute with me upon this occafion, an4 I know you will ikcep t 205 ] keep counfel ; to tell you the truth, there are fo many ornaments, fuch twitting and turning, fnch cutting and carving, that on.e fine thing hides another, and, to ufe a vul- gar proverb, there is no feeing the wood for trees j the noble fimplicity which mould, in my opinion, dignify fo vaft an edifice, is loft by being thus loaded and confounded in ornaments ; and may, perhaps, be not improperly compared to the appearance of a perfect beauty at a mafquerade, in the character of a Nabob's wife. On entering the church, the eye is wonderfully ftruck with the fine proportions of the ifles and chapels, whilft at the fame inftant your attention is drawn off to the vivid and brilliant colouring of the Mofaic pictures which gliften on all fides. The vaft fpace of ground this church ftands upon does not at firft ftrike the eye; but the eager curiofity to penetrate to the end of it convinced me moft feelingly, by the remonftrances of weary feet, that it occupies I 206 J occupies a plane of great extent. As to the meafurements, confult Lalande, who will, I believe, inform you with great accuracy. . When you have gained the dome, no- thing can be more beautiful than the ap- pearance on all fides ; the eye repofes on the juftnefs of the architectural propor- tions, wanders over the fine Mofaic pictures, and till this enchantment begins to lofe its force by gazing inceflantly, you feem as if fuddenly tranfplanted into another pla- net ; recovering from this trance, the ma- lignity of our difpofition begins to take place, and tempts to criticife. The canopy over the grand altar, which is of gilt bronze, fupported by twifted columns, intercepts the perfpedive view of the middle ifle, and appears (if you can guefs at my mean-* ing) too heavy and too light at the fame time; the twifted columns have wreaths bound round them, which lends a kind of fantaftic airy lightnefs to the folid and ftrong props of a vaft brafs canopy. To { 207 3 To give you fome idea of the great fize of this church, two angels which fupport the baptifmal fount appear on entering it to be about the fize of our children ; and upon a nearer approach, you are afto- nifhed at the Coloflal height and fize of thefe feeming infants, which are cbefd'au- ur hoft informing us, that if we proceeded on our journey we mould find, two pods further, a certain river that could not be crofled but at the rifk of our lives t as night would overtake us ere we reached it, and of courfe occafion us the greateft difficulties. They mewed us into a room in a kind of tower, which, compared to. Fondi, was tolerably clean, but it had the fame t 215] fame fort of flutters, and was very cold . upon lighting fome faggots, the chimney fmoked to fuch a degree, that we were glad to extinguim the fire, and rather put up with the malignity of the weather, than with that of our fuel. Our beds and pro- vifions were in the fame ftyle with thofe at Fondi. The next morning at four o'clock we quitted Mola di Gaeta, being obliged to leave a fequin as gage, and to carry a manifeflo with us, declaring that we had no other concealed contraband goods than four pair of new filk ftockings ; the manifefto was to be fhewn when we mould arrive within two miles of Naples, in or- der to avoid the delay of being fearched there alfo; but this did not avail, for our baggage was opened and tumbled about notwithstanding, though to no pur- pofe, as we had nothing feizable, except the before mentioned ftockings; I mif- take, for I had a parcel of bead work for the Dutchefs of Calabretta\ this parcel P 4 wonder- \vonderfully efcaped their obfervation ; in- deed thefe fort of commiffions are gene- rally troublefome ; I had had the precaution to wrap them up amongft my linen, which concealed them. As to the road from Rome to Naples, that part (about one half) which reaches from Rome to Terracina' i& extremely bad ; juft paft Terracina, and on the Neapolitan fide, is a dangerous ftep, the road (if I may fo exprefs rnyfelf ) ly- ing through the fea; but it is foon patted : the fea there is not very deep, though it rifes fufficiently high to be above the floor of the carriage, but the bottom is rough : from hence to Naples the road is fafe and good ; the caufe of this variety is, that when the Emperor was to travel from Rome to Naples, the Pope and his Neapo- litan Majefty agreed to mend and improve between them the roads from Rome to Naples, from confideration to him. The King of Naples' territory commences at. Terracina,. Terracina, and reaches to Naples, and pro- per orders were given, which have fuc- ceeded as to that portion of it ; but his Holinefs's orders (if any fuch there were) have not been carried into execution, which accounts for that part of St. Peter's patri- mony continuing fo much out of repair as to be barely paflable. I think it lucky that we determined to pafs the carnival here rather than at Venice ; for we are told the roads from Rome to Loretto, and fo on to Venice, are much worfe in winter than thofe we have already travelled. Be- fore I have done with the road from Rome to Naples (though your patience mould be exhaufted) I muft tell you the Drefs of the Drefs at , r T, . , Fondi. men and women or Jbondi ; the women wear no caps, their hair grows as Nature pleafes, I believe it is never combed : the population of their heads muft be abun- dant, and the different nations bear the hue of their different complexions; as reddifh in the red haired, black and yellowim in the t * ] th* fwarthy. The hair behind is formed into a quetie, with what the gardeners call baft, the filaments which compofe the coarfeft matts ; it is then twifted round at the back of the head, and a leaden fkewer, dignified by the name of a bodkin,, thruft through it ; at firft fight it appears like a great eel prepared and fattened together to be drefled in the manner called by the Englifh cooks Spitchcocking. On their backs they carry a coarfe and dirty blan- ket, which hangs down behind halfway the legs ; from before defcends its fellow, but of a fmaller fize, parting under the arms, and kindly uniting itfelf with the hindermoft. They have neither fhift, petticoats, ftockings, or ilioes, and look like fo many mad furies. The men wear a great loofe cloak, in which they wrap themfelves up to the chin ; round their legs and feet are wound ftripes of very coarfe linen, but no fhoes. In this elegant attire, both fexes fland in the ftreet converfing, et faifant faifant Pagreabk, all day long. They never work if they can avoid it; now and then, as a piece of gallantry, the men fcratch and fearch for fome of the inhabitants in their miftrefles heads. The poftilions and fer- vants of the inn were rather better clad, and had each a large gold ear-ring in one ear, with a pearl hanging to it, and rings on their fingers, made in the prefent fafhion as to fize, though the metal is generally pewter or brafs ; they are intended to imi- tate a cameo, or an intaglio, but are ex- tremely like what our fchool-boys call Dumps. But let me haften from Fondi, that I may afTure you Naples appears to be a moft charming town ; the ftreets are crowd- ed with people and brilliant equipages; the fhops filled with all forts of merchandifes ; the markets well flocked with the beft pro- vifions and in the grc ccft abundance. We arelodged in a magnificent houfe near the royal palace; our hofteis, who feems to be a yery'good-humoured, civil woman, is the 3 jftarchefe [ 220 ] Marchefe dl Grazze Riale, fhe is widow to a Spanifli Marquis, and has with her a daughter, a young girl : there is no other family in the palace. I need not inform you how it happens in thefe countries, that MarchionefTes let lodgings, and palaces- are turned into lodging-houfes. Our apart- ment, which is the firft floor, confifts of fo many rooms, that it is a journey from the ftair-cafe to the drawing-room : befide kitchen, &c. we have even a chapel and all upon the fame floor ; which laft we intend converting into an anti-chamber for our fer- vants, as it lies particularly convenient for that purpofe. We have already received many civilities from thofe to whom we had letters of recommendation ; but I am, fo weary of this long epiftle, that I fhall fay no more at prefent, than that we have loft no time to get fettled, and are already pro- vided with a very handfome glafs coach, . horfes, and coachman (a job you may fup- pofe), two footmen, a maid for me, a cook and and fcullion-boy, a hair- drefler by the month, for M 's valet de chambre cannot drefs hair. How often have we regretted the having brought him fo far ! but we are not the firft who have been deceived in fervants, and you muft certainly remember the ex- cellent character which induced M to take him. Adieu. As ever, yours, &c. LETTER XXXIV. Naples, Jan. I4th, 1771. T Wrote to you two days fmce; but do not expect letters every two days, for it will not be in my power to continue to write fo frequently. The effects produced by our recommendatory letters have been moft convenient and agreeable : the Duke and Dutchefs of Termolij with their fon and daughter, have (hewn us the greateft civi- lities. This family have been to fee us, and treat us with all the kindnefs it is poflible to expect from near relations, although they are, are, as you know, diftant ****** # , Alfo Monfieur P (who is, it feems, to go to England in a public character) called upon us, and introduced us to his family, his lifter, &c. They are all polite and civil. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have called upon us, and have done the honours of their place ; as offering feats in their box at the opera, invitation to their palace, to their concert, &c. TheDutchefs of Termoli fent one of her gentlemen with a meffage to of* fer the ufe of one of her carriages, horfes, fervants, Gfr. during our refidence here, with a very polite excufe, accounting for her not going conftantly with me herfelf to public places, aflemblies at private houfes, Gfc. from her being in waiting from four o'clock till ten ; but that as foon as it is in her power, fhe will do every kind of- fice. This meflage is badly tranflated, and has loft, like other tranflations, much of the fpirit of the original. The place this lady holds at court anfwers to our miftrefs of the robes ; robes; the Duke's place to that of high chamberlain. She, in perfon and fenfe, puts me in mind of the Dowager Countefs of T- e, is about her age and height, and has certainly been a very fine woman ; we have received from her a moft obliging invi- tation to Coffcrta^ whither the court will foon remove. We have been to the opera, which is very fine, (but I fhall mention it more particularly in another place) in Monfieur Pigniatelli's box, where we were intro- duced by his family to feveral people. The French Ambaflfador, Monfieur de Choifeul, has alfo been to fee us ; we have invitations from him to an aflembly at his palace, alfo to dine, &c. and a key to his box at the opera, which he politely offered me. We have returned our vifits, and have been in- troduced to feveral other families, amongft which are the following : the Princefs Gi- racci Grimaldi, a Genoefe ; the Princefs Po- (era and all her Family, called the Monte Le- onis, they are Sicilians ; the Marchefe Tre- vico vico and her daughter, who is married to-a grandee of Spain with fo hard a name that I cannot recoiled it ; the Dutchds of Pal ma, the Tannucci family, he is firft minifter ; and, in fhort, to fo many more, that I muft make a lift of them, for their very names are moft difficult to remember. I fear our acquaintance will increafe, fo as to become an impediment to our purfuit and examination of thofe objects which diftinguifti Naples and its neighbourhood. Though thefe foreign- ers feem to vie with each other in hofpita- lity and politenefs, yet we were extremely pleafed to find a great many Engliih here. At Mrs. Hamilton's afiembly, before the Italians came in, I could have fancied my- felf at an aflembly in London. I {hall -give you here a lift of them. ******* On being introduced into the drawing- room, I was furprifed at the appearance of two Englifh ladies, (Mrs. H and Lady H ) who were drefled as they would have been for a court-day at St. James's : it [ 835 'I it appeared, that though they had not been at St. James's, they had been at St. Car- los's ; in fhort, they had been juft prefented at court ; and I found I had come a day too late, as the ceremony of prefenting was not to be repeated till after the return of the court from CafTerta, that morning being the laft court-day. ######*####. You fee, by what I have told you, the pre- fenting muft be done at Caflerta, however uncuftomary, the etiquettes, &c. here de- mand it; and the Dutchefs of Termoli, the Tannucci family, and Pigniatelli's muft cer- tainly be proper judges. I mall not clofe this letter till I have made it more intereft- ing to you, as I am fure you wifh to know how we live, and with whom, as well as what we fee. Jan. 1 8. With the utmoft joy we have received a pacquet of letters from you. [Here follows part of this letter, which, as it relates entirely to family affairs, is omit- ted ; alfo fome anecdotes, not thought pro- per for public perufal.] VOL. II. O We We are not likely to pafs our time in a ftupid and uninterefting manner, as we Have a choice of feveral boxes at the opera, the Dutchefs of Termoli's, the Princefs Piedirnonti's, and the Dutchefs of Palma's, befides thofe I haTe already mentioned. As to engagements, they are fo numerous, and for fuch a time to come, that I know not how we fhall contrive to fulfil them all. Mrs. Hamilton's Mufical Affembly, which {he gives once a week, is rendered perfect by her elegant tafte and fine performance ; it is called an Accademia di Mufica ; and I fuppofe no country can produce a more complete band of excellent performers. I am forry this foolifh affair concerning pre- fenting at Cafferta, trifling as it is, fhould have occafioned fcf much converfation here, and, till it was fettled by the Queen her- felf, was very tirefome. All being at length adjufted, the Queen will have me prefented to her the firft Fete day at Caf- ferta ; when that is over, you mail hear all about it. We 3 We are moft agreeably fituated, having a charming profpedt from our windows, as well as a fide-view of the King's palace (a very fine building) and a triumphal arch, through which we catch a beautiful glimpfe of the fea. On the oppofite fide, the left, is a great church, and in front the magni- ficent theatre of St. Carlo, which has a communication with the royal palace. The ftreet we live in is called Strada di Toledo, it is extremely broad ; we fee along it till the perfpective almoft meets. The Mount Vefuvius bounds our view ; and this mountain is a great amufement to me at night : I never go to bed without watching and bidding it adieu from my window. It bellows like diftant thunder, and then throws out flames and red hot ftones with lava ; the appearance altogether is like that of a prodigious fire-work; the fire is feldom vifible by day, but a thick fmoke always rifes from its top. 02 The J The weather is fo warm, we fit with the windows open. All the flowers of the fpring are here in the greateft abundance, fuch as jonquils of various forts, anemones, carnations, and rofes are now juft come into feafon, and fold for a bajocha (or half- penny) each. I have already begun to pick up fome curious things, which I am fure will meet your approbation, and am in a fair way to have feveral more, although at prefent difficult to be procured, comparatively with what they were when Mr. Hamil- ton made his collection. We are endea- vouring to attain all the knowledge we can from the moft ingenious people here, and from books, in order to render ourfelves in forne degree worthy the infpe&ion of the cabinet of Portici and the town of Pompeia, on which account we have feldom been out as yet till after dinner, as I hope by my in- duftry to be able foon to accompany M in the refearches after antiquity without being being an interruption to him. Judge your- felf of the merits of the curiofities that repofe in the cabinet of Portici, when I aflure yon, upon the beft information that many of the articles of that depofitary were held in the higheft efteem by the Romans in the Auguftan age ; thefe I prefume muft be Etrufcan, Egyptian, and Grecian rarities and antiques. Adieu for the prefent, for I will not defer fending this letter to another opportunity, left you ihould be uneafy, the diftance between us being now fo confider- ably increafed. My next fhall be more en- tertaining. I am, as ever, &c. - LETTER XXXV. Jan. the zjth. HAVE been fo much engaged lately, that I am quite weary with amufements. We have been at a Fefe, given by the Prin- cefs Potera to about two hundred people. Their palace is fpacious, confequently its grand apartment fufficiently large for the ac- i comraodation of fo many guefts. Every thing was concluded with the greateft order. The company a feledion from amongft the prin^ cipal nobility of Naples. Moft of the Eng- lifh ftrangers were of it alfo. One room was for the ball, another for cards, a third for refremments, a fourth for fupper, be- fides the antichambers leading to thefe four, which were well illuminated and lined with attendants. Englifti country- dances lafted almoft the whole evening, and but few minuets, none but thofe who excelled attempting this dance. How hapr py would it be for the fitters-by if this rule was a Perfian and Medean law at certain balls in England. The fupper was very agreeably managed in my opi- nion; it was ready at twelve, and any party that chofe it went together and flipped y it was then removed, and the table again covered, and fo continued to be till three in. the morning. This family pro- pofe giving the fame fort of Fete once every week during the Carnaval. The moft arm- able manners adorn each individual of their princely houfe. The young P rincepeffma, their daughter, is handfome and well-bred enough to grace a Britifh drawing-room. We have alfo been at the Princefs Gi- racci's aflemblies, which are extremely ele- gant, and the company as numerous as at any in London. Thofe we know live fo much in the fame ftyle and the fame fociety, that by defcribing one you may form a judgment of all the others ; fo I fhall pro- ceed to give you the hiftory of our day at CafTerta. This fuperb palace is not yet completed, but will certainly be fmifhed in a fhorter time than is imagined, if they continue to work upon it as they do at pre- fent. I fhall only defcribe to you the apart- ments we faw and the theatre. We had an invitation from the Duke and Dutchefs of Termoli to dine with them, and they gave us a magnificent entertainment, tho* their houfe at Caflerta is but fmall, being amongft many other temporary build- ings, ings, contiguous to the palace, for the ac- commodation of the officers of the court, until the palace, its pavilion, &c. are com- pleted. They received us in the mofl friendly and hofpitable manner, and were much mortified at not having it in their power to offer us an apartment during the time the court fhould refide there, but were themfelves fo crowded, as to be obliged to have double beds in all their bedchambers. At half an hour after five in the afternoon Mrs. Hamilton called upon me to go to the theatre according to agreement ***** ****** * * x * * # In confequence of a melTage from the Queen, I then went with Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton into the box of the prime mi- nifter, from whence her Majefty fent. The Queen received me mod gracioufly, I may venture to fay with a courtly familia- rity, as if I had had the honour of being known to her before. Amongft many things fhe was pleafed to fay (a great part of [ 233 ] of which I did not clearly underftand, as fhe fpeaks but indifferent French and but little Italian) fhe wifhed me to tell her fin- cerely how I liked Italy, how I liked France, and whether I knew her fifter the Dau- |)hine, and how I liked her ; the fame in- quiry in regard to the Infanta of Parma, another of her Majefty's fitters ; whether I had been at Vienna, or intended to go thither. The conclufion of the converfation was many civil things, and many kind wiflies for my being pleafed at the Fetes of Caflerta, where fhe was fo good as to fay fhe hoped I would come conftantly ; me then defired me to accompany her into the pit, and to dance, &c. The company pre- fent in the box, befide Mr. and Mrs. Ha- milton, were the Dutchefs of Termoli and her daughter, the Tannucci family, the Dutchefs of Palma, the Prince St. Omaro, a'nd fome lords of the chamber. The Ita- lian ladies I have mentioned are the prin- cipal favourites and intimates of the Queen,, Her f 234 ] Her Majefty is a beautiful woman, fhe has the fined and moft tranfparent complexion I ever faw ; her hair is of that glofly light chefnut I fo much admire ; it is by no means red; her eyes are large, brilliant, and of a dark blue, her eyebrows exact, and darker than her hair, her nofe inclining to the aquiline, her mouth fmall, her lips very red (not of the Auftrian thicknefs) her teeth beautifully white and even, and when fhe fmiles fhe difcovers two dimples, which give a {miming fweetnefs to her whole countenance : her fhape is perfect ; fhe is juft plump enough not to appear lean; her neck is long, her deportment perfectly eafy, her walk majeflic, her attitudes and action graceful : fhe is a beauty fo much to my tafte, that I muft fay no more of her per- fon, &c. left fhe mould fill up too much of my paper. As foon as her Majefty, <&c. were come into the pit, the Queen immediately danced a minuet, and to the higheft perfection ; both I 235 ] both their Majefties were drefied en Savot* arJe, the fluff was ftriped fattin. Neither gold, filver, jewels, lace, or embroidery are permitted to be wore at thefe Fetes. At the time I was prefenting, the Queen and all the company in the box were un- maiked ; but when her Majefty defcended into the ball-room (the pit) fhe entered mafked, as did the others. A fmall black mafk which covers half the face is what every body muft wear. There is no precedence obferved at thefe balls ; the King and Queen go in and out promifcuoufly, which is the reafon why the company is not fo numerous as one might expect to find it. None but fuch as the Queen efteems proper to receive and con- verfe with fans ceremonie are ever admitted ; and there are many of the Neapolitan no- bility, even to the rank of dukes, who are allowed only to fee the ball from the upper boxes. Do not expec~t a defcription of the Ring's perfon, fuffice it to fay, he is not A r 236 j Jo handfome as his Queen. Any of the company may dance at the fame time with their Majefties. There are three or four fets of Englifh country- dances, arid when the Queen is tired of them, minuets are danced, as many as can be at the fame time. The Queen calls out thofe me choofes to dance with ; me did M the honour to order him more than once that night to dance with her,. His Majefty is not fond of this amufement ; however, he danced a country-dance in a fet he commanded, con- fifting of men only, that he might, I fup- pofe, dance as high and as violently as he pleafed ; but he met with one young Eng- lifhman who was more than his match, the Lord L , who gave him fuch a twirl in return, as both furprifed and pleafed his Majefty. ~')b I {hall next give you, as well as I am able, a pifture of the theatre, before you par- take of our fupper. The [ 237 ] The theatre is in the palace; it is ap- proached through fpacious courts, and then through large paflages lined with a double row of guards under arms. The plan is circular, the proccenium appeared to me to cut off about a third from the circle ; the boxes are larger than thofe in any other I have yet feen ; they are lined, gilt, and de- corated with a profufion of ornaments. The gilding of the decorations of the whole of the theatre is fo uncommonly bright, that I think the higheft polifhed folid gold could not furpafs it. The friezes, cornices, pediments, &c. are of a beautiful tranfpa- rent marble, refembling a mixture of agate and oriental alabafter ; the pillars fuftain- ing thefe ornaments are of the moft exact proportions and of the fame materials j the ftage is finely decorated, and fo well painted in perfpective, as almoft to produce a de- ception ; the back fcene being down, and thofe of the fides reprefenting columns, jyc. the appearance given is that of the infide of of a vaft faloon. The ftage was covered with the muficians upon benches, rifing pyramklically one above the other, the top of the pyramid is crowned by the kettle-drums. The muficians are all in a livery, their coats blue, richly laced, their waiftcoats red, and almoft covered with filver, fmall black hats, with long fcarlet feathers ftuck upright in them: large wax candles are placed be- tween, fo that they form a ftriking coup- d'oeil upon your entering the theatre : the whole is fo artfully illuminated, that the effect is equal, and feems as if the light proceeded from a brilliant fun at the top. I imagine this may be accounted for from the reflection of the lights by the high po- lifhed marble pillars and other ornaments, into which the light feems even to pierce. The pit (which is more like an antique arena) is floored with a compofition co- loured red, very hard, and rather flippery ; here it is they dance. The boxes are ap- propriated to the foreign minifters and great officers [ 239 ] officers belonging to the court. At twelve, the Queen unmafks, as do all the company in the fame moment : they then adjourn to fupper, thofe who happen t be near the door going out firft, <&c thus it may hap- pen, that their Majefties may be laft, fo completely is the etiquette annihilated here. When the Queen is near the door, all the courtiers crowd about her on their knees to kifs her hands, which me lends on each fide in the moft gracious manner. After mounting a ftaircafe, you enter fe- veral large rooms, hung and adorned in the Italian tafte with crimfon damafk, velvet, 6'^. and amply illuminated. The chairs are placed all round againft the walls, and each fits down where they choofe. Thefe rooms were fo full, that there was a double row of chairs placed back to back down the middle. Accident placed me exadly op- pofite the Queen, who took the firft chair me found empty. There are no tables in any of the rooms ; but every perfon being feated, t 240 ] feated, the fupper is ferved thus : The beft looking foldiers, chofen from the King's guards, carry about the fupper with as much order, regularity, and gravity, as if they were performing a military manoeuvre. Firft appears a foldier bearing a large baf- ket with napkins, followed by a page, who unfolds and fpreads them on the lap of each of the company as they happen to fit ; but when it comes to the Queen's turn to be ferved, a lord of the court prelents her Majefty's napkin. The firft foldier is immediately followed by a fecond, bearing a bafket of filver plates ; another carries knives and forks ; then follows a fourth, with a great pattee^ compofed of macaroni, cheefe, and butter ; he is accompanied by an ecuyer trenchant (or carver), armed with a knife a foot long, who cuts the pie, and lays a large flice on the plate (which has been placed on the lap of each of the company); then a fifth foldier, with an empty bafket, to take away the dirty plates: others [ ML] others fucceed in the fame order, carrying wines, iced water, &c. ; the drinkables are ferved between the arrival of each eatable : the reft of the fupper confifted of various dimes of fifh, ragouts, game, fried and baked meats, perigord-pies, boars-heads, &c. The defert was formed into pyra- mids, and carried round in the fame man- ner; it confifted of fweetmeats, bifcuits, iced-chocolate, and a great variety of iced- fruits, creams, &c. The Queen eat of two things only, which were prepared particu- larly for her by her German cooks ; (he did me the fingular honour to fend me fome of each dim. As foon as the Queen perceived that all the company had fupped, me arofe, and pro- ceeded to the coffee-room, as did thofe of the company who chofe coffeeThis room is fur* nifhed like the coffee-houfes of Paris pre- cifely ; the walls covered with fhelves, on which are placed all kinds of liqueurs and Greek wines. Here are tables, behind VOL. II. R which I 242 ] which ftand young men in white waiftcoats and caps, who make and ferve the coffee and other refrefhments, of which there is a profufion. The Queen was moft gra- cious to me, and diftreflfed me by her good- nefs ; for there being a great crowd, and finding a chair empty, I fat down upon it, when turning my head, I perceived her Majefty clofe to me : I arofe ; fhe took hold of me and obliged me to fit down ; and having a diih of coffee in my hand, it was with the utmoft difficulty I could prevent the contents of it from falling upon her clothes. 1 have often obferved that Princes are exceedingly fudden in their motions. She was fo gracious as to com- mence a converfation ; but quickly per- ceived how much fhe embarrafTed me by her commands, as I was fitting and her Majefty ftanding clofe to me, fhe mofl kindly relieved me, by giving me an oppor- tunity of rifing, pretending fhe wanted fomething. The [ 243 J The ball lafted till feven in the morning; we quitted it at four, being much fa- tigued with dancing. I was determined to follow the example of the Italian ladies in one inftance, that of drinking iced water and iced lemonade when very warm ; and what is furprifing, fo far from feeling any bad effecl:, I found myfelf confiderably relieved from my fatigue, and not the leaft chillinefs fucceed. We returned back to Naples without any accident, and flept pro- foundly for ten hours. We are invited to a grand Bal Pares at the French ambafla- dor^s, Monf. de Choifeul's, and to a fecond) at the Princefs Potero's. I -(hall conclude this letter when I have informed you that this city is famous for a manufacture in tortoife-fhell, which they inlay curioufly with gold, and are very in- genious at reprefenting any object you choofe. I have had a comb made for my chignion incrufted with gold, to imitate an Etrufcan border, copied from an antique vafe, which is fo well done, that we have R 2 befpoke [ =44 ] befpoke feveral other articles : you are not forgot ; I fhall fend you * * * * by the firft opportunity, with fome other trifles. I believe I forgot to mention, that no gold or filver fluffs, jewels, or lace, are per- mitted to be worn at the Fetes of Cafferta. If I have already faid it, I am forry to re- peat ; but I am fo tired of my own letter, that 1 cannot read it over again ; therefore excufe my double information, if fuch it is, and adieu, 6^. Jan. 28, 1771. Though I had concluded my letter, I have yet fomething to add concerning the Fetes at Cafferta : there are fuch precau- tions taken by the court to prevent impro- per people gaining admittance, that the tickets have the royal arms engraved on them, and fome private marks, alfo the per- fon's name they are to admit wrote on them ; and thefe tickets are received at the pit door by the lord of the court who hap- pens to be in waiting during thefe Fetes. t 245 J LETTER XXXVI. Feb. gth, 1771. I SIT down to write you a long epiftle, having received your laft, which I ought to have had fooner ; but the arrival of the ports are here extremely uncertain; that from France comes fometimes by fea, fome- times by land, fo that you cannot know when to expect it with any degree of cer- tainty. ******** * In return for the horrible murder of which you give an account, I fend you another, which happened juft at the door of this houfe two nights fmce. About feven in the evening (when unluckily we were at home) we heard a fort of confufed noife, which though not loud, alarmed me. I rung and called, at length fome of the fervants came to me. They faid, the noife I had heard, proceeded from a little buflle in R 3 the t the ftreet A man who fold lemonade and iced water to the Lazzeroni, and who kept a ftalljuft by the door, having had fome difpute with his younger brother, had ftab- bed him with a knife, of which he inHantly expired. The murdered lajd was only fif- teen years old : the murderer immediately abfconded, none interpofed to prevent either the murder or the efcape. The body remained in the ftall till the next day, when it was removed. Our hoftefs fent the mother of thefe fons a regale of maccaroni foup and a pot of chocolate, by way of confolatiori for her lofs ; and I fuppofe fhe was com- forted, as the affair made no noife, nor have we been able to learn that any thing has been done in it fmce. Thefe poor people's lives and prefervation would be a very dull and vulgar topic of converfation for the polite nobkjfe of this country. What a country is England, where neither mac- caroni foup or chocolate would fuffice to comfort a widowed mother for the loft [ 247 ] lofs of a fon ! There would be no time for the Siefta, nor for gallantry, were the mur- ders of Lazzeronis and fuch fort of people to occupy the attention of the Neapolitan public. There is a public entertainment for the people, which the great condefcend to be- hold with no fmall degree of pleafure ; it is called the Coeagna : I prefume the Vena- tio direptionisi mentioned by Kennet in his Antiquities, is the origin of this amufe- ment. This fport is continued once a-week during the Carnival. Oppofite the palace, a building of wood is erected, the greater part of which is covered over with different arti- cles of provifion ; the fcenery is varied every week ; the defcription of one will give you a fufficient idea of the others. A hill ap- pears exactly oppofite the palace, from the center of which burfts forth a fountain, and faUs into a bafon at its foot ; the bafe re- prefents incruftation& of rocks and fhells like grotto- work ; fuch is the appearance R 4 from from the windows of the palace ; but this grotto- work is compofed of nothing elfe than dried fifh varnimed and gilt, and intermixed with loaves cf bread fo well placed as to deceive the eye. On the fides of the hill (which is covered with green boughs), appear living lambs or- namented with ribands and artificial flow- ers ; in another part are calves and fome oxen : amongft the boughs geefe and pi- geons are nailed fail by the wings. On the top (lands a figure of Apollo playing on the lyre. Formerly all the creatures were placed here alive, and tied faft to the wood- work ; but now, by this amiable Queen's particular command, the ox.en are killed before the fport begins. The guards are drawn out round this artificial hill to pre- vent mifchief ; and at a fignal given, the mob fall on, deftroy the building, carry off whatever they can lay hold of, and fight with each other, till generally fome fatal accident enfues. The court are frequently in the balconies of the palace, with moft of the [ 2 49 1 the nobility of Naples, to fee the Oocagna. When the Queen firft faw this barbarous amufement, fhe was fhocked at the cruelty of tearing the wretched animals to pieces, whofe cries reached the palace, and com- manded, as I have already faid, that the cattle fhould not be expofed alive to the bru- tality of the populace ; but the lambs, geefe, pigeons, and fome other poor birds, fall a living facrifice to their amufement : they tear them away unfeelingly from their faft- enings, fo as often to leave their wings be- hind. We have been to fee this fight, as you know ftrangers fhould not neglecl: any opportunity of attending to whatever is new to them ; and we faw it in the moft complete manner, being permitted to oc- cupy one of the royal balconies. In the midft of the riot and confufion, a Lazzeroni dropped, and was carried off by his com- rades; he had received a ftab in the breaft by a knife from one of his brethren, who difputed with him fomewhat taken off from the t the Cocagna. As fuch events are common upon this occafion, no notice was taken of it ; but the man died on the fpot. This atnufement was fo far from proving fuch to us, that I believe our curiofity will never again induce us to partake of it : for my part, I was fo lick in the flomach, that all eatables went exceedingly againft me ; and it was with difficulty that I could fit down to table at my return. Were it poffible to be infenfible to the cruelty connected with this Fete, the inge- nuity of the contrivance and workmanfhip with which the Cocagna, &c, is conftrucled, would excite admiration. A great deal of tafte is difplayed in varying the fcene every week. The architects are no other than the Lazzeroni themfelves : fometimes they reprefent Mount Parnaffus, at other times Orpheus charming the brutes by his har- mony* varying thefe by reprefentations of other fables taken from the heathen mytho- logy. It is furprifing how thefe poor people t people can have acquired any knowledge of this nature. Since I wrote laft \ve have feen the cabi- net of Portici, or Mufeum, Pompeia, and what remains open of Herculaneum. Pom- Pompeia, peia is fituated eaft of Naples ; the road thither, lies along the fea-coaft, and is extremely good ; the country the whole way is rich and well cultivated. We pafled through two villages, one is called San Giowmi Te- ducioj the other Pietra Bianca. The di- ftance from Naples to Portici is fix mi-leg, Portid; which is a large village, and well built. The palace was erected by Don Carlos. Was there nothing befide the Cabinet of Portici and Pompeia curious or worth fee- ing in Italy, I think they would greatly overpay the traveller for all the inconve- niencies he muft have fufrered from bad roads, inns, &c. if ftill more miferable than what we have experienced, and that that fuppofition was within the limits of pofli- J)ility. Befides t Befides the theatre, little remains open of Herculaneum at prefent. To fave the expence of moving the earth or lava to a diftance, when they had made an excava- tion, and collected whatever they could find that was curious, they opened another quar- ter, filling up the firil with its rubbifh, and fo on : all thefe curiofities were depofited as foon as found in the Cabinet of Portici. Cabinet The Cabinet of Portici, as it is here called, joins on to the palace, and is, pro- perly fpeaking, part of that building. It contains feveral rooms filled with antiquities. There is a work published by order of go- vernment, which is already increafed to feven or eight large folio volumes, embel- liflied with engravings reprefenting the va- rious articles in this collection ; but it is not yet near completed, on which account no perfon who vifits this cabinet is permitted to take any {ketch, note, or memowmdum upon the fpot ; fome few things, however, from memory I mail mention in this letter. Aa As to the above voluminous work, I have not time to examine it minutely ; but hope when wefhall be returned home, and that it is completed, for an opportunity of look- ing into it at leifure. To give you fome idea of this valuable collection, I (hall mention what appeared to me moft interefting, as they occur to my memory. The palace of Portici cannot boaft of Palace, beautiful architecture. On entering the veftibule, the antique equeftrian ftatue of Marcus Nonius Balbus the fon is placed on the right, and is protected by a great glazed cafe. Balbus appears by this ftatue to have been about ten years old; than you can find in any modern kitchen. One of thefe rooms is built ar.d fur- niihed in exact conformity with a kitchen which was difcovered j it contains a number of articles, many fo complicated, that their ufe does not clearly appear ; each veiTel is of bronze, and of fine workmanfliip : upon the whole, it feems indifputable that the ancients [ a6i ] ancients employed more refinements in their entertainments than the moderns, and muft have ferved up a much greater variety of dimes than we do. The dreiTers, ftew- holes, ftoves, boilers, fifh-kettles, &c. re- femble ours, though they feem to have been better contrived. The lamps to light the apartments, and the canddabres to fuf- tain them, mew a furprifing fertility of genius ; fcarcely any two lamps are alike, amongft fome hundreds of them. Here are alfo tunable bells of different fizes for their cattle, refembling thofe in Eng- land called tintanabula ; alfo keys, letters to ftainp with, perhaps to mark linen, <&c. inftruments of agriculture, chirurgery, and mathematics, &c. Another article for cu- linary ufe, which would be very convenient and agreeable in England is, a kind of portable kitchen, which does not exceed the fize of a commodious plate-warmer ; in the center is a vafe for water, under it a furnace for fire, with an invention for S 3 broiling [ 262 } broiling meat at the fame time that it heats the water ; this vafe has a double bottom and three little fleus, or chimneys, for carrying off the fmoke ; the double bottom admits of ftewing any thing in. the manner called by the French a la braife. This would be g. moft convenient machine for the ufe of thofe who like to eat in parks or gar- dens : cups and faucers in filver, of fupe- rior fculpture to any I have ever feen, and refembling in make thofe now ufed for tea and coffee; they have handles, fo curioufly contrived as to balance them, and prevent their overturning, however carelefsly held when full * : bafkets for deferts in metal; many veflels gilt and filvered. I intended to have been .fhort upon thefe matters, in order to proceed to more extenfive objects than domeftic uten- fils, &c. ; but I muft and will tell you, that here are two loaves of bread en* * It is thought the ancients afed theft for warm water, which they drank as we do tea and. coffee. I 163 ] tire, marked with thefe words, Segitto e Granii, E. Cicire; alfo feveral kinds of corn, nuts, eggs, almonds, figs, dates, oil quite dry and hard ; jars of wine, which, though black, hard, and looking like pitch, ftill retain a fine fmell ; they are dated, and marked Herculaneum. A piece of purple fluff folded, which when touched, falls to powder, and a great quantity of fewing filk of the fame rich dye. I was cautioned againft touching it by the perfon who fhews the collection, but placing my finger on it fuddenly, it took a fufficient impreflion to prove the effect to be as above men- tioned. I wifhed to have been permitted to rub my finger (as a little remained on it) upon a piece of paper, juft to bring with me an idea of the colour; but befides a (harp, though civil reprimand, for my curiofity, he infifted peremptorily on my not carrying off an atom ; u for," faid he, " it is a curiofity no monarch upon S 4 earth earth can boaft the pofleffion of, befides my mailer, the King of Naples.'' The inftruments of mufick I particularly obferved are the following; the feringa, or flute of feveral tubes, formed of bone, and which you frequently fee as the infig- nia in painting, if not always, accompa- nying~lhe god Pan and the Satyrs : the Crotalii thefe are like bafons, or deep faucers with broad brims ; they were ftruck againft each other, and are of brafs. The Siftrum^ in ihape like a horfe-fhoe, crofled by feveral wires paffing through holes, and fo made as to admit their flipping from fide to fide; twhen this instrument is waved by the hand, the wires produce a loud noife: the Tibix* pr double flute ; this is made of metal. I fuppofe you are ftruck with an idea of the jieceflity the ancients had for more ca- pacious mouths than the moderns ; but I conjecture there muft have been feme kind pf reed, which communicated with the ends of f)f thcfe pipes or mouth-piece, through which the breath might with eafe be conveyed. The tripods^ and all the inftruments for facrifice, are of furpriiing neatnefs and elegance ; their borders exceed the goudronee of any plate I ever faw. In the armoury are many fhields, iron boots, fpears, 6?r. on the firft are hiftorical reprcfentations in has relief; the fubjects of thofe I remember are, Sinon taken prifoner appearing before Priam; CafTandra about to be afTaffinated ; Pyrrhus going to kill Priam ; Helen reftored to Me- nelaus ; Eneas bearing Anchifes, Creufa holds by one of his arms, Acchates by the other ; a Pallas upon a pedeftal ; various tools, and inftruments of iron havefuffered conficlerably by the fire ; but the bronze is in perfect confervation ; fiming-nets and hooks (of various conftru&ion) ftill en- tire, though blackened ; dice loaded, for the purpofes of cheating, I fuppofe; feve- ral compaffes of proportion ; a fmall ivory fkull, admirably well done and hollow with- in; [ 266 ] in; glafs jars, like thofe now ufed for pickles ; goblets, phials, bowls, a box in the form of a book, containing what ap- pears to have been an ointment ; ink-horns of a cylindrical fhape; wooden pens, one in particular inclofed in a very fmall neat box with a Hiding cover; both box and pen are made of a brown wood highly polifhed and exquifitely fmifhed. The ink in the cylinders is ftill black, quite dry, and fome of it in powder: tablets with hollows for the wax, but thefe are empty, as you may imagine : the ftylus ; one fort is pointed at one end and flat at the other, evidently to erafe, or rather fmooth over, fill up, or correct what had been errone- oufly wrote with the {harp end ; M recollects a paffage in Horace which ex- plains this ufe of them, S invented a moft curious method method of opening them by degrees, fo aS to be able to arrive at a poffibility of read- ing them. Afcholar of his, Vicenzio Merli^ is now at work upon them ; but the man- ner is fo laborious and tedious, and the en- couragement fo fmall, that it is probable the world may wait long for inftruction or entertainment from his labours ; he is al- lowed only fix ducats a month. The firft roll that was opened proved to be a tract of philofophy by Epicurus; the fecond treated of morality ; the third againft mufick, for which reafon I would have it condemned a fecond time to the flames; the fubjed: of the fourth is rhetoric. It is computed that there may be about eight hundred of thefe volumes or rolls in this library, all which are arranged with great 6rder in glazed repofitories ; they were found in book-cafes, part of the mouldings remain* and are fhewn, not unlike many now in life amongft us. The collection of antique paintings found at Herculaneum, painted VOL. II, t Oh [ 274 ] on the walls, are conferved with the great- eft care in glafs-cafes fitted to their fize and fhape. The pieces were fawed out with the utmoft attention, having been previoufly fecured from breaking, by frames of wood exactly of their fize, con- trived to hold them tight, and prevent the plaifter from cracking in detaching them from the walls. Thefe paintings are done in what artifts ftyle diftemper. The glow of the colouring, which had been pre- ferved for more than 1600 years, fuffered much upon being expofed to the air, and a kind of whitim powder formed itfelf upon them : as a remedy for this accident, a Sicilian, named Moriconi, undertook to varnim them; this fucceeded in fome re- fpects, but a new misfortune followed ; for the varnim fretting the colours, which had been laid on with fome kind of gum, great pieces fhell'd off; fo that many of the pic- tures have been much damaged, others quite fpoiled. The large ones among them are 2 but but few in number : one of thefe reprefents a Thefeus; he is of a gigantic fize, when com- pared with the other figures in the group. His clothing is a piece of drapery wrapped round his left fhoulder and arm; he holds a club or mace in his right hand ; and on one of his fingers is a ring. Three young Athe- nians are acknowledging the heroic victory he has gained over the Minotaur; one kifles his hand, another takes him by the arm which bears the club, and the third is pro- ftrate at his feet ; a young girl who feema that moment to have joined them, lays her hand on the mace in an expremve manne^ and appears to congratulate him on the fame occafion. Another perfonage belongs to the group* but is too much effaced to admit of forming any judgment what it would reprefent. The Minotaur lies extended on the fore-ground : he bears the figure of a man with a bull's head ; one of his hands grafps his horns ; the ftomach and fhoul- ders appear much torn and wounded by the T 2 blows I 276 ] blows received from Thefeus's mace. At the top of the picture, appears a goddefs in a cloud, leaning forward ; no more is difcoverable of her than her head and arms : one of her hands holds a bow, the other an arrow. The fide of the picture where the entrance of the labyrinth was painted, is fo mutilated as to be nearly in- diftinct. The colours are lively in this piece; the figure of Thefeus noble, but not fufficiently fpirited : the young man who is proftrate, is animated and correct : the drawing is good, but the whole fails in point of clalr obfcure. This piece and the next are curved; they were found in two niches of the forum at Hercula- neum. The fecond is believed by the vir- tuofi to reprefent Telephus fon of Her- cules ; he is fucking a goat, who, mean while, kindly licks his thigh ; a winged divinity, crowned with laurels, holds in one hand ears of corn, and with the other points to the Infant. Hercules is pre- fent [ 877 ] lent alfo, and leaning on his club, fixes his eyes on the child : on one fide of Hercu- les is a lion, on the other an eagle : the goddefs Flora is feated oppofite to him, and behind her appears the god Pan. The compofition of this picture is good, the at- titudes full of expreffion; Flora is well draped, the child, however, is particularly incorrect in the drawing, and the lion and eagle but ill done. Another picture, full as large as life, re- prefents Chiron teaching Achilles to play on the lyre ; this painting pleafes me much ; the figure of Achilles is that of the moft noble and graceful nature ; the colouring is warm, of a yellowiih caft, the degradation of the fhades to the lights finely obferved ; and the whole of the drawing, though not perfectly correct, yet in an eafy, natural ftyle. Alfo two other pictures of the large fize ; one reprefents the difcovery of Oreftes, by Iphigenia in Taurisj the other, Orefles and Pylades taken prifoners and .in T 3 chams; chains ; but I have not time to enter into any particulars in regard to thefe, as I muft mention fome of the fmall pieces. A rnongft thefe a Faun and a Bacchante, both very drunk; there is great life and ipirit in this piclure. Near the Bacchante lies a Cymbal and a Thirfus, adorned with a tuft of ivy fattened on by a red ribbon. A painting where two young girls feem dancing an Alkmande : the movement of their arms is good, but the drapery forms too great a confufion of plaits. Here are feveral other pictures reprefenting dan- cing girls in very graceful attitudes, and all have beautiful faces. A reprefenta- tion of five Greek women, with their names; they are playing with knuckle- bones, as fchool-boys do at this day : four Dwarfs : a Concert ; the man whq blows the tibia has a machine tied round his head, which receives the two extremities of the mufical inftrument. A woman at her toi- lette, her maid dreffing her hair. Pictures of [ 2 79 ] of Etrufcan priefts ; they have two horns fpringing from their foreheads ; one of them is feen facrificing to a peacock perched on a column, adorned with garlands of flowers. A Venus, a veil in one hand, and in the other fomething like a kind of fan. Ariadne forfaken, a Cupid weeping: this is well done. Ariadne and Bacchus. A Cupid holding a Chinefe umbrella. The Judg- ment of Paris. An Olive Branch, fo well done as to deceive. Three women finely draped. A converfation-piece, very in- terefting. A Bacchante riding upon a Cen- taur, her hair difhevelled and blown about by the wind; what little drapery me wears (in the fwiftnefs of her progrefs) me feems almoft to leave behind her ; her back is unco- vered, and the anatomy well executed : her attitude is extraordinary, me rides with one knee on his back, and with the heel of the other leg kicks him on the flank ; one hand grafps him by the hair, the other bears a Thirfus, with which fhe encourages his T 4 fpeed : t 280 j fpeed : it is one of the moft animated pic? tures that can be imagined. The back- ground of almoft all the fmall pictures is of a kind of redifh. brown. Several fmalL paintings reprefenting children, many of them winged like Cupids, and varioufly employed, fome playing on inftruments of mufick, others bufied in the cares of the vintage, fee. animals, chiefly tigers, pea- cocks, ducks, cocks, and hens, quails, fift, fee. . Fruits, as grapes, figs, dates ; the grapes very tolerably done. Many ornaments, called arabesques, which are curioufly drawn and intricate. Alfo feveral landfkapes and buildings ; thefe fail in keeping. It does, not appear that perfpettive was well under- {lood at Herculaneum. In the architecture there is a ftrange mix- ture of the Gothic and Chinefe tafte ; and fome views in particular of country-houfes or villas, fituated on the margin of the fea (prpbably at Baja) where there appears Chinefq Chinefe ornaments, fuch as pales, bridges, temples, fifc. reprefented as belonging to the gardens. That thefe people fhould have any knowledge of the Chinefe an4 their gardens, ornaments, Gfc. is furprifmg. I obferved one reprefentation of a Chinefe temple built on piles over a piece of water, and open on all fides. Amongft many ea- rn ic reprefentations inclofed in arabefque borders, I remarked that of rope-dancing, where the tight rope is placed and fuftained exactly in the fame manner as practifed in England at this day, and the dancers dreffed as in London, except a fmall difference in the decoration of the head, thbfe of anti- quity wearing a pointed cap ; in other re- fpects the variation from the prefent mode is inconfiderable. Caricature was not unknown to them, but this kind of attalantls wants a key. There are many perfonages reprefented with the heads of various animals, which bear ftrong marks of having been intended for por- traits ; [ 562 ] traits ; even hiftorical events did not efcape the filent ridicule of the fatyrical painter : the pious Eneas is reprefented in a ludi- crous manner, and many other heroes in mafquerade, with horns, hoofs, tails, long ears, &c. &c. Lord T might improve his talent confiderably, by taking a trip to Portici. ********** Obferve I have not dwelt half as long as I might have done upon this cabinet of curiofities, for fuch indeed it is ; but my time and memory both fail me, it being with the utmoft difficulty I contrived to take a few notes in my pocket-book, without being obferved ; for inftance, I had like to have forgot one of the fmeft vafes in the world ; it is of Parian marble, and was found at Pompeia : a feaft of Bacchus is reprefented on its fides in bas relief - t it is extremely large and moft beautifully proportioned. I wifh his Neapolitan Majefty would lend us an apartment in this fame palace for one fummer, and permit us to rummage his collection ; collection; though I don't know how I fhould be able to refift the temptation of purloining fome fmall articles ; fuch an op- portunity would put my honefty to the proof. The part of the palace occupied by the court is nobly furnifhed, and confifts of magnificent apartments for a fiimmer or country refidence. The floors are all of them paved with antique tnofaic, Grecian and Roman. La Camera dl P or cell an* is lined with pannels of China ware, I fhould fay porcelain, I fuppofe, as it does not come from China, but is the manufac- ture of Capo di Monte ; thefe pannels are moveable. Here are feveral fine tables of marble, two in particular of 'v-erd antique \ alfo fome good pictures. The fruit-pieces, by John Brughel, a Flemiih painter, come fo near nature, that the eye is almoft de- ceived. Four fmall paintings on marble, reprefenting female figures, more curious than beautiful, are antique, and on one is the [ s8 4 ] the name of* the painter, Alexander of Athens. Some has reliefs and buftos, which ap- pear to have merit ; but we had not time to examine them clofely. The garden belonging to the palace is not worth no- tice; it is planted for the greater part with evergreens. Having detained you fufficiently at Portici, I now come to Her- culaneum. I mall not augment the bulk of this letter with informing you of the various difputes of the learned, in regard to the precife date of the deftrudion of Herculaneum, by an eruption of Mount Ve- fuvius ; but upon the whole, this dreadful event is fuppofed to have happened about the year of our Lord 79. The melted lava in its courfe filled up the flreets and houfes in fome places to the height of fixty-eight feet above the tops of the latter, and in others one hundred and ten feet ; that is to fay, particularly on the fide neareft the fea. This lava is of a confifteace which renders it t 285 ] it extremely difficult to be removed or clear- ed away; it is compofed of bituminous par- ticles, mixed with cinders, minerals, me- tallics, vitrified fandy fubftances, which al- together form a clofe and heavy mafs. It is evident the town was not filled up fo unex- pectedly as to prevent the greater part of the inhabitants from efcaping with many of their richeft effects ; for when the excava- tions were made, there were not more than a dozen fkeletons found, and but little of gold, filver, or precious ftones. The firft difcovery of this city was made in the year 1713, in the following man- ner : The Prince d'Elbeuf, Emanuel of Lo- rain, having married (that fame year) the daughter of the Prince of Salfa, wifhed to have a villa near Naples ; he accordingly- built one at Portici, and ordered an apart- ment to be ftuccoed : a Frenchman under- took to make the beft and hardeft ftucco, provided he was fupplied with antique rub- bifli, [ 280 J bifh, confiding of broken marble, &c. A poor man at Portici undertook to provide the French artift with the kind of rubbiflv he required, of which he had found a confiderable quantity in digging- out a well in his little garden. The Prince d'El- beuf bought the garden from the owner, with defign to make excavations there, which was done with fuch fuccefs, that the firft difcovery proved to be the top of the theatre of Herculaneum. After fome days labour they found a ftatue of Hercules and a Cleopatra ; this fuccefs encouraged the Prince to continue the work, and they foon after difcovered the architrave of a door in marble, with an infcription and feven Greek ftatues, fuppofed to reprefent veftals ; thefe the Prince fent into France* Some time after they light upon a temple of a circular form, fupported by tvfenty- four columns of alabajlro farito ; the inte- rior part was decorated with as man-y more* and and the fame number of fine Greek ftatues. Thefe pillars and ftatues were fent to Vi- enna to Prince Eugene. Such rapid difcoveries were at laft put a ftop to by an order from court, forbid- ding any more excavations to be made ; and from that time nothing farther was at- tempted till the year 1736, when Don Car- los, then King of Naples, built the royal palace at Portici. The Prince d'Elbeuf pre- fented his Majefly with his houfe and the garden where the excavations had been made. The King employed men to dig perpendi- cularly eighty feet deep, when not only the town made its appearance, but alfo the bed of the river which ran through the city, and even fome of the water ftill remained, which could not make its way through the lava. The temple of Jupiter was then brought to light, and the whole of the theatre. In the temple was found a ftatue of gold, and the infcriptions that decorated the great doors of entrance, In the theatre the the fragments of a gilt chariot, of bronze^ with horfes of the fame metal, likewife gilt: this had been placed over the principal door of entrance. T ne y likewife found multitudes of ftatues, buftos, pillars, and paintings, of which I have already men- tioned a few ; but fince the departure of Don Carlos, now King of Spain, the workmen have declined both in number and in induftry ; they have indeed conti- nued to make fortuitous excavations here and there; but government efteemed the expence too weighty. As the villages of* Portici and Refma are built upon Hercu- laneum, they feared damaging many d the houfes, and did not choofe to pur- chafe them; for this reafon, as foon as they had made any ufeful difcovery, they fent away whatever was found moft valu- able to the palace, and returned the rubbifh immediately to its former lodging. This accounts for nothing appearing at pre-* fent, befides the orcheftra of the theatre* which which they have had the goodnefs to leave open. The nioft confiderable public build- ing here difcovered proved the forum, or court of juftice, of a rectangular form, en- compafled with a piazza, or open portico, decorated with forty-two columns, and or- namented with paintings (two of which I have mentioned to you as extremely good). The portico of entrance was compofed of five arcades, adorned with Equeftrian fta- tues of marble; two only of which have been conferved, and are the two Balbufes, placed in the veftibule of the palace of Por- tici. Several ftatues of the families of Nonia. and Anaia were alfo found there, as was, in a kind of recefs, one of the Emperor Vefpafian, and on each fide of him a ftatue in a curule chair : alfo two niches painted within fide, and in, them ftatues, of bronze, of Nero and Germani- cus. There were two temples joined qn - to the forum by porticos ; thefe were VOL. II. U rectangular, [ 290 ] re&angular, vaulted, and decorated on their infides with columns, paintings, in- fcripdons in bronze, &c. In the fame year (1750) they difcovered the forum. Near thefe temples the theatre was found in all its extent. The feats for the fpec- tators were difpofed fo as to form a half- ellipfis of one hundred and fixty feet dia- meter (taken the long way), highly orna- mented with beautiful pillars of marble ; O the fpeclators were feated upon twenty-one rows ofgr&jifit, or fteps, and above thefe was alfo a gallery for them decorated with Ita- tues of bronze, pillars of marble, and paint- ings ; its walls partly lined with Parian marble. It is conjectured, and evn af- ferted, by many hiftorians, that moft of the inhabitants of the city were aflembled in this theatre at the time the irruption of Mount Vefuvius (in the year 79) deftroyed both Herculaneum and Pompeia. . a The THe ftreets of the town appear to have" been quite ftraight and regular ; the houfes well built and much alike; fome of the rooms paved in rhofaic, others with fine marbles, others again with bricks, three feet long and fix inches thick ; the rooms' were encompafled by a feat or high ftep ; the walls painted infrefco in. compaf tments^ \vith various reprefentatiohs, as pillars, garlands, birds. All that remains at pre- fent to be feen, to out great difappoint- ment, is the orcheftra of the theatre. We were conducted down a great many flairS by the light of flambeaux. This orcheftra appears now like a vaft drain ; fo powerful are the damps, that our lights burnt blue, and we were near Wet to the (kin by the diftillatioris from the earth over our heads; The darkriefs of this place brought to my mind the defcriptidn of one of the flagues of Egypt in the Bible, " A ddrknefs that may be felt." The orcheftra feemed of great extent, but we did not think it prtt- U 2 dent dent to ftay to meafure it in fo unwhole- fome an air. Pompeia. J now leave Herculaneum and come to Pompeia, which is but a few miles diftant from Portici, and fjxteen from Naples. Pompeia was deftroyed, or rather covered entirely over by a rain of cinders and hot afhes, occafioned by the fame irruption of Mount Vefuvius that deftroyed Hercula- neum. This city (Pompeia) was accident- ally difcovered about fixteen years fmce by fome labourers, who were dreffing ground in order to plant an orchard. The foil rifes above the houfes no more than from two to five feet, and the afhes which fill up the ftreets and cover the houfes are ex- tremely light ; I do . not know any thing they refemble fo much in appearance as broken pumice-ftone. A very few weeks labour would fuffice to lay the whole town open; but as the ground is planted with vines and other fruit-trees, government does not choofe to make a rapid progrefs towards [ 293 j towards difcoveries, the expence of pur- chafmg thefe vineyards and orchards being a confederation with them ; and the work at prefent goes on but {lowly. The firft place you enter at Pompeia is a cafern or barrack ; it is a rectangular building encpmpaffing a court, and fur- rounded by a colonnade : the middle part or court, and one of the fides, are not yet cleared out ; the rooms for the foldiers are within-fide the colonnade, and are all ex- adly of the fame dimenfions, viz. fifteen feet fquare, extremely well built of brick and ftone, with great regularity and neat- nels, two ranges of brick and one of flone, alternately. The pillars which form the piazza are covered with a hard ftucco 3 very even and fmooth ; they are fluted in an ele- gant manner, feventeen on one fide, and twenty-three on another, and are coloured red and yellow alternately, excepting two in the middle of the longeft range, which are of the colour of a Turkey-ftone ,*nd U 3 one one of the fam& colour in the middle of the fhorteft row. I obferved on thefe pil- lars feveral names (we fuppofe) of foldiers, with rude drawings fcratched with a nail pr the point of a knife, reprefenting Ro- man warriors, horfes, fyc. ; the figure^ are in fuch armour as you fee in the Cabi- net at Portici ; and though thefe drawing? ?re but rudely executed, they fliew fuf- ficiently how the armour was wore ; for inftance, one iron boot on the right leg, which mu ft have been the moft expofed, for the left was in a great meafure protected by the fhield : alfo men fighting, and fuch reprefentations as you cannot fail to meej; with in modern guard-rooms and barracks. |n one of the rooms, intended probably for a prifon, or place of confinement, was dif- foyered an iron flocks (now conferved in the Cabinet at Portici), five fkeletons were found with their legs in this machine. As t;here is a contrivance for locking it, thefe poor creatures had no chance to efcape. faw their fkulls and bpnes. In [ *95 1 In the window of a room, very lately cleared out, appeared the fkeleton of a wo- man, who feems to have been endeavouring to make her efca'pe; fhe had a gold chain round her neck, and bracelets of the fame metal about her arms In a gateway near this room was found a man who was furprifed whjlft leading a horfe out of the town : by the ornaments which ftiU remained, he muft have been of a noble family. I faw two ex- amples of the (lime nature, which fhocked me much : one was of a poor (lave, who pro- bably had been employed in heating a bath, near which his fkeleton remains, having been ftifled in that occupation at the fame time that the town was deflroyed : his bones are burnt quite white ; I brought away with me one of thofe which form the neck, or vertebra. The other miferable creature \vas confined, and forgot during the general confternation ; he had gone fo far towards his efcape, as to have made a fmall breach in the wall of a room ; but ftuck in the hole, and there his fkeleton was found. U 4 The The entrance of a theatre for the foldiers is on one fide bf this -fquare ; (but the inte- rioiir is not yet cleared out :) here is an infcription finely cut on a piece of white marble fixed in the wall. By a ftratagem, M - , unfeen by our guides, copied it ex- adly as follows : C. o our guide avoided feeing him ; EX, [ S 01 J EX. AUCTORITA7E. IMP. CLARIS. VESPASI- ANI. AUG. LOCA- PUBLICA A PR1VATIS POS- SESSA. T. SUEDIUS. CLEMENS. TRIBUNUS. CAUSIS. CONGN1TJS. ET MENSURIS. FACTIS. REIPUBLIC.. POMPEIANORUM. RESTITUIT. Our guide told us the ftreet was fuppofed to be that of the goldfmiths : fhops plainly appear on each fide ; they are built of brick ; and their windows have regularly on one fide of each of them little recefTes for expo- fmg to fale the various articles of their com- merce to the beft advantage, upon little ftages or fteps rifing one above the other. He faid many finall ftatues, vafes, &c. were found on thefe rifers, which were immediately taken away, and fuppofed to be depofited in the Cabinet of Portici. Fixed in the wall of one of thefe fhops, I obferved two beautiful buftos in white marble ; that which feemed to me the beft was a Bac- chante crowned with grapes and ivy. This ftreet is paved with large cubical blueifh ftones, like the Appian Way ; on each fide is is a caufeway, raifed about a foot and aii half above the level of the ftreet. In another part of the town appears a temple to Ifis : this is entire, excepting the roof, which has been deftroyed by the workmen. The columns are of trick and ftuccoed. The walls were completely co- vered with paintings in frefco ; many of them have been detached from thence and conveyed to Portici. Here are two altars which ft and alone in the court of the temple, and are great curiofities, being quite perfect. Behind the temple is a room eighteen yards long by ten wide, the entrance into it from behind confifts of five arches, of which the central is higher than the others. In the middle of the temple is a fmalf building like a chapel, with a ftaircafe, and from beneath rifes a dangerous va- pour. Thefe exhalations fhould be carefully avoided by curious travellers. I amufed our guide, by walking towards fome paint- ings ings that appeared at a little diflance, while M took down this infcription in the temple, which follows : N. POPIDIUS, N. F. CELSINUS JEVZM ISIDIS TERR^: MOTU CONLAPSAM A FUNDAMENTO S. P. RESTlTUlT. HUNC DECURIONES OB LI- BERALITATEM, CUM ESSET ANNORUM SEXS, ORDINI SUO GRATIS ADLEGERUNT. Whilft he was copying this infcription, I came to the paintings in view. One is of Mercury and a nymph, and has great me- rit. Another, a fmali perfpeclive view, of about eighteen inches fquare, reprefenting a villa with a portico and a piece of water before the houfe: the fky is of as fine a blue as ultramarine, and appears frefh as if juft done. A white flag fattened to a column, or rather a high altar. The back ground is red ; this is a common circum- flance in all thefe paintings. The flag is admirably well done; his mouth is open; he feems to complain ; deep diflreis is ex- prefled in his whole figure ; he averts his eyes [ 304 ] eyes from the fatal altar, adorned with the trqphies of his death. I took a pencil out of my pocket, and began to make a rude fketcli from this ftag, and intended, if pof- fible, to do the like from the perfpective view; but my guide, in the moft preffing 'manner imaginable, begged me to defift : he affured me he faw fome foldiers on an eminence not very diflant ; that fhould I be perceived, he muft fuffer for his inatten- tion, and even I fhould be fharply repri- manded by government. I endeavoured to perfuade him to give all his attention to the cavalier who had lagged behind (for by that time I was fure he had copied the in- fcription) but he would not quit me, and was about to proflrate himfelf at my feet, urging his apprehenfion of being fent to the gallies for life, as a comrade of his had been for a fimilar offence three weeks fince. I defifted ; his oratory was too feeling to be longer withftood; notwithftanding,, as I continued my work during his harangue, I 8 had [ S5 ] had fketched out the flag, and have finifhed it iii water-colours, as near as I can from memory : it has met with the approbation of thofe of our countrymen who have feen it, and of many of our Italian acquaint- ance, who infift on its ftrong likenefs to the original. I {hall inclofe it to you, though but a wretched attempt in my opinion. But to return to our poor Ciceroni, he really was in the right as to the foldiers ; for not twenty paces from us was a guard, who, had they not been bufily em- ployed in roafting and eating chefnuts, might eafily have perceived us. I am not certain whether they did or not; if they did, they perhaps thought it prudent to be filent. There is a well belonging to the temple, that has two fine bas reliefs over it. The workmen are now employed in clear- ing out a very large houfe juft within the town, that has feveral pretty paintings on the walls of the rooms. Here a droll ac- VOL. II. X cident I \ ' - [ 3 6 ] cident befel me; I faw a ladder placed againfl a breach in the wall without fide ; and as it was not very high, would go up to look in ; M held the ladder ; when I had gained the aperture, I put my head in, and leaned upon the broken wall, which giving way, in I tumbled : the room was not above half full of afhes ; I fell upon their bed, and did not receive the leaft hurt. You may be fure M was foon up the ladder after me, and there was. a general exclamation among the workmen. I in- wardly congratulated myfelf on being the firft to enter this room, which had been clofed up for fo many hundred years, I affure you, I am not a little proud of the accident. The walls are painted in.frefco, divided into fmall compartments by borders a fy grcc ; thefe compartments contain va- rious reprefentations of Chinefe temples or mofques ; others, of the human figure, amongft which, an old man's head, and a Mercury, feeui to be particularly well done. lam [ 307 1 I am heartily tired of this long letter j I wifh you may not be fo too. Adieu, and believe me to be as happy as I can be at fo great a diftance from you, and ever moft fmcerely yours, 6v. LETTER XXXVIL March the ijth. YOU fee we have not yet left this delightful city, though the time for our departure approaches. Do not wonder at it, but rejoice that we have refifted a temptation ftill flronger than that of making a longer refidence here than we promifed. Know then, that we have denied ourfelves the gratification of a voyage to Sicily and Malta, purely upon your account : a Dutch fleet of obfervation, now ready to fail for thofe iflands, offered to convey and accom- modate us ; nor mould we have been abfent from Naples more than a few weeks but \ve could not think of giving you anxiety ; X Z and [ 38 ] and had we accepted of the obliging invi- tation of the Dutch officers, we muft have embarked before we could have received your anfwer to any letter that fhould have conveyed you this information. Thefe gentlemen have been uncommonly civil, I may fay friendly, to us ; they are extremely well bred and polite ****** We breakfafted with a large party of Eng- lifh and Italians on board one of the men of war. Nothing could exceed the cleanli- nefs and elegance of our repaft. Thefe officers fpeak French fluently, and fome of them have learnt a little Englifh. They are ftrongly prejudiced to the Bri- tilh; I fay prejudiced, for they think better of us than we merit. One of the younger officers, whofe fmall cabin is perfectly neat, has furnimed it with feveral prints of the jnoft celebrated Englifti beauties, and fome {helves of books, the produ&ions of our beft poets of about forty years fmce. We fhould have failed to Sicily and Malta in the moft agreeable [ 39 1 agreeable manner poffible, efpecially as the family of Monteleone^ and the Princefs P0- tera in particular, repeatedly offered us letters of recommendation to their family at Palermo, whofe confequence is fuffi- ciently known to prove the facrifice we make you. It was not an eafy matter to decline fuch invitations and offers; there- fore thank us ; for I allure you, we ftrongly combated our own inclinations to keep our word with you, Since I wrote laft we have not been idle, though much engaged in that round of difljpation which never ceafes here. We pafTed two whole days at Pozzoli^ &c. vifited ihe,folfattera, as well as the Grotta del Cane. I am at prefent confined with a flight cold, and dedicate this day to your fervice, being convinced, by your repeated aflertions, that my letters are really an amufement to you. I therefore make no apology for the bulk of this pacquet. In X 3 truth, t truth, it feems as if the more one fees in this country, the more remains to be feen ; and frefh fubjedts of furprife and curiofity fpring forth like hydra's heads but not to lofe time in reflection : Puzzoli is fituated about two leagues and & half weft of Naples: It is afferted by Tome authors, to have been founded five hundred and twenty-two years before the Chriftian sera, by one Decius, fon of Nep- tune, and according to other authors, by fomtbody elfe ; to me, it is a very indif- ferent matter by whom it was founded ; fuffice it, that there is fuch a place, mofl agreeably fituated on the margin of a fmall bay : it is at prefent inconfiderable, but ttas, in the time of the Romans, a city of great extent, as appears by many veftiges of ruins, which may ftill be traced. The cathedral church, now under the protection of St. Januarius and St. Proculus, was for- merly a temple dedicated to Auguftus ; the inicription runs thus : [ 3" ] L. Calfurnius L. F. Templum Augujlo cum ornamentis D. D. It is built of large ftones without cement. There are remains of fome Corinthian pil- lars. The ruins of the Temple of Serapis is the fineft and moft perfect antiquity at Puzzoli ; yet it is a lofs, greatly to be re- gretted by all lovers of antiquity, that the inner temple, difcovered in the year 1750, and quite entire, highly decorated with fe- veral beautiful ftatues in marble and bronze*, is not now to be feen, being rilled up with the fame earth which they took out of it. The rea- fon given for not perfifting in laying open the temple is, left a wretched cabbage-garden, which lies over it, might be injured by the excavation. This fine temple was encom- pafled by forty-two fquare rooms, which are now almoft reduced to ruins, yet ftill fome Beautiful columns are to be feen, of white marble, fluted and highly finimed. The * Thefe precious relicks in metal have been melted down for ceconomical purpofes. X 4 whole [ 312 1 whole was paved with large flabs of marhla, and the edifice completely incrufted with the fame. It is curious to fee the mafly rings fixed in the pavement, to which the victims were fattened, and the copper pipes or drains to convey away their blood : here is a pierced fquare of marble, of exquifite workmanfhip, which ferved as a drain-done with us, for it is placed in the center of the quadrangular part of the temple, precifely under the open part of the roof, in order to receive and carry off the rain-water which entered at the opening. Though this temple is in fo mutilated a ftate, it cannot fail to excite the admiration of the curious tra- veller. In that part of the town called la Piazza, is placed a fquare pedeftal of white marble, found in the year 1693; each fide has a has. relief. Although they are much in- jured, yet you may diftinguifh fourteen fi- gures, by which are reprefented the fourteen cities of Afia ; the names are under each. The pedeftal is mfcribed to Tiberius ; pro- bably a ftatue of him had been placed upon it. The amphitheatre, called here the Co- kffcQ) was a building of confjderable ex- tent. Auguftus deigned to affift in perfon at the games celebrated here *. The arterta* which is now a garden, is two hundred and fifty feet long ; the porticoes of entrance* which were below the gradins, or feats for the fpe&ators, and the dens for the beafts, with a ftone trough in each, to hold water for them, are ftill to be feen. Weft of Puzzoli, and juft by the town, are prefumed to be the ruins of the famous Academia of Cicero ; they are a mile and a quarter round. Here it was he wrote thofe books intitled ^u^Jiwnum Academicarum : but this vaft building is now fo demolifhed, that there is no poflibility of afcertaining the regular plan. ; though we took the trouble of walking, or rather {tumbling, over the rubbifh, through a number of * Vide Suetonius. roomsj [ JI4 ] rooms, we could not find one that might be termed a large room in a modern Englifh houfe. Some of the pavement ftill remains compofed of fmall dies of white marble, forming a mofaic pattern ; moft of the rooms were vaulted, and many of the arches ftill remain entire. , It is evident the fea has covered the greater part of this building, as confiderable veftiges, which plainly appear to have been part of the ftructure, may be clearly dif- cerned at low water ; which is highly pro- bable, for an additional reafon, which is, that the Academia was fo clofe to the fea, as to admit of Cicero's guefts (as is faid) to have amufed themfelves by fimirig from his windows. There is a curious antiquity here, called the Labyrinth of Dedalus ; it is near the amphitheatre, and appears to have been a refervoir for water : alfo a fecond, clofe to the labyrinth, of about fixty feet in length, vaulted, and probably deflined to the fame purpofe. [ 3*5 1 purpofe. Half a league from Puzzoli are the Cokmbarias or tombs, which you muft defcend into by ladders. There is nothing very curious in thefe repofitories for the dead ; they are of a fimple ftructure, with fmall niches, in which the urns tilled with the afhes of the family were depofited. This town is chiefly inhabited by fifhermen, their children run after ftrangers with plates full of mofaic of various colours, amongft which you may frequently find medals, inta- glios, and engravings on gems,' fuch as agates, cornelians, &c.\ thefe the fea throws up on the beach, and may be pur- chafed for a trifle. Some of them are ge- nuine, but many are falfe ; and thefe mock antiquities are frequently impofed upon ignorant ftrangers, which are no mure than the refufe or fweepings of lapidaries fhops> procured from Naples ; but whoever has a little attention and intelligence in thefe matters, cannot eafily be deceived. The The Gulph or Bay of Puzzoli is about a league over, each way the view from the town is charming. This muft have been once a delightful fpot. The purple dye of this place was in fuch efteem amongft the ancient Romans, as to be faid to have rivalled that of Tyre : it is the blood taken from a vein in a fhell-fim *, and of which there is fo fmall a quantity, as not to exceed one drop in each fifh. We crofTed over in a boat from Puzzoli to Baia ; the fea was nearly as fmooth as the Thames. Here are no remains of a town ; a few wretched cottages are indeed fcattered about. There is one bleak build- ing of mean appearance on an eminence, inhabited by a fmall military guard, fta- tioned, here to prevent bands of robbers from infefting the coafts, and concealing themfelves amongft the ruins. Clofe to where you land on this coaft are the baths and prifpns of Nero. The baths * Probably perriwinkle. t 3>7 1 in general are furprifmgly warm ; but there is a particular paflage of about one hundred and thirty yards in length, at the end of which you find a fource of water fo extremely hot, that the boatmen at Puzzoli who rowed us, and who are accuftomed to vifit it immediately upon landing, returned from thence as foon as poffible, not being able to bear the heat of the fleam from the fprings. One of them carried a couple of eggs with him in a pail, which having dipped into a hollow in which the water falls, the eggs were quite done when they came ouc from the paflage. M would accompany them to this boiling fource, and returned from thence in a violent heat and perfpira- tion. Contiguous are caverns, or rather fmall cells in the rock, where are beds or broad feats cut out of the flone, on which fick people extend themfelves, and take the vapour bath, as they call it here; thefe re- cefles being filled with as thick, and a much hotter fleam, than that in the (lips of the baths t 3'8 ] baths at Bath in Somerfetfhire. When the patients have been fo fweated on thefe (lone fophas, as that their ftrength is almoft ex- haufted, they take ices, which enable them to continue their operation much longer: than their ftrength would otherwife admit of; nor has this pradice ever been known to produce any other than the moft falutary effects. Thefe baths are efteemed moft effi- cacious in virulent fcrophulous diftempers, the evil not excepted. Nero's prifoos are hewa out of a vaft rock, which rifes fo perpendicularly from the fea, that it feems as if the prefent front towards the bay (if I may fo term it) was really a fection of thefe horrible chambers of confinement; and what is nqw feen from the fea muft have been confequently the interior of thefe difmal abodes. They are all arched over in a rude manner; the paflages leading from cell to cell are fo narrow, as to admit of but one perfon's paffing at a time, and withal, turn and 6 wind fo fuddenly, that I think it would not be an eafy tafk to find the way out again without an experienced guide ; befide, the entrances or door-ways inta the different cells are extremely low, dangeroufly nar- row, and cut fo crooked, that you are fre- quently obliged to accommodate your body to their irregular fhapes, in order to facili- tate the paffing with fafety. There are a great number of cells prac- tifed through the folid rock, and ranged in the fame manner with the ftories of a houfe, but not regularly, the paflages floping from above to thofe in the lower part. The greater number are in a manner arched, but fo low, that you are obliged to ftoop con- fiderably during the whole progrefs. Here total darknefs reigns, and a dreadful filence. We had feveral flambeaux lighted, and a provifion of others, in cafe any of them fliould extinguifh, and refign us guidelefs to thefe regions of horror. Below [ 320 ] Below thefe upper ftories are fixty-eight chambers enfuite, whither our guide offered to conduct us, but, like a hofpitable man, when we had penetrated part of the defcent, he was kind enough to inform us, that though he himfelf had been down, yet it was in thefe lower apartments that Nero (as they believe) ufed to fend people for twenty-four hours only, who at their return into the frefh air, immediately expired ; upon which information, we thought proper to check our curiofity in regard to the fixty-eight chambers enfuite t and to turn back. Whe- ther this tradition be fabulous or not, cer- tain it is, we had already perceived a warm- ifh damp vapour, which probably might have augmented had we followed the de- fcent, and which our guide afferted to be of a confiderable length, and rather diffi- cult to accomplifh : he, as a recompence for our difappointment (as he efteemed it), faid he would fhew us fomething very pretty, and immediately crept through a hole t 321 .] hole in the rock, M followed, and I would go too ; with fome difficulty I was dragged through, and then we came to an- other. Our guide defired us to ftretch our- felves on the ground, as the rock over head comes down extremely low. From this fe- cond hole we had a glorious profpecl of the gulph, Capo Miftno, the iflands of Proclda^ Ifchia^ <&c.', leading out of the hole, we difcovered diftinctly ruins of arches, broken pillars, walls, &c. which the fea had co- vered over. Above this hole is a very fmall and neat round building, not unlike a narrow well ; through a fmall perforation we faw part of it. Here our Ciceroni infifted, that Nero ufed to take poft himfelf, and give orders to his fleet, lying at Capo Mi+ feno, by means of a fpeaking trumpet. M afked him, How the devil Nero could contrive to get there? He infifted, that there was a fubterraneous paflage from the top of the rock, to which he would con^ duel: us 5 but we had prudence enough not VOL. II. Y to [ 322 1 to explore it. Being gratified with the fine view from the hole in the rock, we retired ; and were conducted to an arched vault called Agrippina's Tomb. The roof is fo low, that we were obliged to ftoop almoft double whilft we ftaid in it, and the air fo warm and clofe, that the flambeaux burnt very dimly : this may feem a trifling circumftance, but it is extremely teazing : however, with fome difficulty, we contrived to fee the admirable workmanmip, formed of ftucco, with which the vault is lined. The compofition is fo hard, that it is fcarce poffible to. injure it even by the blows of hammers. It is ftuccoed in fmali compartments ; the mouldings are exqui- fitely neat, fluted, and ornamented, in the moft elegant manner. In the center of each compartment are various reprefentations, probably allegorical ; of gryphons, dol- phins, <&c. <&c. all highly finifhed, and as fmooth as ivory. It is not entirely cleared out, which it might be with little trouble or [ 323 .1 or expence, as the earth is very light. From hence we proceeded to the Elyfian Fields, now for the moft part covered with vines. No ground can lie more agreeably in point of afped, fituation, variety, and profpect. Here we faw feveral burying- places ; they are all built much in the fame manner with thofe I have already mentioned. Urns filled with coins and medals are fre- quently found amongft thofe that contain the ames of the dead. It is probably in fearch of thefe hidden treafures that fuch frequent excavations have been made as you meet with at every moment. Part of the ground between the plantations of vines is under tillage; where the plough in its progrefs inceflantly turns up morfels of vafes, broken architectural ornaments of fine marble, and admirable workmanfhip j and not unfrequently large pieces of ala- bafter and porphyry, to which we were ourfelves witnefles. There are feveral low Y 3 walls, t 324 ] walls, or rather heaps of flone, thrown roughly together by way of boundaries, compofed for the moft part of thefe vene- rable fragments. Mutilated ftatues and buftos are to be met with in abundance de- graded to fuch ruftic purpofes. We faw fome women grinding corn in a fingular manner, and quite new to us : they were feated on the ground, and one held be- tween her feet a piece of hollowed marble, which, on a nearer examination, proved a beautiful fragment of a column of the Ionic order, that ornamental fpiral part called the volute. I was quite fretted at feeing the ufe thefe beldams make of what probably had belonged to fome fuperb temple refpected by the matters of the world, once the inhabitants of thefe coafts. It was of alabaftro agatlzo^ alabafter with large veins of agate. She threw the corn into the hollow, and laying fail hold of the volute with one arm, by the affiftance of arm and legs prevented it from flipping, whilft [ 3*5 ] whilft with her other hand, furnimed with an antique moulding fuiting her purpofe, fhe worked the corn round and round, till the hulks came away from it. There are three fine ruined temples on this coaft; but the fea-marfhes have fo broken in upon them, that we were obliged to be carried on our boatmen's backs for about a hundred paces, in order to enter, the depth of water being infufficient for the boat to approach them, yet too much for us to walk through, (almoft knee deep) and the bottom rough and unequal. No more than two of thefe temples ftand upon ground dry and firm : thefe are covered over with a low brufh-wood, furnifhed by nature of the fineft and moft odoriferous myrtle, quite void of that acrid, pungent fcent, which it often yields in Englifh green-houfes. Interfperfed are various forts of aloes, bafilicon, with uncommon large leaves and ftalks, lavender-cotton, and a fpike- lavender of an uncommon fize and Y 3 fragrance, [ 3*6 J fragrance, all in bloflbm ; alfo large deep blue violets, cyclamens of various forts, hippaticas, polypody, the orchis, and fe- veral other plants whofe grafs I am unac- quainted with, which was curioufly fpotted and ftriped. This wildernefs of fweets attracted my attention ; and I fhould have gladly pafled an entire day in this delightful garden of Nature, fufficiently ftruck with the enthu- fiafm of the place, to fuppofe the myrtles, &c, fprung from the fame ftems that had been coeval with Bafa in the days of her glory. Temples. But to return to the temples : one was Venus dedicated to Venus Genetrix, another to Geuetnx. j)i ana> and a th j r(1 to Mercury. That to Venus is the moil perfect; and I allure you, has moft myrtle growing in and about it. It is fuppofed to have been erected by Julius Csefar ; and is built in the form of a rotunda : part of the dome ftill remains, fupported on one fide only, fo that it ap- pears in air. There are three rooms under this this temple, which were probably baths j two of them are fquare, and the other, oval at one end. In the center of the vaulted roof of this laft is a fquare opening, the object, of which has not yet been ac- counted for. Through the vault (I do not mean the fquare opening, but on one fide of it) has grown the root of a tree, very curious indeed, as it is evidently in a ftate of petrefadion. The Temple of Diana is octagonal on the Temple ouj:fide, but circular within : the roof is de- ftroyed. Here we found feveral flags heads in marble, and other infignia of the goddefs to whom it was dedicated. The Temple of Mercury is nearly an Temple of hundred paces from that of Venus ; and that of Diana about twice as far from the latter. It is difficult to enter this build- ing, on account of the water and marfh in and all around it. The appearance, on the outfide, is of three deep ruined arches, or vaulted roofs, crowned with fhrubs. Having Y 4 got I 328 ] got through the water by the above-men- tioned conveyance, we found a breach in one of the walls which communicates with the interior of the temple. This building is a large rotunda, open at top. Speaking low, in the fame manner as in the whif- pering-gallery at St. Paul's, London, pro- duces the like effect here ; which I fhould fuppofe to arife from the roofs forming an ellipfis. Thefe three temples are built of brick, cemented with pozzuolane *, and were no doubt incrufted with marble, as broken flabs and ornaments have been found in and about them. I muft not omit to take notice here of the ruins of Pontedi a bridge, Ponte di Caligula^ which this Cabgu a. em p eror intended to extend from Baia to Pozzuoli, There flill remains thirteen large pillars and feveral arches compofed * The pozzuolane is a kind of fand, found in great abun- dance in this country, which, when mixed with lime, forms a cement of fo clofe a quality, as to refill water. The people of Pozzuoli export great quantities of it to many parts pf Italy, and elfcwhere, Of [ 3*9 ] of brick and ftone, cemented with poz- zuolane. Suetonius I think afierts, that Caligula had a fancy to make a trium- phant entry aerofs the fea, in imitation of Xerxes ; and for that purpofe attempt- ed to build this bridge ; but when they had got about half-way, the fea proved fo very deep, that he was obliged to fub- ftitute (hips fattened together with chains, on which a platform was raifed and paved. The firft day of his triumph he rode on horfeback, and the fecond in a triumphal car, followed by Darius, whom the Par- thians had left with him as an hoftage. No veftiges are now found of the mag- nificent villas built by the Romans, which were fpread out along this coaft, nor of the ancient town of Baia, fuppofed to have taken its name from one of the companions of Ulyfles, who was interred here. It was, in this country, according to an- cient fable, that Hercules defeated the giants 1238 years before the birth of Chrift. But t 330 1 But not to go quite fo far back in ancient lore, I mall mention only fome few re- markable events recited in claffic authors : It was in a country -houfe belonging to Ju- lius Casfar, near Baia, that Marcellus was poifoned by Livia. He is celebrated by Virgil, towards the end of the fixth book of the ^neid, at the recital of which, Ocla- via is reported to have fallen into a fwoon. The famous confpiracy againft Nero was formed in the country-houfe belonging to Pifo, of which they pretended to {hew us fome remains. It was at Bauli, which is very near Baia, that that monfter Nero contrived the means of aflaffinating his mother. Acinetus, who commanded his fleet at Capo Mifeno\ was the man who fuggefted to him the con- trivance of a falfe bottom to the fhip, on board of which Agrippina embarked after a great feaft, given by her fon to ratify their reconciliation. You know the reft. Here it was, alfo, that the famous triumvi- rate^ rate, Cxfar, Pompey, and Mark Antony, aflernbled and confulted. In fhort, I mu ft check my pen, or I fhall never finilh my letter; and before I conclude it, muft juft add, that after having pafied a moft de- lightful day at Pozzuoli and Baia, we went to Bauli, now a wretched village, not above Bauli, a mile and a half from Baia, 4 where we dined, not in a wine-houfe, but at the door of one. The vulgar are certainly right in this refpecl:; they never eat in the houfe when the weather does not oblige them, wifely preferring the frefh air to the foul exhalations of the kitchen. Here then we fat down (amongft a number of peafants) extremely hungry and fatigued, and fed moft heartily on very coarfe bread, anchovies, and eggs ; but our beverage was Falernian wine, very juftly celebrated by Ho- race : it is the growth of the Monte Falerno, one of the mountains that bounded our view : our eyes were feafted by the profpec~t. This Albergo is built on the margin of the 3 fea ; [ 332 ] fea ; before us we had in full view the bay. As the fan was fetting, the variou -.:.ts of purple and gold witn which an a, ibLge of clouds were embellifhed, acquired new beauties when reflected in the waves, whofe movement was juft fufficient to vary their glowing colours. Stretched along the ccaft appeared the three ruined temples, gilt by the rays of the fun : the promontory of Capo Mifeno, jutting out into the fea, was in deep fhadow. The iflands of Procida, Ifchia, &c. rife finely out of the water, and are ftiaped in the moft pi&urefque manner. Pozzuoli ap- peared to great advantage acrofs the bay, with the ruins of Cicero's Academia, and the remains of a temple dedicated to -Nep- tune. Near Bauli are the veftiges of a broken arch, part of a temple to Her- cules. On the fide of Baia our profpect was boundec by mountains covered with vines ; producing the wine called Faler- After t 333 ] After dinner we returned to Pozzuoli, and reached Naples before it was dark ; the next day our vifit was repeated to Baia, and from thence we went to Cuma, the weather flill continuing very fine : but this fecond day's amufement, with other matters, I muft referve for my next letter, which I {hall fend by the next poft ; it goes out again in three days, at which time we fhall be about to quit Naples on our return to Rome. ******** Adieu, GV. LETTER XXXVIII. Naples, Match 16. I RECOLLECT that in my letter of yefter- From day I did not mention the road from Naples to Pozzuoli. The commencement road * lies through the Grotta di Paufilippe, which opens into one of the fuburbs weft of that Grotu * city. This fubterraneous paffage is prac- tifed through a mountain : the height at the [ 334 ] the entrance from Naples is at leafl fixty feet ; its width from eighteen to twenty, and paved quite through ; at the end to- wards Pozzuoli it decreafes in height, not ex- ceeding forty feet ; and is a mile in length. This grotto is of very ancient date ; the beft antiquarians attribute it to one Mar- cus Cocceius, a Roman*; whoever it may be originally imputed to, its enlargement and paving were accomplished by two viceroys of Naples, one of Charles the Fifth, the other of Ferdinand, and it re- mains as they left it. In the midway is a fmall chapel dedicated to the Virgin. There are two perforations in the vault, which penetrate the whole thicknefs of the mountain, and admit fumcient light, (as U afferted) of a calm day, to pafs through without flambeaux ; but in cafe of a high wind, and that it happens to blow to- * The common people are perfuaded it was effefted by the power of magic, and attribute it to Virgil, who they univer- lal'y believe to have been a forcerer. wards [ 335 1. wards the opening, the duft is then ex- tremely troublefome ; nor is it fafe, on ac- count of meeting other carriages. We have often drove through this grotta^ but never without flambeaux. It is plain this fubterraneous paflage has never fufTered by the earthquakes and eruptions that have occafioned fuch devaftation in the en- virons of Naples ; its fafety is probably due to the folidity of the rock, in which there does not appear any veins, or mixture of fulphur, or any kind of inflammable par- ticles. Under this mountain is a large quarry, from which they dig ftone that is frequently ufed in the buildings at Naples. On the fide of the mountain next the fea, and amongft the rocks, grows the plant Opuntia, or Indian fig, on which is found the cochineal. Upon the top of this grotto are ftill fome remains of an antique aqueduct, which conducted water from Serino to fupply a refer voir called Pifcina mirabik) of which I ihall fpeak by and by. Tile [ 33S ] Tomb of The Tomb of Virgil, is on this fame moun- tain, over the entrance of the grotta> in a vineyard belonging to the Marquis Salcitro. This ruin refembles a broken fquare tower of a very inconfiderable height ; but its walls are thick, and built of brick. It is to be lamented, that no antique infcription has been found in its vicinity to name it, beyond a doubt, the real monument wherein the afhes of Virgil were depofited. Over and about this ruin grow various plants, and amongft them an old bay-tree, celebrated in a Latin infcription near the ruin, and placed there by order of Peter of Arragon. You may be fure I am poflefTed of fome of the leaves of this facred tree ; how happy fhould I be, if drinking a decoction of them would infpire me with Virgilian poefy. The mountain (Paufilippe) is covered with villas and gardens planted with evergreens, belonging to feveral noble families of Naples. Having pafled through the fub- terraneous road, we entered a plain which feems [ 337 ] feems clofed in on every fide by mountains. The ground under clofe cultivation ; what is not ploughed is covered by vineyards and flandard fruit-trees. The plain is inter- fected by a poor village called Foro di Poz- ziuoti'y we pafled through it, and then en- tered a very narrow road, which brought us to another valley, almoft entirely under Water. This lake is called Lago d? AnagnV) Lago at the diftance of a mile and a half from no. "*' that end of the Grotta di Pduftlipps^ at the extremity from where we entered it, and forms a large bafon of a circular figure of about half a mile diameter, well fur- iiiftied with water-fowl, which are pre- ferved as royal game. Oh the margin of the lake is the famous Grotta del Cane. As we Grotta . , . . , , , . , del Canst'. were approaching it, a man appeared lead- ing a wretched dog by a cord ; the poor fcreature (hewed great apprehenfion and -dread, knowing what was about to befal him. As M- had feen this experiment already, having been here fome days fmce, VOL. IL Z I denred [ 338 ] I defired the dog might not be put into the grotto for me, as I was not in the leaft de- gree curious to fee the effect of the experi- ment ; he therefore prevented the man from proceeding, who was prodigioufly furprifed at receiving a larger gratuity for not tormenting the animal, than he had ufually done for his utmoft exertions : the poor wretch when untied was at firft almoft ftupid ; upon rinding himfelf really at li- berty, he frifked about, and exprefied his joy by running and rolling himfelf upon the grafs ; but I obferved he mewed not the leaft inclination to gambol towards the grotto; of which when he perceived the door to open, he ftood aloof, and then flunk away as fail as his weak legs could carry him ; for his ftrength feemed to have been much impaired. The experiment is thus made, as M informed me : they hold the dog by the legs down clofe to the ground ; in about two minutes he is feized with a fpe- cies of convulfions, which cauie him. to howl ; but t 339 1 but prefently his limbs and body ftiffen, and he appears nearly expired, upon which, they throw him out of the grotto oil the grafs that borders the lake, and fometimes into it, when he recovers in a few minutes by degrees, as if juft come out of a ftrong fit ; but the dogs never get the better of thefe experiments ; for when they have been thus treated for perhaps a dozen times, they are fhortly after feized with a giddi- nefs, and turning themfelves round repeat- edly, drop down dead : this happens more frequently to them in fummer than in win- ter; and it is remarkable, that no dog has ever been known to furvive'this experi- ment above three months who has fuffered it once only. The grotto is very fmall, and refembles a deep and wide ditch, rather than a cave. At the entrance, a certain humidity is very perceptible; and {looping near the earth, you are ftill more fenfible of a light, warm exhalation rifing from the furface, fome- Z 2 what t 34 1 what like the effluvia from burning char- coal. A lighted flambeau is inftantly ex- tinguifhed when held near the ground. We did not continue to ftand here any time, as numbnefies are frequently the confequences to thofe who imprudently linger near this dangerous fpot. There is now a door to the entrance kept locked, and never opened but for ftrangers, OF thofe who come to vifit the grotto. The reafon given for this precaution is, that a poor beggar-man, a ftfanger in the country, be- ing benighted near this place, took fhelter in the grotto, where he was found dead in a fhort time after. It appeared by the attitude in which he was found, that he had lain down to fleep. It is furprifing to find, that grafs and va- rious weeds grow luxuriantly about the en- trance of this cave, and yet there hangs a kind of dew upon them, which, although not abfolutely warm to the touch, is by no means cold. Near [ S4 1 1 Near this place are vapour-baths, called Vapour Stuffa di S. Germano. A very hot vapour from the ground fills four chambers, round which are placed ftone feats : on thefe the patients are laid, rolled up in blankets : when they come out of the baths, they go into bed ; and in order to promote a fecond perfpiration, eat ices, which never fail to procure the defired effeft. The diforders commonly cured by thefe baths are rheu- matifms, fcurvies, and other fcrophulous humours. Quitting the lake d^Agnano^ we pro- ceeded on our road to Pozzuo/i y and came to the Solfaterra, about a mile from thence, solfaterra, It is an oval plain of no great extent, fitu- ated on a height, and furrounded by hills, except upon the fide of the road by which you reach it. The ancient name of the plain is Phle- gra, and is fuppofed to be the place where Hercules defeated the giants. The foil is of a yellow caft, from the quantity of ful- 3 phur [ 34* ] phur (no doubt) with which it is impreg- nated, and fo hot in many places, that my fhoes were fcorched and fhrivelled, which made the walking in them difficult for the reft of the day. In fome places the heat is ftronger, quite burning where the moffets or little volcanos flame up ; this happens uncertainly, as to place and time, as alfo their extinguifhment. In other places the ground feels quite cool, yet four inches below the furface is extremely warm. It is wonderful to fee briars and brufh-wood growing in this fulphureous foil. Here are feveral fmall vents, from whence fmoke conftantly i flues ; one in particular .emits it abundantly, accompanied by a rum- bling noife. This has the quality of pro- ducing fal ammoniac in large quantities, which adheres to ftones placed for the pur- pofe at and about the opening. fl urn i In one part of the plain a fpring boils fpnng, U p ? f orm i n g a f ma ll rivulet ; a ftick or piece of paper being moved in it, catches fire immediately ; [ 343 ] immediately : .it feems like a juggler's trick, to light a piece of paper at a rivulet, and ftill as extraordinary, to find this fpring at its fource boil on one fide only, the other being cool, which tempts one to conjecture that the ground being hollow, may poflefs near the fource fome Volcanian fire, which heats it thus partially. The Aqua dl Pifciarelli is a famous me- Aqua di , . i i Pifciarelli. dicmal water in this country ; it is hot, ana of a faltim tafte ; its fource near the, lake d'slgnano, and behind the Solfaterra. Poz- zuoli is about two miles and an half from hence, from which place we embarked in a little boat, and landed at Capo Mefino *, about three miles and an half from Poz- zuoli and Cuma. Very little remains of the ruins of the ancient town. The principal antiquity is a cavern, called Grot fa Drago- Grotta nara : whether this was intended as a re- n ara?* fervoir for water, or for a magazine for * So named from Eneas's friend, whom he buried here. See Virgil, book vi. Z 4 wine t 344 1 wine and provifions, to fupply the fleet Q Mefino, antiquarians have hitherto dif- puted. It at prefent conGfts only of a long winding fubterraneous paflage, with rooms on each fide, but nothing curious or wor- thy of obfervation. Having quitted this promontory, we pro- ceeded towards Baia, in our way to Cuma ; and here I muft mention Monte Nuo*vo 9 a great natural curiofity on this coaft, if the effect of a dreadful emptier* may be fq ftyled. The Lake Lucrine (now dry) after a violent agitation and noife, brought forth a mountain on the 3Oth day of September 1538, which fprung up from the midil of its waters. A violent earthquake at the fame time entirely deujoyed a village very near the lake, called Tripergola. Much damage was ^lone in the environs to the vineyards, &c. The lake Lucrine wa dried up, and great part of it filled by the New Mountain, formed of lava, pumice- ftone, and fuch fubftances as appear to have been [ 345 1 been half calcined. This facl: of the moun- tain having been produced in the fpace of one day is attefted by feveral authors of credit, amongft many others by Pz'etro dl Toledo, in his Dialogue on the Earthquake of 1538, printed at Naples the year follow- ing, by Leandro d^Alberti^ in his Defer j,^ zione # Italia, fifr. &c. No bufh or plant, nor even a blade of grafs, grows upon Monte NUOV.C ; which is judged to exceed in height two hundred feet. About a mile north of Baia, and half as much from what was the lake Lucrine, is the lake Avernus, to which a narrow, Lake winding road, with hedges on each fide, conduced us. This lake is circular, of about half a mile diameter, furrounded with hills, which ftill throw fuch a fha- dow, as to give it a dark look ; but when they were clothed with trees, muft have caufed the^water to appear almoft black. The noxious quality attributed to this lake, nd 4 346 ] and the fulphureous exhalations fo fatal to birds who (hould attempt to fly over it, are particularly mentioned in the fixth Book of Virgil. At prefent it has no fmell, nor does it produce any extraordinary vapour. The forefts are deftroyed, nor is there, I believe, a fibre remaining of the tree that bore the golden bough ; however, our guide pointed to the gloomy entrance of a cave, elofe upon the borders of the lake, which he affured us was the antique defcent into Hell, and that we muft go through a nar- row and fteep paflage with lighted flam- beaux to fee the famous cave of the Sybil, this being one end or opening of it ; the other, he told us, we fhould fee at Cuma. We apprehended the time would not'fuffice to reach that place if we remained longer here ; and we knew there were fome cu- rious tombs worthy of obfervation in the road thither, fo refolved to content our- felves with his defcription of the cave, which was as follows : that after defcending a bad [ 347 ] a bad ftaircafe above an hundred feet deep cut in the rock, and which is alfo very winding, we fhould arrive at two fquare rooms, ornamented with ftucco, much in the fame manner as the interior of Agrip- pina's Tomb. I interrupted him, to fay I had no inclination to proceed fo far on the road to the infernal regions. We deter- mined to continue our courfe, after having firft taken a view of the famous Temple of Apollo, probably that fo beautifully de- fcribed by Virgil, and which is fituated on the borders of the lake, oppofite the Sybil's cave. Our guide aflured us there is a fubterraneous pafTage leading from the cave to the temple, but that it is very difficult to pafs through, the ground having given way in many places : we took it for grantedj not being difpofed to make the experiment. The Temple of Apollo appeared a very Temple large ruin ; what remains is built entirely of brick : a great fragment of its dome is a majeftic object j but our guide aflured us, that [ 348 ] that were we clofer, we fliould not have fo good a view of it as from where we were then pofted, the mafles of ruined walls being at a diftance from each other, whereas at pre- fent the point of view grouped them well together: his reafons were plaufible, and we continued our road. It is really furprifing to obferve the natu- ral tafte of thefe poor people, and how much of hiftory true and falfe they know, confi- dering their education, &c. ; though they are often bewildered and confufed in regard to ancient dates and events, not having been informed accurately by reading, or by mixing legendary tales with hiftorical facts, handed down to them by their forefathers,. But not to lofe time in digremons, having quitted the borders of the lake Avernus, we came again to that beautiful part of the country, the Elyfian Fields, which I men- tioned in my lafl letter. Here is a fmall Mare lake, called Mare Morto, but ftyled by the ^' 10 - peafants Mercato dl Sabbato-, it is. full of 6 fift, [ 349 1 fim, and joins on to the fea, by a nar- row communication that admits of being dammed, fo as to prevent the fifh from re- turning thither. The famous Acheron is Acheron; about a mile from hence ; this is how called by the peafants Lago Fufaro : near it was fituated the country-houfe of Servilms Va- tia, mentioned by Seneca as the only man 'who knew hoiv to live, who defcribes alfb the beauties of the fituation and houfe. . Between the lake of Mare Morto and thd Pifcina fea-fhore is a great antique building called Pifcina Mirabik^ which was probably a re- fervoir j it meafures two hundred feet by one hundred and thirty ; the roof is fup- ported by forty-eight large pillars; you defcend into it by two ftaircafes, each of forty fteps. I believe you think we fhall never arrive at Cuma ; but the reafon is, that thefe an- tiquities I have mentioned lie wide of each other, and are fo fituated, that they cannot be taken regularly, the roads to them fre- quently t 3*0 ] quently out of repair, obliges you to double back the fame ground over again ; thefe reafons and others put it out of my power to give you a clear idea of their pofition with refpect to each other, unlefs I could fend you a map of the country, a conve- nience much wanted by ftrangers, but not to be had. In our way to Cuma we pafled . by Bauli, where we had dined the day before ; thefe are about a mile's diftance from each other. Cuma. Cuma is faid to have been founded by a Greek people of an ifland now called Ne- gropontis, the ancient Eubeans of the city of Calchis, a thoufand years before the Chriftian sera. The ruins are fpread over a large tracT: of ground, and many of them covered by the fea ; yet eafily perceived from a rock which juts out into the water near Bauli. Amongft thofe ruins upon terra Jlrma^ is a houfe, which we entered ; the walls are furprifmgly thick and ftrong; the roof, on the outfide, is now even with the t 351 ] the ground, it is flat and ftuccocd with a ftrong compofition of pounded lava and pozzuolane ; the rooms vaulted, but of {"mall dimenfions. Here are forne remains of the houfe Lucuilus' of Lucullus, whofe luxury coft him his life: the walls are of large bricks, built in a kind of mofaic; fome of its lofty arches ftill witnefs its former fplendour. Arco Felice is the name of a great gate- Area way, probably one of the entrances of the town ; to this is joined on each fide part of a flrong and very thick brick-wall, fixty feet high. The Giants Temple is a building of Temple r . ,, of the twenty-nine feet long by twenty-five ; the Giants, ceiling arched, and divided into compart- ments, in which are three fquare niches : What this building was defigned for is not known, or why it is now called the Temple of the Giants. There is another vault of eighty feet long under ground, and near this temple, with niches in the walls, from which 6 [ 35* ] which it may be conjediired, with gfeai appearance of probability, that it has beeh a catacomb or burial-place. Sibyl's The entrance of the Sibyl's * Cave is Cave* by a broad and flat arch ; it is fo filled up with earth, which prevents your pe- nctratihg it farther than about twenty paces with eafe. It really feems poffible, that this fhould be the other end of the cavern on the fide of Avernus. Our guide aflerts ftrenuoufly; that he has gone the whole Way himfelf, a great part of it upon his hands and knees, and conftantly {looping more or lefs during the remainder bf the paffage; but we are not ready to believe that a man of his fort would under- * The Cumean Sibyl was the feventh in the order of Si- byls ; (he was faid to be the daughter oFGlaucus, and prieftefs of Apollo, to have lived feven centuries; and was the fame who offered Tarquin the Sibyls books, of which there were tiine; fhe demanded a hundred pieces of gold, which was tefufed her ; upon which fhe burned fix of them,- and the king regretting he had not purchafed them all, and believing the remaining three might contain molt important fecrets, acquired them at the price (he had afiied for the whole. take [ 353 ] take a pilgrimage of this nature from no other motive than that of curiofity. We entered the cave a few paces, but the arch and the ground were fo near, that it foon became necefiary to get upon our hands and knees; and as it feemed to become ftill more contracted, and the flambeaux grew dim, we retired with what fpeed we could ; fo judge you if it was poffible for this man to have penetrated three miles in utter darknefs. I filled my pockets with fome handfuls of the earth, amongft which there are abundance of antique bits of mofaic, broken agate, &c. ; and upon examination, found one intaglio of jafper; it reprefents the fign Scorpion, holding a crefcent between the fore-claws, aad has a ftar placed near the tail ; it is perfect, but I was forry it was not upon a fine gem. I have packed up a couple of deal-boxes, which contain fome antiques and articles in natural hiftory : they are to go to Eng- land by fea the firft opportunity. VOL. II. A a Having J I- 3 Having feen all that was worthy of ofe* Burying- fcrvation at Cuma, we went to the burying* places in its neighbourhood, called by the peafants Coll-imperia. Thefe depofitories of the afhes of the dead refemble each other fo nearly, that I {hall defcribe but one of them, by which you may judge of all Mono- the others : it is that of Julius Csefar; the j. Cajfar. plan is circular, the walls of brick, in thefe are little niches, each of them containing an urn, in which the afhes were depofited ; thefe have been removed, our guide told us, to the Cabinet of Rortici, but we cannot recollect having feen them there. The plan is on a fmall fcale ; I mould judge it not to exceed ten feet in diameter ; the roof forms a dome ; the architecture is of the mofl fimple kind, without painting or ftucco. We defcended into it, for all thefe maufoleums are under ground. We returned and dined at Pozzuoli, at our guide's houfe, who is a fifherman, and has a tolerable habitation. He is one of thofe people who at Naples are called t 355 } called Lazzaronis. We had frefti butter, new-laid-eggs, bread, bifcuits, anchovies, and wine ; he mewed us great hofpitality, and we rewarded him accordingly. When we were about to return to Naples, he afked me in the moft humble manner, If I had any of the black filk Englifh plafter, fo fo- vereign for wounds ? At firft I did not com- prehend what he applied for, but upon re- colledion, found it muft be the black ftick- ing court plafter. Luckily I had a bit in my pocket-book, which I gave him; he returned me a thoufand thanks ; and I learned from him, that Lady Sudley when at Naples had been fo kind as to give him and others of the lazzaroni a good deal of - it, which they had found an infallible re- medy for the colpts di coltclli they fo fre- . quently receive in brawls and quarrels with each other. The prejudice which prevails here to whatever comes from England is aftonifhing ; and indeed the mereft trifle cures thefe poor people, who A a a are [ 356 ] are almoft in a ftate of nature. He men- tioned to us feveral anecdotes of Lady Sudley, much to her honour. This lady's humanity, generofity, and every virtue, joined to a refined underftanding, a moft liberal education, and an elegant perfon, has made fuch an impreffion upon the hearts of the Neapolitans, from the court down to the lazzaroni, that whenever fhe is men- tioned, they with difficulty reftrain their tears ; a grateful tribute to her memory in a foreign country ! Having now bid adieu to thefe delight- ful coafts, which I cannot expect to fee again, I fhall return to Naples, and to a Capo di farther on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Apollo. In this church are one hundred and ten pillars of African marble, and a great number of ornaments of ftucco gilt. There are paint- ings in the roof by Santo Fede and Luc. Giordano ; the colouring is too grey, and the figures want relief. The fount is an- tique; [ 369 ] tique : it is really a vafe of Bafalte or black marble, which by the bas relievos on its fides, plainly appears to have been facred to the rites of Bacchus. Here are fome tolerable pictures by Luc. Piaures. Giordano, Solimene, and the Chevalier da'no.' Conca. That over the great altar is one conou"** of the beft, the fubjecT: an Affumption ; by PerUgino. Perugino. In a fmall chapel called the Soccorpo, re- pofes the body of St. Gennaro. Joining on to this church is another, Santa Reftituta : Santa there are fine antique columns here, taken cturch? from the Temple of Neptune near Puozoli. This church is remarkable for a chapel, con- taining the treafure of St. Gennaro, which is round, finely proportioned, and well or" namented with forty-two pillars of Broca- teili marble. Here are niches, in which are placed bronze,ftatues of nineteen faints ; they are by Gulio Finelli ; but I think them Gulb very indifferently executed. Under thefe Fmdlif the relics of each faint are confer ved VOL. II. B b in I 370 ] in hollow biiftos and fmall filver ftatues. In the church is a large picture of St. Gen- naro by Spagnolett : there are many valu- able g;ifts preferved here ; amongft a great number of others, the gold chalice orna- mented with diamonds, is efti mated at about four thoufand pounds fterling ; alfo many ftatues and filver buftos, &c. of very great value, and feveral of them enriched with pre- cious Hones. A nich behind the altar, to which there is a filver door, is the repofitory of two cryftal phials, filled with the pretended blood of St. GennarO) which they formerly aflerted to have been collected by a Neapo- litan lady, who was prefent at his martyr- dom: but now the Neapolitans are much changed ; and the ridiculous pretended mi- racle of the liquefadion of his blood upon certain days, &c. is grown^almoft univer- fally contemptible at Naples, even in the eyes of the vulgar: for the poor man who fweeps the church faid, that the Prince San- fivcra had made a chymical preparation. v ^ which t 37i 3 which exactly refembles St. Gennaro'd blood, and caufed it to liquefy in the fame manner, by the warmth proceeding from his handling the phial, and turning it up and down. I am perfuaded, that were the two holidays * in each year, and the pom- pous proceflions in honour of this faint, to be put down, the miracle would foon ceafe. Another church in much eftimation is St. St. Fillppo Filippo di Neri : it is highly decorated with church, marble and painting. The whole hiftory of the Saint is reprefented by Solimene, and tolerably well done. There is a cupola be- longing to one of the chapels, which is painted in frefco by Simonetti. It is well done, the colouring good, and the compo- fition ingenious : the fubjecl: is Judith ihewing the head of Holofernes to the whole army, who all appear terrified at the fight. At the top of the cupola is a glory, with a blafphemous reprefentation, but too common in Italian churches. * The 6th of May and the igth of September. Bb 2 In [ 372 ] In another chapel is an admirable picture Culdo. of St. Francis by Guido j the head and hands finely done : and a very affecting paints ing, reprefenting St. Alexis expiring, with a glory, in which appears angels confoling him ; the figures are all graceful, and of p;etro da the moft amiable character : it is by Putro da Cortona, Over the great door of en- trance, within the church, is a very large Luc. painting in diftemper, by Luc. Giordano ; the fubject the buyers and fellers driven out of the temple. The fize of this picture is enormous : there is great merit in the va- rious exprefiions of the perfonages, and {kill in the grouping. One of the chapels contains three-paint- ings relative to the hiftory of St. Filippo. L ttC . They are all by Luc. Giordano. That Giordano. a pp ears to me to have much merit, which reprefents an interview between the Saint and St. Baromeo. In another part of the Efpagno- church is a picture of St. Andrew, by Spagnoletto. A fine morcel, 2 I could [ 373 ] I could fay more of the churches ; but I will not, though I told you before, I have not feen them all ; and I own 'there is no- thing more fatiguing than church-hunting, except perhaps (in your opinion) church- readrng. The palace and chapel with all its curio- fities belonging to il Principe de Sanfe e uero Z). Raimondo dl Sangro, being all fet forth in a pamphlet which bears the above title, I {hJl omit mentioning any otherwife than by faying we have accurately examined it with the book in our hands, and of which you may have the perufal when we meet. Do not expect any circumftantial account of Mount Vefuvius : Mr. Hamilton has Mount Vefuvius. wrote moft ingeniouily upon that mountain and volcanos in general j his treatife will appear fhortly in Englifh. All I have to tell you is, that although there has been no irruption, properly fo called, fmce we have been here, yet the mountain is always burning, and in a dark night makes a moft B b 3 flaming [ 374 ] flaming appearance, feenfrom our windows. It bellows like diftant thunder, freqtiently throws out flames to a prodigious height, and great ftones red hot, which are plainly difcernible at this diftance. I have feveral times obferved the afhes thinly covering our balconies : they are as fine as fifted wood-afhes. If there fhould happen an irruption within this day or two, I xdo not think we fhould be able to refift the temptation of poftponing our journey to fee it : but I allure you, I have ftrictly com- plied with your injunctions, and have not attempted to go up the mountain ; M indeed had, with great fatigue and diffi- culty, gained the mouth of the crater e ; but the wind fetting in his face, he was obliged to defcend without being able to look down into it, the fulphureous fmoke, ftench, and afhes fcarcely permitting him to breathe : however, I prevailed with him not to at- tempt itafecond time, though he alleged he had not feen it to his liking. In my opi- nion. f 375 .] nion, it is a moft hazardous and dangerous undertaking : the afcent is very painful ; and the ground, or rather afhes and lava, under your feet, is fubject to open fud- denly, whilft paffing over them, and difco- ver dreadful chafms, through which appear gulphs of liquid fire. Were I to expatiate on the danger of this exploit, I might men- tion many other matters; but mall only take notice, that ftones red hot, many of them as large as a clothes-prefs or commode^ - are vomited out of the cratere* which fall- ing down again with great violence, may eafily crufli the curious traveller, who per- haps is employed in the inveftigation of the lava, over which he is labouring with much pain and difficulty. Amongft the amufe- ments of Naples, I believe I did not men- tion the Corfo. Here the Neapolitans dif- Corfo. play a magnificence that amazes ftrangers, particularly on the ga!a-d&ys. The coaches are painted, gilt, and varnifhed fo admi- rably, as to exceed by many degrees in B b 4 beauty [ 376 ] beauty the fineft in Paris : they are lined with velvet or fattin, fringed with gold or filver. The Neapolitan horfes are the moil beautiful I ever faw; large, flrong, high'-fpirited, with manes and tails as fine as flax, of a great length, and in waves. Their harnefs is as brilliant as it is poffible to make them ; I fhall only mention one fet, by which you may judge of others : the whole was made of -blue filk and filver ; and the ornament that covered the top of the horfes manes reprefented rows of con- volvulufes formed of the fame materials, and finely executed : on their heads they bore white oftrich-feathers and artificial flowers. On thefe gala-dajs, the Neapo- litan ladies drive with fix, and often with eight horfes; befides, a kind of lumpier horfe, which does not draw, but is fattened on the outfide, between the leaders and the next pair. This creature, over and above a profufion of ornaments, is covered with an incredible number of little bells, of which he [ 377 1 he Teems very proud, kicking, prancing, and plunging from time to time, as with defign to hear his bells jingle. This horfe is called Balerina^ I fuppofe from appear- ing to dance as he goes. Were I writing Italian, I muft have wrote fhe, inftead of he, in fpeaking of the Balerina ; a manner of expreffing refpet in more inftances than the Sumpter horfe. 1 could not but refiecl: on the infinite pains and labour the dreffing fuch a number of horfes requires. I fup- pofe que la toilhtte des chevanx commence au point dujour comme cdk ds * * # The Volantis (running footmen) of whom, to each equipage, there are gene- rally two, are as finely adorned as the horfes, and I do fuppofe them to be the moil alert in the world. The Neapolitans value themfelves much on thefe minifters of luxury; they are all very elegant figures. I don't remember to have feen one homely young man amongft the hun- dreds that appear on the Corfo. Footmen/ you [ 378 ] you may fuppofe, are not wanting ; they are in great numbers in every noble family here : three or four go behind the coaches, and often more walk by the fide of the equipages. We have frequently feen on the Corfo from four to fix hundred car- riages. Lord Til y, who gives fine af- femblies, dinners, fuppers, &c. and who lives in a magnificent ftyle, rivals the Nea- politans on the Corfo in the brilliancy of his equipage, and the expence of his li- veries, volantis, &c. Need I add, that the ladies who are conveyed in thefe fu- perb coaches are covered with jewels, and the fineft cloaths that can be procured from Lyons. The filks manufactured in Italy are in no efteem. All the people of fafhion wear thofe of Lyons. The embroidery of Naples is famous, but is generally done on French filks. In my opinion, the work is firmer, neater, and the drawing in a better tafte, than the embroidery of Vi- enna. After [ 379 3 After having paiTed the whole day and part of the night in writing this long let- ter, I am at laft come to a conclufion.- - You {hall hear from me as foon as we fhall have reached Rome ****** I am as ever, &c. LETTER XXXIX. Rome, March zcth, 1771. HERE we are fafely arrived, in good health ; and extremely well lodged, at 1 6 fequins a month for our apartment, and two fequins our kitchen, in the Strada della Cruce^ a flreet that goes out of the Piazza di Spagna. The houfe is precifely oppofite Pio's, where we lodged before. Our apartment confifts of a good anti- chamber, a drawing-room about 33 feet long by 30 wide, and 1 5 high, two very handfome bed-chambers, and a narrow flip of a room which I intend to ufe as a falle & manger. The rooms (except the anti- antichamber) are hung with crimfon da- niafk, the chairs, beds, and fofas of the fame. They are furnifhed with fine mar- ble tables, and looking-glafles ; we have alfo a good kitchen, and rooms for our fervants. Our return hither has been at- tended with much fewer inconveniencies than our journey to Naples ; for il Signore Pignatelli was fo obliging as to furnifh us with a written order figned by fome people in power, which operated to curb the in- folence, delays, &c. of the poft-mafter's cuftom-houfe officers, and fuch kind of mifcreants, who are the -torment of tra- vellers ; yet he did not flatter us with the hope that this inftrument for good order, good manners, &c. would be of much-ufe ; afluring us, that he himfelf, though armed with every authority that might be fup- pofed conducive to his eafe and conveni- ence upon the road, and moreover vefted with a public character from his government, which demands attention and refpect, was fo fo ill treated and ill ferved by inn-keepers, &c. as to be obliged to prefer fuch com- plaints againft them upon his return to Naples, as procured a fufpenfion of fome of the poft-mafters, ?<;. and a total difqua- lification of others from a continuance of their bufinefs. I have often been agreeably furprifed at finding, by your letters, that my great packets reach you fafe. The pods in Italy (at leaft as far as we have been) are ill re- gulated, and the letters conveyed in fo carelefs a manner, that I wonder ^they are not frequently loft. If they charged for double letters in thefe countries as in Eng- land, my letters would coft you an immenfe fum ; but as they are paid for by weight, I fcribble as clofe as I can, and you fay you never paid fo much as nine livres but once, and then there was more than one packet. I think it a great deal of money for my epiftles, though you make fo light of it, I am now nearer to you thin when at I 38,* J at Naples, fo flatter myfelf I (hall hear from you oftener. I am in daily expecta- tion of fome of your letters from Naples, and I do not queftion your having wrote to Rome immediately, on my firft hinting our intention of quitting Naples. I have no reafon to complain of neglect of writing on your part your tender friendfhip * ****** We have already had the pleafure of feeing fome of our Englifh friends ; many jnore are expected from Florence. Our Roman acquaintance will be very extenfive. I wifh we may have time to fee this once miftrefs of the world, and all her curio- fities ; but is that practicable in the courfe of a few months ? However, we fhall be diligent, and apply 'ourfelves to the ftudy of the great objects which drew us hither ; and endeavour to ufe our time with the beft ceconomy. Upon looking over my notes taken at Naples*! find I did not mention fome par- ticulars [ 33 1 ticulars I had purpofely marked for com- munication. In defcribing the Corfo, I negletled to fpeak of the various amufe- ments for the people, which continue the whole length of the fuburb called the Corfo. Mountebanks, ballad-fingers, dancers, and even friars, who are mounted in pulpits, difplay their various talents to the vulgar. This is change of fcene to the company alfo, who fometimes conde- fcend to flop their coaches, in order to liften to the eloquence of a Charlatan, or the lamentable preachings and menaces proceeding from the pulpit in a difmal tone. The more the friar, with great vo- ciferation, denounces damnation, flames, and devils to the public, the louder are the acclamations of the people. But the circles round the ballad-fingers and mountebanks, exceed thofe of the preachers. The Lazzaroni, as they are here called, Lazzaro- are of the loweft rank amongft the people. They are, in general, bred to no other bufinefs t 384 ] bufmefs than that of fifhing and carrying burdens, and are of a different character from the other Neapolitans. Being a very extraordinary people, I aflure you, they gover/i thenifelves by a point of honour, which is ftridly obferved may be fafely confided in to carry money and the moft valuable goods ; never betray a truft ; rigidly perform their promife ; protect, to the lofs of their lives, whoever flies to them for ihelter, whether againfl their creditors, or for any offence whatfoever. They are. of a robuft make and conftitution, patient of fatigue. Their women are handfpme. The men and boys remark- able for diving ; being accuftomed to fwimming from their earlieft infancy. When paft childhood, they wear a parti- cular drefs ; a kind of fhort coat very thick, and impenetrable to rain ; which alfo protects them from the intenfe heats of the fun. This fluff is wove with certain long filaments of a dark brown colour, and looks [ 385 ] looks like hair. It grows to a fhell-fifli not larger than a fmall oyfter. The filh contained in the fhell is of a deep red co- lour, and has a fourifli tafte. The children* during the fpring, fu miner, and autumn months, wear no clothes; the women only a jacket and petticoat of a kind of callimanco, with a large piece of coarfe linen over their heads, necks, and fhoul- ders, to defend them from the fun ; in which trim they fit at the doors of their ha- bitationsall day long, mending fiming-nets. They have, literally, no houfes, but cham- bers praclifed in the rock^ at a place called Chiaia, a fuburb of Naples near the Pau~ Jiliippe ; in which they have either found| or formed themfelves* many obfcure re- treats, that penetrate far into the cliff, where they can conceal themfelves, orthofe. who apply to them for protection, upon any emergency. In this fuburb (Chiaia) are fome pretty new houfes, where the Engliih generally VOL. II. C c chufc t 386 ] chufe to refide, to the amazement of the Neapolitan gentry, who fancy they run great rifk in fo bad a neighbourhood ; their prejudices not favouring the lazzaroni. Of a gala-day, thefe people, of both fexes, are adorned with a quantity of broad gold and filver lace, with which the men's coats are trimmed, as alfo the women's jackets and petticoats, which, for thefe oc- cafions, are of filk. Thefe latter, upon fuch days, wear upon their heads a kind of Callotte^ laced in the fame manner, with gold ear-rings of a large fize, pearl neck- laces and bracelets. When thefe people can fave money enough to be able to appear at the fports on the Corfo in Gala, their ambition is completely gratified. The pooreft family amongft them have a kind of one-horfe- chair, and a little horfe. In thefe tottering equipages do they drive through the ftreets, with furprifing fwifjnefs and dexterity. 5 J We were very fond of converfirig with this people, and have often gone into their houfes, which are not dirty, but clofely ornamented with bad pictures of faints, iooking-glaffes, fome good fhells, and fine coral, which they dive for, and find in great abundance near the coaft, particularly on the fide towards Sicily. We have bought feveral articles of various forts from them, and never found one amongft them inclined to knavery or impofition. They pronounce themfelves the defendants of the ancient inhabitants of Naples and its neighbour- hood : and that the princely, and noble fa- milies, who are at prefent in pofleffion of power and property^ are not gentlemen compared to them, but of lefs ancient fa- milies. They are extremely fenfible and entertaining in eonverfation, and when they have brought me (hells, &c. to pur- chafe, I ufed to make them fit down ori the floor, (which is a great favour here) in order to hear their legendary accounts Cc * of [ 388 ] of themfelves and country. One thing 1$ remarkable, that whether the defendants of the families they pretend to or not, they ard the only Neapolitans whofe features refera- ble the buffos and ftatues found at Hercu- laneum and Pompeia. As to the government of Naples, it is defpotic. The favourite minifter's name is! Tannucci, his wife has admirable fenfe, and great political genius ; but I believe,' with fome reafon, that the Prince who really governs there, is the King of Spain ; at leaft, fuch is the prefent generally re- ceived opinion. But I cannot enter into political matters at prefent, as I am threat- ened with the departure of the poft ; fo muft haften to tell you, that Rome feems T a defart after Naples ; that 'tis fo cold, we have great fires in all the rooms ; that the fpring is far from being fo forward near this city as at Naples ; and that we quitted fome of our friends there with regret ; be- ing thoroughly fenfible to, and grateful for. ^ f 389 } for, their civilities and friendfhip. There is fomething very fhocking in leaving an agreeable place, and an amiable people, that one has not the leaft expectation of ever feeing more. But thefe reflections are fuch as travellers muft accuftom them- felves to difpofe of in the beft manner they are able. Adieu. I am tired after my journey. I lhall write again as foon as I poffibly can, for to-morrow we commence our cours des curiofites. I am as ever, fac. LETTER XL Rome, March 26, 1771, j"UST as I fuppofed ; I have received J letters from you that had gone to Naples ; and one addrefied here, which our good friend Barrazzi haftened with Jiimfelf, I like this old banker procligi- oufly ; there is a cordiality in him, and a defire to be really fervlable. He hurries C c 3 himfelf t 39 I" himfelf to death to oblige us, and he knows he could not do it more effectually than by his kind attention in the delivery of our letters -f% ****** ********** We have made an addition to our tra- velling library, which is of the greateft ufe to us ; viz. a book entitled, Antichita di Roma dell Abute Ridolf.no Venuti Cortonefe, &c. The author has, kindly for his read- ers, delineated the different quarters of Rome and its environs, with the ruins and other curiofities they contain, in fuch man- ner as to fave a ftranger much time and trouble ; as by following his directions, it js eafy to calculate how much may be feen in a morning. It is illuftrated with accu- rate measurements, defcriptions, and cuts ; the latter, unfortunately, are but poorly executed. This work will mew you Rome at our return, much better than any de- f A great part of this letter is omitted by the Editor, as it Delates to matters and perfons uninterefting to the Public. fcriptiqn, [ 39* 1 fcription I cat) give you ; however, as you conftantly wifh me to continue a. defcrip- tion of what I have feen, I will not quite difappoint your expectation, but fhall fo far comply, as to mention thofe parti- cular palaces, churches, ftatues, pictures, ruins, that ftruck us moft, though not in fo circumftantial a manner as I have done in regard to other parts .of Italy, lefs noticed in the books of travels. If you fhould wifh to fee more particulars than I give you, have patience, and at our re- turn you fhall have the perufal of a cer- tain pocket-book, containing many notes and obfervations made upon the fpot. You fee I refpect your partiality. I do not think Sadler's prints of the ruins of Rome fufficiently accurate after the originals. Piraneie's are too confuied to give a clear idea of them ; he is fo ridi- culoufly exact in trifles, as to have injured the fine proportions of the columns of the portico to the pantheon, by inferring, in C c 4 his his gravings, the papers ftuck on them, fuch as advertifements, &c. Many other? filly particulars of this nature have con- fufed his defigns ; yet they are efteemed the beft here ; and we have made an ample collection of the moft valuable of them. The ruins we have feen, greatly exceed our ideas formed of them from books and prints. Capitol. The capitol, or, as it is here called, Campidoglio, has employed us two long mornings. The approach is linking. The three flights of fteps which conduct to it have a magnificent appearance ; they fire fo built that a coach may be drove up them. The French call thefe flights of fteps un Efcalier cordonne^ which expref-* (ion fufficiently explains the practicability of a coach going up ftairs. , The tvyo Sphinxes of Bafalte, placed at the bottom of the iiair-cafe, have great merit. They are of remote antiquity, and fup- [ 393 1 pofed to be Egyptian. The capitol con* fifts of three confiderable buildings. The fenator's palace in the middle ; the two others at right angles with it. One is the Palazzo di Confervatori, the other the Mufeum. The architecture was defigned and executed under the infpeclion of Mi- Michael chael Angelo. In the center of the Piazza. Angela, ftands the equeftrian ftatue of Marcus Au- statue, relius. It is impoffible to do this ftatue juftice by any defcription I can give of it. What Carlo Maratti faid to the horfe, may give you an idea of its truth ; Why do* ft thou not 'walk ? haft thou forgot that thou'rt alive ! The Senator's Palace does not contain Senator's any curiofities or antiques worthy the at- tention of a traveller : it is properly fur-? nifhed, and has fine apartments fuitable to the diftinguifhed rank of the prince who occupies it. The Pallazzo di Confervatori Confer. is fo called from the three magiftrates der i a a ce . nominated Confervators, who ho!4 their [ 394 1 counfels there. In the court belonging to Statues, this palace are feveral ftatues in bronze, and in marble ; fome are antique, others modern ; the moft remarkable are the Coloflkl hands and feet of a mutilated coloflal ftatue of Apollo*. It is faid to have been 41 feet high. We meafured a great toe, which was exactly 35 inches round the thickefl part. The lion tearing a horfe is ori- ginally of Greek fculpture ; it is not wholly antique; the parts wanting have been fupplied by Michael Angelo ; the body of the horfe is antique, and very fine. Famous At tlie * Ot f the ftair ' cafe is * fa ~ Column. mous Column erected in honour of Dui- lius, the firft Roman who acquired a naval victory in the year of Rome 49. This column, no more than 12 feet high, is not beautiful, being interfered by the reprefentations of the prows of (hips, which give it a ftrange appearance, and * See Pliny for this ftatue and diraenfions. hurt t 595 1 hurt the proportions. The fea-horfes, in las relief t on the prows, are of good work- manfhip. Several curious morfels in fculp- ture ornament the walls of the ftair-cafe. I muft mention one of them, on account of the fingular ufe to which it is put : it is in las- relief i and antique. All the flurgeons that are brought to market are meafured againft this marble one. Such as are in length equal to the diftance between the head and the firft finns, and thofe that ex- ceed, are the property of the Roman, ma- giftrates. This has been a cuftom from time immemorial. The infcription over the bas-relief is thus : CAPITA PISCIUM, MARMOREO SCHEMATE, LON- GITUDINE MAJORUM, USQUE AD PBIMAS PEN- NAS INCLUSIVE, CONSERVATORIBUS DANTO, FRAUDEM NE COMMITTITO, IGNORAN HA EX- CUSARI NE CREDITO. 3IU The great Salloon is painted by the Great Cavalieri d'Arpino ; it reprefents the firft great eyents of the Roman ftory ; in fix t 396 ] fix pieces. The beft is the battle of the Romans with the Veil. It is the only battle piece I have feen fufficiently diftindl to give me an idea of a dreadful engagement be- tween two hoftile armies. Buflo M. In the fecond Salloon is an admirable B u n gafh, and the edges, of the metal appear really to have been burnt. It is a very fine thing, notwithftanding this injury. The countenance of the wolf is extremely interefting. Maternal tendernefs, and the importance of her office, are curioufly blended in her phyfiognomy ^nd geflure, A ftatue t 397 1 A ftatue in bronze, alfo, of a young Sta'.uc$ inan, occupied in extracting a thorn from his foot. This is as fine a piece of fculp- ture as any in Rome. It is fuppofed by forne to reprefent Cneius Pecoravius, by bthers Mai'tius. The eyes are formed of a compofition. A bufto of Brutus, the founder of the republic, and the firft conful of Rome, 511 years before the Chriffian sera. The greatnefs of his mind difplays itfelf in his countenance. A beautiful ftatue of one of the Camilli, The eyes are of filver. There are feveral other buftos, (tataes, meafures, &c. &c. ; but I wifh to be as concife as poffible in my letters from Rome, for the reafons I have already alleged. The gallery of pictures, collected by pope Benedict XIV. by the advice of car- dinal Valenti, the fecretary of ftate, joins on to the Confervatorio. I fhall mention but t 398 ] but a few of them, though there are many that merit the moft accurate attention. p - da A rape of the Sabines by Pietro da Cor- Cortona. tona. In one of the groups is a diftrefs fa {hiking but judge of it yourfelf : an old man is endeavouring to refcue his daughter from a warrior. She clings about her father* whofe age and weaknefs renders him inca- pable of protecting her. A picture reprefenting the fuckling of Rubens. Remus and Romulus finely done by Ru- bens. Muft not the partiality of the painter* however, raife a fmile in every fpectator ; who introduces a Flemifh peafent, trudging through the ruflies, in order to difcover the infants ? jf A large miniature, by Madame Subley- raz. raZj copied from one painted by her hufc band. The fubject is the Magdalene wafh- ing the feet of Chrift : the colouring is ftrong, the tints frem, and a firhinefs in the defign very rarely found in miniature paintings. The [ 399 ] The Perfian Sybil, by Guercino ; the Guercino. head is remarkably graceful, and the countenance penfive, yet animated. But the colouring of this mafter inclines too much to the violet, as does his flefh, dra- pery, <&c. A picture which rfprefents Vanity under the form of a woman, highly draped, lying on a bed, with a crown and fceptre at her feet. This piece is by Titian ; the colour- Titian, ing very fine. A Judith, by Guido; the painter has Guido. reprefented her in the moment of returning thanks to God for her having decapitated Holofernes. The attitude is good. The goddefs Fortune, by Guido ; a beau- Guido. tiful figure elegantly defigned not draped. She appears to be running round a globe, and, at the fame time, turning (as for her amufement) a crown upon her fingers' ends. I confidered this picture for a confiderable time, and difcovered, as I thought, t thought, new graces, both of inventiofl and execution. A beautiful Madonna and Infant Jefug* Annibai with St. Francis in adoration, by Annibal fcafracci. ^ Carracci. The Samaritan, by the fame; the co- louring fine. Saivator Two pictures, by Salvator Rofa : one reprefeftts a foldier, refting himfelf at the foot of a tree ; the other, a magician, forming a pad with infernal fpirits j this laft is admirable. Guido. There is a large painting, in frefco, by Guido, which entirely covers the wall at the end of the gallery. It reprefents Ari- adne, to whom Venus prefents Bacchus. This is greatly fmifhed. Ariadne's atti- tude is worthy of Guido. The expreffion of Venus forms a fine contrail to the afe flicted Ariadne ; and the furprife and ad* miration in Bacchus is ftriking ; the face and attitude of Venus animated, lively, and iand majeflic. The Bacchanals are ex- tremely well executed. One of the Bac- chantes is a moft graceful figure and there are feveral children, whofe variety of atti- tude and amufements are well exprefTed. I mall mention but two more pictures in this collection, one on account of the fingularity of the fubject : It reprefents a happy foul under the figure of a winged U1 * genius, who, quitting the earth, is flying away into paradife. The compofition of this piece is extremely curious, and equally meritorious, in my opinion, on the fide of invention ; for the upper part of the figure is feen through the brightnefs of the glory towards the top of the picture. Guido has {hewn a (kill in his colouring which fur- pafTes any thing given us by Nature, fol- lowing here an original image formed in his imagination only. A picture, by Jacopo BafTano ; efteemed j ac opo the beft he ever did, reprefenting a brafier's Ba ' T4no * {hop. It is impoflible to Tee brafs porridge- pots and other culinary veflels better done VOL. II, D ' aad [ 402 ] and in greater variety of fituations. What a ftrange genius had this painter, whofe performances always fmell of the kitchen. Mufeum. In the Mufeum, (juftly fo ftyled) oppo- fite to the Pallazzo of the Confervatorio, is contained a vaft collection of antique ftatues, bas relievos, buftos, <&c. I muft not pafs them all over in filence, though I might refer you to far abler defcriptions than you muft expect from me. Oppofite to the iron gate of entrance, and at the end of the court, appears the Statues, celebrated ftatue called Marforio; it was found in the place formerly the Forum Martis, near this fpot. It is a coloflal figure lying down, and without much merit ; feeming to reprefent a fea or river god ; nor mould I have noticed his god- Ihip, had it not been that againft this were pafted the anfwers to thofe fatyrical verfes ftuck upon another antique ftatue called PafquinO) from whence the term pafquinade, fo frequently given to fcur- rilous and abuftve poems. Under the 4 portico [ 43 J] portico are a great number of fbtues, in* icriptions, and farcophagufes. Two very large Egyptian idols make a finking ap- pearance; they are of Bqfalte : on their heads are mural crowns in the fhape of .towers ; and in their left hands they hold branches of date trees. Various hieroglyi- phics are fculptured upon them. Another idol reprefenting an ifis of oriental red granite, has on her head the flower of the lotus tree. This plant, held in fuch high efUmation by the Egyptians, is called by the botanifls Nenuphar ; but I muft not digrefs here, or I could mention -the won- derful effects afcribed, and many curious and rare (lories in relation to it. Suffice it to fay, that it grows commonly on {land- ing pools of water ; and happy were it for antiquarians, if a fallad of lotus eat at each meal or immediately at going to reft, &c, could infpire them with fcience fufficient to -comprehend the meaning of the hierogly- phics. D d * There [ 404 1 Antique There are fome antique Altars here, altars. with cur i ous bas-relievos ; that on which Rhea and the Coribantes are reprefented, is one of the befl for the workmanftiip. In a room, at the foot of the flair-cafe, is a very fine collection of Egyptian deities : they are quite perfect. Here is a beauti- ful bufto of Ifis with Apis at the back of her head ; he has white marble horns. The reft of his figure is of Bafalte. Stair-cafe. The walls of the flair-cafe, on each fide, are incrufted with an antique plan of Rome, engraved on white marble. This curiofity was found where the church of St. Come and St. Damien now flands, and in the quarter at this day called Campo-Vaccino, where the temple of Romulus and Remus was fuppofed to have been built. The graving is filled up with vermilion, which makes the diflribution of ancient Rome diftindly perceptible. Coliec- . Having afcended the flair-cafe, you are Curiofi- ^ r ^ & ewn i nto an apartment (which con- *** tains the collection) confifting of fix large falloons, J falloons, and a gallery ornamented with ilatues, buftos, &c. The bufto of Trajan is very good. An altar, decorated in a fine tafte with feftoons, formed of fruits, and faftened with ribbons to ox-heads, is admirably fculpted. In the falloon of the Mifcellanea is a ftatue of red marble, re- prefenting Faunus ; in his right hand he holds a bunch of grapes, in the left a knotted crooked ftick, and on that fhoulder a goat-fkin filled with fruits. On the other fide of him is part of the trunk of a tlM & tree, to which hangs the Syringa. To the left is a goat, which refts one of its fore-feet on a bafket. This group is truly admirable ; the compofition is of the mod perfect proportions ; the figure of Faunus greatly fpirited ; the limbs are not antique, but have been well reftored by one Bracci. A fmall Statue, in white marble, of an old fatyr walking. -Several Buftos, amongft which the following are remark- able : Domitius Enobarbus, Silvanus, Ju- piter Ammon. An unknown bufto, with D d 3 fins t 406 ] fine hair, executed in a great ftyle. A head of Bacchus, and one of a woman,, which I fhould think was meant for Ari- adne ; (he wears acrofs her forehead a linen fillet. $*lla In the Salla Grande ; a coloflal figure, of bronze, fitting ; it is the ftatue of In- nocent the Tenth, and well done, by Al- guardi. The falling gladiator. An Antinous, holding a fmall cane in his right hand : he appears to be about 20 years old ; his face is beautiful, and the air of the head perfectly graceful. An Egyptian prieft. The dying gla- diator ; this famous ftatue exceeds the idea I had formed of it from the copies and de- fcriptions. The countenance made fuch an impreflion upon me, that I believe I fhall not eafily forget it. That arm reftored by Michael Angelo exceeds the antique arm in beauty. Two Centaurs of black marble, found &t the Villa of Adrian, The faces of thefe centaurs [ 407 1 centaurs are replete with expreffion of wit and humour. There is a .hardnefs in the fculpture of their bodies, but their charac- ter and movement is good. Two curious Mofaicks, found at the villa Adrian. One reprefents a garland of fruits and flowers, with two goldfinches and two butterflies. The colours are lively, and the ftones fmall. The other flill more beautiful, is unqueflionably the very fame which Pliny mentions. The fubjecT: is four doves, fitting on the edge of a gold bowl, of elegant form and work- manmip. Their attitudes are all different, and their feathers fo finely exprefied, that were they alive, they could not appear more natural. One, in particular, who is pluming herfelf; and the hollow fhe makes, by dividing her feathers with her bill, fo impofed on me, that I could not refift the impulfe of touching it, to con- vince rnyfelf that the furface was really fmooth. This piece is copying for Lord B e, by the famous workman firnam- Dd 4 ed t 4*8 1 ed Quattri Occhi, from his wearing two pair of fpe&acles. They have had much trouble in the attempt, and have been obliged to recommence feveral times ; the flones in the original which produce fb fine an effect being of very irregular fhapes, exceedingly fmall, and placed in an infi- nity of directions. But if one can form a judgment of what it will be when finifhed, by what is already done, I fhould think it may come near the original. In the Stanza di, Filofofi, are a feries of illuftrious men. The figure of Zeno is particularly ftriking ; he is very ugly, ,and is fo characleriftic of the idea I had formed of him, 'that I am perfuaded it muft be extremely like what he was. Here -are four friezes, ornamented with prows of fhips, and inftruments of facrifice, well fculpted ; taken from a temple of Neptune. Alfo, a more curious than beautiful repre- fentation, in has relief, of the death of Meleager. SHMftbffiiitaaBJT $ A very A very pretty Bajfo Relievo, of Etrufcaii antiquity, on which four women appear, preceded by a fawn : it is highly finifhed. In the Sala Imper atari is a baflb relievo, saia im- reprefenting the chace of the wild boar ; per< there is great fpirit and action in all the parties. Perfeus refcuing Andromeda; La- lande obferves, qtfelle eft belle, mais trop trifle. I wonder how fhe fhould be other- wife, when a dreadful monfter is gaping to fwallow her up. The famous Flora, found alfo at the Villa Adriana. The fculpture is furprif- ing, and the labour of the workman very great ; yet the drapery is ftiff. A Venus, juft out of the bath ; her attitude is the fame with that of the Venus of Medicis. By her fide a piece of drapery and a perfuming vafe. Her mufcles are fupple. She has a great fhare of grace, and is efteemed a perfect figure here. Yet I think, was fhe drefled, {he would appear too plump for the prefent tafte. Nor has fhe that incomparable fweetnefs 410 ] fweetnefs of face which the Venus of Me- dicis poflefles. The moft remarkable buftos in this fal- loon are, MefTalina, whofe character is well exprefled. Julia, daughter to Titus. Sabina, wife to Adrian, reprefented as a Ceres. Fauftina ; this is a charming bufto ; fhe feems alive ; her hair is beauti- fully drefled ; fhe has a noble air of the head, without pride ; and her countenance expreflfes what the French mean by enjou- went) and which, by the way, I think is fometimes miftaken by the ladies of ano- .olfiV ' ther country, when they mean to aflume it. Good buftos of Caligula, Nero, Lucius Verus, and Commodus. Salla of In the Salla of Hercules is a fine Apollo, Hercules. . t . . , . , with a lyre in one hand, leans upon a griffin; the other arm is turned over his head; this ftatue is moft pleafing in its proportions. Agrippina, feated in a curule chair; nothing caa be more eafy and graceful than her attitude. She is, alfo, finely draped. A Cupid [ 4" ] A Cupid and Pfyche. The moft mno- cent and tender affe&ion is expreffed ia this amiable group, and univerfally pleafes every fpectator ; although il grande Vir- tuofi are eager to find a fault in the fcull of the Cupid, which I am -glad I had not fufficient fcience to difcover. To me they appeared perfect in every particular, and that the artift had modelled them after the moft beautiful natures, in body and mind, that could be found under the age of fix- teen. The Salla del Vafo is fo called from its con- Saiia del Vaib. taining a moft fuperb vafe of white marble ; the fides fculpted in the fineft tafte. The flowers, curioufly executed, do not, in the leaft, by their quantity or protuberance, in- to 5^3 jure the proportions of the vafe, in the form of which may be obferved the full effect pro- duced by the Serpentine line of beauty, and the waving line of grace, fo much in- fifted on in Hogarth's Analyfis of Beauty. It is placed upon a round altar, on the fide of which are reprefented, in baffb relievo, Jupiter, t 4'* 1 Tupiter, Vulcan, Neptune, Mercury, two * women unknown, Mars, Diana, Apollo, fiff? *fli - Hercules, Minerva, Juno. Thefe figures all feem walking one after the other, and are well executed. t A marble Mafque, in a great ftyle. A fmall farcophagus ; this is quite a fludy : the baffo relievo appears to reprefent, fym- bolically, the life of man. It has been fuppofed to bear fome allufion to the ftory of Diadumenianus, fon of the Emperor Macrinus, who, by the cruel command of Heliogabalus, was put to death at the fame time with his father, though but , c twelve years of age. There is another vafe in this collection of great beauty, though not equal to that above-mentioned ; it is of fine bronze, fluted, and in fhape fomewhat like flower- pots intended to ornament gardens. This was a favourite vafe of Mithridates King of Pontus, who always had it carried, with his baggage, to encampments, and conftantly drank out of k, Pompey took a like fancy . [ 4*3 j to it, and brought it to Rome, where It was born in triumph. It holds more than fix gallons, Englifh meaftire : but to me feems of the moft inconvenient fhape ima- ginable for a drinking cup ; no modem mouth 'could eafily take the brim ; the ca- pacious jaws of Polypheme might fit it well ; indeed, our Ciceroni's eyes glidened at the thought of fuch a bumper of wine. To-morrow begin the functions of the holy week. We have received vifits and the moft kind civilities from the Princefs PaJeftrina, the Duke of Montelibrette, her fon, and his dutchefs ; the Duke D'Arce ; the fe- nator of Rome and his vvife the Princefs Rizzonico, fifter to the Dutchefs of Teri- jnoli at Naples ; and many other per- fons of the firft diftindion. The cardinal de Bernis has been fo obliging as to give us a general invitation to his table ; but we declined accepting it, alleging the ftiortnefs of our flay at Rome, which would not admit pur dining out often, as by that means [ 4*4 J means our mornings would be fo broke in upon as to make it impoflible to vifit the palaces, churches, ruins, &c. within the pe- riod of our continuance here. And we have determined ourfelves not to give dinners, nor accept any invitation to dine, but fuch as are abfolutely neceffary, even from our own country-people ; but in place thereof, to give a fupper twice a week, Tuefdays and Fridays, and to afk the Englifh priii* cipally. Our table and our eating-room (the narrow flip I mentioned) can hold con- veniently from twenty to twenty- three or twenty-four people, without crouding ; now as there are fifty Englifh at Rome of our acquaintance, we mean to aik them one half at a time alternately. The Dutchefs of Montelibretti, in the politeft manner imaginable, offered to con- duel: me to St. Peter's church every day of the holy week, and hoped her health would not deprive her of that pleafure, <&c. I wondered at my own ftupidity at not re- colle&ing inftantly that fhe is big with child i [ 4'5 ] child ; I replied, that I would not for the world fhe fhould have that trouble: but knowing the cuftom here, defired fhe would be fo kind as to name another lady in her place, which fhe did, in the moft obliging manner ; and carrying me with her, prefented me to a friend of hers, the Mar chef a Mqffimi. We have engagements, without end, to various affemblies, at Eafter ; the moft brilliant are thofe of the Dutchefs of Montelibretti, the Dutchefs D'Arce, the Cardinal de Bernis, and his niece the Countefs de Puimontbrun. The families of Verofpi, Carpegni, Palombara, and many others, have -been extremely civil. M is to be prefented to his Holinefs. The Pope waves the ceremony of killing his flipper with thofe ftrangers who do not defire that honour. He de- clines the having women prefented, as, he fays, he does not know the proper com- pliments that ought to be paid to their fex ; his education and way of life never having admitted of any commerce with them* [ them*, However, a Polifh Princefs infifted lately upon itj and was prefentedj al- though {he was confcious fhe gave the Pontiff a vaft deal of trouble, as the eti- quette required the ceremony fhould be performed at St. Peter's church, whither he went on purpofe, to comply with this {illy woman's vanity* Every body laughs at her accordingly. Adieu. I mall not be able to write for fome days, or rather I mall not fend you a packet till I have ample matter for your entertainment. Continue your addrefs, as before, to the care of Barazzi, who is the moft punctual man alive. P. S. I believe I forgot to mention, in its proper place, that the antiques con- tained in the Mufeum have been (for the greater part) found at Adrian's villa, and in the Campo Vaccino. END OF THE SECOND VOLUME. University of California 1IONAL LIBRARY FACILITY LOS ANGELES, ^l^;^,^ 1 library from which Kw. borrowed. a&ffir UCLA ACCESS SERVI Interlibrary Loans 1 1 630 Young Research BOX 951575 Los Angeles, CA. 900