• fervice can it be to mankind, to have fo many perfons of both fexes, fecluded for ever from the reft of their fellow• creatures, and maintained like fo many idle drones, by the • mistaken piety and folly of others.?

P. 78. From Avignon, I fet out for Aix, the road to which lies through the most beautiful country I ever faw: you pafs over feveral downs, covered with lavender, thyme, rofemary, and other fweet aromatic herbs: the vallies are filled with groves of olive, and almond-trees, &c. intermixed with vineyards. The air of Aix is esteemed the best in France, ‹ which draws abundance of quality, especially foreigners, to <refide here. It is feldom without fome English families. <. The fituation is another great inducement, having on one <fide a beautiful plain, abounding with vineyards, orange, olive, fig, and almond-trees; and on the other fide, at a fmall distance, very high mountains. It is a parliament town, genteelly built, and the streets are large, and well laid out. The Cour, or public walk, is very beautiful, much refembling the Mall, in St. James's Park; there are four fine fountains, at proper distances, continually playing; the trees on each fide form a bower, which agreeably fhelters you from the heat of the fun. Behind the trees are two rows of wellbuilt houses; fo that, altogether, it is one of the pleasanteft ftreets I ever met with. Of a fummer's evening, it is full of polite company.'

P. 84. The French, in general, are lively, and full of gaiety, in a greater degree than any nation, I believe, upon earth; owing, in a great measure, to the purity of the air, and charming temperature of their climate. They are lo quacious, free, and open, at their first acquaintance, when < you fee the whole of them, for they feldom improve afterwards. They are inconftant, and full of levity. Their nobleffe are the politeft in Europe, but their civility is at⚫tended with little fincerity. They are fond of outfide fhew and grandeur, and delight in making a figure at the Capital for a few months; tho' they live but meanly the rest of the year, at their country-feats. The women are very free in their behaviour, and have an air of ease and gracefulness peculiar to themselves are extremely talkative, and of an infinuating difpofition. In fome parts of France they may be reckoned handfome, but, on the whole, are vaftly inferior, in point of beauty, to the English ladies. They are naturally coquettes, and given to intrigue. They deform nature by art, and paint their faces most extravagantly; and want that bloom which is fo confpicuous in our lovely

6 coun

• countrywomen. The common people are the poorest, and at the fame time the merrieft, in the world. They seem < very devout in their churches, except on feftivals, when they ⚫ are too much taken up in admiring the mufic and trappings ⚫ of the church. They are in general complaifant, tho' too often hot and fiery. In war, greedy of glory, and brave at the first onfet; but, if once repulfed, they feldom rally. They go on like thunder, and come off like fmoke. In politics the French facrifice all to the glory of their Monarch; this is their darling paffion, in the profecution of which, they regard neither oaths, nor the most folemn treaties; and being flaves themselves, would gladly reduce • mankind to their own miferable condition. The neighbour• ing nations, but efpecially the English, cannot be too much on their guard against the perfidy and ambitious defigns of the "French"

P. 96. Their public executions at Sienna, are the ftrangest in the world: I fhall therefore give the Reader an account of < the ceremonies obferved at the hanging of two Sbirries, or Baillies. As foon as a perfon is committed to prifon, (if his <crime deserves it) he never comes from thence, till he goes to be executed, and is not allowed a fair public trial, as in England. Nay, when condemned, he does not know that he is <to die, nor the day when, till about nine o'clock the preceding night. I was an eye-witness of the following ceremony. A fupper being prepared for the criminals, the goaler in the evening goes into the cell, according to his ufual custom, ⚫ to give them water, &c. on his returning back, he leaves the door a little open, which is the fatal fign of their exit the next morning; the prifoners perceiving the door not quite close fhut, and uncertain whether it is the dread fig nal, or whether left open through forgetfulness and neglect, one of them trembling crept out of the dungeon in a state of fufpence, if poffible, more terrible than death itself, and comes into a lofty hall, or very large room in the prison, with hopes of finding a door open, or fome convenient place, whereby they might make their efcape: to that end, ⚫he foftly fearches about, almoft in the dark, there being no other light, than that of a fmall glimmering lamp, which afforded but just fufficient light to make this gloomy, melan 'choly fcene appear more dismal and fhocking; after searching fome time, he finds all barricaded too faft; his hopes then fail him, and every moment he expects the dreadful ceremony is going to be performed, of which he foon had too certain proof; for presently a little fquare window opens,

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large enough for a man to put his head through, from which he hears one call with a loud voice, Chi è là? that is, Who is there? the prifoner in his fright does not an<fwer, but endeavours foftly to return to his cell; but before he can accomplish it, he hears the fame terrifying voice again, to which he answers; the goaler then informs him, that it is the will of God, and the Great Duke, that they muft die the next morning, and that the company of death were ready to affift them all night, in order to make their • peace with God, and prepare themselves for another world; this company of the dead are between thirty and forty in number, and all of them perfons of quality; their outward garment is made like our tallow-chandlers frocks, but of black linnen, and a hood of the fame over their heads, two holes being cut for their eyes, with a large black ftraw hat on, three or four yards in circumference, which, altogether," • made them resemble fo many devils; they continue the whole night with the prifoner, or prifoners, (according as it happens) praying and exhorting them to repentance; this charitable office of the noblemen pleafed me greatly, but their charity and humanity stops not here; for, at their own ex6 pence, they bury all who are accidentally killed, if their friends are unable, and all perfons executed, and accompany them to the grave. In the morning, about ten o'clock, the prifoners were brought out, and the black company walked two and two before them; a priest attended each prifoner, talking to them all the way, and a large crucifix < was carried before them; they walk in proceffion round the fquare or piazza, and ftop at a little open chapel, where the prieft at the altar repeats feveral prayers, the prisoners kneeling all the while on the fteps of the door; when he fays the Lord's prayer, and when he comes to those words, lead us not into temptation, they are ordered immediately to rife up; for if they were permitted to ftay till the priest had pronounced that part which follows, deliver us from evil, they could not, according to the law of the country, have been hanged: the goaler is obliged to take particular care not to let them continue to hear the above words. this chapel they are conducted to another; and after having faid fome more prayers, a man brings a piece of black cloth, ⚫ with a death's head, and bones, painted on it, and ties it over the prifoners eyes; fo that after this, they never fee any more in this world: they are then led through St. Mark's gate to the gallows, which is about half a mile distant from the

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<town. After praying again for fome short time, they • mount a ladder, and juft as they are going to be turned off, a man, who has a basket filled with feveral forts of drams, gives a glass to each of the prisoners, in order, as they fay, to fupport their fpirits; but, in my opinion, it would have • been more seasonable in their long proceffion from the prison to the gallows, than at the very moment they were launching into eternity. As foon as they were turned off the lad⚫der, the executioner gets upon their fhoulders, fliding down them, and by his weight puts them fooner out of their mifery. A priest then directly afcends the ladder, and makes • a long fermon, on the gallows, to the populace, which is generally large on these occafions: they hung till fun-fet, when ⚫ they were taken down, and buried."

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Page 134. The Carnival at Florence is a time of great diverfion, which continues generally three weeks, or a month ⚫ when almost every body appears in mask, as, indeed, the Flo⚫rentines generally are, being a very artful, cunning people*. they all affemble in the afternoon in the fquare or piazza • Santo Croce, which is railed in after the fame manner as Bloomsbury-fquare in London; fometimes to the number of < ten thousand masks and upwards, richly dreffed in jewels, &c. < and appear in the characters of Emperors, Kings, Turks, Devils, &c. in abundance, juft as fancy dictates to them; nay, they endeavour to confound the diftinction of fexes; "the men fometimes, by way of frolic, drefs themselves like • Venetian courtezans; and the ladies appear in the charact⚫ers of young officers, rakes, &c. Ifaw the marchioness of R-c-rdi, a lady of the greatest quality and beauty in all Florence, dreffed like a gentleman, in a rich fuit of black ⚫ velvet, without any mask on, and made a very fine figure: no prieft dares to be prefent at thefe diverfions in mask, on ⚫ penalty of being fent even to the inquifition; that holy, or • rather infernal office, employ a number of spies, who in⚫ termix with the company, in order to discover if any priests ' are amongst them; and, on the contrary, there is a pe nalty on any of thefe fellows if they thould feize on a wrong perfon; a Gentleman laid a trap for one, which happily fucceeded to the fatisfaction of all present, he had got a piece of a prieft's old gown, artfully put at the bottom of his domino; and those having eyes like hawks,

The Authors of the Delices d' Italie, give a different character to the Florentines: which fee, P. 203, tom. I.

& foon

• foon difcerned the bait, who followed him for fome time, < before they seized on their fuppofed prey: at length being, as they imagined, abfolutely certain, they laid hold of him; but, on further examination, to their great difappointment, inftead of a Romish priest, they found an heretical English Nobleman, who immediately fent to the Governor, who • committed them to prifon; they only continued there one night; for, at the Nobleman's request, they were fet at li• 'berty the next morning. Whilft thefe diverfions pass within fide the rails, no less pleasing ones are going forward without • fide them, for nothing can be more entertaining than to see the oddity of the coaches and triumphal cars; fome of these laft are filled with muficians, who fit on benches, as in an orchestra, dreffed in the moft whimfical grotesque manner, ⚫ and playing a variety of excellent tunes, on different kinds ⚫ of inftruments; the coachmen, or drivers of both, as well as the horses, are all in mask; on one you see the coachman appear exactly like a great Ruffian bear, another is dreffed like a woman; the footmen behind appear in the fhape of baboons, or apes, playing antic tricks, and grinning like those animals, and full as mischievous; no two horses are alike, fome are made to resemble ftags or bulls, with large horns on their heads; others, lions, dromedaries, and camels, and even jack asses. In fhort, it is impoffible to ⚫ conceive the liveliness and gaiety of the place; all parties ⚫ and ranks giving way to the most unbounded mirth, while univerfal pleasure seems to reign: at fun-fet they disperse; for after that time they are not permitted to walk in the ftreets masked, under a fevere penalty. At night there is a fefteen, or ball, at the opera-houfe, which, on this occafion, is finely illuminated; and has likewife a fine band of mufic, where you may dance all night; the expence is very trißing, each perfon paying no more than three pauls, or about eighteen pence English money. Sundays are generally the greatest days for thefe diverfions, which, on the whole, I think the most agreeable of any in this country, where the most surprising, and pleasing intrigues, as well amorous as political, are carried on.'

Page 141 our Author gives an account of a whimsical kind of diverfion at Pifa, which he calls the Battle of the Bridge. We do not recollect, that any writer has defcribed it before Mr. Stevens.

Having received information, that an uncommon feast or ceremony was to be exhibited at Pifa, on account of the F-birth of a son of the Empress Queen of Hungary, a few se•lect