Hume: TLDH Vol 1 Ltr 64 To: Home [48] p 114
† * 64. To JOHN HOME OF NINEWELLS

THE HAGUE, 3d March 1748. N.S.

Dear Brother.

I have taken a Fancy, for your Amusement, to write a sort of Journal of our Travels, & to send you the whole from Turin, by a Messenger whom we are to dispatch from thence. I shall endeavour to find little Snatches of Leizure, in the several Towns, thro which we shall pass, & shall give you an Account of the Appearances of things, more than of our own Adventures. The former may be some Entertainment: But the other will in all Probability, contain little Diversity, at least for some time.

We set out from Harwich the day I wrote you last, & in 24 Hours arrived at Helveot Sluice.† 1 I had the Misfortune to be excessively sick: But the Consolation to see an Admiral as sick as myself. Twas Admiral Forbes,† 2 the most agreeable, sensible Sea-Officer in England. Harwich & Helvoet are the general Images in Abridgement of all the Towns in the two Countries: Both of them small Sea Port Towns, without much Trade or any Support but Passengers. Yet the Industry, Oeconomy, & Cleanliness of the Dutch have made the latter the much prettier Town. The day of our Arrival we lay at Rotterdam, & past thro’ the Brill & Maitlan-Sluyse. Yesterday we lay at this Place. Holland has the Beauties of Novelty to a Stranger, as being so much different from all the other Parts of the World: But not those of Diversity, for every part of it is like another. Tis an unbounded Plain divided by Canals, & Ditches & Rivers. The Sea higher than the Country: The Towns higher than the Sea: And the Ramparts higher than the Towns. The Country is in general pretty open, except a few Willow Trees, & the Avenues of Elm, which lead to their Towns, & shade the Ramparts. But the Country is at present cover’d with Snow; so that tis difficult to judge of it. Were the Season favourable, the way of traveling wou’d be very pleasant, being along the Dykes, which gives you a perfect Prospect of the whole Country. I need not describe the Beauty & Elegance of the Dutch Towns, particularly of the Hague , which nothing can exceed. Rotterdam is also a handsome Town. The Mixture of Houses, Trees, & Ships, has a fine Effect, & unites Town, Country, & Sea in one Prospect. Every person & every house has the Appearance of Plenty & Sobriety, of Industry & Ease. I own, however, that the Outside of their Houses are the best: They are too slight: Full of bad Windows, & not very well contriv’d.

115

THE HAGUE. 10 March

The General intended to have left this place to day, but was detain’d by the Arrival of his Royal Highness,† 1 which will retard him a day or two longer. We go first to Breda, where the General’s two Battallions† 2 lye, out of which, he will endeavour to form one good healthy Battallion to remain here. The other returns to Scotland. We go in a day or two.

The Prince of Orange’s† 3 Authority seems firmly establishd, & for the present is as absolute as that of any King in Europe. The Favour of the People is the Foundation of it. He is certainly a Man of great Humanity & Moderation but his Courage & Capacity is perhaps a little more doubtful. The present Emergences have given him an Opportunity of establishing his Authority on a firmer Bottom than popular Favor; viz on foreign & mercenary Forces. The Dutch Troops have behav’d so ill that the People themselves are willing to see them disgracd & discredited & broke: So that the Prince has been able to make great Distinctions in favour of Foreigners, with the good Will of the People, who see the Necessity of it. He has broke all the Dutch Troops that were Prisoners in France; but keeps up the Foreigners that were in the same Condition: And the latter are chiefly encouragd in every thing. Great & universal Joy appeard on the Birth of the young Prince† 4 while we were there: tho all the Arrangements were taken to have the Young Princess succeed; & particularly, she was namd Colonel of a Regiment of Guards.

This is a Place of little or no Amusement, nor has the Court made much Difference in this Respect: No Balls, no Comedy, no Opera. The Prince gives great Application to Business; which, however, they pretend does not advance very much. But this we may venture to say, that Holland was undoubtedly ruin’d by its Liberty; & has now a Chance of being sav’d by its Prince: Let Republicans make the best of this Example they can. Tis here regarded, as a Point indisputable, that the old Governors were in Concert with the French, & were resolv’d, by delivering up Town after Town, & Army after Army, to have Peace, tho at the Price of Slavery & Dependance. Tis a Pity that the scrupulous & conscientious Character of the Prince has not allowd him to make some Examples of these Rascals, against whom, tis said, there coud have been legal Proofs. It was not the Mob, properly speaking, that made the Revolution but the middling & substantial Tradesmen. At Rotterdam particularly, these sent a regular Deputation to the Magistrates requiring the Establishment of the Prince of Orange, telling them, at the same time, that if their Request was refus’d they cou’d no longer answer for the Mob. This Hint was sufficiently understood; & gave an Example to all the other Towns in the Province. The only Violence offerd was that of throwing into the Canals, whoever wore not Orange Ribbons. Every Yellow Rag, Woollen, Silk, & Linnen were employ’d; & when these were exhausted the Flowers were made use of; & happily the Revolution begun in the Spring, when the Primroses & Daffadilys coud serve as Orange

Cockades. To this day, every Boor & Tradesman, & Schoolboy wears the Ensigns of the Prince; & every Street in every Village as well as in every Town has triumphal Arches with emblematical Figures & Latin Inscriptions; Such as tandem justitia triumphat: Novus ab integro soeclorum nascitur ordo: Vox populi, vox Dei. I shall only say, if this last Motto be true the Prince of Orange is the only Jure divino Monarch in the Universe. I believe since the time of Germanicus, deservedly the Darling of the Romans, never was a People so fond of one Man. Surely there enter’d not the smallest Intrigue of his own into his Election. There is something of Innocence & Simplicity in his Character, which promotes more his Popularity than the greatest Capacity: But

Non tali auxilio, nec defensoribus istis Tempus eget.† 1

116

Breda 16th March

We arrivd here the day before Yesterday in three days from the Hague , & as the Snows were then melted, after the most violent Frost in the World, we discover’d Holland in all its native Deformity. Nothing can be more disagreeable than that heap of Dirt & Mud & Ditches & Reeds, which they here call a Country, except the silly Collection of Shells, & clipt Ever Greens which they call a Garden. It gave us a sensible Pleasure as we came near Breda to find Ourselves on a dry barren Heath, & to see something like a human Habitation. I have heard that a Man from the Aspect of Holland, woud imagine, that Land & Water, after many Strugles which shoud be Master of it, had at last agreed to share it betwixt them. If so, the Land has come by much the worst Bargain, & has much the smallest Share of the Possession. I am told however that Holland is a pleasant enough Habitation in the Summer; tho even that Beauty lasts a very short time. For during the latter End of Summer & during the Harvest, the Canals send forth so disagreeable & unwholsome a Smell, that there is no enduring of it.

117

We past over the Maese at Gorcum, where it is above half a Mile broad; and as the Ice had been soften’d by a Thaw of three or four days, we were oblig’d to make use of an Ice-boat. The Operation is after this Manner. You place Yourself on your Ice boat, which is like an ordinary Boat except only that it runs upon two Keels, shod with Iron. Three or four Men push you along in this Boat very cleverly, as long as the Ice will bear you: But whenever that fails, plump, down you go into the Water of a sudden: You are very heartily frighten’d: The men are wet, up to the Neck sometimes: But keeping hold of the Boat; leap in; row you thro the Water; till they come to Ice, which can bear. There they pull you up; run along with you; till you sink again: And so they renew the same Operation.

At Gorcum we met with Drumlanrig’s Regiment,† 1 which does no great Honour to their Country by their Looks & Appearances. There has been a Mutiny amongst them, out of Discontent to the Country. We met with some Highlanders, who regreted extremely their native Hills.

The Night we came to Breda, we supt with Lord Albemarle,† 2 who told us, in entering, that we might soon expect to hear of a Battle in the Neighbourhood, and accordingly in about an hour a Messenger came in with the News, which is the best we have had in the Low Countries during the whole War. You have no doubt heard of it. It was the Attack of a Convoy to Bergen-op-Zoom, escorted by about 5000 French, where 400 were killd, & about 1000 taken Prisoners. Next day, the Prisoners were led thro’ the Town. They were the Piquets of several old Regiments & some Companies of Grenadiers; but such pitiful looking Fellows never man set eye on. France is surely much exhausted of Men, when she can fill her Armies with such poor Wretches. We all said, when they past along Are these the People, that have beat us so often? I stood behind Lord Albemarle, who was looking over a low Window to see them. One of the ragged Scarecrows, seeing his Lordship’s Star & Ribbon, turn’d about to him, & said very briskly Aujourd’hui pour vous, Monsieur, Demain pour le Roi. If they have all this Spirit, no wonder they beat us. However, when one compares to the French the Figures of men that are in this Town, British, Hessians, & Austrians, they seem almost of a different Species. Their Officers expect they will all do much better after having had Leizure to see their Enemy.

118.

Breda is a strong town tho not near so strong as Bergen-op-Zoom. It is almost surrounded by Water, & inaccessible except in one place, by which it will be taken, if the 206,000 Men, whom we are to have in the Field, this Year, in the Low Countries, cannot save it. Tis certain so many men are stipulated by the several Powers: The greatest Army, that ever was assembled together in the World, since the Xerxeses & Antaxerxeses; If these coud be called Armies. God prosper his Royal Highness, & give him what he only wants: I mean, good Fortune, to second his Prudence & Conduct.

The French certainly have lay’d their Account to give up Flanders by the Peace; they squeeze & oppress & tax & abuse the Flemings so much, that tis evident they consider them not as Subjects. They are also said to be pretty heartily tir’d of the War, notwithstanding of their great Successes. I suppose the Loss of their Trade pinches them: So that there are some Hopes of a Peace, which may not be altogether intolerable.

By the Conversation I have had with several judicious Officers, I find, that Mareschal Saxe† 1 & Lowendale,† 2 tho sensible Men & of great Experience, are not regarded as such mighty Generals as we are to [sic] apt to imagine them at a distance, from their Victories & Conquests. Their Blunders last Campaign were many & obvious; & particularly that of besieging Bergen-op-Zoom. Twas a thousand to one they got it; & it serves them to no purpose when they have it. It is not by that Quarter they can penetrate into the Provinces.

119

Nimeguen 20th March

We have come from Breda in two days, & lay last Night at Bois-le-duc, which is situated in the midst of a lake & is absolutely impregnable. That part of Brabant, thro which we travelld is not very fertile, & is full of sandy heaths. Nimeguen is in the Gueldre the pleasantest Province of the seven, perhaps of the seventeen. The Land is beautifully divided into Heights & Plains, & is cut by the Branches of the Rhine. Nimeguen has a very commanding Prospect & the Country below it is particularly remarkable at present; because of the Inundations of the Wahal, a Branch of the Rhine, which covers the whole Fields for several Leagues: And you see nothing but the Tops of Trees standing up amidst the Waters, which recalls the Idea of Egypt during the Inundations of the Nile. Nimeguen is a well built Town; not very strong, tho surrounded with a great many Works. Here we met our Machines, which came hither by a shorter Road from the Hague . They are a Berline† 1 for the General & his Company: And a Chaise for the Servants. We set out to morrow, & pass by Cologne, Frankfort & Ratisbon till we meet with the Danube & then we sail down that River for 250 Miles to Vienna.

Cologne 23d of March

We came hither last Night & have travelld thro an extreme Pleasant Country along the Banks of the Rhine. Particularly Cleves, which belongs to the King of Prussia, is very agreeable, because of the Beauty of the Roads, which are Avenues borderd with fine Trees. The Land in that Province is not fertile but is well cultivated. The Bishoprick of Cologne is more fertile & adorn’d with fine Woods as well as Cleves. The Country is all very populous, the Houses good, & the Inhabitants well cloath’d & well fed. This is one of the largest Cities in Europe, being near a League in Diameter: The Houses are all high: And there is no Interval of Gardens or Fields. So that you wou’d expect it must be very populous. But it is not so. It is extremely decay’d, & is even falling to ruin. Nothing can strike one with more melancholy than its Appearance where there are Marks of past Opulence & Grandeur, but such present Waste & Decay, as if it had lately escap’d a Pestilence or Famine. We are told, that it was formerly the Center of all the Trade of the Rhine, which has been since remov’d to Holland, Liege, Frankfort &c. Here we see the Rhine in its natural State; being only a little higher (but no broader) on account of the melting of the Snows. I think it is as broad as from the Foot of your House to the opposite Banks of the River.† 1

120

Bonne. 24th March

This is, about 6 Leagues from Cologne, a pleasant well built little Town, upon the Banks of the Rhine, and is the Seat of the Archbishop.† 2 We have bestow’d half a day in visiting his Palace, which is an extensive magnificent Building; & he is certainly the best lodg’d Prince in Europe except the King of France. For besides this Palace, & a sort of Maison de Plaisance near it (the most elegant thing in the World), he has also two Country Houses very magnificent. He is the late Emperor’s Brother; and is, as they say, a very fine Gentleman, a man of Pleasure, very galant & gay. He has always at his Court a Company of French Comedians & Italian Singers. And as he always keeps out of Wars, being protected by the Sacredness of his Character, he has nothing to hope & nothing to fear, and seems to be the happiest Prince in Europe. However we cou’d wish, he took a little more care of his high Ways, even tho his Furniture, Pictures & Building were a little less elegant. We are got into a Country where we have no Fires but Stoves; and no covering but Featherbeds: Neither of which I like. Both of them are too warm and suffocating.

Coblentz. 26 March

We have made the pleasantest Journey in the World in two days from Bonne to this Town. We travel all along the Banks of the Rhine; sometimes in open, beautiful, well cultivated Plains: At another time sunk betwixt high Mountains, which are only divided by the Rhine, the finest River in the World: One of these Mountains is always coverd with Wood to the Top; the other with Vines: And the Mountain is so steep, that they are obligd to support the Earth by Walls, which rise one above another like Terrasses, to the length of forty or fifty Stories. Every Quarter of a Mile, (indeed as often as there is any flat Bottom for a Foundation), you meet with a handsome Village, situated in the most romantic manner in the World. Surely there never was such an Assemblage of the wild & cultivated Beauties in one Scene. There are also several magnificent Convents & Palaces to embellish the Prospects. This is a very thriving well built Town situated at the Confluence of the Moselle & the Rhine, & consequently very finely situated. Over the former River, there is a handsome Stone Bridge: Over the latter, a flying Bridge; which is a boat, fixt by a Chain: This Chain is fixt by an Anchor to the bottom of the middle of the River far above, & is supported by seven little Boats placd at Intervals that keep it along the surface of the Water. By means of the Rudder, they turn the head of the large Boat to the opposite Bank & the Current of the River carries it over of itself. It goes over in about 4 Minutes, and will carry four or five hundred People. It stays about five or six Minutes, and then returns: Two Men are sufficient to guide it; And it is certainly a very pretty Machine. There is the like at Cologne. This Town is the common Residence of the Archbishop of Treves; who has here a pretty magnificent Palace. We have now travelld along a great Part of that Country, thro which the Duke of Marlborough marchd up his Army, when he led them into Bavaria. Tis of this Country, Mr Addison speaks when he calls the People Nations of Slaves, by Tyranny debas’d: Their Makers Image more than half defacd. And he adds that the Soldiers were Hourly instructed, as they urge their Toyl, To prize their Queen & love their native Soil.† 1 If any Foot Soldier cou’d have more ridiculous national Prejudices than the Poet, I shou’d be much surpriz’d. Be assurd, there is not a finer Country in the World; nor are there any Signs of Poverty among the People. But John Bull’s Prejudices are ridiculous; as his Insolence is intolerable.

121

Frankfort. 28th March.

Our road from Coblentz to this passes thro’ a great many Princes Territories: Nassaus, Hesses, Badens, Mentz & this Republic &c. And there is as great a Diversity in the Nature of the Country. The first Part of the Road from Coblentz to Weis-Baden is very mountainous & woody: But populous & well cultivated: In many places, the Snow is lying very thick. The Road is disagreeable for a Coach: Sometimes you go along the Side of a Hill with a Precipice below you, & have not an Inch to spare; & the Road hanging all the Way towards the Precipice; so that one had need to have a good Head to look out of the Windows. Nassau, the Prince of Orange’s Capital, is but a Village, & one of the most indifferent I have seen in Germany. Betwixt Weis Baden & Frankfort we travel along the Banks of the Maine, & see one of the finest Plains in the World. I never saw such rich Soil, nor better cultivated; all in corn & sown Grass. For we have not met with any natural Grass in Germany. Frankfort is a very large Town, well built & of great Riches & Commerce. Around it, there are several little Country Houses of the Citizens, the first of that kind we have seen in Germany: For every body, except the Farmers, live here in Towns: And these dwell all in Villages. Whether this be for Company, or Protection, or Devotion, I cannot tell: But it has certainly its Inconveniences. Princes have also Seats in the Country, & Monks have their Convents: But no private Gentleman ever dwells there. To morrow we pass over the Field of Dettingen. We saw Heighst [Höchst) to day where Lord Stairs† 1 past the Maine, & was recall’d. The Post he took seems not so good as we have heard it represented. We saw General Mordaunt† 2 at Cologne, who was at the Battle of Dettingen, & gave us an exact Description of the whole, which we are to morrow to compare with the Field. Frankfort is a protestant Town.

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Wurtzburg. 30th March.

he first Town we come to after leaving Frankfort is Hanau, which belongs to the Landgrave of Hesse, & where there is a Palace, that may lodge any King in Europe, tho the Landgrave almost never lives there. Hanau is a very beautiful, well built, but not large Town, on the Banks of the Maine. All the Houses almost in Germany are of Plaister, either upon Brick or Wood, but very neatly done, & many of them painted over, which makes them look very gay. Their Peasants Houses are sometimes plaister, sometimes Clay upon Wood, two Stories High, & look very well. Next Post beyond Hanau is the Village of Dettingen, where we walkd out & survey’d the Field of Battle, accompany’d with the Postmaster, who saw the Battle from his Windows. Good God, what an Escape we made there! The Maine is a large River not fordable: This lay on our left hand. On our Right, high Mountains, cover’d with thick wood, for several Leagues. The Plain is not half a Mile Broad. The French were posted by Noailles† 1 with their Right supported by the River & the Village of Dettingen: Their left by the Mountains: On their Front a little Rivulet, which form’d some Marshes & Meadows, altogether impassable for the Cavalry, & passable with Difficulty by the Infantry. Add to this, that their Cannon, plac’d in safety on the other Side of the Maine, rak’d the whole Plain before Dettingen, & took our Army in Flank: Noailles had past the Bridge of Aschaffenbourg which was not broke down, & came up upon our Rear: And our Army was starving for Want of Provisions. Such an Arrangement of Circumstances, as it were contriv’d to ruin an Army, a King & Kingdom, never was before found in the World; & yet there we gain’d a Victory; by the Folly of Grammont,† 2 who past that Rivulet & met us in the open Plain, before Noailles had come up. We were travelling in great Security, notwithstanding two repeated Informations that the French had past the Maine: The Baggage of the Army was betwixt the two lines; and when the first Cannons were fir’d, Neuperg† 3 & Stairs both agreed that it cou’d be nothing but the French Signal Guns. But when they were certain that the Affair was more in earnest; Stairs said Go to the King; I take nothing upon me. Clayton† 4 said I will take it upon me to remove the Baggage. And it was he, that made the little Disposition that was made that day. The English behav’d ill: The French worse, which gave us the Victory. But this Victory so unexpectedly gain’d, we push’d not as we ought, by the Council of Neuperg. What Lord Stairs’s Whim was to advance to Ashaffenbourg where he was 25 Miles from Frankfort, the Place of all his Magazines, tis impossible to imagine. Surely he cou’d advance no farther, as he must have been convinc’d had he reconnoitred the Road. It runs over high Mountains, & for 25 Miles, thro’ the thickest Woods in the World. There is a Pass three or four Miles beyond Aschaffenbourg, where no Army coud go with Cannon & Baggage. When we came to the Foot of it, a Trumpeter met us, who play’d a Tune for Joy of our safe Arrival; & the like on our ascending the opposite Hill. The Woods beyond are the finest I ever saw.

124.

Wurtzburgh is a very well built Town, situated in a fine Valley on the Maine. The Banks of the River are very high and cover’d with Vines. The River runs thro the Town, and is past on a very handsome Bridge. But what renders this Town chiefly remarkable is a Building which surprizd us all, because we had never before heard of it, & did not there expect to meet with such a thing. Tis a prodigious magnificent Palace of the Bishop, who is the Sovereign. Tis all of hewn Stone and of the richest Architecture. I do think the King of France has not such a House. If it be less than Versailles, tis more compleat & finish’d. What a surprizing thing it is, that these petty Princes can build such Palaces? But it has been fifty Years a rearing; & tis the chief Expence of Eclesiastics. The Bishop of Wurtzburg is chosen from amongst the Cannons, who have a very good Artifice to exclude Princes. Tis a Rule, that every one at entring shall receive a very hearty drubbing from the rest: A Brother of the Elector of Bavaria offerd a Million of Florins to be exempted from the Ceremony, & coud not prevail.

Ratisbon 2d April.

We were all very much taken with the Town of Nuremberg, where we lay two Nights ago: The Houses tho old fashiond & of a grotesque Figure (having sometimes five or six Stories of Garrets) yet are they solid, well built, compleat, & cleanly. The People are handsome, well cloath’d & well fed: An Air of Industry & Contentment, without Splendor, prevails thro the whole. Tis a protestant Republic on the banks of a River (whose Name I have forgot) that runs into the Maine, & is navigable for Boats. The Town is of a large Extent.

On leaving Nuremberg we enter’d into the Elector of Bavaria’s Country, where the Contraste appeard very strong with the Inhabitants of the former Republic. There was a great Air of Poverty in every Face: The first Poverty indeed we had seen in Germany. We travelld also thro part of the Elector Palatine’s Country, & then return’d to Bavaria; but tho’ the Country be good & well cultivated & populous, the Inhabitants are not at their Ease. The late miserable Wars have no doubt hurt them much.

125.

Ratisbon is a Catholic Republic situated on the Banks of the Danube. The Houses & Buildings & Aspect of the People are well enough, tho not comparable to those of Nuremberg. Tis pretended, that the Difference is always sensible betwixt a Protestant & Catholic Country, thro’out all Germany: And perhaps there may be something in this Observation, tho it is not every where sensible.

We descend the Danube from this to Vienna. We go in a large Boat about 80 foot long, where we have three Rooms one for Ourselves, a second for the Servants, and a third for our Kitchen. Tis made entirely of Firr Boards, & is pulld to Pieces at Vienna. The Wood sold, & the Watermen return to Ratisbon a foot. We lye on Shore every Night. We are all glad of this Variety, being a little tird of our Berline.

The Danube. 7th of April.

We have really made a very pleasant Journey or rather Voyage, with good Weather, sitting at our Ease, & having a Variety of Scenes continually presented to us, & immediatly shifted, as it were in an Opera. The Banks of the Danube are very wild & savage, & have a very different Beauty from those of the Rhine; being commonly high scraggy Precipices cover’d all with Firrs. The Water is sometimes so straitend betwixt these Mountains, that this immense River is often not 60 foot Broad. We have lain in and seen several very good Towns, in Bavaria & Austria such as Strauberg, Passau, Lintz: But what is most remarkable is the great Magnificence of some Convents, particularly Moelk, where a set of lazy Rascals of Monks live in the most splendid Misery of the World: For generally speaking, their lives are as little to be envy’d as their persons are to be esteemd. We enter Vienna in a few Hours, & the Country is here extremely agreable; The fine Plains of the Danube begun about 30 Miles above, & continue down, thro Austria, Hungary, &c till it falls into the black Sea. The River is very magnificent. Thus we have finishd a very agreable Journey of 860 Miles (For so far is Vienna from the Hague ) have past thro many a Prince’s Territories, & have had more Masters than many of these Princes have Subjects. Germany is undoubtedly a very fine Country, full of industrious honest People, & were it united it woud be the greatest Power that ever was in the World. The common People are here, almost every where, much better treated & more at their Ease, than in France; and are not very much inferior to the English, notwithstanding all the Airs the latter give themselves. There are great Advantages, in travelling, & nothing serves more tore move Prejudices: For I confess I had entertain’d no such advantageous Idea of Germany: And it gives a Man of Humanity Pleasure to see that so considerable a Part of Mankind as the Germans are in so tolerable a Condition.

126

Vienna. 15th April.

The last Week was Easter Week, & every body was at their Devotions, so that we saw not the Court nor the Emperor† 1 & Empress,† 2 till yesterday, when we were all introduc’d by Sir Thomas Robinson.† 3 They are a well lookt Couple, the Emperour has a great Air of Goodness; and his Royal Consort, of Spirit. Her Voice & manner & Address are the most agreeable that can be, & she made us several Compliments on our Nation. She is not a Beauty; but being a Sovereign, & a Woman of Sense & Spirit, no wonder she has met such extraordinary Support from her Subjects as well as from other Nations of Europe. However the English Gallantry towards her is a little relax’d; & the King of Sardinia† 4 is their present Favorite. She beg’d of the General not to be so much her Enemy as his Predecessor General Wentworth† 5 had been. He reply’d, that a perfect Impartiality was recommended him by the King his Master; and that he was resolv’d to preserve it; tho’ he confest that was difficult for a Person, who had had the Honour of having had Access to Her Imperial Majesty. We were introduc’d to day to the Archdukes & Archdutchesses (who are fine Children) and to the Empress Dowager.† 1 She had seen no Company for two Months; but hearing that Englishmen desir’d to be introduc’d to her, she immediatly receiv’d us. You must know, that you neither bow nor kneel to Emperors and Empresses; but Curtsy: So that after we had had a little Conversation with her Imperial Majesty, we were to walk backwards, thro a very long Room, curtsying all the way: And there was very great Danger of our falling foul of each other, as well as of tumbling topsy-turvy. She saw the Difficulty we were in: And immediatly calld to us: Allez, Allez, Messieurs, sans ceremonie: Vous n’etes pas accoutumés a ce mouvemen et le plancher est glissant. We esteemd ourselves very much oblig’d to her for this Attention, especially my Companions, who were desperately afraid of my falling on them & crushing them.† 2 This Court is fine without being gay: And the Company is very accessible, without being very sociable. When we were to be introducd to the Emperor & Empress, Sir Thomas Robinson gather’d us, all together, into a Window, that he might be able to carry us to them at once, when the time shou’d be proper. A Lady came up to him and ask’d him, if these were not his Chickens he was gathering under his Wings. After which, she joind Conversation with us; and in a little time askt us, if we had any Acquaintaince of the Ladies of the Court, & if we shou’d not be glad to know their Names. We reply’d, that she coud not do us a greater Favour. Why then, says she, I shall tell you, beginning with myself: I am the Countess —- She added her Name, which I am sorry to have forgot. We have met with several Instances of these agreeable Liberties. The Women here are many of them handsome: If you ever want Toasts please to name, upon my Authority, Mademoiselle Staremberg, or the Countess Palfi. The Men are ugly & awkward. We have seen all those fierce Heroes, whom we have so often read of in Gazettes, the Lichtensteins, the Esterhasis, the Colloredos: Most of them have red Heels to their Shoes, & wear very well dresst Toupees. I have heard Maly Johnstone† 1 say she was told, that she was very like the Empress-Queen. Please tell her it is not so. The Empress, tho not very well shap’d, is better than Maly; but she has not so good a Face. She looks also as if she were prouder & worse temper’d. Apropos, to our Friends of Huttonhall, inform them, that they have a very near Relation at this Court, who is a prodigious fine Gentleman, & a great Fool. His Name is Sir James Caldwell.† 2 He told me, his Grandmother was a Hume, & that he expected soon to inherit a very fine Estate by her, which he was to share with the Johnstones in Scotland. But he says, it is only Wynne, that has the half not the Ladies, who have no Share: So that you’ll please tell Sophy, that I am off; & give her her Liberty, notwithstanding all Vows & Promises, that may have past betwixt us.

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Vienna. 25 of April

We set out to morrow: But go not by the way of Venice, as we at first propos’d. This is some Mortification to us. We shall go however by Milan. This Town is very little for a Capital; but excessively populous. The Houses are very high: The Streets very narrow & crooked: So that the many handsome Buildings that are here make not any figure. The Suburbs are spacious and open: But on the whole, I can never believe what they tell us, that there are 200,000 Inhabitants in it. It is compos’d entirely of Nobility, and of Lackeys, of Soldiers & of Priests. Now I believe, you’ll allow, that in a Town inhabited only by these four Sets of People above-mention’d, the Empress-Queen cou’d not have undertaken a more difficult Task, than that which she has magnanimously enter’d upon, viz the producing an absolute Chastity amongst them. A Court of Chastity is lately erected here, who send all loose Women to the Frontiers of Hungary, where they can only debauch Turks & Infidels: All Whore-masters are punishd as they deserve, that is, very severely. The Promotion of several Officers has been stop’d by Aspersions of this Nature. And the Emperor lately coud not prevail with the Queen to give a Regiment to a young Nobleman because it was suspected he wanted his Maidenhead. She has not the Generosity of the Cham of Tartary, who makes it be proclaimd every day at his Tent door by a Herald: That all the Kings of the Earth may now dine: For the Great Cham of Tartary has din’d. They say, the Emperor is really an Emperor in that respect; or rather indeed is no Emperor, but a mere Porter or Dragoon. I hope you will not pay your Taxes with greater Grudges; because you hear, that her Imperial Majesty, in whose Service they are to be spent, is so great a Prude. Tis said, that this Fancy of a Court of Chastity was first started by a Society, who have the Direction of an Hospital of Foundlings, and who thought, that if they coud entirely suppress Fornication, there wou’d fewer Bastards come upon them, & more of the Revenues of the Hospital woud go to their own Use. But the Wags are much rejoic’d at the Event: For by the Suppression of public Houses of this Nature; it happens, as might easily be forseen, that there are two Bastards produc’d for one that was before.

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There has been great Noise made with us on account of the Queen’s new Palace at Shonbron. It is indeed a handsome House; but not very great, nor richly furnish’d. She said to the General last Night; that not a single Soldier had gone to the Building, whatever might be said in England: But that she likd better to be tolerably lodg’d than to have useless Diamonds by her, & that she had sold all her Crown Jewels to enable her to be at that Expence. I think for a Sovereign, she is none of the worst in Europe; & one cannot forbear liking her, for the Spirit with which she looks, & speaks & acts. But tis a Pity, her Ministers have so little Sense. Prince Eugene’s† 1 Palace in the Suburbs is an expensive stately Building; but of a very barbarous Gothic Taste. He was more skilld in battering Walls than building; as was said of his Friend, the Duke of Marlborough. There is a Room in it, where all Prince Eugenes Battles were painted: Upon which, the Portuguese Embassador told him, that the whole House was indeed richly furnishd; but that all the Kings in Europe coud not furnish such a Room as that. I have been pretty busy since I came here: & have regretted it the less, that there is no very great Amusement in this Place. No Italian Opera: No French Comedy: No Dancing. I have however heard Monticelli, who is the next Wonder of the World to Farinelli.

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Knittelfeldt in Stiria. 28th April.

This is about 120 Miles from Vienna. The first 40 is a fine well cultivated Plain: After which we enter the Mountains; and as we are told, we have three hundred Miles more of them, before we reach the Plains of Lombardy. The way of travelling thro’ a mountainous Country is generally very agreeable. We are oblig’d to trace the Course of the Rivers; and are always in a pretty Valley surrounded by high Hills, & have a constant & very quick Succession of wild agreeable Prospects every quarter of a Mile. Thro Stiria nothing can be more curious than the Scenes. In the Vallies, which are fertile & finely cultivated, there is at present a full Bloom of Spring: The Hills, to a certain Height, are cover’d with Firs & Larch-Trees: The Tops are all shining with Snow. You may see a Tree white with Blossom; & fifty Fathom farther up, the Ground white with Snow. These Hills, as you may imagine, give a great Command of Water to the Vallies, which the industrious Inhabitants distribute into every Field & render the whole very fertile. There are many Iron Mines in the Country; & the Vallies are upon that Account extremely populous. But as much as the Country is agreeable in its Wildness; as much are the Inhabitants savage & deform’d & monstrous in their Appearance. Very many of them have ugly swelld Throats: Idiots, & Deaf People swarm in every Village; & the general Aspect of the People is the most shocking I ever saw. One wou’d think, that as this was the great Road, thro which all the barbarous Nations made their Irruptions into the Roman Empire, they always left here the Refuse of their Armies before they enterd into the Enemies Country; and that from thence the present Inhabitants are descended. Their Dress is scarce European as their Figure is scarce human. There happen’d, however a thing to day, which surpriz’d us all. The Empress Queen, regarding this Country as a little barbarous, has sent some Missionaries of Jesuites to instruct them. They had Sermons to day in the Street under our Windows, attended with Psalms: And believe me, nothing cou’d be more harmonious, better tun’d, or more agreeable than the Voices of these Savages, and the Chorus of a French Opera does not sing in better Time. You may infer from thence, if you please, that Orpheus did not civilize the savage Nations by his Music. I know not what Progress the Jesuites have made by their Eloquence: But it appears to me, that Religion is not the Point, in which the Stirians are defective, at least, if we may judge by the Number of their Churches, Crucifixes &c. We shall be detaind here some days by Sir Harry Erskine’s Illness, who is seiz’d with an Ague.

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Clagenfurt in Carinthia. May 4th

This is a mighty pretty little Town near the Drave; It is the Capital of the Province, and stands in a tolerable large Plain, surrounded with very high Hills; and on the other Side the Drave, we see the savage Mountains of Carniola. You know the Alps join with the Pyrenees, these with the Alps; and run all along the North of Turkey in Europe to the Black Sea, and form the longest Chain of Mountains in the Universe.

The Figure of the Carinthians is not much better than that of the Stirians.

Trent. 8th of May.

We are still amongst Mountains, & follow the Tract of Rivers in order to find our Way: But the Aspect of the People is wonderfully chang’d on entring the Tirol. The Inhabitants are there as remarkably beautiful as the Stirians are ugly. An Air of Humanity, & Spirit & Health & Plenty is seen in every Face: Yet their Country is wilder than Stiria. The Hills higher, & the Vallies narrower & more barren. They are both Germans subject to the House of Austria; so that it wou’d puzzle a Naturalist or Politician to find the Reason of so great and remarkable a Difference. We trac’d up the Drave to its Source (That River, you know, falls into the Danube, & into the Black Sea:) It ended in a small Rivulet, & that in a Ditch, & that in a little Bog. On the Top of the Hill, (tho there was there a well cultivated Plain) there was no more Appearance of Spring than at Christmas. In about half a mile after we had seen the Drave extinguish, we observ’d a little Strype of Water to move: This was the beginning of the Adige, & the Rivers that run into the Adriatic. We were now turning towards the South part of the Hill; and descended with great Rapidity. Our little Brook in three or four Miles became a considerable River, and every hours travelling show’d us a new Aspect of Spring. So that in one day, we past thro’ all the Gradations of that Beautiful Season, as we descended lower into the Vallies, from its first faint Dawn till its full Bloom & Glory. We are here in Italy; at least the common Language of the People is Italian. This Town is not remarkable, neither for Size nor Beauty. Tis only famous for that wise Assembly of Philosophers & Divines,† 1 who establishd such rational Tenets for the Belief of Mankind

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Mantua 11th of May.

We are now in Classic Ground; & I have kist the Earth, that produc’d Virgil, & have admir’d those fertile Plains, that he has so finely celebrated. Perdidit aut quales felices Mantua campos.† 2 You are tir’d, & so am I, with the Descriptions of Countries: And therefore shall only say, that nothing can be more singularly beautiful than the Plains of Lombardy, nor more beggarly & miserable than this Town.

Cremona 12th of May.

Alas poor Italy! Impius haec tam culta novalia miles habebit; Barbarus has segetes?† 3 The poor Inhabitant Starves in the midst of Nature’s Plenty curst: And in the loaded Vineyard dyes for thirst. The Taxes are here exhorbitant beyond all Bounds. We lye to morrow at Milan.

Turin. June. 16th. 1748

I wrote you about three Weeks ago. This is brought into England by Mr Bathurst, a Nephew of Lord Bathurst,† 4 who intended to serve a Campaign in our Family. We know nothing as yet of the time of our Return. But I believe we shall make the Tour of Italy & France before we come home. Tis thought the General will be sent as public Minister to settle Don Philip;† 5 so that we shall have seen a great Variety of Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, & French Courts in this Jaunt. Qui mores hominum multorum vidit & urbes.† 6 I say nothing of Milan or Turin or Piemont: Because I shall have time enough to entertain you with Accounts of all these. Tho you may be little diverted with this long Epistle, you ought at least to thank me for the Pains I have taken in composing it. I have not yet got my Baggage.

I wrote you about three Weeks ago. This is brought into England by Mr Bathurst, a Nephew of Lord Bathurst,† 4 who intended to serve a Campaign in our Family. We know nothing as yet of the time of our Return. But I believe we shall make the Tour of Italy & France before we come home. Tis thought the General will be sent as public Minister to settle Don Philip;† 5 so that we shall have seen a great Variety of Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish, & French Courts in this Jaunt. Qui mores hominum multorum vidit & urbes.† 6 I say nothing of Milan or Turin or Piemont: Because I shall have time enough to entertain you with Accounts of all these. Tho you may be little diverted with this long Epistle, you ought at least to thank me for the Pains I have taken in composing it. I have not yet got my Baggage.

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† 1 Henry Douglas (1722-54), Earl of Drumlanrig, eldest son of Charles, 3rd Duke of Queensberry and of Prior’s ‘Kitty’, raised a Scottish regiment of two battalions in 1747 for service in the Netherlands along with the Scottish Brigade already there. This regiment was reduced to one battalion in 1749 and disbanded in 1752.

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† 2 William Anne Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (1702-54), Lieut.-Gen. and Colonel of the Coldstream Guards. He had served on the staff with Lord Stair at Dettingen.

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† 1 Maréchal Maurice, comte de Saxe (1696-1750).

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† 2 Maréchal Ulric Frederick Woldemar de Löwendahl (1700-55).

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† 1 A four-wheeled covered carriage with a hooded seat behind.

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† 1 Ninewells stands on the left bank of the Whiteadder.

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† 2 He was one of the many sons of Maximilian Emmanuel, Elector of Bavaria, and was therefore brother of the Emperor Charles VII.

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† 1 The Campaign, lines 80-4.

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† 1 Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair.

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† 2 General Sir John Mordaunt (1697-1780), Colonel of the 58th Foot. In 1757 he was tried by court martial (and acquitted) for the failure of the expedition against Rochefort.

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† 1 Maréchal Adrien-Maurice de Noailles (1678-1766).

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† 2 Antoine, duc de Grammont (died 1795).

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† 3 The Austrian marshal, Wilhelm Reinhard, Graf von Neuperg (or Neipperg) (1684-1774).

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† 4 Jasper Clayton, Maj.-Gen., 1735; Lieut.-Gen., 1739. He was killed in this battle, 1747.

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† 1 Francis I, Emperor, 1745-65.

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† 2 Maria Theresa (1717-80), Queen of Hungary, 1740-80, and Empress, 1745-65.

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† 3 Sir Thomas Robinson (1695-1770), afterwards 1st Baron Grantham, Ambassador at Vienna, 1730-48.

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† 4 Charles Emmanuel (1701-73), King of Sardinia, 1730-73.

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† 5 Lieut.-Gen. Thomas Wentworth (promoted Lieut.-Gen., 1745) had held an appointment at Turin. He had a violent dispute with Admiral Vernon during the Spanish War in 1741, but very little more seems to be known about him.

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† 1 Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick-Wolfenbá¼ttel (1691-1750), mother of Maria Theresa and widow of the Emperor Charles VI. She had been brought up a Lutheran, but had become a Catholic on her marriage in 1708, having been persuaded by Protestant divines and the philosopher Leibnitz that she could always give an Evangelical meaning to Catholic ceremonies.

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† 2 According to Lord Charlemont, who met Hume soon after this at Turin, ‘the corpulence of his whole person was far better fitted to communicate the idea of a turtle-eating alderman than of a refined philosopher…. His wearing an uniform added greatly to his natural awkwardness, for he wore it like a grocer of the trained-bands’ (Memoirs of . . . James Caulfeild, Earl of Charlemont, by F. Hardy, 8).

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† 1 Apparently one of the Johnstons of Hilton, neighbours of the Homes of Ninewells, living at Hutton Hall.

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† 2 Sir James Caldwell, 3rd Bart., an Irishman, whom Maria Theresa created Count of Milan in the Holy Roman Empire. His younger brother, Hume Caldwell (1733-62), had a romantic and distinguished career in the Austrian army.

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† 1 Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736).

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† 1 The Council of Trent (1545-63), which fixed the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church.

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† 2 Was he thinking of Et qualem infelix amisit Mantua campum? Virg. Georg. ii. 198.

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† 3 Virg., Eclogue I, 70 f.

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† 4 Allen Bathurst (1684-1775), 1st Baron and 1st Earl Bathurst.

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† 5 Don Philip (1720-65), son of Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth Farnese. By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) he became Duke of Parma.

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† 6 Horace, Ars poet., 142.