1 "And whilft the babbling echo mocks the hounds, "As if a double hunt were heard at once, His At length, after the ftag had been seen here, and been seen there, he thought proper to bathe in the Po; foon after which he died: but as he made his exit at three or four miles distance from the Princeffes and ladies, and as it is abfolutely neceffary the curée * fhould be performed in their prefence, his dead body was brought on a cart drawn by fix oxen, for the completion of which the whole court, &c. waited above an hour. approach and arrival were announced by a very fine concert of French-horns; all the chaifes drawn up together, formed a kind of amphitheatre. The gentlemen of the court and hunt, who are on horseback, alight, and during the curée converfe with, and entertain the ladies ; and to give you an inftance of the great politenefs the court of Turin fhews to ftrangers, the Dutchefs of Savoy was pleased to do me the honour to order the dogs and the ftag to be brought near our chaife, and fent a gentleman of the chamber (whom the obligingly chofe out from amongst others, on account of his speaking a little English) with a very gracious compliment, and the ftag's foot. *The curée is the last ceremony of embowelling the stag, rewarding the hounds, &c. &c. All All the Turinese are polite; when the Royal Family fets the example, it foon becomes the fashion in arbitrary governments. It is time to say something of ourselves, and our manner of living, &c. There is no affembly at prefent, or open-house, but that of Madame de St. Giles, who fees company, and gives cards every evening, and where all strangers, particularly English, properly introduced, are extremely well received. They are fure to find at her house the first people of the court, the foreign minifters, and the best company of Turin; but were they not to enjoy any of these advantages, the lady of the house is herself a fufficient motive for defiring her acquaintance; for by her obliging manner the has the happy art of making her house perfectly agreeable to every body. That we are in a more agreeable fociety than many others, at least those who came here for a fhort time, is very true, but that is owing to a mere accident. The recommendatory letters of the Cardinal de Choisseul have the fecret of opening many doors, that are difficult of accefs to people of much more confequence than we are, unpoffeffed of the fame advantages. We have reafon to flatter ourselves that through our whole tour we shall more easily attain to a general and particular knowledge of the customs, manners, and habitudes of the first people of the country (although our time is fo limited), than we could hope to have done by a much longer refidence, if unaccompanied by the letters of recommendation Ambaffadors. with which our friends have kindly furnished us. -We go frequently to the opera, which is very good of its kind; the famous Zamperini is its chief ornament. Although fhe has no voice, or rather no great compafs, fhe makes up for that deficiency by an excellent manner; fhe acts uncommonly well, and has the advantage of a fine perfon. I heard fome anecdotes of her that will make you laugh. She has, it feems, been much admired in England * The danfeufes and attrices come into the boxes between the acts, and very respectfully demand permiffion to kiss the ladies' hands. They are fometimes permitted to fit down, and they endeavour to render themselves amufing, by retailing, with a good deal of archness, hiftoriettes in regard to their comrades, which are generally more or lefs dictated by private pique or envy; and do not fail to be fufficiently epigrammatic in little spightful fallies. Their converfation is confidered merely as an interlude. None of their own fex ever enter into their parties; and they are for the greater part reduced to a few old general officers, whofe gallantry feldom quite forfakes them, and who freely give them their protection, and fometimes a little money; the purse being a point of view thefe nymphs feldom lofe fight of. All the Ambaffadors and foreign minifters entertain very handfomely, as well as frequently, at their respective houses, proportionably to their ap pointments; pointments; but the Spanish ambaffador's table furpaffes all the others in quantity and quality; the King of Spain having ordered the Comte D'Ayguilar (the prefent ambaffador from Spain) to exceed in magnificence all the others, without exception; and added, that the additional expence was not to be his concern, let the augmentation be what it might. Confequently, his table is too much loaded with all the delicacies that can poffibly be procured. He has a vaft profufion of plate, and a much greater number of fervants than neceffary. Their own family confifts of the Comte and Comteffe, and an only daughter, who will be a prodigious fortune. They have fhewn us many civilities, and invited us moft kindly to Madrid. The ambaffadrefs is in a declining state of health. The French ambaffador lives very genteelly, quite in the French ftile; Madame de Choifeul is not here at prefent; he was fo kind as to offer us an apartment in his hotel, to keep a table for us, and to provide us with one of his own equipages, which we declined, but were not the less obliged to him and the Cardinal*, to whom we owe the civilities fhewn us by his coufin: in fmaller matters he wishes alfo to accommodate us; as the key of his box at the theatre, which I have only to fend for whenever I pleafe. It is not neceffary to add, as I believe I mentioned to you in one of my former letters, that we have had no reason to com * The Cardinal de Choifeul, uncle to the Duke of Choifeul, then Premier of France. Spies. plain of the E- E-; he has done what is ufual and right by us, and you know that is all we desire; we had no letters to him, for he was not appointed when we left England. The ambassadress of Vienna, Madame Caff-Millar, has the finest diamonds I ever faw, and in the greatest quantity; fhe (for the ambaffador is at this time abfent) entertains frequently. All the foreign minifters, with their wives, repair most nights to her hotel, where there is high play after supper.The ladies of Turin are in general handfome; they have the whitest skins I ever saw, never wear rouge; they dress well, and are fingularly genteel in their undreffes. If they are gallant, they conduct themselves with the utmost decency; and here inconftancy is looked upon as the greateft of crimes. Friendships of twenty and thirty years are not uncommon; at the fame time, I do not affert there are no coquettes; but the court sets fo virtuous an example, that the utmost precaution and circumfpection is neceffary to those who have any thing to conceal; for there are spies in almoft every house. In regard to ftrangers, they scarce utter a word that is not treasured up; they should be upon their guard how they fpeak their fentiments, as it has often happened, that, without any intention to injure them, what they have faid in certain companies have been mifrepresented to government: for, unfortunately, fome people here have learned just English enough to qualify them to make capital mistakes, when they relate fome |