crofs, and ear-rings of the fame metal, which generally coft them from three to fix hundred livres of Piedmont, and fometimes more. Every married païfanne is decorated with thefe ornaments, more or less expenfive, according to their means. The Bourgeoifié are rich, and very well dreffed; Bourgeoifié. the noblesse never appear of their fociety, but are totally separate from them, be they ever fo confiderable in their trade, &c. The late King would take nothing from the report of others, but examined all in perfon, from the most important transactions of his first fubjects, down to the minutia of the lowest peasants who fupply the markets, in order to be fatisfied how far juftice was done by those entrusted with the execution of the laws, and whether he was himself impofed upon by his own purveyors. But the present King pays more attention to his Nobles, places much confi- Nobles. dence in the reports made him by his Courtiers, and is confequently lefs popular amongst the lower claffes of people than his father. However, he treads in the steps of his predeceffor, in one respect, very closely. A mortal averfion to what is called by connoiffeurs, le nud; as three fine antique ftatues here bear witness, an Adonis, a Satyr, and, I think, the third a Hercules. The late King, as I mentioned to you before, had fhewed his fenfe of decency at the expence of poor Guido's Venuses. Upon the arrival of the poft, the letters are immediately carried to the minifters of ftate, who L 2 Precau tion as to the post open, office. Inquifi tion. open, read, and send them back to the post-office, with permiffion for their delivery to the foreign minifters and others according to their addreffes. Nor does it unfrequently happen, that they are detained until certain couriers are dispatched with letters of importance, which fometimes occasions a delay of three or four hours. The exprefs fent by the minister muft neceffarily get the start of the earliest that can be procured by any ambassador or foreign minifter; particularly as no courier or other perfons can have poft horses without an order from the commandant. These may certainly be deemed very political measures. The Inquifition is under excellent regulation; for the present King finding great abufes had crept into this holy repofitory, such as the feizing and conveying away people upon various trifling pretences, often fuggefted by private pique and refentment; and this holy office having been known to employ its power to gallante purposes: thefe and the like corruptions have brought this court into fuch abhorrence with the King and people, that no perfon can now be imprisoned by order of the Inquifitors, until the matter has been made known to his Majefty; upon which, one or more of the Privy-counfellors are commiffioned to examine the prifoner in perfon; which done, they make their report to the King, and the prifoner is never given up to the mercy of the holy office, until the matter has been thoroughly fifted to the botIn the case of giving him up, the delin tom. quent quent must have been proved guilty (almoft to conviction) of blafphemy, or fome other heinous offence against Heaven; and even then the degree of his punishment must be specified to his Majesty. No man muft fuffer death in the prifons of the Inquifition. Thus, fince the power of these boly fiends has been contracted by the King, and that they have been forbid to meddle in any degree with temporal matters, their dungeons are almost tenantless; as people are grown too wary in these days to expose themselves to the fnares of Inquifitors, for any opinions they may entertain in regard to matters of faith. upon the The punishment of breaking upon the wheel is Breaking quite new at Turin; it takes place this year, wheel. 1770, and never has been practised before in this country. rice, Or der of. The order of St. Maurice exacts four genera- St. Mautions of Nobility on each fide. By their vow they f devote themselves particularly to the Virgin Mary and the Pope; cannot marry a second wife, nor a widow, without a difpenfation from the Holy See. They are a charitable community, are rich, and maintain a church and hofpital in this city. There are mountains near Turin, known by the Monts Ferratts, name of Monts Ferratts. That called the Little natural Mont Ferratt abounds with petrifactions, cryftalli- curiofities. zations, and other natural curiofities; I have seen mushrooms (fome very large) petrified, whofe combs were not the leaft injured: their fubftance is fparry when broke. Sea-fhells, fea-fish, &c. are found here alfo in great abundance, although full thirty leagues distant from the fea. At about eight leagues from Turin, in the river Dora, the peasants find gold very pure amongst the fands, which, when refined, is equal in beauty and value to that of Sequins; but they do not find enough in a day to make it worth their while to apply themfelves entirely to this refearch, as the price of their labour by the day, for cultivating the ground, amounts to more than the value of the quantity of gold they may poffibly find in the fame time. However, I recollect, that in the road to Susa, we chofe to walk down the mountain, and were met by a drove of mules loaded with fmall cafks; we afked the mule drivers what they contained, who replied, minerale, upon demanding an explanation, they said it was the minerale that contained the gold. I fuppofe it was fand impregnated with the ore; but you can rarely obtain a fatisfactory answer to any question from this fort of people, A natural brutality, mixed with an unfurmountable conceit, is the conftant companion of igno. rance. These muleteers, whose narrow minds and ideas are contracted to the mere conveyance of mineralé from the river Dora, on the backs of their mules, to Turin, looked upon us as monsters, because we did not comprehend their particular fenfe of mineralé. Men, by being much oppreffed in defpotic governments, or by being rendered. too poor, may become fo brutified as to feem of a more different fpecies from other human creatures, than than the man-tiger from them. But I must not go on, for our trunks are yet to be packed up, as we go to-morrow, and have taken leave of every body a day fooner than I fhould otherwise have done, in order to throw these notes and observations upon paper as I could: fo excuse the want of order; their conformity to truth, according to the best information we could procure, pleads for them. The greater part of those that relate to policy and revenue, I have fupplied myself with from M's entries, who has not only been extremely induftrious in procuring, but has had the means of drawing them from the very best fources of information; many of them (however furprising it may appear to you) from the Chevalier Roberti himfelf. |