made Madame des Urfins his dupe, and caused her to be sent away from the court. I fhall give you the particulars of this affair, as they are curious. Alberoni, who was fufficiently in the confidence of Madame des Urfins to be acquainted with her earnest defire, that whatever Princess Philip fhould marry, might be one of a ductile character, without much genius, void of ambi tion, and totally incapable of taking a part in the affairs of state, gave her to understand, he had found just fuch a one in the Princess of Parma. Madame des Urfins was charmed with. the choice he had made, and he fet out for Parma to promote the marriage by every poffible means. There is no doubt of his infinuating at the court of Parma how active an agent he had been in the negociation of this treaty, but notwithstanding all his diligence and art, Madame des Urfins became acquainted with the real character of the Princess, which was precisely the reverfe in every point to the picture the Cardinal had made of her; in confequence of this intelligence, a courier arrived the eve of the day on which the marriage was to be ratified, with an order to fufpend the treaty for the prefent; but the Cardinal, who was fufficiently clear-fighted to fufpect the cause of this procedure, menaced the courier with certain death if he discovered his arrival by any means till the next day. Madame des Urfins had omitted to charge the courier not to go first to the Cardinal's, from which overfight, his Eminence found means VOL. I.

S

to

At length, he by his

to profit doubly; for the next day the marriage being ratified and the papers figned, the Cardinal acquainted the Princefs how he had detained the meffenger, facrificed and betrayed Madame des Urfins to her, and fo effectually perfuaded her of the obligations fhe owed him, that upon her arrival in Spain, the first favour she asked of the King was the banishment of Madame des Urfins. No fooner had the quitted the court, than the Cardinal attained that greatnefs he fo much defired; and became fuch a favourite of the Queen, as to be admitted into the most secret councils of state, honoured with the purple, and declared prime minifter of Spain. own faults procured his disgrace; for, being of a boundless ambition and of a daring fpirit, not to be intimidated by danger or disappointment, feveral foreign powers combined to put a final period to his arrogance; and with much difficulty, Philip found himself in the end constrained to dif grace and banish him. After his fall he styled himself Cardinal of Ravenna, and returned back to Piacenza; where fo much afhamed was he of his birth, as never to have affifted, or even acknowledged any of his relations during his life, nor at his death. He kept a flender house and equipage, lived chiefly with the jefuits, affumed no arms, did no public or private charities, and was totally useless both to the town and the people, unless we deem the establishment of thirty-fix miffionaries a public benefit. He bequeathed

all

all his wealth, which was confiderable, to various focieties of miffionaries, of which there are many in Italy. Being univerfally disliked by his townfmen, he died unregretted. When his body was carried from the town, about a mile and a half, to the establishment above-mentioned, where he was interred, not a creature followed his funeral, fo literally did he quit the world without leaving a friend behind him. He was confiderably past eighty years old when he died. At our meeting, I shall be able to give you more anecdotes of this Cardinal, and alfo my authority for the above: but it is now late, and I must foon conclude my letter to prepare for our departure to Parma.

The remains of the ancient town of Velleia Velleia. are eight leagues diftance from hence, and the season particularly bad for this journey, which we fhall therefore defer for the present.

Wishing to procure a few of those curious foffils, faid to be peculiar to this country, called dentales, I fent a laquai upon that commiffion; with orders not to return without them: he entered juft now with a paper well folded in his hand, which he prefented me with feeming fatisfaction in his face; but judge of my difappointment, when, upon opening it, the expected dentales were converted into Diablotins (chocolate-drops). He told me without the leaft feeling, that these were much wholefomer for me than the dentales. Think of the head of this laquais de place of Piacenza; it was too late to find fault.

S 2

Need

Need I inform you, who are so well versed in the Roman ftory, that Placentia was early a Roman colony of no fmall confideration in that Empire; is it not therefore furprising, that there should not be found in its neighbourhood the fmallest veftige of antiquity of any fort? Adieu, You shall hear from me the very first opportunity. We go to-morrow to Parma. I am, &c.

LETTER XX.

Parma, Nov. 19, 1770.

Emilian

way.

Face of

W

E arrived here yesterday, and have had a pleasant journey; the roads were good and the weather fine. The antique Emilian Way, which was conftructed under the confulate of Lepidus and Caius Flaminius, commenced at Piacenza, and reached from thence to Rimini, paffing by Parma, Modena, and Bologna: there are still some traces of it to be seen, but in a very ruinous condition. The whole of the country between Piacenza and Parma is a dead flat; the cenza and foil exceedingly rich; the ground well cultivated, and planted with ftraight rows of elms, at about planted. twelve or fourteen yards afunder: these form the most delightful viftas imaginable, and what adds greatly to their beautiful appearance is, that the vines fuftained by the elms are conducted from tree to tree, forming the most graceful

the country be.

tween Pia

Parma,

how

feftoons.

feftoons. The ilex and the mulberry-tree are frequently planted for the support of the vine, as the elms are, and make a most agreeable variety: yet we cannot avoid lamenting the want of taste in the peasants, who occafionally pollard the ilexes and elms, to prevent, as we fuppofed, their cafting too broad a fhadow. Between thefe rows of trees, the corn flourishes in the utmost luxuriance, except where the ground is devoted to water meadows.The horizon is very diftant, and is bounded by Appenines covered with fnow. When we came to Bounded our laft poft, we clearly perceived our nearer ap- nines. by Appeproach to these mountains, by the keennefs of the

air from their fnowy tops.

zuola.

This country is by no means defert: feveral fmall villages and country-houses appear at a diftance. At twelve miles from Piacenza we paffed through a village, called Fiorenzuola, agreeably Fiorenfituated; a little further, and along fide the Emilian Way, is an abbey of Monks, which makes a confiderable appearance from the road: the building feems to be of great extent. About twelve miles from Fiorenzuola, we paffed through another village, called San-Domino. Five miles San-Domore brought us to the river Taro, which is fome- mino. times very dangerous to pass; we forded two of ver how its branches, but the stream of the third was fo paffed. rapid, and the water fo deep, as obliged us to cross it in a bark we remained in our carriage, and by means of a raft were drove by our poftilion into the bark. There is fomething unpleasant enough

Taro ri