ing in one hand a bowl of poison; a man in armour standing close by her, fhews an uplifted dagger, the point towards her throat: there are two women attendants behind, whofe faces and attitudes express a joyous complacence and selffatisfaction. A large wild boar peeps his head out from beneath the garments of the woman, who holds the bowl.

The Gallery contains feveral curious antiques, Gallery. and a fine collection of drawings, confifting of

&c.

near fix thousand defigns and sketches of Cor- Painters regio, Guido, and Tiziano, Sarto, Parmagianino, names. Guilio Romano, Tintoret, the Carracci, Vignola, Francefchini, &c. and a great number of fine engravings, befides many natural and artificial curiofities. Amongst the antiques is a beautiful Egyptian Egyptian Canopus, eight inches high, and four Canopus. Antiques in breadth: a busto of Adrian and his wife Sabina, buftoes, in bronze, large as the life; a woman's hand in white alabaster, much admired, it appears to be of Greek sculpture, but not to have belonged to a ftatue: an Andromeda in white marble, about three feet high; fhe is faftened to a rock, leaning on her left fide; there is a noble expreffion of filent grief in her attitude and face; the limbs are delicate, and the workmanship extremely well executed a Hercules about a foot high, drawing Cacus by the foot from a cavern; these two figures are out of one block; the cavern, and one of the oxen he had stolen, are of another block; they are fine, and of Greek fculpture: two heads

in

Library.

in one piece; unfinished, but not void of merit: a busto of Francis the First, by Bernini; partly in armour; his mantle is so finely fculptured, that it feems to float in the air. There are a fine feries of medals, but I am not a fufficient judge of their merits to pronounce upon them; it is a curious ftudy, of which I know very little, nor is M very partial to it.

Amongst the Cameos, the following appear to be the most worthy of obfervation: an agate with five figures in relief, all of different colours; one of these figures is fuckling a child; to one fide is the god Termes, before him an altar with the facred fire burning thereon: another agate of two colours represents Iole coiffed with the lion's skin: a cameo in agate of three colours, with two figures; one, of a man fitting; he holds a fceptre in one hand, and has his other arm round the fhoulders of a woman, who is standing with a lyre in her left hand, and fomething like a fhort ftick in the other; near the man lies a mask; the woman's figure is fuppofed to be meant for the Mufe Terpfichore: another cameo, of two colours, represents the bufto of Cleopatra. The above gems appeared to us the most valuable in the collection.

The Library contains about thirty thousand volumes; the book-cafes are very neat, though of no better wood than walnut-tree. They are furrounded by an iron balustrade gilt. Here are fix columns, which feem to fuftain the vaulted ceiling;

ceiling; they are fo well painted, as to cause a deception when feen from a proper point of view; also several ancient editions of books in the infancy of printing. In another room are many curious Manuscripts; it is faid, to the number of fifteen Manuhundred. They fhewed us the following; a fcripts. Greek Teftament of the eighth century; the Mifcellanea of Theodore; a Greek manuscript of the fifteenth century; a Dante of the fourteenth, with miniature paintings, wretchedly done, on the top of each page, defcriptive of the ftory there fet forth; a Bible in two volumes, and a breviary of the fifteenth century, with miniature paintings, very tolerable; an Herbalift of the fourteenth century, wrote in French, with the plants in miniature; a Cofmography of Ptolemy's in Latin, with miniature maps, by one Nicholas Hahn, a German, done in the fourteenth century. They shewed us others also; the subjects and titles I have forgot, but M- says I have mentioned (as he recollects) the most curious. Almost all fhewers of libraries, pictures, &c. talk fo much, and mix fo many impertinent remarks of their own, in every country I have yet seen, that instead of helping strangers, they confound and perplex them. I opened a translation from the Greek Teftament, by Theodore Beza. According to this copy, printed at Edinburgh by Andrew Hart, 1610; the beginning of St. John's Gofpel runs thus; "In "the beginning was that Word, and that Word

was

Cathedral.

Guido

Reni.

"was with God, and that Word was God; this "fame was in the beginning with God.”

You see there is fome little variation from our common translation.

I have now done with the Palace, and fhall proceed to the churches. The Cathedral is built in a bad Gothic tafte. The great altar is raised fo high as to admit of a Church, partly fubterraneous, under it. This is dedicated to St. Geminiano, and his body is conferved there.

You find a capital picture by Guido Reni in the first chapel on the right hand. The fubject is called by the Monks who fhew it, a Nunc dimittis. The Virgin is on her knees before the Infant Jefus, who is held in the arms of Simeon. The Virgin makes as ignoble a figure as that of a common parish-girl of a charity-school. Cochin and I vary extremely in regard to the Virgin; he commends her figure for a noble fimplicity, in which fhe appears to me to be totally deficient. However, we agree as to the other parts of the picture, particularly in respect to the children who are playing with the offering, the turtle-doves. Nothing can be more natural than this little group. The colouring is too much upon the afh-colour, and produces a cold effect; though the drapery is ele gant, and the drawing precife. The steeple of this church is called the guirlandina, and is efteemed the highest in all Italy: it is entirely of marble. They preferve in it, with the greatest

care,

1

care, an old bucket, hooped with iron, which the Modenese, in the battle of Zipolino, carried off as a proof of their victory over the Bolognefe, and pursued them into their town; however, they met there with fuch oppofition, as obliged them to a hafty retreat; but not without the confolation of carrying off this bucket in triumph. These wars of Modena and Bologna, are the fubject of a mock heroic poem of Taffo's, called La Secchia rapita; in which he licentiously mifreprefents and mifplaces facts, in order to give a larger scope to his fatire and wit.

Nova.

La Chiefa Nova is not yet finished; the deco- Chiefa rations are elegant, of the Corinthian order; but as it is not divided into ifles, and is to be highly ornamented with modern architecture, it will have the appearance, when finifhed, of a ball-room, rather than of a temple.

There are two Theatres at Modena, one is very Theatres well built and decorated. Here are fteps, which rife in an amphitheatrical manner, and pillars above; the pillars feparate fome of the boxes, and fuftain others higher up. The profcenium, the tribunes, or boxes over the ftage, and the stagedoors, are ornamented in a good tafte. The other theatre is very indifferent in all refpects.

The troops of Modena make a good appear- Troops. ance; they are well-dreffed, and parade about with a strong band of mufic, confifting of drums, fifes, hautboys, and French-horns. The Duke of Modena is faid to have eight thousand men in con

ftant