LETTER XXII.
SIR,Munich, April 2, 1730.
Since you received my last I have done and seen a great many Things. On the 23d of March I set out from Frankfort for Darmstadt, the Capital of the upper County of Catzenellenbogen, and the Residence of Ernest-Lewis Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt[154].
This Town is extremely small, and only enclosed with Pallisadoes. If the Prince's Palace had been finish'd according to its Model, it would have been one of the greatest and most magnificent in Europe, and there might have been Lodgings for the Emperor, and all the nine Electors of the Empire. It would have been bigger than the Town, and have
cost immense Sums: That Part which is finish'd makes a very grand Appearance. But all those magnificent Works which the Landgrave Regent at first carried on with very great Vigour are entirely discontinu'd, and there's no Appearance that they will ever be taken in hand again. The old Palace is much more commodious than it seems to be; its Apartments being convenient, and richly furnish'd. The Landgrave does not live in the Palace, but leads a very retir'd Life in a little House upon the Square, where he is never seen but upon Sundays and Holidays. He amuses himself in turning of Ivory, making Chymical Experiments, and in Drawing. He loves Hunting above all things whatsoever. He delights in Agriculture, and in Music, and it may strictly be said that he is never unemploy'd. He has very great Knowledge natural and acquir'd. He has seen a great many Countries, and tho' sixty Years of Age he still looks well, and his grey Hairs, not to call them white, give him a venerable Air. He sits a Horse very well, walks well, and seems to enjoy perfect Health. His Wife was Dorothy of Brandenbourg-Onoltzbach, who died in 1705. They say that he lately married N—— de Spiegel the Widow of Count Seibelsdorf a Lieutenant-General in the Service of Bavaria. Be that as it will, the Marriage is not public, and the Lady still goes by the Name of her former Husband by whom she has Children. 'Tis true that the Landgrave pays her very great Distinction, and indeed she is very amiable.
This Prince commonly dines at a little Table spread only for four People; but on Sundays and Holidays he goes to the Palace, and dines with his Son at a Table cover'd for sixteen Guests, and sups with the Ladies who are never seen at Court but upon those Days. 'Tis a very hard matter to come at the Speech of the Landgrave, and much more
to that of his only Son the hereditary Prince. The Hunting-Officers are the only Persons that have the Privilege of Access to them; for which reason this is not one of the most entertaining Courts; and a Man is under a necessity of throwing himself into the Town, where indeed there are a great many People of Merit who are civil to Foreigners.
The hereditary Prince Lewis, the only Son of the Landgrave, who was born the 5th of April 1691, is a handsome Man, has a noble Air, dances well, mounts a Horse well, has Vivacity, Spirit, and Politeness, but is often thoughtful, melancholy, and goes for Retirement to the Woods, where he is passionately fond of Hunting; but is apt to create himself Uneasiness, and does not know how to dissemble it. Tho' he has all the Qualities necessary to shine in Company, yet he sees but very little. He married Charlotta-Christina of Hanau, who dying in 1726, left him three Sons and two Daughters, the eldest of which was then seven Years of Age. By virtue of this Marriage the Prince is Heir to the Count of Hanau's Estate in Alsace, and to all his Freeholds in general, which will be a very rich Succession.
Nevertheless the Court of Darmstadt is very numerous. The Landgrave has a great many Counsellors of State, Gentlemen of the Bed-Chamber and Court, and a greater Number still of Officers of the Venery, and Huntsmen. There is not a Province in Germany more proper for Hunting, nor in Europe where there are more Deer. 'Tis a flat even Country, and a gravelly Soil interspersed with Woods thro' which there are cut noble Roads. I have seen the Deer come up close to the Pallisadoes of the Town, and at their Rutting-time I have heard them cry as I lay in my Bed. This great plenty of Deer is extremely troublesome to the Peasants who are abroad day and night to watch their Fields. The
Landgrave and the hereditary Prince are so jealous of their Game that they reckon it as bad a Crime as Murder for any one to kill a Deer; and tho' 'tis an establish'd Custom among almost all Sovereigns to punish with Severity all those that kill a Creature which God however certainly created for the Use of all Mankind, yet there is no Prince who observes this Law more strictly than the Landgrave.
I cannot give you a more certain Account of the Revenues of this Prince than of those of all the other Sovereigns. 'Tis said that he has 5 or 600000 Florins per Ann. I am not very well inform'd of the number of his Troops, for I have only seen his Regiment of Guards which is in very compleat Order. His Horse-Guards are also very fine Troops, and commanded by the General Miltitz, who is at the same time Grand Marshal of the Court, the Honours of which he performs in a very handsome manner.
Tho' the Soil at Darmstadt is very gravelly, it produces excellent Pulse. I have seen Asparagus at the Landgrave's Table, three of which weigh'd a Pound, tho' indeed they were not altogether so nice. I remember that in a former Journey which I made hither in the Month of December, there were brought to the Landgrave in several Pots of Porcellain, a Dwarf Cherry-Tree laden with Cherries; Strawberry-Plants, an Almond-Tree, and in short, the Fruits of all the Seasons.
The intended Hunting-Match, for what reason I know not, was put off; and as I came hither only to see it, I staid but one Day and went to Hanau. The Count and the Princess of Hanau were but lately return'd from Alsace. The Town of Hanau is situate on a large Plain to the right of the Main. 'Tis divided into two Wards, the old and the new Town: The latter is much bigger than the former: It was built by the Walloon Protestants, who, during
the Duke of Alva's Persecution under Philip II. King of Spain, quitted the Netherlands and came to settle at Hanau, which they fortify'd, and built in such a manner that all the Streets run parallel. The Count keeps several Companies in pay, from which he makes Detachments for the Quota he is oblig'd to furnish, as a Member of the Circle of the Upper Rhine.
The Walloons who are settled at Hanau have established several Manufactures there, especially Woollen Stuffs. The Calvinists, the Lutherans, and the Jews are tolerated here, and as for us Catholics, we may go to Mass where we please.
The Count's Palace is in the old Town: 'Tis an ancient Building, and makes no great Appearance, but the Apartments are commodious, and very richly furnish'd. The Count has a very pretty Pleasure-House a quarter of a League from Hanau, call'd Philipsruhe, i. e. (Philip's Repose) and built by the late Count de Hanau, Brother to the Count Regent[155]. 'Twas at this Seat that I found the Count of Hanau. There was a very numerous Attendance, and I heartily wish'd I could have staid there a few days. Few Princes in the Empire live more elegantly than the Count de Hanau. The Lady who directs the whole Houshold, and keeps all things in wonderful Order is the Princess[156] who is of the Family of Brandenbourg-Anspach, and Sister to the Queen of England. At this Court you have all the Liberty than can be desired. When you first come a Chamber is provided for your Lodging, and a Footman order'd to wait on you. Every Morning an Officer comes to know what you will please to have for Breakfast; and there's every Thing to be had that you call for. If afterwards you have a mind to go out a Hunting, you send to the Great Huntsman
for a Guide and to the Count for Horses out of his Stables. If you come back too late for Dinner at Court, you are serv'd very elegantly in your own Apartment. In the Evening when you are retir'd from Company, a Butler takes care to provide you with Wine and Beer. The Servants of Foreigners diet with those of the Count. His own Table which is commonly for eighteen Guests is served as well as most, and a second Table is serv'd with the same Magnificence. The Count has a very great Family, and lives every way like a Prince; and indeed 'tis his own Fault that he is not one, for he has had the Imperial Diploma for it a long while, but he does not care to make use of it; saying, he had rather be the first Count than the lowest Prince. He is the last Male of his Family. After his Death the County of Hanau relapses to the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, according to the Treaty of Confraternity made between the several Families of Saxony, Hesse, and Hanau, which imports that the said Families shall succeed one another. The King of Poland as Elector of Saxony ought to have had his Share in the Succession to the County of Hanau, but his Majesty by a Treaty yielded his Rights to the Landgrave of Cassel. As to the Lands in Alsace, and the Freeholds, they revert, as I told you before, to the Children of the hereditary Prince of Darmstadt.
The Count of Hanau seems to be much older than he is in reality. He is a very civil Nobleman, and Hunting is a Diversion of which he is extremely fond, so that to kill a Deer upon his Lands is an unpardonable Crime; and the lesser Game, such as Rabbits, Hares, and Partridges, are equally his Care. All these Creatures spoil the Fields; but they serve for the Count's Amusement, while the poor Peasant is oblig'd to pay his Tax, and dares not speak a Word.
From Hanau to Munich I never made a stop; but after having travell'd thro' Wurtzbourg, Nurembourg, and Augsbourg arrived here last night, and propose to set out again to-morrow, and after two or three days stay at Saltzbourg shall proceed by the way of Tirol to Venice, where I beg you would not fail to let me hear from you.
I am just come from attending the Obsequies of Theresa-Cunegunda Sobieski Electoress of Bavaria, Mother to the Elector. This Princess died lately at Venice, to which City she retir'd eighteen Months ago, and her Corpse is forthwith expected to be interr'd in the Tomb of the Electoral Family. She has left, as 'tis said, near six millions of Florins, which, since she has made no Will, are to be equally shar'd between the four Princes her Sons. She has moreover left a Daughter who is a Nun in a Convent of this City. In 1719, when she took the Habit, I was present. She chose this retir'd Life against the Will of her Father the Elector, who did all he could to dissuade her from it; and she liv'd in great Reputation for her Piety. But to return to the Obsequies of the Electoress: The Elector and Electoress assisted at them, together with the Elector of Cologne, the Duke Ferdinand, the Bishop of Freisingen, the Duchess Ferdinand, and the two Princes her Sons. These Princes had Cowls upon their Heads, and great Cloaks, which is not one of the most becoming Dresses. The Family of Bavaria observes a very singular Custom, which is, never to give a black Livery, nor to line their Coaches. I think this reasonable enough, for it does not look very well in a pompous Funeral.
I am, &c.
