LETTER XLVI.
SIR,Cologn, July, 13, 1732.
The Road from Liege to Spa is very disagreeable, and, really, the Place itself is not worth the Trouble of going to it; I mean, for such as are not under a Necessity of using the Waters; for I am not willing to embroil myself with the English, who neglect the best Waters in the World, which they have at Bath and Tunbridge, to go to those of the Spa. Here are several Springs, which the Physicians of the Place adjust to all Distempers. That of Poubon, which is in the Middle of the Square of Spa, is good for the Gravel, the Sciatica, and in short, for every Thing, except the Stomach; but then, on the other hand, this Part of the human Body may be set to Rights by the Water of the Geronstere, which must be taken every Morning, three Quarters of a League from Spa, in a little Coppice, where a sorry Hovel is built, to shelter the Water-drinkers from the Rain. But how good soever the Geronstere Spring is for the Stomach, it is of no manner of Service to the Breast; in which Case they must go to another Fountain, of which I have forgot the Name. The Physicians and Inhabitants of Spa, good People, consulting their own Interest more than the Health of the Foreigners, tell them absolutely, that they must continue to drink the Waters, at least, six Weeks successively;
which Precepts the English follow very readily, and even go beyond them. I knew a young Irishman, who for three Years fansied himself to be sick, and was continually taking the Waters of the Spa. He would fain have persuaded me, that otherwise he should have died: He complained of a great Pain in his Kidneys; yet he look’d very well, eat heartily, slept sound, and danced like one mad. While I was at Spa, I thought myself at London, there being ten Englishmen to one Foreigner. I believe that Nation, in short, has laid a Plot to take away Spa from the Bishop of Liege. I was overjoy’d to renew my Acquaintance there with Persons of good Families, whom I had known at London. Tho’ I am extremely prepossessed in Favour of England and Englishmen; yet I cannot help agreeing with many others, that they are more amiable, and more sociable Abroad, than they are at Home.
In my Road from Spa to Aix la Chapelle, I came to Limbourg, the Capital Town of the Duchy of that Name, and truly, the most dismal Capital in the World. It stands upon a Mountain, as it were, by itself, and in one of the most disagreeable Situations that can be imagined. Heretofore it was fortified, but is now dismantled. There are, however, three hundred Invalids that keep Guard here, such a one as it is. The whole Country has a very miserable Appearance; yet I have been assured, that the Inhabitants are very well to pass. They have good Store of Cattle, make a great deal of Cheese, and manufacture very good Cloth, for which they have a great Vend in the Netherlands, and at Frankfort Fair; where a great many Pieces are sold, which pass for the Cloth of Holland, and even of England. The Road from Limbourg to Aix la Chapelle, which is
four Leagues, is very disagreeable to travel in a Chaise, because of the Rocks and Mountains.
Aix la Chapelle, which is an Imperial City, owes its Foundation to Charlemagne, who established the Seat of his Empire here; and, they say, that the Town-house was formerly Part of his Palace. This City is fixed by the Golden Bull, to be the Place for Crowning the Emperors. Charlemagne caused his Son Louis the Pious to be crowned there, by Hildebold, Archbishop of Cologne; since which, there have been thirty-six Emperors crowned in Aix. They who have been crowned elsewhere, have always given an Instrument to the City of Aix, and to the Chapter Royal of the Church of our Lady, declaring, that this Ceremony, performed elsewhere, shall be of no Prejudice either to the City, or its Church.
The Annals of Aix, among several other miraculous Events, report, That during the Coronation of Rodolph I. there appeared a great bright Cross over the Church of our Lady, as a Mark that God approved of the Choice which the Electors had made of that Prince, according to the Advice given them by Albert the Great, of the Dominican Order, Bishop of Ratisbon, and Rodolph’s Confessor. When the Electors were going to take the Oath of Fidelity to Rodolph, according to Custom, the Sceptre which they were to touch, was not to be found; whereupon Rodolph, who did not think this Ceremony absolutely needless, took a Crucifix from the Altar: See, (said he to the Electors, who stood round Charlemagne’s Chair, in which Rodolph sat) see the Signal of that by which we and all the World have been redeemed; we will make use of this, instead of the Sceptre. Then kissing the Crucifix very devoutly, it so wrought upon the Princes and Electors, that without staying for the Sceptre, they took the Oath, and paid Homage with their
Hands crossing each other. I forgot to tell you, that the Cross which appeared in the Firmament, during this Transaction, tho’ white at first, became red as Blood; which being told to the Emperor Rodolph, he said, If God gives me Life, I will go beyond Sea, and there sacrifice my Blood for my Sins, for the Honour of my Saviour Jesus Christ. Probably, this Emperor did not live to perform his pious Resolution; for History does not say, that he ever went to Sea; but it mentions, that when this Prince was only the Count de Hapsbourg, he met a Priest in a Field, walking on Foot, and carrying the Viaticum to a Person that was sick, and that Rodolph, such was his Devotion for the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, alighted from his Horse, and set the Priest upon it, using this Expression, That it should never be said, that the Man who carried the Saviour of the World, should walk on Foot, while he, Rodolph, sate on Horseback. The Priest, who was wrought upon by the Zeal of the Prince, and inspired by God, prophesied to him, That he should be chose Emperor, and that his Posterity should attain to the highest Honours. The Event has answered the Prediction; for God has so blessed Rodolph’s Family, which now goes by the Name of the House of Austria, that since his Time, the Imperial Sceptre has not departed from it; Charles VI. being the fifteenth Emperor, besides seven Kings of the Romans, who are descended, without Interruption, from the Rodolphin Line.
The Church of our Lady is very ancient, being consecrated by Pope Leo III. in Presence of the Emperor Charlemaign, and as many Bishops attended at the Ceremony as there are Days in the Year; of whom, no doubt, a great many were Bishops in Parts beyond the Seas. At this Consecration a Thing happened very surprising and
extraordinary; to which you may give as much, or as little Credit as you please. ’Tis, that God, in order fully to answer Charlemagne’s Desire to complete the aforesaid Number of Bishops, of which there wanted two, permitted St. Monulphus, and St. Gondulphus, Bishops of Tongres, who had been both dead a long time, and buried in the Church of St. Servais, at Maestricht, to appear visibly at the Solemnity of this Coronation, and to receive the Pope’s Blessing; after which they vanish’d. But I think, without pretending to dive into this Mystery, that if these two Bishops were really Saints, they ought to have given the Pope their Blessing, as being older Saints than the Holy Father. Mean time, that there is such a Story, you are not to doubt; for in the Roof of the Church of St. Servais at Maestricht, I saw a Picture that represents it. There is an Angel holding out a Label in the Language of Brabant, signifying, Monulphus and Gondulphus, arise, and go to the Consecration of the Church of Aix: And upon their Tomb there is this Latin Distich, expressing their Departure from thence to the Church at Aix la Chapelle.
Excitus bâc arcá Monulphus, Aquisque dicato Gondulphus Templo se reddit uterque Hierarcha.
After such authentick Evidences of so extraordinary a Passage, a Man must be very incredulous not to believe it. I should never have done, were I to give you an Account of all the precious Reliques that are in our Lady’s Church, of which you know that the Emperor is by Birth a Canon. The great Reliques are only shown once every seven Years, when Pilgrims come from all Parts, and particularly from Hungary; but as they are then only exposed from the Top of a Steeple,
the poor Creatures have only the Satisfaction of seeing them at a very great Distance; and after having been regaled by the City of Aix, most of ’em return Home, without being able to say what they have seen. The first and most ancient Relique, is the Shift which the Holy Virgin had on when she was delivered of our Lord. Whenever these Reliques are exposed, a Priest makes a Proclamation to the People, what Relique he is going to shew them. The following is the Form of one of those Proclamations.
At the first Relique.
We shall shew you the Linen, the sacred Raiment, in which the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, was drest the Night of the Holy Nativity of Our Lord, when she brought forth Jesus Christ, Very God and Very Man. Therefore let us beseech God, that we may look upon this sacred Relique in such a Manner, that the Honour and Glory of God may be thereby advanced, and that we may obtain his Grace, and his sacred Benediction.
The other Proclamations are in the same Taste: But so much for Reliques.
In the Church of Aix, there is a very great Treasure, consisting of Vessels of Gold and Silver gilt, Copes embroider’d with Pearls, and other sacred Ornaments, which are very rich. There is the Royal Chair, in which Charlemaign sate in his Tomb three hundred and twenty-five Years. ’Tis of white Marble, not polished, because it was covered with Plates of Gold; but what’s become of ’em, I know not. ’Tis in this Chair that the King of the Romans goes and seats himself as soon as he is consecrated; and here the Electors, and the Chapter of the Church, go and
make their first Obeisance to him, in Quality of King of the Romans. The High Altar, and the Pulpit, are covered with Plates of Gold, adorned with Jewels of a great Value, especially an Agate of an extraordinary Size; the Whole given by St. Henry of Bavaria, the second Emperor of the Romans of that Name. Were I to give you all the other Particulars of this Church’s Treasure, my Letter would swell to a Volume.
The Citizens of Aix, being in Hopes to have that Congress there, which was held afterwards at Soissons, caused their Town-house to be repaired; so that ’tis now one of the finest in Germany. They also built new Baths, very proper and commodious, and the Structure makes a handsome Appearance. Aix, take it all together, is a very pretty Town, and there’s very good Company here, even when the Waters are not in Season; but the noisy Pleasures are not to be expected. The Houses of the Countess de Golstein, and the Baron of Dobelstein, are of great Relief. The last is a Gentleman of Merit, and of a good Family, his Father having been a General Officer in the Service of Joseph Clement, Elector of Cologne; and having served in France, the last War, with Reputation. He honoured me with his Friendship, and I revere his Memory.
Of all the Places where the Waters are used, there’s none of more agreeable Accommodation than Aix; the Lodgings and Provisions here being perfectly good. There’s the House of Bougir, near the Fountain, where the late King of Denmark, the Queen, the Princess, and all their Retinue, were lodged very conveniently. This House is exceeding well furnished, and belongs to very genteel People, who, during the Season, hold Assemblies, and give a Ball, in a Room which is perfectly fine.
From Aix la Chapelle, I came in less than a Day to Cologne, thro’ a very even Road, and a flat Country all the Way, excepting a Hill that one ascends going out of Aix. I passed thro’ Juliers, the Capital of a Duchy of that Name, upon the little River Roer, which is very subject to overflow its Banks. Several Authors will have it, that Julius Cæsar caused this City to be built, while others ascribe its Foundation to Drusus. Which of them soever it was, the Town does no Honour to either. There is not one House in it, that can be called a Structure; and I thought the Fortifications were very much neglected. The Castle, or Citadel, which I only saw at a Distance, ’tis to be hoped, is in a better State. The Elector Palatine keeps a good Garison there, commanded by the General Haxhausen; whose House is, I think, the best in all Juliers. The Roman Catholic is the only Religion exercised in the City, but the Lutherans and Calvinists have their Chapel on the Glacis of the Place; and ’tis natural enough to suppose, that ere long they will have Churches in the Town itself, since nothing stands in the Way but the Life of the Elector Palatine; after whose Death, ’tis hardly supposed that the King of Prussia will let a Country slip from him, to which he has such just Pretensions.
Cologne is the greatest City in Germany, but the saddest in Europe. There’s nothing to be heard in it but tolling of Bells, and nothing to be seen but Priests, Friers and Students; many of whom beg Alms with a Song. The People of Cologne boast, that Agrippina, the Mother of Nero, was born there; and that this Princess, in order to give the City signal Proofs of her Good-will and Generosity, very much augmented its Circumference, and peopled it with a Colony of Veteran Romans. ’Twere to be wish’d, that this
Empress was still living, and that she would take it into her Head to people Cologne again, where there are really more Houses than Families. For ’tis a poor Burgher indeed here, who has not a whole House to himself.
If the Inhabitants of a Town were the more righteous for having a Number of Churches, those of Cologne would be the greatest Saints upon Earth; for they have as many Churches and Chapels as there are Days in the Year. The most considerable is the Metropolitan Church, dedicated to the Apostle St. Peter. If it were finished, it would be one of the greatest and most magnificent Buildings in Europe; but in its present Condition, it does no very great Honour to the Chapter, which is the most illustrious in Germany; the Canons being all born Princes, or Counts of the Empire, who must prove their Nobility from sixteen Descents. There are, indeed, some Canons who are only Doctors; but, properly speaking, they are no more than the Officers of the Chapter. The Bodies of the three Kings that were brought to Cologne, lie in a Chapel behind the Choir. They came into the City through a Gate towards the Rhine, which was walled up, as soon as the sacred Reliques had pass’d, that nothing might profane it. The Effigies of the three Kings are painted over it. The Inhabitants of Cologne have such a Veneration for these Reliques, that I believe, it would not be proper so much as to question whether they are genuine, in a Company of the Burghers.
The Nobility and Gentry at Cologne are as polite as they are elsewhere; but the Vulgar are extremely clownish. There are very ancient Patrician Families here, who make as plain Proof that they are descended from the old Romans, as
the Duke de Ventadour in France does, that he is a Kin to the Holy Virgin.
The Town is governed by a Senate, and is a Free Imperial City; nevertheless, the Elector of Cologne holds the Supreme Court of Justice here, by a sort of Chief Justice, or Lieutenant Criminal, who has no manner of Dependance on the Magistrates. The principal Offices are shared among the Patricians or Senators; who keep close at their own Houses, and shun the Nobility, as do all the Patricians of Germany. There are very few Families of Quality in this City, considering its Bigness. The Noblemen of the Chapter, are all the good Company to be met with in Cologne, and they are respectful to Foreigners; but the greatest Part of ’em are very little in Town; for as soon as their Residence is expired, they either go Home, or remove to other Places, where they are Prebendaries. There are substantial Tradesmen here, who eat well, and drink still better. They may be merry Blades, for aught I know, but I have not kept them Company; and you need not be told, that our Germanic Haughtiness will not permit us to demean ourselves to them.
There are a great many other Curiosities to be seen in this City, particularly the House where the Horses went up of their own Accord into the Garret, to convince a Man, that his Wife, who was buried the Day before, was not dead. You will find the Account of it in Misson’s[91] Letters. I have been to see the House where the unfortunate Queen Mary de Medicis lodg’d, while she liv’d here, and where she died in a Condition so forlorn, as may be a Warning to the World of the Frailty of Human Grandeur. The ungrateful Cardinal de Richelieu, on whom she had heap’d
Riches and Honour, not content with having banish’d her out of the Kingdom, abandon’d her to the Want of every thing; and while himself liv’d in the Luxury of the most splendid Fortune, he made the Queen suffer the Martyrdom of Misery and Sorrow. Cardinal Mazarin, his Successor in the Ministry, retir’d likewise to this Town, while the whole Kingdom of France was in a Conspiracy against him; but he had the Glory to defeat it.
I shall say nothing to you of the Revenues of this City, because I have seen nobody that could give me the least Insight into that Matter. It maintains some Companies of very sorry Soldiers, who keep Guard at the Gates, at the Town-house, and very insolently search the Luggage of all Comers; which is, certainly, of all Inconveniencies the greatest; because when one is not above two hundred Steps from our Quarters, we are obliged to unloose our Portmanteaus, which are then search’d, and every thing turn’d topsy-turvy; after which, one is obliged to be at the Trouble of putting every thing to rights again, while the very Fellows, that have put all in Confusion, have also the Impudence to ask for a Spill of Money to drink. In other Towns, an Officer goes with you to your Quarters, and you shew him what you have. But the Imperial Cities always affect to differ from others in certain Particularities, which are generally in direct Opposition to their own Interest, and constantly so to the Convenience of the Public.
There are Protestants settled here, who are not the poorest People in the City. They go to Church at Mulheim, a Village in the Country of Berg, about half a League off.
I set out To-morrow for Bonn, where the Elector is expected every Hour. He comes from Mergendahl, where he has been elected Grand Master of the Teutonic[92] Order, tho’ the Pope thought he
had Benefices enough before. This is actually the Sixth which the Elector holds at this Time, and I believe the Seventh will not escape him. The least of all brings him in a hundred thousand Crowns a Year. I don’t think there’s any Harm in the Plurality of Benefices, but in the Abuse of ’em; which is a Thing that cannot be charged to the Score of the Elector. I shall let you know in my next, what I think of this Prince’s Court. In the mean time, and always, I am with the most perfect Esteem, &c.
