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.