In this Metropolitan Church are preserved with great Veneration the Bodies of a couple of Saints extremely dear to the Bohemians. The one is St. Wenceslaus King of Bohemia, the other St. John Nepomucene. The latter was very lately canonized by Pope Benedict XIII. at the Request of the States of this Kingdom, who were at the whole Expence of the Ceremony, which was performed in the Church of St. John de Lateran at Rome with extraordinary Pomp.
The Story of this Saint is very singular: He was Confessor to the Wife of that cruel Emperor Wenceslaus, who was deposed by the Electors. That Prince being jealous of his Queen enjoined St. John Nepomucene to reveal that Princess's Confessions to him. He employed Presents, Prayers and Threats, to persuade the Saint to make this Discovery, but all to no purpose; upon which he caused him to be
cast headlong from the Bridge into the River of Molde. The Body was seen floating at some distance from the Place, attended with five Stars swimming on the Water; then he was added to the Number of the Saints and Martyrs, and his Corpse was taken out of the River, and carried with Pomp to Prague, where it was interr'd in the Church of Dain in the old Town, of which he was a Canon. His Corpse being found some Years ago, his Tongue appearing to be as fresh as ever, was taken out of his Mouth and put into a Silver Gilt Box; the Body was enclosed in a stately Coffin, and the whole carried with great Ceremony to the Cathedral. An Altar being erected in the middle of the right Wing of the Choir, there the Saint was interr'd in a Tomb of Silver Gilt; and the Tongue put into a sort of Tabernacle where it has wrought and does still work great Miracles. There is a great Concourse of People hither from all Parts to invoke this Saint, whose Tomb is loaded with precious Gifts, and adorned by the Empress with a rich Canopy. But no body has given more illustrious Proofs of Devotion to St. Nepomucene than the Prince de Schwartzenberg[88] Master of the Horse to the Emperor, and the Count de Martinitz Marshal of the Imperial Court; who both ascribe the Conception of their Wives, and the Birth of their Sons, to the Protection of that Saint, tho' I should have thought all this feasible enough without a Miracle. The Princess de Schwartzenberg had not been married many Years before she had a Daughter[89]; her Husband had not seen her for fourteen Years after this, during which she had no Children. This is no more than common; after they came together again Madam is brought to Bed of a Son, in which tho' there is nothing but what is very
natural, yet 'tis cry'd up for a Miracle; the Birth is ascribed to the Devotion which the Princes paid to the Tomb of St. Nepomucene for nine Days together, and to make the Saint some amends, his Tomb and his Altar are adorn'd by a great many Vessels of Silver and Silver gilt.
As to Count Martinitz there seems indeed to be better colour for a Miracle in his favour. He had been married fourteen or fifteen Years, and his Lady never given the least Sign of Teemingness. She was in good plight of body, her Husband liv'd with her, and they went together several times to the Baths of Carlsbad, but all had signified nothing. The Count longing passionately for a Son had perform'd more than nine days Devotion successively, for he went the last Holy Year to Loretto and to Rome. But Heaven deaf to his Cries granted him no Heir; at last knowing not what Saint to pray to, his Lady propos'd, that they should go and worship nine days together at the Tomb of St. Nepomucene. They set out, they arrive at Prague, they prostrate themselves before the sacred Tomb. Soon after, Madame de Martinitz proves with Child, and at nine Months end is delivered of a Son. You may say whatever you please, but such a Favour sure was worth some Lamps of solid Silver before the Saint's Tomb; and the Count de Martinitz full of Zeal and Gratitude has given some that are very magnificent.
The Bohemians have so great confidence in St. John de Nepomucene, that they have almost forgot St. Wenceslaus their old Patron. There is no Church where St. John has not a Chapel, no Bridge without his Effigy; every body Gentle and Simple, Men and Women, wear his Picture as if it were the Badge of an Order, hanging to a straw-colour'd Ribbon, and you would swear that all the Bohemians were Knights of St. Louis. In short, St. Nepomucene is
the only Saint in vogue; and Presents are heap'd upon him to such a degree that if it continues much longer, he will be as rich as our Lady of Loretto.
The Palace or Castle which joins to the Cathedral is a great Building composed of several Main Bodies without Symmetry or Architecture. The Apartments are but low and plain, but here is one of the most beautiful Prospects in the World. The great Hall in which the Royal Feast is kept on the Day of the Coronation of the Kings is the largest of the kind, next to the spacious Hall of Westminster. The Palace-Gardens are large, but have nothing to recommend them besides their Situation. The Tribunals of the Regency meet in the Palace: The first of these consists of Stadtholders who are of the Emperor's Privy Council. They are to the Number of twelve, and represent the Sovereign. Most of them are the great Officers of the Crown. There must be always two of them private Gentlemen to take care of the Interests of the Gentry against the Nobility; for you must know that the Princes, Counts, and Barons, who compose the Nobility, form a separate Body here, and would think it a Disparagement to be call'd Gentlemen; tho' Henry IV. King of France counted it an honour to be the first Gentleman in his Kingdom, and King Francis I. whenever he affirmed a thing, said, Upon the Word of a Gentleman.
The Chief of the Council of the Stadtholders is call'd the Great Burgrave, whose Dignity is the highest in the Kingdom. He represents the Person of the Emperor, and is inferior to none but the Chancery of Bohemia which always attends the Emperor.
The Bridge over the Muldaw which joins little Prague to the old Town, is one of the longest and most substantial Bridges in Europe. It has on both