Ghap. IIL L o w-G ountries^Germ a n |3| 
die Porch of which, diey tell you, was cover’d with Plates 
of Gold, by Archduke Frederick^ after he return’d from 
his Exile. I made the beft Obfervatioii I could con- 
cerning the Truth of this Story, and found that Plates 
of Brafs were fattened to the Timber inftead of Tiles, 
and that each of thefe Tiles was cover’d with another 
thin one of another Metal, which, if they be not Gold, 
I am fure they are gilded ; the Roof being about fifteen 
Foot Iquare, it could not by Calculation amount, fup- 
pofing them to be Gold, to above two hundred thoufand 
Crowns. The twenty eight magnificent Brafs Statues 
in the Church of the Cordelm-s^ were the Gift of the 
fame Frederick : They are bigger than the Life, and re- 
prefent Emperors, Archdukes, Dukes of Burgundy^ two 
Ernprettes, and two Princettes ; the Names of whom 
they are not able to tell you, as much as they reve- 
rence that Family. 
About half an Hour from Infpruck, at the Foot of 
a Mountain, ttands Amras^ called in Latin^ Arx Amhro- 
Jiam^ a Country Seat of the Archdukes, being remark- 
able only for its Situation and the Curiofities they ttiew 
to Sttangers. There is a large Hall fill’d with all Sorts 
Arms, which were more curious than ufeful ; and 
among other Things, a Launce ufed by Archduke F>r- 
in Turnaments. They tell you mott furprizing 
Things of the Strength of this Prince ; as for Inttance, 
That he could flop a Coach with fix Horfes, by taking 
hold of a Spoke of the Wheel j and would break two 
Crown Pieces joined together. In an adjacent Gal- 
lery we faw the Effigies of many Princes mounted on 
their Horfes in Armour, with all the Ornaments ufed 
in Turnaments ; and the Skin of a Serpent fifteen Foot 
long, taken near upon the Banks of the Danube. 
At the End of this Gallery is an Apartment fill’d with 
the Spoils and Arms taken from the Turks. Here you 
fee a BaJJ'a and an Aga of the Janizaries reprefented 
on Horfeback, in the fame magnificent Habits and 
Harneffes, embelliffi’d with Gold, Silver, and precious 
Stones, they had when they were taken Prifoners. 
In another Gallery they ttiew’d us a double Rank of 
Cupboards, join’d by the Backs and Sides, extended all 
along the Middle of the Gallery, there being but a 
little Room left to walk on both Sides : The three firtt 
were full of curious Works of all Sorts, as Alabatter, 
Glafs, Coral, and Mother of Pearl ; the fourth con- 
tain’d Medals, and Gold and Silver Coins ; the fifth, 
Veflels of Porcelain and feal’d Earth ; in the fixth were 
many rare little Cabinets richly inlaid, the Drawers 
whereof were fill’d with Medals and little Curiofities 
of Agate and Ambergrife. Befides thefe, you fee here 
feven large Volumes, bound in black Velvet, with Edges 
and Clafps of Silver, which, inttead of Leaves, con- 
tain’d fmall Boxes fill’d with a great Number of Me- 
dals. The feventh Cupboard has many very ancient 
Arms curioufly wrought ; and amongtt the reft, a Crofs- 
bow with thirty four letter Bows within its Compafs, 
difcharging as many Arrows at a Time. The eighth 
is fill’d with Animals, Plants, and fuch-like natural Cu- 
riofities j here you fee a Horn of an Ox of fix Inches 
Diameter. The three following Cupboards are fur- 
niffi’d with Works of Ivory, of Wood, and of the 
Pen ; the twelfth with Manufcripts and rare Books ; the 
thirteenth with Works of Steel, and particularly Pad- 
locks, and other Locks of a rare Invention ; In the 
"fourteenth they fhew’d us Stones reprefenting Trees, 
Fruits, Shells and Animals, all the pure Produftions of 
Nature : In the fifteenth and fixteenth, all Sorts of 
Clock-work and mufical Inttruments. The feventeenth 
contains a confiderable Quantity of precious Stones un- 
polifh’d, and of metallick and mineral Oars. The 
eighteenth, a good- Number of fmall Vefifels of pre- 
cious Materials, and of the rarett Shells in the World. 
The nineteenth furpaffes all the rett in Riches, being 
fill’d with Vefifels of Gold, Cryttal, Agate, Chalcedony, 
Onyx, Cornelian, Lapis Lazuli^ and other precious 
Stones, enrich’d with Gold and Diamonds in bajjh re~ 
hevo^ and other rare Workmanffiip. The twentieth 
and latt contains Antiquities of all Sorts, Sepulchral 
Lamps, Urns, Idols, Cfc. and among the rett a Piece 
of' a Rope about the Length of a Hand, which, they 
V o L. n, N u M B. 105. 
tell you, is Part of the fame wherewith Judds bang’d 
himfelf. On the Walls and Ceiling you fee an infinite. 
Number of other Curiofities, among which the Bow of 
Noah is an admirable Piece of Painting, for which^ 
they affirm, the Great Duke of Tufcany otter’d an hun- 
dred thoufand Crowns ; and in a great Cheft you fee 
a whole Cart-load of Medals laid up together j a fure 
Sign they are not valuable. From hence they carried 
us into the Library, which we found much out of Or- 
der •, and from thence into another Gallery full of Sta- 
tues, Butts, and other Pieces of Antiquity ^ befides a 
great many other Apartments adorn’d with Pidlures of 
a great Value. At our inn (the Golden Hart) we faw 
a middle aged Clownj who would lay his Arm ttretch’d 
upon the Ground, upon which a lufty Fellow flanding 
v^ith both his Feet, he lifted him up with the fame 
Fland only^ and carried him crofs the Room. 
1 3. About a League beyond Infpruck \ve re-enter’d 
the Mountains, and by a troublefome and tedious Af- 
cent of feven Idours, came late at Night to a little Vil- 
lage (not quite at the Top of the Mountain) call’d 
Grufsy i.e. Salutation^ having acquired its Name from the: 
Meeting of the two illuttrious Brothers near it, viz. 
Charles Y. and his Brother Ferdinand^ the whole Ac- 
count whereof you find engraven on a Marble Stone: 
two hundred Paces from the Village, the exadf Place 
where they firtt faluted each other. They treated us at 
Night with feveral Sorts of Wild Fowl and Venifon i 
all the Hares, Foxes and Bears are white here, as well 
as mbtt of their Partridges : They abound alfo iri 
Heath Cocks and Hens, Pheafants, and another Kind 
of large Wild Fowl, call’d by them Schneehahn or Snow- 
goofe. All thefe Sorts of Wild Fowl have their Feet 
velveted about the Claws, with a Kind of Furr which 
is neither Hair nor Feathers, but fo thick, that the 
Snow cannot penetrate it, a Point of natural Hittory 
that very well deferves Notice. 
This Mountain is call’d the Brennerberg., i. e. thtBurn^ 
ing Hill, by reafon of the piercing and burning Winds,(- 
which (together with bothThunder andLightning) reign 
frequently there in the Summer Seafon. Thefe Winds 
forcing their Pafifage thro’ the Hollownefs of the neigh- 
bouring Mountains, as it were thro’ Pipes, raife fucH 
furious Hurricanes, as fometimes overthrow both Trees 
and Rocks. Having travel’d about two Flours the next 
Day, we came to the Top of the Mountain, where we: 
difcover’d a remarkable Spring, which difcharging it- 
felf upon a Rock, there leparates into two Currents^ 
which foon after become confiderable Rivers, one turn- 
ing to the South, and joining with the Ibn near In- 
fpruck, the other to the North, after it has paflTed Brixen 
and Bolfano, difcharges it'felf into the Adige a little above 
Trent. We dined at Steerzingen, where we eat theFletti 
of a certain Creature call’d by them Steinbocks or Rock- 
Goats, {Rupee Capra) Creatures betwixt a Fle-goat and 
a Doe, which were mott excellent Meat. 
From hence, the direct Way to Trent being very 
rough, we took that over Brixen, which is lefs dan-* 
gerous : We met this Day above a hundred Waggbni 
drawn by Oxen, the cloven Feet whereof were ffiod 
with Iron ; they came from the Fair of Bolfano. Wg 
faw alfo, in thefe Mountains, Abundance of fmall Carts 
with two Wheels, which the Peafants draw them'felves^ 
and chiefly make Ufe of to fetch Salt from Hall, d 
little City in the Valley of Infpruck: It is made of Wa^ 
ter boil’d into Salt. The Habits of thefe Mountaineers 
are very odd, fome wearing green, others yellow, and 
others blue Hats, and that with fuch little Difference id 
their Garments, that the Woriien are fcarce to be dL 
ftinguiffied from the Men. Brixen is a very fmall City 
in the Country of Tyrol, though it is the RefidehCe 
of the Biffiop. They keep their beft Apartments here 
in the higheft Stories, but for what Reafon I know noto 
From hence to Bolfano is only feven Flours travel- 
ing j but as the Road lies betwixt the River and the 
high Mountains, if a fudden Thaw happens to melt 
the Snow, it rowls down from the Precipices with fuch 
Violence, that it fwallows up both Man and B'eaft j 
whence it is, that oh the Road you fee fo many fmall 
MouunsentSj fill’d vttth the Hiftofies of fueh as ha^o 
b U ' ' igithef 
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