542 * MissonV travels through the Book IJ. 
ftanding, bow their Heads, and put their Hands at the 
fame Time on their Breafts. Marriage is among them 
no Bar to Priefthood, but if they are fingle at the Time 
of their being admitted into Orders, they muft not 
marry afterwards, and they forbid the fourth Marriage 
for Decency-fake, deny the Popifh Purgatory, and yet 
pray for the Dead. They ufe Confeflion, but not after 
the Manner of the Romanifls. Concerning the Article 
of the Proceeding of the Holy Ghoit^ they fay as little 
now as they formerly difputed upon it, looking upon it 
as a Point that has more of Nicety than Ufe ; they alfo 
preferve Relicks, but never worfliip them. 
I have made the beft Enquiry 1 was able about the 
Doftrines of the Armenians^ but their Church being re- 
pairing at prefent, I have had no Opportunity to fee 
their Worfhip, nor to learn the Truth of it from others, 
except that a Friend of mine told me, that they were 
of very different Opinions in refpeft of feveral Articles, 
but that thefe four or five were moft generally received 
among them, m%. They communicate under both Kinds, 
they give the Sacrament even to Infants, acknowledge 
the Sequeftration of Souls as the Greeks do, allow of 
Divorces, and believe, that at the Time of the Refur- 
redtion there will be no Difference of Sexes. 
4. Before I leave Venice, I muft add fome few other 
Obfervations to what I have already faid concerning 
this City, and all the Curiofities therein. The Bridge 
of Rialto challenges the firft Place, founded on ten thou- 
fand Elm Piles, and which coft two hundred and fifty 
thoufand Venetian Ducats. It is built over the Middle of 
the great Canal which divides this City in the Figure 
of an S. The Venetians are fo much taken with this 
Bridge, that they often want Terras to exprefs its Gran- 
deur, whereas it is certain that it has Nothing extraor- 
dinary belonging to it, except that it is built upon one 
Arch : As I took particular Care to meafure it, fo I 
can give you an exadt Account of it. The Compafs of 
the Arch makes the third Part of a Circle ; the whole 
Extent, from one Extremity of the Arch to the 
other, on the Level of the Canal, is ninety Foot, and 
its Height twenty four. I know fome have blam’d the 
Architefture, which, according to the ftridb Rules of 
Art, might, for its greater Strength, be an exadt Semi- 
circle *, but, in my Opinion, this Objedfion may foon 
be anfwer’d, it being reafonable to fuppofe, that the 
remaining Part of the Semicircle is taken up in the 
Foundation under Water. It is ftrongly built of great 
Pieces of a kind of white Marble ; it has two Rows of 
Shops, which divide it into three Streets, w'z. one large 
one in the Middle, and two other little ones, between 
the Rails and the Backfides of the Shops. Almoft all 
the other Bridges of Venice have but fingle Arches, and 
Steps of a white and hard Stone, and moft commonly 
very flippery, which in Part has given Occafion to the 
common Proverb of Venice, 
Beware here, of White Stones, 
Whores, PrieSfs, and Pantaloons. 
AH the beft Houfes ftand on both Sides of the Great 
Canal, among which are the magnificent Palaces of 
Pifani, Morofmi, Loredano, Roftni, Vandramino, and 
Grimani, but their chief Beauty confifts in their Frontif- 
pieces, which commonly are of two or three Sorts of 
Architedlure, the reft being but very indifferent. The 
Lagunes contribute not a little to the Unwholfomnefs of 
the Air of Venice, though the Venetians are very un- 
willing to own it, but their Water is generally bad ; 
for among an hundred and fifty Springs they have here, 
there are not above two or three that afford good Wa- 
ter, which is the Reafon that moft private Perfons of 
Note are forc’d to preferve the Rain-water in Cifterns. 
The Wines generally drank here are either fulfomely 
fweet, or fewer and eager : Their Bread is alfo very 
ill made, for let it be never fo frefii, it is as hard as a 
Bifeuit, and muft be broken with a Hammer. The 
little Opportunity a Stranger has of converfing with the 
Venetians in their Houfes, makes me give you no Ac- 
count of their Manner of Houfe-keeping, but it puts 
me in Mind of what I read the other Day in a Preface 
of Henry Stephens, That in his Time, a Woman that 
appear’d bare-neck’d abroad, was look’d upon with a 
very indifferent Eye in France ; whereas in Italy, and 
efpecialiy in Venice, every old Hag fhew’d her wither’d 
Neck, but at prefent none but declared Whores llicw 
their Necks bare ; nay, the Women of Quality do not 
even fhew their Faces in the Churches, the only Places 
where they appear in Publick ; and the ordinary Wo- 
men wear over their Heads a great Scarf, opening only 
a little about the Eyes. Their Females they educate in 
the Convents, from their tender Age till they are mar- 
ried, which is done commonly by their Parents or Kin- 
dred, without letting them fee 'their future Husbands : 
For it is to be obferved, that among Perfons of Qua- 
lity there are no Regards in Reference to this Point, 
but a good Family and Riches, the reft being left to 
Chance : Whence it is that the Men commonly remedy 
the Defeds of their Wives, by maintaining Concubines: 
They have here a peculiar Way of cohabiting with cer- 
tain Women, much ufed among thofe of a tender Con- 
fcience : It is a Kind of clandeftine Marriage, the Ce- 
remony whereof is not perform’d fometimes till many 
Years after they have lived together, and often not till 
a few Days or Hours before the Death of one of the 
Parties : But the moft general Way is, to keep their 
Miftrefs jit a certain Allowance as long as both Parties 
agree ; and this is fo frequently pradifed here, that 
fuch as are not able to keep one fingly, join with two 
or three more, who enjoy the Woman, without the leaft 
Jealoufy, each in his Turn. 
This Kind of Libertinifm is fo general at Venice, that 
the Mothers of young Noblemen are commonly the 
firft who agree with a poor Maiden’s Father or Mother, 
for the Ufe of their Sons, at a certain Rate, to be paid 
monthly or yearly, as they can agree beft. I have it 
from credible Hands, and Roman Catholicks, that the 
Confeffors look upon this as fuch a Trifle, that they 
take not the leaft Notice of it in their Confeflions, 
For Strangers and Paffengers you have whole Streets 
fill’d with Ladies, eafily diftinguiftied from others by 
their Habits, being drefled in red and yellow, with na- 
ked Breafts, painted Faces, and Nofegays above their 
Ears ; whereas all the other Ladies appear in black. 
The Carnival commences here the fecond Holiday in 
Chrijtmas ; then it is they begin to wear Masks, and 
open their Play-houfes and Gaming-houfes : The Place of 
St. Mark is fill’d with Mountebanks, Jack-puddings, Ped^ 
lars. Whores, and fuch Sort of Cattle, who flock thi- 
ther from all Parts. In the Beginning they ad with 
fome Moderation ; but the nearer they come towards 
Shrove-Tuefday, the more their Madnefs encreafes. The 
Senate of Venice allow thefe Extravagancies, to divert 
the People from feeling the heavy Burthen of their 
Government, which, without fuch-like Amufements, 
would be infupportable to them : Befides that, the vaft 
Number of Strangers, which come from all Parts to 
Venice, to the Diverfions of the Carnival, brings a vaft 
Sum of Money to the City : I was credibly inform’d* 
that during the laft Carnival, there were no lefs than 
feven Sovereign Princes, and thirty thoufand other Fo- 
reigners there. 
To give you my Opinion of the Opera* s and Come^ 
dies of Venice, in refped to thofe of Paris, I muft be 
plain with you. That the Ornaments of the firft are 
infinitely inferior to thofe of France : Their Habits 
are mean, without Dances, and generally without any 
Machines or Illuminations, except here and there a 
few Candles, fcarce worth mentioning. I will not ven- 
ture to contradid the general Opinion of the World 
concerning the Italian Mufick ; and it muft really be 
confeffed, that they have Ibme excellent Airs, and moft 
exquifite Voices : But, to tell you my Sentiment of the 
Matter, there is a certain unpleafant Confufion in fe- 
veral Songs of thtir Opera* s, and they dwell many Times 
longer in one Quavering, than in finging four whole 
Lines, and immediately after they run fo faft, that you 
cannot tell whether they fing or fpeak, or do both by 
Turns, It is certain, that the overftrained Scream is 
not fo pleafing to Foreigners as to the Italians. The 
Orcheftre is much lefs chan at Paris j but this may per- 
haps 
