Chap. m. L O W-CoUNTRlES, Ge RM Any, 
haps be efteemed rather a Perfection than a Fault. 
There is another Thing 1 cannot pafs by without a Re- 
mark, I mean the prepofterous Figure which their 
Eunuchs make bn the Theatre : It is a very odd Sight 
to fee one of thefe mutilated Fellows aCl the Part of 
a Bully with his effeminate Voice ; and another to re- 
prefent a young Lover, with his withered wrinkled Face. 
There are at prefent no lefs than feven Opera's at 
Venice, which by Foreigners are frequented chiefly for 
the good Company’s Sake : They have a Buffoon in 
every Opera, who intermixes his Fooleries, without Dif- 
cretion, with the molt ferious and tragical Part of the 
Play. Their Comedies are fill’d with fuch ridiculous 
Buffooneries, that in other Parts they would not pafs for 
tolerable Farces, Harlequin being commonly the Head 
AClor, who is back’d in his Grimaces with the moft 
rank Bawdry that can be invented, to make the Spec- 
tators laugh ; and for Fear they fhould be difappoint- 
ed in their Aim, they admit whole Troops of the Gon- 
doliers, or Watermen, into the Playhoufe for nothing* 
when they are ready to begin : Thefe are very diligent 
on this Occafion, by bawling and clapping their 
Hands, to extort, as it were, a general Applaufe from 
the SpeClators. Thefe Theatres belong to fome Noble- 
men, who make a confiderable Profit of them during 
the Carnival. 
Their Affemblies, where they play at Baffet, they 
call Ridotti, which are kept open as long as the Thea- 
tres : They allow none but Noblemen to cut : You 
lhall fee fometimes ten or twelve Rooms on a Floor, 
with' Gaming-tables in all, crowded with Gameflers 
masked, with Courtefans and Ladies of Quality, 
who, under this Difguife, have the Privilege of en- 
joying all the Diverfions of the Carnival, provided 
they can get a little out of the Way of their Spies or 
jealous Husbands. They have alfo certain Rooms, where 
they fell Liquors, Sweetmeats, and fuch-like Things, 
to relieve fuch as are fatigued with Standing. Every 
one thus masked, provided he be in good Apparel, has 
the Liberty of talking to the Ladies even of the higheft 
Quality, nobody, not even the Husband himfelf, taking 
Notice at that Time what is faid tp his Wife, becaufe 
the Mask is facred *, though this fcknetimes gives Oc- 
cafion to an Intrigue, in a Place where the Scarcity of 
Opportunity prompts them to do more with the Wink 
of an Eye, than in other Countries with a longer 
Courtfhip. 
But the chief Place for Mafquerading is the Place 
of St. Mark, where you may put yourfelf in what Dif- 
guife you pleafe, provided you can maintain the Figure 
of the Perfon you affume ; for here you fee the Har- 
lequins jeer one another handfomely ; thofe who per- 
fonate Doclors, difpute learnedly ; and fo with the reft : 
But fuch as have no Inclination to venture upon thefe 
Engagements, may appear in the Habit of a Noble- 
man, or fome foreign Drefs, and be only Spedlators. 
All the Mafquers mull appear without Swords. Here 
you fee, befides Puppet-players, Rope-dancers, and For- 
tune-tellers, whofe little Stages are fill’d with Globes, 
Spheres, and other Aftronomical Inftruments : They make 
Ule of a Tube of Tin to fpeak into the Ears of thofe 
who confult them ; and it is a pleafant Sight to fee the 
Priefls and Monks more frequently taking up the Tube 
than the reft. 
I will not pretend to give you an Account of their 
Bull-baitings, Goofe-hunting, JVreJlling, or Boxing, Balls, 
Races upon the Water, or of their Feqfi on Shrove- 
Tuefday, when they cut off a Bull’s Head in the Preferice 
of the whole Senate, in Memory of aVidory in Friuli : 
But I muft not omit to tell you, that the Carnival is 
not the only Time when Masks are in Requeft at Venice, 
there being no Feaft of Pleafure where they are not 
ufed more or lefs, as at the Audiences of Ambaffadors, 
on Afcenfion-day, &c. All thefe Days are very profi- 
table to the Watermen, who knowing all the Turns 
and By-ways, keep Correfpondence with the Waiting- 
women, and for a good Reward will furnifli Ladders 
of Cords for an Intrigue, one of their main Bufinefles 
being Pimping ; in which Art they are fo well verfed, 
that they will depofit a Sum of Money, as a Security, 
that their Ware fhall prove good. They hire da^Venei- 
tian Gondola's, or Boats, either from Place to Place, of 
by the Hour, or by the Day. You may have one of 
the beft for five or fix Shillings a Day. Thefe Boats 
are prettily contrived* and Very light : Their Length is 
generally thirty or thirty two Foot, and their Breadth 
four or five, in which you may fit with a great deal of 
Conveniency, under a Cover like a Coach, with Glafifes 
on bbth Sides ; the left is reckoned the beft Place, be- 
caufe there you can beft fee the Boatman* and Com- 
mand him as you pleafe. Thefe Fellows are very dex- 
trous in their Bufinefs, and will, with a furprizing Fa- 
cility, manage their Oars, ftanding with their Faces to- 
wards the Place where they are to go. All the Gon- 
dola's, or Boats, muft be black, even the little Cham- 
ber, which is generally cover’d with black Cloth of 
Serge ; but Foreigners are not fo ftridlly tied to this 
Rule ; the Gondola's efpecially of the Ambafiadors are 
generally exceeding magnificent : They have com- 
monly four or five, and make their Entries in them. 
The Arfenal of Venice challenges Precedence among 
the firfi: of Europe ; but as it muft be confefs’d* that it 
is a Place of great Confequencc, fo on the other hand 
it ought to be confider’d, that it is the only one the 
Venetians have in Italy, and that in its Enclofure it com- 
prehends all their Ammunition, Stores for their Navy, 
Cafting-houfes, Rope-yards, Forges, Lodges for the 
Galleys, and Galeaffes, and the Bucentoro itlelf* befides 
the Docks for refitting their Ships : And notwithftand^ 
ing all this, you muft not believe above half they tell 
you upon this Head. I remember that our Guide would 
fain have perfuaded us* that it contain’d no lefs than 
two thoufand five hundred Pieces of great Cannon^ 
Arms for a hundred thoufand Foot, and compleat Ac- 
coutrements for twenty thoufand Horfe ^ but thefe are 
only Words. Among their Men of War, that call’d 
The Redeemer is the biggeft, and, as they told us, car- 
ried eighty Pieces of Cannon and fourteen Pattareroes* 
and is now at Sea. Their GaleaflTes have three Rows 
of Guns in the Prow, but only two in the Poop ; their 
Complement of Slaves is ninety two, fix on a Bench- 
The Bucentaure is a large Galeafs of State finely carved 
and gilt, in which the Doge and Senate* with many 
of the Nobles, go out to Sea every Year on Afcenjion^ 
day, to perform the Ceremony of marrying the Sea. 
As to the Rank the Noblemen of Venice afpire to* 
which they have pulh’d to that Degree, that they pre- 
tend their Nobility to comprehend all other Titles, fo 
as even to compare themfelves with Princes of Royal 
Blood 5 I muft tell you, that it appears to me rather 
founded upon Opinion than folid Reafon. It is true* 
that confidering the Noble Venetians, by Right of In- 
heritance, are Members of the great Council, which gives 
Life to all the reft 5 they are born with fome Character 
of Sovereignty, but at that Rate the Nobility of Genoa 
might challenge the fame Prerogative ; and, after all 
their Boafting, the Commands, great Offices, Wealth* 
and ancient Extradlion, make new Diftindlions among 
them ; and they are not fo nice, but that they will fell 
this Title for a certain Sum of Money. They never 
appear in Publick but in their Robes, which are of 
black Cloth, and ought to be lined with greyifii 
Cloth in the Winter, and Ermins in the Summer.' 
The Stole is of the fame Cloth, as Well as the Gir- 
dle, which, being abouf four Inches broad, is adorn- 
ed with Silver Buckles and Plates. Their Bonnets are 
no more than a Kind of Caps of black Worfted, with 
a Fringe of the fame Stuff, which they commonly bear 
iu their Hands, becaufe they are unwilling to incom- 
mode their great Perriwigs % however, the Procurators 
of St. Mark, the Sacri Grandi, and fome others of the 
great Officers of the State, are diftinguifhed by their 
peculiar Habits ^ Thofe that have been Ambaffadors 
have the Privilege of wearing a Stole of Cloth of Gold, 
and Golden Buckles on their Girdles, but they gene- 
rally content themfelves with a little Gold Galloon upon 
their black Stole* 
The Phyjicians, Advocates, Notaries^ and all thofe 
they call Cittadini^ wear the fame Habits as the Nobles ^ 
they challenge the Tide of Excellency, and the Manner 
