Chap. III. through S w i s ! 
their Martyrs, I faw likewife there the Original 
of thofe emblematical Prophecies relating to Eng- 
land^ that the Jefuits had at Rome near fixty Years, 
and* of which I had fometime ago procured a Co- 
py, which I found was true. I happened to be at 
Rome during St. Gregorfs Fair and Feaft, which lafted 
feveral Days. In his Church the Hoftie was expofed j 
and from that, all that came thither, went to the Cha- 
pel, that was once his Houfe, in which his Statue, and 
the Table where he ferved the Poor, are preferved. I 
faw fuch vaft Numbers of People there, that one would 
have thought all Rome was got together : They kneeled 
down to Ss Statue, and, after a Prayer faid to it, they 
kiffed his Foot, and every one touched the Table, with 
his Beads, as hoping to draw fome Virtue from it. 
I will add nothing of the feveral Obelifks and Pillars 
that are in Rome^ of the celebrated Chapels that are in fome 
of the great Churches, in particular thofe of Sixtus V. and 
FaulY . in Santa Maria Maggiore j of the Water- works 
in the Eluirinal, the Vatican^ and in many of the Vine- 
yards : Nor will I go out of Rome to defcribe Frefcati 
(for Fivoli I did not fee.j The young Prince Borghefe^ 
who is indeed one of the Glories of Rome^ as well for 
his Learning, as for his Virtue, did me the Honour to 
carry me thither, with thofe two learned Abbots, Fa- 
Iretti and Nazari, and entertained me with a Magnifi- 
cence that became him better to give, than me to re- 
ceive. The Waterworks in iho. Aldobrandin Palace have 
a Magnificence in them beyond all that I ever faw in 
France ; the Mixture of Wind- with the Water, and 
the Thunder and Storms that this r^keth is noble. 
The Water- works of the Ludovifio and the Monte Era- 
gone^ have likewife a Grandeur in them that is natural. 
And indeed, the Riches that one meets with in all Pla- 
ces within-doors in Italy^ and the Poverty that one 
fees every where Abroad, are the moft unfuitable Things 
imaginable : But it is very likely, that a great Part of 
their moveable Wealth will be e’re long carried into 
France ; for as foon as any Pidlure or Statue of great 
Value is offered to be fold, thofe that are employed by 
the King of France prefently buy it •, fo that as that 
King hath already the greateft Colledlion of Pidlures 
that is in Europe, he will very probably in a few Years 
more carry off th6 chief Tre'afures of Italy. 
I have now given an Account of all that appeared 
remarkable to me in Rome. I fhall add a very extra- 
ordinary Piece of natural Hiftory, that fell out two 
Years before, which I had firft from two learned Ab- 
bots Fahretti and Nazari, and afterwards more authen- 
tically confirmed to me by Cardinal Howard, who was 
of the Congregation of Cardinals that examined the 
Matter. There were two Nuns, one in the City, and 
the other not far from it, who, after they had been for 
fome Years in a Nunnery, perceived a ftrange Change 
in Nature, and that their Sex was altered, which grew 
by Degrees to a total Alteration in one 5 and though 
the other was not fo entire a Change, yet it was vifible 
file was more Man than Woman : Upon this the Matter 
was looked into : That which naturally offereth itfelf 
here is, that thefe two had been always what they then 
appeared to be, but that they had gone into a Nunnery 
in a Difguife, to gratify their Appetites. But to this, 
when I propofed it, Anfwer was made, that as the Breafts 
of a Woman, that remained ftill, did in a great Mea- 
fure take off that Objeftion, fo the Proofs were given 
fo fully of their having been real Females, that there 
was no Doubt left of that, nor had they given any 
Sort of Scandal on the Change of their Sex; And if 
there had been any Room left to fufpeft a Cheat or 
Difguife, the Proceedings would have been more fevere 
and more fecret ; and thefe Perfons would have been 
burnt, or at leaft put to Death in fome terrible Man- 
ner. Some P.hyfidans were appointed to examine the 
Matter, and at laft, after an exad Enquiry, they were 
judged to be abfolved from their Vows, and were difi 
miffed from the Obligations of a religious Life, and 
direded to go in Men’s Habits. One of them was a 
Valet de Chamhre to a Roman Marquefs when I was 
there. I heard of this Matter only two Days before I 
left Rome, fo that I had not Time to enquire after it 
V o L. II. Numb. 112 . 
IERLAND, See. 62,9 
more particularly ; but I judg’d it fo extraordinary^ that 
I thought it was worth communicating to fo curious art 
Enquirer into Nature* 
And fince I am upon the Subjed of the Changes 
that have been made in Nature, I fiiall add one of ano- 
ther Sort, that I examined while I was at Geneva, 
There is a Minifter of St. GerVais, Mr. Gody, who hath 
a Daughter fixteen Years old ; her Nurfe had an ex-^ 
traordinary Thicknefs of hearing •, at a Year old the 
Child fpoke all thofe little Words that Children begin 
ufually to leaili at that Age, but fhe made no Progrelsi 
yet this was not obferved till too late 5 and as fhe grew 
to be two Years old, they perceived that fiie had loft 
her Hearing, and was fb deaf, that though fhe hears 
great Noifes, yet fhe hears nothing that one can fpeak 
to her. It feems, while the Milk of her Nurfe was 
more abundant, and the Child fuck’d more moderately 
the firft Year, thofe Humours in the Blood and Milk 
had not that Effedl on her chat appeared after fhe came 
to fuck more violently j and that her Nurfe’s Milk^ 
being in Ids Quantity, was thicker, and more charged 
with that Vapour that occafioned the Deafnefs ; But 
this Child hath, by obferving the Motions of the 
Mouths and Lips of others, acquired fo many Wordsj 
that out of thefe fhe hath formed a Sort of Jargon, in 
which fhe holds Converfation whole Days with thofe 
that can fpeak her own Language. I could underftand 
fome of her Words, but could not comprehend a Pe-^ 
riod, for it feemed to be a confufed Noife. She knows 
nothing that is faid to her, unlefs fhe fee the Motion of 
their Mouths that fpeak to her 1 fo that in the Night, 
when it is neceffary to fpeak to her, they muft 
light a Candle : Only one Thing appears the ftrangeft ; 
fhe has a Sifter, with whom fhe has pradlifed her Lan- 
guage more than any other ; and in the Night, by laying 
her Hand on her Sifter’s Mouth, fhe can perceive what 
fhe favs, and can difeourfe with her in the Night. It’s 
true, her Mother told me that this did not go Jar, and 
that fhe found out only fhort Periods in this Manner, 
Thus this young Woman, without any Pains taken, has, 
merely by a natural Sagacity, found a Method of hold- 
ing Difeourfe, that doth in a great Meafure leffen the 
Mifery of her Deafnefs. I examined this Matter cri- 
tically, only the Sifter was not prefent,.Jo that I could 
not fee how the Converfation pafs’d between them in 
the Dark. 
23. From Civita Vecchia I came to Marfeilles, where 
if there were a Road as fafe as the Harbour 5 and if the 
Harbour were as large as it is convenient, it were cer- 
tainly one of the moft important Places in the World. 
All is fo well defended, that it is, with refpeft to Storms 
or Enemies, the fecureft that Port can be feen any where. 
The Freedoms of this Place, though now at the Mercy 
of the Citadel, are fuch, and its Situation draws fo much 
Trade to it, that there one fees an Appearance of 
Wealth greater than I found in any Town of France % 
and there is a new Street lately built there, that for 
Beauty and Largenefs, is the nobleft I ever faw. There 
is in that Port a perpetual Heat, and the Sun was fo 
ftrong in the Chrijlmas Week, that I was often obliged 
to quit the Key. I made a Tour from thence through 
Provence, Languedoc, and Eauphine. I will offer you 
no Account of Nifmes, nor of the Amphitheatre in it, 
or the Pont du Garde near it j which as they are ftupen- 
dious Things, fo they are copioufty defer ibed by many, 
and are generally known to the Englijh Nation, that if 
you never went that Way yourfelf, yet you muft nebds 
have received fo particular a Relation of them from 
thofe that have feen them, that I judge it needlefs to 
enlarge upon them 5 nor will I fay any Thing of the 
Soil, the Towns, or other remarkable Things that I 
found there. 
I have a much ftronger Inclination to fay fomewhat 
concerning the Perfecution, which I faw in its utmoft 
Rage and Fury ; and of which I could give Inftances, 
that are fo much beyond all the common Meafures of 
Barbarity and Cruelty, that I confefs they ought not to, 
be believed, unlefs I could give more pofitive Proofs of 
them, than are now fitting, and the Particulars that I 
could tell you are fuch, that if I ftioiild relate them with 
7 X 
