Mesdames _Corsini_, the Pope's Nieces, the Duke of _Santo Bueno_, and the
Countess of _Bolognetti_. These are the three Houses at ROME where there
is most Company, and where Foreigners are most civilly entertain'd. The
Duke has a Concert at his House every _Friday_, at which are present all
the People of Distinction at ROME. _Madame de Bolognetti_ has a grand
Assembly every _Sunday_, which begins with a great Levee of Women, for the
most part well-dress'd, who lend their Ears to two or three prating Abbés,
lolling carelessly on the Backs of their Chairs. A Foreigner enters, and
salutes the Company respectfully; but no Lady gives heed to him, except
Madame _Bolognetti_, a fine young Lady, who is the only one that rises;
and she does her best to entertain the poor Stranger in _French_, which
she talks very prettily. Many other Ladies both understand, and can speak
this Language; but whether it is owing to Timorousness or Ill-nature, they
don't care to talk it; which is so true, that I remember the first Time I
travell'd hither, I one Day accosted a very amiable Lady in the _French_
Tongue, because then I did not understand the _Italian_; but she answer'd
me in good _French_, _Sir, I neither speak nor understand the +French+
Language_. She then turn'd about, and in a Moment I saw a well-looking
Abbé come in, who talk'd with her in private all the Evening, and probably
in such a Language as she understood.
After the Levee they fall to play, but 'tis at such Games as we
_Ultramontains_ know no more of than Magic; _viz._ such as _Tarot_,
_Pazzica_, _Premiere_, and _Milchiades_. As to the last of these, I take
it to be like the Languages, which 'tis difficult to be Master of, unless
People begin to learn them when they are young. It would take up a Man's
whole Life to learn to know the Cards, whereof at one Game they play with
99, which are painted too with very extraordinary Figures of Popes,
Devils, _&c._ and it often happens, that the Devil takes up the Pope.
During the Conclave they play at _Pharao_, but the Pope has prohibited all
Games of Hazard, which was an Injury to many Houses that subsisted by the
Money for the Cards.
The private Assemblies differ only from the public ones, in that they have
not so much Company. There is generally the Mistress of the House, and a
Dozen _Petits-colets_, who really are the _Petits-Maîtres_ of this Place,
supposing them to be _Italians_; for you are not to imagine that these
Gentlemen will suffer a poor _Ultramontain_ Abbé to put in a Word, because
they think he has neither Sense nor Merit. As this is a Country of
Priests, you shall see ten Sparks of the Band to one of the Sword. 'Tis
true, that the Abbé wears the same Habit as the Gentlemen of the Gown, and
as all others do who are not able to lay out much Money in Cloaths; so
that when you see a _Petit-colet_ come out of any suspicious Places, you
must beware of Mistakes; for they are not always Priests, nor even
Clergymen.
The third Class of Assemblies, where there is no Gaming, is generally at
the House of some Prince; there I spend my Evenings with great Pleasure
and Freedom; yet 'tis at one of the chief Houses of ROME, and really the
Conversation is held in one of the finest Apartments in the World. I enter
a very spacious magnificent Room, illuminated by a Couple of Wax Candles,
so that if Custom had not taught me the way, I shou'd be at a Loss where
to salute the Master and Mistress of the House: These two little Candles
are plac'd in great Candlesticks of Silver upon old-fashion'd Stands of
the same Metal. A Fountain of solid Silver, from which the Water spouts
with a soft Murmur, invites me agreeably to Slumber; and it seems as if
those in the Room were afraid to awake me; for they do nothing but
whisper, and not a Mortal stirs from the Spot in which his good or ill
Fortune plac'd him, because it wou'd be a Crime even to move a Chair; so
that unless one had a speaking Trumpet, a Man must be content to converse
with his next Neighbour. The Moment one enters the Room, two Pages in a
black Livery attend us with Ice upon Salvers, but I don't accept it every
time 'tis offer'd; for if I did, my Stomach wou'd have long ago been
congeal'd like the frozen Ocean. This profound Silence, this murmuring
Fountain, all these Cardinals, Prelates and Abbats, dress'd in Black; the
two Wax Candles, giving a dismal Light; all this, I say, together, makes
the Assembly look like Mutes posted to watch a Corpse, and I assure you
that a Church-yard itself does not put me more in mind of Mortality.
Nevertheless it sometimes happens that one or other of the Company raises
his Voice, and relates the News of the Day. This is generally confin'd to
what is done within the City; for what was said by the Pope, the contrary
Effect of some Medicine, or else some Cardinal or Prelate, the Heat or
Cold of the Weather, and the Age of the Moon, are the common Topics. And
after having thoroughly canvass'd these momentous Subjects till Midnight,
all the Company retires with their Heads as empty as their Stomachs.
Can you think, Sir, after what I have told you, that a Foreigner passes
his Time here well? No, truly, ROME is a City that a young Gentleman
indeed ought absolutely to see; for here he will conceive a perfect Notion
of Architecture, establish himself in a Taste for Painting and Sculpture,
and acquire a true Idea of the Magnificence of old ROME: But when he has
digested all this, I would advise him to be gone, since there is nothing
more for him to learn, and he is in Danger of forgetting every thing.
There is not so much as one good Fencing Master, and scarce a Master of
the Languages that understands the _Italian_; and those who are Dabblers
in this Way are generally Foreigners, who have neither Accent nor Method.
All that a young Gentleman can learn here is Architecture, and the Canon
Law; for as to Ecclesiastical History, there are few People that are
Masters of it in its Purity.
A Gentleman that lives beyond the Mountains will here be apt to forget the
good Manners he may have contracted in _France_, or elsewhere; for, I say
it again, the Generality of the _Romans_ know nothing more than Ceremony,
because they are ignorant of good Manners, and there's scarce one of them
in a thousand that has the Air of a Man of Quality: To be a Judge of this,
one must see them at Table, and in what a very slovenly Manner they behave
at their Meals, which is owing to their eating generally alone; for they
then loll so much at Table, that when they dine in Company, they are at a
Loss what to do. They are not only nasty in their manner of eating, but in
their Cloaths; for I believe there is not above one out of thirty that
puts on fresh Linen every Day. I remember that in 1719, when I was in
_France_, a Reformado Colonel, who, tho' an _Italian_, was in the _French_
Service, often came to me in a Morning, and seeing me dress myself, told
me one Day that he observ'd I follow'd the _French_ Fashion strictly: I
ask'd him, In what? He made Answer, In my changing my Shirt every Day.
Nevertheless I wou'd not have you think that this Slovenliness is general;
for there are People as much perfum'd here as elsewhere; and you may take
my Word for it, that a _Petit-Maître_ at ROME is as great a Fop as the
pertest _French Petit-Maître_. Indeed they are more rare here than
elsewhere, because no young Sparks are admitted to the Assemblies before
they are twenty Years of Age.
But as for what remains of the Character of the _Romans_, I must tell you
ingenuously, that I think the Notion we on the other Side of the Mountains
have of them comes far short of it. There are good People in all
Countries, and I know some _Romans_ of as strict Probity as the honestest
_Teutonics_. I know others that are not so honest; but is not the Case the
same every-where, and is there one Country upon the Face of the Earth,
where all the People are virtuous? The _Italians_ are in general accus'd
of being jealous, but I really think it wrong; for there's no Nation where
the Ladies have more Freedom than here. 'Tis possible that some of the
Leaven of the antient Jealousy may still remain among the Citizens; but as
to the People of Quality, I don't think them any more liable to that
Imputation than our People are. I wish I cou'd say as much in their
Vindication as to their being too much given to Niggardliness; but the
Fact is too well known, and 'tis the original Sin of almost all the
_Italians_, particularly of the _Romans_, from the highest to the lowest;
and 'tis undoubtedly this avaricious Temper which makes them so sober as
they are; for I think I took Notice to you, that when they are at other
Folks Tables, they are intemperate enough; yet I never saw the better Sort
drunk, and the common People but very seldom. They are accus'd also of
being revengeful, which may be true enough; but really they are cry'd out
against upon that Score much more than they deserve; for I have known some
that have receiv'd Affronts, so good-natur'd as to forget them. 'Tis true,
that the Populace are very apt to make use of the _Stilletto_, but this is
owing to the too great Indulgence of Justice. A Man convicted of Murder
for the first Time is condemn'd to the Gallies; tho' in some Cases indeed
he is only banish'd from the City, and the Ecclesiastical State; and then,
after two or three Years Absence, he pays 50 Crowns, and returns to ROME.
They who have committed a Murder, and are not apprehended, generally
compound the Matter with the Government by paying a certain Sum of Money.
If Justice was no stricter in our Part of the World, and if our Churches
were Sanctuaries, as they are here, we shou'd have more Crimes perhaps
committed among us than there are at ROME, where, when all is said and
done, we don't hear of Robberies, nor of Murders committed for the sake of
Robberies; and tho' there are no Lanthorns, nor Watchmen, nor Patrolls
here in the Night, I shou'd make no Scruple to go from one End of the City
to the other with my Purse in my Hand. What I shou'd be most afraid of
wou'd be the being assassinated by Mistake; but even Murders of this Kind
are much oftner committed among the Dregs of the People, than among
Persons of Breeding; for since I have been here, I have not heard of such
an Accident to any Person of Note.
I happen'd not long ago to be one Evening at a House not far from my
Quarters, so that I went home alone, and on Foot; it might be about Eleven
o'Clock, 'twas a fine Moon light Night, and there were a great many People
stirring in the Streets. I pass'd thro' the Street _del Corso_, and just
as I came to the Square of _Colonna_, near the House of Cardinal
_Imperiali_, I saw two Men coming towards me, one at a little Distance
behind the other: As the former brush'd close by me, I heard a Pistol go
off, and saw the poor Man fall down dead at my Feet: The Shot came from
the Man that was behind, with whom, it seems, he had a Quarrel at Gaming;
but nobody troubled their Heads to apprehend the Criminal, so that he went
very quietly to take Shelter in a Church, where I saw him some Days after;
at length he is got abroad, and if he can but make up the Sum of 50
Crowns, he will be sure of his Pardon, after three Years Exile. But 'tis
really an abominable Case, that sacred Places, set apart to keep the
Holocaust without Spot or Blemish, shou'd serve as a Place of Retreat for
a Miscreant, that comes in reeking with his Neighbour's Blood. This is an
Abuse which every body confesses, but they are loth to violate antient
Privileges. In the last Pope's Time, _Alberoni_ propos'd to the other
Cardinals in a Congregation to solicit the Pope to take away the
Franchises from the Churches; but his Proposal was rejected, whereupon he
said with Indignation, 'Since 'tis so, I heartily wish, that some Villain
wou'd take it into his Head to murder some one of you, and fly for Refuge
to the Church of which I am Protector: I assure you, that were the whole
Sacred College to demand him of me, instead of delivering him up to
Justice, I wou'd do all in my Power to promote his Escape.' 'Tis said,
that _Clement_ XII. has a Mind to take away those Franchises with regard
to Assassins; but I question whether he will have the Courage to venture
at it, because it brings so much Grist to the Friers Mills, the Privileges
of whose Convents procure them the Respect of the better Sort of People,
and the Homage of the Mob.
Notwithstanding the Disorders that happen here, and the Abuses that are so
establish'd, yet there is not a City in the World where God is better
serv'd, and where Charity to the Poor is more put in Practice. For this
Purpose there's a great Number of Hospitals, among which that for Pilgrims
is worth seeing. Hundreds of Pilgrims of all Nations are admitted into it
almost every Day, who are there lodg'd and taken care of for three Days,
and then dismiss'd with Money in their Pockets. Towards the latter end of
the Holy Week, these Pilgrims are serv'd, the Men by the Cardinals, and
the Women by the Princesses and Ladies of ROME.
Divine Service is perform'd with very great Pomp in all the Churches, but
particularly in the Pope's Chapel. Were I to give you an Account of all
the Ceremonies therein observ'd, it wou'd take me up another Day. I will,
in due Time and Place, give you a Narrative of the Ceremonies of the Holy
Week, which, tho' I was present at once before, during the Pontificate of
_Clement_ XI. I am very desirous of seeing again, that I may be the better
enabled to relate them to you hereafter. I am, _&c._
[Illustration]
LETTER XXXII.
_SIR_, _Rome, June 15, 1731._
Tho' the first Promotion of Cardinals by _Clement_ XII. was made the Close
of the last Year, yet I had so many other Matters to entertain you with,
that I deferr'd giving you an Account of that Ceremony till now. This
Promotion was made in Favour of three _Nuncios_, (who, by the way, never
quit their Nunciatures, but for the sake of being made Cardinals) I mean
the _Nuncios_ in _Germany_, _France_, and _Spain_, and Signior _Ruspoli_,
the Pope's Kinsman. The latter might have had the Hat during the
Pontificate of _Benedict_ XIII. his Father having obtain'd it for him of
Cardinal _Coscia_, on the Promise of thirty thousand Crowns; but being
appriz'd of the Bargain, which his Father had made with _Coscia_, he went
to _Corsini_, then a Cardinal, and now Pope, who was his Father's Friend
and Kinsman, and having told him what had pass'd betwixt his Father and
_Coscia_, intreated him to frustrate the Contract, saying, that he wou'd
never accept of a Hat, unless he had it from the Pope's mere Good-will.
Cardinal _Corsini_ being charm'd with the generous Temper of young
_Ruspoli_, took Care to vacate the Bargain; and now that he is seated in
St. _Peter_'s Throne, he has preferr'd _Ruspoli_ over the Heads of many
Prelates, who have grown grey in the Service of the Holy See.
This Promotion was made at _Monte-Cavallo_. The Pope had declar'd in a
private Consistory, that he was resolv'd to make five Cardinals, _viz._
the three _Nuncios_ above-mention'd, Signior _Ruspoli_, and a Fifth, whom
he reserv'd in _Petto_. The Cardinal Secretary of State, for want of a
Cardinal Nephew, immediately dispatch'd Couriers to the _Nuncios_ to carry
them the News of their Promotion, and likewise sent to acquaint _Ruspoli_
of what had pass'd. This Prelate, who waited for the good News in the
Apartment of the Cardinal Secretary of State, went immediately up the
Back-Stairs to the Pope, and thank'd him for the Favour he had just done
him, and then return'd to his Palace, where he receiv'd the Compliments of
all the Nobility. In the Afternoon he went and paid a Visit to Signior
_Neri Corsini_, _Clement_ XIIth's Nephew, the Man whom the Holy Father had
reserv'd in _Petto_. On the _Thursday_ following there was a public
Consistory, in which the new Cardinal, who, till that Day, had, according
to the Ceremonial, been oblig'd to keep his Chamber, and to be dress'd in
Purple, receiv'd the Hat from the Pope's own Hand. His Eminency repair'd
in the Morning to the Chapel of _Monte-Cavallo_, while the Cardinals were
assembled in the Chamber of the Consistory. He was join'd in the Chapel by
these Cardinals, _viz. Barberini_, who represented the Dean of the Sacred
College; _Ottoboni_, the Great Chancellor; _Albano_, the Chamberlain; and
_Cienfuegos_, Treasurer of the Chapel. Their Eminencies, after great
Compliments, led their new Collegue towards the Altar, and gave him the
usual Oath of Fidelity to the Holy See. They return'd from thence into the
Hall of the Consistory, and the new Cardinal was left alone in the Chapel,
with his _Caudataire_, or Train-bearer, and a Master of the Ceremonies.
During this, the Cardinals went, and made their Obedience to the Pope, by
kissing his Hand; after which two of the Cardinal Deacons went to fetch
Cardinal _Ruspoli_, and introduced him into the Hall of the Consistory. As
he enter'd within the Bar, he made a low Bow to the Pope, who was seated
at the other End on his Throne; he made a second Obeisance in the Middle
of the Hall, and a third at the Foot of the Throne; after which he fell on
his Knees, and kiss'd both the Foot and Hand of the Holy Father, who
rais'd him from the Ground, and embraced him. The new Cardinal went
afterwards, and embraced his Collegues, according to the Order of their
Seniority, and then return'd and fell on his Knees again to the Pope. A
Master of the Ceremonies drew the Cowl over his Head, and the Pope put on
his Hat, which was taken off in a Moment by the Master of the Ceremonies.
The new Cardinal now kiss'd the Holy Father's Foot and Hand a second Time;
and the Pope, rising from his Throne, retired to his Chamber, whither
_Ruspoli_ followed him, and after having thank'd him for the Honour he had
done him, went and rejoin'd the Cardinals in the Hall of the Consistory.
This done, they went in Procession, with the Pope's Music playing before
them, to the Chapel, where _Te Deum_ was sung; after which the Cardinals
went into the great Room that is before the Chapel, call'd the _Royal
Hall_. There they form'd a Circle, where the new Cardinal thank'd his
Collegues for the Honour they had done him, by admitting him for a
Brother, and then they all retir'd. When _Ruspoli_ came home, he there
found a Gentleman of the Pope's Privy-chamber, who brought him the Hat,
which the Pope had just before put upon his Head, in a Silver Bason. When
Dinner was over, the new Cardinal repair'd with a great Train to St.
_Peter_'s Church; after which he went and paid his Respects to the
Pretender to the Crown of _England_, and to the Princess his Wife; he also
made a Visit to the Cardinal Dean; and on the Days following he visited
the whole Sacred College, without regard to their Rank.
A Week after the public Consistory the Pope held a private one, in which
he both shut and open'd the Mouth of Cardinal _Ruspoli_. At the former
Ceremony, the new Pope kneeling at the Holy Father's Feet, his Holiness
laid two Fingers on the Cardinal's Mouth, and strictly injoin'd him not so
reveal to any body what shou'd pass in the Consistories at which he shou'd
be present. This closing up of the Mouth formerly depriv'd the Cardinals
of either speaking or voting, whenever it happened that they enter'd the
Conclave before the Pope had open'd their Mouths; which might sometimes be
the Case, because the Popes generally left an interval of some Days
between the Ceremony of shutting the Mouth, and that of opening it. But
_Pius_ V. declar'd by a Bull which he publish'd the 26th of _January_
1571, that the shutting of the Mouth being a mere Ceremony, it shou'd not
exclude the new Cardinals from giving their Votes, or speaking.
Cardinal _Ruspoli_ being now upon his Legs before the Pope went and took
his Place among the Cardinals: At the same time the Holy Father pronounc'd
the Words _extra omnes_, which are repeated by a Master of the Ceremonies,
and oblige all but the Cardinals to turn out. Then the secret Consistory
was held, after which the Doors were set open, and every body re-enter'd
the Room. The new Cardinal went again, and threw himself at the Pope's
Feet, who open'd his Mouth, by giving him the Power both of Voting and
Speaking. At the same time he nominated the Church of which he was to
bear the Title, and this he did by putting on his Finger a Gold Ring
adorn'd with an oriental Saphir, for which the Cardinal, according to a
Custom establish'd by _Gregory_ XV. is to pay five hundred Crowns of Gold
to the College _de propaganda fide_. With that the Ceremony ended. In the
Evening the Palaces of the Cardinals, the Princes and the Foreign
Ministers, and those likewise of the other Persons of Quality, were
illuminated as they had been on the Day of the Promotion.
There are, as I have observ'd, two Sorts of Consistories, the one Public,
the other Secret, and they are both notify'd to the Cardinals by two of
the Pope's Ushers, who receive the Order directly from the Holy Father
himself. These Ushers give previous Notice also of all the public Chapels
to be held, of all Processions, Cavalcades, and other Ceremonies. They
wear Gowns of purple Cloth, and carry a black Wand. They speak to the
Cardinals on the Knee, in these Terms, _Eminentissime Domine, Crastina
Die, Hora, &c. in Palatio Apostolico erit Consistorium secretum_, or,
_fiat Processio._ They have this Privilege, that the Cardinals must not
let them wait a Moment; but are oblig'd to admit them, in what Plight
soever they are, to receive their Messages standing, and to veil their
Bonnet to them. These Ushers have the Privilege also, that when they find
a Cardinal at Table, they may carry off the best Dish, unless the Cardinal
chuses rather to give them a Couple of Pistoles.
This Consistory is in a proper Sense the Pope's Council of State, wherein
he deliberates secretly with the Cardinals on the most important Affairs
of the Holy See. After the Pope has therein given a particular Audience to
each Cardinal, the Bishops are therein nominated to vacant Sees, and the
Palls conferr'd upon the Archbishops. Every thing that has been treated of
in the consistorial Congregations, is there determin'd, as is, in short,
every thing whatsoever relating to the Welfare of the Church, both in
Spirituals and Temporals: And this is what is call'd the Secret
Consistory. In the Public Consistory, the Pope receives the Ambassadors
that come from Tributary Countries, and delivers the Hat to the new
Cardinals. The Pope has the Power of assembling the Consistory as often as
he thinks fit, and on that Day all other Congregations are suspended. In
this Public Consistory, the Pope's Throne is rais'd much higher than
ordinary, and the Cardinals sit on high Benches, with their Train-bearers
plac'd at their Feet. The Constable _Colonna_, in Quality of first Prince
of the Throne, stands on the Right-hand of it, which is a Post of Honour
that he yields to none but the Pope's Nephews. The Ambassador of
_Bologna_, and the Conservators of ROME, in Robes of Gold Tissue, are
plac'd on both Sides of the Throne, about which are also the Pope's great
Officers. The Holy Father is supported by two Cardinals, one on the Right,
the other on the Left of the Throne, sitting on Stools.
When the Pope declares he has a Cardinal in _Petto_, tho' he names him
not, he is always sure to be a Cardinal, and walks even at the Head of all
those that are to receive the Hat before him. When it happens that the
Pope dies ere he has declar'd him in Public, 'tis sufficient if the Holy
Father leaves a Note behind him, wherein he says, that the Person whom he
declar'd a Cardinal in _Petto_, is such a one; or if two Cardinals attest
that they heard the deceased Pope say, who was the Man that he had
nominated in _Petto_.