RIESBECIt’s TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY.

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lavcr and St. Jorgeri The day was fine, and the ladies in good humour, fo that I donot know whether we might not a little prophane the entrance to the holy place. Thispilgrimage was undertaken in the firft days of'my arrival here, but I have often been atthe place fmce, and have found pleafure there, even in bad weather.

There are feveral other public places, among!! which you may reckon Mount Calvarie,and other places of devotion, which are vifited by the young people of both fexes,not fo much from motives of piety, as becaufe they are protected from the infpe&ion ofthe police.

LETTER XXVIII.

Vienna .

THE prefent court poffeffes feveral valuable collections, all of which are as much aspoflible open to the public. The imperial-cabinet of medals hath fcarce its equal in theworld ; there are twenty-two thoufand ancient coins ; the modern coins are extremelyvaluable ; likewife a very valuable, and to thofe who wifh to ftudy the hiftory of themiddle ages, a very precious part of this collection, is that which confifts of all the coinsand medals from Charlemaine to this time. The thought was Charles the Vlth’s, butthe collection owes its exigence to the Emperor Francis , who laid out great fums uponit. I fay nothing to you of the feveral other rich collections of natural hiftory, mathe-matical inftruments, &c. &c. but, that like every thing the court poffefles, they areopen to every body, without the leaft trouble. But the library is one of the moft pre-cious in the world. It confifts of more than three hundred thoufand volumes, twelvethoufand of which are valuable manufcripts. The building in which they are prefervedis one of the handfomeft in the town. It is open every morning till twelve o’clock,lor all perfons who choofe to come. They are furnifhed with tables, chairs, pen, ink,and paper ; a fecretary looks in the catalogue for the books wanted, which are imme-diately taken down from the fhelves by fome livery fervants belonging to the court.There are fires in the room all the winter. None of the fervants are allowed to takeany thing. When once you are acquainted with the librarians, one of whom is alwaysin a room adjoining, it is not fo difficult to obtain prohibited books as has been pre-tended. Mr. Pilati, indeed, in his travels, fays, that you cannot have a good book with-out the archbifliop’s permiffion; but I myfelf read the Hiftory of the Council of Trent ,and all Machiavel ’s works through, without any leave.

Exclufive of the court library, there are feveral other public places where people mayread. The bookfeller Trattnern once took it into his head to have a learned coffee-houle in his great palace. He promifed to provide the fubfcribers with all the newf-papers, periodical publications, and pamphlets, in all the living languages. If this pro-ject had been properly followed, it might have proved the foundation of an academy, orlearned foeiety; but the fubfcribers foon faw that Trattnern had no view but what re-garded his own pocket. This Mr. Trattnern compels 'the profeflors to fell him theirmanufcripts, and pays them not a farthing for them. He conceives himfelf to have thisprivilege as bookfeller to the court, and exercifes an intolerable tyranny over all thebookfellers and literati of the place. Notwithlftanding the high tone he affefts, he doesnot fcruple to defcend to the loweft meanneffes. He prints over again, with the impe-rial privilege, works which have been already printed with this privilege in the otherparts of Germany . They fay he has perfuaded the Emprefs, that let a book be ever fofuccefsful, the bookfeller gets nothing by it, if he pays the expence of printing; fo thatbefide giving him the copy, Ihe often pays the whole expence of printing the books fhe

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