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city , the number of people is very great, but the furiher you go on from hence the moredefolate you find every place. The number of inhabitants is about feventy thoufand, andthere is about five thoufar.d houfes.—The bridge over the Moldau is feven hundredfeet long; it is built of large free-done, and ornamented on both tides with ftone ftatuesas large as life, but not more than three or thefe are worth feeing. There are very fewgood buildings in this place, and almoft every thing looks very dirty. The royal cattle,is a very large irregular building, but it is built on a hill which commands a very fineprofped over the whole city and country round.. Not far from hence hands the arch-bifhop’s houfe, (a pretty modern building,) and the old cathedral, in which there are femepieces of architecture which deferve to be Teen ; they are the work of a celebrated Ger-man or Bohemian artift, whole name I have forgotten.
Though the city is in general ill built, the fituation of it is extremely fine. There isa better profped from the bridge than I have feen in larger cities. The mafs of houfesrife like an amphitheatre to a confiderable height. To the right the hill rifes abovethem as far as the Imperial palace, majeftically fituated on the top. To the left it is co-vered as far as the middle with beautiful gardens aud pleafure houfes, which have a fineeffed, and form a molt extenfive and molt magnificent amphitheatre.
From thefe gardens you command a very fine profped over the oppofite part of the-city. In the mid ft of the broad, but dry Moldau, there are two fmall iilands, calledGreat and Little Venice, in which the inhabitants make parties of pleafure.
The people of this place enjoy fenfual pleafures more than thofe of Vienna , becaufethey know better how to conned mental enjoyments with them. The fociety I havelived in here, has proved fo good as to detain me a full fortnight longer than I intended.
Free-mafonry flourilhes extremely here, and fome perfons, amongft whom Count R.-
is one, doat on it to enthuiiafm. The free-mafons in general do fo much good, parti-cularly by their eftablilhments for education, that it is impoffible the Emperor Ihould bedifpleafed with them. It is time to have done with illiberal prejudices again!! an inftitu-tion which has done no harm to mankind, and has done it a great deal of good.
The Bohemians, who addid themfelves to the purfuit of the arts and fciences, gene-rally fpeaking, are very fuccefsful in them. They do not want genius, and have uncom-mon induftry. Their fondnefs for mulic is aftonifhing. I have heard feveral orcheftrashere which equalled thofe of Paris in brilliancy of execution, and furpaffed them in accu-racy and exadnefs of harmony. Bohemian players on the horn and harp are to be metwith throughout all Germany . As they always bring home great fums of money, voufeldom fee a mufician of this kind who has not travelled. This paffion for mufic is "ge-nerally attributed to the number of monafteries and cathedrals ; but the cathedrals ofAuftria and Bavaria , which are no lefs numerous, have no fuch effed upon the publictafte of thofe countries. I Ihould therefore fuppofe, that the true reafon is to be foughtfor m the cuftoms and natural genius of the people. Moft of the ftudents of the placeare muficians, and begin very early in life to give ferenades and concerts in the fquaresand public places of the city. .
The numerous garrifon which is conftantly kept here, contributes not a little to the’iivelinefs of this place; there are about nine thoufand men conllantly quartered here.The fix regiments of .grenadiers are the fineft body of infantry I have ever feen. Theofficers are excellent companions, and quite free from thofe prejudices from which otherbodies of men are not yet totally exempt.
The Jews make'a confiderable part of the inhabitants of this place ; there are at leadnine or ten thoufand of them ; they have artifts and mechanics of their own religion,who live in the part of the town appropriated to them, which is called the Jews city.
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