244 riesbeck’s travels through GERMANV.

me, carried loads of one hundred and forty or one hundred and fifty hundred weight.They generally go from Francfort to Strafburg.

We came through the pretty little city of Hochft, which is fituated very pleafantlyand wholefomely, on an elevation fix miles from Francfort. I Ihould not have mademention of this place, but to fet right a miftake into which Mr. Moore has fallen; indoing which I lhall have occafion to lay before you a very remarkable infiance of thepolitical mifmanagement of two different governments.

Near this little town you fee a magnificent country-houfe, the architecture of whichis not very good. The builder is an Italian of the name of Bolongaro, who, without apenny of original fortune, has found means to acquire, entirely by his own induftry, acapital of from a million to a million and a half of guilders. He made his fortune en-tirely by the fnuff which bears his name, which is {till extremely liked throughout allGermany . This man was ranked in the clafs of inhabitants; I do not know exaCtlywhether he was defirous to leave the city, or whether the government of Francfort hadoccafion to tax him afrefh as an out-burgher; be that as it may, he was called upon to,lay an account of his circumftances before the regency. He offered an immenfe fumof money if they would take his word for the fum total, without defcending into parti-culars ; but nothing would fatisfy them but an inventory, which they infilled on withall the obftinacy and harlhnefs of a fmall ftate. It fo happens that there is a compaClfubfifting between the ftates of Mentz and Francfort, by which the burgeffes of the oneare allowed to migrate to the other, without let or moleftation. Bolongaro determinedto feize the opportunity to revenge himfelf of a government who had treated him fo ill.He accordingly built at Hochft, and became a fubjeCl of Mentz, which faved him fromtheneceflity of laying an inventory of his eftate before the magiftracy of Francfort, andenabled him to go there as often as he pleafed, without leaving a creutzer # behind him.Mr. Moore fays that the immenfe palace which he has built at Hochft, Hands quiteempty ; but we lhall eafily conceive how much bufinefs is carried on there, if we con-fider that Mr. Bolongaro now pays at leaft 8000 guilders lefs to the cuftoms at Franc-fort than he did before, when his whole bufinefs was done in that city. He has alfocontrived that great part of the confignments fent from Bremen, Hamburgh, and thefeveral parts of Heflia and Hanover into Suabia, Alfatia, and Switzerland , Ihould gothrough Hochft inllead of going through Francfort as they did before. The legillatureof Mentz has much facilitated this by building him a crane on the Maine , before hispalace.

Mr. Bolongaro has carried his revenge Hill farther. He took Mr. Beggiora, one ofthe acuteft: and molt intelligent of his countrymen, out of one of the bell houfes ofFrancfort, and entered into partnerlhip with him for eftablifhing a commerce in drugs,the molt capital branch of trade in Francfort, at Hochft. The bare firm of Mr. Bolon-garo was of unfpeakable fervice to this trade, and foon repaid him, with intereil, thel'ums he had advanced; but befides this, the partner enjoyed the exemption of cuftomswhich Bolongaro had obtained from the regency of Mentz, for twenty years. Thecbnfequence was, that this new branch of trade was opened to fo much advantage, asfoon to put 160,000 guilders, or i6,oool. into Mr. Bolongaro’s pocket. All thisfhews that the regency of Francfort committed a great offence againft: the profperity ofthe country, by the perfecution of Mr. Bolongaro; and that Mr. Moore, who doubt-lefs faw Bolongaro’s building in company with the Francfortians, and through theireyes, would not have found it fo empty if he had feen it with his own.

* A farthing.

The