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142 RIESBECK’S TRAVEL$ THROUGH GERMANY.
will hardly be fufficient entirely to remove. There is a foundation of Englifh, or rather,
for fo they are called, of Irifh nuns here. ‘Throughout all Germany you meet with
Englifh, Scotch, and German nuns, It is generally imagined, that moft of thefe {emi-
naries have been founded fince the reformation took place in England. But this is a
miftake, and moft of them have probably fubfifted ever fince the time of Charlemagne,
when Britain abounded in monks, and furnifhed Germany with them. An Englifh
and Scotch nunnery founds as well in Germany as an Englifh and Scotch freemafon’s
lodge..
This place abounds, like Vienna, in literati, who are content to ornament their rooms
with the bufts, medals, prints, and profiles of learned men, but neither think nor write
themfelves ; and only have their titles from their belonging to no other aflociation ot
men whatever: for it is here as at Vienna, whoever has neither military nor civil em-
ployment, nor is profeflor, nor prieft, nor merchant, nor handycraftfman, nor manu-
fa€turer, nor fervant, nor day-labourer, nor (what in the catalogue pafles for a man)
executioner, is a man of letters, whether he ftudies or not.’ In the general acceptation,
a man of letters is only a negative quality. Iam indeed acquainted with a few po/itive
literati here, but their number, in comparifon of the negatives is very inconfiderable.
The women of this place are handfome, and you may make love with more eafe than at
Vienna.
By way of poft{cript to this letter, which muft ftill wait ten days before it is finifhed, I
will give you a fhort account of an expedition we took: We went polt as far as Konig.
ingrafs ; there we took horfe, and made a fix days tour round by Jaromers, Neu/tadt,
Nachod, Braunau, &c. to the boders of Silefia, with the double purpofe of feeing the en-
campments and fields of battle of the war that took place two years ago, and ot vifiting
fome rich abbots houfes, in which my companions had friends. “We had an officer with
us who commanded in both expeditions, and fucceeded very well. The marches and
encampments did not intereft me much, becaufe little was done in the war; but I was
extremely pleafed with our excurfions into the cloyfters.
My principal objeét was to fee the manners and way of life of Bohemian ecclefiaftics
upon the fpot, and I was richly rewarded. They are the moft determined epicureans,
particularly the regular bodies of them, which I have yet met with any where. They
want nothing in the convents, for the accomplifhment of all earthly gratifications, but a
cloyfter of nuns, made up of the maidens who do bufinefs at Prague by night; /wb Jove
pluvis, intriviis et quadriviis. Whatever bad effect it might have in fome refpect, the
farmers and manufacturers who live in the neighbourhood of the cloyfters, and confider
their wives as their property, would undoubtedly be pleafed with the arrangement. As
things now are, the monks and half monks, to whom the villages round belong, appear
like fo many hunters of women; nor do I believe. them very different from thofe old
Jords of manors, who ufed to claim the firft night’s poffeffion of every woman married
to one of their vaflals ; it is at leaft certain, that in every village we went through, we
found one or two them, who took no pains to conceal their belonging to the fraternity
of jolly boys; to know them thoroughly one ought to be acquainted with their fuperi-
ors, who would, no doubt, furnifh good anecdotes for the feandalous chronicle :—in
fome convents we met with finging women.
‘The lives of the regular bodies, and even of the Benedictines, whofe abbot, or prelates
has not yet given up the pleafures of the world, is a perpetual caroufal, which is only
interrupted by country walks, and certain {tated belchings in church. They look upon
‘chaunting the fervice as a kind of expectoration good for the lungs. One of them, for
whom. I expreffed fome concern, on feeing him eat immenfe quantities of eggs, butter, &c.
on
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