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244, RIESBECK’S TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY,
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 Hochit, which is fituated very pleafantly
and wholefomely, on an elevation fix miles from Francfort. I fhould not have made
mention of this place, but to fet right a miltake into which.Mr. Moore has fallen; in
doing which I fhall have occafion to lay before you a very remarkable inftance of the
political mifmanagement of two different governments.
Near this little town you fee a magnificent country-houfe, the architecture of which
is not very good. The builder isan Italian of the name of Bolongaro, who, without a
penny of original fortune, has found means to acquire, entirely by his own induftry, a
capital of froma million to a million anda half of guilders. He made his fortune en-
tirely by the fnu{f which bears his name, which is {till extremely liked throughout all
Germany. ‘This man was ranked in the clafs of inhabitants; I do not know exaétl
whether he was defirous to leave the city, or whether the government of Francfort had
eccafion 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 fum
of 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 infifted on with
all the obftinacy and harfhnefs of a {mall ftate. It fo happens that there isa compact
fubfifting between the {tates of Mentz and Francfort, by which the burgefles of the one
are allowed to migrate to the other, without let or moleftation. Bolongaro determined
to feize the opportunity to revenge himfelf of a government who had treated him fo ill.
He accordingly built at Hochft, and became a fubject of Mentz, which faved him from
the neceflity of laying an inventory of his eftate before the magiftracy of Francfort, and
enabled 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, ftands quite
empty; but we fhall eafily conceive how much bufinefs is carried on there, if we con-
fider that Mr. Bolongaro now pays at leait 8000 guilders lefs to the cuftoms at Franc.
fort than he did before, when his whole bufinefs was done in that city. He has alfo
contrived that great part of the confignments fent from Bremen, Hamburgh, and the
feveral parts of Heffia and Hanover into Suabia, Alfatia, and Switzerland, fhould go
through Hochft inftead of going through Francfort as they did before. The legiflature
of Mentz has much facilitated this by building him a crane on the Maine, before his
palace. d
Mr. Bolongaro has carried his revenge itill farther. He took Mr. Beggiora, one of
the acuteft and moft intelligent of his countrymen, out of one of the beft houfes of
Francfort, and entered into partnerfhip with him for eftablifhing a commerce ia drugs,
the moft 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 intere(t, the
fums he had advanced; but befides this, the partner enjoyed the exemption of cuftoms
which Bolongaro had obtained from the regency of Mentz, for twenty years. The
confequence was, that this new branch of trade was opened to fo much advantage, as
foon to put 160,000 guilders, or 16,cool.. into Mr. Bolongaro’s pocket. All this
fhews that the regency of Francfort committed a great offence again{t the profperity of
the 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 their
eyes, would not have found it fo empty if he had feen it with his own.
* A farthing.
The
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