I AM now, my dear sister, safely arrived at Vienna; and, I thank God,
have not at all suffered in my health, nor (what is dearer to me) in
that of my child, by all our fatigues. We travelled by water from
Ratisbon, a journey perfectly agreeable, down the Danube, in one of
those little vessels, that they, very properly, call wooden houses,
having in them all the conveniences of a palace, stoves in the
chambers, kitchens, &c. They are rowed by twelve men each, and move
with such incredible swiftness, that in the same day you have the
pleasure of a vast variety of prospects; and, within the space of a
few hours, you have the pleasure of seeing a populous city adorned
with magnificent palaces, and the most romantic solitudes, which
appear distant from the commerce of mankind, the banks of the Danube
being charmingly diversified with woods, rocks, mountains covered
with vines, fields of corn, large cities, and ruins of ancient
castles. I saw the great towns of Passau and Lintz, famous for the
retreat of the imperial court, when Vienna was besieged. This town,
which has the honour of being the emperor's residence, did not at all
answer my expectation, nor ideas of it, being much less than I
expected to find it; the streets are very close, and so narrow, one
cannot observe the fine fronts of the palaces, though many of them
very well deserve observation, being truly magnificent. They are
built of fine white stone, and are excessive high. For as the town
is too little for the number of the people that desire to live in it,
the builders seem to have projected to repair that misfortune, by
clapping one town on the top of another, most of the houses being of
five, and some of them six stories. You may easily imagine, that the
streets being so narrow, the rooms are extremely dark; and, what is
an inconveniency much more intolerable, in my opinion, there is no
house has so few as five or six families in it. The apartments of