elp of Poles laid
across each other's Shoulders, build themselves up almost as children do
Cards--four or five Rows of 'em standing one above the other, and
lessening as they advance in height, till at last a little Boy forms
the Top, or Point, of the Structure. After they have stood in this
manner, to be gazed at, some time, the Boy leaps down into the arms of
people appointed to catch him at the Bottom; the rest follow his
example, and so the whole Pile falls to Pieces.

The Nobility of Venice are remarkable for their Persons as well as for
their Polite Behaviour, and have a great deal of Gravity and Wisdom in
their Countenances. They wear a light Cap with a kind of black Fringe,
and a long black Gown of Paduan Cloth, as their Laws require; though the
English have found means to introduce their Manufactures among 'em.
Underneath these Gowns they have suits of Silk; and are extremely neat
as to their Shoes and Stockings. Their Perukes are long, full-bottomed,
and very well Powdered; and they usually carry their Caps in their
Hands. The Women very well shaped, though they endeavour to improve
their Complexions with Washes and Paint. These of Quality wear such
high-heeled Shoes, that they can scarce walk without having two people
to support them. In matters of Religion (though their worship is as
pompous as Gold and Jewels can make it) the Venetians are very Easy and
Unconcerned; and neither Pope nor Inquisition is thought much of in the
Dominions of the Seignory. For Music in their Churches they have a
perfect Passion. The City is well furnished with Necessaries; but the
want of Cellarage makes all the Wine sour. The Inhabitants are of a
Fresh Complexion, and not much troubled with Coughs; which is strange,
they having so much Water about 'em. They begin their day at Sunset, and
count one o'clock an hour after, and so on to twenty-four; which is
likewise a Custom, I believe, among the Chineses.

They bury their Dead within the Four-and-Twenty Hours, and sometimes
sooner. The Funerals of Persons of Quality are performed with great Pomp
and Solemnity; and the deceased are carried to the Place of Interment
with their Faces bare. Whilst I was in Venice, their Patriarch (who is a
kind of Independent Pontiff in his own way; for, as I have said, they
reckon but little of his Holiness here) died, and was buried with this
Ceremony. He was carried in one of his own Coaches, by night, to St.
Mark's Church, which was all hung with