of mercenary politics; as the rich plunder which they took from the duke of Burgundy gave, in fome measure, the first taint to that wonderful fimplicity of manners, for which they had before been fo happily distinguished: till at length, Swiss venality has become a kind of proverbial expreffion.

I am, &c.

LETTER XXX.

Avenches, Sept. 13.

HERE is fcarcely any antient town

THERE is ante o foron

T'

that has occafioned more controverfy among antiquarians, or that has given rife to fuch variety of conjectures concerning its origin and importance, as Avenches, the principal burgh of a bailliage in the Pays de Vaud. Some contend that it was the capital of all Helvetia; becaufe Tacitus calls it Aventicum gentis caput: while others have endeavoured to prove, that by this expreffion the historian meant only to denote the capital town of its particular pagus or diftrict. Agreeably

to

to fome accounts, the city was built, and a Roman colony founded there, by Vefpafian according to others (and with more probability) it was only repaired and beautified by that emperor, after it had been laid wafte and almoft ruined, by Vitellius.

Without entering however into difcuffions of this dry and uninterefting kind, this much at least is certain; that it was formerly a very confiderable town, and under the dominion of the Romans. This appears not only from several mile-stones, found in many parts of the Pays de Vaud, moft of which are numbered from Aventicum, as the principal place of reference; and alfo from various other inscriptions; but more particularly from the ruins still exifting. I fhall flightly mention a few of the latter, merely to fhew you it is not without evidence that thefe good people boast of their antiquity.

We traced the ruins of the antient walls, which appear to have enclosed a fpace near five miles in circumference. The prefent town occupies but a very inconfiderable part of this ground; the remain

der

der is covered with corn-fields and mea dows. One of the antient towers ftill exifts it is a femicircular building, with the convex fide turned towards the town.

We were fhewn a very curious mosaic pavement, discovered fome years ago in ploughing up a field. It is now inclosed by a barn, which being let to fome peafants, the ignorant occupiers are taking the most effectual method to destroy this elegant piece of antiquity as fast as posfible. We found it ftrewed all over with tobacco-plants and indeed they not only cover it with damp herbs, which deaden the colours and rot the pavement; but fuffer every person who enters to take away bits. Even the Meffrs. of Berne were fo infenfible of the value of this admirable relic of antient genius, that they permitted the count of Caylus to take up one of the pannels; upon which the figures of two fatyrs, reprefented as embracing, were greatly admired for the exquifite beauty of the execution. The count defigned to have conveyed them to Paris, but was disappointed: for, by the unskilfulness of the perfons employed in removing them, the pannel was broken to pieces.

This fine mofaic was the floor of an antient bath, and is about fixty feet in length and forty in breadth: the general form is perfect; and, although several parts are broken off and loft, yet from what remains we could easily trace the configuration of the whole.

The pavement confifts of three general compartments: thofe at each extremity are regularly divided into fifteen octagons, eight small squares, and fixteen small triangles. Five of these octagons in each compartment, reprefented human figures in various attitudes, but chiefly Bacchanalian men and women: the remaining octagons were composed of three different patterns, answering to each other with great exactness. The vacant parts between the octagons are filled with the small squares; and towards the outward border, with the small triangles above-mentioned. The middle compartment is divided into oblong pannels; in the largest of which is an octagon bath of white marble, of about fix feet in diameter, and a foot and an half deep the fides of the bath are ornamented with dolphins. Of these three compartments one is almoft perfect; the

two

two others are very much defaced. Each of the pannels is encircled with several borders prettily diverfified; and a general border encloses the whole.

Schmidt, in his Recueil d'Antiquités de la Suiffe, ingeniously conjectures, from a. glory which encircles a head of Bacchus in this mofaic, that it was wrought during fome part of the intervening age between Vespasian and Marcus Aurelius; because that mark of divinity is never seen upon any monuments of Roman antiquity prior to that period. He adds, that the fame kind of glory is obferved upon the head of Trajan in an antient painting at Rome; upon that of Antoninus Pius on a medal; and on the arch of Conftantine. He strengthens this conjecture, by farther remarking, that the head-dress of one of the Bacchanalian women reprefented in this mofaic, refembles the head-drefs on the medals of the empreffes Plotina and Sabina *.

From thence we were conducted to the

* The curious reader will find in the Recueil, cited in the text, a very accurate defcription and engraving of this mofaic.