Vol. r. to I T A L Y. 343
ridiculous to think that flie had her Chamber wain-
scotted with Mosaick; a deep and dark Den hung
with Bats and Cobwebs, wou’d have fitted this
pretended Mad-Woman a great deal better, (han
Chambers adorned with Painting and Mosaick’
Work.
If you desire to know my Opinion of this Den,
I mult answer you, That perhaps it was a Pas-
sage like the Grotto of Paufilypus, and perhaps al-
so the Painted * Chamber was for Tome Deity, as * o„e mgy aip,
the Chapel of the same Grotto of Paufilyptis is j'uppofe that
for a certain Image of our Lady. Strabo relates,there 'xcre
upon the Tesiimony of Epborus, an ancient Hi-
storian and Geographer of Cum#, That the
merians of Italy (I call them so, that I may not
confound them with those of the Bojphorus') did
inhabit between Bay# and the Lake of Antrno ;
that they had no other Dwellings than subterra-
neous Dens, where they hid themselves all Day,
and at Night ilsued out toperpetrate their Robbe-
ries and Murders. The digging of this Cave
might be attributed to them ; only the Mosaick
agrees little better with them than with the Sibyl,
To conclude, tho’ I should tell you, that I neither
know the use of this Grotto, nor when it was
made, nor who were the Workmen, it would by
no means follow that it was the Sibyl’s Grotto.
Without going further than t France or England: Mire^
I could name a great many such like Caverns,
where there never was a Sibyl, great and fa-
mous Cave,
called the Clouseau ; cs which the Country People tell divert Stories: sbey fay,
that there are great Halls, Piliures, mid Altars, tsnd are ptrjuadcd, that the
Pagans theresaclijiced toNtnas, and the insernal Gods. Moreri.
Departing from this Cave, we took a turn to
Bay# ; which formerly was the moll pleasant B A Y
and magnificent place in the World. Horace and
Martial give it that Character; and Josipitts ex-
Z 4 ceeds