I AM now, dear sister, to take leave of you for a long time, and of Vienna for ever; designing to-morrow, to begin my journey through Hungary, in spite of the excessive cold, and deep snows, which are enough to damp a greater courage than I am mistress of.  But my principles of passive obedience, carries me through every thing.  I have had my audience of leave of the empress.  His imperial majesty was pleased to be present, when I waited on the reigning empress; and, after a very obliging conversation, both their imperial majesties invited me to take Vienna in my road back; but I have no thoughts of enduring, over again, so great a fatigue.  I delivered a letter from the duchess of Blankenburg.  I stayed but a few days at that court, though her highness pressed me very much to stay; and when I left her, engaged me to write to her.  I wrote you a long letter from thence, which I hope you have received, though you don’t mention it; but I believe I forgot to tell you one curiosity in all the German courts, which I cannot forbear taking notice of:  All the princes keep favourite dwarfs.  The emperor and empress have two of these little monsters, as ugly as devils, especially the female; but they are all bedaubed with diamonds, and stand at her majesty’s elbow, in all public places.  The duke of Wolfenbuttle has one, and the duchess of Blankenburg is not without hers, but indeed the most proportionable I ever saw.  I am told the king of Denmark has so far improved upon this fashion, that his dwarf is his chief minister.  I can assign no reason for their fondness for these pieces of deformity, but the opinion all the absolute princes have, that it is below them to converse with the rest of mankind; and not to be quite alone, they are forced to seek their companions among the refuse of human nature, these creatures being the only part of their court privileged to talk freely to them.  I am at present confined to my chamber by a sore throat; and am really glad of the excuse, to avoid seeing people, that I love well enough, to be very much mortified when I think I am going to part with them for ever.  ’Tis true, the Austrians are not commonly the most polite people in the world, nor the most agreeable.  But Vienna is inhabited by all nations, and I had formed to myself a little society of such as were perfectly to my own taste.  And though the number was not very great, I could never pick up, in any other place, such a number of reasonable, agreeable people.  We were almost always together, and you know I have ever been of opinion, that a chosen conversation, composed of a few that one esteems, is the greatest happiness of life.  Here are some Spaniards of both sexes, that have all the vivacity and generosity of sentiments anciently ascribed to their nation; and could I believe that the whole kingdom were like them, I would with nothing more than to end my days there.  The ladies of my acquaintance have so much goodness for me, they cry whenever they see me, since I have determined