the use of Batavia But happy for him General Vanderlin's Lady falling into a hard Labour before the time of Execution and desiring his Pardon at such a solemn Juncture easily obtain'd it seasonably recovering him from the Misfortunes of Folly and Necessity A RELATION OF JAPON AND Of the Cause of the Persecution of the Christians in those ISLANDS THE Modern Geographers have made Descriptions of Japon by means of such conjectures as they have drawn from the Relations of certain Merchants who have traded in those Countries But in regard there are very few Merchants who are skilful in Geography as being such who only mind the profit and advantage of their Voyages those Descriptions have prov'd very uncertain As to the knowledge of the Ancients in reference to this part of the World it is no less imperfect and it is but only by conjecture to this day that we believe the Abadii of Ptolomy to be that Island which is now call'd Niphon That which I could learn of most certainty was by the Relation of several persons who have Travell'd these parts that the Empire of Japon is at present compos'd of several Islands of which some perhaps may not be absolute Islands but rather Peninsula's and particularly those that make a part of the Land of Yesso the Inhabitants whereof are Vassals and Tributaries to Japon Nevertheless a Holland Pilot who has been industrious to discover whether the whole Country it self were an Island or a Continent adjoyning to that vast Tract of Land call'd Corea unknown to this day in those parts where it extends it self behind China to the bottom of Tartarie Niulhan saith that it is separated from Japon by a narrow Sea which at this day is call'd The Streights of Sanguar Through all the Islands of Japon where formerly were accompted to have been 66 Kingdoms there are three remarkable for their largeness of which that of largest extent is called Niphon the next Ximo and the third Xicock The Japonners accompt it a Journey of twenty seven days from the Province of Quanto to the Country of Yesso and they say farther that this Country of Yesso in those parts which are remote from the Sea is so full of inaccessible Mountains that those Japonners who have attempted a discovery by Land could never accomplish their design being discourag'd by the length of the Journey and the difficulties and badness of the ways The Island of Niphon is four times as big as the other two and there is also a Mountain therein that vomits up Flames of Fire like Mount Etna in Sicily formerly it was distinguish'd into thirty five Kingdoms but at this day it is only divided into five parts the names whereof are Jamasoit Jetsen Jetsesen Quanto and Ochio lying all in order as you travel from West to East These five parts are again divided into several Provinces The Island of Ximo or Saycock is situated to the South-West of Niphon being about 160 Leagues in circuit The Island of Xicock is seated by the South of Niphon being about 120 Leagues in compass The other Islands that lye round about are not so considerable for in those Seas lye several Islands scatter'd up and down as in the Archipelago between the Morea and the Coasts of Asia the less As to the rest I refer the Reader to the Map annexed believing it to be very true as having been made upon the places themselves The Emperour at present keeps his Court in the City of Yeddo in regard the Air is there more temperate and the Heats not so violent but when he has a Son that is arriv'd to the Age of fifteen years he sends him to Surunga there to reside till the death of his Father makes him way to the Throne Since Yeddo has been made choice of for the Seat of the Empire it has so greatly enlarg'd it self from day to day that it is at present three Leagues in length and three in breadth very populous and the Houses standing very close together When the Emperour rides through the City or that there is any publick shew to be seen it is impossible to get by the crowd of the people though the Women are not permitted to be of the number The Emperours Palace is cover'd with Plates of Gold to which the Palaces of the Lords are every way correspondent in Magnificence so that afar off the City affords the richest and most magnificent Prospect that was ever beheld Though it be not so beautiful within by reason that the ordinary Houses are built only of Wood. The Great Dairy keeps his residence at Meaco which is also a very large City containing above a hundred thousand Houses it was formerly the capital Seat of the Empire at what time the Dairy's were laid aside So soon as he is Crown'd by the Bonzes who are the Priests and Lawyers he is then no more to expose himself to the light of the Moon nor to shave his Head or cut his Nails The Natives report that the Empire of Japon was formerly govern'd by a Prince call'd Dairy who had acquir'd so high a reputation for Holiness that his Subjects ador'd him as a God and that to increase the awe and reverence of the people he suffer'd his Hair and Nails to grow affirming that it it was a piece of Sacriledge to make use either of Razor or Sizzars The Princes that succeeded him though they had only the name of Kings have still preserv'd the same custom believing that it becomes not their Grandeur to appear in view of the Moon as being Sons of the Sun If he have a Daughter that is ripe for Marriage the Emperour is oblig'd to Marry her and she it is that bears the Title of Empress though she should happen to have no Children which is contrary to the Maxims of all the Eastern Monarchs who give the Title of Queen and Sultaness only to her among all the rest of their Wives that is first brought to Bed of a Male Successor to the Crown At the end of every seven years the Emperour sends one of the chief Princes of his Court to the Dairy with a Basket full of Earth and to tell him that all the Lands which the Emperour commands are at the Dairy's Devotion and indeed the Empire belongs to him by right of Succession though at present he enjoys only the Title and very large Revenues which render him highly considerable in the Empire The Japonners are Idolaters and adore the Sun but though they have a great number of Temples and different Idols yet they are not over obstinate in their Devotion only the Emperour is very severe against all other Religions They never stir out of their Native Country to travel unless it be to China and the Land of Yesso and within these few years the Emperour has prohibited his people under extream penalties from having any Commerce with Foreigners the Chineses and Hollanders excepted He had receiv'd Ambassadours at several times from several Princes but
prodigious length and bigness Beber's end was no less sad For when the French Companies Ships were arriv'd M. Caron who commanded them and M. Rambos with an Armenian who had the management of the chiefest part of the business had been acquainted with what had pass'd at Surat between Beber and the Capuchins Presently Affections and Interests parted Caron and Rambos took Beber's part the Armenian held for the Capuchins which was at length the ruin of Beber and Rambos The Holland Commander going aboard to visit the Sieur Caron upon his return would not permit the Captain to stir out of his Cabin so that Rambos and the Armenian took upon them to wait upon the Commander Upon this Occasion the Armenian took upon him to precede Rambos and briskly threw himself before the French-man who being provok'd at the Affront gave the Armenian a swinging cuff o' the Ear before all the company To be short the Sieur Caron Rambos and Beber holding all together the Armenian found himself too weak to resist and in regard he had the Management of the Cash he was accus'd of Misbehaviour and was condemn'd to be hang'd But because they could not execute the Sentence which they had given at Surat they sent him away to the Council Royal of the Island of Madagascar of which M. Mondevergue was chief who was so far from confirming the Sentence given at Surat that he admitted the Armenian to justifie himself and finding that he was not only innocent but that he might be very useful to the Company he sent him back to Surat with more power then he had before This put Beber and Rambos into a fit of Despair to see the person whom they thought to have ruin'd now above them Thereupon they found a way to get 12000 Roupies a piece for their Wages which they pretended to be due from the Company and with that and 24000 Roupies which Beber had of his own they Embarqu'd both together for Goa Where being arriv'd Beber dy'd soon after But as for Rambos he return'd home again through Ispahan OBSERVATIONS UPON THE TRADE OF THE EAST-INDIES THat Nation which has a design to settle a Trade in the East-Indies must be sure in the first place to possess themselves of a convenient place in that Country to carine their Ships and shelter themselves during the tempestuous Seasons This want of a good Haven is the reason that the English have not made those advantages which otherwise they might have done because it is impossible that any Vessel should remain in those Seas without being carin'd or else eaten by the worms Therefore because it is a long way from Europe to the East-Indies it would be requisite to have a retreating place at the Cape of good Hope to take in fresh Water and Provisions whether going or coming but especially in their return in regard that the Ships being then laden cannot take in Water for any long time The Road of the Island of St. Helen's where the English have built a Fort is a very commodious place and if the Water be not so good upon the North-side yet the Plain is an excellent spot of Ground to sow with convenience of all things necessary for human support This advantage the English and Dutch have depriv'd all other Nations of by their Forts upon the Cape of good Hope and St. Helen's And therefore some River's mouth near the Cape of good Hope ought to be sought for for the same purpose which would be far more convenient then the Dauphin Island where there is no Trade but that of buying Cattel for their Hides which being a Trade of so little consequence would ruin a Company to follow it The reason why I make this Proposal is because that in the year 1648 two Portugal Vessels being bound from Lisbon to the East-Indies and resolving to touch at the Cape to take in fresh Water mistook their just Depths so that the Sea running high they fell into a Bay 18 or 20 Leagues from the Cape upon the Coast that looks to the West In that Bay they found a River whose Water was very good and the Blacks of the Country brought them Refreshments of all sorts of Fowl Fish and Bullock's flesh There they staid above 15 days and before they set sail they took two of the Negro's which they carri'd along with them to Goa to teach them the Portuguese Language on purpose to try if they could discover by them any knowledge of the Trade of the Country The Dutch Commander at Surat desir'd me to inform my self when I went to Goa what the Portugals had learnt from those two Negro's But one St. Amand a French Ingeneer who was Supervisor of the Fortifications of Goa told me That he could not make them learn one word of the Language and that he could only guess by their signs that they had some knowledge of Ambergreece and Elephants Teeth The Portugals however made no question but to meet with Gold if they could find a way to trade higher up i' the Country The Revolutions of Portugal and their Wars with Spain have hinder'd them from making any more particular discovery of the Coast Which it were to be wish'd the French would undertake provided they gave no cause of jealousie to the Hollanders of what they were going about There is also a necessity of possessing or at least having the liberty of some place near Surat to ride safe in and to wash and tallow in in case they should be staid by the Rain-Seasons The reason is because that during that ill season at what time it is impossible to keep the Seas the Mogul jealous of his Fortress of Surat suffers no Foreign Vessel in the River where nevertheless the Ships being unladen may ride securely from the terrible Tempests that last for five Months The only secure place for the Companies Vessels would be the Town of Dia belonging to the Portugals The advantage of the situation is considerable for several reasons The circuit of the City contains almost 400 Houses and might be capable to receive a greater number of people where the Ships would find all conveniencies during their stay It is seated upon the Coast of Guzerat upon a point of the Gulph of Cambaye looking toward the South-east The form of it is almost round and above half the Circle environ'd by the Sea It is not commanded by any Hill and the Portugals have begun those Fortifications which might be easily finish'd It contains several Wells of very good Water and a River which falls into the Sea near the City whose Water is better then that of Surat or Souali and the Harbour is very commodious for Shipping The Portugals when they had first settl'd themselves in the Indies kept there a Fleet compos'd of Galleys Brigantines and other light Vessels whereby they made themselves Masters for a long time of all the Trade of the Places we have treated of So that no Ship could trade without the
Advertisement About the ENGLISH ATLAS now Printing at the Theatre in Oxford by Moses Pitt Bookseller in London THat the First Volum of the said ATLAS which contains the North Pole the principal Countries of which are Muscovy or Russia Poland Sweden and Denmark will be finished and ready to be delivered to the Subscribers about Christmass next And therefore it is desired that those thaâ— have Subscribed and not Paid their Money as also others that desre to Subscribe do immediately pay their Subscription Money viz. Forty Shillings to Dr. Thomas Yate Principal of Brazen Nose College Oxon or to Moses Pitt at the Angel in S. Paul's Churchyard London where they shall have a Receipt And all those that have a mind to have their Coat of Arms engraven on any of the Plates shall have it done for Twenty Shillings if they please to send their Coat to either of the two Persons above mentioned in time If any desire to satisfie themselves as to the well-doing of the â—aid Book let them inquire at the Theatre in Oxon or at the Shop of the said Moses Pitt in London where they may be fully satisfied by seeing of the Sheets of the said Book as they are wrought off at the Press It 's desired that if any Gentleman has any Curiosities of any Couâ—trey whatsoever if he please to communicate them to the said Moses Pitt and they are approved of and judg'd fit to be Printed by those Learned men whose Judgments are consulted they shall have Satisfaction for them to their own content A COLLECTION OF SEVERAL Relations Treatises Singular and Curious OF JOHN BAPTISTA TAVERNIER Baron of Aubonne Not Printed among his first Six Voyages Divided into Five Parts viz. I. A new and singular Relation of the Kingdom of Tunquin with several Figures and a Map of the Countrey II. How the Hollanders manage their Affairs in Asia III. A Relation of Japon and the Cause of the Persecution of the Christians in those Islands with a Map of the Countrey IV. A Relation of what passed in the Negotiation of the Deputies which were at Persia and the Indies as well on the French King 's as the Company 's behalf for the Establishment of Trade V. Observations upon the East India Trade and the Frauds there subject to be committed Published by EDMUND EVERARD Esquire IMPRIMATUR hic Liber cui Titulus A Collection of several Relations and Treatises c. Anth. Spinedge Rev. in Christo Patri Dom. Domino Gulielmo Archiep. Cant. à Sacris Domesticis LONDON Printed by A. Godbid and J. Playford for Moses Pitt at the Angel in S. Paul's Churchyard 1680. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir Robert Clayton LORD MAYOR ELECT OF THE CITY of LONDON MY LORD THE Encouragement the City-Trade and Forein Discoveries is like to find under Your Lordship's Magistracy ought to be the chief Encouragement of any Publick-spirited Person to render unto You all due Acknowledgments and Testimonies of Honour in this kind The City of LONDON is doubtless the Head and Promotress of all English Trade and Your Lordship is the designed Head and Representative of the City That Obligation Forein Traffique hath to London London oweth partly to the wise Councils and Government of its Chief Magistrate and it scarce ever had any of whose Prudence Courage and Moderation it ought to conceive greater hopes than of Your Lordship's Hard Weather needs Resolute Pilots and Good Magistrates are ordinarily sent by God against bad Times And far be it from us that we should make Times worse than they are But as it hath been my bad more than my good Fortune to be some years ago the first Avant Courier who from the Enemies Camp brought the Tidings of these Hellish Attempts that now cause our Domestic Troubles so I in this Book present to Your Lordship and all England an unavoidable and impartial Argument to shew that our Fears from Jesuitical Practices are much less magnified than they are by them beyond measure extenuated by a new Popish Device of Creating Security For herein Your Lordship may see what the Jesuits are where ever they get Footing and Credit in the furthest part of Japon as well as in Venice Paris Ireland and England Coelum non Animum mutant cùm trans mare currunt You shall observe I say how these Ignatians Covetousness and State-undermining brought the greatest Rebellion Bloudshed and Massacre upon about 60000 Christians at one blow that ever was seen in those Eastern Parts of the World and how thereby some Hundred Thousands in after Persecutions were destroyed may and the whole Christian Name quite extirpated in hatred of their Practices by Heathen Monarchs who could not think their Heads Crowns nor Estates to be otherwise safe from the Factious Disciples of this Loyola Yet all theirs and their secret Factors Devices will I hope come to nought if we follow those moderate peaceable and judicious Counsels Your Lordship 's Eloquent Speech hath set out unto us begetting a sober and hearty Harmony 'twixt Prince and People If the Ship be kept in good order within there 's little to be fear'd from Storms without I remark That it depended much on the Tribunus Plebis or Lord Mayor of the old Rome most like to our London in Policy and Magistracy to keep it and the whole Government in an even temper and to maintain a Lovely Correspondency betwixt the Senat and the People and it was by him that the Enemies or Friends of the Commonwealth ordinarily wrought their ends of Peace or Disturbance Therefore as Your Lordship hath always appeared as well in your Actions as in your Words a Sincere and Brave-spirited Patriot a Moderate and Reconciling Subject it is not to be doubted but that Your Lordship will give that Satisfaction to the Court City and Country and even to all Forein Traffiquers themselves that is justly expected and conceived of you So that Quiet Peace Trade and Forein Discoveries being encouraged and promoted in your Times your Name shall be not onely respected and honoured among your Countreymen but also in those remotest parts of the World where this small Work most necessary for all East India Merchants and Travellers will sound it out and testifie with all the due Respects and Obligations on the Public Accompt of Your most Humble and Dutiful Servant EDMUND EVERARD THE PREFACE THE World being an ample Volum in whose Extent and Varieties the Framer's Wisdom and Attributes are manifestly read and set out it seems that great Travellers are the best Scholars and Proficients in this Book since on 's Native Countrey is but as a single Leaf where all the Singularities are not to be seen which are found in the other Non omnis fert omnia Tellus And the truth of it is those Ancient Philosophers who have first laid the Foundations of Arts Sciences and Commonwealths in the World were Travellers into these very Eastern Parts partly described by us here whence they brought home all
strictly keep the Civil and the Ten Moral Commandments much answerable to ours which their Prophets have left to them So that they punish Murther and Adultery even in Princes and Princesses terrible Examples whereof you may here read at large And the Church and State Government are subservient in a Subordination the one being a Prop to the other Even Statesmen may find Subject of weighty consideration in the Antiquity Model and Exactness of their Government As for instance Though they have a special regard to Monarchy so as to keep the Succession within the same Line yet the Great Constable and the King's Council have Power left them to propose and chuse the fittest Person among the Royal Children or Collateral Successors who is nominated in the King's Life-time to prevent after Disturbances They have also on the other side very singular and unimitable ways to prevent the Insurrections Divisions and Rebellions of the Militia and the People But above all the Traveller and Traffiquer into those Parts will be like to run into a thousand Inconveniences and Losses of Health Life and Estate without being guided by such Directions as he carefully gives herein which others cannot possibly so soon and so well know It is in fine herein declared by what means the French Holland and Portugal East India Companies were Settled Improved and Worsted in those Countries also the Coinage and the Reduction thereof to ours the particular places where all sorts of East India Commodities are best and cheapest had the Rates and Exchange Returns are here to be found the manner how to know their Falsifications in Gold Silver Jewels Drugs Silks Linen and all the other Merchandizes which are brought from those Nations are here set down It being otherwise hard or impossible to escape the Cheats of the Persians Chineses and Japoners without such Instructions I 'le say no more but that in this Work was imployed the Help of another Worthy Gentleman who labour'd in the first Volum of Tavernier's Translation but it was brought to an end and perfection by me who had the occasion to be more particularly acquainted with Monsieur Tavernier himself his Native Tongue and other Particularities abroad Edmund Everard The TABLE to Tavernier's Volum of Japon China and Tunquin c. A Relation of Japon and of the cause of the Persecution of the Christians in those Islands pag. 1. A Relation of what pass'd in the Negotiation of the Deputies which were sent to Persia and the Indies as well on the behalf of the French King as of the French Company for the settling of Trade 26 Observations upon the Trade of the East Indies 51 Of the Commodities which are brought as well out of the Dominions of the Great Mogul as out of the Kingdoms of Golconda and Visapour and other neighbouring Territories And also of the Weights and Measures of the said Commodities 57 Chap. 1. A discourse in general concerning the City of Tunquin and of the manner how the Author came to have knowledge thereof 1 Chap. 2. Of the Situation and Extent of the Kingdom of Tunquin 5 Chap. 3. Of the Quality of the Kingdom of Tunquin 7 Chap. 4. Of the Riches Trade and Money of the Kingdom of Tunquin 13 Chap. 5. Of the Strength of the Kingdom of Tunquin by Sea and Land 14 Chap. 6. Of the Manners and Customs of the People of the Kingdom of Tunquin 16 Chap. 7. Of the Marriages of the Tunquineses and their Severity toward Adulteresses 18 Chap. 8. Of the Visits Feasts and Pastimes of the Tunquineses 21 Chap. 9. Of the Learned Men in the Kingdom of Tunquin 24 Chap. 10. Of their Physicians and the Diseases of the Tunquineses 28 Chap. 11. Of the original Government and Policy of the Kingdom of Tunquin 31 Chap. 12. Of the Court of the King of Tunquin 38 Chap. 13. Of the Ceremonies observ'd when the Kings of Tunquin are advanced to the Throne 40 Chap. 14. Of the Funeral Pomp of the Kings of Tunquin and of their manners of burying their Dead 46 Chap. 15. Of the Religion and Superstition of the Tunquineses 49 Of the Government of the Hollanders in Asia Chap. 1. Of the Island of Formosa and how the Hollanders possessed themselves of it and how it was taken from them by the Chineses 57 Chap. 2. Of Maurice Island where they cut Ebony 61 Chap. 3. Of the Grandeur of the General at Batavia and what befell his Wife and his Niece 65 Chap. 4. Of General Vanderbroug and of the Original of the City of Batavia 69 Chap. 5. Of the Countrey about Cochin and how the Holland General crown'd one of the Indian Princes 74 Chap. 6. Of the Sieur Hollebrand Glins President of the Factory at Ormus 77 Chap. 7. Touching the Islands of the Prince 79 Chap. 8. How the Hollanders sent to declare War against the Persians and of the ill success of their Fleet. 80 Chap. 9. Of the Severity of the Holland Commanders in the Indies 83 Chap. 10. Touching the Women 85 A MAPP OF THE ISLES OF IAPON ORIENTALL OCEAN THE SEA OF COREER THE SOUTH SEA MAPP OF TUNQUIN An Alphabetical Index to the Map of Tunquin made on the place by B. Tavernier The first Figures are Longitude the second Latitude BOdego whence they embarque the King's Body as also the Huts for those that attend the King's Body 144-21 Bonten an excellent Haven 151-9 Camelee a great River but bad Port 146-13 Chancon an Isle where S. Xavier died February 4. 1552. 155-21 Checo the Capital City of Tunquin and King's Seat 144-21 Colaure 146-14 Cuaci the Bounds between Tunquin and Cochinchina 142-16 Cuadag a Lake 140-22 Cuadâ—g the Port where all the great Ships lie not able to enter the great River of Cheche being stopped up 142-20 Dinphoan a good Port but difficult entrance 149-10 Haifo this Isle is a Forest of Orange and Pomgranat Trees 145-14 Hainanen an Island wherein is two Rivers one is very hot and smells of Sulphur and the sick come from all the adjacent parts to bath in it 148-19 Island of Fishes 146-19 Pulociampelio Isle 146-15 Sansoo one of the greatest Cities of Cochinchina and greatest Trade but the Port failing it now decays 143-15 Tacan an Isle where the Fowls retire during the heat 148-12 Tortose Islands 152-11 Tulatan Isle 147-14 An Alphabetical Index of all the Towns in the Map of Japon A AChas 175-34 Acosaqui 177-34 Aizu 184-38 Akas 174-34 Amessima 171-34 Amusana 175-34 Anai 174-34 Anzuqui 176-35 Aqui 173-34 Aquita 182-40 Arcy 177-34 Ava 174-33 Ava 181-34 Autua 170-33 Axicanga 182-36 Aximot 181-36 B Bandel 179-34 Bigen 174-35 Bingo 173-34 Bipchu 173-34 Bugen 172-34 Bungo 171-33 C Camba 179-34 Cango 177-36 Cansula 182-35 Cataizu 175-33 Caucani 175-34 Cochite 170-33 Coreer Isles 169-34 The Sea 171-34 Coyssina 171-34 D Daura 180-34 Deva 182-38 Dongo 172-33 F Facoua 180-34 Fairma 174-34 Favissida 178-34 Fintsautwa 177-34 Firanda 170-33 Firazima 172-34 Fitaqui 182-37 Flagway 177-34 Foncorai 178-34 Foqui 174-35
those considerable Presents that suppli'd his losses By means of my Brother 's thus long sojourning in Tunquin and the familiar acquaintance which he had at Court together with the Trade which he drove in the Kingdom as he was diligent to inform himself of all the Curiosities of the Country it was easie for me upon the same foundation to lay the Structure of these Memoirs Though I may safely say I was no less laborious in my own particular and by the frequent Discourses which I had with a great number of the Tunquineses with whom I met both at Bantam and Batavia that came thither to Trade and whom I often treated at my own Expences to inform my self of the particular Ceremonies and Customs of their Country Thus you see the Grounds and Foundations of this Relation which is both faithful and exact and by which that noble Country of which the Descriptions hitherto have been so obscure and uncertain shall be truly discover'd and set forth such as it is declaring withal that no other Consideration or Interest then that of speaking truth has incited me to undertake this Description For the better observation of a right Method in pursuance of this Relation and to conduct the Reader gradatim to the more perfect knowledge of this Kingdom I will speak first of its Situation its Extent and its Climate Next I shall come to discourse of its Qualities its Riches and its Trade which are the three Springs and Sources of the Strength and Force of a Nation Next I shall give an Account of the Customs and Manners of the People as well in their particular OEconomy and Civil Society as in relation to their Marriages their Visits and Festivals Next to this we shall give a brief Account of the Learning and learned Men and among them of their Physicians and the Subject of their Art that is to say of the Diseases particular to the Country We shall also give a Relation of the Original of the Government and Policy of the Kingdom of Tunquin of the Condition of the Court of the Inauguration and Funerals of their Kings and in the last place of the Original of the Inhabitants And I dare ingage that the Map of the Country and the Cuts which were drawn upon the place will no less contribute to the Divertisement of the Reader then to the Explanation of the Matter which they contain CHAP. II. Of the Situation and Extent of the Kingdom of Tunquin WE shall have the less reason to admire wherefore our Predecessors had so little knowledge of this Kingdom when we consider that having formerly been a considerable part of China the Inhabitants in the same manner as the Chineses did kept themselves close within their own bounds never minding to have any Commerce with other People whom they contemn'd and lookt upon as Barbarians come from the other part of the World But now that they find that Strangers come to find them out in their own Territories they begin to see that other People have as good Government as themselves which has bred in them a desire to Converse and Trade with Foreigners so that now they associate themselves in friendly manner with all other People as I have observ'd them to do both at Batavia and Bantam Most people believe this Country to lye in a very hot Climate nevertheless it is now known to be very temperate by reason of the great number of Rivers that water it which together with the Rains that fall in their Seasons cause a brisk freshness of the Air which indeed happ'ns most usually over all the Torrid-zone as I have observ'd in my Indian Travels From whence we may also have reason to believe the Country to be very fruitful and thick inhabited To the East this Kingdom lies upon the Province of Cauton one of the best of China To the West it is bounded by the Kingdom of Brama To the North it borders upon two other Provinces of China Junnan and Quansi To the South it lies upon Cochinchina and the great Gulph of the same name To return to the Climate the Air is so mild and temperate that all the year long seems to be but one continual Spring Frost and Snow are never there to be seen and besides the Pestilence the Gout the Stone and other Diseases so frequent in Europe there are never known There are but two Winds which divide the whole Year between them the one blowing from the North the other from the South and both continuing the same for six months together The first refreshes the Earth in that manner that there is nothing so delightful as the Country of Tunquin The other begins to blow from the end of January to the end of July and the two last months are their months of rain The greatest inconvenience is that there arise once in seaven years as well in this Country as in other parts of the Indies those hideous and terrible Tempests that blow down Houses tear up Trees by the roots and make strange Desolations They seldom last above four and twenty hours nor are their sad Effects to be felt but only upon the Seas of China Japon Cochinchina Tunquin and the Manilles being rarely known in any other Seas The Astrologers of those parts believe that these terrible Tempests proceed from the Exhalations that rise out of the Mines of Japon It comes with that suddain force that when it surprizes a Vessel out at Sea the Pilots have no other remedy then to cut down all the Masts that the storm may have the less force upon the Ship In this fair extent of Land almost equal to that of France are several Provinces whose limmits are not well known the Tunquineses being no great Geographers nor having bin over curious to write the Annals of the Nation But the most understanding and knowing among them assur'd me at Batavia that the whole Kingdom contain'd above twenty thousand Cities and Towns They also affirm'd that there might be many more but after the manner of their Neighbours the Cochinchineses many of the People choose rather to upon the Water then upon the Land so that you shall see live the greatest part of their Rivers covered with Boates which serve them instead of Houses and which are very neat though they also keep their Cattel in them CHAP. III. Of the Quality of the Kingdom of Tunquin THis Country for the most part is a level Extent which rises up and down into pleasant Hillocks the greatest Hills which it has lying to the North. It is water'd by several Rivers which inter-cut and glide through the Country some of which carry Galleys of good burthen and large Shallps very commodious for trade Yet in all the Country there grows neither Corn nor Wine by reason of the want of rain which never falls but in the Months of June and July But it bears an infinite quantity of Rice which is the chief sustenance of the People Of this Rice also
regulated Kingdoms are always full and the Chineses who always sought an opportunity to regain what they had lost after a bloody Battel he possess'd himself of the Kingdom it being never known what became of his Predecessor But this new King enjoy'd the Fruits of his Victory but a small while For two years afterwards a Mandarin of the House of Trin having espous'd the Daughter of another great Lord openly declar'd War against his Soveraign with a design utterly to extirpate the House of Marr. Unhappily for him death put a stop to his designs though he left two Sons behind him able enough to have pursu'd his undertakings But the eldest naturally timorous and fearing to engage himself in a dangerous War voluntarily submitted himself to the King who gave him the Government of a Province and marry'd him to one of his Sister's Daughters The younger Brother being a valiant Prince and having his deceased Father's Army at his Devotion though the King propos'd him great advantages would give ear to nothing but out of his ambition to Reign himself continu'd and successfully accomplish'd what his Father had begun In the second Battel which he gave the King who was there in person he took him Prisoner together with his Brother who had submitted to him and some few days after he put them both publicly to death at the head of his Army the one as an unjust usurper of the Throne the ether as a desertor who had abandon'd his Father's Army and so ill follow'd his intentions Now though as Victor he might easily have ascended the Throne and tak'n upon him the Name and Title of King yet he would not accept of any higher Title then that of General of the Army and the better to Establish himself in his Authority and to gain the affection of the People he caus'd Proclamation to be made through all the Provinces of the Kingdom that if there were any Prince of the House of Le yet remaining alive he should shew himself with full assurance that upon his appearing he should be put into possession of the Kingdom There was but one to be found who had been so closely pursu'd by the House or Marr while it rul'd that to save his Life he was forc'd to abscond himself in the Frontiers of the Kingdom under the Habit of a private Soldier The General was overjoy'd to find that there was yet a lawful Heir of the House of Le to be found that he might place him upon the Throne So that so soon as he was known to be of the Legitimate Race all the Equipage and Attendance of a King was sent to him with Order to all the Provinces as he pass'd along to receive him as if he were already crown'd The whole Army march'd two days march to meet the King and brought him to Checo the capital City of the Kingdom where he was plac'd in the Throne of his Father and with great Pomp proclaim'd King of Tunquin But General Trin who car'd not so much for the Royal Title as the Royal Power so order'd his business that leaving to Le all the outward shew and Pomp of Royal Authority he reserv'd to himself the whole command of the Army and the greatest part of the Revenues of the Kingdom absolutely to dispose of at his own pleasure So that from that time to this hour we may affirm that there has been and still are two Kings of Tunquin of which the first has only the Name and Title of King and is call'd Boüa and the second Choüa who has all the Authority disposing of all things at his pleasure while the other remains shut up in his Palace like a Slave not permitted to stir abroad but upon certain days and then he is carry'd through the Streets of Checo like an Image though with a magnificent Train and Royal Equipage He has generally 2000 Soldiers for his Guard and sometimes 20000 which are quarter'd upon the Frontiers chiefly toward Cochinchina He also has ready upon the Frontiers 50 Elephants for War And upon the Rivers of the Kingdom where the Enemy can come to damage him he usually keeps 100 great Galleys with a vast company of small Galliots to which the Soldiers and Rowers that belong have more pay then the others at Land And these that they may row with more strength row standing with their Faces toward the Prow quite contrary to our Rowers who turn their backs The King gives public Audience almost every day but he makes no Edict or public Decree that is of any effect if it be not also Sign'd by the Choüa At these Audiences he has with him thirty two Councellors of State and besides these a hundred others to judge of all Appeals of the Kingdom The Eunuchs have a very great Power at Court as in all other Courts of Asia and the King as to his most important affairs confides more in them then in his own Children The eldest Children do not always succeed their Father for the Choüa or General with all the Councellors which are generally his Creatures thought it convenient that when the King should have more Sons then one he should make choice of whom he pleas'd to succeed him So that so soon as he has nam'd him the Choüa attended by the principal Officers of the Army Councellors of State and Eunuchs come to congratulate him and to give him their Oaths to set him upon the Throne after the death of his Father and for the other Brothers they are always shut up in the Palace as in a Prison without medling with any affairs of State They never stir out of the Palace but four times a year and they never stay abroad above six days at a time the Officers that attend them being put upon them by the Choüa who is as it were Lord high Constable of the Kingdom The first of these six days of liberty they go to visit the Temples and the Priests to whom they give large Alms the two next days they take their pleasure in hunting and the three last days they spend their time upon the Rivers in Galleys sumptuously trimm'd and adorn'd The Kingdom of Tunquin is divided into eight large Provinces every one of which has its Governour and its Magistrates from whose sentence there lies an Appeal to the Court We should wrong this Country to say that there were no Nobility therein as indeed there are none in most Kingdoms of Asia But they must all attain to this degree their merit some by the Warrs and some by their Learning They who attain their Nobility by Arms have wherewithall to live handsomly at home and they begin to learn their Exercises betimes at farthest by eleven or twelve years of Age. The first thing they are to understand is how to handle their Swords the Blades of which are streight long and broad like those of the Switzers having but one Edge They are also taught to aim with their Bows and to fire a Musket with Matches
for they know not the use of Fire-Locks to ride the great Horse to shoot running and to manage their Zagay's which are a sort of Staves cheek'd with Iron like a Half-Pike When they are ready in all these Exercises then they learn to make all sorts of Artificial Fire-works as also how to invent new ones to make use of them against the Elephants By the way I must needs tell you there are some of these Elephants as I have seen several times that are so accustom'd to these Artificial Fires that they regard them not at all neither are any way disturb'd at the Squibs that are thrown and go off under their very Noses and Bellies Nevertheless of 200 of these Creatures which the Eastern Kings carry to their Wars at a time you shall have hardly fifteen that are so hardy and valiant So that unless their Governours take not great care instead of running upon the Enemy they turn upon their Friends and put the whole Army into a most dismal confusion as you shall hear by the following Story For Aurenge-Zebe the present Great Mogul being then a young Prince obtain'd of Cha-gehan his Father to let him have the command of an Army of threescore thousand Men and fourscore Elephants and with this force out of his Antipathy to the Christians he laid Siege to Daman a Town belonging to the Portugals fourteen Leagues from Surat The Governour was a person of great Valour and had also two Sons with him who together with himself had both serv'd the King of France He had also in the Town eight hundred Gentlemen who voluntarily put themselves into the Garrison for its defence from all parts of India where the Portugueses had to do and were all excellently well mounted For the Portugals at that time made use of none but Arabian Horses the worst of which cost a thousand Crowns at least The Governour finding that the Indian Prince began to press hard upon him having already made two Assaults resolv'd with all his Cavalry and Infantry to make a Salley upon Sunday Morning causing them to fix at the ends of their Spears and Lances certain Artificial Fire-works to which they were order'd suddenly to give fire as soon as they should gain the Elephants Quarter This design was so successful that when it came to be executed the Elephants were so suddenly terrifi'd that running impetuously through the Indian Army they trod to the ground and cut in pieces with the Swords and Scithes which were fasten'd to their Trunks what ever stood in their way The Portugals taking advantage of this confusion made no less havock among the amazed Multitude whom they had surpriz'd securely and profoundly asleep For they had an opinion that the Portugals would never attack them upon the Sabboth day believing they had the same veneration for that day which the Jews had But they were utterly deceiv'd in so much that the Portugals by virtue of this Stratagem so closely pursu'd obtain'd a notable Victory to the utter destruction of 20000 of Aurenge-Zebe's Army the spoils whereof are reported to have amounted to above twelve Millions But to return to the Kingdom of Tunquin I must tell you that the Tunquineses have often wag'd War against the Chineses because the first would not pay the latter the Tribute which was accorded them by a Treaty made by one of their Kings of the House of Le. But in the year 1667 the Chineses seeing that the Tartars had made themselves Masters of their Country made a Peace with the Tunquineses wherein it was agreed that the said Tribute should be no longer paid but that they should every year send an Embassador only to Pequin to do homage to the Emperour of China As for their Justice and Policy they observe a very exact Order and Regulation over all the Kingdom of Tunquin as well in their Cities as in the Country So that few of the best regulated Kingdoms exceed them More especially they have a great care for the public good to repair the Bridges and High-ways and every quarter of a League there is such Provision made that any Traveller may there meet not only with Water but Fire also to light his Pipe being generally great smoakers of Tobacco As for Murder they are very exact in punishing that crime For they carry the Person apprehended before the Judge and then he must hold to his Mouth a little wisp of Grass to shew that by his disorderly life he had made himself a Beast Not much unlike this is the custom in Persia where the King and his Council condemn or pardon all but such as have murder'd a Man that has any Kindred For then all the favour that the King can shew him is to deliver him into the hands of the next of kin to the Person kill'd who has power to agree with the Criminal for a Sum of Money which is rarely done as being accounted an Act both infamous and ignominious So that if there be no agreement made then it behoves the next of kin to be the Executioner himself and put the Criminal to that death to which he is before condemn'd CHAP. XII Of the Court of the Kings of Tunquin ALthough the King as I have already said have not much Authority in his Kingdom which is govern'd altogether by the General who has the whole Militia at his Devotion yet he is highly honour'd by his Subjects and he keeps a very splendid Court The first and fifteenth day of every Month all the Mandarins who are the Grandees of the Kingdom are bound to come in their Chinese Habits to kiss the King's hands The Constable or General was formerly wont to perform the same Office but by degrees he has obtain'd a dispensation and only sends another Prince in his stead As for all the other Mandarins Governours of Provinces Justiciaries and Military Officers every year they go to kiss the Choüa's hands and to congratulate him upon the first day of the year which is the fifteenth of the fifth Month as also when he has obtain'd any great Victory over his Enemies So that the General has more Honour done him then the King himself 'T is also the custom of the Tunquineses among the Men that when they meet any Person higher in condition then themselves they make four profound obeysances to the very Earth But for the Women what ever their condition be among themselves they never make but one They who are desirous to be admitted into the Palace to see the King are oblig'd to put on Violet Robes and their Servants must be clad in the same colour They that approach the King's presence to obtain any favour must carry a Present along with him For though the Constable be the person that disposes of all Offices and Commands over all the Court and Kingdom yet every year upon the fifteenth day of the seventh Month the King distributes several considerable Gifts and Largesses to his Courtiers as also to the Children of
Pallanquin goes forth of his Palace the Drums Trumpets Cornets and other Warlike Instruments filling the Air with their Martial Sounds In this Pomp and with this Equipage the King being come to the Camp quits his Palanquin and mounts one of his great Elephants of War which are us'd to the noise of the Guns and sight of the Fireworks Being thus mounted he rides into the middle of all his Troops in which place all the Officers swear Fidelity to him after which he bestows his Gifts upon them to every Colonel two Panes of Gold and forty Bars of Silver to every Captain the half of what he gives a Colonel and to every Lieutenant the half of what he gives a Captain and as for the Souldiers they have every one a Moneths Pay These Presents being made the whole Army discharges three Volleys and then every Company retreats into a large Hutt where they have Meat and Drink prepar'd for them enough to serve them a whole day and a night In the same Field is also set up a fair wooden Palace sumptuously enriched within with Paintings and several pieces of Workmanship in Gold There the King spends all the night some part in Feasting some part in Plays and seeing the Mummers dance and the rest in beholding the Fireworks The next day the King leaves his wooden Palace which is afterwards fir'd by the Souldiers as well as their own Hutts and so returns to the City Being arrived at his Palace with the same pomp that he went forth he seats himself upon his Throne and there shews his Liberality to those that made the Fireworks to the Comedians and Dancers and all the rest that were any way contributory to the setting forth the Pomp of the Ceremony Then he gives Access to all the People and two Commissioners one for the Merchants and the other for the Handicrafts make a Speech to the King the substance whereof is that all the Burgesses and Inhabitants of the good City of Checo do acknowledge him for their King and that they will be faithful to him till death The Speech being ended the King presents the Body of the Merchants with 50 Panes of Gold and 300 Bars of Silver and the Body of the Tradesmen with 20 Panes of Gold and 100 Bars of Silver The People gone home every one strives who shall spend most in Feasting and Comedies adding of their own to the Kings Bounty so that every Quarter of the City is full of Jollity and Rejoycing for a week together Some days after come the Commissioners for the Commonalty from all parts of the Kingdom who in the behalf of their Cities and Towns make known to His Majesty the universal Joy of the People for their lawful Prince assuring him of their Fidelity and of their Service against the Chineses They name particularly the Chineses because the Tunquineses have no greater Enemies then they and for that the Hatred between them is irreconcileable The King observing the good will of his People testifies his Acknowledgment in this manner All that have not time out of mind been Rebels to their lawful Sovereigns but have constantly taken up Arms for their Defence are discharged for a year from all Taxes and Impositions and for the rest who have at any time formerly assisted the Enemy they are onely exempted for six moneths All Prisoners for Debt partake also of the King's Bounty so that after the President of the Council has made a Composition with the Creditors for half the Summe the King pays the rest It is a thing almost incredible what a vast number of Sacrifices the King sends to the Temples of his false Gods to be there offer'd to the Idols The number of Beasts is said to exceed an hundred thousand besides the value of a million in Panes of Gold Tissues and Silks to adorn the Idols and Orange-coloured Calicuts for the Bonzes and those that attend the Service of the Pagods Among the rest of these Presents he sends a vast number of Pieces of blue Calicuts for the poor people that are kept in the Pagods as our Poor are kept in Hospitals The Idolatrous Princes also consume incredible Summes to adorn the Pagods and Images of their false Gods There are some of them three foot high all of massy Gold others of Silver bigger than the Life The new King after all these Ceremonies are over takes his time to go and give thanks to his false Deities for his coming to the Crown when the Moon first changes shutting himself up for the first week with the Bonzes and living in common with them with a great deal of Frugality During this time he visits the principal Hospitals to see how the poor people are us'd especially the old Folks whom they have in great Veneration to whom he distributes new Alms for naturally the Tunquineses are very charitable To conclude he makes choice of some fair Situation where he orders the building of a new Pagod which he devotes to some of his Idols Thus his Devotion being ended upon the first day of the second Quarter he mounts one of his Elephants of War attended by all the Officers of his Court on Horse-back and ten or twelve thousand men on foot chosen out of the whole Army to attend him All the second Quarter the whole Court says in a certain Plain where are three Houses set up one for the King one for the Constable and one for the President of the Council with a world of Huts for the rest There are also several small Cabins set up which are not covered and closed but upon one side which they turn as the Wind blows and these are the places where they dress their Victuals For at that time the King allows two meals a day to all his Attendants Through this Plain runs the River of which is very broad in that place Upon this River are several Galleys richly gilded and painted but especially the Admiral which exceeds all the rest in Maginificence The Prow the Poop the Ropes the Oars but onely that part which goes into the water glitter all with Gold the Benches very ingeniously painte the Rowers well clad For there the Rowers are all Souldiers and Freemen contrary to the Custom in Europe The Souldiers in their youth are taught to handle their Oars and have somewhat better Pay than the Land-Souldiers The Galleys are not so big as ours but they are longer and cut the water better While the King stays in this place he diverts himself with seeing these Galleys row one against another In the Evening the Rowers come ashoar with their Captains to kiss the King's Hand and they that have behav'd themselves most stoutly and nimbly carry off the Marks of his Bounty The seven days being past the King calls before him all the Souldiers of the Galleys with their Officers and gives them two moneths Wages extraordinary as he does to his Land-Souldiers 'T is a wonderful thing to behold the vast number of Fireworks
3000 years before they entered into happiness But that they who had perfectly obeyed his Law should be rewarded without suffering any change of Body And that he himself had been born ten times before he enjoyed the Bliss which he possessed not having in his first Youth been illuminated with that Knowledge which he afterwards attained This Chacabout was one of the greatest Impostors that ever was in Asia having spread his Opinions over all the Kingdom of Siam over a great part of the Provinces of Japon and from thence into Tunquin where he died The third Sect is that of Lanthu to whose Fables the Japonneses and Chineses give great credence but the Tunquineses more He was a Chinese by Nation and one of the greatest Magicians in the East He made a great many Disciples who to authorize this black Impostor and the more to impose upon the people made them believe that the Birth of Lanthu was miraculous and that his Mother carried him in her Womb without losing her Virginity seventy years He taught much of Chacabout's Doctrine but that which won the Hearts of the people was that he still exhorted the Grandees to build Hospitals in all Cities where there had been none before Insomuch that several of the Nobility betook themselves to those places to look after the Sick as did also a great number of the Bonzes for the same reason While my Brother was there the Choüa a great Enemy to these Vagabonds sent for a great number of Bonzes and Says or idle Fellows and picking out the strongest and best proportion'd sent them away to the Frontiers for Souldiers 'T is the Custom of the Tunquineses to adore three things in their Houses The first is the Hearth of their Chimney made of three Stones The second is an Idol which they call Tiensa which is the Patroness of Handicrafts as Sculpture Painting Goldsmith's work c. So that when they put forth a Child to learn any of those Trades before they let him work they set up an Altar and sacrifice to this Idol to the end he may infuse into the Lad wit and aptness to learn The third is the Idol Buabin which they implore when they design to build an House For then they erect an Altar and send for the Bonzes and Says to sacrifice to this Idol To this purpose they make great preparation of all sorts of Viands and then present him with several gilt Papers wherein are written several Magic words endeavouring by that means that he may not suffer any misfortune to befall the House they are going to build There are some Tunquineses that adore the Heaven others the Moon and others the Stars There are also some that adore five parts of the Earth making a fifth part in the middle of that which is known to us and to them also but confusedly When they worship them they have for each of the parts a particular Colour When they adore the Northern part they clothe themselves in black and the Dishes and Table whereon they lay their Sacrifices are likewise black When they worship the South their Habit is red when the East green when the West white and when they adore the middle of the World they wear Yellow They offer Offerings likewise to Trees Elephants Horses Cows and almost to all other sorts of Animals They that study the Chinese Characters are accustomed every fifth moneth of the year to sacrifice for the Souls of the dead who were never buried They believe that by so doing their Understandings shall be more enlightned for the apprehending of all things Every year at the beginning of the year they have a great Solemnity to honour after their death those who in their life-time have done any noble action and were renowned for their Valour reckoning in that number those that have been so hardy as to rebel against their Princes as being men of Courage Three days before this great Solemnity which is perform'd in a large Field they set up several Altars some for the Sacrifices others for the Names of the Illustrious Men whom they design to honour The Eve before above 40000 Souldiers spend the night in this Plain where all the Princes and Mandarins are ordered to meet with their Elephants and led Horses and the King himself goes thither in person After they have finished all their Sacrifices and burnt good store of Incense to the Honour of the dead the King and all the Mandarins make three profound Reverences where the Altars are then the King shoots with his Bow and Arrows five times against the Altars where lie the Names of those that were so rash as to rebel against their Sovereigns After that the great Guns go off and the Souldiers give three Volleys of small Shot to put all the Souls to flight Then they burn all the Altars and a great number of gilt Papers which were made use of at the Sacrifices concluding all with a most hideous shout of all the Souldiery Which done the Bonzes Says and such like people come and devour the Meat that was made use of for the Sacrifices The first and fifteenth days of the Moneth 't is a wonderful thing to hear the Chiming Din of their great Bells For those are the more especial Holydays set apart for the Worship of their Gods and all the Bonzes and Says give them more than ordinary Worship upon those days redoubling their Prayers and repeating upon those days every one of them a strange kind of Charm six times over At these times several people bring Meat and Drink to the Sepulchres of their Kindred to sacrifice for the good of their Souls to eat The Bonzes fail not to be there and when the others have paid their Devoirs the Bonzes fall to and what they cannot eat they give to the poor But for all the austere Lives of these Bonzes and Says neither the King nor the Mandarins make any account of them so that they are in credit onely with the common people â—he Representation Of The Pagods Or Temples Of The Idolators In Tunquin With The Figures Of Their Dieties Their Different â—…s turs Which They Vse When They Doe Penance And Accomplish Their Superstitiu os Vowes Or When They Practise Their â—agic Imposturs Which They Are Much Addicted Nj. Thaibout 2. Thaiphou Thoui 3. Bagoti Magitians And Witches The Tunquineses also have a great veneration for two Magicians and one Magicianess The first of their Magicians whom they call Tay-bou makes them believe that he knows the Events of things to come so that when they have any occasion to marry their Children build a House buy Land or undertake any business of Consequence they consult this Oracle to know what shall happen to them The Magician courteously receives them and with a counterfeit modesty demands of them for Example the Age of the person concerned Then taking into his hands a great Book about three fingers thick wherein are the Figures of Men half Men and several
Raja of Velouche which are of a large extent He and all his Subjects being Idolaters unless it be about nine or ten thousand poor People call'd Christians of S. John as being baptiz'd after the same manner that S. John baptiz'd the People in the Wilderness After the taking of Cochin of which we have given a full Relation in our Indian Travels General Vangous who commanded at the Siege became so haughty that he despis'd all the other Officers as well Military as those that belonged to the Government and Justice of the City However to recompence one of the Raja's by whose means he had taken the City he persuaded him to quit the Name of Raja and to assume the Title of King that he might have the Honour to set the Crown upon his Head To this end he made great inquiry through his whole Army for a Goldsmith and having found out one that undertook it and caus'd him to make a Crown of massie Gold that weigh'd near ten Marks which I believe the Raja found more inconvenient and weighty upon his Head than an old Muckender with three corners bound about his Head which is the mark of the Raja's Sovereignty While they were making this Crown there were great preparations for the Ceremony It was performed in a Garden near the Town where was set a large Tent spread all over with painted Calicut Within was a Throne erected with a Canopy of China Damask and all the Steps to the Throne were cover'd with Persian Tapistry The day being come the greatest part of the Army Officers and Souldiers went to fetch the Raja who lay in his Hut a quarter of a League off where they mounted him upon one of two Elephants which the General sent him being attended likewise with two led Horses and two Palanquins for more State Being come to the place he was clad in a Scarlet Robe with great Hanging Sleeves and so brought in where Vangous was sitting upon his Throne with a Sword and a Crown by him The Raja being come to the Foot of the Throne the Major of the Army took the Sword deliver'd him by the General and girt the Raja who then ascending the Steps of the Throne prostrated himself before the Holland General while he put the Crown upon his Head Then the new King riseth up and lays his Hand upon the Head of a Cow that stood near the Throne Which done kneeling with his Hands clasp'd and lifted toward the Head of the same Cow he took his Oath to be true and faithful to the Company and to embrace their Interests On the other side the General promis'd him on the behalf of the Company that they should assist him when he should have occasion against his Enemies Which Solemnities being very gravely perform'd the Musquettiers gave three Volleys and the new King was conducted back to his Hut with the same Pomp that he was brought Thus you see the Pride of a Pepper Merchant to make Kings and domineer over Crowns One other famous Act of Vangous must not be forgotten You must know that at the taking of Cochin the Jesuits had in that City one of the fairest Libraries in all Asia as well for the great quantity of Books sent them out of Europe as for several rare Manuscripts in the Hebrew Chaldee Arabic Persian Indian Chinese and other Oriental Languages For in all the Conquests of the Portugals their first care was to summon all the Learned People of the several Nations and to get all their Books into their hands During that little time which the Jesuits staid in Aethiopia they had copied out all the good Books that came to their knowledge and sent all those Books of Cochin They had staid longer in Aethiopia had it not been for the Jealousie of the Patriarchs and their Bishops which are very numerous so that if there be two men in one Village that belong to one Church the chiefest calls himself Bishop At their Ceremonies of Baptism when they name the Holy Ghost they apply a hot Iron to the neck of the Infant saying that the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in the shape of Fiery Tongues The Patriarchs and Bishops were jealous of the Jesuits finding that they had insinuated themselves into the favour of the King and Grandees of the Court. Which so enraged the Aethiopians that they caus'd the People to mutiny preaching that the King was about to alter the Religion of the Country and to draw along with him several of the Lords And the Fury of the People grew to that height that whatever the King could do or say he could not appease their Fury So that they put him in prison and elected his Brother in his place The cause of this disorder was laid upon the Jesuits and was the reason that they were expell'd the Kingdom neither had they scap'd so but that they were afraid of the Governour of Mozambique and the Portugals that inhabit all along the Coast of Africa But to tell ye what became of this Library General Vangous made no conscience to expose it to the ignorance of his Souldiers so that I have seen the Souldiers and Seamen tear several of those beautiful Volums to light their Tobacco CHAP. VI. Of the Sieur Hollebrand Glins President of the Factory at Ormus WHen the Ships come to Ormus it is a great prejudice for the Goods to lie out of doors For such is the extremity of the Heat in that part that if the Spices especially the Cloves be not carried to the Water-side every foot and there laid to steep in the Water for four and twenty hours they would turn to a mere powder Sugar is brought thither in great Wooden Chests but if there be the least Cleft for a Fly or an Emmet to get in in a small time the Chest will be half emptied As for Camphire which is brought from Borneo in Pipes if it lie a little too long in that warm Air it will exhale above half away To remedy these Inconveniences Sieur Hollebrand resolved to build a bigger Warehouse Among the rest of the Workmen that were imployed in this Building was a Gunsmith who came in the interim in a Ship from Batavia This poor Fellow was imployed to make Locks for the Warehouse for in those Parts they have no other Keys or Locks either than what are made of Wood So that it was a Crime for him to be found idle at any time And therefore the President finding him one Sunday in the Afternoon drinking with two of his Companions that came from the Ship to see him gave the Fellow half a dozen good Licks with his Cane and would have given him more but that the Smith being a sturdy Fellow and feeling the Blows smart wrested the Stick out of the President 's Hands and flung it out of the Window For which the President upon pretence that the Fellow had struck him four Blows which was untrue as I my self being there could witness sent him
come all their Books in regard the persons that attend upon this Prince apply themselves only to their Studies It is reported that they learnt all these things by their frequent Commerce with the Chineses and that they are also originally descended from them And in truth the greatest Province of the Island of Niphon is call'd Quanto according to the name of the Sea-Coast part of China where lies the greatest Traffick between the Japonners and Chineses Moreover if there be any credit to be given to the Chinese Histories they say it was but a small part of their vast-Empire which extended it self from North to South 56 Degrees of Latitude from the Frozen Sea to the Equinoctial Line being bounded to the West by the Caspian Sea and extending Eastward over all the Southern America to New Spain Father Thomas Barr a Portuguese has often told me when I was at Agra a capital City of the Great Mogul where the Jesuits have a very fair House that this and several other young Lords improv'd themselves so far in six or seven years that they were as Learned as their Masters themselves and that they were more zealous in converting those of their Nation Now the Jesuits at that time had no House for the Instruction of Youth and Proselytes and therefore they desir'd this young Lord to lend them one of his Thereupon he having four very fair ones with great Revenues belonging to them gave that which was nearest to the City to his Converters A while after the youngest of his Sons fell sick and was carried to this House for the Air 's sake where he recover'd by the care of the Fathers and the Prayers of the Christians but his Father did not long enjoy the pleasure of so great a Cure which seem'd almost miraculous for he dy'd at what time both his Sons and the Christians stood most in need of his protection The two eldest who were with the Emperour understanding the the Death of their Father came to take possession of their Inheritance and demanded of the Jesuits the House which their Father had given them for in Japon no Parent can alienate the Estate of his Children nay when they come to such an Age he is oblig'd to put them in possession of their Estates reserving only such a proportion to himself The Jesuits loth to part with so fair a convenience would not quit their hold though it were for their own quiet and to engage the whole Family to stand by them in their time of trouble This refusal provok'd the two Brethren and this quarrel between them and the Jesuits happen'd at the same time that the Dutch President was labouring to bring about his designs He hâ—d notice of this dispute and as he was a great Impostor he made 〈◊〉 his business to enflame the two Brothers not only against the Jesuits but against the Portugals in general giving them a Copy of the Letter which he had fram'd as is before-mention'd These two Lords who were Favourites of the Emperour joyning Interest of State to their particular Interest made their complaints at Court with extraordinary aggravations urging that there was no security for the Estates of particular Men for the quiet of the Empire nor the Life of the Prince unless not only all the Portugals but also all the Natives of Japon who had suck'd their Errors were exterminated out of the Island To make good the reasons of their Exasperation they shew'd the Emperour a Copy of the Letter and put him into such a fright as well for his Person as the Empire that he would admit of no justification on the other side Some of his Lords who were Friends to the Portugals besought him to examin the truth of what was alledg'd before he proceeded to utmost extremities against a whole Nation and against his own Subjects But he was inexorable and presently gave private Orders to certain Commissioners to go through all the Provinces of the Empire and to banish not only the Portugals but also all the Christian Natives Now in regard they had their private confederates as well in the Court as in other places they had intelligence in all parts of the cruel resolution tak'n against them though none were more zealous and faithful to them then the two Lords of Ximo Francis and Charles Thereupon the Christians met together to consult for their own safety and their common preservation and seeing all attempts to justifie themselves prove ineffectual they resolv'd to stand upon their guards and to dye in the defence of their Innocency and Religion The two Lords put themselves at the head of the Christians Army the elder of which had been a Souldier and understood the Art of War the younger kept up their Spirits and Courages by his continual Exhortations The Emperour's Commissioners understanding that the Christians were thus embody'd gave him speedy notice thereof but said nothing either of the number of their Forces or of their designs The Jesuits and Austin Fryars at Goa told me that the Army of the Christians consisted of above 40000 Men besides those recruits that came up to them before and after the Battel was fought The Emperour not beleiving that the Army was so numerous sent against them at first not above 25 or 30000 Men under the Command of the youngest of the two Lords of Ximo that liv'd at Court But those Troops were no sooner upon their March but he rais'd new Forces and sent another Army after them consisting of 40000 Men commanded by the young Lord to whom the Dutch President had shew'd the Letter first of all The Christians having intelligence of the approach of these two Armies prepar'd to receive them choosing an advantagious place to intrench themselves The first Army soon appear'd in sight of the Christians who lay so encamp'd that the Imperialists could discover no more than one part of them However before the Engagement the youngest of the Christian Brothers advis'd his other Brother to send to the General of the Emperour's Army who was their Brother likewise to desire Peace and to beseech him to intercede for them to the Emperour and to assure him that they were ready to lay down their Arms and throw themselves at his Feet and to justifie their Innocency To this purpose a Letter was fram'd and sent to the General but the Messenger that carry'd it was nail'd to a Cross in sight of the whole Army of the Christians and at the same time the Enemy came on with great fury to assail them The Fight lasted almost three hours with equal advantage the Captain of the Imperialists seeking every where for his Brothers while they strove to avoid him The Christians who knew that all their safety consisted in their Victory and that there was otherwise no hope of pardon fought with so much valour that the Imperialists were forc'd to give ground Their General was slain upon the place and at length the whole Army of the Idolaters was cut
would be a vanity to question in this particular cannot be read over without Horrour In sixteen years that is from 1613 to 1629 the Christians were so multiply'd that there were above 400000 but in the year 1649 the same Hollander relates that those Japonners who were brought from thence by the Company 's Ships to Amsterdam affirm'd that Christianity was utterly extirpated out of the Island Being at Ogli a large Town upon the fairest Arm of the Ganges I met a Holland Merchant who had serv'd the Company in Japon a long time and had made several Voyages He came thither with two 〈◊〉 laden with Bars of Silver and Copper which he had exchang'd for Silks which the Hollanders buy at Bengale This Merchant knowing I was there came to visit me and I finding him to be a sincere honest Man and well verst in the affairs of Japan especially in reference to the last persecution of the Christians grew covetous of his converse and invited him often to my House In our familiar discourses concerning the settlement of the Hollanders in the East-Indies and of the extraordinary gain which they make by their Trade there and passing thus from one thing to another at length I ask'd him who was the Author and Contriver of a Massacre so horrid as that was reported to be Whereupon he related to me all the particulars of which I have here made a recital and many more which I have forgot or omitted as being either not pertinent to my subject or else already related by others He had his information from such of the Natives that had escap'd out of the Battel and several of the Idolater Merchants in whose memories the fact was then fresh and indeed he was so ingenious in his Story that I could not find any motive to incite me to misdoubt the truth of it For many times he could not forbear shedding tears and to interrupt his discourse with his sighs often imprecating Heav'ns Vengeance upon the President and protesting he wonder'd the Company employ'd him so long But God reserv'd his punishment to himself For the deserts of his crimes always attending him and provoking judgments and misfortunes upon whatever Enterprize he took in hand he miserably perish'd in sight of Lisbon in fair weather All the men in the Ship were sav'd only he returning to recover a certain Cabinet of Jewels which he had there the Ship split and the Portugals had the satisfaction to see him swallow'd up in the Sea who had been the occasion of the Ruin of so many of their Country-men in Japon and immediately they rang their Bells in the City for joy of his Death In my last Voyage to the Indies I was at Bandar-Abassi where the Hollanders have a Factory Thither arriv'd two Vessels from Japon to take in Silks which the Hollanders buy of the Persians to exchange in Japon The Captain of one of the Ships told me that during several trading Voyages which he had made to that Island the Emperour had caus'd two Inquisitions to be made after the Christians in the first of which the Inquisitors met with 247 who were all most exquisitely tormented to Death in the latter they only found 63 among whom were seventeen Children twelve Girls and five Boys of which the eldest were not above thirteen years of Age. Among all the persecutions which the Christians suffer'd there was none comparable to this for extremity of Torments For the Japonners are the most ingenious in cruelty of any people in the World and the most constant in suffering For there have been Children from ten to a dozen years old who for 60 days together have endur'd to have their Bodies fasten'd to the Cross half burnt half torn in pieces while their Executioners forc'd them to eat on purpose to prolong their Lives in misery and yet they would not renounce the Faith which they had embrac'd Neither did this barbarous Inquisition extend only to the Christians but to their Kindred and Relations nay to their very Neighbours For if a Priest were taken in any House all the people in that House and the Houses adjoyning were hall'd to Execution for not having made the discovery At the beginning of every year there is a new Inquisition at which time all that can write are requir'd to subscribe or else the chief of the Family subscribes for all the rest that they neither are Christians nor are acquainted with any Christians and that they abominate Christianity as a Religion dangerous to the State Don John of Braganza being advanc'd to the Crown that sudden change which in one day and without the least Tumult in Lisbon wrested the Crown of Portugal from the King of Spain wrought the same effect at Goa All the Portugals at Goa at the same time acknowledg'd their new Soveraign the Viceroy who was a Spaniard was sent away to Spain by the first Vessels that were homeward bound and Don Philip de Mascarennas a Portugal Governour of Ceylan came to Goa and took upon him the command of Viceroy So soon as he came to the Government his first thoughts were how to Establish the Trade of the Portugals in Japon which when they were expell'd amounted to three Millions of Pardo's yearly one Pardo being worth twenty seven Sous of French Money The hopes therefore of regaining so great a loss made him toward the end of the year 1642 take a resolution to send a solemn Embassy to the Emperour of Japon furnish'd with magnificent Presents For which reason he made choice of what was most rare and most likely to be acceptable to the Emperour and the Grandees of his Court The most costly of these Presents was a piece of Lignum Aloes otherwise call'd Wood of Calambour four Foot in length and two Foot in Diameter a larger piece then which the Indies had never seen having cost 40000 Parao's To this he added a great quantity of fair Coral Beads of an extraordinary bigness This is the most acceptable Present that can be sent to the Lords of Japon which they fasten to the Strings wherewith they draw their Pouches together With these he sent a great number of Carpets and Hangings of Cloth of Gold Silver and Silk and several pieces of Tissue of Gold and Silver 'T is said the whole Present cost the City of Goa above eight hundred thousand Pardo's which amounts to about 86666 l. 13 s. 4 d. of English Money Besides all this the two great Ships which were prepar'd for the Embassador carry'd one of them 50 Peeces of Canon and the other 35 both laden with all sorts of Commodities which are esteem'd and priz'd in Japon amounting to about 83333 l. 6 s. 8 d. Sterling The Equipage of the Embassador was no less sumptuous And because the Viceroy would not be thought to give any occasion of offence to the Emperour he would not suffer one Jesuit in the Train but only four Augustins for the Admiral and four Jacobins for the other
resolv'd to return to Surat in expectation of their Ships When they left Agra they went and lay two Leagues off from the City in the Field setting up one Tent apiece and those pitiful ones Heaven knows to serve for them and their Servants whereas they might have lodg'd with more security in a fair Inn that stood not far off Now it is the Custom at the Great Mogul's Court that every Night some Prince or great Lord keeps Guard in his turn for a Week together having under him five or six thousand Horse that beat the Road for three or four Leagues round the place where the King quarters A Party of these Horsemen scouting by the Deputies Tents and enquiring whose they were one of the Servants reply'd that they were the Tents of the French Deputies of which the Horsemen gave immediate notice to their Captain at that time the Grand Provost of the Empire A Person handsom well endow'd and a great Lover of Strangers who had rais'd himself by his Valour as being an Abyssin by Nation So sâ—n as he understood that they were the French Deputies he sent one of his principal Officers with fifty Horse to desire them to give them leave to guard them that Night because they were in no security and for that if they came to any mischief the Head of their Captain must answer for it But they very ill receiv'd the kind proffer of the Provost proudly answering that they were strong enough to guard themselves and the first that came near them should know whether the French had Courage or no adding withal that if their Captain were afraid they would guard him with a deal of other scurrilous riffraff which very much surpriz'd the Officers The next day they set up their Tents about a quarter of a League farther because they expected something to be brought them from Agra The Conteval or Grand Provost admiring they made such slow journeys and that they had now pitch'd in a more dangerous place then before sent the same Horsemen with the same proffer or else that they would be pleas'd to lye in an Inn where they might be safe Boulaye was of the mind that so kind an offer should not be refus'd but Beber gave them nothing but bad language reviling their Captain that he was afraid they should go and lye with his wives offering if he pleas'd to go and guard them He spoke half Portuguese half Italian which being a kind of Lingua Franca some of the Horsemen made a shift to understand him and having made a report to the Grand Provost of his Insolent Answer the Lord was not a little nettl'd at it and therefore resolv'd to be reveng'd About midnight fourscore or a hundred Horse came and cut all the Cords of Bebers Tent thinking to have let it fall about his ears But he found a way to quit himself by the assistance of his Servant and endeavour'd to escape to the House of a Dervich on the other side of a small Rivolet nere the place where the Tents were set up But the Moon shining as bright as day he could not hide himself from the pursuit of the Horsemen who shot at him and with their Arrows wounded him in three places once in the thigh and twice in the buttocks Boulaye hearing the noise which the Horsemen made peep'd out of his Tent and seeing so many Horsemen in pursuit of Beber was not a little daunted He was afraid of running the same risco but not having long to consider he took his purse of Duckets and fled till he got about half a league off where he lay all night under a great Tree But by the consequence he found that the Horsemen had nothing to say to him being satisfi'd when they saw Beber fall as believing him dead For had they not thought him so they would never have left him till they had quite done his business But to colour the business that it might not seem a point of revenge they broke open all Beber's Chests that it might seem as if he had bin robb'd but they found very little or nothing to enrich themselves So soon as Beber's boy saw that the Horsemen were gone he ran to the Town for a Pallanquin to carry his Master thither Being brought to the Town they laid him in the Jesuits house where Boulaye also arriv'd not long after and took up his Quarters to the great consolation of the Jesuits whose Revenues are but small in those parts where there are no devout people to leave them Legacies Their Ordinary was very sparing but it was such as the Deputies must be glad of Though it were a feast for Boulaye who was not wont to make better chear For a Sheeps head of his own purchase usually serv'd him two meals Which made him ridiculous to the Franks who liv'd after a more splendid rate At Smyrna and Aleppo when he was not invited by the Franguis he had recourse to his Sheeps tongues or a cold piece of double Tripe which he carri'd to the poor Cabaretts of the Greeks taking his Chopin of Wine to wash it down and such was his good husbandry that what was left was order'd to be set up for his supper One day he had drank a little more then he had bled and the Franguis found him a sleep in the street about a hundred paces from the Cabaret They had so much charity for him as to remove him to his lodging lest other Nations should laugh at the choice which they had made of an Envoy to settle the Trade of such a considerable Company As for Beber who lov'd good Chear when it cost him nothing as being a true exemplar of covetousness he complain'd of the Jesuits entertainment though they out-run the Constable to treat him like a Deputy His man who had more wit than he and plainly saw what a trouble he was to his Hosts made them a merry relation of the Noble Table which his Master kept for him how he had made provision of a Barrel of Herrings which when Invitations fail'd he warily fed upon rubbing his bread with the tail to give it a haut goust For my part said the Boy I am but a poor Servant yet I have made a shift to spend an hundred and fifty Crowns which I had got in the service of the Consul of Smyrna 'T was my misfortune to be inveigl'd out of his service for I was with a Noble Master where I got Money but in this man's service I have eaten all that I had got before Two days after I arriv'd at Agra and heard of Beber's being wounded and where he lay and went to give him a visit And as I never went unprovided in my travels with all things necessary I had some Oyntments and Plasters which were very serviceable to him It was an easie thing to observe that Boulaye was glad of the opportunity of Beber's being wounded that he might have the sole honour of giving the Letter
They also carry half Pikes with a great company of Tatters fasten'd to the end of them to make a shew of their beggery Beber's Habit very much surpriz'd the Nahab and all others that beheld him so ridiculously accouter'd As he pass'd one morning by my window I bid him good morrow telling him withal that he look'd more spruce and gay than he us'd to do He reply'd that he had reason so to do for that he had receiv'd Letters from Surat by which he had advice that the Country people upon the Coast of Cape St. John had decry'd four Vessels out at Sea which they could not make to be either English or Hollanders from whence he concluded that they were the Companies ships and that he was going to the Nahab with the News But I prevented him at that time telling him that I had often observ'd that rascally sort of people to come both to the English and Hollanders with such kind of Intelligence on purpose to get Money when indeed they had never seen any such sight and admonishing him not to believe Reports upon such slight foundations I ask'd him what date his Letters bore he told me thirty days ago Then said I if the discovery had bin true the Nahab would have had notice of it in fourteen and then he would certainly have told you of it or my self for it is but two days since I took my leave of him Thereupon he took my counsel and resolv'd for Surat in a few days Three days after that the Chirurgeon had given in his Bill for the Chest of Medicaments that he had lost among Beber's Baggage he was so touch'd in Conscience that he fell sick and dy'd in two days Upon his death-bed he ask'd pardon of God for the Cheat which he had consented to to ask 4000 Roupies for that which was really worth but four hundred 200 of which he had receiv'd from the Charity of the Franguis the rest upon the sale of a Horse For my part finding that Beber was resolv'd for Surat I made what hast I could out of Agra to be quit of his company But the second day after my departure having set up my tent by a Rivers side just as I was going to dinner I spy'd Beber coming nor could I get rid of him afterwards till I came to Surat So that we were forc'd to travel together though he committed a thousand Impertinencies by the way Among the rest he put one trick upon the Chief of the Cheraffs or Bankers at Brampour not to be passed over in silence In regard the ways were bad and that he had but one pitiful weak Chariot and four weak Boys which with the help of Oxen were hardly strong enough to help him out when he stuck in the mire he seldom came to his journeys end till two or three hours after me Now upon the report that ran of the French ships being seen out at Sea and the general belief that Beber would be one of the Principal Trustees of the Company several as I said before courted him and sought to engage his Friendship Being arriv'd at Brampour the Chief of the Cheraffs attended by a dozen of his servants came to visit us Upon the first acquaintance Beber told him that he wanted a Pallaquin to go to Surat whereupon the Cheraff civilly offered him his and caus'd it to be trimm'd up for his better accommodation Beber thought that trimming would have bin finisht in one day when indeed it requir'd three or four The next day I order'd my Coach to be got ready and order'd my Pallaquin to be carri'd away Beber who verily believ'd that the Company 's ships were already in the Road of Surat began to curse and bann the Cheraff who presently came to him and endeavour'd to appease him with good words He told him it could be no prejudice to him to stay a day or two for by that time the Roads would be better and he might travel the faster But Beber being transported with passion was so far from taking the Cheraffs reasons for satisfaction that snatching a Cudgel out of his Waggoners hands that stood next to him he gave the Cheraff three or four good Licks cross the shoulders The Merchants and other people that were in the Inn were strangely surpriz'd at such a piece of rudeness and ran out presently some with Stones and others with Cudgels making a hideous noise and crying out that they had never seen the like They took it for a most enormous Crime to strike the Chief of the Cheraffs above fourscore years old whose very age ought to have bin protection enough from such an Affront Good luck it was for Beber after such a rash action committed that I was well known at Brampour having been there ten or twelve times and in some of my Travels having dealt for above 200000 Roupies There were none of the Cheraffs with whom I had not dealt by Letters of Exchange and very few Merchants or Brokers who had not had some business or other upon my accompt They cry'd out speaking of me See there the Monsieur Franqui with whom we have dealt so often yet never heard him give us an ill word Another good chance he had to meet there the Coutevall's Lieutenant and three Merchants of Surat and thus between us having disingag'd Beber out of the Brabble wherein he had so sillily bemir'd himself we made him get into my Coach and so packt him out of the City I follow'd him two hours after for had he staid longer in Brampour I believe the Faquirs and Derviches would have beat out his brains For he was no sooner gone but a great number of that sort of rabble came to the Inn crying out Where was that Dog of a Cafer that had beaten the Cheraff Thereupon seeing the Multitude encrease I stole out of the Town without saying a word and rid on till I got three leagues from Brampour to an old Town call'd Badelpoura where I overtook Beber who had hir'd a Coach made after the fashion of the Country It was but reason that I should have my own Coach to sleep in in the night For though in all places where you come to lye in the night the Indians will offer you a little bed to lye on yet in regard the rains were but just over the bedsteads were so full of Puhies that there was no resting These Punies are ingender'd by the moisture which the rains that fall for four months together cause in those Countries Which being over and the Sun recovering its wonted heat the women carry forth their beds every morning and beating them well with good big sticks never leave till the Punies fall to the ground and there turning up their bellies presently dye These beds consist of four feet and four round stayes as broad and as long as you please To the staves are fasten'd girths about four fingers broad which are much more commodious than the bottoms of
our beds that are plank'd with Deal or other wood Over the girths they only lay a single Coverlet or Sheet which is a manner of lying easie enough considering the heat of the Country The fourth day after our departure from Brampour being near a great Town call'd Semqueles in a flat Country we perceiv'd all the Plain cover'd with Tents It appear'd to be the Camp of one of the chief Kans or Lords whom the Great Mogull had sent with 50000 men against the Rebel Raja Sevagi This Lord understanding who we were very civilly sent us Melons and Mango's and bid his Officers tell us withal that we were out of all danger and might safely pursue our journey Whatever I could say to Beber to perswade him that it was but an act of civility and good manners to wait upon the Prince I could by no means engage him I seeing his impertinency shifted my habit and sent one of my servants to the Camp to learn whether the Kan drank Wine and understanding that he did I took a bottle of Spanish and another of Schirus Wine and a small pocket Pistol delicately embellish'd with silver and with this small Present away I went to wait upon the General Being come into his Presence I excus'd Beber as not being well and immediately presented him the little Pistol which he took and bid me charge being desirous to try it After he had shot it off said he to his Lords that stood by Now must we confess these Franqui's to be ingenious This man sees that I am going to the Wars and presents me wherewithal to desend my life Then casting his eyes upon the little Hamper where the Bottles were he ask'd what it was They told him in his Ear. Oh said he looking at the same time upon two or three Mim Bachi's or Colonels that were present This Franqui Gentleman has given me a bottle of Wine well we must drink it for I find I shall please him in so doing When the Mollah's heard him talk of Wine they slunk away which made the Kan laugh heartily These are Agi's quoth he they have bin Pilgrims to Mecca and never drink Wine after they come home again Having taken my leave he sent me a Pomere which is a kind of Scarf that may also serve for a Girdle It was made of white Sattin with flow'rs of Gold and might be worth about a hundred Roupies He that brought it told me I should do the Kan a great kindness to send him another bottle of Wine thereupon I sent him two of three which was all my store He sent me six Horsemen to conduct us three days journey till we had pass'd a great River that flows from the Mountains of the South which washing the City of Baroche from whence it takes its Name falls into the Bay of Cambay When we came to our last stage which is a great Town call'd Barnoli from whence it is but 14 Leagues to Surat Beber sent one of his Hirelings to give notice thereof to Father Ambrose When the News came the Father went with the Aleppo Merchant often already mention'd to borrow the English President 's Coaches and there were about 15 or 16 more Coaches all in a train with several Horsemen and Merchant Banians that made hast to meet the Deputy This happen'd upon the first of November 1666. They carri'd with them Provision enough to make merry and every Banian had his Present ready For my part I as soon as I had saluted the Father Capuchin I went directly to my Lodging where I had left two Servants to take care of a Sum of Money which I had receiv'd of the King of Persia unwilling to hazard it upon the Road. For in whatever part of the Indies I came I had credit enough to buy without Money I only gave my Bills for payment at Agra Visapour Golconda or Surat where I generally left my Money as having receiv'd it there for the most part of the Lords or Kings of the Country As for Beber he was no Changeling the follies that he committed are too numerous to be related but how he began the year 1667 is not to be omitted M. Thevenot upon his return from Madraspatan and Golconda lodg'd in the Capuchins house Beber going to visit him told him that the Capuchins were the Hollanders Spies and that he had often advis'd Father Ambrose to break with them and not to go any more to their House That while he frequented their Society the French Company would be sure to find some obstacle in their Trade when the Ships should arrive and that if the Hollanders had not been at Agra they might have done what they pleas'd with the King That the hundred thousand Roupies which they had presented to the King and Grandees of the Court had hinder'd them from obtaining what they design'd By which it appear'd he understood not the humour of the Hollanders for they are not so liberal nor would all their tricks or presents have any thing avail'd them the Great Mogul being desirous that all Nations should be welcome to his Dominions especially Merchants as well they that import little as they that bring in much M. Thevenot told him that he had never observ'd so much of the Hollanders in all his travels for if it were true that they had such a desire to hinder the Trade of other Nations they would not afford them passage in their Ships or to put their Goods aboard as they often did Moreover they send away many times one or two Ships according to the quantity laden all with strangers Goods from Maslipatan or Surat in which Ships there is not oft-times so much as one Bale belonging to the Company And this added he is farther observable That they afford their Freight cheaper then the English or any other Nation who have Ships in these parts Thus Monsieur Thevenot endeavour'd to convince M. Beber who would have had Father Ambrose have fallen out with the Hollanders But he knew better things then to disoblige persons to whom he was so much beholding as he was every day For every week they allow'd the house a certain quantity of Bread and Meat and upon Fast-days sent them Fish Eggs Brandy and Wine which were no such unkindnesses to be quarrell'd with Monsieur Thevenot at the same time told Beber that he should do well to repay Father Ambrose the Money which he had borrow'd to pay for the Coach which he had broken to serve him as also that which he had given the Seamen for trying if they could discover the Companies Vessels upon the Coast But he turn'd his deaf ear to that discourse and would never be persuaded to reimburse the Money which Father Ambrose laid out for him Monsieur Thevenot perceiving his unwillingness and pressing him to do things handsomly put him into such a chase that he fell a swearing after such a violent rate in a Parlour that was parted only by a thin board from the
where the Cloves grow giving them in exchange Rice and other necessaries for the support of life without which they would starve being very sadly provided for When the Natives of Macassar are thus furnish'd of Cloves they barter them in Exchange for such Commodities as are brought them sometimes they give Tortoise-Shells in exchange and Gold Dust by which the Merchant gains six or seven in the hundred being better than the Money of the Island though it be Gold by reason the King oft-times enhances the value of it The places where Cloves grow are Amboyna Ellias Seram and Bouro The Islands of Banda also in number six viz. Nero Lontour Poulcay Roseguin and Grenapuis bear Nutmegs in great abundance The Island of Grenapuis is about six Leagues in compass and ends in a sharp point where there is a continual fire burning out of the earth The Island Damme where there grows great store of Nutmegs and very big was discover'd in the year 1647 by Abel Tasman a Dutch Commander The Price of Cloves and Nutmegs as I have known them sold to the Hollanders at Surat was as follows The Mein of Surat contains forty Serres which make thirty-four of our Pounds at sixteen Ounces to the Pound A Mein of Cloves was sold for a hundred and three Mamoudi's and a half A Mein of Mace was sold for a hundred and fifty-seven Mamoudi's and a half Nutmegs for fifty-six Mamoudi's and a half Cinnamon comes at present from the Island of Ceylan The Tree that bears it is very much like the Willow and has three Barks They never take off but the first and second which is accounted the best They never meddle with the third for should the Knife enter that the Tree would dye So that it is an art to take off the Cinnamon which they learn from their youth The Cinnamon Spice is much dearer to the Hollanders then people think for the King of Ceylan otherwise call'd King of Candy from the name of his principal City being a sworn Enemy to the Hollanders sends his Forces with an intention to surprize them when they gather their Cinnamon so that they are forc'd to bring seven or eight hundred men together to defend as many more that are at work Which great expence of theirs very much enhances the price of the Cinnamon There grows upon the Cinnamon Tree a certain fruit like an Olive though not to be eaten This the Portugals were wont to put into a Caldron of Water together with the tops of the Branches and boil'd it till the Water was all consum'd When it was cold the upper part became a Paste like white Wax of which they made Tapers to set up in their Churches for no sooner were the Tapers lighted but all the Church was perfum'd Formerly the Portugals brought Cinnamon out of other Countries belonging to the Raja's about Cochin But the Hollanders have destroy'd all those places so that the Cinnamon is now in their hands When the Portugals had that Coast the English bought their Cinnamon of them and usually paid for it by the Mein fifty Mamoudi's Drugs that are brought to Surat and brought from other Countries with the price of every one by the Mein Salt Armoniack according to the usual price costs by the Mein twenty Mamoudi's Borax comes unrefin'd from Amadabat as does Salt Armoniack and costs by the Mein thirty-five Mamoudi's Gum-Lack seven Mamoudi's and a half Gum-Lack wash'd ten Mamoudi's Gum-Lack in sticks of Wax forty Mamoudi's There are some of these Sticks that cost fifty or sixty Mamoudi's the Mein and more when they mix Musk in the Gum. Saffron of Surat which is good for nothing but for colouring four Mamoudi's and a half Cumin White eight Mamoudi's Cumin Black three Mamoudi's Arlet small three Mamoudi's Frankincense that comes from the Coast of Arabia three Mamoudi's Myrrh that which is good call'd Mirra Gilet thirty Mamoudi's Myrrh Bolti which comes from Arabia fifteen Mamoudi's Cassia two Mamoudi's Sugar Candy eighteen Mamoudi's Asutinat a sort of Grain very hot one Mamoudi Annise-seed gross three Mamoudi's and a half Annise-seed small and hot one Mamoudi and a half Oupelote a Root fourteen Mamoudi's Cointre five Mamoudi's Auzerout from Persia a hundred and twenty Mamoudi's Alloes Succotrine from Arabia twenty eight Mamoudi's Licorice four Mamoudi's Lignum Aloes in great pieces two hundred Mamoudi's Lignum Aloes in small pieces four hundred Mamoudi's Vez-Cabouli a certain Root twelve Mamoudi's There is a sort of Lignum Aloes very Gummy which comes to by the Mein four thousand Mamoudi's Gum-Lake for the most part comes from Pegu yet there is some also brought from Bengala where it is very dear by reason the Natives fetch that lively Scarlet colour out of it with which they paint their Calicuts Nevertheless the Hollanders buy it and carry it into Persia for the same use of painting That which remains after the colour is drawn off is only fit to make sealing Wax That which comes from Pegu is not so dear though as good for other Countries The difference is only this that it is not so clean in Pegu where the Pismires foul it as in Bengala where it grows in a heathy place full of Shrubs where those Animals cannot so well come at it The Inhabitants of Pegu never make any use of it in painting being a dull sort of people that are in nothing at all industrious The Women of Surat get their livings by cleansing the Lake after the Scarlet colour is drawn from it After that they give it what colour they please and make it up into Sticks for sealing Wax The English and Holland Company carry away every year a hundred and fifty Chests The price is about ten Pence the pound Powder'd Sugar is brought in great quantities out of the Kingdom of Bengala it causes also a very great Trade at Ougeli Patna Daca and other places I have been told it for a very great certainty by several ancient people in Bengala that Sugar being kept thirty years becomes absolute poison and that there is no Venom more dangerous or that sooner works its effect Loaf-Sugar is also made at Amadabat where they are perfectly skill'd in refining it for which reason it is call'd Sugar Royal. These Sugar-Loaves usually weigh from eight to ten pound Opium is brought from Brampour a Town of good Trade between Agra and Surat The Hollanders buy great quantities which they truck for their Pepper Tobacco also grows in abundance round about Brampour sometimes there has been so much that the Natives have let vast quantities rot upon the ground for want of gathering Coffee grows neither in Persia nor in India where it is in no request but the Hollanders drive a great Trade in it transporting it from Ormus into Persia as far as Great Tartary from Balsara into Chaldea Arabia Mesopotamia and the other Provinces of Turky It was first found out by a Hermite whose name was Sheck-Siadeli about twenty years ago