away our baggage The Ambassadors follow'd the next day and three days after viz. the 10. we came to Reuel vvhence we stirr'd not for the space of three weeks But considering at last that the Baltick Sea was not Navigable that time of the year and being withal unwilling to stay there the rest of the Winter vve conceiv'd it vvould be our best course to be gone thence with the soonest and to prosecute our journey by Land through Prussia Pomerania and Mecklenbourg The Ambassadors left Reuel Ian. 30. having tabled most of their retinue with Mr. Henry Kosen and vvith a retinue of ten persons took their way to Riga The two first nights vve pass'd over at Kegel a house belonging to Iohn Muller Counsellor of the City of Reuel my Father-in-law vvhere vve vvere very vvell entertain'd Feb. 2. vve came to Parnau at vvhich place God was pleased to favour me with a great deliverance vvhich vvas thus discharging their Canon at our entrance the Tampion which they had forgotten to take out of one of the pieces pass'd very near me and struck against the vvall of the City Gate where it broke the splinters of it flying about my head with such violence that being stunn'd thereby it was half an hour ere I recover'd my self The City of Parnau is but a small one but hath a good Castle built of wood and after the Muscovian fortification to which the Houses the Gates and the Churches are suitable It is seated upon the little River of Parnau of Parnou which gives it the name and which rising out of the great Forrest near the little River Beca and the Castle of Weissenstein and receiving in its passage the waters of the Rivers Fela and Pernkeia disembougues it self into the Baltick Sea near this City which is divided into two parts the Old and the New 'T is numbred among the Hanseatick Towns though it hath not in a manner any other Commerce than that of Wheat Eric K. of Sueden took it from the Poles in the year 1562. but they recovered it again by stratagem in the year 1565. The Muscovites became Masters of it Iuly 9. 1575. but it was re-united to the Crown of Poland with the rest of Livonia by the Treaty of Peace made between that Crown and the Great Duke In the year 1617. the Suedes took it and have kept it ever since We met there with the Countess Dowager La Tour named Magdalene of the house of Hardek in Austria The Ambassadors sent me with tvvo more of our retinue to complement her and to make proffers of service to her in their names She took it so kindly that not content to make us drink his Highnesse's health three times over she forc'd us to take the bovvls out of her ovvn hands and in the mean time entertain'd us vvith much excellent discourse in commendation of his Highness and that Embassy as also concerning the manners and Religion of the Muscovites vvith a svveetness and gravity vvhich cannot vvell be express'd She vvould needs have the young Counts Christian and Henry her sons go to the Inn vvhere the Ambassadors vvere Lodg'd to complement them vvhich the young Lords perform'd handsomly and to heighten their civility they also stay'd Supper vvith them The next day the Countess sent us all manner of Provisions and Letters for Count Mathew Henry de la Tour her father-in-lavv She sent also to desire the Ambassadors to recommend her sons to his Highness and to assure him of their services when they should be of an age and in a capacity to do him any As we were getting on hors-back our Host shew'd himself an honest man and refus'd to take our money telling us the Countess had sent in most of the Provisions for the Ambassadors Supper and that the rest was not worth the reckoning so that to require his sincerity we gave him twenty Crowns But we were not got a League off the City ere we were overtaken by a man he had sent to return us our money and to tell us the Present was too small in requital of the trouble we had given him We sent back our Harbinger with the Messenger who gave the Host twelve Crowns more wherewith he seem'd to be satisfy'd The 6. We enter'd Riga The next day the Governour visited the Ambassadors and the 10. he made a great Feast for them to which he invited the chiefest of the City Some days following were also spent in Feasting among some or other of our friends Febr. 13. The Ambassadors left Riga having in their Company a certain Ambassador of France who was called Charles de Tallerand and assum'd the quality of Marquess of Exidueil Prince of Chalais Count of Grignol Baron of Marueil and Boswille Lewis xiii King of France and Navarre had sent him with Iames Roussel upon an Embassy into Turky and Muscovy But Roussel his Collegue had done him such ill Offices with the Patriarch that the Great Duke sent him to Siberia where he continu'd three years a prisoner till such time as the malice and artifices of Roussel who endeavour'd nothing so much as to inflame the differences between the Princes being discover'd he was set at liberty after the Partiarch's death During his restraint his diversion had been to learn by heart the four first books of Vergil's Aeneids which he had as they say ad unguen He was a person of an excellent good humour aged about 36. years We took our way through Courland and came the 4. about noon to Mittau This little City is situated in that part of Courland which is called Semgalles six Leagues from Riga and it is the place where the Duke ordinarily resides The Dutchy of Courland was some time part of Livonia from which it is divided by the River Dune but all this Province having been miserably ruin'd by the Suedes and Muscovites and the Archbishop of Riga and the Master of the Teutonick Order having submitted to the Crown of Poland with all they were still possess'd of there Sigismond Augustus King of Poland rais'd Courland to a Dutchy and gave it to Godard Ketler of Nesselrot last Master of the Teutonick Order in Livonia to be held immediately from the Crown of Poland Godard dies May 17. 1587. leaving by Anne the Daughter of Albert Duke of Meklenbourg two sons Frederick who died without issue and William who succeeded his brother in the Dutchy of Courland This William having been dispossess'd by Sigismond III. and the States of Poland was forc'd to live in Exile till that upon the mediation of several Foreign Princes he was re-establish'd in the year 1619. During the first War between Poland and Sueden the City of Mittau was taken by the Suedes who fortifi'd it and restor'd it not to the Duke of Courland till oblig'd thereto by a Cessation agreed on between those two Crowns in the year 1629. William's son who now hath the Dutchy and assumes the quality
very antient and yet it cannot be certainly affirm'd whether it was built by the Dukes of Pomerania or by the Danes since it seems to have its name from the later It was a long time possess'd by the Dukes of Pomerania and afterwards by the Kings of Poland and by the Masters of the Teutonick Order in Prussia In the year 1454 it redeem'd it self out of subjection to the Order and made a voluntary rendition of it self to Casimir King of Poland It is situated in Cassuba upon the Vistula and Rodauna which they say is the Eridanus of the Antients because in that place there is found much yellow amber and near the Moslava which falls into the Vistula a quarter of a league below the City But the River is so shallow there that great Ships cannot come up to the City Towards the West it hath several mounts of sand which they were forc'd to bring within the fortifications because they commanded the city though Canon cannot be discharg'd to any great purpose when they shoot point-blank downwards and that there would not have been space enough between the mount and the ditch to put forces in order and to give an assault Towards the South and North it hath a pleasant Plain and on the East the River It is well built but the streets not over-clean The publick Structures are magnificent and those of private persons very commodious and handsome On the other side of the Moslava lies part of the Suburbs called Schotland or Scotland as large as a pretty little City but it depends not on the City of Dantsig but on the Bishop of Cujavia It hath its seat and suffrage in the Diets of Poland even in those which are called for the election of the King 'T is one of the four Cities which have the superintendency of all the Teutonick Association or Hanseatick Towns and hath so many other Privileges that though it contributes to Poland and gives the King half the duties raised there yet does it in a manner enjoy an absolute freedome There is so great a Commerce of Wheat in this City that it is thought there are sold every year above seven hundred and thirty thousand Tuns whereof two make a Last The Magistracy consists of fourteen Senators and four Burgomasters whereto are to be added the Governour appointed by the King of Poland some Escheuins or Sheriffs for civil and criminal causes and a hundred Counsellors for affairs of importance Criminal causes are finally judged without admitting any appeal as also Civil not exceeding a thousand Livers It makes Statutes and imposes taxes upon the Inhabitants according to the exigencies of publick Affairs without staying for any superiour Permission and regulates the exercise of those Religions that are permitted by the Laws of the Empire March 16. We left Dantsig and came the 25 to Stetin the chief City of Pomerania is at 53 deg 27. min. latitude and 38 d. 45. m. longitude seated in a very pleasant place upon the descent of a Hill The River Oder divides it self there into four branches whereof that which runs by the City keeps its name the others taking those of Parnits and the greater and lesser Kegelitz and straggles so as that to come to the City from Dam-side a man must pass over six bridges which put together are in length 996 German ells and 24 foot broad and are all joyn'd by a noble Causey well paved and having in the middle a Royal Fort. The structures of it are beautiful and it is excellently well fortify'd especially since the Suedes became Masters of it Iohn Frederick Duke of Pomerania in the year 1575. laid the first foundations of the sumptuous Palace which is there built after the Italian Architecture with very noble appartements where before these last Warrs there were worth the seeing a noble Library a Magazine of Arms many rarities and the rich Wardrop and Plate of the Dukes of Pomerania 'T is one of the Hanseatick Towns and enjoyes many great Privileges among others that of obliging strangers to disburthen in the City all the Merchandises which pass through it what nature soever they are of as also that the Gentlemen thereabouts cannot build any Castle or strong place any way within three Leagues from it nay that the Dukes of Pomerania themselves cannot build any Fort upon the Oder or the Suine or upon the Frishaf between that and the Sea But this advantage is lost by it's coming into the hands of the Suedes Mar. 29. being easter-Easter-day we came to Rostock a City seated on the River Warne in the Dutchy of Meklâ—nbourg where heretofore lived the people called the Varini Pribisâ—i II. the son of Niclot last Prince of the Obotrites incompass'd it with a wall in the year 1160. and made it a City out of the ruins of that of Kessin which Henry le Lyon Duke of Saxony had destroy'd It s Port is not commodious in regard Vessels of burthen are forc'd to unload at Warnemunde two Leagues below the City at the mouth of the River The City is handsome enough having three great Market-places 27 streets 14 little gates and four great gates It s University is one of the most antient in all Germany and was founded by Iohn and Albert Cousin-Germans Dukes of Mecklenbourg who together with the Magistrate opened it in the year 1419. Among its Professors are many very great Persons of whom one was Albert Crantz Rector of it in the year 1482. This City having been taken by the Imperialists in the year 1629. with all the rest of the Dutchy of Mecklenbourg the late King of Sueden Gustavus Adolphus besieg'd it in the year 1631. and took it the 16. of Octob. the same year The 30. of March we left Rostock and came the same day to Wismar seven Leagues Those who say this City was built by Wismar King of the Vandals about the year 340. tell a fabulous story whereof the vanity is so much the more visible in that it is certain that it was no City till Henry of Ierusalem Duke of Mecklenbourg made it such by the privileges he bestow'd on it in the year 1266. It is near as big as Rostock and its Port which no doubt is one of the best upon the Baltick Sea brings it very great Traffick It s situation being amidst Fenns and upon the Sea is very advantageous and its Citadel fortify'd with five regular Bastions makes it one of the most considerable places in all Germany Adolphus Frederick Duke of Mecklenbourg and General Todt took it Ian. 10. 1632. from Colonel Gramma who had the command of it for the D. of Fridland ever since which time the Suedes have kept it as one of the most precious Jewels of their Crown The last of March we came to the Castle of Schonberg belonging to the Duke of Mecklenbourg where some friends of our Comrade Iohn Albert de Mandelslo received us and treated us very nobly For my part I am
came to Desan and at night to Mokriza a Village 8 leagues from Tzuerin The 11. We came to Novogorod At the entrance of the City the Pristaf took precedence of the Ambassadors though they endeavour'd to hinder him But as soon as we were lodg'd he desir'd the Interpreter to excuse the incivility he had been guilty of and to satisfie the Ambassadors that what he had done was by express order from the Weywode who would have done him some ill Office about the Great Duke if he had not obey'd him From Narva to Novogorod are counted 40 German leagues thence to Plescou 36. and to Moscou 120. leagues Novogorod is situated upon the River Wolgda at 58 degrees 23 min. elevation Lundorp in his Continuation of Sleidan puts it at 62. and Paulus Iovius at 64 degrees but at the exact observation I made of it on the 15 of March 1636. I found that at noon the Sun was above the Horizon 33 degr 45 min. and that the declination of the Sun by reason of the Leap-year because of 55. degr was 2 degr and 8 min. which being substracted out of the elevation of the Sun that of the Equinoctial line could be but 31 degr 27 min. which taken out of 90 degr there remains but 58 degrees 23 minutes Which almost agrees with the calculation made of it by Bureus some time Ambassador for the Crown of Sueden in Muscovy who puts the City of Novogorod at 58 degrees 13 minutes It is seated in a spacious plain upon the River Wolgda or Wolchou which hath its rise out of the Lake of Ilmen half a league above this City and crossing the Lake of Ladoga does in its way pass through the River Niova near Notebourg and by the Gulf of Finland falls into the Baltick Sea It abounds with all sorts of fish especially Breme which are there excellent good and very cheap But the greatest advantage accrews to this City from this River is by Commerce For being Navigable from its very source and the Country abounding in Wheat Flax Hemp Honey Wax and Russia Leather which is better dress'd at Novogorod than in any other City of Muscovy the easiness of the transportation of these Commodities brought thither not only the Livonians and Suedes who are Neighbours but also Danes Germans and Flemmings who setled themselves there so well that it was without dispute the greatest City for Trade in all the North. The Hanseatick Towns had an Office of Address in this City which enjoying many great Privileges under its Prince who had no dependance on the Great Duke was grown so powerful that it grew into a Proverb Ochto Moschet stoiati protif Bocho dai welik Novogorod Who can oppose God and the great City of Novogorod Some would compare it for greatness with Rome but they are mistaken For though it be called Weliki Novogorod the great Novogorod yet can it not be compar'd to Rome It 's not unlikely it hath been greater than it is now not only because it was the greatest for Commerce of any in the North but also for that all about may be seen the ruins of Walls and several Steeples which no doubt had been part of the City The number of its Steeples promises yet somewhat more great and noble than what may be now seen since that coming to the City we see onely VValls of VVood and Houses built with Beams lay'd one upon another Vithold Great Duke of Lithuania and General of the Polish Army was the first that in the year 1427. oblig'd it to pay a considerable Tribute which some would have amount to 100000 Roubles which come to above 200000 Crowns The Tyrant Iohn Basili Grotsdin having after a seven years War gain'd a great victory over an Army rais'd by this City in the moneth of November 1477 forc'd the Inhabitants to submission and to receive a Governour from him but considering withall that he could not make himself as absolute as he would be there and that it would be hard for him to settle himself there by force he thought it best to go thither in person pretending some concernments of Religion and that he would prevent their embracing the Roman Catholick The Archbishop Theophilus who had most authority there was the most forward to promote his design and the first rewarded for his pains For no sooner was the Tyrant got into the City but he pillag'd it so that at his departure thence he carry'd away three hundred Wagons loaden with Gold Silver and Jewels besides the rich stuffs and other sumptuous moveables which he dispos'd into other Wagons and convey'd to Moscou whither he also transported the Inhabitants and sent Muscovites thither in their stead But nothing contributed more to the destruction of this Citie than the bruitish cruelty of Iohn Basilouits Great Duke of Muscovy This Tyrant upon a meer suspition he had conceiv'd of the Inhabitants of Novogorod enter'd the City in the year 1569. and caus'd to be kill'd or cast into the River 2770. persons without any respect of quality age or sex besides an Infinite number of poor people who were trampled to death by a party of horse A Gentleman sent by the King of Denmark to this Tyrant eight years after the taking of the City relates in his Itinerary that persons of quality had assur'd him that there were so many bodies cast into Wolgda that the River stopping overflow'd all the neighbouring fields The Plague which soon follow'd this cruelty was so great that no body venturing to bring in Provisions the Inhabitants fed on the dead Carcasses The Tyrant took a pretence from this inhumanity to cause to be cut in pieces all those who had escap'd the Plague Famine and his former cruelty which was no doubt more dreadful than all the other chastisements of God I shall allege onely two Examples relating to Novogorod The Archbishop of this place having escap'd the first fury of the Soldiery either as an acknowledgement of the favour or to flatter the Tyrant entertains him at a great Feast in his Archiepiscopal Place whither the Duke fayl'd not to come with his Guard about him but while they were at Dinner he sent to pillage the rich Temple of St. Sophia and all the Treasures of the other Churches which had been brought thither as to a place of safety After Dinner he caus'd the Archbishops Palace to be in like manner pillaged and told the Archbishop that it would be ridiculous for him to act the Prelate any longer since he had not to bear himself out in that quality that he must put off his rich habit which must thence-forward be troublesome to him and that he would bestow on him a Bagpipe and a Bear which he should lead up and down and teach to dance to get mony That he must resolve to marry and that all the other Prelates and Abbots that were about the City should be invited to the Wedding setting down the precise sum which it was his pleasure
out of that persecution Petition'd the Czaar to protect them against the outrages and affronts they dayly received On the other side the Priests complained that strangers built on their foundations and lessened the revenue of the livings so that the Great Duke to please both sides assigned them without the City near the Gate called Pokrofki a place big enough to contain all the Houses of Foreiners who immediately demolish'd those they had in the City and in a short time made up that part of the Suburbs which is called Nova Inasemska Slaboda where the Lutherans have two Churches and those of the Reformation two more one for the Dutch and the other for the English and where they have this further satisfaction that they converse but little with the Muscovites and are out of all danger of those frequent fires which commonly begin in the houses of those barbarous Christians The Lutherans and those of the Reformed Religion live very quietly together and the Muscovites Trade indifferently with either but they have so great an aversion for the Roman Catholicks that they would never grant them a Toleration of their Religion in Muscovy In the year 1627. the late King of France proposed by Louis des Hayes a Treaty for the regulation of Commerce with the French and at the same time for a Church where they might have Mass said but it was deny'd And in the first War of Smolensko they would not entertain Catholick Souldiers Nay in the Treaty they made with us for our passage into Persia it is an express Article that we should not take any Roman Catholicks into our retinue So that it is much to be admired that they should call to the Crown Vladislaus Prince of Poland and Sueden though that Election came to nothing for reasons into which it is beside the subject of our Relation to enquire as it is also into those which may be given of the Animosity of the Muscovites against the Roman Catholicks whereof the grounds are to be searched for in Ecclesiastical History which hath nothing common with the Relation of our Travels the prosecution whereof is the business of the following book THE TRAVELS OF THE AMBASSADORS FROM THE DUKE of HOLSTEIN INTO MUSCOVY TARTARY and PERSIA The Fourth Book LEaving Moscou wâ— weâ—â— by Land as far as the Monastery of Simana where we embark'd after we had taken leave of our Friends who had accompany'd us thither under the conduct of a Pristaf named Rodiwon Matfeowits who had order to provide for the Ambassadors as far as Astrachan We had hardly quitted the shore ere the Governor of the Prince Boris Iuanouits Morosou came in sight with his Trumpets and intreated us to come ashore and favour him so far as to sup with him that night But the Ambassadors earnest to be on their Voyage excused themselves and sent him by way of Present a silver Bowl He receiv'd it in a little Boat which came along by the side of ours and express'd how kindly he took it by the flourishes of his Trumpets But at last not able to contain any longer he came into our Boat where he staid all night drinking with the Gentlemen at his parting from whom the next morning he could hardly forbear tears Our Muscovian Mariners whom the Aquavitae they had taken had made more lively and lusty than ordinary took such pains in the mean time being always eight a-rowing that the next morning at Sun-rising we were got as far as a pleasant Country house called Duoreninou seated on the left side of the River 80 Werstes which make 16 German leagues from Simana At night we got 40 werstes or 8 German leagues from Duoreninou to a Village called Mortschuck so that in 24 hours we made so many German leagues The next day Iuly 2. about noon near the Village and Monastery of Porsenis we met with several great Boats loaden with Honey Salt and Salt-fish coming most of them from Astrachan bound for Moscou At night we were come before the City of Columna It lies on the right side of the River Mosca 180 werstes or 36 German leagues from Moscou though by Land there is but 18. which may be travell'd in a short time especially in the Winter upon the snow The City is of a considerable bigness and looks very delightful on the out-side by reason of its Towers and stone-walls which are not ordinary in Muscovy Nay it is indeed of that accompt that the Great Duke hath his Weywode there which is not seen but in the chief Cities of Provinces We sent him our Pass-port by the Pristaf and immediately the wooden Bridge was full of people and whereas the covering of our Boat was too high to pass under the Bridge they in a trice took off one of the Arches to make us way We said in the fore-going Book that there is but one Bishop in all Muscovy and that his Residence is in this City of Columna Three werstes above the City near the Convent of Kolutin Serge Monastir founded by one Sergius a Saint among them whom we have spoken of elsewhere and who is buried at the Monastery of Troitza the Mosca falls into the River Occa which is incomparably much more delightful and broader than the other It comes from-wards the South and hath on both sides it a noble Country well peopled and very fruitful Both shores are well furnish'd with Oaks which is a kind of rarity in those parts Being got ashore we had a Sermon under a great Tree which sufficiently shaded the whole Assembly Presently after Dinner we embark'd and left about half a league on the left hand a great Island in the midst of the River Afterwards we pass'd by several Villages namely those of Scelsa and Moroso which are bigger than any of the rest and both upon the River side on the right hand The 4. about noon we got to the City of Peresla seated upon the River side upon the right hand 22. leagues and a half from Columna at 54. degrees 42. minutes elevation This hath also its particular Weywode The 5. we left on our right hand the Town of Rhesan It was heretofore a gallant City and had given its name to the whole Province but the Crim-Tartars destroy'd it with the whole Dutchy in the year 1568. The Great Duke considering the fertility of the Country which reaches from the River Occa as far as the Trench made against the irruption of the Tartars got together such of the Inhabitants as the invasion of the Barbarians had dispers'd and having caused Materials to be brought to a place eight leagues from it he ordered the building of a City there which to this day is called Peresla Resanski because there went thither many of the Inhabitants of Peresla which stands at an equal distance from Moscou North-wards with this South-wards The Town of Rhesan still keeps the honour of having the Residence of the Archibishop but we are to
is reported that the ruins of that City became the foundation of that of Schiras upon the River Bendemir which Q. Curtius calls Araxis It s principal Cities besides that of Schiras whereof there will be an accompt given in the following Travels of Mr. Mandelslo into the Indies are Kasirus Bunitzan Firusabath and Astar whereto may be added the City of Lahor with the little Province which derives its name from it The Province of Sciruan is known in the Maps under the name of Servan and is no doubt that which the Antients called Media Acropatia though Ienkinson in his Itinerary affirms that it is the antient Hyrcania It is indeed the most Northerly part of the antient Media which Herodotus and Strabo deliver to be Mountainous and Cold. Whereof we had a sufficient experience in our Travels after our departure from Schamachie as will be seen in its due place Schamachie is the Metropolis of the Province wherein there are besides Bakuje seated at the foot of a Mountain upon the Caspian-sea which from its name is called the sea of Baku That of Derbent which is one of the Passages which the Antients called Pylae Caspiae This is that which Alexander the Great caused to be built and called Alexandria upon which accompt it is that the Inhabitants do often call it Schacher Iunan that is the City of the Greeks That of Schabran in the Country of Muskur near the place where the wrack cast us ashore The City of Ere 's or Aras is destroyed but there may be seen the remainders of what it hath been heretofore upon the River Arras which is now called Arisbar The Province of Iran which the Inhabitants of the Country commonly and for the most part called Karabag is seated between the two famous Rivers of Araxes and Cyrus which are now called Aras and Rur and comprehends some part of the two Provinces of Armenia and Georgia which the Persians call Armenich and Gurtz It is one of the noblest and richest Provinces of all Persia and in this particularly that it produces more Silk than any other It is sub-divided into several other lesser Provinces to wit those of Kappan Tzulfa Scabus Sisian Keschtas Sarsebil Ervan or Iruan Kergbulag Agustawa Aberan Scorgd Saschat Intze Thabak-melek Thumanis Alget and Tzilder The principal Cities Forts and Towns of it are Berde Bilagan Skemkur Kentze Berkuschat Nachtscuan Ordebad Bajesied Maku Magasburt Tiftis and Tzilder This great Province might very well deserve a larger account to be given of it but in regard it borders upon the Turk and that I have been so fortunate as to meet with a very accurate Map of this Country together with a particular relation of what ever is most observable therein we shall endeavour to find else-where some occasion to speak of a thing which to treat of in this place would make too great a Digression Adirbeitzan which the Europaeans are wont to name Aderbajon or Adarbigian is the more Southerly part of the Antient Media to wit that part which the Antients call Media Major And forasmuch as it is acknowledg'd that the Province of Kurdestan is that which the Antients call'd Assyria we may in some measure be satisfy'd with what Nubius's Geography says to wit that it is the more Northerly part of Assyria since they have their Frontiers common and in a manner confounded It is divided from the Province of Schiruan by the Deserts of Mokan and from that of Karabag by the River Aras and it hath on the East the Province of Kilan Adirbeitzan is also sub-divided into many other little Provinces as Erschee Meschkin Kermeruth Scrab Chalchal Tharumat Suldus Vtzam c. It s principal Cities are Ardâ—bil and Tauris The former is famous for the Birth of Schich Sefi Author of the Sect of the Perses who liv'd and dy'd in that City where his Tomb is yet to be seen as also those of several other Kings of Persia of whom we shall have occasion to speak hereafter The City of Tauris or Tabris which is thought to be that of Gabris according to Ptolomey and which Ortelius affirms to be the antient Ecbatana heretofore the most considerable place in all the East and the ordinary residence of the Kings of Persia is seated at the foot of the Mountain Orontes eight dayes journey from the Caspian Sea and is one of the richest and most populous Cities of Persia. The rest are Merrague Salmas Choi Miane Karniarug Thesu Thel and Tzeuster Tzors and Vrami are two places excellently well fortify'd and in the latter is to be seen the Sepulchre of â—urla the Wife of King Casan which if it bears any proportion to the stature of that Woman she must needs have been a Giantess and of an extraordinary height since the Tomb is above forty foot long The Province of Kilan derives its name from the people that inhabit it who are called Kilek It is the antient Hyrcania For its situation absolutely agrees with that which is given it by Quintus Curtius and that it is encompass'd after the manner of a Crescent with a Mountain cover'd with Trees It is water'd by many little Rivers It comprehends several other Provinces among which some number that of Thabristan or Mesauderan which is the same with that whose Inhabitants in the time of Alexander the Great were called Mardi The rest are Kisilagas Deschteuend Maranku Maschican Lengerkunan Astara Buladi Schigkeran Nokeran Kilikeraa Houe Lemur Disekeran Lissar Tzeulandan Rihk Kesker Rescht Lahetzan and Astarabath containing forty six Cities and a very great number of Villages The principal Cities are Astrabath Metropolis of the Province of the same name and Firascu where may be had the fairest Turquoises in the Kingdome In Mesanderan are Amul Funkabun Nei Sarou Nourketzour and the noble and pleasant City of Ferabath It was heretofore called Tahona but Schach Abas was so pleas'd with it that many times he pass'd over the Winter therein and gave it the name it now hath from the word Fâ—rah which signifies pleasant or delightful Indeed the whole Country is such so that they who affirm that fruits hardly ripen in it by reason of its coldness injure it very much unless it be that they speak of its Mountains which indeed are not habitable but the plains are very populous and very fertile and so pleasant that the Persians say it is the Garden of the Kingdome as Touraine is of France Whence the Hakim or Poet Fardausi had reason to say Tschu Mesanderan Tschu Kulkendâ— Sar Nikerem we nesert henis che besar That is What is Mesanderan Is it not a place set with Roses neither too Hot nor too Cold but a perpetual Spring Lahetzan is famous for its Silk which it hath better than any other place and its principal Cities are Lenkeru Kutsesbar and Amelekende In the Province of Rescht besides the Metropolis of the same name are the Cities of Kisma Fumen Tullum Scheft Dilum and
Province of Bakor lies on the West-side of the Ganges its chief City is called Bikameer The Province of Narvar the Metropolis whereof is call Gehud hath running through it a most noble River which falls into the Ganges The Province of Nagracut or Nakarkut is one of the most Northerly Provinces of the Mogul's Country In the chief City thereof from which it hath the name there is to be seen in a sumptuous Chappel the floor whereof is covered with plates of Gold the Effigies of an Animal or rather a Monster called Matta which brings thither every year a great number of Indians who go to do their devotions there and offer unto it a little snip which they cut out of their own tongues In this same Province is the City of Kalamaka famous for its Pilgrimages which are the more frequent there by reason of the flames cast forth by the cold Springs as they come out of the Rock which flames the Inhabitants adore The Province of Siba whereof the Metropolis is Hardwari gives its rise to the River Ganges The Inhabitants of the Country imagine that the Rock out of which it issues hath a Cows head for which Beast they have a certain veneration and that there is somewhat divine in that production Whence it comes that they bathe themselves every day in the River This Province is no less mountainous then that of Nakarkut though it be not so much towards the North. Kakares the principal Cities whereof are Dankaler and Binsola is a very spacious Province but very full of Mountains Mount Caucasus lies between it and Tartaria The Province of Gor which hath its name from the chief City is also full of Mountains and gives its rise to the River Perselis which falls into the Ganges The Province of Pitan or Partan and its chief City which gives it the name hath running through them the River Kanda which also falls into the Ganges This is also a very mountainous Province and hath on the West of it that of Iamba The River Iderclis divides the Province of Kanduana the chief City whereof is Karaeh by some called Katene from that of Pitan This Province and that of Gor are the further-most of the Mogul's territories towards the North. The Province of Porena is as fruitful as the two last named are barren It lies between the Rivers of Ganges Perselis Gemini and Candach and is so called from its chief City The City of Rajapore or Reyapor is the Metropolis of the Province of Iewal The Province of Meuat the chief City whereof is called Narnol is a Country barren enough reaching from the Ganges Eastward The Province of Voessa or Voeza the chief City whereof is Iascanat is the uttermost Province of the Mogul's Kingdom towards the East The Province of Bengala may no doubt be numbred amongst the most powerful of all the Country giving its name to the Gulf into which the Ganges disembogues it self by four several channels or mouths It s principal Cities are Raymebel Kaka or Daeca Philipatan and Satigam It is subdivided into many other lesser Provinces the most considerable whereof are Puna and Palan from which several Kings have not thought it much to assume their Titles Texeira in his description of Persia speaking of certain Provinces of the Indies names that of Vtrat with its chief City but he only names it without giving any account of its scituation He speaks also of the Kingdom of Caeche and sayes it is considerable for the Race-horses it breeds near Cambaya towards the North but certainly it is no other then the Province of Candisch before spoken of The extent of the Mogul's Country from East to West is about six hundred Leagues and from North to South about seven hundred French Leagues since its uttermost Frontiers towards the South are at twenty and the furthermost towards the North at forty three degrees As concerning the Province of Gusuratta which the Portuguez improperly call Cambaya it lies all along the Sea-side extending it self much like a Peninsula into the Sea and having on both sides a Gulf or Bay one whereof is eight Leagues broad at the entrance and grows narrower and narrower for forty Leagues thence The Land extends it self Westward along the Sea-coast and Northward it hath the Provinces of Soret Quismer and Bando Eastward those of Chitor and Kandish and Southward the Kingdom of Decan Heretofore its Frontiers reach'd along the Sea-coast as far as Gualor eight dayes journey beyond Amadabat and Southward as far as Daman But though its extent be not so vast at present as it hath been yet it is now a very great Province it being certain that it reaches above sixscore Leagues along the Sea-coast and comprehends above twenty thousand Cities Towns and inhabited Villages besides the places which were laid desolate some years since by War or Famine It s principal Cities most whereof are Maritime are Surat Broitschia Gandeer Goga Cambaya Diu Patepatane Mangalor Gondore Nassary Gandivi Balsara or Belsera The City of Hamed-Ewad or Amadabat which is the Metropolis of the Province is at a great distance from the Sea The principal Rivers of this Province are the Nadabat which passes by Broitschia the Tapta and the Wasset besides these conveniences it hath two of the best Ports in all the Indies which are that of the Com of Suhaly to wit that of Surat and that of Cambaia There is no Province in all the Indies more fertile then Gusuratta nor any that affords more Fruits and Provisions which grow in such abundance there that all the neighbouring Provinces are thence suppli'd 'T is true indeed that in the year 1640. the great drought and the year following the continual rains reduced it to so deplorable a condition that the particular account might be given thereof would deprive the Reader of the diversion which it is our design to find him in this Relation But the Province hath since that time well recover'd it self of that desolation yet not so as but the marks of it may be seen every where But to prosecute our Relation as to what happened to me during my stay at Surat While I was at Ispahan having fixt my resolution to travel into the Indies I took into my service a Persian who was to serve me as an Interpreter for the Turkish and Persian Languages which I then began a little to understand He was born of Christian Parents his father and mother having been of those whom Scach-Abas had caused to be translated from Georgia to Ispahan where his brethren then lived in good rank Which considerations oblig'd me to treat him with the greater civility and to promise him by way of wages four Crowns a moneth He had made me believe that his engaging himself into my service was partly out of this respect that he might thereby have the convenience of re-imbracing
Couteval or Kings Lieutenant hath given him by way of Present about 15. pence for every Wagoâ— and it is lawful for all Forreigners to buy and sell and trade in all sorts of Merchandises those only excepted which are prohibited as Gun-powder Lead and Salt-Peter which may not be transported without the Governours permission but that it is no hard matter to obtain making but a slender acknowledgment of his favour therein The City of Amadabat comprehends within its territory twenty five great Towns and two thousand nine hundred ninety and eight Villages so as that the revenue thereof amounts to above six millions of Crowns whereof the Governour hath the disposal and therewith maintains the Souldiers whom he is oblig'd to keep for the Kings service especially against Robbers upon the high-wayes though many times he protects them and divides the booty with them The Couteval who is as it were the King Lieutenant commands under the Sulthan and mannages the political Government nay meddles also with the administration of Justice joyntly with the Kasi or ordinary Judge The Mogul hath there also several other Officers who are as it were Controllers and Supervisors of those we last named The dayes following I spent in seeing the Sepulchres which are about the City and among others particularly that which is in the Village of Zirkees about a League and a half from Amadabat 'T is the work of a King of Guzuratta built by him to the memory of a Kasi who had been his Praeceptor and is grown very famous upon the account of many pretended Miracles done by him after his death The whole Structure wherein there are four hundred and forty great pillars thirty foot high is of Marble as also the floor of it and serves for a Sepulchre to three other Kings who would needs be buried there with their Families At the entrance of this sumptuous Monument there is a large Tanke or Cistern full of water and enclos'd with a wall which hath several windows all about it The Mahumetans of those parts go on Pilgrimage thither and in this Village of Zirkees is made the best Indico in all the Country About a League thence there is a spacious Garden with a fair House within it which the Mogul Chon Chimauw built in memory of a Victory gained by him in that place over Sulthan Mahomed Begeran last King of Guzuratta upon which he united that Kingdom to his Crown as we shall express hereafter About a League and a half from the City we were shewn a Sepulchre which they call Betti-Chuit that is to say thy daughters shame discovered There lies interr'd in it a rich Merchant a Moor named Hajam Majom who falling in love with his own Daughter and desirous to shew some pretence for his incest went to an Ecclesiastical Judge and told him in general terms That he had in his youth taken the pleasure to plant a Garden and to dress and order it with great care so that now it brought forth such excellent fruits that his neighbours were extreamly desirous thereof that he was every day importuned to communicate unto them but that he could not yet be perswaded to part therewith and that it was his design to make use of them himself if the Judge would grant him in writing a Licence to do it The Kasi who was not able to dive into the wicked intentions of this unfortunate man made answer That there was no difficulty in all this and so immediately declar'd as much in writing Hajom shewed it his Daughter and finding nevertheless that neither his own authority nor the general permission of the Judge would make her consent to his brutal enjoyments he ravished her She complain'd to her Mother who made so much noise about it that the King Mahomet Begeran coming to hear thereof ordered him to lose his head Not far from Amadabat begin to appear the dreadful Mountains of Marva which reach above 70. Leagues towards Agra and above a hundred towards Ouyen and are so inaccessible that the Castle of Gurchitto where lives Rana one of the principal Radias of those parts is accounted impregnable in so much that the Kings of Pettan and the Mogul himself found much ado to reduce it The Indians who are Pagans have still a great Veneration for that Prince who they say was so powerful as that he could in a short time bring 120000. Horse into the Field In the Mountain which lies between Amadabat and Trappe there lives another Radia who is not subject to the Mogul by reason the Woods and Deserts secure him against that Prince who with all his power is not able to force him out of the places he is possess'd of no more then he is the Radia of Ider who is his Vassal but many times refuses to obey his Orders One of the noblest Gardens about the City is that of Schach-bag in that part of the Suburbs which is called Begampour It is the King Garden very spacious encompass'd with a high Wall and hath within it a very fair House the Ditches whereof are full of water and the appartments richly furnish'd I went thence along a Stone-bridge which is four hundred paces in length to another Garden called Niccinabag that is to say the Jewel and they say it was planted by a beautiful and rich young Lady The Garden is not very great no more then the House within it but both very advantageously seated in a place high enough to discover all the adjacent Champion and upon the avenues of the Bridge to make the noblest prospect that ever I saw The Rain which falls in the Winter time supplyes a great Fish-poud or Pool in the middle of the Garden but in Summer they make use of certain Engines wherewith many Oxen put together draw up the water out of Wells which are so deep that they are never dry A man can seldom go to this Garden but he shall find some young Women bathing themselves they will not persuit the Indians should see them but suffered us to come in and speak to them There are so many other Gardens about Amadabat and the whole City is so full of Trees that a man may say it makes all but one Garden for as he comes to the City he sees such abundance of them that he may well think he is going into a Forrest Among other things I took particular notice of the High-way which they call Bascaban and leads to a Village six Leagues distant from the City It is so straight that it should seem they took a great pleasure in planting the Trees about it whereof there is a double row on both sides upon a straight line They are Cocos-Trees which at all times refresh Travellers with their shade but this road comes nothing near that which goes from Agra to Barampour which makes but one continued Ally for a hundred and fifty Germans Leagues together All these Teees lodge and feed an incredible
they wear a Hat Great honours are done to them after their death and after their Corps hath been attended certain dayes they are burnt with Sandale-wood they cast the Ashes into the River and inteâ—r the â—ones near the place they liv'd in Pegu yields no Corn at all but in recompence they have more Rice then they can spend in so much that they can afford some to their Neighbours They have a custom to make a Drug of certain little Fishes which they pound in a Mortar and being so brought to a Paste they lay it in the Sun to putrifie till it be quite corrupted and grows moist and then they use it in their Sauces instead of Oyl or Butter making a dainty of that which it were not possible for us to endure the smell of Sodomy was heretofore so common in those parts that to extirpate this Vice which had near destroy'd the whole Species one of the Queens of Pegu ordain'd by Edict that every Man should carry in his Yard a little Bell which would make it swell in such sort that he should not be able to do Nature any violence And to the end the Women should not be frustrated of their due their Virginity was to be taken away while they were yet very young by means of a Composition of contrary operation to that used by common Women to heighten the pleasures of their Gallants These little Bells are put in betwixt the skin and the flesh and to effect the operation they cast them into a sleep with a certain Drink to make them insensible of the pain they are put to by the Incision whereof notwithstanding they are cur'd in few dayes For their greater aversion from Sodomy they paint the Boyes at seven or eight years of age with a certain blew which extending with the skin as it grows changes into another colour and makes them look most horribly The Women on the contrary do all they can to appear lovely and attract the Men covering their privy parts only with a thin piece of Linnen which sits not so close but the least wind shews all they have All of them in general make their Teeth black and Men when they ride on horseback fill their Mouths with something that puâ—fs out their Checks They who marry buy their Wives of their Parents and when they are cloy'd send them home again but the money belongs to the Wife who on her side is obliged to restitution if shâ— part with her Husband without cause The King is Heir to all that dye without Children and they who have Children can leave them but two thirds of their Estate the rest belongs to the King The best Commodities to be brought to Pegu and which may be sold to greatest profit are Stuffes and Linnen-clothes from Saint Thomas Musulipatam and Bengala Pepper Cinnamon Nutmegs Optum and Sandale-wood c. by reason they have no other Spices then Ginger At Pegu they take in no other Merchandizes then Silver and Rice which they transport to Malacca In bargaining they make no words at all they do no more but give their Hand cover'd with a Handkerchief and in grasping or moving their Fingers they make their meaning known For borrowing of money they stick not to pawn their Wives and Children but if the Creditour enjoyes them carnally during that time he is then paid and the Debtour acquitted Siam one of the most considerable Kingdoms of the Indies lying at eighteen degrees on this side the Line hath on the North the Kingdoms of Pegu and Auva on the West the Gulf of Bengala from the Haven of Martanan to the Town of Tavaga towards the East Patana whence the Coast runs first Northwards to thirteen degrees and a half comprehending in this space the Gulf of Siam And lastly Southward to twelve degrees lying more at a distance from the Sea it joyns Eastward on the Desarts of Cambodia and the Kingdoms of Iangoma Tangou and Lansiaugh to eighteen degrees towards the forementioned Kingdoms of Pegu and Auva making as it were a semi-circle containing near upon four hundred and fifty Leagues The Country in some parts is rough and mountainous in other parts covered with Woods and to the Seawards 't is low and marshy and generally flat good and fertile yielding in abundance all necessaries for livelihood and having on the Gulfes divers Isles Rivers Bayes Harbours and Roads commodious for the transportation of such things as they themselves can spare The River called Menam that is Mother of the waters is one of the greatest India hath The breadth of it is not great but its length such that hitherto no man hath discovered the head of it It sends its Current from North to South passing through the Kingdoms of Pegu and Auva and at last running through Siam by three Streams it falls into the Gulf of Siam One quality it hath common with the Nile and Ganges that it yearly overflows the adjacent Country for the space of five moneths together destroying in that time all Worms and Insects and leaving when it retires a slime or moist soil proper for the increase of Rice That Channel of this River which is most commodious for Barks or Vessels is that which lies most Eastwards at thirteen degrees and a half elevation but what makes it almost useless is that there lies a Shelf a League in length or better at the mouth of the River which at low-water holds not above five or six foot water At high-water it holds fifteen or sixteen foot and in September October and November seventeen or eighteen foot Vessels of greater burthen ordinarily stay in the Road two Leagues from the Shelf where having at no time less then five or six fathom water they ride secure They who venture to come over the Shelf with the Tide may go up along the River to the City of Banckock six Leagues from the Sea and thence may pass by boat in five or six dayes as high as the City of India twenty four Leagues within the Land except in the moneths before mentioned during which season the River is innavigable The Provinces of this vast Kingdom are all very populous though not equally for such as have the Commodity of Rivers and Havens far exceed those that lye more remote It would be very difficult to reckon all the Towns of this great Dominion wherefore we will here give only an account of the principal and most considerable either for greatness or as the most considerable of the several Provinces The chief of the Kingdom is India by some called Odya then Camboya Campaa Sincapura Picelouck Surkelouck Capheng Soucethay Kephinpet Conseywan Pytsyay Pitsedi Lidure Tenou Mormelon Martenoy Lygor Bordelong Tanasserim where the Portuguez drive a good Trade Banckock Pipry Mergy c. Besides which there are many more which rather deserve a place in a Map then in the Relation of a particular Mans Travels The City of India the ordinary Residence
of the Court is seated on the River Menam which makes an Island entirely taken up by that City having on the River-side a strong sufficient wall for about two Leagues in compass and the Suburbs on both sides the River as well built and adorn'd with Temples and Palaces as the Town it self Here are divers very fair Streets with Channels regularly cut but withall there are some which are neither large nor fair though the River crosses the Town in so many places that there is scarce a house but may be gone to by boat The Houses here as generally all over the Indies are but of ordinary building and for the most part covered with Tiles There are within the Town above three hundred fair Mosqueys or Chappels with gilt Steeples or Pyramides which at a distance yield a glorious prospect with abundance of Pagodes of all sorts of Metals The Palace which is as it were a City of it self within the other hath its Towers and Pyramides gilt so as the City of India may be said to be as beautiful as large and as populous as any City in India nevertheless I will not affirm what Fernando Mendez Pinto writes that it contains within its Circuit four hundred thousand Families whereof three quarters are Siamezes but thus much I can add that the City hath this advantage that it is impregnable for being of it self strong enough to indure any Siege for many moneths it hath an infallible relief which never fails at six moneths end by reason that the River overflowing no Line can withstand it nor no Camp can be so strong but must dislodge The King of Siam that now reigns and who amongst his other Titles takes that of Precau Salcu that is Sacred Member of God holds the Crown from his Ancestors who have possessed it for many Ages and next to the Mogul this Prince can reckon more Kings of his Family then any Prince of the Indies He is absolute Monarch in his Dominions solely disposing with an Independant Authority of all Affairs of his Kingdom He makes War and Peace imposes Taxes on his Subjects creates Magistrates sets value on Money and makes Laws and Statutes without the consent or advice either of States or Lords He allows them to consider of such Affairs as come to their knowledge and to offer him their Advice by way of Remonstrance but he reserves to himself the Power to approve or reject what he pleases These Noble men are called Mandorins and are there as the Privy Council a quality the King bestows on whom he pleases as he doth of all other Honours in the Kingdom without regard either to birth or merit because his Subjects are his Slaves and the King is Master of all they possess even their very lives whereof he hath power to dispose to his service and advantage 'T is true that in this as in deposing the Mandorins from their Dignities and reducing them to the rank of their fellow Subjects he observes some appearance of Equity by following in some measure the Laws of the Kingdom but being above the Law he explicates and executes it as he pleases The Prince is exceeding magnificent in his Apparel and Train but his State appears in nothing more then his manner of living For the people who seldom see him have a peculiar Veneration for his Person nor do the Grandees and Officers scarce ever come into his presence When he gives Audience he sits most gloriously habited on a Throne of Gold with a Crown on his head and at his feet the Officers and Gentlemen of the Houshold on their knees and not far from him a Guard of three hundred Souldiers No one speaks to him but on the knee and they who come for audience present themselves in this sort their hands being lifted above their head and making to him ever and anon most low reverences The continual inclinations that are made him and the Titles given him must likewise be accompanied with oblieging speeches and attributions beyond what either greatness or goodness can deserve His Answers are receiv'd as Oracles and his Orders executed without delay or dispute He hath in every Province of his Kingdom his Palaces and Gardens when he removes his Houshold he hath with him a number of Elephants loaden with Tents to be pitched when he comes to places fit to rest in He hath but one Wife to whom they give the Title of Queen but he hath an infinite number of Concubines which are chosen for him out of the fairest Virgins of the Kingdom He feeds very high but drinks only Water because the Laws both Civil and Ecclesiastical prohibit the use of Wine to Persons of Quality when he pleases to recreate himself upon the River he goes in a splendid gilt Barge under a Canopy of Brocadoe attended by some of his Domesticks and a Guard of three or four hundred in seven or eight other Barges which have each of them fourscore or a hundred Slaves to row The Noblemen who follow and are sometimes to the number of a thousand or twelve hundred have each their several Barge The like is done when the King goes from his Palace into the City Then he sits in a Chair of Gold born on the shoulders of ten or twelve Waiters having marching before him many Elephants and Horses richly harnessed in this sort marching with a slately and grave pace while the people prostrate themselves to him and render him the same honours they might do to God himself He appears particularly in his greatest Magnificence on a certain day in October designed for this Ceremony On this day he appears both in the City and upon the River to make a procession to one of his chiefest Mosquees whither he goes to sacrifice and to do his Devotions for the prosperity of the State In the head of this procession march about two hundred Elephants each of them carrying three arm'd Men then comes the Musick consisting of Hoboyes Tabours and Cimbals next come about a thousand Men compleatly arm'd divided into several Companies that have their Colours and Banners Next to these follow many Noble men on horseback and amongst them some with Crowns of Gold upon their Heads with a Train of fourscore or a hundred persons on foot Betwixt these Noble men and the Life-guard march two hundred Souldiers Iaponeses all very well cloath'd and go immediately before the Horses and Elephants which are for the Kings particular use their harness made with Buckles and Studs of Gold set with Diamonds and other precious Stones The Servants who bear the Fruits and other things for the Sacrifice march before certain Grandees of the Kingdom whereof one bears the Kings Standard the other the Scepter of Justice These walk on foot immediately before the King who sits mounted on an Elephant in a Chair of Gold The Prince his Son or some other Prince of the Bloud follows next after him and then comes the Queen and the Kings
The 1. they come to the Neuschans to the Lake Ladoga to Noteborough ibid. Spiring a Swedish Ambassador the Swedish Ambassadors depart a Suedish resolution the Muscovites sleep after dinner the reception of the Swedish Ambassadors p. 6 A Muscovian Collation the situation of Notebourg its description ibid. Here they continue six weeks IVLY The Ambassadors come to Laba their reception ibid. Another Muscovian Collation The Ambassadors are defrayd all the time of their aboad in Muscovy according to the custom and they take their allowance in money p. 7 The Musick and dancing of Muscovy ib. They embark upon the Wolgda a distinct River from the Wolga The devotion of the Muscovites ibid. Wolgda described a dangerous fall of water troublesome flies and other insects the Presents of a Muscovian Monk the Muscovites do not condemn those of a contrary belief p. 7. 8 The come to Corodiza to Soliza to Grunza to Wisoke to Krifzeuiza to Novogorod to Brunitz p. 8 AUGVST The 1. a Muscovian Procession ibid They come that day to Crasmistansky the 2 to Gam-Chresta to Iazelbitza to Simnagora to Wolsolk to Columna and the 7. to Badeua p. 9 The 8. come to Torsock travelling in those eight dayes 71. leagues ibid. The 9. come to Tuere upon a River of the same name which falls into the Wolga The 13. to Nicholas-Nachinski the 14. to MOSCOU ibid. There they stay above four months Their reception and entrance into Moscou p. 10 The 19. they have their first Audience Their Cavalcade p. 11 The Presents made to the Great Duke ib. The Ceremonies of the Audience 13. The Great Duke treats the Ambassadors ibid. They are permitted to go abroad contrary to the ordinary custom of the Muscovites p. 14 SEPTEMBER The 1. was celebrated the Muscovian New-years-day ibid. Their Epoche is the Creation of the World ibid. The Ambassadors of Holstein negotiate jointly with those of Sweden about the Silk-trade in Persia. ibid. The entrance of the Tartarian Embassy 15 The entrance of a Turkish Ambassador 16 The Turkish Ambassador's Presents ibid. Those of certain Greeck Ecclesiasticks 17 OCTOBER A Muscovian Festival celebrated Oct. ibid The Cavalcade of the Great Duke and Dutchess ibid. NOVEMBER The 19. the Ambassadors have their last private Audience the Great Duke grants them passage through the Country Another Muscovian Procession 18 A Cavalcade of Crim-Tartars 72. in number all Ambassadors Our last publick Audience ibid. The Great Duke's Present to the Ambassadors 19 THEIR RETURN towards HOLSTEIN The Ambassadors leave Moscou ibid. Come December the 26. to T were the 20 to Tarsock and the 31. to Novogorod 120. leagues in seven daies 20 M.DC.XXXV IANVARY 1. Leave Novogorod come the next day to Mokriza the 2. to Tuerin the 3. to Orlin the 4. to Zariza and the 5. to Narva 38. leag and a half in 9. daies ibid. 7. Leave Narva and come to Reuel the 10. ib. Here they staid neer 3. weeks FEBRVARY Leave Reuel Ian. 30. and come Feb. 2. to Parnau taking their way by land along the Baltick-Sea and so through Livonia Curland Prussia Pomerania and Meklenbourg The City of Parnau described ibid. The Ambassadors come to Riga Febr. 6. and leave it the 12. and come to Mittau the 14. 21 Description of the Dutchy of Courland and the Prince now reigning there ibid. The Ambassadors come to Bador in Poland 22 leagues in three daies ibid. Come the 19. to Memel in the Dutchy of Prussia 16. l. in 3. daies Memel described ib. Leave Memel Febr. 20. and come the 21. to Koningsberg the Metropolis of Prussia 16. l 2. daies 22 Koningsberg described where they see among other things the Elector of Branderburg's Library ibid. Leave Koningsberg the 24. and exchange the Sledges for Waggons come to Elbing and thence to Dantzick 20. leag 3. daies ibid. There they continue 17. daies Dantzick described its situation Magistrate Privileges Commerce c. ibid MARCH The 16. they leave Dantzick and come the 25. to Stetin which described 23 Come the 29. to Rostock in the Dutchy of Mecklenbourg ibid. A description of the City of Rostock and its Vniversity ibid. Leave Rostock the 30. and come the same day to Wismar which described ibid Mar. the last come to the Castle of Schonberg ibid APRIL The 1. Leave Schonberg and come to Lubeck which described ibid Leave Lubeck the 3. come the next day to Arnsbock the 5. to Pretz the 6. to Kiel and the same day to Gottorp 24 THE SECOND VOYAGE into Muscovy and Persia. M.DC.XXXV OCTOBER The Ambassadors having made their report and augmented their Train leave Hamborough Oct. 22. and come the 24. to Lubeck 10. leagues 25 Embark at Travemunde the 27. come the 29. neer the Castle of Bornholm touch against a Rock the night following land in the Iland of Oeland come to Calmer 26 A description of the Iland of Gotland 27 A description of the Iland of Hogland against the Rocks whereof the Ship is split but the men goods and horses are saved the provisions are spoil'd and lost and the Embassy reduc'd to great extremities in a desert Iland 28 NOVEMBER The 17. the Amb. leave Hogland in two Fisher-boats with much danger and land in Livonia the 18. 29 DECEMBER The 2. they come to Ruel the Metropolis of Esthonie where they continue three months ibid A description of Livonia its Frontiers Lords Fertility Inhabitants Order of Knights the manner of life of the Livonians the Ceremonies of their mariages the Religion Barbarism and Superstition of the Peasantry of those parts their Nobility the Government of Livonia p. 30. c. M.DC.XXXVI MARCH The 2. the Ambassadors leave Reuel and come the fifth to Narva 17. l. 4. daies 34 A description of Narva its Commerce Political Government the Castle of Juanogorod A remarkable story of a mad Wolf and a Bear 35 The 7. they leave Narva come the same day to Lilienhagen the 8. to Sarits the 9. Orlin and the same day thence to Tzuerin 3. daies 24. leagues thence to Dosan thence to Mokriza 8. l. ibid. A Pristaf meets them at Orlin and receives them in the Great Duke's name 36 The 11. they came to Novogorod where they stay five daies ibid. A description of the said City its situation on the River Wolgda its bigness the cruelties exercis'd there by the Great Dukes of Muscovy the fabulous voyage of St. Anthony 37 The 16. they leave Novogorod pass through Brunits Miedna Kressa Iaselbitza Simnagora Columna Wisnawolloka and Windra-Pussk and came the 21. to Torsock 59. leagues 6. dayes 38 The 22. they leave Torsock passe through Troitzka Micdna and came the next day to T were 12. l. two daies There they embark upon the Wolgda the 23. but the next day prosecute their journey by land pass through Garodna Sawidowa Saulka-spas Klin Beschick and Zerkizowo and come the 28. to Nichola Darebna 29. l. 6. daies ibid. The 29. they leave Nichola Darebna and the same day make their entrance into Moscou
where they stay three months ibid APRIL Their Cavalcade and reception their lodgings in the City of Moscou 39 Their allowance of provisions their first publick Audience the Great Duke's treatment of them their first private Audience ibid Their second private Audience the Muscovian Palm-sunday Procession the Muscovian celebration of Easter Easter-eggs and other Ceremonies 40 The Amb Brugman's private Audience ibid MAY. Several Audiences and Conferences of the Ambassadors ibid. IVNE The 1. was celebrated the birth day of the Prince of Moscovy the Great Dutchess's Cavalcade 41 The Ambassadors last Audience the Audience of the Secretary of the Embassy ib. They augment their Train the entrance of Ambassadors from Poland the fierceness of a Polish Ambassador the Great Duk'es pass ibid The Amb. leave Moscou its description situation buildings quarters the Great Duke's Palace its markets Monasteries the great Bell its Churches and Chapels p. 42 Muscovy described the Provinces of Wolodimer and Smolensko 45 Rhesan Permie Jugarie Wiathka Bielsk Rschovie Tuere Plescou Siberie Jaroslaf Rosthou Susdal Dwina 46 Archangel Ustingha Vologda Bielejezoro Petzora Obdory the source of the Wolga 47 The River Boristhenes that of Dwina the air of Muscovy extremely cold in Winter and hot in Summer ibid. It s fertility fruits especially Melons more fertile than Livonia the seed-time and harvest 48 Boranez what flowers asparagus venison and fowl no Dear furrs 49 No Carps in Muscovy mines and iron forges ibid. The Samojedes a different people from the Samogithes their habitations manner of life stature cloathing 50 The error of certain Geographers 51 A description of Groenland ibid The stature of the Groenlanders ibid. Their language 53 Their cloathing and ordinary exercises 54 They are Salvages have no gold or silver are Pagans ibid. Whence it comes that the Inhabitants of Septentrional-Countries are swarthy 55 The stature of the Muscovites 56 They are great admirers of long beards and great bellies ibid. The women paint their dress 56 The Muscovites constant to their own fashion ibid Their manner of life they have an aversion for the Sciences whereof they know nothing especially the Mathematicks and Anatomy 57 They are naturally ingenious liars distrustful and calumniators 58 A pleasant story of a woman who fasly accus'd her husband 59 They are indiscreet uncivil quarelsom land insolent in their expressions 60 Not addicted to any study shameless 61 Drunkards ibid. The women much given to drink 62 Tobacco forbidden among them they are all Slaves to the Great Duke as well strangers as such as live in Muscovy ibid The Knez and Bojares keep many slaves who commit great disorders both in City and Country 63 They are good Soldiers 64 The siege of Smolensko in the year 1635. ib. Their hous-keeping ordinary food Cavayer 65 Hydromel a kind of mead how made 66 The expences of persons of quality the highest act of Muscovian civility ibid. The Muscovites sleep after dinner their stoves and bathing-places 67 Are long-liv'd subject to fornication and brutality ibid. The ceremonies of their Marriages ibid. The nuptial bed the ceremonies in the Church 68 How the women live their divertisement why the Muscovites bang their wives 69 Divorce 70 The Government of Muscovy the true signification of the word Czaar or Zaar his Arms the veneration the Muscovites have for their Prince know not what liberty is 71 The Great Duke's absolute power changes the Governours of Provinces every three years 72 The money of Muscovy Muscovian Ambassadors a remarkable Present 73 An abridgement of the History of Muscovy from the beginning of the last Century 74 The tyranny of Juan Basilouits commonly called Iohannes Basilius ibid. The usurpation of Boris Gudenou ibid. Foedor Borissouits his son ejected 75 A counterfeit Demetrius the history of him and his end ibid. Iohn Basilouits Zuski made Great Duke a second counterfeit Demetrius a third Impostor 76 The Muscovites choose Uladislaus Prince of Poland Great Duke of Muscovy are discontented with the Polanders an insurrection at Moscou ibid. Michael Federouits chosen Great Duke the story of a counterfeit Zuski his impostures and death 77 The ceremonies of the Czaar's Coronation 81 The story of the Great Duke's Favorits 82 An insurrection at Moscou which costs the lives of some of the Favorites creatures 84 The Officers and Ministres of State of Moscovy 87 Their expence they esteem Nobility 88 The Great Duke's revenue expence ibid. His Table Physicians Interpreters Privy Councel 90 Their administration of Iustice. 91 Their ordinary punishments 92 The Religion of the Muscovites 93 The Characters of the Muscovian language 95 Their Baptism ibid Their Chaldeens 96 Their Proselites 97 The admirable constancy of an English Gentlewoman 98 Their Festivals ibid Their Divine service 99 Their corruptions of the stories of the Bible particularly that of Mary Magdalen ibid Their Images 100 Their Churches bells 102 Their Hierarchy 103 Their Patriarch and Archbishops ibid. Their Prelats marry not their Monks the habits of Ecclesiasticks 104 Their Priests are oblig'd to marry their Monasteries ibid. Their Fasts Confession and Communion 105 Their Interrments 106 They tolerate all Religions but Roman Catholicks 107 THE TRAVELS of the AMBASSADORS from MUSCOVY into Tartary and Persia. M.DC.XXXVI IVNE The 30. the Ambassadors leave Moscou in order to their departure for Persia embark upon the River Mosca so to go by that of the Wolga to Astrachan 109 IVLY The 2. they come to Columna 24. l. ibid Within three quarters of a league of Columna the Mosca falls into the Occa ibid The 4. they come to the City of Pereslas 22. l. 110 Leave Pereslas the 4. and pass in sight of Rhesan ibid. The 7. they come to the little City of Cassinogorod in Tartary where they sent to complement a Tartar-Prince subject to the Duke of Muscovy 25. l. 3. daies ibid. The 8. they come to Moruma the greatest City of the Tartars of Mordwa 22. leagues 2. daies 111 The 10. they leave Moruma and come the next day to the great City of Nise or Nisenovogorod at the meeting of the Occa and the Wolga ibid. They continue 3. weeks before the City till the ship was finish'd for their sailing along the Wolga and the Caspian Sea ibid A description of the City of Nise the Weywode's magnificâ—nce ibid From Moscou to Nise there are 100. leagues by land and 150. by water ibid The River WOLGA its breadth is one of the greatest Rivers in the World there being from its source to its mouth above fifteen hundred French leagues it is very full of Sand-banks 112 AVGVST The 4. the Ambassadors settle their Guard to prevent what danger they might fear from the Cosaques ibid. The 5. they come before the City of Basiligorod which described 113 The Tartars called the Ceremisses their habitations their Religion their belief concerning the immortality of the Soul their superstitions sacrifices Polygamy lawful among them the cloathing of the men and Women ibid. The 6. they come to Kusmademianski 8.
c. 263 Schach Sefi succeeds his Grand-father Schach-Abas 265 Several examples of his cruelty kills an Vncle and his three sons 266 Kills Seinel-Chan with his own hands ibid Puts to death his Chancellor and others 267 Causes 40. Ladies to be buried alive among whom his own Mother 269 Express'd more temerity than courage in his actions is subject to wine ib. His Wives Concubines death 270 Schach Abas succeeds his Father dignities not hereditary in Persia the Persian Armies consist most of horse ibid Their Military Officers they hate Cowards 271 The Schach's revenue the Officers of the Court their names and places 272 The administration of Iustice Vsury forbidden their punishments 275 The Religion of the Persians the signification of the word Mussulman Circumcision the difference between the Religion of the Persians and that of the Turks ibid The initials of the Religion of the Persians their Saints 276 Their Festivals Commentators upon the Alcoran 277 Their Miracles 278 Their purifications and prayers 279 The Persians very devout their opinion concerning Heaven and Hell 280 They dedicate their Children to Saints their Lent the kindred of Mahomet ibid Another sort of lewd Religious men called Abdallas 281 The enterrments of the Persians 282 THE RETURN of the AMBASSADORS From Persia through Tartary and Muscovy to Holstein M. DC XXXVIII DECEMBER Some of the retinue takes Sanctuary 284 The 21. the Ambassadors leave Ispahan and take their way back by the little City of Nalens whence they come to Kaschan 285 IANVARY The 3. come to Kom the 6. to Saba the 11. to Caswin 60. leagues in 14. daies 286 The mountain Kilissim and other salt-mountains ibid They meet with a Polish Ambassador ibid The superstition of the Persians 287 The Ambass leave Caswin ib. Fauces Hyrcaniae a Caravansera upon a Bridge a dreadful road Summer and Winter the same day 288 The Province of Kilan described its fruits ib. Its Inhabitants ib. The history of Karib-Schach a strange punishment 289 The Kilek disarm'd their habit and language the Thalischs the different imployments of men and women in those parts 290 The Ambassadors come to Rescht the Metropolis of Kilan a feast in honour of Myrza's Sanctuary they leave Rescht 291 They come to Kurab Metropolis of the Province of Kesker ibid FEBRVARY The 1. they leave Kurab and come the 11. to Kisilagats in the Government of Astara 50. l. in 8 daies They cross several little Rivers among others that of Dinatzar which divides the Provinces of Kesker and Astara 292 Come to the Province of Lenkerkunan leave Lerkeran the City of Kisilagats 293 The Inhabitants of a Village extirpated for their incest a false Miracle of Aly A barbarous action of the Ambassador Brugman 94 Causes a Kisilbach to be kill'd in cold blood ibid A Robber General of an Army and Governour of a Province 295 The River Aras some errors in Geography corrected by the Author 296 The mountain of Scamachie the Chan treats the Ambassadors 297 MARCH Several treatments given the Ambassadors by the Chan and others how the King of Persia assures the Chans of his favour ibid The ceremonies of that assurance ibid Ceremonies of the Armenians their Easter the Ambassador from the King of Persia for Holstein comes to Scamachie 298 The Ambassadors leave Scamachie March 20. and come the 7. of April to the City of Derbent 42. leagues in 9. daies 299 APRIL Padars a people otherwise called Kurs who are high-way-men ibid Above 30. sources of Nefte black and white Derbent described ibid Built by Alexander the Great ibid The Fable of Tzumtzum and his Sepulchre Many other Sepulchres upon occasion of the defeat of Kassan King of Media the Inhabitants of Derbent 300 The Chan of Tarku proffers to convoy the Ambassadors they take order for their departure the Governour hinders it Other Saints Sepulchres 301 The 14. the Ambassadors leave Derbent enter into Dagesthan pass through the Country of Osmin and the Seigniory of Boinack and come the 16. to Tarku the Metropolis of Dagesthan 18. l. in 3. daies 302 There they continue in much danger and with great inconvenience neer a month ibid The Tartars ot Dagesthan their Habit 〈◊〉 the Prince of the Tartars ibid The Country of Osmin the Lordship of Brugman's impertinence a Polish Ambassador kill'd 303 The Author in danger to be taken by the Tartars ibid The Ambassadors in great danger are treated by the Prince of Tarku their drink 304 The Present sent to Surkou-Chan who invites the Ambassadors to Dinner particulars of the entertainment Another Tartarian feast 305 The Governour of Terki refuses a Convoy 306 MAY. The Ambassadors leave Tarku enter the 18. into the Circassian Tartary and come the 20. to the City of Terki the Metropolis thereof 26. leag in 9. daies The Schemkal grants the Ambassadors passage ibid The River Koisu the Albanus of Ptolomy they come to Andre 307 The Schemkal's Present to the Ambassadors their to him Brugman's policy they leave Andre and cross the Rivers Ascai and Bustro which last divedes the Dagesthane from the Circassians 308 They enter Circassia abundance of Serpents a kind of Field-Mice ibid The Government of Circassia the language habit the dress of Widdows their women very familiar yet chaste 309 Their Religion sacrifices enterrments their mourning 310 IVNE The 4. the Ambassadors leave Tarku and travel over a great sandy Plain and come the 15. to Astrachan 60. leagues in twelve daies The desert of Astrachan in which being 11. daies journey they saw neither City nor Village nor House nor Tree nor any River but that of Kisilar nor meet with so much as fresh water 311 They cross the Wolga to get to Astrachan the Weywodcs Present to the Ambass theirs to him 312 There the Ambassadors continue from the 14. of Iune to the 7. of September ibid A pernicious design of one of the Ambassadors the Muscovian Ambassador leaves Astrachan poisons himself ibid AVGVST The 1. was celebrated the Reduction of Astrachan the Persian Ambassador's entrance into it 313 SEPTEMBER The Ambassadors divide their Baggage Brugman buies two young Girls the Persian Ambass buys him a wife ibid The 7. the Ambass leave Astrachan and embark upon the Wolga come to Tzornogar to Sariza ibid OCTOBER The 6. came to Soratof the 24. to Slamara ibid NOVEMBER The 6. they come to the River Casan the Wolga being frozen up and go to the City of Casan 314 There they continue five weeks DECEMBER The 13. they leave Casan by Sledges are drawn along the Wolga and come the 21. following to Nisa The 16. the Muscovites celebrated the feast of their Patron St. Nicholas 314 M.DC.XXXIX IANVARY The 2. the Ambassadors make their entrance into Moscou It was according to the accustomed manner they have several conferences with the Officers of the Court The 8. the Czaar's second Son dies ibid The Ambassadors continue at Moscou six weeks FEFRVARY The 3. the Persian Ambassador made his entrance into Moscou ibid MARCH The
fire having been so violent that it had reduc'd to ashes above five thousand houses insomuch that most of the Inhabitants were forc'd to lodge in Tents and Huts Ere we had taken a view of our Lodging the presents from the Great Duke's Kitchin and Cellar were brought us viz. eight Sheep thirty Capons and Pullets great store of white and brown bread and 22 sorts of drinks Wine Beer Hydromel and Aquavitae all brought in by 32 Muscovites who marching all in a file made the shew so much the greater This done the doors of our Lodging were lock'd upon us and a Guard of twelve Musketiers set to prevent all communication between us and the Inhabitants till after the first Audience The Pristafs in the mean time fail'd not to visit us every day to assure us of their readiness to serve us They had also left with us an Interpreter to facilitate the service which the Musketiers were oblig'd to do us in the buying of our Provisions and other things This Interpreter was a Muscovite born and had been taken prisoner by the Polanders by which means he fell into the hands of Prince Ianus Radzivil who brought him to Leipsig where he learnt the German Tongue Aug. 15. The Muscovites celebrated the Feast of our B. Lady's ascension and the same day ended a Fast they had begun the first of that moneth The 17. was design'd for our first Audience but the Great Duke being gone out of the City to do his Devotions we spent the day in giving God our humble thanks for his happy conduct of us to the place for which our Embassy was design'd We caus'd Te Deum to be sung with Musick and our Minister to make a Sermon at which as also at the Dinner which follow'd it was present by permission on of the Great Duke M. Balthazar Moucheron who manag'd the Affairs of the Duke of Holstein at Mosco in the quality of Commissary He told us that the Muscovites thought our entrance very handsome and wondred much that Germany should have Princes able to send so considerable an Embassy They give all strange Princes the quality of Knez though their Knez are properly no more than what Gentlemen are with us and those excepted who have publick employments relating to the State the rest have no great Estates it may be about 800. or 1000 per annum The 18. The two Pristafs came to acquaint us that the Great Duke would give us publick Audience the next day They desir'd also in the Chancellors name a Catalogue of the presents we were to make his Majesty After Dinner the younger Pristaf came to confirm the notice they had given us in the morning viz. that on the morrow we should have the honour to kiss the Great Dukes hand We ask'd him what the discharging of the great Guns the day before meant and the shooting we had seen out of our Windows in a great Meadow He told us it was only to make tryal of some pieces which the Great Duke had lately order'd to be cast Others said that they had been discharg'd only to make it appear that the Muscovites had not lost all their Artillery before Smolensco as some would have had it believ'd Aug. 19. The Pristafs came to see whether we were ready for Audience and having perceiv'd that our men had put on their best Cloaths and that all was in readiness they went immediately to give notice thereof at the Castle whence were brought us the white Horses which we had at our Entrance About 9 of the Clock the Pristafs return'd to us having their striptsatin Coats carried after them as also their Caps of Martins skins which they left in the Ambassadors Antichamber We mounted with our Cloaks on but no Swords none being permitted to wear any in the Great Dukes presence and rode towards the Castle the Cavalcade being as followeth In the front march'd 36 Musketiers After them our Steward Three Gentlemen of the Ambassadors retinue Three other Gentlemen The Commissary Secretary and Physician After them went the Presents led and carried by Muscovites viz. One Horse coal-black with a rich covering One dapple grey Another dapple-grey Harness for one Horse set out with Silver and enrich'd with Turkish Stones Rubies and other precious Stones carried by two Muscovites One Cross of Chrysolite enchac'd in Gold about half a foot long carried in a Basin An Ebony Cabinet garnish'd with Gold like a little Apothecaries Shop with its Boxes and Vials of Gold enrich'd with precious Stones full of several excellent Chymical extractions carried by two Muscovites A small Vessel of Rock-Christal garnish'd with Gold and beset with Rubies A great Looking-Glass being an ell and a quarter high and half an ell broad in an Ebony frame with Boughs and Fruits carv'd thereon in Silver carried by two Muscovites A Clock on which was represented in painting the Parable of the Prodigal Child A Walking-Staff Vermilion Gilt in which was a piece of Perspective A great Ebony Clock in an Ebony Case garnish'd with Silver Next went two Gentlemen of the Chamber carrying up on high in the Air the Credential Letters from his Highness one to the Great Duke the other to the Patriarch his Majesties Father His name was Philaretes Nikidits He dy'd after our departure from Holstein but we were told it would not be amiss to make it known we had Letters of credence for him Then follow'd the Ambassadors between the two Pristafs having before them the Interpreters on each side four Lacqueys and behind them the Pages It was from our Lodging to the Castle a good quarter of a German league there being above 2000 Strelits or Musketiers dispos'd on both sides of the street to make us free passage to the place of Audience The streets windows and houses tops were full of people who were come from all quarters of the City to see our Cavalcade We march'd in very good order halting and advancing according to the orders which the Courriers who rid with full speed from the Castle brought our Pristafs to the end we might come to the Hall of Audience just as the Great Duke were sate in his Throne Being come into the Castle-Court we pass'd before the Posolsky Precase or the Chancery for strangers affairs where we alighted After the Officers and Gentlemen had taken their places to wit the Steward in the head of the Presents and the Gentlemen with the other Officers immediately before the Ambassadors we were brought to Audience The Hall for Audience is on the right hand of the Cour when there come any Ambassadors from Persia Turky or Tartary they are carried up a stone pair of stairs on the right hand but in regard we were Christians we took the left hand and were led through a vaulted Gallery purposely that we might pass by a very fair Church where they were then at service Before we came into the Hall we saw in a spacious vaulted appartment abundance of people and
particularly oblig'd to acknowledge their kindness for being casually shot in the arm with a pistol by one of our company I was forc'd to stay there two or three dayes during which time I receiv'd very great civilities from them Apr. 1 the Ambassadors left Schonberg but M. Mandelslo and my self stay'd two dayes after them and the third of April overtook them at Lubeck This City is so well known that I need not give any particular description of it after so many other Authors that have written of it Only I shall say that it is situated between the Rivers of Traue and Wagenits at 28. d. 20. m. longitude and at 54. d. 48. m. latitude two leagues from the Baltick Sea Those who have chiefly contributed to the building of it were Adolphus II. Count of Holstein Henry le Lion Duke of Saxony and Henry Bishop of Aldenbourg The Emperor Frederick I. re-united it to the Empire and Frederick II. his Grand-Son gave it some of those Privileges which it enjoyes to this day It lies in the Wagria at the entrance of the Country of Holstein and is very well fortify'd according to the modern fortification having besides the other advantages which it hath equally with the other Imperial Towns that of the oversight of the Teutonick Association whereof all theâ— Archivi are kept in the Guild-Hall of this City How considerable it is in the Empire may be judg'd by the contributions it payes towards the charges of the journey to Rome which amount to 21 horsemen and 177 foot and reduc'd to money to 1980 Livers a mouth As for its rank at the Diets it hath a place alternatively with the city of Worâ—nes In this city the Peace between the Emperor Ferdinand II. and Christian IV. King of Denmark was concluded in the year 1629. The Bishoprick of Wagria which was transferr'd from Aldenbourg to this city is now possess'd by Iohn Duke of Holstein brother to Frederick Duke of Holstein who lives at Oitin Here also I escaped another great misfortune as I alighted off my horse I fell upon my wounded arm but ere I could get up again Mandelslo's horse which was furious and skittish startingthereat stood up on his hinder feet and very narrowly miss'd my head with his fore-feet We travel'd on in the Afternoon and came that night to an Inn in the suburbs of Arnsbock This little city lying in Wagria between Lubeck and Pretz belonged heretofore to the Carthusians but now it is possess'd by Ioachin Ernest Duke of Holstein by the branch of Sounderborg who is married to Dorothea Augusta our Prince's Sister Upon which accompt it was that he sent a coach and six horses to bring us to the Castle where the Ambassadors and some of the retinue supp'd at his own Table and lay there the night following The next day we broke our fast at the Castle which done we were brought in the Duke's coach to our Inn whence we continued our journey and got the same day to Pretz where there is a very rich and sumptuous Monastery of young Ladies Nobly descended who are maintain'd there till they leave the place to embrace a married life April 6. about noon we came to Kiel a city situated upon the Baltick Sea and famous for a Fair kept there yearly at Twelf-tide which brings thither all the Nobility about the country and a very great number of Merchants We got the same night to Gottorp for which we are to give Almighty God our humble thanks and the next day the Ambassadors made a report of their negotiation And so much by way of accompt of our first Voyage into Muscovy THE TRAVELS OF THE AMBASSADORS FROM THE DUKE of HOLSTEIN INTO MUSCOVY and PERSIA The Second Book HIs Highness had no sooner understood that the Great Duke of Muscovy had permitted his Ambassadors to pass through his country to go into Persia but all his thoughts were busied about the prosecution of the second Voyage whereof the expence was incredible which he gives order for causing all necessary preparations to be made and presents to be fought out worthy so great a Monarch He also augmented the Ambassadors retinue and ordered that till the time of their departure the Gentlemen Officers and Servants should be entertain'd at Hambooough at the house of Otton Brugman one of the Ambassadors where they were very well treated every one according to his condition and quality the Trumpet always sounding when the meat was carried up which was also done all along the Voyage The retinue consisted of a Mareshal or Steward a Secretary of the Embassy four Gentlemen of the Chamber and eight other Gentlemen for ordinary attendance among whom were the Minister and interpreter four Pages of the Chamber four other Pages four Grooms of the Chamber four Masicians a Controler a Harbinger two Sumpter-men an Overseer of the Servants two Trumpetters two Watch-makers eight Halbaldiers who were of several professions as Bakers Shoe-makers Taylors Smiths Sadlers c. ten Laqueys a Clark for the Kitchin with two Head-cooks and one Under-cook a Master of the Waggons and his Servant ten Servants belonging to the Gentlemen an Interpreter for the Muscovian Language another for the Persian and a third for the Turkish The Sumpter-men the Musicians and the Trumpeters had also their boys eight in number besides twelve other persons for the ordering of things belonging to the Ship and 30 Souldiers and four Muscovian Officers with their Servants whom we eatertain'd into our service in Muscovy with the Great Duke's permission All Summer and some part of Autumn were spent in preparation for this Voyage insomuch that we could not get from Hamborough till the 21 of October 1635. The 24 we got to Lubeck where we staid two days during which our Baggage and Horses which were 12. were embark'd at Trauemunde The 27. we followed and went aboard about noon with all our people into a new Ship that had never been at Sea before The wind serv'd as well as could be wish'd to get out of the Harbour and yet we met with such a strong current of water that we could not avoid falling foul on two great Ships that were in the Port between which we were so intangled that we could not in three hours dis-engage our selves Which many among us took for an ill omen of the misfortune that happen'd to us some few dayes after Oct. 28. about five in the morning after prayers said we set sail with a West-South-West wind which growing higher at noon was at night heightned to a dreadful Tempest It continu'd all night during which we discover'd that our Mariners were as raw as the Ship was new which had never seen the Sea till that time and it was our continual fear that the Mast would slip out of its place in as much as the ropes being new stretch'd so that they seem'd not to have any hold of it The 29. we found our selves to
relieve his friends was struck over the head with an iron-bar which bruis'd the skull so as that he dyed the next day The Magistrate did all lay in his power to find out the Murtherer but to no purpose so that all the reparation was that the Senate together with the Ambassadors and their retinue accompany'd him to the grave Reuel is situated at 50. degr 25. min. latitude and 48. deg 30. min. longitude upon the Baltick Sea in the Province of Esthonie Waldemar or Wolmar II. King of Denmark laid the foundations of it about the year 1230. Wolmar III. sold it in the year 1347. together with the Cities of Narvan and Wesenberg to Gosuin d'Eck Master of the Order of Livonia for 19000. Marks of Silver About 100. years since Livonia groaning under a troublesome War against Muscovy this City put it self under the protection of Eric King of Sueden It was so strong in those times that it indur'd a notable Siege in the year 1570. against Magnus Duke of Holstein who commanded the Great Duke's Army and another in the year 1577. against the same Muscovites who were forc'd to raise it with loss The situation of its Castle is so much the more advantageous for that the Rock on which it is built is steepy on all sides unless it be towards the City which being fortify'd according to the modern fortification is almost as considerable a place as Riga whence it came that for some years it had the oversight of the College at Novogorod joyntly with the City of Lubeck It hath been these 300. years numbred among the Hanseatick Towns but its Commerce began not to be great till about the year 1477. and at that time it might well keep up its Traffick especially that of Muscovy by reason of her excellent Port and Haven which indeed are such as if God and Nature had intended it for the convenience of Commerce Had it not been ingross'd into few hands it had still continu'd in the same posture but having broken with the other Hanseatick Towns in the year 1550. and the Great Duke having taken Narva soon after the Muscovites establish'd there the Trading they before had at Reuel It still enjoyes the privilege of being a Mart and the Inhabitants have with the preference of the Merchandises discharg'd in their Port the power to hinder the Traffick of Livonia into Muscovy without their permission These privileges have been confirmed to it by all the Treaties that have been made between the Kings of Suoden and Dukes of Muscovy as in the year 1595. at Teusina in 1607. at Wibourg and in 1617. at Stoluoâ—s 'T is true it hath lost some of these advantages since the last War of Muscovy which were taken away left in imitation of several other of the Hanseatick Towns it should attempt a defection from its Prince yet does it still enjoy many other privileges which have been confirmed to it from time to time by the Masters of the Order while they were Lords of the Country and afterwards by the Kings their Successors It observes the same Customes with Lubeck and hath a Consistory and a Superintendent for Ecclesiastical affairs professing the Protestant Religion according to the Auspourg Confession as also a very fair School whence there come very good Scholars who consummate their studies at Derpt or some other Universities in those quarters The Government of the City is Democratical the Magistrate being oblig'd to summon the principal of several Professions and the most antient Inhabitants to consultations that concern affairs of Importance There are still to be seen within half a League of the City towards the Sea-side the ruins of a fair Monastery founded by a Merchant of that City at the beginning of the 15th age out of a particular devotion he had for St. Bridget under Conrad de Iungingen Grand Master of Prussia and Conrad de Vitinghof Master Provincial of Livonia It consisted of both Religious Men and Women and the Book I saw of the foundation of this Monastery pleasantly acquaints the Reader that the Friers and Nuns there had found out a way to express their meanings one to another by signs of which there is in it a little Dictionary Livonia hath on the East Muscovy on the North a Gulf of the Baltick Sea dividing it from Sueden and Finland on the West the same Baltick Sea and on the South Samogitia Lithuania and Prussia It is above 120. German leagues in length and about 40. in breadth and is divided into Esthonie Lettie and Courland The first of these Provinces is subdivided into five Circuits called Harrie Wirland Allentaken Ierwe and Wiecks it s chief City Reuel as Lettie hath Rigaâ— and Courland Goldingen By the Treaty concluded between the King of Poland and the Great Duke of Muscovy Jan. 15. 1582. the Duke restor'd to the Crown of Poland all the places of Livonia those excepted which the King of Sueden was possess'd of in Esthony Now it is in a manner all under the power of the Suede Livonia is in all parts very fertile and particularly in Wheat For though it hath suffered much by the Muscovites yet it is now more and more reduc'd to tillage by setting the Forests afire and sowing in the ashes of the burnt Wood and Turf which for three or four years produce excellent good Wheat and with great increase without any Dung Which is the more to be admir'd in that 't is known there remains to generative quality in the ashes So that it is to be conceiv'd that the Sulphur and Saltpeter which remain with the Cinders upon the earth leave behind them a heat and fatness able to produce as well as dung Which conceit is not disâ—onant from what Strabo says at the end of his fifth book where he speaks of the fertility of the Lands near the Mountain Vesuvius and Mont-gibel in Sicily There is also abundance of Cattel and Fowl so cheap that many times we bought a young Hare for four pence a Heath-Cock for fix and accordingly others so that it is much cheaper living there than in Germany The Inhabitants were a long time Heathens it being in the 12 age that the rayes of the Sun of righteousness began to break in upon them occasion'd by the frequentation of certain Merchants of Bremen and the Commerce they were desirous to establish in those parts About the year 1158. one of their Ships having been forc'd by a Tempest into the Gulf of Riga which was not yet known the Merchants agreed so well with the Inhabitants of the Country that they resolv'd to continue their Traffick there having withall this satisfaction that the people being very simple they thought it would be no hard matter to reduce them to Christianity Menard a Monk of Segeberg was the first that preach'd the Gospel to them and was made first Bishop of Livonia by Pope Alexander III. in the year 1170. Menard was succeeded in the Bishoprick of Livonia by
that one Bushel of Wheat sown yeelds 25. or 30. The River Clesma which passes by it falls into the River Occa near the City of Murom The Great Dukes had chosen it for the most convenient place for their residence till Prince Danilou Michaelouits translated the Emperial Seat to Moscou The Province of Smolensko hath on the East the Province of Muscovy on the North Siberia on the South Lithavie and towards the West Livonia The Metropolis of the Province Smolensko is seated upon the River Nieper which they say is the same the Antients called Boristhenes though that of Berezine comes nearer to that name The other eminent Cities of it are Prohobus upon the Nieper Wesma upon a River of the same name and Mosaysko The City of Smolensko hath on the side of the River a Cittadel fortify'd with great Chains and good Ditches with a good Counterscarp well palisadoed The Muscovites took this City from the Poles in the year 15â—4 Sigismond King of Poland Recover'd it again in the year 1611. and the late Great Duke Michael Federouits besieg'd it in the year 1633. but was forc'd to raise the siege as we shall have occasion to relate anon The Great Duke that now is took it by composition in the year 1654. and is still possess'd of it The Province of Rhesan lies between the Rivers Don and Occa having on the West Muscovy from which it is divided by the River Aka This is the most fruitful Province of all Muscovy and produces abundance of Wheat Hony Fish and all sorts of Venizon and Fowl Besides the chief City which is upon the River Occa it hath also those of Corsira and Tulla upon the River of that name Permie is one of the greatest Provinces of all Muscovy and distant from Moscou 250. or 300. German leagues towards the East and North. It s chief City whence it hath its name lies upon the River of Vischora which falls into Kam 15. leagues thence The Inhabitants of this Province have a Language and Characters peculiar to themselves They eat Herbs instead of bread and instead of Tribute send the Great Duke Horses and Furrs Its neighbours Eastward are the Tartars of Tumen The Baron of Herberstein sayes that the Province of Iugarie is that whence the Hongrians came who now live in the Country that lies upon the Dannow The Province of Wiathka is 150. German leagues distant from the City of Moscou towards the East beyond the River Kam The River of Wiathka gives it the name which falls into Kam which falls into Wolga 12. leagues below Casan The Country is woody and barren and much subject to the incursions of the Tartars Czeremisses who were the Masters of it till Basili Great Duke of Muscovy united it to his Crown The Principality of Bielsk derives the name from Biela its chief City as does the Province of Rschouie from that of the City of Rschewa and that of Tuere from the City of that name The City and Dutchy of Plescou was govern'd by its own Princes till the Great Duke Iohn Basilouits re-united both to his Crown in the year 1509. The Muscovites call it Pskow from the Lake upon which the chief City is seated and out of which rises the River of the same name that passes through the City Siberia is of great extent and had a long time it s own Princes who paid Tribute to the Kings of Poland upon the accompt of Lithuania on which they had some dependence They revolted from Casimer son of Iagellon King of Poland and became subject to the Great Duke of Muscovy The Czaar Basili ejected the Duke of Siberie and united the Province to his Crown The chief City is Novogorod but to distinguish it from others of the same name it is called Novogorod Siebersky that is Novogorod or the New City of Siberie It s other eminent Cities are Starodub Petivola Czernigou and Bransko The Dutchies of Iarostaf Rosthou and Susdal were a long time enjoy'd by the younger Brothers of Muscovy till Iohn Basilouits re-united them to the Crown in the year 1565. The Province of Dwina is the greatest and more Northern of all Muscovy and was heretofore subject to the Duke of Novogorod The River of Dwina falls into the white Sea near Archangel It is not long since that this Province which is a hundred leagues in length had but one City in it of the same name seated in the midst of it but now that the Muscovites have Translated into those parts the Trade which the English Dutch and Hanseatick Towns were wont to bring to Narva it is become one of the most considerable Provinces of all Muscovy The greatest place of Commerce is called Archangel from the Archangel St. Michael and situated at the mouth of the Dwina where it makes the Island of Podesemski The City is not very great but of great Trading by reason of the many Ships that come every year which bring thither the Muscovian Merchants especially those strangers that live at Moscou with the commodities of the Country to truck for those that are brought thither The Great Duke makes great advantages of it but the Impositions he laies upon all Merchandlses are so great that it is not unlikely Strangers will in time return to Narva where the King of Sueden takes but two in the hundred and to which navigation is not so dangerous In the Gulf which the Sea makes near the mouth of Dwina are three Islands called Solofka Anger and Coloua There was heretofore in the former of these the Sepulchre of a Muscovian Saint but 3. or 4. years since the Great Duke caused the Body to be translated thence to Moscou Some report that the Great Dukes Predecessors of him that now reigns had hidden a great Treasure there as being a place inaccessible by reason of its high and steepy Rocks The Province of Vstiugha is next to that of Dwina but more Southerly and was also subject to the Duke of Novogorod The chief City of the same name is so called from the word Vst which signifies the mouth of a River as the Latine word Ostium and Iugh because it was seated at the place where the River of Iugh falls into Suchana from which it is now half a league distant Its Inhabitants eat no Bread but are content with Fish and Venison dry'd in the Sun Thence are brought the fairest black-Foxes skins Vologda seated in the Province of the same name is the only City in all Muscovy that hath a stone wall about it being the place whither the Great Duke in time of War was wont to send some part of his Treasures It sometime belonged to the Duke of Novogorod but is now together with the Province re-united to Muscovy The River of Vologda whence it takes its name falls with the Dwina into the white Sea The Dutchy of Bielejezoro is also one
of the Northern Provinces of this great State but so full of Woods and Rivers that it is in a manner inaccessible unless it be when the Fenns and Rivers are frozen The Province of Petzora reaches along the frozen Sea towards the East and North. The River of Petzora whence it hath the name falls into the Sea near the Streight of Weigats below the City of Pustioziero by six several channels The mountains which the Muscovites call Zimnopoias that is the Girdle of the Earth the same as it is believed as the Antients called the Riphaean and Hiperborean mountains lye on both sides of it and afford the best Sables and excellent Hawks The City is but little and the cold so great in this Province that the Rivers are frozen from August to May. Upon this Province border the Samoicdes a people we shall have occasion to speak of hereafter The Province of Obdorie derives its name from the River Oby which rising out of the great Lake of Kataisko and running from the East towards the North falls into the frozen Sea and is so broad at the mouth that with a very good wind a Ship will have much ado to cross from one side to the other in two days As for the Tartarian Provinces that are subject to the Great Duke we shall give an accompt of them in the prosecution of our Travels along the River Wolga of which River we shall only say by the way that in the Province of Rschouie two leagues from its chief City and in the great forest of Wolkowskiles is the Lake of Wronow out of which rises a River that two leagues off that place falls into the Lake of Wolga from which it derives its name and is thence forward called Wolga The Tartars call it Edel and 't is the same as Ptolomy calls Rha. 'T is doubtless the greatest River in all Europe since that from the City of Nise-Novogorod near which we went into it out of the River Ocea to the Caspian Sea we have counted above 500 German leagues not accounting above a hundred leagues more there is from its source to the place where the Occa falls into it The Boristhenes which those of the Country call Dnieper rises out of the same Province ten leagues from the Lake of Fronowo near a Village called Dniepersko It divides Lithuania from Muscovy and after it hath taken its course towards the South where it passes near Wiesma and thence towards the East bathing the Cities of Progobus Smolensko Orscha Dubrowna and Mohilouw it turns again towards the South and passing by Kiouie by the Circasses and thence toward Otzakow a City of the Tartarians of Precop it falls into the Euxine Sea There are in Muscovy two Rivers called Dwina one rises out of a Lake of the same name ten leagues from the Lake of Fronowo and the source of Dnieper and falls into the Baltick Sea below Riga The other rising at the conjunction of the Rivers of Iagel and Sachana gives its name to the Province before mentioned and falls into the White Sea near Archangel The Rivers of Mosca and Occa are pleasant and very considerable but they lose their names with all the other Rivers in the Countrey when they fall into those we have before spoken of Muscovy then being of such extent as we have said it is not to be imagin'd that in Provinces so distant and situated in so different climates Air and Earth are alike qualify'd every where About Moscou and the adjacent Provinces the Air is good and healrhy so that there is no talk of the Plague or any other Epidemical disease Which was the reason that in the year 1654. at the beginning of the War of Smolensko when the Infection made such havock in that great City people were the more surpriz'd thereat in regard the like had not been known in the memory of man It was so great that those were seen dying in the streets who thought themselves well enough when they came out of their houses and all Muscovy was so astonish'd at it that all the Avenues of Moscou were block'd up The cold is so piercing that no fur can prevent the Nose Ears Feet and Hands from freezing and falling At our first Voyage thither in 1634. the cold was so sharp that in the great Market-place before the Castle we saw the earth open above twenty fathoms in length and a foot broad We could not go 50 steps without hazard of losing some of our members I saw there by experience what others have left in writing that spittle froze before it came to the ground and water as it dropp'd I observ'd withal that the earth is open there in a manner as soon as in Germany and that the Spring fruits come much about the same time for the more the earth is cover'd with Snow the more it keeps in the heat requisite to promote vegetation The Ice and Snow together make the ways so even that it is much easier travelling there than any where else For Winter-travelling the Muscovites make use of Sledges made very low of the bark of Trees cover'd with some coarse kind of Cloath We lay all along in them and covering our selves with sheep-skins and the Sledges being cover'd with Sack-cloath or some coarse Cloath we not only felt not the cold but even sweated in the depth of Winter The Muscovian Horses are very low yet fit enough for this kind of travelling for being swift and indefatigable they will go 8. 10. nay many times 12 leagues without staying by the way I have my self travell'd twice from Tuere to Torsock without any halt by the way Hence is it that travelling is so cheap that a Country fellow shall bring you fifty leagues for three or four Crowns at most If the cold be sharp in the Winter the heat is no less troublesom in Summer not proceeding so much from the scorching rayes of the Sun which is there in a manner always above the Horizon and makes the day 18. hours long as occasion'd by the Flies Wasps Gnats and other insects which the Sun produces in the Moors and Fens which take up a great part of the Country in such abundance that night and day they are extremely troublesome But the Fens and Forests which Muscovy is well stor'd with hinder not but the Land they cultivate is very Fertile For unless it be about Mosco where the soyl is barren and gravelly let them take ever so little pains with their grounds in other places they will bring forth more Wheat and Pasture than the Countrey can consume The Hollanders acknowledge that Muscovy is to them what Sicily was sometime to Rome You never hear talk of dearth though in the Provinces that have not the convenience of Rivers to transport their Corn the Inhabitants manure only so much ground as will afford them a bare subsistence for the present year not minding the future as
intreat Demetrius to come as soon as he pleas'd and take possession of the Kingdom of his Ancestors They also begg'd his pardon for what they had done through ignorance upon the instigation of Boris assured him of their affection and obedience and as a pledge of their fidelity they profer'd to put into his hands the deceased Duke's Son his Mother and all his Family to be disposed of as he should think it Upon these overtures Demetrius sent a Deak or Secretary named Iuan Bogdanou with order to strangle the Mother and Son and to give out that they were poison'd Which was accordingly executed the 10. of Iune 1605. in the second moneth of the reign of Foedor Borissouits The 16. of the same moneth Demetrius came to Moscou with his Army which strangely encreased as he came along The whole City went out to meet him and made him Presents He was Crown'd the 21. of Iuly with extrtordinary Ceremonies And that there might be no question made of the lawfulness of his birth he sent for the Mother of the true Demetrius whom Boris Gudenou had shut up in a Monastery at a great distance from Moscou He went to meet her with a Noble retinue of Courtiers lodg'd her in the Castle where he caused her to be treated with all magnificence visiting her every day and doing her all the honour a Mother could expect from a Son The good Lady knew well enough that Demetrius her Son had been kill'd but she cunningly dissembled it as well out of the resentment she had against the memory of Boris Gudenou and the fear she was in to be ill-treated by this counterfeit Demetrius as for that she was not a little pleas'd to see her self so much honour'd and enjoy the sweetness of a happy life after the miseries and afflictions she had endured in the Monastery since her Son's death But when the Muscovites found his manner of life different from that of the Great Dukes his predecessors that he was resolv'd to marry a Roman Catholick the Weywode of Sandomiria's daughter and ransack'd the Treasuries of the Kingdom to furnish her according to the advancement she expected they began to mistrust him and to perceive they had been mistaken One of the principal Knez named Vasili Zuski was the first that offer'd to speak of it to some other Lords as well Ecclesiastical as Secular and to remonstrate to them the danger whereto both the State and Religion were expos'd by the Alliance which that Counterfeit intended to make with a strange woman and of a contrary Religion adding that of necessity he was an Impostor and a lewd person Upon this it was resolv'd he should be dispatch'd out of the way but the Conspiracy being discover'd and Zuski taken Demetrius got him sentenc'd to death but sent him a pardon upon the point of execution hoping by that mildness to gain the affection of the Muscovites Accordingly all was quiet till the day of his marriage which was the 8. of May 1606. The Bride being arriv'd with a great number of Poles Armed and in a capacity to become Masters of the City the Muscovites began to open their eyes Zuski got to his own house several Knez and Bojares propos'd to their consideration the present State of Affairs the unavoidable ruine of both State and Religion and profer'd for the preservation thereof once more to expose his person and life They gave him thanks and promis'd to assist him with their Persons and Estates when there should be an opportunity to put their design in execution They had a fair one the last day of the Nuptial solemnity which was the ninth after the Wedding and the 17. of May. The Great Duke and his Company being got drunk and asleep the Muscovites caused all the Bells in the City to be rung as they are wont in case of fire to give an Alarm whereupon they immediately put themselves into Arms and set upon the Castle where having defeated the Polish Guards and forc'd the Gates they entred the Great Dukes Chamber who thought to avoid present death by leaping out at a window into the Court in hope to save himself among the Guards which were still there in Arms but he was taken and cruelly us'd The Castle was ransack'd Zuski addressing himself to the pretended Mother of Demetrius oblig'd her to swear by the Cross whether Demetrius was her Son or no to which having answer'd that he was not and that she never had but one Son who had been unfortunately murther'd they shot the Counterfeit Demetrius in the head with a Pistol They imprison'd the pretended Great Dutchess with her Father and Brother as also the Polish Ambassador The Ladies and Gentlewomen were abus'd and deflour'd and above 1700. men kill'd among whom were many Jewellers Merchants who had abundance of Jewels about them Demetrius's body was stripp'd and dragg'd to the place before the Castle where it lay expos'd for three whole days After which they buried it but it was immediately taken up again to be burnt and reduc'd to ashes This conspiracy thus succeeding the Muscovites chose into the place of Demetrius Knez Basilouits Zuski the Ring-leader of the Enterprise who was Crown'd Iune 1. 1606. But he was no sooner got into the Throne ere another Impostor disputed the possession of it His name was Knez Gregori Schacopski who at the pillaging of the Castle having found the Seals of the Kingdom fell into a League with two Polauders and made a shift to go into Poland He made use of the same invention as his Predecessor and took the name of Demetrius giving out where he came that he had escap'd the Massacre in the night time that they had kill'd another in his stead and that he was going into Poland to raise another Army to punish the Muscovites for their infidelity and ingratitude About the same time started up another Demetrius in the City of Moscou He was Clerk to one of the Secretaries of State got into the field made use of the same imposture as the two others and found abetters by whose assistance he became Master of many great Cities This occasion'd many other disorders which the Polanders countenanc'd out of their resentment of the affront they had receiv'd from the Muscovites The events of the War occasioned thereby prov'd so fatal and unhappy that the Muscovites quarrell'd at Zuski and look'd upon him as the sole cause of all their misfortunes They said his Government was unjust because unfortunate and that there must needs be something fatal in his person when victory seem'd to shun him to side with his Enemies Three Muscovian Lords Zacchary Lippanow Michael Molsaneck and Iuan Kesefski were the first that amus'd the people with these reports and perceiving they were well receiv'd among them proceeded in their design depriv'd Zuski of his Dignity shut him up in a Monastery and had him shaved Upon this the Knez and Bojares to avoid the jealousie which the
in its ashes No body would endeavour to prevent it those who were oblig'd thereto being got so drunk that lying along in the streets the vapours of the fire they had in their bodies together with the smoak of that which was then in its way to burn down the whole City choak'd them as they lay About 11. at night some strangers looking with no small astonishment on the fire in that house where they kept the Strong-water for the Great Duke's Provision perceiv'd at some distance a Monk coming towards them with a great burthen which by his blowing they conceiv'd must needs be very heavy Being come near he call'd for some desiring them they would help him to cast into the fire the body of the abominable Plesseou which he dragg'd after him it being as he said the only way to quench it But the Germans refusing to meddle with it he fell a-swearing and cursing till some Muscovites did him the good office and holp him to cast the Carcass into the fire which immediately began to abate and some time after went out ere they left the place Some dayes after this accident the Great Duke treated the Strelits with Strong-water and Hydromel and his Father-in-law Ilia Danilouits Miloslausky invited divers Citizens of several Professions to dine with him and spent several dayes together in entertainments The Patriarch also enjoyn'd the Priests and Monks to endeavour the settlement of unquiet spirits and to press unto them the respect and obedience to which their consciences oblige them All thus quieted and the Great Duke having supply'd the places of the executed with able and approved persons he took the opportunity of a Procession to speak to the people in the presence of Nikita Ieuanouits Romanou and told them that he was extremely troubled to hear of the injuries and violences done by Plesseou and Trachanistou under his name but contrary to his intention That he had put into their places persons of integrity and such as being acceptable to the people would administer Justice equally and without corruption and that they might not fail therein he would have an eye over them That he repeal'd the Edict about the imposition laid on Salt and that he would with the soonest suppress all Monopolies That they should enjoy all their Privileges which if occasion were he would augment Whereupon the people having smitten their forehead and given his Majesty thanks the Great Duke re-assumed his discourse and said That it was true indeed he had promis'd to deliver up to them the person of Boris Iuanouits Morosou and acknowledg'd that he could not absolutely justifie him but that he could not also resolve to condemn him That he hoped the people would not deny the first Request he should make to them which was that they would pardon Morosou only for that time as to what he might have displeas'd them in That he would be answerable for him and durst assure them that Morosou should so behave himself for the future as that they should have occasion to speak well of him That if they would not have him to be any longer of of his Councel he would dismiss him but that he desir'd them to look on that Lord as one who had been a Father to their Prince and one that having married the Great Dutchess's Sister must needs be extremely dear to him and consequently that it would be very hard for him to consent to his death The tears which concluded this discourse of the Great Duke's discover'd the affection he had for that Favorite and so mov'd the people that they all cry'd out God grant His Highness a long and happy life God's and the Great Duke's will be done The Czaar conceived an extraordinary joy hereat thanked the people and highly celebrated the zeal and affection they express'd for his estate and person Some few dayes after Morosou appeared in publick among those who attended the Great Duke upon occasion of a Pilgrimage which he made to the Monastery of Troitza He went uncover'd from the Castle to the City gate saluting the people on both sides with great submissions and from that time he laid hold on all occasions to gratifie and assist those who addressed themselves to him in any business they had at Court The story we have related confirms the truth of what we have said elsewhere that the Muscovites how submissive and slavish soever they may be will endeavour the recovery of their freedom when the Government becomes insupportable to them and casts them into despair I shall here add another later example which will be the less tedious in that it hath some dependence on the precedent and relates very much to what we have seen much about the same time in all the other Countries of Europe The Great Duke of Muscovy sent in the year 1649. a solemn Embassy to the Queen of Sueden the chief person whereof was the Ocolnitza Boris Iuanouits Puskin He had order among other things to accommodate the difference which seemed to threaten those two States with an inevitable War proceeding hence that the Subjects of both Crowns left their own habitations and got into the other Kingdom to avoid the payment of their debts And in regard that for 32 years that accompt had not been clear'd and that there were more Suedes in Muscovy than there were Muscovites in Sueden it was mentioned in the Treaty made by Puskin at Stockholm that for the first thirty years there should be a liquidation of all accompts and for the two other the Great Duke should pay to the Queen and Crown of Sueden 190000 Roubles that is 390000 Crowns part in mony part in Rye and that the payment should be made in the Spring of the year 1650. Accordingly Iohn de Rodes being come at that time to Moscou in the quality of Commissary for the Queen of Sueden receiv'd in Copecs and Ducats 300000. Crowns and order was sent to Foedor Amilianou a Merchant of Plescou to provide as much Rye as should amount to 90000. Crowns This interess'd man caus'd all the Rye wherever it were to be seized and permitted not private persons to buy so much as a bushel without his permission which good leave of his they were forc'd to buy at a dear rate The Inhabitants of Plescou were so impatient under this oppression that they not only quarrel'd at the avarice of the Suedes but charg'd Puskin with prevarication in his Employment and perfidiousness towards his Prince They said that Morosou held correspondence with Strangers and presuming that this negotiation was concluded contrary to the Great Duke's intention they endeavour'd to engage the City of Novogorod in their quarrel and went so far on in their work that some of the chiefest Merchants having declared for them the Weywode had much ado to prevent an insurrection of the whole City Both these and the others resolv'd that they would stop the money when it was to be transported into Sueden and that they would no
correct their errour who affirm that the Province of Rhesan lies West-ward from Moscou since they themselves confess it is between the Rivers of Don and Occa which are not towards the West from Moscou but towards the East so that Rhesan must be placed in the Map South-ward from the City of Moscou The same day we pass'd in sight of several Monasteries and Villages as that of Seloy neer Rhesan on the left hand and 7. werstes thence Kystrus as also on the other side 3. werstes thence the Monastery of Oblozitza and 2. werstes thence Lippono-Issado at 2. thence Muratou at 1. thence Kallionino and 2. thence Schilko Near the first Village we found a Carkass floating on the water which in all likelihood the Cosaques had cast into the River many dayes before in as much as it was so Sun-burnt that it was become black In the afternoon we got four leagues The 6. we made two as far as the Monastery of Tericho on the left hand thence two more to Tinersko Slowoda on the right hand and afterwards 8. werstes to Swintzus and thence 2. werstes to Kopanowo where we found another dead Carcass But the Cosaques and the fugitive Slaves who retire into those parts do there commit so many Villanies that the Muscovites to whom those accidents are ordinary thought it nothing strange Iuly 7. betimes in the morning we left on the right hand an Island called Dobrinin Ostrow 30. werstes or 6. leagues from the last Village and afterwards Seloy Rubets at 7. werstes thence and at 7. more thence on the same side Kurman About 6. werstes thence we had on the left hand the River Gusreca and several other Villages and on the right hand Molcowa at 8. werstes Gabiloska at two and Babino at three Thence we made three werstes and came at night to Cassinogorod This City lies on the right side of the River Occa in the Principality of Cassinou in Tartary and there it was we first met with any Mahometans Not far from the City in an old stone Castle which had sometime been a Fort lived a young Prince of that Country whose name was Res Ketzi with his Mother and Grand-father who some years before had put himself into the protection of the Great Duke of Muscovy We were told that the Great Duke would have press'd him to receive Baptism upon some hopes given him that he should have married his Daughter but the young Prince who was but 12. years of age sent him word that being not come to years so as to make choice of any Religion he could not take a resolution of that importance The Ambassadors sent two Gentlemen of their retinue to give him a visit and presented him with a pound of Tobacco and a bottle of Aqua-vitae He took it very kindly and made it his excuse that he could not entertain the Ambassadors at his house left the neighbouring Weywodes should conceive any jealousy at his entertaining of Strangers without their permission He therefore only sent some of his Servants to us whom our Interpreter could hardly make a shift to understand they being all Tartars He sent us a present of two sheep a Barrel of Hydromel another of Beer and a third of Aqua-vitae with some pieces of Ice Cream and fresh Butter which the Prince's mother had her self taken the pains to beat The night following and the next day being the 9. we saw as we pass'd several Villages Monasteries and Taverns most of them very pleasantly seated amidst the woods among others on the right hand Potsink Tartasko three werstes from Cassinogorod and at seven werstes thence Seloy Pettiowo Then a Tavern or Caback at eight werstes and Brooth at five werstes one from another upon the left hand and then on the right hand the River of Moksche at eight werstes then on the left hand another Tavern at two werstes thence Sateowa at 13 werstes the Monastery of Adrianou Pustino at 13 more Iâ—katma This last is a great Village containing about 300 houses and belongs to the Bojar Foedor Iuanouits Sheremetou And thence we got 20 werstes to the Forest of Rusbonor The 9. we got ten werstes to the Church of Worskressenia commonly called Woskressenskimehl upon the left hand and thence five werstes to a great Village named Lechi belonging to Knez Boris Michaelouits Lycou on the same side and thence about ten werstes to Pretziste Resenskou on the right hand and at last to the City of Moruma on the left hand Before we got to the City we discover'd on the other side of the River a company of Crim Tartars who presently got into the woods whence they discharg'd their Fowling pieces at us which we answer'd with Muskers and so forc'd them to keep off They were seen afterwards below the City whence we imagin'd they would have set upon us the night following whereupon we lay under the Isle of of Zuchtsko Ostrou and set a strong Guard but we heard no more of them The City of Moruma is the chiefest of the Tartars of Mordwa and is inhabited by Muscovites and Tartars but subject to the Great Duke VVe sent our Interpreter to the Market to buy some provisions necessary for the continuation of our Voyage The 10. we passed by the Town of Prewospalo belonging to Knez Iuan Borissowits Circaski one of the Great Dukes Privy Councel and left on both hands several little Villages and the River of Morsna Reka on the right hand and at eight werstes thence that of Clesna which comes from Wladimer All along from that place the shore on the right hand rises by little and little to such an extraordinary height that looking on it from the water it seems to be one continued mountain for above a hundred German leagues along the River Wolga Insomuch that even in that season as also in the greatest heat of Summer those parts are not without Ice and Snow though all elsewhere the Country is plain fertile and fit for Tillage reaching above a hundred leagues towards the South-west and on the other side it lies very low barren and moorish Iuly 11. having pass'd by the pleasant Villages of Isbuilets Troitska Slowoda the Monastery of Dudina and Nofimki we got at night before the great and Noble City of Nise or Nisenovogorod where we found the ship called the Frederick which we had ordered to be built by our Captain Michael Cordes whereof we spoke in the beginning of our Relation It was not quite finish'd by reason the Muscovian Carpenters whom the Captain had employ'd about her had not answer'd his expectation yet was it so far on that the Ambassadors lodg'd in it and so forbore going into the City It was built of Deal being 120 foot long and 40 broad having three Masts and so flat-bottom'd that it took but seven foot water It had many Chambers and Closets for the convenience of the Ambassadors the Officers and Gentlemen of
him word that his Army was upon the march in order to the besieging of Casan This Siege caus'd the loss of much blood on both sides but prov'd unfortunate to the Muscovites who were at last forc'd to raise it Thus ended the War between the Great Duke Basili Iuanouits and the Tartars His Son Iohn Basilouits to shew the World how much he resented the affront which the Muscovites had receiv'd before Casan began his Reign with the Siege of that place Having batter'd it for the space of two moneths together fearing that Mendligeri would come in with his Crim-Tartars to the relief of his Brother and exasperated at the refusal which the besieged had made to accept of very honourable conditions he commanded all the Walls to be undermined and a general assault to be given The Mines wrought their effect and took off great numbers of the Tartars the Assault was given and the place carry'd by storm on the 9 of Iuly 1552. The Tartars perceiving the enemies were gotten into the place took this resolution after they had made a vigorous resistance in two several places within the City where they fortify'd themselves and seeing their chiefest Commanders kill'd or wounded they went out at one of the Gates made their way through the Muscovites and got on the other side of the River Casanska Ever since the City and Province of Casan hath continued under the Muscovite who repair'd the breaches renew'd the Fortifications and reduc'd the Castle to the condition it is now in having four Bastions of stone many Towers and a good Ditch He who had the command of this place when we pass'd that way was Brother to the Weywode of Nise The Ambassadors sent him as a Present by their Chamberlain M. Vchterits a very Noble Ruby M. Mandelslo and I conceiving our Ship would have lain there at Anchor all that day and the next went ashore as well to take the situation of the City as to buy certain provisions We could meet with nothing but Fruits among others particularly Melons full as big as our Pompions and Salt-fish but such as stunk so that we were forc'd to stop our Noses to shun the infection As we came out of the City we met with divers Tartars who told us that our Ship was gone which intelligence oblig'd us to take a VVagon and afterwards to make use of the Pristaf's Boat to bring us aboard which in the evening we found at Anchor two leagues below Casan where they intended to lye all that night The course of the River Wolga from Nisenovogorod to Casan is East-ward and South-East-ward but from Casan to Astrachan and the Caspian Sea it goes from North to South The Country is very good and fertile but in a manner desolate by reason of the Cosâ—ques and hath but few Villages Aug. 15. We continu'd our course with the current of the water which being very strong in that place by reason of the narrowness of the River brought us that day as far as the Village of Klitsischa 26. werstes from Casan lying amidst several Sand-banks which we had much ado to pass through Some part of that day as also of the next we spent in recovering our Anchors whereof the Cables were broken we at last made a shift to get up the great one and left the little one behind as being loath to lose any more time Thence we pass'd by a Tavern called Kabak Tenkofski 30. werstes from Casan where we met with great Sand-banks and about half a League beyond it another Bank near a Tavern called Keshofska which we had much difficulty to pass The 17. We pass'd over a great Bank which had given the name to the Tavern we had pass'd by the day before Thence we came to a place where the shore on one side was very high and some part of it fallen into the River about a moneth before and by its fall had overwhelm'd a Boat full of people who were going that way to gather Cherries whereof there is abundance in those parts The new Pilot whom we had taken up at Casan told us that coming from Astrachan he had met several of those Carkasses floating down the River towards the Caspian Sea Hereabouts near the shore on the right hand we met with great quantities of Ice which we put into our drinks to make them drink the cooler In the evening we came to a place where the great River of Kama falls into the Wolga It comes from North-East out of the Province of Permie and falls into the Wolga on our left hand 60. werstes from Casan The water of it is blackish and it is much about the same breadth as that of Weser in Germany At the mouth of it there are two Islands whereof the greater is called Sokol and upon the Continent over against it a handsom Village called Pagantzina and three werstes thence another named Corotai whence we got seven werstes further as far as a Village named Kirieska where we stay'd all night The 18. The wind was so fair for us that we made all the Sail we could and got by noon to the place where the River Zerdick falls into the Wolga which is also on the left hand It is indeed but a branch of the River Kama making a kind of an Island and having another mouth thirty werstes from the former We discover'd at the same time on our right hand upon a little ascent the City of Tetus distant from Casan 120. werstes having its buildings as well publick as private disorderly scatter'd up and down From this place to the Caspian Sea there is no Village at all In the afternoon near an Island called Proleikarsa we met with the Weywode of Terki This City is seated upon the Caspian Sea near Astrachan and the Weywode upon the expiration of his three years Government was then returning to Moscou to make way for his Successor He was very well attended having a Convoy of eight Boats with Musketiers in them At first we knew not who they were so that we kept them at a distance by threatning to fire at them if they came nearer They told us there were three thousand Cosaques who expected us at the passage some upon the River some on the Caspian Sea that they had seen not far thence upon the River-side 70. horse which the Tartars had drawn off to make a discovery of us and that they would be sure to set upon us thinking with these stories to frighten us We gave them one great shot and kept on our course having the wind so fair as that it carried us 70. werstes that day In the mean time we left on our left hand the River Vtka which rises near the City of Bulgara 25. werstes from Tetus We thought fit the night following to make tryal what our people could do in case we should be set upon so that the Ambassadors conceived it would not be amiss
Wolga for Moscou Opposite to this Mountain is the Island of Kostowata The River hereabouts is very broad by reason of the lowness of the shores on both sides Not far hence there is another Mountain at the foot whereof is the River Vssa which though it there falls into the Wolga yet is united again to it sixty werstes below Samara There are on both sides of the River pleasant Pastures but not far thence there being thick VVoods with a high Mountain adjoyning whence Robbers discover at a great distance what Passengers there are coming it is very dangerous travelling that way The Cosaques make their advantages thereof and not a year before our passage that way they took a great Vessel loaden belonging to one of the richest Merchants of Nise Near this River we had sixty foot water as also near the Mountain Diwisagora which word signifies the Maids Mountain and the Muscovites say it derives its name from certain Maids that had sometime been kept there by a Shee-Dwarf VVe left it on the right hand It is very high and steepy towards the River whence it may be seen divided into several Hills pleasant to the eye by reason of the diversity of the colours some being red some blew some yellow c. and representing at a great distance the ruins of some great and magnificent structure Upon every Hill or Bank is a row of Pine-Trees so regularly planted that a man might doubt whether it were not Artificial were it not that the Mountain is inaccessible of all sides At the foot of this Mountain there rises another which reaches along the River for eight Leagues together The Valley between those two Mountains is called Iabla-new-quas that is to say Apple-drink from the great number of Apple-Trees there which bear Apples fit only for Cider The same day we receiv'd Letters from Moscou by an express Messenger who brought us also Letters from Nise by which we understood that among our Mariners there were four Cosaques who came into our retinue purposely to betray us into the hands of their Camerades This notice though we were carefull enough to look after our people before added to our care and made us more vigilant In the evening after Sun-set we perceiv'd two great fires at the entrance of a VVood on the right hand which putting us into a fear they might be the Cosaques who lay in wait for us there were five or six Musketiers sent to discover what they where but ours having shot off three Muskets the other answer'd them with the like number and discover'd themselves to be Strelits who had been ordered to Guard a Persian Caravan and were then returning to their Garrisons The Ambassador Brugman impatient to hear what accompt our men would bring and thinking they stay'd very long call'd after them as loud as he could but the contrary wind hindred them from hearing him and in that suspence he would have had some of the great Guns discharg'd at those fires but the Ambassador Crusius oppos'd it and told him that their quality obliging them to stand onely upon the defensive part he would not by any means consent thereto In the night between the 26. and 27. our Sentinels perceiv'd in a little Boat two men who thinking to go along by our ship-side were stay'd and forc'd to come aboard us They said they were fisher-men and that the Muscovites whom they called their brethren suffered them to go along with their Boats by night as well as by day but in regard we were told the Cosaques took this course and were wont to come near Vessels to cut their Cables we examin'd them apart and finding their answers different one saying there were 500. Cosaques waiting for us in an Isle near Soratof the other denying it they were kept all night and the next morning we sent them by our Pristaf to the Weywode of Samara The 27. We saw on the left hand in a spacious plain not far from the River side a Hill of Sand like a Down The Muscovites call it Sariol Kurgan and affirm that a certain Tartarian Emperour named Momaon who had a design to enter Muscovy together with seven Kings of the same Nation dy'd in that place and that his Soldiers instead of burying him fill'd their Head-pieces and Bucklers with Sand and so cover'd the body that it became a Mountain About a League from the said Hill and on the same side begins the Mountain of Soccobei which reaches along the River-side as far as Samara which is distant from that place 15. werstes It is very high in a manner all Rock cover'd with Trees unless it be on the top where it is all bare The Muscovites take much notice of this place because it is very dangerous passing thereabouts We came near it about noon but the contrary wind oblig'd us to cast Anchor While we stay'd there we saw coming from the shore two great red Snakes which got by the Cables into the ship As soon as the Muscovites perceiv'd them they intreated us not to kill them but to give them somewhat to eat as being a sort of innocent beasts sent by St. Nicholas to bring us a fair wind and to comfort us in our affliction The 28. We weigh'd betimes in the morning and came before day near the City of Samara which is 350. werstes from Casan It lies on the left hand two werstes from the River side It is as to form almost square all its buildings of VVood unless it be some Churches and two or three Monasteries The River of Samar where it hath the name by a little Bank which is called Sin-Samar falls into the Wolga three werstes below the City but is not absolutely united thereto till after 30 werstes lower We intended to make some stay near the City in expectation to hear by our Pristaf what our Prisoners had depos'd but the wind came so fair for us that we thought better not to let slip the opportunity we then had to make the greatest days journey of any since the beginning of our Voyage Accordingly we got at night to the Mountain of the Cosaques which is 115. werstes from Samara and so the prognostication of the Muscovian Mariners by the Snakes proved true From the City of Samara to the place where the river Samar falls into the Wolga there is all along one continued mountain Near the same place but on the other side of the River the River Ascula falls into it so that the falling in of all these waters together does so swell the Wolga that in this place it is near two leagues broad Afterwards on the right hand may be seen the mountain called Pestcherski which is in a manner all one Rock having very little upon it and reaching near 40 werstes along the river side About 100 werstes from Samara in the midst of the river is the Island of Batrach and ten werstes lower that of Lopatin which is
Astrachan and the Caspian Sea there is only wast grounds and heaths and so barren a soyl that being not able to bring forth any kind of Corn all that Country even the City of Astrachan it self is forc'd to send for Wheat to Casan whence there comes such abundance that it is cheaper at Astrachan than it is at Moscou Below Zariza lies the Isle of Zerpinske It is twelve werstes in length and the Souldiers of the Garrison of Zariza send their Cattel thither 〈◊〉 The Cosaques of those parts having observ'd that the Wives and Daughters of those Soldiers crossed over to the Island without any Guard went thither one day after them surpriz'd ravish'd and sent them back to their husbands without doing them any other mischief Behind this Isle there falls into the Wolga a little River which rises out of the Don but it hath hardly water enough for little Boats which I conceive may be the reason why Geographers represent it not in their Maps there being only Isaac Massa who hath put it into his and calls it Kamous The heats were there abou ts so great in the moneth of September as that of the Dog-dayes is not more insupportable in Germany yet the Muscovites affirm'd they were but ordinary Sept. 7. The weather chang'd and a Tempest following we could not advance much Having sayl'd ten werstes we saw on the right hand a Gibet erected upon a high reddish Hill It was the first we had seen in those parts and we were told it was set up by the Weywode of the next City for the execution of the Cosaques he should take within his Government and that he gave them no other quarter but that their Camerades suffered not the bodies to hang there above five or six dayes The same day an humour took the Ambassador Brugman to cause all the Servants belonging to the Embassy to come before him to whom he said that he had reason to believe that there were many among them who express'd little kindness and respect towards him and if occasion serv'd would do him all the ill Offices lay in their power and consequently that his desire was that the Musicians the Guards and the Lacqueyes should take their Oaths to be faithful to him Answer was made him that his distrust was ill-grounded that they saw not any reason why they should be oblig'd to a thing so extraordinary and that they were so far from having any ill design against him that on the contrary they were all ready to lay down their lives to do him any service but that they intreated him for his part to spare them as much as might be and to treat them more mildly than he had done which he promised to do but it was one of those promises that are either kept or broken The same day we met with a great Boat the Master whereof sent some Mariners aboard us to desire us to pity their sad condition and to relieve them with a little bread in the extremity they were in having not eaten ought for the space of four dayes They told us it was three weeks since they came from Astrachan and that they had been robb'd in their way by thirty Cosaques who had taken away all their Provisions VVe gave them a sack full of pieces of bread for which they gave us thanks with their ordinary Ceremonies bowing their heads down to the ground Forty Werstes from Zariza lies the Isle of Nassonofska and opposite thereto on the right hand a great flat Mountain of the same name Between the Isle and the Mountain there is a kind of a Grott where the Cosaques had some years before kill'd a great number of Muscovites who had lay'n there in ambush to surprise the others In the evening a certain Fisher-man brought us a kind of fish wâ—ich we had never seen before The Muscovites called it Tziberika and it was above five foot long with a long and broad snout like the Bill of a wild Drake and the body full of black and white spots like the Dogs of Poland but much more regular unless it were about the belly where it was all white It had an excellent good taste and was at least as pleasant as that of Salmon he sold us also another kind of fish much resembling a Sturgeon but much less and incomparably more delicate whereof there are abundance in the Wolga The 8. The Caravan which we had left at Zariza came up to us near a Cape called Popowitska Iurga upon this accompt that the son of a Muscovian Pope or Priest who had sometime headed the Cosaques and Bandits was wont to make his retreat and appoint his rendezvous at that place They count from Zariza to that place 70. werstes and thence to the Mountain of Kamnagar which lay on our right hand 40. werstes The River thereabouts is full of Isles and Sand-banks by which the Caravan was no less incommodated than we were though their Vessels were much less than ours Twenty werstes lower there is a very high Island four werstes in length called Wesowi near a River of the same name which falls into the Wolga on the right hand Thirty werstes lower the wind forc'd us into a corner where the River of Wolodinerski Vtsga falls into the Wolga But in regard we were loath to let slip the opportunity of making a great dayes journey which the fairness of that wind put us in hope we might do we with much difficulty made a shift to get out and afterwards pass'd by the Country of Stupin thirty werstes from the City of Tzornogar which was the first we were to come at the next day Ten werstes lower the Wolga puts out a second branch on the left hand called Achtobenisna Vtsga which joyns its waters to those of Achtobska whereof we spoke before Thence we sayl'd five werstes further where the whole fleet cast Anchor near the Isle of Ossina which is seven werstes from Tzornogar So that that day we got 135. werstes or 27. German Leagues that is at the least as far as it is from Paris to Saumur From this Countrey quite down to Astrachan on both sides of the River there grows abundance of Liquorice having a stalk as big as ones arm and about some four foot high The seed of it is much like a vitch and lies in cods upon the top of the stalk The Champain part of Media is cover'd therewith especially towards the River Araxes but the juyce of it is much sweeter and the root much bigger than that which grows in Europe Sept. 9. There rose a wind which soon grew into a Tempest and brought us about noon before the little City of Tzornogar where we stay'd It was but some nine years before that the Great Duke had given order for the building of this City which lies 200. werstes from Zariza some half a League lower than it is now but the great floods having wash'd away the
mercy and through the extraordinary care of the Physician not one dyed The same day which is according to the accompt of the Persians the 21. day of Ramesan they celebrated their Auschur or solemn Feast in memory of Haly their great Saint and Patron The Ceremonies and Devotions were performed in a House built for that purpose without the City The Governour his Calenter and the other chief Officers were in a Gallery of the said House and opposite to the Gallery there was an open Chair about eight foot high which was plac'd under a piece of Linnen Cloath which had been pitch'd there for the convenience of the Chatib that is their Prelate who sat in the said Chair clad in a blew Garment which is the Mourning-Colour of that Country He spent above two hours in reading in a Book which they call Machtelnama containing the Life and Actions of Haly singing with a loud and dolefull yet clear and intelligible Voice and that without any intermission unless it were when he came to some remarkable Passage or some Moral Sentence whereof he only said the first Word leaving the rest to be sung out by the other Priests whereof there stood a great number about the Chair One of those Priests cry'd out at the end of every passage Luanet Chudai ber kuschendi Aaly bad that is Gods Curse be on him who kill'd Haly whereto the whole Assembly answer'd bisch bad kem bad that is rather more than less When he comes to the passage where Haly said to his Children there are some believe he was well skill'd in Judiciary Astrology and that he fore-saw his own Death that he should not live long and that it would not be long ere he were kill'd by one of his Domesticks discovering it should be Abdurraman ibni Meltzem upon which the Children with tears in their eyes intreat him to be carefull of his Person and rather to prevent Abdurraman then suffer them upon his Death to become Orphans destitute of all Comfort and expos'd to the discretion of their Enemies when the Chathib I say comes to this place you shall see the Persians weep and sob most bitterly as they do also when the Chathib represents how Haly was kill'd in their Metzid as he was at Prayers and the desolate condition his Children were in upon his Death When the Chathib hath given over Reading the Chan sends him a Garment of Silk which he immediately puts on and then there were conducted in Procession three Camels carrying Coffins cover'd with black Cloath to represent those of Haly and his two Sons Hassan and Hossein After that follow'd two Chests cover'd with blew Cloath in which were the Books and spiritual Treatises written by Haly. Then came two excellent Horses having at the Pommel of the Saddles andupon the Saddles several Bows Arrows Turbants and Flaggs After them march'd one man alone carrying upon the top of a long pole a kind of Tower or Steeple in which there were thrust four Cimiters but they were cover'd with so many Ribbons and other Toyes that they could hardly be perceived and at last many men carrying on their Heads little Boxes cover'd with Feathers and Flowers of several colours in which the Alchoran lay open These last Danc'd and Leap'd in cadence to a certain dolefull Musick of Hawboyes Timbrels Flageolets and Tabors On the other side many young Boyes Danc'd and Sung together clapping one another upon the shoulders and crying Heder Heder which is the name of Haly Hassan Hossein and with these Ceremonies they took their way towards the City Upon this day the Death of Haly is celebrated all over Persia but Mahomet their great Prophet hath no particular Festival The 14. of February was the new Moon at which ends the Lent of the Persians which began the 16. of Ianuary which according to their accompt is the first of Ramesan but in regard it was the eve of their Sabbath which is Friday their Ecclesiasticks thought fit to continue the Fast till that day The next day after the Feast the Chan made a great Entertainment for all the Grandees of his Court to which he invited also the Ambassadors with their retinue and treated them very Magnificently The 27. came back the Courrier whom the Chan had dispatch'd thence ever since the 21. with express orders for our departure with the first convenience for Ispahan This good news put some of us into an humour to go a Hunting The Governour lent us his excuses that some business of importance intervening he could not go along with us however he sent us his Huntsmen his Hounds and his Hawks as also a Leopard which being Excellently well taught started with as much swiftness as a Grey-hound and gave us all the satisfaction Hunting could afford He discover'd no Hare which he took not and came on at the least call with more command than any Setting Dog leaping up behind the person who had the ordering of him The Chan had in the mean time caus'd a sumptuous Collation to be made ready for us in his own Garden without the City but the person he had sent to invite us to pass that way mist the Company and overtook us not till we were coming into the City so that it being too great a trouble for us to go then back again he sent to our quarters some part of the Meat which had been prepared for our Entertainment The first of March which according to their Almanack called by them Taguim is the fourteenth of Scheual the Persians celebrated another Feast which they call Chummehater in memory of the day on which Haly took possession of the Estate of his Cousin and Father-in-law Mahomet The Chan treated us again this day very Magnificently near the River under a Tent where during the time of the Entertainment he gave us the Divertisements of several sorts of Dances and among others that of a Youth of about twenty years of age who Danc'd to the Musick of two little Cimbals which he himself play'd on excellently well as also that of a Moor or black Arabian who leap'd and danc'd between the Porcelane Dishes wherein the Meat had been brought up with such exactness that he broke not one Nay as it should seem all the people were willing to contribute to our Divertisement by the publick Acclamations which fill'd every street And the Chan himself would needs give us another tryal of his skill at the Bow He told us that heretofore he had cut a Hair with his Arrow at a considerable distance and that he would try whether he could do as much at the age he was of then which was forty five years Having therefore fasten'd to a Horses hair one of those Rings which the Persians make use of to bend their Bows and commonly wear them upon their Thumbs and having caus'd the Boy that held it to stand at the distance of above six paces he cut it twice one after another
according to the pronunciation of the Persians is Scamachie and it lies forty German Leagues or six great dayes journey from Derbent it being suppos'd a man takes the Mountain way which is very much about For if a man goa-foot or on horse-back along the Caspian Sea by the City of Bakuje and the Mountain Lahatz where the King hath a place for the receipt of customs upon forein Commodities he may easily travel it in two dayes The Camels ordinarily take the latter way and perform their journey in four or five and at most in six or seven dayes according to the burthen they carry Scamachie is the chief City of that noble Province which the antients called Media Atropatia or Media Minor and which is now called Schiruan which is the more to be observ'd in respect of their mistake who place this City in Hyrcania It lies at thirty four degrees forty minutes longitude and at forty degrees fifty minutes latitude in a valley between two Mountains which hide it so as that it is hardly seen till a man comes to the very Gate The Persians affirm it was built by Schiruan Schach and that it was heretofore much larger than it is now since there were in it five thousand houses It was destroy'd by the Turks in the time of King Abas who perceiving the Emperour of the Turks took in only the strongest places thereby to secure his Conquests and minded not open places and considering withall that so many strong and fortify'd places were rather a burthen than an advantage to him and being in the midst of his Kingdom were hard to keep ordered the pulling down of the Walls on the South-side of the City where they were strongest He took the same course with the Cities of Tauris Nachtzuan Kentza c. This South-part of Scamachie makes as 〈◊〉 were a City by it self as being divided from the North-part which is still compass'd with a strong Wall by a little plain which serves for a common Market-place to both The Persians affirm that the Grand Seigneur having taken the City of Scamachie took the stones from all the Sepulchres and therewith repair'd the Walls of it The North-side of the City lies at the foot of a little Mountain and is somewhat but not much bigger than the other containing but about nine hundred houses It hath but a poor Wall about it which being but low and having but a wretched Ditch hinders not but that a man may come into the City at any time The City hath five Gates its streets are narrow and the houses low and most built of Mortar and Earth There are very few of Brick or Free-stone The Inhabitants are partly Armenians partly Georgians who have each their particular Language so as that they would not understand one another if they did not make use of the Turkish which is common to both not only in Schiruan but also all over Persia. Their greatest Commerce lies in Stuffs of Silk and Cotton whereof there are such quantities made that Women nay very Children make a shift to get their living there by spinning and preparing the Silk and Cotton for the work-men Most of their shops are in the South-part of the City where there is also a Basar or Market-place into which abutt many streets which are all covered for the convenience of the Merchants Not far from this Market-place there are two Store-houses containing many Chambers and Galleries for the entertainment of forein Merchants who sell by whole-sale and for the disposal of their Merchandises One is called Schach Caravansera and is the place appointed for the Muscovites who bring thither Tin Russia Leather Copper Furrs and other Commodities The other which is called Losgi Caravansera was built for the Tartars of Circassia who do not bring their Commodities thither but lead them they being only Horses Women young Lads and handsom Maids wherewith they Trade among themselves in their own Countrey where they steal them upon the Frontiers of Muscovy The Iews who have also some part of this latter Store-house assign'd them upon this accompt that the Muscovites will not admit them into their Company bring thither from Tabefferahn the best Woollen Tapistry in the whole Countrey whereof there is brought into Europe but the refuse Stuffs of Silk and Cotton nay Gold and Silver Brocadoes as also Bows Arrows and Cymitars are sold there at a very reasonable rate In our return from Persia the Muscovian Envoy Alexei Savinouits woulds needs go into the Storehouse belonging to the Tartars being a person of a pleasant humour he fell a cheapning of a Boy about fifteen or sixteen years of age who was handsom enough and ask'd the Tartar what price he set him at who made answer he should have him for a hundred Crowns Alexei who had no mind to buy proffer'd him two and thirty but the Tartar laugh'd at him and giving the Boy a clap upon the buttocks told the Muscovite that that very part of him was worth more There are also in the City three Hamams that is Baths or publick Stoves the use whereof is as ordinary in Persia as Muscovy There are two which are common to both men and women but with this distinction that the women go in only in the day-time and the men in the night The third which they call Hamam Schach is only for the men Hard by this third Bath there are two great Trees for which the Persians have a great Veneration as having been planted by one of their Saints named Schich-Marith who is interr'd not far thence in a Metzid or Church where there are greater Devotions done than in other Metzids about the City wherein there are six in all The Revenue of this Bath is spent in Luminaries Cloaths and other things necessary about the holy Sepulchre The Chan or Governour of the City of Scamachie hath also the command of the whole Province joyntly with the Calenter or King's Lieutenant The Governour is entrusted with the Administration of Justice as also the disposal of things Civil and Military upon which last accompt he is oblig'd to maintain a thousand men out of the Revenue of his Government and to be in a readiness to march upon the first order he receives to that purpose The Kings Lieutenant hath the oversight of his Revenue and disposes of the Crown-Lands but is not oblig'd to go to the Wars on the contrary he is left in the Province whereof he hath the sole command during the absence of the other The Chan's name was Areb and he kept a very noble Court though he were a person of very low extraction son to a Peasant of the Village of Scerab between Tauris and Ardebil but the lowness of his extraction was recompens'd in the great endowments he was Master of The Persians are very indifferent as to a man's birth provided he be otherwise a person of courage and worth and Areb had much of both and had acquir'd so great reputation by
great Guns and small shot which we ordered to be discharged thrice That done we had a Sermon and did our Devotions About noon we were visited by our new Mehemandar whose name was Netzefbce he was a person of an excellent good humour He came to Complement us upon occasion of the Festival and brought us a Present of five fishes dry'd in the Sun a dish full of Bread Pomegranates Apples and a sort of Pears I had never seen before fashion'd like a Citron and full of a very pleasant juyce and having a sweet scent pickled Cowcumbers preserv'd Garlick and Schiras-wine which is the most esteem'd of any that grows in Persia. April 10. being Easter-Monday we made our entrance into Ardebil for the most part with the same Ceremonies but with greater Pomp and Magnificence than we had done at Scamachie About noon we met with a party of Horse which having saluted and taken a view of us immediately returned towards the City Near the Village of Kelheran which is so noble a place that viewing at a distance its Steeples or Towers whereof there are a very great number and they make a very great shew in regard they are built of stones of several colours we took it for the City it self though they are distant one from the other above half a league we met with in the head of a body of Horse the Calenter of Ardebil whose name was Taleb Chan an aged and very spare man Having saluted the Ambassadors he rid on one side of them Having pass'd by the Village we saw in a spacious Plain abundance of horse and foot who opened to make us way Some paces thence we saw crossing the fields towards us at the head of a Brigade of above a thousand Horse the Governour of Ardebil whose name was Kelbele Chan. He was a low man but of a good aspect and pleasant humour After the Complements reciprocally past between him and the Ambassadors he rode in between them Before our Troop there march'd two youths clad in Sheep-skins of several colours upon their clean skirts and carrying each of them upon the top of a long and very slender pole an Orenge The poles we were told were made of a Date-tree These youths read and sung out of a Book certain Verses made in honour of Mahomet Aly and Schach Sefi They were Sons or Disciples to a certain Abdalla of whom we shall speak hereafter After them came others who were cloathed in white and had a wonderful Art in imitating the Notes and singing of Nightingales and other birds On both sides march'd the Timbrels and Hawboies in some places there were people dancing and singing at the same time and at others were some dancing after another manner Some cast their caps up into the air and caught them again with cries and exclamations of joy There were some danc'd with little Garlands about their heads much like those we had seen at Scamachie when they celebrated there the death of Aly. Near the City stood the Guards in two files having their Bows and Arrows in their hands Coats of Mail about their bodies and their heads cover'd with little Caps like Calottes which they call Aratskin in which they had plac'd abundance of Feathers the ends whereof some thrust through their Caps into the skin Many of them were naked down to the waste and though they had the flesh of their Arms and Breasts pierced with Daggers or Ponyards yet did they not seem sensible of any pain thereat whence we inferr'd there might be something of Charm in it and that they were Sorcerers there being abundance that deserve that name in Persia. There was also a Company of Indians who as we pass'd by saluted us after their way with a low inclination of the head putting their hands to their breasts When we were come somewhat near the City there was so great a confluence of people that we could not get a hundred paces forward without making a halt insomuch that they were forc'd to drive them away with Cudgels and Bulls-pizzels so to make them give way And within the City all the Windows Houses-tops Steeples and Trees were full of those who came from all parts to see our passage through it The Governour brought us through a spacious Garden into a fair Summer-house to which there were ten stairs to get up and treated us with a sumptuous Collation in a very stately Gallery honouring all those who came up with the Ambassadors so far as to present to every one of them with his own hands a Vessel full of Wine while all the rest of the Retinue were treated below in a Tent which had been purposely pitch'd there to that end The Collation was accompany'd with the best Musick the Country could afford as also with a Dance performed by their Ochtzi or Archers who dancing in cadence with their Bows in their hands represented a kind of Ball which their exactness of the observance of time made more delightful divertive than had been the singing of those two youths the sons of Abdalla who with their Orenges in their hands very seriously celebrated the praises of their Prophet After the Collation and Divertisement the Ambassadors were conducted to very spacious Lodgings which had been taken up for them in one of the noblest parts of the City which Lodgings had sometime belong'd to Sara Chutza high Chancellor of Persia. The rest of the Retinue were Lodg'd not far from them in the neighbourhood where they were well accommodated by those into whose houses they were receiv'd This Summer-house being one of the noblest Structures I ever saw deserves I should give in this place a more particular description of it Sulfagar Chan the Predecessor of Kelbele Chan in the Government of Ardebil a Person of infinite wealth had built it according to a modell he had brought out of Turkey The figure of it was Octagonal and it was three Stories so rais'd that Art had not left any thing to be desir'd Every story had its Fountains which cast their water higher than any part of the House The Walls were built of a sort of Glittering stones of all Colours Blew Green Red and of all sorts of Figures and all the Floors were cover'd with the richest Tapistry the Country could afford All about the House there was a spacious Gallery all built with Marble and adorn'd with Painting representing Flowers and Leaves At one of the corners of that Gallery there was a little Couch or Chair of State four foot square cover'd with Embroider'd Tapistry having in the midst a Quilt wrought with Gold and Silk to signifie that the King passing one day through Ardebil had rested himself there which made the place so Venerable that to the end none should come near it it was encompass'd with an Iron rail The said Sulfagar Chan had built also another House of Pleasure or Summer-house in a great Garden near a stone-Bridge without the City but at the time
of our Travels that way it lay desolate as indeed it had been ever since the Death of Sulfagar who had been Executed upon the instigation of Kartzogar General of the Persian Army The other House which was within the City had been bestow'd by the King upon Kelbele Chan to be enjoy'd by him during his Life The next day after our arrival which was April 11. there was brought the Ambassadors from Schich-Sefi's Kitchin the Thaberick which is a certain quantity of Meat sent in for three meals to such great Lords and other Persons of quality as come into that City according to a pious Institution which hath been observ'd about the Body of Schich-Sefi Author and Founder of the Religion of the Persians as also near that of the late King whose Sepulchres are at Ardebil Our Thaberick was brought us in 32 great Dishes or Basins full of Rice of all sorts of Colours upon which the Meat was laid which consisted of Boyl'd Roast Omelets and Pastry according to their way of Dressing Those who were appointed to bring us this Dinner carry'd the Dishes upon their Heads and set them down upon a Cloath which was laid upon the ground We were not over-pleas'd with this Entertainment by reason not only of the trouble it was to us to sit down according to the Persian way but also because we were forbidden to drink any Wine at this Feast of the Thaberick However we ordered our great Guns to be discharg'd at it as also our Trumpets to sound and would have made a small Present to those who had brought it but they desir'd to be excus'd telling us that the Devotion of the place permitted them not to receive any Presents The next day there was such order taken for the Provisions of the Kitchin that we had all the reason in the world to be satisfy'd therewith We were allow'd every day sixteen Sheep two hundred Eggs four Batmans which come to 26 pounds of Butter thirteen pound of Raisins of the Sun six pound and a half of Almonds a hundred Batmans of Wine two Batmans of Sirrup Meal Honey and Poultry in abundance besides the extraordinary Presents which were ever and anon brought us from the Chan insomuch that our expence during our stay at Ardebil amounted to In Bread 1960. Batmans In Wine 6250. Batmans Eggs 9300. Sheep 477. Lambs 472. April the 12. we receiv'd the first visit from the Governour who with much kindness came to make the proffers of his services to the Ambassadors whereof we afterwards found the real effects when occasion required The same day he sent away an Express to Court to give notice there of our arrival and to receive orders for the prosecution of our Journey which yet came not till two moneths after April 21. an Armenian Bishop came to see the Ambassadors He was but lately come thither from the City of Eruan was a Person discours'd very handsomely and told us many particulars concerning the state of the Christian Churches in Asia Among other things he told us that there was near Eruan a Monastery wherein there were above four hundred Religious men and that there were in the Mountains between Aras and Kur above a thousand Villages inhabited by Christians and that there were besides all these near Caâ—win and Tauris above two thousand Families which made up in all above five hundred Churches Whereto he added that the Turks had not long before carried away above fifteen hundred Christians and very highly commended the King of Persia for his care in preserving their Privileges and not burthening them with Taxes as the Turk does intreating us to recommend their concernments to the King when we should come to Court April 25. which according to the Arabians is the 10. day of the moneth Silhotza was the great Bairam or the Festival which they call Kurban that is Sacrifice in commemoration of the Sacrifice which Abraham would have made of his son Ismael according to the command of God for so they understand the History of the Sacrifice of Abraham All their Ceremony consists in killing before day a Sheep or Lamb in the street at their own Doors which being cut into pieces they distribute them among the poor who come to those Doals in great numbers They do not reserve so much as the skin which they do as they affirm according to the example of Abraham who reserv'd nothing of the Ram which he sacrifiz'd instead of his Son It is about this time that the Persians go to do their Devotions at Meca as well as the Turks They say that Noah when he went into the Ark took along with him seventy two Persons and for that reason it is requisite the Pilgrims of Meca should amount to the number of seventy two thousand and that number ought to be so exactly observ'd that if there be either more or less they must not be receiv'd there as such that year But above all things it is their main care that that great number be compleat for otherwise as they affirm the Angels would be oblig'd to come in to make up what were wanting and it were a wont of respect to those Spirits to put them to that trouble The men put on a particular Coiffure for this Voyage which is a kind of Turbant of white Wool in regard their Law forbids them to wear it of any Colour or of silk at that time They call this kind of Turbant Ehharan and they cover their Heads therewith only as they go so as that one part of it falling down on one side of the Head passes under the Chin and is fasten'd on the other side They commonly take their way through the City of Ierusalem where they do their first Devotions Thence they pass through Medina where they continue them at the Sepulchre of Mahomet which they kiss with a profound Veneration and then they conclude them at Meca or Mount Arafat From Medina to Meca they are cover'd only with a shirt nay some go naked down to the waste In this posture they march continually and after a very particular fashion For they are oblig'd to go after the rate of a trotting Horse or rather that of a Camel galloping and that with such earnestness that they hardly take the leisure to eat and drink or yet to sleep and all out of an imagination that the Sweat caus'd by that Violent Motion and forc'd out of their Bodies carries away with it all their Sins and cleanseth them of all their filthiness The Women who might not be able to bear the inconveniences of such a march have the privilege to swath up their Breasts with a Skarf which hath a particular name and they call it Scamachtze The tenth day of the moneth of Silhatza is that of their great Devotion That day all the Pilgrims go to Mount Arafat which they say is the place where the Patriarch Abraham should have Sacrifiz'd his Son and there they
crackers but what diverted us most of all was that out of those Lanthorns there came a piece of Linnen which being folded together and ty'd up in knots had in each of those knots several squibs crackers and serpents which having much ado to get out made an admirable shew by the windings which the fire made through all the folds of that piece of cloath Others carried in their aprons a certain composition into which some that pass'd by let fire fall as it were negligently whereupon he who carried it shaking his apron there came out a great number of Stars which burnt a long time upon the ground In these Fire-works the Persians make use of white Naphte which is a kind of Petreolum but in regard this Drugg is seldome found in Europe there may be used to the same effect the spirit of Turpentine rectify'd We saw also at a great distance in the air certain flames which vanish'd as soon in a manner as they appear'd I conceive these flames proceeded from a certain Drugg which the Muscovites call ' Plaun which is a yellow powder made of a certain herb commonly found upon the ground in the Forests that are planted with Pines and Birch and is properly called in Latin Acanthus in French Branche ursine in English Bears-foot or Bears-britch Every stalk of this herb hath on it two Buttons which are ripe in August and then the Muscovites are very carefull to gather them dry them in an Oven beat them and keep the powder which comes from them in Ox-bladders to be sold by the pound It is us'd also in Medicine as being a drier and is administred with good success in Wounds and the Itch. But the Muscovites use it for the most part in their Divertisements putting it into a Tin-box made like a Pyramid into which they thrust that end of a Torch which is not lighted and by that means make the powder come out which being very small immediately fastens on the flame and is lighted and disappears almost at the same time so that continually thrusting in the Torch a man makes ever and anon a new flame which is very lively and makes the nobler shew in that it is not accompany'd with any smoke This powder will not take fire if it be not stirr'd after the foresaid manner for if it be cast upon burning coals or if a lighted candle be thrust into it it would not take fire These Fire-works entertain'd us so long that it was after mid-night ere we came to our Quarters where we found not any thing colder than the Hearth for out of a presumption that the Governour would have treated us at Supper there had been nothing provided at home The next day very betimes in the Morning before the Sun was to be seen over the Horizon the Persians made a Procession which was to represent the interment of Hossein In this Procession there were carried a great many Eschders and Banners and there were led several excellent Horses and Camels cover'd with blew Cloath in which were to be seen many Arrows quilted as if they had been purposely shot into it representing those which the Enemies had shot at Hossein Upon these Horses rid so many Boyes who had before them empty Cossins upon which they had cast a little Straw or Hay and they represented the great affliction of the Children of Hossein Upon some of those Horses they had set fair Turbants Cimitars Bows and Quivers full of Arrows As soon as the Sun was up there might be seen in the base-Court a very great number of men who let themselves Blood in the arms in so great quantity that a man would have thought there had been many Oxen kill'd there The young Lads slash'd and cut themselves above the Elbow and clapping the Wounds with their hands they made the Blood spurt out all over the Arm and about the Body and in that condition they ran up and down the City This was done in remembrance of the effusion of the innocent Blood of Hossein out of a perswasion that by this action they expiated some part of their sins which perswasion is the stronger in as much as they are prepossess'd with an opinion that those who dye during this Festival are infallibly saved They speak also with the same assurance of their Salvation who dye during the Festival of Aly and in their Lent As concerning the City of Ardebil which the Turks call Ardevil and may be found in Maps under the name of Ardonil it lies in the Province of Adirbeitzan by the antients called Media Major the chief Cities whereof are Ardebil Tabris or Tauris Merrague Natschan Miane Urumi Choi Salmas c. Ardebil is one of the most antient and most celebrious Cities of all the Kingdome not only by reason of the residence which several Kings of Persia made there but also particularly upon this accompt that Schich Sefi Author of their Sect liv'd and dy'd there Some are of opinion that it may be conjectur'd from the History of Quintus Curtius that it is the City which he calls Arbela In this Citie are to be seen the Tombs and Monuments of the Kings of Persia and it is a place of so great Traffick that it may be justly numbred among the most considerable of all the East The Turkish Language is much more common among the Inhabitants than the Persian I found the elevation of the Pole there to be at thirty eight degrees five minutes and the longitude to be 82. degrees 30. minutes It is seated in the midst of a great Plain which is above three Leagues about and compass'd of all sides by a high Mountain like an Amphitheatre the highest part whereof called Sabelhan which lies West-ward from the City is alwayes cover'd with Snow Towards the South-South-West lies that Mountain of the Province of Kiban which is called Bakru It is from these Mountains it proceeds that the Air there is sometimes extremely hot somtimes extremely cold insomuch that even in August they begin to be sensible of the inconveniences of Autumn as also to be troubled with those Epidemical Diseases which reign there every year and commonly carry away a great number of persons Nor was our Quarters free from them For besides the great number of servants who fell sick the Ambassador Brugman and our Physician lay in of a Feaver but especially the latter who was reduc'd to that lowness that there was no hope of Life In the greatest heat of the day and exactly at noon there rose a kind of a Whirle-wind which fill'd the whole City with dust but it lasted not above an hour The rest of the day and night is calm which gave occasion to the Persian Proverb Saba Ardebil Nimrus Kardebil that is In the morning Ardebil at noon full of dust Yet is it not the cold quality of the Climate but its Situation that hinders the earth there to produce Wine Melons Citrons Orenges and Pomegranates which are
his way like a Torrent yet express'd a certain respect for those things which were though out of superstition accompted sacred Near this Mosquey there is also to be seen another great Gate of free-stone between two Pillars twenty fathom high which seems to be antique and had been built at the Ceremonies of some Triumph but it begins now to decay The City hath about six thousand Inhabitants who wondred very much to hear us relate that some of those who have published their Travels into Persia would make the World believe that the cold weather forc'd them in the Winter time to forsake the City and change their Habitations For it is so far from being true that there are many places in Persia where the cold obliges the Inhabitants to change their Habitations that on the contrary it is an effect ordinarily caus'd there by the Heat True indeed it is that there are some places in that Kingdome where the cold is very incommodious by reason of the scarcity of firing as for instance near Eruan at a place called Deralekes as being seated between two Mountains and especially at the Village of Arpa But it is not so great as to oblige the Inhabitants to change their Habitations for they only quit their upper Rooms and retire into Cellars built very deep under ground not only to serve them for a place of retirement in the Winter time against the cold but also in Summer against the heat Iune 25. we left Sulthanie after we had staid there three dayes which were spent up and down the Country in getting us fresh Horses and Camels The sick persons who by reason of their weakness were not able to ride on Horse-back were dispos'd into such Chests as the Women make use of when they travel The Persians call them Ketzawhea and they are put on Camels backs like Carriers packs The Physician and my self were set upon the same Camel whereby we were put to two great inconveniences one proceeding from the violent Motion caus'd by the going of that great Beast which at every step gave us a furious jolt and the other from the insupportable stink of the Camels whereof there being but one Boy to guide eight or ten they were ty'd one to another and went all in a file insomuch that the infectious smell of all that went before came full into our Noses We departed two hours before Sun-rising and travell'd that day six Leagues through a very fertil Country all arable and pasture Lands leaving on the left hand the little Mountains called Tzikitzâ—ki where the King of Persia's best Race-Horses and Mares for breed are kept About noon we took up our Lodging at the Village of Choramdah which lies on the side of a little River having so many Trees and Gardens about it that it is not without reason that name is given it which signifies a place of Pleasure The 26. we departed thence in the night and travell'd five Leagues or better over Mountains and Valleys The 27. we departed at mid-night and having travell'd five Leagues we were got by Sun-rising near the City of Casuin or Cashan but that the Daruga who had the Command of it might have the leisure to set his affairs in order for our entrance our Mehemander carried us to a Village were we staid above two hours till such time as the Daruga came to receive us This entrance was not accompany'd with the same Ceremonies as we had seen in other places in regard the Governour having not the dignity of Chan could not express the same Magnificence Yet was it handsom enough in as much as the Daruga came attended by five or six hundred men horse and foot There came also to meet us an Indian Prince accompany'd by some Gentlemen on horse-back of his own Countrey and follow'd by a great number of Lacqueys and Pages He came in a kind of Chariot having one other person with him in it The Chariot was drawn by two white Oxen which had very short necks and a bunch between the two shoulders but they were as swift and manageable as our horses The Chariot was cover'd above and lay'd over two Wheels which instead of an Axletree turn'd upon a piece of Iron made so crook'd at the middle that it bore the weight of the whole Chariot The Charioteer sate before and guided the Oxen fasten'd to a Beam which was made fast to the Horns with a Cord drawn through their Nostrils Being come within 500. paces of the City we met with fifteen young Ladies excellently well mounted very richly clad in Cloath of Gold and Silver c. having Neck-laces of great Pearls about their necks Pendants in their ears and abundance of other Jewels Their faces were to be seen contrary to the custom of honest Women in Persia. Accordingly we soon found as well by their confident carriage as the accompt given us of them that they were some of the Eminent Curtezans about the City who came to entertain us with the Divertisement of their Musick They march'd before us and sung to the sound of certain Hawboyes and Bag-pipes that went before them making a very extravagant kind of Harmony And that we might be sure to see the City we were carried quite through it and Lodg'd on the other side thereof As we pass'd through the Meydan we saw several persons playing on Timbrels and Hawboyes who joyning with the other Musicians accompany'd us to our Quarters The people came also thither in great numbers some of them having it put into their heads that there were in the Ketzawehas some great Beauties whom we carried as â—â—â—ents to the King but when they saw sick persons with great beards coming out of them they hung down their heads and made all the haste they could away I found this City conformably to the Calculation of the Persians and Arabians at 85. degrees Longitude and at 36. degrees 15. minutes Latitude It is one of the principal Cities of the Province of Erak which is the ancient Parthia wherein is comprehended as well Sulthania as all the other Cities froth this place as far as Ispahan It was antiently called Arsacia and it is seated in a great sandy Plain having within half a dayes journey of it Westward the great Mountain of Elwend which reaches towards the South-west as far as Bagdat or Babylon The City is a farsang or good German league in compass but hath neither Walls nor any Garrison kept in it by reason it lies at so great a distance from the Frontiers Yet hath it with these disadvantages above a hundred thousand Inhabitants whereof if there were occasion for them a good part might be put into Arms. Their Language is the Persian but somewhat different from the common Dialect whence it comes that it is not so intelligible to the other Persians being much after the rate that the German Language is to the Hollanders The houses are all of Brick bak'd in the Sun according
which amount to seventy five French Pistols But coming afterwards to the Crown he caus'd him immediately to be redeem'd and with the quality of Sulthan bestow'd on him the Government of Katschan The Persians put this City of Katschan at 84 degrees longitude and at thirty four distant from the Line After an exact Observation of three days I found that it is distant from it thirty three degrees and 51 minutes that is nine minutes less The City is of a great length reaching from East to West above half a German League Its Walls and bastions are of a kind of Potters day and it lies in a great Plain the ground of which is good enough for Tillage and there may be discover'd from it on the right hand Mount Taurus which the ' Porsians call Elwend As you come to the City you pass through a place appointed for tilting and running at the Ring which hath on both sides several Pillars and in the midst a high Pole for shooting at the wooden Parrat On the left hand of that place or Carriere you leave the King's Garden wherein there is one Summer-house standing in the midst of it and another near it upon the High-way We were told that the former hath a thousand Doors belonging to it comprehending in that number the Windows through which they pass into the Galleries and Balconies It is to be observ'd withall that there is no Door but hath its Counter-door in regard the Wall being above two foot thick there is a Door on each side of it so that the number is not so great as it seems to be at first In this House the King is Lodg'd when he comes to Katschan The City is no doubt one of the most populous and most eminent for Trading of any in Persia and the best Built of any we were yet come to whether in regard of its private Houses or its Palaces and Caravansera's but the Basar and Maidan and the other publick structures which have all their Store-houses Galleries and Rooms for the Merchants as well such as live within the Kingdom as Foreiners are the noblest I met with in all my Travells into those parts There is in this City at all times a great number of forein Merchants and above all Indians who are assigned there a particular place for their Habitation and Traffick as are also all the other Merchants Tradesmen especially such as make Silk-stuffs and Weavers of Gold and Silver Brocadoes work in open places where all the World may see them The Valleys are very fruitfull in Wheat Wine and Fruits which grow in such abundance there that I find no difficulty to acknowledge what Cartwright sayes of these parts to wit that the poorest and most indigent of the Inhabitants have not only what is requisite for their subsistence but also somewhat of delicacy and that what they most stand in need of is fresh water For there is not any to be had without digging very deep into the Earth and what there was so got we thought very distastfull to the Palat and so corrupt that had there not been an extraordinary necessity we should have been much troubled to swallow it I must withall confess that I could not observe that excellent order and commendable policy which Cartwright sayes he had seen there in the Institution of Youth nor that they are more carefull there than in other places to accustom it timely to pains-taking so to avoid idleness and the inconveniences consequent thereto True it is that the great number of Children which are ordinarily to be found there in Families which by reason of Polygamy are very numerous obliges the Parents to be the more carefull for their subsistence but the Persians for the most part are so little inclin'd to pains-taking that commonly you shall either see them walking in the Maidan or discoursing in the Shops while they leave most of their work to be done by their slaves Which happens hence that being themselves very temperate and content with little and on the other side Provisions being very cheap they conceive they ought not to take much pains for what is superfluous and those things whereof there is no great necessity So that there are even in these parts idle Persons and Beggers as well as in other places What the same Cartwright sayes concerning the Scorpions and other venemous Creatures is very true For of these there are about Katschan more than at any other place of Persia and such as are so dangerous that they have occasion'd that Malediction Akrab-Kaschan be destet senet may the Scorpion of Kaschan pinch thee by the hand We found some of them in our Lodging as black as cole about the length and compass of a man's finger and we were told that these were the most dangerous of any sort of them They are somewhat like our Crabs or Crevisses save that their Bodies are shorter they go faster and they have their tails alwayes sticking up Whence it comes that the Inhabitants never lay their Mattresses or Beds upon the ground as they do in other places but they set them upon a kind of Trevets or Frames which they call Tzarpay They affirm also that these Beasts have a certain respect for strangers and that to prevent their stinging they are only to pronounce these words Menkaribem I am a stranger But for my part I am of opinion that strangers who stand more in fear of them than the Inhabitants are only the more oblig'd to themselves for the care they have of their own safety though I never could hear that those who are stung by them dye of it For they have a present and easie remedy against this kind of poison by applying a piece of Copper to the place affected for which Cure they ordinarily make use of that Money which they call Pul and thence it comes that they carry some of it alwayes about them and having left that piece for the space of 24. hours upon the part stung they take it off and put on the Wound a Plaister made of Honey and Vineger It was my misfortune to be the only man of all our retinue that had occasion to make triall how venemous this Creature is For lying down upon my Bed at Scamachie in our return from Ispahan a Scorpion stung me in the throat where it made immediately a swelling about the length of my finger which was attended with insupportable pain As good fortune would have it our Physician who lay in the same Chamber immediately apply'd thereto the Oyl of Scorpion gave me some Treacle and put me into a sweat which deliver'd me from the greatest of my pains at the end of three hours but I had still some pain for the two dayes following but by intervals and it was as if I had been prick'd with a Needle nay indeed for many years afterwards I have been troubled with the same pains at certain times especially in Autumn much about the
would not suffer him to take his rest in the night there was a necessity either he or they should leave the City The same Ambassador engag'd himself in another unhandsom business which was of so much the more dangerous consequence that all the Christians of the Suburbs were concern'd in it The King commands every year a search to be made among the Armenians for all the handsom Maids and makes choice of those whom he likes best Our Interpreter for the Armenian Language whose name was Seran a person of a leud life addressing himself to the Ambassador Brugman told him that in that search he was like to lose a Daughter a beautiful Lass whom he tenderly lov'd and desir'd his advice and protection in that case Brugman advis'd him to oppose the Searchers and to call to his assistance the Domesticks of the Embassy and assur'd him they should be ready to relieve him This proceedure of his and several other imprudent actions had at last forc'd the King to a more severe resolution against the said Ambassador nay haply against the whole Company if the Chancellor had not moderated his passion THE TRAVELS OF THE AMBASSADORS FROM THE DUKE of HOLSTEIN INTO MUSCOVY TARTARY and PERSIA The Sixth Book ERE we leave the City of Ispahan which is now the Metropolis of the whole Kingdom of Persia it will not be amiss I gave the Reader an account of what I found therein worthy my Observation during our aboad there for the space of five moneths and to give here such a Description thereof as he must expect to be so much the more full and particular inasmuch as there is not any Author who hath hitherto written of it hath done it with exactness enough to satisfie even a mean Curiosity They say that the City of Ispahan is the same which was heretofore called Hecatonopolis and that before Tamberlane's time it was known by the name of Sipahan as well by reason of the number of its inhabitants which was so great as that out of it a considerable Army might be rais'd as in regard that in that place the Armies had their Rendezvous from the antient Persian and Vsbeque word Sipe whereof Sipahan is the plural and signifies the same thing as Lâ—sker that is to say an Army from which is derived the word Sipes-alar a term the Persians do yet sometimes make use of to signifie a chief Commander or General of an Army Tamberlane was the first who by transporting the two first Letters of that name call'd it Ispahan Ahmed ben Arebscha who hath written the Life and Actions of Tamberlane calls this City in all places Isbahan writing the word with a b and the Modern Persians always write it Isfahan with an f from an Arabian word which signifies Rank or Batallion though they pronounce it indifferently sometimes Isfahan sometimes Ispahan Ios. Barvaro alwayes calls it Spaham and Ambr. Contarini who was sent Ambassador from the Republick of Venice to Vssum Cassan King of Persia in the year 1473. calls it Spaa Spaam and Aspacham But as we said before its right name is Ispahan This City lies in the Province of Erak or Hierack which is the antient Parthia in a spacious Plain having on all sides at about three or four Leagues distance a high Mountain which compasses it like an Amphitheatre at thirty two degrees twenty six minutes Latitude and eighty six degrees forty minutes Longitude and I have observ'd that the Needle declined there seventeen degrees from the North towards the West It hath toward the South and South-west side the Mountain of Demawend and on the North-east side towards the Province of Mesanderan the Mountain of Ieilak-Perjan The Author of the French Book intituled Les Estats Empires puts it in the Province of Chuaressen but he is mistaken for Chuaressen is a Province of the Vsbeques Tartars at 43. degrees Latitude and lies at a great distance from that of Erak If you take in all its Suburbs it will be found that it is above eight German Leagues in compass in so much that it is as much as a man can do to go about it in one day The City hath twelve Gates whereof there are but nine open above eighteen thousand Houses and about five hundred thousand Inhabitants The Walls of it are of Earth low and weak being below two fathoms and above but a foot thick and its Bastions are of Brick but so poorly flanked that they do not any way fortifie the City no more than does the Ditch which is so ruin'd that both Summer and Winter a man may pass over it dry-foot F. Bizarro and some others affirm that the walls are of Chalk but I could find no such thing unless it were that in the Castle which hath its walls distinct from those of the City there are some places which look as if they were whitened or done over with Chalk or Lime The River Senderut which rises out of the adjacent Mountain of Demawend runs by its walls on the South and South-west side on which side is the Suburbs of Tzulfa Before it comes into the City it is divided into two branches one whereof falls into the Park called Hasartzerib where the King keeps all sorts of Deer and from the other there is drawn a current of water which passes by Chanels under ground into the Garden of Tzarbagh This River supplies the whole City with water there being hardly a house into which it comes not by Pipes or so near as that it is no great trouble to them to fill their Cisterns of it which they call Haws and Burke though besides this convenience of the River they have Wells the water whereof is as good as that of the River Allawerdi-Chan sometime Governour of Schiras built at his own charge the fair Stone-Bridge which is between the Garden of Tzarbagh and the City upon this River which is as broad in that place as the Thames is at London Schach-Abas had a design to bring into the River of Senderut that of Abkuren which rises on the other side of the same Mountain of Demawend and whereas to bring these two Rivers into the same Chanel there was a necessity of cutting the Mountain he employ'd for the space of fourteen years together above a thousand Pioners at that work And though they met with extraordinary difficulties not only in that they had to do with pure Rock which in some places was above two hundred foot deep but also in regard the Mountain being cover'd with Snow for near nine Months of the year they had but three to work in yet had he the work constantly carried on with such earnestness that all the Chans and Great Lords sending their Work-men thereto upon their own charges there was in a manner to doubt made of the successe of that great enterprize since there remain'd to do but the space of two hundred paces when Schach-Abas died leaving the Consummation of that imperfect work
his commands This extremity forc'd them to follow the King into his Favourite's Chamber into which he got ere Murschidculi-Chan was awake so that the King having found him lying on his back with his mouth open gave him the first blow over-thwart the mouth The rest gave him each of them a stab but Murschidculi-Chan being a very stout man had the courage to get off his bed and put himself into such a posture as should have given them more fear than he had receiv'd hurt from them and no doubt he had dispatch'd some of his murtherers had it not been for one of his Grooms who coming in at the noise with a batle-axe in his hand the King said to him I would have the life of Murschidculi-Chan who is become my Enemy Go dispatch him and I will make thee a Chan. The Groom did his work as the king commanded went streight to his Master and dispatch'd him The next day the king put to death all the relations and friends of Murschidculi-Chan that so he might be absolutely eas'd of all the disturbances which their discontents might have given him and conferr'd on the Groom the Dignity of Chan with the Government of Herat. This Execution happened in the year 1585. which was the first of the reign of Schach Abas The first actions of Schach-Abas made a sufficient discovery of his abililities in order to Government and that there was no necessity of his being any longer under the Eye and Conduct of another All his thoughts were bent upon recovering the great Provinces which the Turks and Tartars had usurp'd from the Crown of Persia and he made an absolute resolution to declare a War against both those Nations upon that score Being one day at Caswin he took a walk out of the Citie and ask'd the Lords who follow'd him whether there could be a nobler Countrey than that where they then were There were some took the freedom to tell him that it was iudeed an excellent good Countrey yet was it not to be compar'd with the Province of Fars much less with that of Chorasan especially that part of the said Province which the Vsbeques had taken from Persia in the time of his Father's reign Upon this discourse he immediately resolv'd upon a War against the Tartars and having rais'd a powerfull Army he entred Chorasan Abdulla Prince of the Vsbeques met him and at first with some advantage over him in regard the Plague which was got into Abas's Army and the unseasonable weather kept it from being in action The two Armies were neer six moneths in sight one of the other but at last Schach Abas set upon Abdulla and forc'd him to retreat to Mesched Schach Abas continu'd three years in Chorasan Abdulla being not in a condition to disturb him in his new Conquest and when he attempted it he was so unfortunate that his Army was not onely defeated but also he himself with Tilem-Chan his Brother and his three Sons who were in the Army fell into the hands of Schach-Abas who order'd them all to have their heads cut off Afterwards Schach-Abas went to Ispahan and found it so excellently well situated and the Countrey about it so pleasant that he resolv'd to make it the Metropolis of the Kingdom beautifying it to that end with many Magnificent Structures and among others the Allacapi or Sanctuary and the Sumptuous Mosquey Mehedi of which we have given an accompt already In which Magnificence the Lords of the Court were desirous to imitate him by building many rich and noble Palaces After these victories he march'd against the Turks and having understood by his Spies that the Garrison of Tabris thought of nothing less than a War he got together with as little noise as might be a little Army with which he went in less than six dayes from Ispahan to Tabris though it be ordinarily eighteen dayes journey for the Camels Being come to the passage of Scibli within four leagues of Tabris where the Turks kept a party rather to receive the customs upon Commodities than to hinder the entrance of the Persians he with some Officers left the Army and advanc'd as far as the Turn-Pike The Turks imagining they were Merchants the Secretary of the Custom-house address'd himself to Schach-Abas and ask'd him for the duties Schach-Abas told him that he who carried the Purse was coming behind and having caus'd Dsulfakar-Chan to come up to him he bid him give the other some money but while the Secretary was telling it he order'd one to dispatch him made the Soldiers who kept the Post to submit and pass'd over his Army Aly Bascha Governour of Tabris having intelligence hereof got some Troops together at lest as many as the distraction of his affairs would permit him to do and went to meet Abas but there being a great inequality between the Forces on both sides he was overcome and fell into the hands of the Persians In the midst of the Citie there was a Citadel built by Hassan Padschach otherwise called Vssum Cassan which the Turks kept a moneth after but at last it was taken by intelligence and afterwards demolish'd Thence he went to Nachtzuan but the Turkish Garrison quitted the place upon the first news they receiv'd of the Persian Army's coming towards it and retreated to Iruan Schach-Abas ordered also the demolishing of the Citadel of Nachtzuan called Kischikalaban and went and lay before Iruan which he took after a siege of nine moneths This Conquest facilitated his reduction of all the other Cities and Neighbouring Provinces all which were reduc'd save onely the Fortress of Orumi the strong and advantageous situation whereof being on the point of a Rock putting him out of all hope of taking it by storm He besieg'd it eight moneths together but finding that the Kurdes did him more mischief than the Turks themselves though they were a free people and had no dependence on the Grand Seignor he gain'd the affections of the chiefest among them by Presents and Promises putting them in hope of all advantages on his side if they would help him to take in that place and promis'd them all the booty they should find there The Kurdes who live onely by Rapine were willing to serve him upon those terms But Schach-Abas having receiv'd that service from them and taken the Fort by their means sent to invite the chiefest among them to come and Dine with him He had his Tent made with so many turnings and windings and had those so done over with Cloaths that they who came in saw not such as were but six places before them He had planted two Executioners in the way who dispatch'd his Guests as they came into the Tent and this course he took with them out of an apprehension they might do the Turks the same services he had receiv'd from them He made Kahan Chan Governour of Orumi and the neighbouring Province and marching still on he became Master of all between the Rivers of Cyrus
of Feet in memory of the beginning of our Saviour's Passion They all came to Church where the Priest wash'd the right foot of the Men and the left foot of the Women and made thereon the sign of the Cross with Butter which had been consecrated to that purpose And that done he was cast into a Chair by twelve men who rais'd him up into the air with exclamations of joy and kept him there till he had promis'd to treat them with a Dinner The 25. the Armenians began their year and in regard that day fell on their Easter they made a great Procession out of the City The Chan would needs see it and made a great extertainment for us during which the Armenians stood with their Banners Crosses and Images before his Tent. Which they did only to please the Persians in as much as when the Muscovian Ambassador who was troubled to see those poor people stand there so long in that posture sent them word that they might be gone with their Images they made answer that they ought not to stirr thence without express order from the Chan. The Armenian Women gave us the divertisement of their dancing in three Companies which successively reliev'd one another The Chan gave us another kind of sport by letting loose among the People two Wolves ty'd to long Ropes to be drawn back when they pleas'd He caus'd also the head of one of those wild Beasts which they call Ahu's to be cut off at one blow with a Cymitar That was done by this sleight first they gave the Beast a blow over the back which made it lift up the head so that they could hardly miss it That night I was stung by a Seorpion The 26. came to Scamachie Imanculi whom the King of Persia sent Ambassador to the Duke of Holstein our Master The Chan invited him to Dinner with our Ambassadors The next day they had a long conference together for the regulation of our journey for which we set all things in order The 29. Imanculi Sulthan came to visit the Ambassadors to take leave of them and to assure them he would follow within eight dayes Abasculi-Beg our Mehemandar took also his leave of us and return'd toward the Court and we had another appointed us named Hosseinculi-Beg who was ordered to conduct us to the Frontiers of Persia. The 30. we left Scamachie accompany'd by the Chan and Calenter who with a great body of horse brought us half a league out of the City where he treated us magnificently Having mutually taken leave with the greatest expressions of civility the Chan return'd with his Company to Seamachie and we took our way towards Pyrmaras whither we came in the evening after we had travell'd that afternoon three leagues March the last we were on our way by eight in the morning and we got that day six leagues all over mountains whence we had not the sight of so much as one Village At night we came into a Valley to the Village of Cochani where we lodg'd April 1. we travell'd seven leagues over hills and dales till we came to the Village of Bahel otherwise called Surrat from the fruitfulness of the Country especially by reason of the abundance of Millet growing there beyond what any other part of Persia affords The 2. we got out of the mountain into the plain Country leaving the Rock of Barmuch on the right hand and coming within a quarter of a league of the Sea We saw as we pass'd by within the space of five hundred paces above thirty sources of Nefte which is a kind of Medicinal Oil. There are among the rest three great ones into which they go down by sticks plac'd there to serve instead of a Ladder fifteen or sixteen foot into the ground A man standing above at the pits mouth might hear the Oil coming out in great bubbles sending up a strong smell though that of the white Nefte be incomparably more pleasant than that of the black for there are two sorts of it but much more of the black than of the white We travell'd that day six leagues and lodg'd at night at the Village of Kisicht not far from the Sea The third we got two leagues and lodg'd at night at Schabran having pass'd over three little Rivers There lives in the mountains of these parts a certain people call'd Padar They live only by rapine and course up and down the high-wayes for twenty leagues about to rob Travellers We were told that the day before they came to the Village to inquite how strong we were how we march'd and what Guard we kept in our quarters The Mehemandar and the Inhabitants advis'd us to keep a strong Guard and to keep close together as well in our march as at our quarters Whence it came that ever after we kept still in sight of the Baggage The Inhabitants of Schabran are in their Language called Kurâ— which occasion'd the mistake of diverse of our people in their Journals who thought they were the people called Kurdes But it was a great oversight in as much as the Kurdes live in Kurdesthan which is the ancient Chaldaea a Province far distant from that we now speak of Apr. 4. we travell'd four leagues through a hilly yet very delightful Country We overtook by the way a Caravanne of Muscovian and Circassian Merchants who were very glad of our Company to secure them against the incursions of those Robbers There appear'd one of them who would have taken notice of our march and strength but the Mehemandar immediately commanded out ten or twelve Persians who pursu'd him into the Wood where they lost him He had stoln an Ox and being forc'd to leave him behind the Mehemandar made a Present of him to the Ambassadors In the afternoon we came to Mischkar a Village lying in a fenny place within two leagues of Niasabath where our ship was wrack'd The Inhabitants of the Village who took us for enemies had left all and were got into the Woods but understanding afterwards upon what accompt we came they had the confidence to return to their houses We found in the house of one of their Priests many fair Manuscripts The fifth we travell'd eight leagues through woody roads and deserts to the Village of Koptepe We saw by the way the Sepulchre of one of their Saints named Pyr Schich Molla Iusuf and met with a party of five and twenty Horsemen well mounted and well arm'd They said they were Country people of the adjacent Villages and that they were forc'd to go in strong parties and to travel so arm'd to secure themselves against the Robbers thereabouts but they look'd more like such themselves For we understood afterwards that the inhabitants of the Village where we lodg'd that day were Padars Their houses were built upon the ascent of certain little hills half within the Earth being encompass'd about with a knot of trees which made a delightful prospect
us Lodgings The next day Iune 14. we cross'd the River Wolga and were lodg'd in a great Ambara or Store-house built there not long before upon the River side without the City where we were much troubled with Flies We found there also another Store-house full of Provisions which David Ruts his Highness's Factor at Moscou had sent thither six months before The Ambassador Brugman would have had all the Baggage dispos'd into an appartment by it self intending to have it search'd and to that purpose had open'd some Chests but those of the retinue who had not put off either cloaths or linnen since their departure from Terki were so incens'd at this procedure that they broke into the Room and carried away their Chests notwithstanding the order he had given the Sentinel plac'd at the door to keep any from getting in Iune the last the Ambassadors sent their Presents to the Weywode who return'd them another Present of four Sheep an Ox ten wild Ducks ten Pullets six Geese a runn of Beer and another of Hydromel 'T is true the Ambassadors dined and supp'd together during our aboad at Astrachan but there was not a word spoken at Table unless it were when the Ambassador Brugman was pleas'd to fall on any with his ordinary Language which was picquant and satyrical enough One day he gave such bitter expressions to the Secretary of the Embassy that he could not forbear making him some answer whereat the other was so enrag'd that he drew his knife at him and made him rise from the Table with such injurious words that the Secretary at his return into Holstein was oblig'd to make his complaints thereof to the Magistrate who condemn'd Brugman to make publick satisfaction This ill correspondence and alâ—enation of minds proceeded chiefly from Brugman's being conscious to himself of the many imprudent actions he had done in our Travels and the fear he was in to be punish'd for those disorders at his return into Holstein upon the prosecution of those who had taken particular notice and the freedom many times to mind him thereof This aversion of his reach'd even to the Minister who being oblig'd by the duty of his Profession severely to reprove the sins committed in the Company had incurr'd Brugman's displeasure in so high a manner that he could not get of him to buy a suit of cloaths in so much that being on some great Festival to preach and administer the Sacrament at Scamachie it was found he had only a pair of Drawers under his Cassock to the great scandal of all but particularly the Muscovian Ambassador who liked our Liturgy and would have given the Minister a suit of cloaths had he not stood in fear of the indignation and violence of the Ambassador Brugman We understood also that he had a design to leave Astrachan and to go by land accompany'd by some of his own Creatures and to forsake the rest of the Company The Muscovian Ambassador to whom he had communicated it discovered it to us and gave us notice that we should observe his actions in as much as his intention was no better than that of Roussel who had betray'd the Marquess of Exidueil and caus'd him to be sent prisoner into Siberia Soon after he had given us this notice the Muscovian Ambassador took leave of us to go for Muscovy by land but we have heard since that at his coming to Nise finding Letters from some friends giving him to understand that he would not be well receiv'd by the Great Duke he went no further but there took a dose of poison whereof he died Iuly 25. came to Astrachan a Muscovian Caravan and with it a German named Andrew Reusner who had Letters of recommendation from his Highness of Holstein to the King of Persia. The Ambassador Brugman had a great deal of private discourse with him which begat such an intimacy between them that instead of prosecuting his journey into Persia he oblig'd him to return back thence and to undertake the sollicitation of his affairs at the Duke of Holstein's Court August 1. the Muscovites celebrated with great solemnities the reduction of the City of Astrachan taken from the Tartars on the same day in the year 1554. The same day came to see us two Cosaques with Letters for the Ambassadors from Alexei Savinouits whom they had met upon the River Wolga These Rogues freely told us that they had successfully set upon and rob'd so many people that they were desirous to try how they should be able to deal with the Germans That they car'd not much for our Artillery in regard that was only for the unfortunate That they heard we had an invention to toss all that came neer us into the air That they could not imagine how it should be done but that the worst they could fear was death which they were forc'd to suffer at a Gibbet or upon a wheel and that the hope of booty would make them attempt any thing Aug. 6. came to Astrachan Imanculi Sulthan the Persian Ambassador whom we had expected so long and the next day he made his entrance into the City August 11. dy'd one of our Interpreters named Kenry Krebs and was buried the thirteenth in the Churchyard of the Armenians with the ordinary Ceremonies September the 5. there went away a Staniza or Caravan of about 200. persons to go from Astrachan to Moscou by land Andrew Resner made his advantage of that opportunity and departed taking some of our people with him The Ambassadors also took that convenience to send away some of their retinue with their horses We began to set things in order to follow them by water and to that purpose bought two great Boats sixty foot in length and fifteen in breadth which cost us 600. Crowns and to every Sea-man whereof there were thirty we gave 12. Crowns to bring us to Casan Not long before our departure some Muscovian Musketteers brought to be sold to the Ambassadors a young Girl of ten years of age whom they had taken from a School-Master who was a Tartar of Precop at the taking of the City of Assou which lies upon the Palus Meotides at the mouth of the River Don and was taken by the Cosaques from the Turk on the firh of August They brought us also another Girl about seven years of age whom they had stoln not far from Astrachan as she lay a-bed with her Mother They had put her into a bagg out of which they cast her at the Ambassadors feet as if it had been a sucking-Pigg stark-naked Her Parents had made in her cheeks two blew marks of the bigness of a Lentil that she might be known again in case she were stoln The Ambassador Brugman considering that in purchasing them he should bring two lost Sheep to the Fold of Iesus Christ bought them both one at 25. the other at 16. Crowns At his return he presented them to the Dutchesse of
Holstein who had them so well instructed that in the year 1642. they were both baptized having before given a publick accompt of their Faith Our Interpreter for the Turkish Language was also a Tartar-born and had been stoln in his Infancy and carried to Moscou where he had been baptiz'd His relations knew him again and would have redeem'd him but he would not consent thereto protesting he would dy in the profession of the Christian Religion since it was Gods pleasure to bring him to the knowledge thereof But ever after he went not far from the Ambassadors Quarters leâ—t he might have fallen into the hands of his relations who would have dispos'd otherwise of him At this place the Persian Ambassador bought him a Wife She was a Tartar and Sister to a Myrsa who was a prisoner and who sold his Sister for a hundred and twenty Crowns in money and a horse which the Ambassador valued at ten Crowns This Ambassador was at least seventy years of age but very vigorous and us'd much Hemp-seed bak'd in the Embers whereof the Persians eat abundance out of an opinion that it revives Nature yet hinders Conception Sept. 7. we left Astrachan and embark'd upon the Wolga the Ambassadors dividing their retinue and taking each of them a Boat We cast anchor within half a league of the City expecting the Persian Ambassador who came to us the next day with three Boats We gave him a volley at this arrival and set sail together The 10. we pass'd before the Iland of Busan where the Tartars of Crim and Precop are wont to swim over the River which in that place is somewhat narrow The Muscovites to prevent them had set a Guard there of fifty Musketteers who sent to us for some Bread and got a bag of Suchary The 15. we cast anchor before Tzornogar which the Muscovites call also Michailo Novogorod from the Great Duke Michael Federouits who built it within three hundred werstes or sixty German leagues from Astrachan The Weywode sent the Ambassadors a Latin Letter which Alexei Savinouits had left for them and sent one to invite them to come to refresh themselves in the City but they would not lose so much time The 24. we got before Sariza two hundred werstes from Tzornogar The 29. the wind fair we got forty werstes The Muscovites attributed the cause of it to the Great Duke's name whose Feast was celebrated that day being St. Michael's October 2. one of the Persian Ambassadors Boats was a-ground They were so long getting it a-fâ—oat again that the Ambassadors went ashore where they dined together Their people made also acquaintances among themselves and those of Persia took so much Aquavitae that we were forc'd to carry and drag them to the Boats like so many Beasts The Persians must also needs fall out with the Musketteers who guarded them Cudgels and Cymitars were employ'd and the Ambassador himself who was got as drunk as any of his people was going to draw upon them when our Ambassadors came in and reconcil'd all The night following one of the Persian Ambassadors Pages who was sick of a bloody Flux fell into the water yet none perceiv'd it till the next morning The 6. we came before Soratof 350. werstes from Sariza We there heard that a party of Cosaques would have set upon the Caravan but fearing they might come by the worst on 't they only cross'd their march with a great noise and by means of their breeding-Mares got away some Archemagues or Persian horses intended for breed The 14. the wind South-west there rose such a tempest that it scatter'd all our Boats That of the Ambassador Crusius and two of the Persian Ambassador's which carried horses were forc'd upon the shore and immediately sprung such aleak that we had hardly time enough to get out our Baggage the Persians their horses whereof there was one drown'd This Tempest having continued two daies we got our Boats ashore caulk'd them and departed thence the 17. but the Persian Ambassador who had two Boats unserviceable was forc'd to send away his horses by land The 24. we came before the City of Samara seventy leagues from Soratof November the sixt we pass'd by the mouth of the great River Kama and entred with the night into the River Casan in very good time for us in regard the next morning the River Wolga was frozen over The Weywode of the City Iohn Wasilouits Moroson who at the time of our former being at Moscou was Counsellor of State to the Great Duke receiv'd us but very indifferently as well in regard the Ambassadors had not made their acquaintance with him by Presents as by reason of his siding with the Muscovian Merchants who opposed our negotiation and would have prevented the establishment of our Commerce The Ambassadors sent their Steward to him with the Great Duke's pass intreating him they might be assigned Lodgings in the City but he sent him back with this answer that he might return to the Boat and there the Ambassadors should hear further from him The next day he sent to the Ambassador Brugman's Boat a Sinbojar who addressing himself to the Ambassador ask'd him which of the two was the Ambassador which the Merchant Brugman thinking himself affronted by that discourse took him by the arm and said to him Go tell thy Master that if he cannot read let him get one that can and withall may shew him what quality the Great Duke gives us But notwithstanding all this we were forc'd to continue several daies on the River though the weather were very cold The Weywode indeed sent us word that we might lodge in the City for our money but he issu'd out orders that none should entertain us and commanded the Sentinel who had permitted the Steward to pass and a Boy who had been his guide through the marsh from the River-side to the City to be cudgell'd Nov. 11. the Persian Ambassador made his entrance into the City and was lodg'd in that part of it which is bult of wood He prevail'd so far with the Weywode that he permitted us to land which we did the 13. taking up our Quarters in the Suburbs Nov. 20. the Ambassadors bestow'd the two Boats on the Weywode and made him some other Presents which put him into another humour and made him very much our friend December the 16. the Muscovites celebrated the Festival of their Patron St. Nicholas for the space of eight daies together during which a man could see nothing but perpetual drunkenness and extraordinary bebauchdness in both men and women The Care or Parson of the Parish came one day to my Quarters accompany'd by his Clerk as well to incense the Images as to comfort the Mistress of the house whose husband was put in prison for debt He told us that about forty years before there had been found in the Monastery of Spas which is in the said
happened to be there as it were by miracle I had there ended both my travel and life in the precipices I lodg'd at night in a Caravansera where I had a house over my head but that was all for there was neither provender for my horses nor any thing for my self and my servants to eat The ninth having travell'd three Leagues I came to a Caravansera where I found horse-meat After dinner I got five Leagues farther to another Caravansera but meeting there with the Armenian Caravan and the Carmelite Father whom I spoke of before I rode on and travell'd two Leagues farther to a Village called Berry and lodg'd not far from it in one of the best Caravanseras that I met with in all my journey The tenth I had very ill way along the mountain I preferred this before another fairer way which I might have taken by the Plains but more about by four Leagues Lâ—te at night I came to the City of Laar The City is seated at the foot of a Mountain in a spacious Plain its houses are built of brick bak'd in the Sun but the Citadel is very advantagiously seated on the mountain and well fortified with a Rampire of free-stone There is no Wine but abundance of Dates in these parts The Inhabitants drink only water which being thick and troubled must needs be veâ—y unwholsome as is also the Air thereabouts whence it comes that no Inhabitant almost but is troubled with a kind of worm which breeds between the flesh and the skin about an ell long and which is with much difficulty got out after the manner we shall have occasion to speak of hereafter hitherto we had been more sensible of cold then heat but in this place we began to think the heat of the Sun troublesom I stayed one whole day at Laar but when I would have gone thence the twelfth they would not suffer me to go out of the Caravansera till I had paid half a Tumâ—in which amounts to between forty and fifty shillings I stood out and alledged that being no Merchant they could not exact that duty from me but the receiver of it very much preâ—â—ing the payment I sent my Pasport and the Letters of recommendation which the King had written on my behalf to the Sultan of Gamron to the Governour of the Citadel who immediately sent an Officer of the Garrison with order for my departure without any further trouble They say the City of Laar was built by Pilaes the son of Siroes who had to his Successor Gorgion Mâ—lâ—ch first King of Laar and of whom the two and thirtieth Successor was Ebrahim Chan who was ejected by Sâ—ach Abas King of Persia in the year 1602. It hath about four thousand houses but neither gatâ—s nor walls but only a Castle built there by the Persians since their conquest upon a steepy rock which commands the City there being but one way to go up to it and that so narrow that two horses can hardly go abreast in it The walls of it are cut out of the rock and the Garrison consists of a hundred men a suffiâ—ient number to make good that place though there be in the Magazine Arms for three thousand men The water they have within it is brackish so that those of the Garrison are oblig'd to save that which falls from the Sky whereof they have abundance at certain seasons of the year I travell'd that day 14. Leagues to a Caravansera near a little Village This great dayes journey did me no small prejudice though I had felt some alteration in my health at my departure from Schiras But the great journeys especially the last I had made since the water which was troubled and corrupted and the insupportable heats brought me to such gripings in the belly which were accompanied by an oppression of the stomack and a very great looseness that I began to be out of all heart I caused enquiry to be made for a Litter but there being none to be found I was forc'd to get on the Horse which carried the sumpter which I had so ordered as that I had the convenience of resting my back In that posture I went away the 19. and got that day to a great Village within 12. Leagues of the City of Gamâ—on and took up my lodging at the Calenter's of the place In the evening came to the same lodging an English man who was to succeed him who was the chief of the Merchants at Ispahan accompanied by another Merchant of the same Nation with whom I had some acquaintance during my abode at the King of Persia's Court They were well provided with that kind of Spanish Wine which is called Seck though the true name of it be Xeque from the Province whence it comes which together with two good meals whereto they had invited me a little comforted my stomack and recruited my spirits at least as far as the posture of my health would permit They gave me Letters of recommendation to an English Merchant of Bandar Gamron whom they intreated to lodge me in the Indian Company House there and to assist me all that lay in his power in my Voyage to Suratta They took horse after supper but my indisposition kept me there till the 22. of February That day I travelled six leagues to a Caravansera where I rested my self till the heat of the day was over and then got three leagues further to another Caravansera I grew worse and worse insomuch that my former indisposition being heightned into a burning Feaver I was reduc'd to the greatest extremity But there was no staying in a place where I could not be reliev'd so that I resolv'd to get to Bandar whatever it cost me out of the confidence I had that there among so many Merchants of several Nations who trade thither I should find some ease Accordingly as soon as I was got thither the 23. of February the English French and Dutch came to give me a visit and having had an account of my quality and design as also of the nature of my indisposition which was come to a bloudy Flux with a burning Feaver they took me so much into their care that within four dayes the Feaver left me and I made a shift to visit the Sulthan or Governour of the City I had before sent him the Letters of recommendation which Schach Sefi had given me directed to him so that he no sooner heard of my recovery but he sent to invite me to dinner whither I went the 28. As soon as I was come into the room he made me sit down by him and to further my diversion and entertainment he had intreated the Dutch Merchants to bear me company by which means I had the opportunity to be acquainted with them I shall say nothing of the particularities of this Entertainment because there was nothing in it extraordinary or more then we had seen at Ispahan and elsewhere The same day
put it at 25. degr yet is the observation which the Hollanders have made of it and which we here follow very just and exact it being certain that most of the Maps that have been yet made and particularly that of Persia are very defective Their errour proceeds hence that they put the Caspian Sea too high and consequently allow Persia a greater breadth from North to South then it really hath For they put the City of Resht at 41. degrees whereas it is at 37. and so the breadth of all Persia can be but 10. degrees taking it from Gamron to Rescht or 12. at most if we should grant Ormus to be at 25. degrees so that Boterus is extreamly mistaken when he allows Persia the extent of 18. degrees It is not long since that this place was but a little Village consisting of some few Huts which the Fishermen had set up for their conveniencies and it is since the reduction of Ormus that the goodness of the Port hath rais'd it to a City of great Trade The Dutch and English Ships and the Moor Bottoms which come there daily by reason of the convenience of the Road and the Merchants of Ispahan Schiras and Laar who bring their stuffes thither as Velvet Taffaâ—a raw-Silk c. and exchange them for others will in time make this City one of the most considerable of all the East It is seated upon the Persian Gulf between two good Castles which defend it against the descent of Pirates and keep the entrance of the Haven where there is a square Redoubt with four pieces of Canon upon it The Fortifications of the Castle are antick with round Bastions but very well furnished with great Guns The Haven is so commodious that Ships may anchor very safely at five or six fathom water The houses at Gamron built of a certain stone which they make of stiff Clay Sand shredded-Straw and Horse-dung mixt together whereof having set a Layer they cover it with a Layer of Straw or Fagots and then another Layer of Clay and Straw and so alternately till they have brought it six or seven foot high then they set fire to it and so bake the Stone and to fasten and cement them together they make a composition of the same Paste with Salt-water and some Lime and by that means make a kind of Mortar which is almost as hard as the Stone it self The best Houses are those of the Sulthan or Governour of the City and the Lodgings or Ware houses of the Dutch and English which lie so near the Sea that at High-water the Tide comes up to the walls of them which is a great convenience for the loading and unloading of their Merchandizes The lower rooms serve for Kitchins and Ware-houses and the upper for Lodgings which are the more commodious in this respect that being high they are the more fit to receive the wind of all sides so in some measure to moderate the excessive heat of the Sun The meaner sort of people have no other covering over them then what they make with the branches and leaves of Date-trees which they call Adap and are the only trees that find them fruit and timber for building The Streets are narrow irregular and not kept clean The Air is very unwholsom thereabouts by reason of the excessive heat as also of the continual change of the Winds which râ—ign there and which in the space of twenty four hours go through all the points of the Compass For in the morning they have an East-wind which is extreamly cold about noon a South-wind which brings insupportable heats along with it in the evening a West-wind which coming fromwards Arabia brings sufficient heats with it and at midnight a North-wind which comes out of the Mountains of the Country and is cold enough It rains so seldom that it was observed in the year 1632. that with the rising of the Wind there falling a great shower after a continual drought of three years the Inhabitants kept a day of publick thanksgiving for it Whence it comes that in the Country all about this City there is not so much as a Grass to be seen unless it be in some Gardens where they are forc'd twice or thrice every day to water the Pot-herbs and Pulse which they sow in them and among the rest particularly Garlick Onions Chibols Radishes and Cucumbers But the Isle of Kismisch which is but three Leagues distant from Gamron and which is 15. Leagues in length and three in breadth supplies the City with all sorts of Fruits For in the moneth of Iune and during the greatest heats of Summer they have Grapes Damsens Peaches Mangas Quinces Oranges Lemons and Pomegranates red and white In October they have Melons Citruls Cucumbers Radishes Onions Turneps Almonds Pistachoes Apples Pears and several other Fruits which are very excellent and in such abundance that they are cheaper there then in any other place of Persia. The Inhabitants live for the most part upon Fruits and Pulse and the Fish which they take in the neighbouring Sea and find more wholsom and delicious then Flesh which meeting with but little good sustenance by reason of the extraordinary heats must thereabouts be of ill nourishment and in a manner without any taste Among other sorts of Fish they take there abundance of Pilchards and Smelts as also Oysters and Crabs They have good store of Cattle as Oxen Cows Sheep Goats and several other Creatures but they have such abundance of Goats that they are sold for six or eight pence a piece There are also a sort of Rams that have four horns but no wild Fowl at all Their ordinary drink is only Water unless it be that some have a little Aqua vitae made of Dates or Rice Schiras Wine which is brought thither only in Bottles is very scarce and very dear there nay the fair Water which they get two Leagues from the City is sold at such a rate that what I and my servants spent cost me about two pence every day Persons of quality and Merchants are clad after the Persian mode but all the rest go naked and cover only the privy parts The Women wear about their arms and legs a great many Rings or Plates of Silver Brass or Iron according to their conditions and abilities They fasten to their hair a Bodkin or a long flat piece of Silver gilt or Brass which hangs down over the middle of their foreheads to the end of the nose and they thrust through the left nostril a Gold Ring having in the middle a Turquese a Granat or haply a little Gold Knob or Button enamell'd or simple and the Pendants they wear in their ears are so heavy that if those were not well fastned to their heads they would go near to force them thence The great heats begin to abate in October and so from that time till the beginning of May is the season of greatest trading Then it
they thought us so well arm'd and so resolv'd to stand upon our advantage to defend our selves that they passed by without saying ought to us yet discovering withall by their march that they were come only to take a view of us We understood afterwards how that returning by the same Village they had said that if we had been at a little further distance from it they would have disputed the way with us Fifty Leagues thence we came near a Village called Syedck which had in it a very strong Castle And whereas most of our Beasts were extreamly wearied by reason of the great dayes journeys we had made we ordered that some of the Oxen and Waggons should go before But they were hardly got into a little bottom that was in the way not above six hundred paces from us ere they were set upon by ten Rasboutes who had lain in ambush behind a little Hill and at the first onset wounded two Benjans and were driving away the Waggons which they had before turn'd out of the Road when we discovered them aftar off and sent to them some of our Souldiers who forced the Robbers to forsake what they had taken After this we met with no misfortune and came safely to Agra where I took up my quarters among the English whose Civilities to me here were consonant to what I had received from them in other places The Mogul or great King of Indosthan does often change the place of his abode insomuch that there is no City in all his Kingdom of any considerable account where he hath not his Palaces but he delights not so much in any as Agra which to do it right is indeed the noblest City in all his Dominions It lies 28. degrees on this side the Line in the Province of Indosthan upon the River Gemini which falls into the Ganges above the Kingdom of Bengala It is at least twice as big as Ispahan and it is as much as a Man can do to ride about it on horse-back in a day It is fortified with a good Wall of a kind of red Free-stone and a Ditch which is above thirty fathom broad Its Streets are fair and spacious and there are some of them vaulted which are above a quarter of a League in length where the Merchants and Tradesmen have their Shops distinguished by their Trades and the Merchandises which are there sold every Trade and every Merchant having a particular Street and Quarter assigned him There are in it fifteen Meidans and Basars whereof the most spacious is that which is before the Castle where may be seen sixty great Guns of all sizes but not kept in any order so as to be made use of There is also in that place a high Pole as at the Meidan of Ispahan where the Court Lords and sometimes the Mogul himself divert themselves with shooting at the Parrot fastned at the top of it There are in the City fourscore Caravanseras for the accommodation and convenience of Forreign Merchants most of them three Stories high with very noble Lodgings Store-houses Vaults and Stables belonging to them together with Galleries and private Passages for the correspondence and communication of the Chambers Every one of them hath a certain person whose charge it is to lock them up and to take care that the Merchandises be safely kept He does also supply the place of a Sutler and sels all sorts of Provision Forrage and Wood to those that lodge in them And whereas the Mogul and most of the greatest Lords about his Court profess the Mabumetan Religion there is also in Agra a very great number of Metschid or Mosqueys and among the rest seventy great ones of which the six principal they call Metschid-adine because that it is in them they do their Devotions of Holy-dayes In one of these last named is to be seen the Sepulchre of one of their Saints called Seander and they say he is of the Posterity of Aaly In another of them may be seen the Sepulchre of another Saint who being 30. foot in length and 16. in breadth must needs have been one of the mightiest Gyants that ever were talk'd of His Tomb was cover'd all over with little Flags and we were told he had been one of their Heroes who had sometime done wonders in the wars To this place there are great Pilgrimages made insomuch that the Devotions of the Pilgrims do by the Offerings they make very much augment the wealth of that Mosquey the Revenue whereof is very great without those advantages There are daily maintain'd in it a great number of poor people so that it may be truly said that the Devotions done there are not inferiour to those done at the Sepulchre of Schich Sefi at Ardebil These Metzids and the Courts which depend on them serve also for so many Sanctuaries to persons guilty of any capital Crimes as also to such as fear imprisonment for their Debt These are the Allacapi of the Persians and are called by the Indians Allader and the priviledges of them in the Indies are equal to those the Allacapi are endued with in Persia insomuch that the Mogul himself though his power be absolute cannot force a man out of these Sanctuaries be his crime of ever so heynous a nature by reason of the Veneration which these people have for their Saints There are numbred in the City of Agra above eight hundred Baths or Hot-houses from which there comes in yearly to the Mogul a very considerable sum of money occasioned hence that this kind of Purification making one of the principal parts of their Religion there passes not a day but that these places are frequented by an infinite number of persons The great Lords about the Court who are called Rasgi or Rajas have their Houses and Palaces in the City besides their Country-houses all magnificent both as to structure and houshold-stuffe The King hath several Gardens and Houses without the City whither he often retires himself with his Women-dancers who dance before him stark naked But there is not any thing gives a greater demonstration of the greatness of this Monarch then his Palace which stands upon the River Gemini and is near four Leagues about It is excellently well fortified according to the fortification of that Country with a Wall of Free-stone and a great Ditch having at every Gate a Draw-bridge the Avenues whereof are also very well fortified especially at the North-gate The Gate which leads to the Basar is on the West-side and is called Cistery Under this Gate is the Diwan or the place of publick Judicature and there is adjoyning to it a spacious Hall where the principal Visier dispatches and seals all Orders for the ordinary and extraordinary Levies of men whereof the Originals are kept at the said place As soon as a man is come within this Gate he finds himself in a spacious Street having Shops on both sides which leads
Barampour and to be as it were a Reserve consisted of one and forty thousand Horse to wit Haddis and Beâ—ken-Dasse 15000 Asaph-Chan 5000 Rauratti 4000 Wasir-Chan 3000 Mabot-Chan 3000 Godia Abdul Hessen 3000 Aftel-Chan 2000 Serdar-Chan 2005 Raja Iessing 2000 Feddey-Chan 1000 Ieffer 1000 Mockly-Chan 1000 Serif-Chan 1000 Seid Allem 1000 Amiral 1000 Raja Ramdas 1000 Tork Taes-Chan 1000 Mier Iemla 1000 Myrsa Abdulac 500 Mahmud-Chan 500 Myrsa Maant Cher. 500 Ghawaes-Chan 1000 Moried-Chan 1000 And under the Command of several other Lords of their quality whom they call Ommeraudes 10000 The total of the Horse 62500 The offensive Arms of the Horse are the Bow the Quiver having in it forty or fifty Arrows the Javeline of a kind of long-headed-Pike which they dart with great exactness the Cymitar on one side and the Ponyard on the other and the defensive is the Buckler which they have alwayes hanging about their necks They have no Fire-Arms with Wheels nor yet Fire-locks but their Infantry are expert enough at the Musket Those among the Foot who have no Muskets have besides their Bows and Arrows a Pike ten or twelve foot long with which they begin the fight by darting it at the Enemy instead of using it in opposition to the Horse as is done in Europe Some among them have Coats of Mail about them which come down to their knees but there are very few make use of Head-pieces in regard they would be very troublesome by reason of the excessive heats in those parts They know nothing of the distinction of Van-guard main Battle and Rear-guard and understand neither Front nor File nor make any Battalion but fight confusedly without any Order Their greatest strength consists in the Elephants which carry on their backs certain Towers of Wood wherein there are three or four Harquebuses hanging by hooks and as many Men to order that Artillery The Elephants serve them for a Trench to oppose the first attempt of the Enemy but it often comes to pass that the Artificial Fires which are made use of to frighten these Creatures put them into such a disorder that they do much more mischief among those who brought them to the Field then they do among the Enemies They have abundance of Artillery and some considerable great Pieces and such as whereof it may be said the invention of them is as ancient as that of ours They also make Gun-powder but it is not fully so good as what is made in Europe Their Timbrels and Trumpets are of Copper and the noise they make in order to some Military Action is not undelightful Their Armies do not march above five Cos or Leagues according to the measure of the Country in a day and when they encamp they take up so great a quantity of ground that they exceed the compass of our greatest Cities In this they observe an admirable Order inasmuch as there is no Officer nor Souldier but knows where he is to take up his Quarters nor can there be any City more regularly divided into Streets Markets and other publick places for the greater communication and convenience of the Quarters and for the distribution of Provisions The Mogul and the General of the Army have their Tents pitched at a certain distance from those of the rest nay as far as a Musket will carry from those of their own Guards The Mogul's ordinary Guard consists of twelve thousand men besides the six hundred who are the particular Guard of the body the Company whereof consists of so many young men whom he buyes and causes to be exercised in Armes that they may be perpetually about his Person The Rasgi Rajas or Radias are never advanced to that Dignity but upon the score of Merit The Mogul bestows it also on the Chancellour or principal Visir who is the President of his Privy Councel and as it were Vice-Roy of all his Dominions inasmuch as he it is who sends Orders into all the Provinces of the Kingdom and it is to him that all are to make their Addresses in all Affairs of importance The King permits him not to receive any Presents yet does he not forbear taking them underhand and his Secretaries and other Officers under him take them so openly that there is no ever so secret transaction but a man may have the particulars thereof if he hath money to bestow among those who have the transcription and dispatch of them These Rasgi have so great a Veneration for their King that it were impossible for a man to approach things most sacred with more submission then they express when they speak to him The discourses they entertain him with are intermingled and interrupted with continual Reverences and when they take their leave of him they bow down their heads put their hands over their eyes thence afterwards upon their breasts and at last touch the ground therewith to shew they are but dust and athes in comparison of him wishing him all prosperity and coming out of his presence backwards When the Mogul marches in Person in the head of his Army or when he comes out of the City to go a hunting or to take the Air he is attended by above ten thousand men In the head of this little Army there march above a hundred Elephants with their covering Clothes of Scarlet Velvet or Brocadoe Every Elephant carries two Men one whereof governs and guides the Creature by touching his forehead with an Iron-hook the other carries a large Banner of Silk embroidered with Gold and Silver excepting only the seven or eight foremost which carry each of them one that playes on the Timbrel The King himself is mounted on an excellent Persian Horse or goes in a Coach drawn by two white Oxen the Horns whereof which are very large are adorn'd with Gold or some times he is carried by several men in a Palanquin or kind of Sedan The Rasgi and the Officers of the Court march after him and have coming behind them five or six hundred Elephants Camels or Waggons loaded with baggage For the most part he takes up his Quarters in the Fields where he causes his Tents to be pitched which is done upon this account that as on the one side there are but few Cities where he might find necessary accommodations for the quarters and entertainment of the Court so on the other he takes a particular pleasure in encamping in the Summer time in cool places in the Winter in hot places insomuch that he is in some sort the Master of the Seasons as well as of all the other things which are subject to him He commonly leaves Agra towards the end of April and retires near Labor or some other more Northerly Province where he passes over the moneths of May Iune Iuly and August and then he returns again to the place of his ordinary residence The City of Agra is of such extent and so populous that were there a necessity there might
manner with a flat Roof and had several Partitions which were made all half round very narrow at the entrance and broad at the bottom having each of them a door by it self and two Receptacles or Tankes of Free-stone into which the Water was let in by brazen Cocks to such height as those who came to bathe themselves desired it After bathing I was ordered to sit down a while and then I was laid down upon a Stone seven or eight foot in length and four in breadth in which posture the Master of the Bath rubb'd me all over with a Hair-cloth He would also have rubb'd the soles of my feet with a handful of Sand but perceiving I was not able to endure it he ask'd me whether I were a Christian and having understood that I was he gave me the Hair-cloath that I might rub my feet my self though he had made no difficulty to rub all the rest of my body This done there came into the Bath a little short Fellow who laid me all along on the belly upon the same stone and rubb'd my back with his hands from the back-bone down to the sides telling me that bathing would do me but little good if I suffered not the bloud which might haply lye corrupted in that place to be by that rubbing dispersed through all the other members I found not any thing remarkable about Lahor but one of the Kings Gardens which lies two dayes journey distant from it I had as a further diversion in this short piece of my Travels this that in two dayes I rode on four several Creatures For at first I had a Mule then a Camel then an Elephant and at last an Oxe whose troting was the hardest of any beast that ever I bestrid lifting up his hoofs as high as the stirrop and carrying me between six and seven Leagues in less then four hours I should have made some longer stay at Lahor but receiving Letters from Agra I was forc'd to come away upon this account that the English President intended very suddenly to embark in order to his return for England whereupon I put my self into the company of certain Indian Merchants who were then upon their return to Amadabath At my coming to Amadabath the Director of the English Commerce told me that he had received Orders from the President to make as strong a Caffila as he could possibly and to come with all expedition to Surat I there met also with Letters from the President whereby I understood that he only expected the Caffila's of Agra and Amadabath and that he would depart as soon as they were come He writ to me further that being within a few dayes after to resign his Presidentship to another whom his Superiour had appointed to receive it and there being to be a great entertainment and feasting at that Ceremony he should be glad I were present thereat During my stay at Amadabath the Mahumetans celebrated a Feast which was concluded at night with very noble Fire-works The Windows of all the Houses that stand in the Meidan were beset with Lamps before which were placed Vessels of Glass fill'd with Waters of several colours which made a very delightful prospect Upon the same Meidan before the Kings Palace there are two low Houses of which there is little use made but at this Feast it being the place whither the Sulthan and the Lords of the Court retire themselves while fire is set to the Works which consisted of Squibs Crackers and other ingenious inventions Some had fasten'd Lamps to certain Wheels which hung on though the Wheels turn'd about perpetually with great violence As soon as the Caffila of Agra was come to Amadabath I took leave of my friends and went along with a Caravan of a hundred Waggons The first day we travell'd twelve Cos or six Leagues to the City of Mamadabath The next day I went before with the Director of the Commerce at Amadabath who with his Second was desirous to be present at the Resignation which the President was to make of his place We were four in company and we took along with us four Waggons two Horses and twenty foot Souldiers for our Guard leaving Order that the Caffila should follow us with all expedition The foot Souldiers who carried our Arms and Banners made a shift nevertheless to keep pace with us What I say concerning the Banners relates to the custom of the Indies where there are no persons of any quality but have a Banner or a kind of Colours such as Cornets use carried before them That day we cross'd the River Wasser and took up our Quarters at night in the Fort of Saselpour There we met with the Factor of Brodra whose name was Mr. Pansfield who treated us very magnificently the next day at the place of his residence We went thence in the evening and lodg'd the night following in a great Garden and the next day we prosecuted our journey In the evening we encamped hard by a Tanque called Sambord and in regard we had not met with any fair Water all that day we endeavour'd to get some out of the Tanque But the Country people fearing we might consume all the Water there coming in at the same time a Dutch Caffila of two hundred Waggons would not suffer us to come near it Whereupon we commanded out fifteen of our foot Souldiers with express order to bring some Water if not by fair means by force But coming to the Tanque they found it guarded by thirty armed Men and such as were resolv'd to maintain it and to hinder any from taking of the Water However our Men went very resolutely towards them with their Swords drawn upon which without any dispute at all the Country people ran away but while ours were drawing Water the Indians shot a certain number of Arrows and discharg'd three Muskets among them and wounded five persons Ours exasperated at that kill'd three of the Country people whom we saw afterwards carried to the Village While we were at Supper there came in to us one of the Dutch Merchants who told us that there had been seen two hundred Rasboutes upon our way who had committed several robberies for some dayes before and that the very day before they had kill'd six men within a League of the Village near which we were then lodg'd The Dutch Caffila went away about midnight and we follow'd it immediately after But we had not gone far beyond it ere we discover'd one of those Holacueurs who are wont to march in the head of the Caffilas and before Troops of Horse and serve instead of Trumpeters by sounding a certain Instrument of Brass much longer then our ordinary Trumpets As soon as he perceiv'd us he slipp'd into the Wood where he fell a sounding as loud as ever he could which we took for an assured Alarm that it would not be long ere they set upon us Accordingly almost ere we could
Leagues distant from Goga and there are made in them great quantities of Cottons and Linnen-cloath The City of Diu where the Portuguez have three strong Castles is seated upon the Frontiers of the Kingdom on the South-side They call it Diuê pronouncing theâ—e so gently that a man can hardly hear it The word Diuê signifies an Island and thence comes the word Agrediuê five Isles and that of Nalediuè four Isles which the Portuguez corruptly call Maldiua and Diuê Noulaka the Isle of fourscore and ten thousand which hath that name given it upon this account that the Daughter of a certain Lord of the said place having begg'd of her Father the Revenue of it for one day it brought her in fourscore and ten thousand pieces of Silver The City of Bisantagan is one of the greatest of all the Kingdom of Guzuratta as containing near twenty thousand Houses It lies almost in the midst of the Kingdom and till of late was but a simple Village The fertility of the adjacent Country hath raised it to the greatness wherein it now is for thereabouts they keep abundance of Cattle and there grow also great quantities of Rice Wheat and Cotton which is made into Yarn and Clothes The City of Pettan was heretofore six Leagues about and encompassed with a strong Wall of Free-stone which is now broken down in several places since its Commerce began to diminish The Inhabitants are for the most part Benjans and their Profession making of Stuffs of Silk for the wearing of the Country as also some Cotton-cloaths but they are very course and are of those kinds which are commonly called Dosternals Sgarderberal Longis Allegiens c. This City hath a fair Castle within it where the Sulthan of the place lives In the middest of the City there is a Mosquey which was built by the Pagans and may pass for one of the most sumptuous Temples in all the East It s Roof is sustain'd by a thousand and fifty Pillars most whereof are of Marble Those who have contributed most to the destruction of that Cities Trading are a sort of People called the Coulses who having taken any of the Inhabitants abroad in the Country force them to ransome themselves and do so pester the High-wayes that the Merchants dare not travel that way Cheytepour lies six Leagues from Pettan and twenty two from Amadabath upon a small Rivers side All the Inhabitants are Benjans who are Weavers and make great quantities of Cottâ—n-yarn There is in the City a Garrison of 150. men for the securing of the Caffilas which pass that way for Agra and Amadabath Messana is an open Town having within it an old ruin'd Castle the Governour whereof is oblig'd to maintain two hundred Horse for the safe passage of the Caffilas The Country all about produces much Cotton and some Cloaths are made there but no great quantities Nassary or Nausary Gaudui and Balsara are three small Cities under the jurisdiction of Surat from which the first is six the second nine and the third fourteen Leagues distant They lye all three about two Leagues distant from the Sea There are made in them great quantities of course Cottons and it is in these parts that they â—ell the Wood which is spent all over the Kingdom in the building of Houses and Ships The old Inhabitants of the Country are Pagans and are those whom they properly call Hindoy or Indou The Mahumetans Religion came in with the Arms of Tamerlan and those other Forreigners who have settled themselves there by the Conquests they have in those parts The Kingdom is peopled with Persians Arabians Armenians and several other Nations but you shall seldome meet there with either Chineses or Iaponeses for they are so warm and well provided at home that they seldome settle themselves elsewhere The Mahumetans of the Country professing at least by name the same Religion with the Persians occasions the Persian Language to be as common among them as the Indosthan though in the Explication of the Alchoran they follow the sentiments of Hembili and Maleki whereas the Persians accept only of the Exposition of Aly and Tzafersaduck but they both condemn that of Hanifa which is approved by the Turks It is not our design in this place to run into any discourse of the Mahumetan Religion but having premised a short account of the Inhabitants of the Country we shall afterwards treat more at large of their Religion and the Sects whereof it consists They are all of an Olive or Duskish colour but more or less such according to the Climate in which they live Those who are more towards the South are without comparison of a much higher colour then those who live more towards the North. The Men are strong and well proportioned having large Faces and black Eyes and cause their Heads and Beards to be shaven clear off excepting only the Mustachoes as the Persians do also The Mahumetans cloath themselves much after the Persian Mode only they fold their Turbants after another way There is also this difference observ'd between them that the Indosthans have the opening of their Garments under the left Arm whereas the Persians have it under the right Arm and that the former tye their Girdles before and let the ends hang down whereas the Persians do only fold it several times about the body and hide the ends within the Girdle it self It is within these Girdles that they carry their Ponyards which they call Limber and are about a foot long having the Blade much broader towards the Handle then it is towards the Point There are some have Swords of that making but the Souldiers commonly wear Cymitars Good Horses are very scarce in those parts whence it comes that they often make use of Oxen which are altogether as swift as our Horses and I have seen whole Troops consisting of this kind of Cavalry The Women are very well proportioned though of low stature They have very handsom bodies and are very sumptuous in their Attire Their Hair hangs down over their Shoulders and on their Heads they have only a thin Cap or cover them with a Crepine of Lawn wrought with Gold the ends whereof hang down on both sides as low as their Knees Those who are of ability wear in their Ears Pendants of Diamonds Pearls or other precious Stones and about their Necks Neck-laces of a kind of great round Pearl which makes no undelightful show on the brown complexion of the Ladies of those parts who sometimes also wear Rings in their Nostrils which is so much the less incommodious to them in that they never almost have any occasion to wipe their Noses They wear Breeches as well as the Men which are of Taffata or some kind of Cotton-stuffe and those of such length that were they let out they would reach over their Heads They lye close and even till they come down below the Ham where they are
The Portuguez drive a great trade there especially with the Merchants of Ditcauly and Bauda which lye but three or four Leagues from Goa buying Pepper at seven Ryals the Quintal or hundred weight and at eight when they pay for it in Stuffes or some slight Commodities made of Iron as Snuffers Hinges c. made in Europe There is in the Kingdom of Cuncam a certain people called Venesars who buy the Wheat and Rice which is brought to the Market in Cities once a week and sell it again in the Country of Indosthan and the other neighbouring Provinces into which they go with Caffilas or Caravans of five or six and sometimes nine hundred or a thousand Beasts loaden with which they carry their Families especially their Wives who are as expert at their Bows and Arrows as the Men and by that means becomes dreadful to the Rasboutes who never durst set upon them nor yet the Couliers who exercise their robberies on all without any distinction upon this encouragement that the Rajas who should punish them protect and connive at them There are two sorts of money in the Kingdom of Cuncam to wit the Larims or Laris which come from Persia and the Pagodes Eight Persian Laris make a Pagode which is worth ten Laris of Dabul They have also a certain small brass Coin which they call Basaruiques nine whereof make a Pâ—ise and eighteen Peyses a Laris. But in regard there is no City nay indeed no Village which hath not some Coin or other peeuliar thereto it is impossible to assign the just value thereof Besides there is such abundance of counterfeit money that though there be no payment made but in the presence of the Xaraf or Money-changers yet it is a very difficult matter to shun it for the Changers themselves thrust in what is not current among that which is notwithstanding the penalties appointed by the Laws to be inflicted on those who either make or put off counterfeit money which are very rigorously put in execution They make use of the same weights as they do in the Kingdom of Guzuratta save that twenty Maons of Surat weight makes twenty seven of Cuncam and the ordinary Maon which consists of forty Ceeres and sixteen Peyses makes twenty seven pounds each pound making two marks They have a particular weight for the Pepper which they call Goemy and weighs twelve Maons four Maons make a Quintal or hundred weight and twenty make a Candy The King of Cuncam or Visiapour is a Tributary of the great Mogul's especially ever since the disorders which happened under the King Idal-Scach which were occasion'd as you shall find in the ensuing relation In the time of Sulthan Ibrahim Schach the Father of Idal-Schach there was belonging to the service of the Master of the Chappel or the Kings Musick a certain Slave named Chauas a person of understanding and courage of a pleasant humour and so taking a Conversation that the King who had particular notice of him begg'd him of his Master and preferr'd him after several other employments to the oversight of that apartment where his Wives and Concubines were lodg'd But it prov'd his misfortune one day that the King calling to him for drink they gave him of a bottle that smelt of Oyl upon which the King commanded him to leave his presence Yet was not his disgrace so great but that the King had yet somewhat of the ancient kindness for him for he made him Captain of the Castle-gate and bestow'd on him the Government of the City which he manag'd with so much conduct that the King being upon his death-bed and Mustapha-Chan his Favourite refusing to undertake the Regency during the Princes Minority who was then but ten years of age that great and important charge was conferr'd on Chauas who had the Dignity of Chan long before His Regency for the space of ten years had the approbation of all the people but Idal-scach being come to the twentieth year of his age began to think it irksome to be under the tuition of a revolted Slave and openly to condemn the familiarity of his conversation with the Queen his Mother He had also engag'd the State into a very unjust and extreamly destructive War upon this account that he paid yearly to the Mogul's Deputies the tribute of thirty Millions of Pagodes which the King ow'd him yet afterwards he caus'd them to be robb'd at their return by persons set on purpose to do it who brought him back again all the money The Mogul Scach Iahan who was then living made his complaints thereof at first as of a disorder which Idal-schach was oblig'd in justice to take some course to prevent but finding himself abus'd and laugh'd at he entred Cuncam with an Army of two hundred thousand fighting men where he laid siege to the Castle of Perinda which certain Hollanders who had been sent prisoners thither helpt to maintain for the space of two years till such time as a peace was concluded with the Mogul after the death of Chauas-chan who was kill'd as followeth Idal-schach not able any longer to suffer the extraordinary and unjust power of his Guardian to be exercised over him as we said before made his complaints against him to the Governours of Provinces and places of trust intreating them to advise and assist him against the usurpation of Chauas-chan They met together and sent a Message to the Regent that their King having attain'd an age fit to govern the Kingdom himself it was time he return'd into his hands the administration of Affairs to which end it were fit he came out of the Castle and liv'd in the City as the other Grandees of the Kingdom did giving him withall to understand that if he slighted these Remonstrances of theirs they should be forc'd to employ some part of the Kingdoms Forces to oblige him thereto But Chauas-chan being very unwilling to devest himself of an Authority which he had been possest of for so many years and over-confident of the affection of his Creatures as also of that of the people which he had made it his main business to acquire during the Regency by a liberality truly Royal made no reflection on these Remonstrances till he found some of the great Ones with an Army of thirty thousand men at the City Gates Being reduc'd to this extremity he took a resolution which proved his ruine For imagining that the people had so great an affection for him as to proclaim him King in case there were no other he resolv'd to make away the Prince and to kill him with his own hands To that end and full of this design he goes out of his Chamber one night while the Army was not yet come within five Leagues of the City and being come to the door of the Kings Lodgings the Guards having made no difficulty to let him pass and finding it lock'd contrary to the custom he would have
from another less of the same name which lies hard by it is South-East from the Isle of Sumatra from which it is dis-joyned only by a narrow Streight called the Streight of Sunda It lies seven Degrees beyond the Line and is about fifty Leagues long but hitherto no mans curiosity hath discovered the breadth of it which makes some conceive that it is not an Island but part of the Continent known by the name of Terra Australis near the Streight of Magellan Iulius Scaliger in his Exercitations against Cardan calls it the Compendium of the World because there is not Animal Plant Fruit Metal nor Drug which is not here in greater abundance then in any part of the Universe The Natives say that originally they came from China and that their Ancestors weary of the yoak that King kept them under removed to the Isle of Iava certainly they are in face like the Chineses their forehead and brows large and eyes narrow for which reason divers Chineses settle in this Island There is scarce a Town in Iava but hath a particular King who not above forty or fifty years since obeyed all one Emperour but of late they have shaken off that Soveraignty and are all independent The King of Bantam is the most puissant and next him the King of Palambuam from whom is denominated the Streight that divides the Isles Iava and Bali Ten Leagues thence towards the North-East lyes the Town of Panarucan where they drive a great trade with the Slaves they bring from Malacca as also in long Pepper and Womens Garments Near Panarucan there is a Mountain of Sulphur which began in the year 1586. to cast up fire in such violence that at that first blazing above ten thousand persons perished by it The Kings of Panarucan and Palambuam are Pagans but the King of the City of Passaruan six Leagues from Panarucan is a Mahumetan At Passaruan they have a great traffick in Garnitre a fruit like a Raspberry whereof the Merchants of Quilin make Beads and Bracelets which they sell and put off all over the Indies Ten Leagues thence Westward lies the City Ioartam with an excellent Haven upon a fair River where Ships in their Voyage from the Moluccoes to Bantam take in Provisions and fresh Water Upon the same River lies the City Gerrici to whose King the other Kings of Iava render the same respect they again exact from their own Slaves and near to these two Cities it is they fetch the Salt that is brought to Bantam The City of Surabaia that stands next in rank hath likewise its proper King who also reigns over the City of Brandam six Leagues thence towards the West and lives at Cidaye This City is fortified with a good Wall well flanked but the Haven is not safe by reason there wants shelter against the Winds that come from Sea-wards Ten Leagues Westward lies the City of Tabaon next Bantam the most considerable of the Island as we shall tell you anon Five Leagues further North-west is Cajam a City of no traffick no more then Mandalicaon which is inhabited by none but Fishermen Five Leagues onwaads West stands Iapara upon a skirt of Land that thrusts it self three Leagues into the Sea The scituation of this Town is upon a fair River with a good Harbour that renders it very Merchantile This hath likewise a peculiar King and none of the meanest in the Island Twenty five Leagues from Iapara and forty five from Bantam lies Matram or Matavam a great City with a King of its own who heretofore was so powerful as that he pretended to Soveraignty over the whole Isle and for this was the declared enemy of the King of Bantam Then five Leagues West from Iapara is the City of Pati and three Leagues beyond that of Dauma which acknowledges the King of Matavam as doth also that of Taggal scituate with the two others in the same Bay The next is the fair and strong City of Charabaon upon a fresh-water River and onwards the Cities of Dormago and Monucaon whence they pass through the Village Gaccon to the City of Iacatra and so to Bantam Without question this last is the Metropolis and most considerable City of all Iava scituate about twenty five Leagues from the Isle of Sumatra at the foot of a Mountain whence three Rivers rise two whereof run by the walls the other through the City but all too shallow for Navigation The Town is indifferent great but rascally Houses the walls which are of Brick and three foot in thickness are not entirely lined with Earth yet so flanked that at every hundredth pace lies a Cannon which would sufficiently secure the Curtain were it in condition for service but their Artillery is not mounted and they have no other Ammunition then a little Powder brought from Malacca where the Portuguez have a Mill. The City Gates are so wretched that one might beat them down with a Club but so vigilantly guarded 't would be hard to approach without notice there are neither Bastions nor Towers but in lieu thereof Scaffolds of three stories which yield a strong defence In the whole City there are but three principal Streets which all abut upon the Castle called Pacebam The one goes from the Pacebam to the Haven another where the Slaves and the Kings Domesticks inhabit leads to the Gate towards the Fields and the third to the Gate at the foot of the Mountain The Streets are not pav'd but are as commodious by means of the Sand they are covered with The Channels which in divers places cross the City are foul and stinking by reason the Stream of the River not being strong enough to carry away the filth it brings it self and what is thrown forth the Water choaks and makes puddles that infect the whole City No Person of Quality who hath not his private Chappel or Mesquite in his House but one there is in common near the Palace on the Magazine and Stable side The City is divided into several Posts each of which is assign'd to some Person of Quality who commands in time of War and hath the direction in civil Affairs They have a Drum as big as those Germane Casks call'd Thunder-bolts used instead of a Bell which they beat with a wooden Bar as big as a Weavers-beam morning and evening as also on Alarms Likewise they have Brass basins which they beat musically and chime upon as they do on Bells At every corner of the Streets there stands a Guard and at Sun-set they draw up and make fast all Passage-boats so as in the night there is no stirring in the Street At the Prison gate near the Palace stands a Guard of fifty Men nor is there a Person of Quality who hath not one of ten or twelve at his House The Town is full of Cocoe-trees nor is there a Mansion
making good chear they rip up their bellies cutting them cross so as that all the guts come out and if that does not dispatch them they thrust themselves into the throat and so compleat the execution Nay there are some who coming to hear that their Masters intend to build some Edifice either for himself or the Emperour will desire him to do them the honour that they may be laid under the Foundations which they think are made immoveable by that voluntary Sacrifice and if their request be granted they chearfully lay themselves down at the Foundation and have great Stones cast upon them which soon put them out of all pain But it is for the most part Despair which puts them upon this resolution in as much as these are of that kind of Slaves who are so cruelly treated that death were more supportable to them then the wretched life they lead All their Pagodes or Mesquites are of Wood rais'd three or four foot from the ground and about seven or eight fathom square They have on the outside many Turrets having lights on all sides and gilt all over but very narrow and set out with certain fantastick Figures but wretchedly done as to proportions They have also Statues in their Pagodes whereto they address their Prayers and bestow on them by way of Alms a certain number of Caxias which the Priests make their advantage of But their Castles are much better built His Majesty hath belonging to him many spacious and fair ones but the most considerable are those of Osacca and Iedo The Princes and great Lords have also very handsome Castles but those which are fortifi'd are oblig'd to receive a Garrison from the Soveraign The Cities have not any Fortifications at all for some few only excepted which lie between Firando and Iedo and have only simple walls the rest have not any at all but the Streets are streight and of the same breadth and length that is sixty Iekiens which make about fourscore and ten fathom Every Street hath two Gates which are shut up in the night and a Watch kept at them as also two Officers who are accountable for the disorders committed in their Quarter and speak to the Judge about any thing wherein the Inhabitants of the Streets whereof they have the oversight are any way concern'd there being it seems such order taken that all persons are not permitted to present themselves indifferently before the Magistrate but they would have it done by such as know what respect they owe to their Superiours The Cities or Towns have no particular Revenue nor any sums of Money in bank whereof they have the disposal for all the Demeâ—ne belongs to the Soveraign who bestows the Revenue thereof on the Princes and great Lords before mentioned and permits not the raising of any Impositions or Taxes of any nature whatsoever Nor is it to be fear'd that the mildness of the Air of that Countrey should breed any of those Grashoppers which consume where-ever they come all the Fruit which the Hail hath left on the Trees in so much that they leave not any verdure on them They only pay a small chief Rent for their Houses which the great Lords receive yearly but it amounts not to above thirty shillings for the greatest those of the middle sort ten and the ordinary ones twenty pence The Inhabitants are besides these oblig'd to certain dayes works and to find a man for their Lord to do what business he hath to put him upon but this happens not above twice or thrice a moneth and is but for an hour or two or at most but for half a day By this means the Lord lives upon his Demesâ—e the Souldier by his Pay the Merchant by his Traffick the Tradesman by his Trade and the Husbandman by his Labour One of the most considerable parts of these Lords Revenues consists in Fishing especially that of the Whale which the Emperour gives them There are taken every year about two or three hundred upon the Coasts of Iapan but they are not so big as thoâ—e taken towards the North and have at most not above seven or eight inches of fat but much flesh or meat which the Iaponneses feed upon There is no Lord nor indeed any Citizen or Merchant but may put his Vassals and Domesticks to death and that by way of Justice he himself being the Judge but to others Justice is administred all over the Country in the Emperours name Gentlemen and Souldiers have the priviledge to be their own Executioners and to rip up their bellies themselves but others are forc'd to receive their death from the hands of the common Executioner They alledge as a reason for this proceeding of theirs that Merchants are in some respect infamous in as much as they are for the most part Lyars and deceive those that trust them Tradesmen they sleight as being only but publick servants and the Peasantry is contemptible by reason of the wretched condition they live in which is little better then that of Slaves Only the Gentlemen and Souldiers are best respected and live at the charge and upon the labour of others No offence though never so small but is punish'd with death but especially Theft though it were but for a Penny Gaming whether that which depends upon chance or requires skill is capital among them if it be for money and he who kills another though innocently and in his own defence is to die without mercy with this only difference that such as kill in their own defence as also they who commit such Faults or Offences as would not here be punished with death die only themselves but other Offenders involve all their Kindred in their misfortune so that for the Crime of one single person the Father Brethren and Children are put to death the Wives and Daughters are made Slaves and the Estate of the whole Family is confiscated And this happens so frequently that there are Commissioners expresly appointed for the administration of what is so confiscated yet does not the money raised thereby go to the King but is imployed in the building of Pagodes and the repairing of High-wayes and Bridges The torture Thieves are put to for want of evidence makes rather the unfortunate then the guilty to be condemned They take a piece of Iron about a finger thick and a foot square and make it red hot and as soon as the redness is gone and the Iron return'd to its own colour they put it to the hands of the party accused upon two sheets of Paper which immediately flame and if the accused person can cast the piece of Iron upon a little Hurdle standing near him without burning himself he is dismissed but if his hands are ever so little touched by the Fire he is sentenc'd to die This Crime is punish'd with a particular kind of death The Criminal is tied with a Straw-rope by the Neck to a great Cane overthwart which
they put two other Canes much after the manner of a Lorrain-Cross whereto they fasten the Feet and the Hands and then the Executioner runs him through with a Pike from the right Side up to the left Shoulder and from the left Side to the right Shoulder so that being twice run through the heart he is soon dispatch'd Sometimes they only fasten the Malefactor with his Back to a Post and they make him stretch forth his Hands which are held out by two Men and then the Executioner standing behind him runs him in at the Neck and so into the Heart and dispatches him in a moment The Lords have such an absolute power over their menial Servants that there needs but a pretence to put them to death An example of this happened not long since a Servant had the insolence to address himself to a Gentleman to proffer his service to him but ask'd greater Wages then he knew the other was able to give purposely to abuse him The Gentleman perceiving the impudence of the Raskal was a little troubled at it but smother'd his indignation and only told him that his demands were very great but that he had so good an opinion of him that he must needs be a good Servant Accordingly he kept him a while but one day charging him with some neglect and reproaching him that when he should have been about his business he had been idling about the City he put him to death The Gentlemen and Souldiâ—rs are for the most part very poor and live miserably by being highly conceited of themselves most of them keep Servants though only to carry their Shoes after them which are indeed but as it were a pair of Soles made of Straw or Rushes having a hole towards the toe which keeps them on their feet The Crimes for which all of the Family or kindred are put to death are Extortion Coyning setting of Houses on fire ravithing of Women premeditated murther c. If a Mans Wife be guilty of any Crime her Husband is convicted of she dies with him but if she be innocent she is made a Slave Their punishments bear no proportion to the Crimes committed but are so cruel that it were not easie to express the barbarism thereof To consume with a gentle Fire or only with a Candle to crucifie with the Head downwards to boyl Men in seething Oyl or Water to quarter and draw with four Horses are very ordinary punishments among them One who had undertaken to find Timber and Stones for the building of a Palace for the King and had corrupted the Officers appointed by his Majesty to receive and register what he should send in was crucified with his head downwards The officers were condemn'd to rip up their bellies but the Merchant was put to the foresaid death He had the repute of an honest man and was one that had had occasion to obliege several Persons of Quality in so much that some resolved to petition the Emperour for his pardon though these intercessions for condemn'd persons be in some sort criminal and indeed the Emperour took it so ill that the Lords who had presented their Petition for him had no other answer thereto but the reproaches he made to them of their imprudence It happened in the year 1638. That a Gentleman on whom the King had bestowed the Government of a little Province near Iedo so oppressed the Country people that they were forc'd to make their complaints thereof to the Court where it was ordered that the said Gentleman and all his Relations should all have their bellies ripp'd up on the same day and as near as might be at the same hour He had a Brother who lived two hundred fourty and seven Leagues from Iedo in the service of the King of Fingo an Uncle who lived in Satsuma twenty Leagues further a Son who serv'd the King of Kinocuni a Grand-son who serv'd the King of Massamme a hundred and ten Leagues from Iedo and at three hundred and eighty Leagues from Satsuma another Son who serv'd the Governour of the Castle of Quanto two Brothers who were of the Regiment of the Emperours Guard and another Son who had married the only Daughter of a rich Merchant near Iedo yet were all these persons to be executed precisely at the same hour To do that they cast up what time were requisite to send the Order to the farthest place and having appointed the day for the execution there Orders were sent to the Princes of all the forementioned places that they should put to death all those persons upon the same day just at noon which was punctually done The Merchant who had bestowed his Daughter on that Gentlemans Son died of grief and the Widow starv'd her self Lying is also punished among them with death especially that which is said in the presence of the Judge The forementioned punishments are only for Gentlemen Souldiers Merchants and some other persons of mean quality but Kings Princes and great Lords are ordinarily punished more cruelly then if they were put to death For they are banished into a little Island named Faitsensima which lies fourteen Leagues from the Province of Iedo and is but a League about It hath neither Road nor Haven and it is so steepy all about that no doubt it was with the greatest danger imaginable that the first who got up to it made a shift to do it Those who first attempted to climb it up found means to fasten great Poles in certain places whereto they have tyed ropes with which they draw up those that are sent thither and make fast the boats which otherwise would split against the Rocks with the first Wind. There grows nothing in all the Island but a few Mulberry-trees so that they are obliged to send in provisions for the subsistance of the Prisoners They are relieved every moneth as is also the Garrison kept there but they are dieted very sparingly as being allow'd only a little Rice some roots and other wretched fare They hardly afford them a lodging over their heads and with all these miseries they oblige them to keep a certain number of Silk-worms and to make a certain quantity of Stuffs every year The expence which the Emperour of Iapan is at every year in his Court and what relates thereto to wit the sallaries and allowances of the Officers and Counsellours amounts yearly to four millions of Kockiens and the sallaries of Governours of places and Military persons together with the Pensions he gives amount to five millions of Kockiens They who speak of the Soveraign Prince of all Iapan give him the quality of Emperour in as much as all the other Lords of the Country on whom they bestow that of King depend on him and obey him not only as Vassals but as Subjects since it is in his power to condemn them to death to deprive them of their Dignities to dispossess them of their Territories to banish or send them
hundred and eighteen thousand nine hundred eighty nine Families consisting of above three millions four hundred and fifty thousand persons and that it payes yearly to the Emperour six hundred and one thousand one hundred fifty and three Bags of Rice Wheat and Millet two hundred twenty five pounds of Raw Silk at twenty ounces to the pound forty five thousand one hundred and thirty pieces of Silk-Stuffes thirteen thousand seven hundred forty eight pound of Cotton eight millions seven hundred thirty seven thousand two hundred eighty four Trusses of Hay and Straw for the Emperours Stables and a hundred and eighty thousand eight hundred and seventy Quintals of Salt accounting a hundred twenty four pound to the Quintal besides the Money which comes in by the Customs and yet this is one of the less fruitful Provinces of China As to the City of Xuntien it is situated at the extremity of the Kingdom towards the North about thirty Leagues from the great Wall It owes its greatness though in that particular it comes short of Nanking to Taicung who lived at the beginning of the fifteenth Age and translated the Seat of the Empire from Nanking to this City It is more populous then that of Nanking and must needs be more sumptuous by reason of the Court and the great number of Souldiers which the King maintains there as well for the safety of the City as that of his own person On the South-side it is encompassed with a double Ditch and a double Wall on the North-side it hath but one This Wall is much higher then those of any Cities in Europe and so thick that twelve Horse might ride abreast upon it without touching one another There is a Guard kept upon it in the night-time with as much vigilance as if there were an open War but in the day-time the Gates are kept only by Eunuchs who stand there rather to receive the Duties of Entrance then for any safety of the City This is the same City which Marc Paulo calls Cambalu and whereof the Tartars were possessed at that time The Streets of it are not paved so that in Winter a man goes up to the ankles in dirt and in the Summer he is cover'd all over with dust but this inconvenience hath forced them to make use of an invention whence they derive much greater conveniences For they all cover themselves with a thin Lawn from the head to the waste and by that means not being known they are not obliged to salute any they meet and so dressed they may ride undiscover'd on horse-back all about the City which yet is not very honourable in Persons of Quality who by this convenience save the charge it would be to them to be carried in Chairs whereas they may have Horses and Mules to hire at the corner of every Street at a very easie rate three or four pence a day The Kings Palace is near a League in compass and fortified with three good Walls and so many Ditches It hath four Gates whereof that on the South-side which opens upon the great Street of the City is the fairest Persons of Quality may go within the first Wall and Lords of the Councel go within the second but within the third there go only Women and Eunuchs who attend about the Kings person They say this Palace consists within of near eighty Halls and of those four which are the richest in the World besides the other Appartments which are almost innumerable The Province of Xansi is not so great as that of Peking but more delightful fertile and populous It bears not much Rice but in requital it affords the more Wheat and Millet and breeds abundance of Cattle The Word Xansi signifies Towards the West of the Mountain Accordingly that of Heng divides it on the East-side from the Province of Peking as the great Wall of the Kingdom of Tanyu in Tartary does towards the North. The River Croceus divides it Westward from the Province of Xensi and towards the South and South-east from that of Honan It comprehends five great Cities to wit Taiyuen which is the Metropolis Pingyang Taytung Lugan and Fuencheu and fourscore and twelve of a middle rate which contain disposed into 589959. Families above five millions of persons It pays in every year 2274022 Sacks of Grain 50. pound of raw Silk 4770. pieces of Silk-stuffs 3544850. Trusses of Hay and Straw and 420000. Quintals of Salt The Climate and Soil of this Province is fit for the Vine and the Grape here is excellent but the Chineses make no Wine And there is one thing particular here not to be found elsewhere which is that as there are in other places Pits and Wells of Water there are here some of Fire They dam them up so as that they leave only some Holes on which they set their Pots with Meat to be dressed There are here also good store of Pit-coal and certain Minerals which serve for Firing The Province of Xensi is no doubt one of the greatest of all the Southern part of Asia It hath on the North the Deserts of Xamo towards the West and North-west the Kingdoms of Cascar and Tebet towards the East the River Croceus which divides it from the Province of Xansi and towards the South it is divided from the Provinces of Honan Suchuen and Huquang by a high Mountain It comprehends in eight great Cities and a hundred and seven of middle rate 831051. Families and near four millions of persons The great Cities are Sigan Fungciang Hanchung Pingleang Cungehang Linyao Kingyang and Iengan It pays yearly 1929057. Sacks of Grain 360. pounds of raw Silk 9228. pieces of Silk-stuffs â—7â—72 pounds of Cotton 128770. pieces of Cotton-cloath and 1514749. Trusses of Hay and Straw There are in this Province some Gold Mines but there is a Prohibition made by the Laws of this Country that no search should be made into them and yet there is abudance of it found in the Rivers and Torrents especially when the Rain brings down the Earth from the neighbouring Mountains Rhubarb grows here in great quantities and it is ordered with great care This Province affords also Musk which is nothing but an Imposthume or Botch fram'd at the Navil of a certain Beast of the bigness of a wild Goat which the Chineses call Xe whence comes the word Xehiang so they call the Musk which signifies Scent of Musk. The Reader may take this for certain whatever those may endeavour to perswade people who have written concerning this Drug Though the Wall which divides China from Tartary enclose the three Provinces we named before as also that of Leatoung yet is it not of the length our Cosmographers assign it for from the Gulf where the River Yalo falls into the Sea and where the Wall begins to the City Kin where it ends there are not above twenty Degrees which make but three
the more inclinable to accept what was proffer'd him since there was no other choice to make for as to Lizungzo it could never be known what became of that Villain Vsanguei's declaring himself satisfied with what had been proffer'd him by the Tartars facilitated their Conquest of the Provinces of Peking Xansi and Xantung which they possessed themselves of in less then a years time and settled themselves therein allowing the Inhabitants their Laws Magistrates and manner of life and reserving only to themselves military employments and the defence of places In the interim the Southerly Provinces had raised a powerful Army which they sent to the Emperours relief but upon the first news brought them of the reduction of Peking and the death of Zungchini they remanded their Army with all the Boats which carried the yearly Provisions and Contributions to the Court and hearing of the Invasion of the Tartars they proceeded to the election of another Emperour of the House of Taiming whom they called Hungquang Nephew to Vanlie and Cousin to Zungehini This man began his Reign with a solemn Embassie which he sent to the Tartars to demand a Peace and to proffer them the Northerly Provinces of the Kingdom Amahan whom the Chineses call Amauang made answer that the Tartars never received from any one what they were already possessed of that if the Chineses had made choice of an Emperour it was their business to protect him and that for their parts they would have all or nothing During the time of this Negotiation there came into play a Prince who gave himself out to be the eldest Son of the Emperour Zungehini and was acknowledged to be the same person by several Grandees of the Court But Hungquang imprisoned him with an intention to have him strangled to the great dissatisfaction of those who thence took occasion to revolt so that the Tartars made their advantage of him to get into the Province of Nanking Hungquang sent against them a powerful Army but it ran away without ever engaging upon the first sight of the Tartars getting into the Boats to cross the River Upon that defeat all the Cities of the Province on this side the River Kiang submitted save only that of Yangcheu into which Zu Coloa was got with some Forces who made a vigorous resistance but such as prov'd the destruction of the City which was burnt purposely to bury in its ashes their bodies who had been kill'd for fear of infecting the Air. The Metropolis was yet in the power of Hungquan who kept the Tartars from crossing the Kiang by a good Fleet he had under the Command of Hoangchoang who had already gaind many advantages over the Tartars and put them out of all hope of crossing the River when he was kill'd with an Arrow by one of his own people named Thien who had been corrupted by the Tartars This may be said to have been China's fatal blow since that upon the Generals death the Army fled and the Tartars passing the River immediately pursued Hungquang and having taken him by the treachery of the said Thien they sent him to Peking where they strangled him in Iune 1644. They also put to death the young man who pretended himself Zunchini's Son whom they found in prison and with him all the other Princes of the Royal house of Tayning that fell into their hands Most of the Lords who escaped these defeats met together in the City of Hangcheu in the Province of Chekiang the greatest of any in the whole Country with a design to give the utmost expression they could of their fidelity and courage They had chosen Emperour one of the Royal Family named Louang but ere he had reign'd three dayes the Tartarian Army was come to the Gates of the City and the Garrison which was 〈◊〉 much inclined to fight demanded their pay so that Louang out of all hope to prevent the taking of the City would preserve it and the Inhabitants by a voluntary delivery of himself to the Tartars who strangled him and suffered not that noble City to be plundered They took in the same Province the great City of Xoaking and were likely to have made a powerful settlement there had they not been so imprudent as to oblige the Chineses to shave themselves but they found them so resolutely bent on the contrary that the Chineses who had taken the loss of their Country with so much indifference chose rather to lose their Lives then their Hair They beat the Tartars out of the City of Xoaking forc'd them to repass the River C'enthaeng and no doubt had retaken the City of Hangcheu had they had the courage to pursue them They thought it enough to entrench themselves on the River side and own'd the Authority of a Lord of the House of Tayming named Lu who assumed the Quality of Restaurator of the County and refused that of the Emperour About this time the Officers and Souldiers who retired out of the Province of Chekiang into that of Fokien chose another Emperour named Thang who writ to Lu that he should own him for his Soveraign in regard he was the nearer of Kin to the deceased Emperour This division brought the Tartars to be absolute Masters of all China for these two Princes refusing to joyn their Forces together against the common Enemy the Tartars set upon Lu and forc'd him to retire into the Island of Cheuxan over against the City of Ningpo which had hardly been peopled had it not been for that Defeat They found it no harder matter to conquer the Province of Fokien though it be divided from those of Quantung Kiangsi and Chekiang by Mountains which six thousand men have kept against all the Forces of Tartary The Emperour himself who had assum'd the name of Longuu that is warlike Dragon fled and was kill'd as is conceiv'd by the Tartars who pursued him They had divided their Army into two Bodies whereof one was got into Fokien as we said before the other had passed through the Provinces of Hungquang and Kiangsi so that they met much about the same time in that of Quantung where they again divided one part being commanded into Peking the other into the Province of Quangsi Their easie conquest of Fokien proceeded partly from the good success that attended their designs where-ever they went but particularly from the correspondence they held with Chincilug who had the command of Longuu's Army in that Country He had sometime been an Interpreter and a kind of Broker to the Portuguez Castilians and Dutch at Macao the Philippine Islands and that of Fermosa under the name of Iquon Giving over that employment he turned Pyrat and by that means became so powerful that having obtained or rather extorted an Act of Oblivion from the Emperour of China he forced him to suffer him to carry on the Trade of the whole Kingdom keeping the Sea with a Fleet of
is a considerable part As to its Commerce there is no City in the world where the Inhabitants of Amsterdam have not their Factors and correspondents All the maritime towns of England France Spain and Italy are full of them as are also those of the Baltick-Sea and Muscovy it self It is in a manner impossible to number the Ships it sends away every year to Archangel 〈…〉 to the Coasts of Pomerania and into Norway where they put off their Spicâ—s and Silk and Woolen sfuffs for Wheat Timber Pitch 〈…〉 and other things they stand in need of either for the building of their ships and houses or the carrying on of their Trade in the other parts of the world These Fleets go away commonly twice or thrice a year but there go some every day West-ward and 〈◊〉 hour for the other Cities of Holland and the Neighbouring Provinces yet 〈…〉 hinder but that 〈◊〉 Ports and Clannells are so covered with boats and ships that it may be questioned whether the water be not there as much inhabited as the land and whether there be more people in the houses or the ships There is such abunof Wheat Wine Hemp Flax Wood and Spices as if all other Provinces of the world were emptied of their wealth to make Amsterdam a publick Treasury of all they produce so that it may be said it is in this City properly that a man may see those Miracles which the famous Scaliger attributes to all Holland Though a man should consider only the House belonging to the East-India Company he would 〈…〉 all its Inhabitants I ha◠〈◊〉 some Ship◠〈◊〉 at 〈…〉 the Store-houses and Magazeens reaching at a great distance from the East-India House full of Spices Silk Stuffs 〈…〉 what ever China and the Indies afford that is most 〈…〉 had sent thitheâ— all its Ciâ—amon 〈…〉 all their Cloves â—he Islands of 〈…〉 all their Spices China all its rich stuffs Iapan its excellent works of several kinds and the rest of the Indies its Pepper and Silk Nay it may be said this Company is a kind of particular Common-wealth in that little world since its Magistrates Officers Arntes â—lâ—ets Generals Governourâ— of Provinces and Cities and its subjects seem to have no other dependance on this City then a particular State hath on the Universe It is since the year 1595 that the Dutch have made Voyages into the Indies upon the instigation of a Merchant named Cornelius Hâ—â—â—man who living at Lisbon informed himself from the Portuguez of all the particulars of those Voyages and prevailed so far with some Merchants of Amsterdam that in the year 1595. they sent out four Ships which thay sent along the Coasts of Africk and the Cape of good Hope into the Indies inasmuch as the design which some others had to find out a passage North-ward had not proved effectual About two years and four months after these Ships returned to Amsterdam and though the profits of this first Voyage answered not the expectations of the persons concerned yet were they such as engaged several other Merchants in the same design so that in the year 1598. they sent thither a second Fleet consisting of â—ight great Ships They would not stay the return of this Fleeet but in the year 159â— set forth another and much about the same time some other Merchants made up a new Company and set out a particular Fleet insomuch as to prevent the destruction of Trade likely to be occasioned by many different interests the States of the United Provinces in the year 1602. brought the persons concern'd to an agreement among themselves and reduced them into one common Company under their Authority and the direction of the Prince of Orange as Admiral of those Provinces By this Agreement thus authorised by a Grant of the States for one and twenty years there was a regulation made according to which the oversight of all that trade was put into the hands of the chiefest persons concern'd therein divided into six Chambers or Courts which were settled at Amsterdam Middleborough for Zealand at Delf and Rotterdam for the Meuse and at Horn and Enckhuisen for West-Friesland The first consisted of twenty Directors that of Middleborough of twelve and the four others of seven a piece so that in all charges that of Amsterdam bore the one half that of Zealand a quarter part those of Meuse and West-friesland each a half-quarter It was also ordered that to General Assemblies that of Amsterdam should send eight Deputies that of Zealand four and those of the Meuse and West friesland each of them two with a supernumerary for a casting voice which was to be appointed by the Chambers of Zealand the Meuse and West-friesland alternately The Stock of this Company amounted to six Millions six hundred French Livers which was laid out in the setting forth of several Fleets and the first Voyages proved so fortunate that it was found in the year 1613. that the money of the persons concern'd had gain'd two hundred and sixty upon the hundred But the profits were much greater the year following as may be seen by the Dâ—vidents which have been made from time to time In the house belonging to the same Company I saw also all the Drugs all the Fruits and all the living Creatures which I had seen before in the Indies It were impossible to imagine any thing more delightful or more regularly disposed then the Streets Water-channels and Houses of this City All the Rivulets are bordered with Line-trees and the Quays pav'd at the extremities with Brick anâ— in the middest with Flint The Houses especially those of the new City are so manâ— Palaces so neat without that painting could add nothing thereto and so well furnish'd within that there are some whereof only the Pictures were enough to enrich a man But what most speaks the cost imploy'd about them is least seen For all the Houses being built on piles it must be confessed the foundations are no less precious then the rest of the Structure and that there is not so noble a Forrest in the World as that which the City of Amsterdam hath under its houses Among the publick Structures the Churches are remarkable and among others those called the Old and the New and the three others built some years since by the Magistrate In the former is the Epitaph of Iacob de Heemskerk who having made two Voyages to Nova Zembla and the Indies was kill'd at the Streights of Gibralter where he set upon the Spanish Fleet within reach of the great Guns of the Fort. What a noble and neat place is the Hospital and Convent of St. George where there are now received great numbers of Aged persons of both Sexes who are maintained there What more charitable then the care and tenderness wherewith distracted persons are treated And what severity do they not exercise in the ordering of incorrigible persons the men in a House over the door whereof there is in golden Letters VIRTVTIS
stood in most need of his service and assistance It was also a very strange Adventure which made him find civil entertainment and hospitality at Surat made him subsist at the charge of others conducted him by Land to the Great Mogul's Court brought him safely back again to Surat preserv'd the ship he was in after so many tempests near the Cape of Good-Hope and miraculously deliver'd him at his first arrival into England when he was given over for irrecoverably lost in the very haven as may be seen neer the end of his Travels To these Mandelslo had a particular inclination and knew so well how to make his advantages thereof that Olearius himself makes no difficulty to confess that he met with in his Notes many things which might have been added to his Relation and have found a kind reception even among the more Curious had he been as forward to have his Travels publish'd as he had been to prosecute them But Mandelslo instead of giving the world that satisfaction and continuing with his Friend who might have further'd him in his design left the Court of Holstein where he found not employment proportionable to his merit and betaking himself to another Profession he got into a Regiment of Horse commanded by a German who purely by his Military accomplishments had rais'd himself to one of the greatest dignities of France He had therein the Command of a Troop and being a person of much courage and endu'd with all the qualities requisite to the making up of a great man was likely to have rais'd himself to a more than ordinary fortune when coming to Paris to pass away the Winter he there died of the small Pox. Being at Surat in December 1638. he made a kind of Will concerning his Papers which he put before the beginning of his Relation wherein he desir'd his Friend Olearius not to suffer it to be publish'd in regard he had not had the leisure to digest it into order or if he did that he would rather regard therein his reputation after his death than the friendship they had mutually promis'd one another and faithfully improv'd during the four years of their joynt-Travels Mandelslo was no great Scholar but could make a shift to understand a Latin Author which helpt him much in the attaining of the Turkish Language wherein he came to a considerable perfection His Friend taught him also the use of the Astrolabe so that he was able to take the Longitudes and Latitudes that are in several places of his Book and without which it had been impossible for him to be much skill'd in Geography which makes the most considerable part of this kind of Relations Olearius hath indeed been very much his Friend not only in reforming and refining his Style which could not be very elegant in a person of his Profession but also in making several observations and additions thereto printing it in Folio in a very fair character and adorning it with several pieces of Sculpture Olearius's kindness to his Friend in enriching his Relation with many excellent remarks taken out of Emanuel Osorio Maffaeus and the chief Voyages of the Dutch gave the French Translator thereof A de VVicquefort occasion to augment the said Book with whatever he found excellent in all those who have given the best account of the East-Indies So that it is to him we are oblig'd for the exact description of the Province of Guzuratta the Kingdoms of Pegu and Siam c. the state of the affairs of Zeilon Sumatra Iava the Molucca's and Iapan as also for the Religions of these people So that there is in this Edition of ours especially as to the Travels of Mandelslo a third part more than there is in the largest of the German Editions The Reader will find therein many things which will haply seem incredible to him as among others he may haply be astonish'd at the wealth of a Governour of Amadabah and at that of a King of Indosthan as also at the vast revenues of the Provinces and Lords of China and Iapan but besides that there is nothing of Romance in all this and that there is no comparison to be made between the wealth of Europe and that of Asia there are many persons in France and England that will justifie our Relation though it said much more than it does I might here trouble the Reader with what I find in the Learned Vossius's Observations upon Pomponius Mela Lib. 3. c. 5. v. 16. concerning the length and breadth of the Caspian Sea wherein he differs from our Author and prefers the measure of it by our Countryman Ienkinson before that of Olearius But I choose rather to referr the more critical to the place it self and leave them to satisfie their own curiosity by conferring what is there said by Vossius with the account given by Olearius of the said Sea pag. 190 191 192. of this English Edition of the Travels I havâ— only this to add that the French Translator de Wicquefort promises the world if it be not abroad already a Piece of his own which coming out under the authentick name of History will contain some thing beyond what may be expected from a Relation A JOURNAL OF THE TRAVELS of the Ambassadors from the Duke of Holstein into MUSCOVY TARTARY and PERSIA Which may serve for a Table to this Relation THE FIRST VOYAGE INTO MUSCOVY M.DC.XXXIII OCTOBER THe 22. the Ambassadors from the Duke of Holstein leave Gottorp the occasion of the Embassy the names and qualities of the Ambassadors their retinue Pag 1. NOVEMBER The 6. they leave Hamborough where they took order for their Voyage come the next day to Lubeck the 8. to Travemunde where they embark'd the 9. ibid The 10. they pass away neer the Iland of Bornholm and anchor the 12. at Cap de Domines in Courland the 18. come to Dunemunde p. 2. The same day come to Riga the Magistrates Present Riga described its foundation is made an Archbishoprick subject to Poland taken by the Swedes its Fortifications and Commerce p. 3 The Ambassadors continue there neer a month DECEMBER The 14. they leave Riga and come the 18. to Wolmar 3. daies 18. l. the 20. to the Castle of Ermes the 21. to that of Halmet the 22. to that of Ringen and the 23. to the City Torpat or Derpt p. 3 A description of Torpat where they pass over the Christmass holy-daies ibid. M.DC.XXXIV IANVARY The 3. having left Torpat the 29. of December the Ambassadors came to Narva ibid. There they continue 5. months JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL and MAY during which they send part of their Train to Novogorod and go themselves to Reuel where the Swedish Ambassadors met them in order to their going together into Muscovy p. 4 MAY. The 15. leave Reuel and return to Narva the 18. ibid. The 28. they leave Narva come to Gam-Fort Kapurga the civilities of the Muscovian Ladies come to Iohannestal or St. Iohn's Valley p. 5 IVNE
l. 2. daies 114 The 8. to Sabackzar 8. l. 1. day 115 The 9. to Kocks-chaga 5. leagues 1. day ibid The 13. to Suiatzki and the same day opposite to Casan where they find a Caravan conducting a Tartar-Prince and a Factor of the King of Persia's ibid The description of Casan its situation buildings Castle how the Province of the same name conquer'd by the Muscovites which occasions a pleasant diversion the exemplary fidelity of a Weywode the Great Duke forc'd out of Muscovy takes the City of Casan by storm ibid. Melons of extraordinary bigness 116 The 15. they leave Casan come the 17. to the mouth of the River Kama which falls into the Wolga on the left hand 12. leagues from Casan 117 The Iland of Sokol ibid The 18. they come to the River Serdick and afterwards to that of Vtka and see as they pass by the City of Tetus 25. leag from Casan 118 The 19. they pass before the Iland Staritzo which is three leagues in length ibid The fishing of the Muscovites and Tartars ibid Botenska Iland the Cape of Polibno the River Beitma and several Cities ruin'd by Tamerlane ibid The mountain Arbeuchin ibid The River Adrobe the Salt-mountain the River Vssa the mountain Divisagora ibid Iabla-neu-quas or the Cider-valley ibid The mountain Sariol-Kurgan and that of Savobie 119 S. Nicholas's red Snakes ibid The 28. betimes in the morning they come to the City of Samara 60. l. from Casan upon the River of the same name within two wersles of the Wolga ibid The same day they come to the mountain of the Cosaques and opposite to the fall of the River Ascola 120 The River Pantzina the Iland of Zagcrinsko ibid The 30. to the River Zagra the Iland of Sosnon and the mountain Tichi ibid The 31. to the Iland Osino and that of Schismamago to that of Koltof the mountain of Smiowa and the 40. Ilands ibid The fabulous metamorphosis of a Dragon kill'd by a Heroe ibid. SEPTEMBER The 1. they come to the City of Soratof which lies upon a branch of the Wolga 70. leagues from Samara 121 The 2. pass by the Ilands Kriâ—sna and Sapunofka and come to the mountain Achmats-Kigori 10. l. from Soratof ibid 4. leagues lower to the Iland Solotoi and the mountain Solottogori or the Golden mountain that of Craye the mountain of Pillars the River Ruslana the mountain Vrakofskarul 30. l. from Soratof the mountain Kamuschinka and River of the same name ibid. At this place the Don or Tanais is within 7. leag of the Wolga Visits from the chief Persons of the Caravan 122 The River Bolloclea 18. l. from Kamuschinka The first branch of the Wolga 123 The 6. they come to Zariza 70. l. from Soratof on the right side of the River ibid Thence to Astrachan there are only barren lands and heaths The Iland Zerpinske behind which there falls a River into the Wolga whereby there might be a communication with the Don. ibid The 7. they come to the Iland and mountain Nassonofsko 124 Tziberika a Fish of a rare figure ibid The 8. to the Cape Popowizka jurka 14. l. from Zariza and the mountain Kamnagar 8 l lower the Iland and River Wesowoi and that of Wolodinarski-Vtzga Achtobenisna Vtsga a second branch of the Wolga the Iland Ossino an extraordinary kind of Liquorice ibid. The 9. to the little City Tzornogar 40. l. from Zariza its original ibid Carps weiging 30. pound Sandates c. 168 The 10. leave Tzornogar come to the mountain Polowon and the Iland Kissar 125 The 3. and 4. branches of the Wolga the Islands of Coppono and Katarniski ibid The Iland Peruski the 5. branch of the Wolga the excellent fruits of Nagaia Cormorants the 6. and 7. branches of the Wolga ibid The 15. the Ambassadors having pass'd by the Ilands Itziburki and Basan and the River Biltzick come to Astrachan ibid The 7. branch of the Wolga maketh the Iland Dolgoi in which Astrachan lies From Moscou to Astrachan there are above six hundred German leagues A description of Astrachan where they stay neer a month 126 A description of Nagaia the Iland of Dolgoi the Salt-pits 127 Astrachan 12. l. from the Caspian Sea the fruits of Nagaia ibid Its Inhabitants Nagaia when conquer'd by the Muscovites the greatness of the City its Structures Ammunition Garrisons Governours the Tartars not permitted to come into it their manner of life and cloathing wars with the Kalmukes and Tartars of Buchar 128 Their Princes Religion food 129 The Ambassadors visited by the Persians who came along with the Caravan ibid The Cuptzi's Present a visit of the Tartar-Prince and his reception ibid The Cuptzi's visit the Weywode's Present to the Ambassadors the Ambass visit to the Tartar-Prince 130 The Cuptzi's Feast 131 The Tartars much addicted to Hawking the treatment of another Persian Merchant Brugman's imprudence the visit of another Tartar-Prince 132 The Weywode's Present ibid OCTOBER The 1. the Secretary sent to the Weywode Provision made for the continuation of the Voyage ibid The 10. the Amb. leave Astrachan and embark upon the Wolga Simples of extraordinary bigness neer Astrachan 133 The 12. come to Tomanoigor or the Snaky mountain ibid Many Ilands at the mouth of the River the Sepulchre of a Tartar-Saint the Sacrifices of the Tarters dog-fishes several sorts of Birds ibid The 15. come to the mouth of the Wolga and to the entrance of the Caspian Sea where it is very troublesom sailing 134 A Muscovian Slurrâ— the civility of a Persian Pilot an ominous day 135 NOVEMBER The 1. they come before the City of Terki in Circassia having sailed but 60. l. in 16. daies the situation of Terki upon the River Timenski its fortifications Garrison ibid The Cuptzi's Present to the Ambassadors a mutiny in the ship an Eunuch belonging to the King of Persia visits the Ambassadors their Present to the Weywode 136 Their message to the Tartar-Prince his house his reception of those sent to him a collation the curiosity of the Tartar-Ladies 137 The Princess's Present to the Ambass The Tartars enclin'd to theft ibid The Weywode's Present ibid Nov. 10. the Ambassadors leave Terki An Iland in the Caspian Sea 138 A description of the Iland Tzetlan by the Persians called Tzenzeni ibid Come in the sight of the mountain Salatto which is the Caucasus of the Autients in Mengrelia or Colchis mount Ararat 139 Are forc'd by a tempest upon the Coasts of Persia. ibid The Ambass dis-embark with part of their retinue 140 The Ship run a ground 141 A description of the Caspian Sea its names It is a particular Sea having no communication with any other 142 Above a hundred Rivers fall into it yet is it not known what becomes of them ibid The length and breadth of it contrary to the common opinion of Geographers its water is salt Curtius's error the Caspian Sea not known to the Antients 143 It neither ebbs nor flows hath few Havens its fish and fishing
ibid A description of the Province of Shriwan which is the antient Media 145 A description of Persia its etymology greatness frontiers Provinces the Province of Erak ibid Fars Schirwan Iran Aderbeitzan 146 Kilan Mesanderan Labetzan Rescht Kesker 147 Chorasan Sablustan Sitzistan Kirman 148 Chasistan Tzifire or Diarbeck 149 A particular description of the Province of Shirwan ibid The houses of Persia the Governour of Derbent'ss Present to the Ambassadors which is refus'd through Brugman's uncivility 150 A Mehemandar sent to the Ambassadors to conduct them through the Country ibid The Cuptzi comes to Niasabath ibid The Tartar-Prince of Dagestan visits the Ambassadors Brugman's indiscretion 151 DECEMBER The 22. the Ambassadors leave Niasabath by land and lodge at the Village of Mordou its Inhabitants a people called Padars 152 Caravansera what it signifies the mountain Barmach described ruins of the Fortresses antiently called Portae Caspiae the opinions of the Persians concerning the said Fortresses ibid The 26. leave Barmach and come the next day to Pyrmaraas a place famous for the Sepulchre of a Persian Saint A description of it as also that of another 153 An error of I. Caemerarius Varro and Ammianus Marcellinus ibid Shells in mountains far from Sea false Miracles wrought by the Persian Saint the superstition of the Persians 154 The 30. come to Scamachie ibid The ceremonies of their reception there the kindred of Aly distinguish'd by their habit the Chan's retinue 155 The Musick of the Persians the Chan treats the Ambassadors the services of the Feast the Napkins ibid The cleanliness of the Persians the Chan an excellent Marks-man One of the company a Persian kills himself with drinking Aquavitae the Chan's present to the Ambassadors 156 We continued at Scamachie three months M.DC.XXXIII IANVARY Ths enterment of the fore-said Persian Gentleman the Ceremonies of the Armenians consecrating of the Water on Twelf-day 157 The Calenter's Feast the Ambassadors Present to the Chan the Governour permits the Armenians to build a Church 158 The Schach's orders for the Ambassadors 159 The 28. the Muscovian Envoy leaves Scamachie ibid FEBRVARY A College for the instruction of Children 160 What taught in the said College Another School the Persians have Euclid and make use of the Astrolabe ibid The Prior of a Monastery of Augustine Friers at Tiflis visits the Ambass 161 A Feast in memory of Aly a Persian Priest pleasantly dress'd a Procession after Sermon ibid The 14. ended the Persian Lent which began Jan. 16. the Amb. treated by the Chan hunting with a tame Leopard 162 MARCH The 1. the Persians celebrate a Feast their New-years-day their Epoche their year consists of 12. Lunar moneths 163 The Chan makes his last visit to the Ambass their Persian Intepreter turns Renegado 164 The 24. the Chan sent his New-years-gift to the King the Ambassadors reimburs'd their expence ibid A description of Scamachie 165 Its name and situation is the Metropolis of Media Atropatia its Founder Streets Houses Inhabitants Commerce Market-place Caravanseras ibid Its Hamams or publick stoves the Chan's charge a character of the Chan and Calenter 166 A ruin'd Fortress named Kolekulesthan two sepulchres of Saints the tomb of a Princess of Persia. ibid The perpetual fire of the Persians kept in the mountain of Elbours 167 The 18. the Ambassadors leave Scamachie the Sepulchre of a Persian Saint ibid The 30. come to Kasilu the 31. to Tzavat the conjunction of Cyrus and Arares 168 APRIL The 2. the Ambass cross the River Cyrus by a bridge of Boats change their Mehemandar a kind of Deer not known in Europe ibid The torrent of Balharu Tortoises how they hatch their eggs the Inhabitants thereabouts Tartarian hutts 169 Ill weather a venemous herb the Schach sends another Mehemandar to meet the Ambassadors ibid The mountain Tzizetlu ibid The 10. of April the Ambassadors make their entrance into Ardchil having travell'd 45 leagues in 12. daies 170 They continue there two months The ceremonies of their entrance the Chan and Calenter of the City their names and qualities the Chan's Collation ibid The Chan's house described the veneration the Persians have for their Prince Thaberick what Is serv'd without wine the allowance of the Ambass during their stay at Ardebil 171 The Governour 's visit that of an Armenian Bishop Christian Churches in Persia the Kurban or sacrifice of the Persians ibid The Pilgrimage of the Turks and Persians to Meca 172 The fabulous story of the sacrifice of Abraham 173 Prayers for the Dead the Chan treats the Ambassadors and acquaints them with the violent death of the Grand Seignior 174 MAY. The 4. the Chancellor of Persia's son visits the Ambass ibid The 14. a particular Feast kept only by the Persians ibid A strange kind of devotion a false Miracle the last Ceremonies of the Festival 175 Persian Poets Fire-works ibid The enterrment of Hossein represented a bloody devotion 176 A description of Ardebil its situation air and soil ibid Its streets market-place the sepulchre of Schich-Sefi its Metzids of Mosqueis 177 The Ambassadors visit Schich-Sefi's sepulchre lay down their Arms at the entrance of it 178 Laicks not permitted to approach the sepulchre its miraculous Vault the Library belonging to it 179 The Kitchin the charity of the place the sepulchres of the Kings of Persia. Commissaries for the reception of the profits belonging to the sepulchre 181 The Insolence of a Favorite punish'd ibid Another Saint's sepulchre 182 The tomh described the Governour of Arbil administors an Oath to the Religious Men belonging to the sepulchre Medicinal waters ibid Sulphureous sources Springs of hot water the wholesomness whereof discover'd by the Serpents the pool of Scherkol ibid The Ambassadors Presents to the Chan. ibid IVNE The 1. there came another Mehemandar from the King 183 The 12. the Ambassadors leave Ardcbil the Chan takes leave of them the Province of Chalcal the corruption of the Persian Officer strange Grass-hoppers ibid Kisilosein the Mehemandar's complaint the Ambassadors come to Kcintze to Kamahl 184 The Persians set upon the Ambassadors Guard they come to the City of Senkan a Gentleman on horse-back who had neither hands nor feet Senkan destroy'd by Tamcrlane 30. leagues in seven daies 185 A branch of the mount Taurus ibid The 21 they come to Sulthania 6. l. one day its description built by Chodabende 186 There they stay three daies A paraphrase of the Alchoran the superstition of the Persians Artillery a Mosquey founded by Schach Ismael ibid Tamerlan's respect for the Mosquies the Persian Ladies travel in great Chests 187 The 27. the Ambassadors come to Caswin 188 The Situation Inhabitants Language is the antient Residence of the Kings of Persia. ib. It s Palace Market-places Turqueses and Rubies very cheap there Turqueses and Rubies very cheap there the Sepulchre of Hossein's son Its Caravanseras ibid The fabulous story of Locman Risa a false Prophet the History of the Indian-Prince 189 Schach-Tamas's evasion the Ambassadors send to visit the
Indian-Prince 190 IVLY The 2. the Chan gives the Ambassadors a divertisement the errour of the Antients concerning the Elephant the mountain of Elwend 191 A pleasant story ibid IVLY The 13. the Ambassadors leave Caswin and come the 17. to Saba 20. l. four dayes the situation of Saba 192 Leave Saba the same day and come the 19. to Kom 11. leagues in two daies 163 Their entrance into Kom its situation it is the Guriana of Prolomey Its fruits traffick and Inhabitants ibid The 21. they leave Kom and come the 24. before day to the City of Kaschan 18. l. in three daies 194 Their entrance into Kaschan the Daruga's advancement ibid Its situation the house with a thousand doors It s publick structures its soil and fruits ibid Venemous Creatures the remedy against the stinging of Scorpions the Author stung by one another venemous insect its venom and the operation of it the remedy 195 The Fable of Schutza Adin Hassan Kalchi an Arabian Author Elmacini another 196 The 26. they leave Kaschan and come the 28. to the little City of Natens 12. leag 2. daies ibid They Travel on the 29. and having got ten leagues in six daies come to Ispahan the 3. of 197 AVGVST The Ambassadors continue at Ispahan above four months and a half ibid Their entrance into Ispahan they are ledg'd in that quarter of the Suburbs where the Armenians live and visited by the Dutch Factor of the East-Indy Company ibid A quarrel with the Indian Ambassadors domesticks which occasion'd an engagement wherein many were kill'd on both sides ibid The King interposes his Authority 199 The Indian Ambassador dismiss'd his aboad at Ispahan his Presents the occasion of his Embassy ibid The Ambassadors change their quarters which they fortify against the Indians have their charges defraid by the King their allowance 200 They go into Mulcovian Habits their first Audience the Presents made in the Prince his name the Presents from the Ambassadors themselves the Persians observe no order in their ceremonies 201 The Reception of the Ambassadors the Hall for Audience silver pails to water Horses the King's person age aspect stature dress retinue ibid The particulars of their Audience they dine with the King 202 The gold-plate Schiras-wine the Carver the manner of sitting at meat silence at meals Musick 203 Their first private Audience at which the King is in person 204 The 28. of Aug. the Ambassadors are treated by the Augustine Friers at their Monastery ibid. SEPTEMBER The Ambassadors highly treated by the Armenians 205 Porcelane-Musick de magnificence of an Armenian Lord. ibid The 19. the Ambass have their second private Audience they are treated by the English Merchants Indian Dancing-Women their dress 206 The Ambass are treated by the French Merchants ibid OCTOBER The 1. the Ambassadors make a Feast running at the Ring the scuandalous life of one of the Ambassadors 207 Ceremonies of Marriage among the Armenians their Communion ibid The Baptism of the Armenians the Tragical history of a Clock-maker 208 His execution his barial the King takes the Ambassadors along with him a-hunting 209 An Astrologer Crane-hunting Duck-and wild Goose hunting 210 Leo pards a Persian Lord turns executioner ib. Wild-Ass-flesh esteem'd in Persia Present from one of the Ambassadors to the King 211 Pidgeon hunting the King carries the Ladies of the Court a-hunting his liberality in his debauches 212 NOVEMBER The 19. the Chancellor treats the Ambassadors a Hall set all about with Looking-glasses the Persian treatments have all diversions ibid A character of the Chancellor his Fortunes and Advancement the same of an Armenian Lord a second conference with the Chancellor the visit of two Armenian Lords 213 DECEMBER The King's Presents to the Ambassadors their last treatment at Court the Chancellor's Present to the King the Ambass take leave the Muscovian Possanick dimiss'd 214 The Presents from some Persian Lords to the Ambassadors Brugman's imprudence one of the Gentlemen of the retinue takes Sanctuary 215 Brugman's insolence the King's patience ibid A description of Ispahan the Metropolis of Persia. 217 Its greatness the River Senderut 218 Ispahan destroy'd by Tamerlane its gardens its fountains ibid The houses stoves streets the Maidan or Market-place 219 The King's Palace his Guard and the several appartments 220 The Sanctuary the Cittadel another Sanctuary the chief Mosquey of Ispahan 221 The exercises of the Grandees Taverns and other drinking-houses ibid The The or Tea-houses those for Tobacco and Coffee Barbers and Surgeont the Basar 222 Ispahan a place of great Trade the Persian money 223 Caravanseras or publick Inns or Storehonses the Monasteries 224 The King's Stables his Garden fruit-trees the Suburbs ibid The Religion of the Kebbers 225 Villages neer Ispahan the fields about it the air of Persia. 226 The diseases of the Country its soil ibid Cotton domestick Creatures 227 The reason why the Persians ab hor Swine 228 Camels several particulars of them 229 Horses c. Fruits 230 Why the Mahumetans drink no wine 231 Their ordinary drink which is Duschab c. 232 Fruit-trees ibid Nefte salt iron the stature of the Persians 233 They paint their hands and nails their cloathing 234 Kisilbachs what 235 The habit of the women the Persians are very neat ingenious and complemental 236 Addicted to lying constant in their friendships 237 Luxurious the King of Persia hath several Wives and Concubines Sodomy not punish'd in Persia Polygamy allowed ibid Their house-keeping house-hold-stuff 238 Their ordinary food and drink they take Opium 239 And Tobacco they drink 〈◊〉 or Coffee two pleasant stories concerning the effect of it 240 The use of The or Tea 241 Where the best stuffs of Persia are made ibid What silk it produces yearly ibid Trading not obstructed by War the inconveniences of Polygamy 242 Incest tolerated 243 Their ceremonies of Mariage ibid The watch in the night 244 Mariage for a certain time the superstition of the Persians 245 Their Iealousy Adultery punish'd Divorce lawful stories to that purpose ibid The education of their Children their Authors for reading their writing Ink Pens the Persian language 247 The Persians learn the Turkish language their characters their Vniversities their best Authors 248 A fabulous history of Alexander the Great c. 249 The Persians addicted to Poesie their best Poets 251 Their Law Medicine Astronomy ibid The Lunar and Solar year 252 They are much addicted to Iudiciary Astrology 253 The political Government of Persia. 254 The quality of Sophy the Kingdom of Persia hereditary the Arms of Persia the Coronation of their Kings 255 A short history of the late Kings of Persia Ismael 1. Jacup ibid Schach Tamas 256 Ismael II. Mahomet Chodabende 258 Emir Hemse Ismael III. Schach Abas ibid He engages in a war against the Tartars 259 Another against the Turks ibid His severity puts to death his eldest son 261 His voluntary penance for the said murther 262 Several other particulars of Schach Abas of his cruelty
place did us all possible honour at our departure and accompany'd us to Gam which is a fortified place or rather a Fort in the Province of Inguermannia not 12. as the Baron of Herberstein says in his travels of Muscovy but three leagues from Narva upon a small River called the torrent of Gam 'T is a small place but encompass'd with a good Wall and fortified with five Bastions built of stone having near it a Village inhabited by Muscovites but subjects to the Crown of Sueden There we took up fresh Horses which brought us to Kapurga six leagues from Gam whether we got the 29 th Burgislas Rose Governour of the Fort received us kindly and treated us sumptuously both that night at Supper and the next day at Dinner We departed the 30 th at three afternoon being to Lodge that night at the house of a Bojar or Muscovite Lord but in regard we had still seven Leagues to go we were forc'd to travel all night and could not reach it till three next morning The Bojar entertain'd us nobly and gave us the divertisement of two Trumpets while we were at Dinner And to honour us the more as we riss from Table he caus'd his Wife and Daughter to come in they were very rich in Cloaths attended by a Gentle-woman or waiting-maid who was extremely deformed the more to set off the beauty of the Ladies who indeed needed not that foil They drank each of them a Cup of Aquavitae and presented each of them as much to the Ambassadors This is the greatest honour the Muscovites think they can do strangers unless it be that to make it a transcendent civility they also suffer them to be kiss'd This civility Count Alexander Slakou did me when the Duke my Master sent me since into Muscovy in the year 1643. in acknowledgement of the honour he had receiv'd in our Court during his Exile This Bojar's name was N. Basilovits He was a very handsome person and of an excellent good humour He told us he had been in the Wars of Germany that in the year 1631. he was at the battel of Leipsig and shew'd us the scars of the wounds he had receiv'd there The last of May at one afternoon we took leave of him and got four Leagues that day to Iohannestal or St. Iohn's Valley so called from the name of Baron Iohn Skytte who was then going to build a little Citie there There it was we met with the first persecution of Files Gnats and Wasps which the Fens thereabouts produce in such quantity that a man hath much ado to make his party good against them There we received intelligence that the Suedish Ambassadours expected us at Neuschans which caus'd us to be on our way Iune 1. by three in the morning Neuschans by others called Nie is a Fort two Leagues and a half from Iohannesthal upon a Navigable River rising out of the Lake Ladoga discharging it self into the Gulf of Finland and serving for a common Frontier between Carlelia and Inguermannia The Suedish Ambassadors departed thence after a conference of two hours had with ours We follow'd them the next day Iune 2. and came the same day to Noteburg where we stay'd above six weeks in expectation of the Great Duke's orders for our reception The Governour of the place Iohn Kunemund cross'd the River in a Boat made and cover'd like a Gondole to come and meet us The Suedish Ambassadors kept open house during their stay at Noteburg and every meal sent their Mareshall a place like that of High Steward in the Courts of Germany and the Gentlemen of their retinue to invite and conduct to them the Ambassadors of Holstein Iune 17. came to Noteburg Mr. Spring Farmer General of the Outland customs of Sueden and Livonia one of the Ambassadors design'd from Sueden for Muscovy Iune 25. the Suedish Ambassadors had intelligence that the Weywode or Governour of Novogorod had sent a Pristaf to receive them upon the Frontiers which oblig'd them to depart the next day to go to Laba Ours accompany'd them four Leagues from Noteburg and permitted me to follow the Suedes even to the Frontier to see the Ceremonies of their reception The 27. at four in the morning we came to the River which is about 40 paces broad and in that place serves for a Frontier between Sueden and Muscovy The Ambassadors having understood that there were on the other side of the River seventeen Boats for their waftage over sent immediately their Interpreter to the Pristaf to desire him to send some of them to bring over the baggage so to facilitate their reception The Pristaf who was an aged man made answer that he durst not do it and that they were not to imagine the expences of one day which they should not think much to lose would be any inconvenience to the Czaar his Master so the Muscovites call their Prince and that he must begin with the reception of the Ambassadors About noon he sent to them his Interpreter with four Musketiers whom they call Strelits whereof he had about thirty to wait on him at this Ceremony to tell them that he was ready to give them reception One of the Ambassadors made him answer somewhat roundly yet civilly enough that they had been five weeks upon the Frontiers and that the Pristaf could not take it ill if they made him stay one day That his Collegues being then taking their rest he could not make him an absolute answer and that he should have notice when they could pass the River with their convenience The Ambassadors were indeed asleep which happen'd as well in regard they had travell'd all night as that being come to the Frontiers of Muscovy they comply'd with the custom of the Countrey where sleep is as necessary after Dinner as in the Night One of the Suedish Ambassadors ask'd the Interpreter when those of Holstein would be receiv'd he told him he could not tell but as he thought it would be three weeks first that is after the arrival of the Suedish Ambassadors at Moscou because the same horses and carriages were to bring them thither About 4. afternoon the Ambassadors gave notice they were ready to crosse the River and that the Pristaf had no more to do but to receive them whereupon they with their Interpreter went into one Boat and I with some of their Gentlemen into another The Pristaf got into another accompany'd by fifteen Muscovites in very good order but to express the greatness of his Prince the Boat-men who were instructed how to behave themselves put off so slowly that they could hardly quit the shore forbearing ever and anon to row purposely to let the Ambassadors get before which method was also observ'd by the Boat-man that carried over the Ambassadors But Philip Scheiding perceiving the intention of the Muscovites calls to the Pristaf telling him that pride was not seasonable at that time that he should
all sides with Fox-tailes which is the richest Ornament that the Great Lords nay indeed the Great Duke himself can make use of The Pristafs had each his Sledge and went on the right hand of the Ambassadors At our alighting we were receiv'd by two Bojares after the accustomed manner As soon as the Ambassadors were come into the Great Duke's presence and that the Chancellor had given him an account of their health a seat was brought and they were intreated to sit down Whereupon the Chancellor said The Grand Seigneur Czaar and Great Duke Michael Federouits Conservator of all the Russes c. tells you the Lords Ambassadors that his Highness Duke Frederick of Holstein having sent you to his Czaarick Majesty with the Letters which he hath received he hath npon your intreaty caus'd your propositions to be communicated unto and examined by his Bojares and Counsellors Knez Boris Michaelouits Lukou Vasili Iuanouits Strenou and the Dumnoi Diakan Iuan Tarassouits and Iuan Gauarenow upon which all sides are agreed to a Treaty which you have signed His Majesty hath also received the Letters you brought him from Iohn-George Elector of Saxony the contents whereof he hath also considered You shall immediately receive his Majesties answer both to Duke Frederick of Holstein and to the Elector Iohn-George Whererpon he deliver'd them the Letters before the Great Duke's Chair and the Ambassadors having receiv'd them with much respect the Great Duke said When the Ambassadors shall have arriv'd at the Court of the most Serene John-George Elector of Saxony and his Highness Duke Frederick of Holstein they will salute them from me Which done they were told by the Chancellor that his Majesty was pleas'd to grant the Ambassadors and Gentlemen and Officers of their retinue the favour of kissing his hand once more That done they told us we should have meat sent from the Great Duke 's own Table The Ambassadors gave the Czaar thanks for all the favours they had receiv'd from him wishing his Majesty long life and a happy Government and to the whole house of the Czaar all prosperity Having taken their leaves they return'd to their quarters About an hour after the meat from the Great Duke's Table was brought in forty six dishes most fish boyl'd broyl'd and fry'd in Oyl some Sallets and Pastry but no flesh by reason of the Fast which the Muscovites very rigorously observe before Christmas Knez Iuan Wolf came along with them to treat us with the same ceremonies as we were treated with at our first publick audience After Dinner we were visited by the Groom of the Stables the Butler and the Pourveyer who came to demand their Presents The Knez the Groom and the Butler had each of them a drinking Cup of Vermilion-gilt The rest who were about sixteen had bestow'd among them 32. Roubles which amount to about 64. French Crowns The next day the two Pristafs accompany'd by their Interpreters Iohn Helmes and Andrew Angler of whom the former had serv'd us in our Negotiation with the Great Duke and the Bojares the other in our private affairs came to ask us how many Horses we should stand in need of for our return We demanded 80. and presented each of them with a large drinking Cup of Vermilion-gilt We did the like to the chief Secretary of the Chancery and some of the great Lords The 21. Our Pristafs presented to us another Pristaf named Bogidan Tzergeuits Gomodof who had orders to conduct us to the Frontiers of Sueden The next day were brought us the Horses appointed for our journey and at the same time came with one of our Pristafs the Lord Treasurers Secretary accompany'd by 12. Muscovites loaden with Martins-skins to be presented from the Great Duke to the Ambassadors and those of their retinue The Ambassadors had for their shares eleven Zimmers every Zimmer makes twenty pair of the best kind of Sables The Officers Gentlemen Pages Harbinger the Clerk of the Kitchin and the Master of the Wagons had each a Zimmer of Martins-skins The rest had some two some but one pair We gave the Secretary a drinking Cup of Vermilion-gilt and to the rest 30 Crowns The Great Duke sent also to tell us that if we would make a little longer stay at Moscou by reason of the approaching Festivals of Christmas and the cold weather which indeed was to extremity he should take it kindly and though we had our dispatches yet should we be furnish'd with the ordinary provisions but the desire we had to return into Germany would not permit us to accept of his favour so that we put all things in readiness for our journey To that end we bought Sledges that we might travel with more convenience they standing us in but three or four Crowns apiece But in regard we were to travel into Persia having obtain'd the Great Dukes permission to do it it was thought fit that Michael Cordes with six other persons of our retinue should be sent to Nisa which is a hundred Leagues from Moscou there to order the building of such ships as we should stand in need of as well upon the River Wolga as the Caspian Sea Decemb. 24. Was the day of our departure from Moscou in order to our return The two Pristafs came about noon accompany'd by a certain number of Musketiers who had brought with them those two Sledges which we had made use of at our last audience and conducted us in very good order a quarter of a League from the City where we took leave of them as also of those friends who had brought us so far on our way That day and the night following we made 90 Werstes or eighteen German Leagues to a Village named Klin where the next day we had a Sermon it being Christmas day In the afternoon we parted thence and kept on our way all night so that the next day in the morning Decemb 26. we arriv'd at Tuere where we took fresh Horses with which departing that night we came the next day to Tarsock Four days after viz. Decemb. 31. which was the 7th after our departure from Moscou we came to the City of Novogorod which is distant from the other 120 German Leagues Which is not to be much wondred at for that Muscovy is a plain Country and during the cold weather many times the Horses travel upon the Snow ten or twelve German Leagues together without ever drawing bit Ianuary 1. 1635. After Prayers and Sermon we left Novogorod and got forwards 36 Werstes or seven Leagues to Mokriza The 2. We came to Tuerin six leagues and a half The 3. to Orlin six Leagues the 4. to Sariza 8 Leagues and the night following vve made four Leagues to Lilienhagen belonging to Dame Mary Stop the Relict of Iohn Muller who living had been Agent from Sueden in Muscovy We were very vvell treated there and the next day we got seven Leagues and came to Narva The 6. We sent
of the Duke of Courland Lâ—vonia and Semgalles is married to Louise-Charlotte Daughter to George-William Elector of Brandenbourg and Elizabeth-Charlotte of Baviere It is not long since that this Duke of Courland having dispatch'd a Gentleman for Moscou to manage some affairs there the Weywode of Tleslau would not give him passage and sent him word that Courland being dependent on the Crown of Poland could not have particular Agents and Ministers but was to negotiate Affairs by means of the Ambassador which the King his Master had at Muscovy But this Prince hath been so fortunate as since this last War to obtain the neutrality of all the neighbouring Princes so that it is very likely the Treaty to be agreed on between them will be such as that he shall have no dependance on any of them At night we came to a Village called Doblen three Leagues from Mittau The Inn-keeper who took us for Souldiers or Gypsies that were in distress for Lodging made some difficulty to let us into his house but at last he was perswaded and lodg'd us All we had to supper was hard Cheese very brown Bread and sour Beer The 15. we travell'd 7. Leagues and came to Bador in Poland where an antient Gentleman who had sometime been a Captain of horse named Iohn Amdod lodg'd us and treated us extremely well especially with all sorts of drinks as Lithuanian Hydromel excellent Sack and good Beer which made us spend some part of the night in carowsing the Wine having the vertue of contracting a great friendship between the Ambassadors and him The next day he gave us a very sumptuous entertainment and the divertisement of Timbrells and that all might be compleat in the treatment he would needs bring in his two Daughters whom we had not seen the night before He also presented the Ambassadors one with a Fire-lock the other with a Sword and the Ambassadors gave him each of them a fair Watch. This breakfast which lasted till the afternoon hindred us so that we could get but four Leagues that day to Hashoff where we went to bed supperless The 18. we travell'd six Leagues to a Village called Walzau The â—9 we came to Memel six Leagues from 'T is a pleasant little Town at the entrance of the Gulf called the Courishaf or Lake of Courland The Courlanders in their Jargon call this Town Cleupeda and Crometus in his History of Poland calls it Troipes The Castle belonging to it is pleasant and well fortify'd and its Haven very commodious The River Tange compasses it round and not far thence falls into the Gulf. It was built in the year 1250. and was at that time part of the revinue of Livonia The Friers of the Order of Livonia in the year 1328. sold this City to the Master of the Order of Prussia and it is with that Dutchy come to the Elector of Brandenburg who hath been possess'd of it ever since the Suedes restor'd it by vertue of a cessation of 26. years which France got concluded in the year 1635. between the Crowns of Poland and Sueden The 20. we got upon the Haf or Gulf of Curland and dind that day at Snenzel three leagues from Memel and lodg'd at Bulcapen five leagues from the said Memel The 21. we travel'd 8 leagues and came to Koningsberg where the snow beginning to fail us we were forc'd to quit our Sledges This city called by the Polanders Krolefsky is seated by the River Pregel the chiefest of that part of Prussia which is called the Ducal because it hath its Duke or particular Prince under the Soveraignty of the Crown of Poland 'T is a Production of the thirteenth age in which the Knights of the Teutonick Order built it and named it Coningsberg or Royal-mount in honour of Primislas Ottocarus King of Bohemia and in acknowledgement of the assistance he had brought them against the Heathens in those parts It is now much bigger than it was then inasmuch as besides the suburbs which are very great there was added in the year 1300. that part of the city which is called Lebenicht and in the year 1380. that of Kniphof both which have their several Magistrates both as to policy and administration of Justice The Palace ows its perfection to George Frederick of Brandenburgh Duke of Prussia who built it about the later end of the last age Among other remarkable things there is a Hall that hath no pillars and yet is 274 Geometrical feet in length and 59 in breadth and a fair Library well furnish'd with abundance of excellent Books among which in drawers full of Books adorn'd with silver is to be seen that which Albert of Brandenbourg first Duke of Prussia made and writ with his own hand for the instruction of his Son and goverment of the country after his death The University was founded by the same Prince who made it his business to render this city one of the most considerable of all the North The River Pregel or Chronus which rises in Lithuania and falls into the Gulf called the Frishaf a league below the City contributes very much to the improvement of its commerce and the City is so populous that many times there are seven or eight families in a house They generally speak the German language though there are few Iahabitants but have also the Polish with those of Lithuania and Courland There are brought thithes from â—oland and Lithuania Oak for Joyners work Soap-ashes Wax Honey Hydromel Leather Furrs Wheat Rye Flax and Hemp and the Suedish Dutch and English Ships bring Iron Lead Tinn Cloath Wine Salt Butter Cheese c. We say nothing here of Prussia out of a fear of making too great a digression and medling with ought relating to the History of Germany which hath nothing common with our Travells but only that the Crown of Poland hath quitted all pretension of Soveraignty over the Dutchy of Prussia by the last treaty it made with his Electoral Highness of Brandenbourg We left Coningsberg Feb. 24. and came the next day to Elbing a City seated upon a River of the same name between the Lake of Drauser and the Frishaf in the Royal or Polish Prussia It is not very big but its streets are streight and spacious and its fortifications made by the late King of Sueden during the last War of Poland before his entrance into Germany are very regular If he who is Master of it were also Commander of the Fort of Pilau which the Elector of Brandenburg is possess'd of at the entrance of the Frishaf it might be made a very considerable place for Commerce The 27. we came to Dantsig where we staid 16 or 17 days during which time the Magistrates treated us with the ordinary Presents of refreshments and the principal Inhabitants gave us several noble entertainments The Polanders call this place Gdansko whence comes the modern Latine word Gedanum It is not
Bertold a Monk of the Order of white Friers but he thinking to reduce those people rather by Arms than the word of God met with a success accordingly for having incens'd them they kill'd him in the year 1186. and with him 11000. Christians Albert a Canon of Bremen succeeded Bertold in the Bishoprick He laid the first foundations of the City of Riga and of the Order of the Friers of the short sword by authority from Pope Innocent the third and by vertue of a power he had given them to allow them the third part of that they should Conquer from the Barbarians They observ'd the same rule as the Templars and were call'd Friers or Knights of the short sword because they had on their white Cloaks a red short sword with a star of the same colour which they have chang'd since into two short Swords Saltar-wise But in regard this new Religious Profession was not fully setled it was joyn'd to the Order of St. Mary of Ierusalem in the person of Herman Balk Grand-Master of Prussia in the year 1238. And it is since that time that the Master Livonia had a dependence on the Grand-Master of Prussia which was till Sigismond King of Poland chang'd that quality into that of Duke of Courland in the person of Godard Ketler as is said before All the Champain Countrey of the two Provinces of Letthie and Esthonie is to this day peopled with these Barbarians who have nothing of their own but are slaves and serve the Nobility in the Countrey and the Citizens in Cities They are called Unteutche that is not-Germans because their language was not understood by the Germans who went to plant in those quarters though that of Letthie hath nothing common with that of Esthonie no more than there is between them as their Cloaths and manner of Life The Women of Esthonie wear their Petticoats very narrow and without any folds like sacks adorn'd above on their backs with many little brass Chains having at the ends Counters of the same metal and below set out with a certain lacing of yellow glass Those who would express a greater bravery have about their Necks a Necklace of plates of silver of the bigness of a Crown or half-Crown and upon the breast one as big as a round Trencher but not much thicker than the back of a knife Maids wear nought on their heads Summer nor Winter and cut their hair as the men do letting it fall negligently down about the head Both Men and Women are clad with a wretched stuff made of Wool or a coarse Linnen They are yet unacquainted with Tannage so that in Summer they have barks of Trees about their feet and in the Winter raw Leather of a Cow's hide Both Men and Women do ordinarily carry all the Wealth they have about them Their Ceremonies of marriage are very odd When a Country fellow marries a Lass out of another Village he goes a hors-back to fetch her sets her behind him and makes her embrace him with the right hand He hath in his hand a stick cleft at the top where he puts a piece of brass money which he gives to him who opens the wicket through which he is to pass Before rides a man that playes upon the Bag-pipe as also two of his friends who having naked swords in their hands give two stroaks therewith cross the Door of the House where the marriage is to be consummated and then they thrust the point of one of the swords into a beam over the Bridegroom's head which is done to prevent Charms which they say are ordinary in that Country 'T is to the same end that the Bride scatters little pieces of Cloath or red Serge by the way especially where cross-ways meet near Crosses and upon the Graves of little Children dead without baptism whom they bury in the High-ways She hath a Veil over her face while she is at the Table which is not long for as soon almost as the Guests are set down the married couple rise and go to bed About two hours after they get up and are brought to sit down at the Table Having drunk and danc'd till such time as they are able to stand no longer they fall down on the floor and sleep altogether like so many Swine We said the Gospel was pteach'd in Livonia in the 12. age but the Livonians are never the better Christians for it Most of them are only such in name and can hardly yet abstain from their Heathenish Superstitions For though they are Lutherans by profession and that there is hardly a Village but hath its Church and Minister yet are they so poorly instructed and so far from regeneration that it may be said Baptism excepted they have not any Character of Christianity They very seldom go to Sermons and never almost Communicate They excuse their backwardness in frequenting the Sacraments by alleging the great slavery they are in which they say is so insupportable that they have not time to mind their Devotions If they go at any time to Sermon or to the Communion it is by force or upon some other particular accompt To this effect is a story was told me by Andrew Besiq Provost of the Church of Luckenhausen which was That having been sent for to comfort and administer the Communion to a Country-fellow who lay very sick he ask'd him how he came to send for his Pastor in the condition he was then in when for so many years before he had never bethought him of reconciling himself to God The fellow ingenuously answer'd that for his own part he should not have minded it then but what he did was by the advice of a friend who told him that if he did it not he could not be buried in the Church-yard nor carried to the ground with the ordinary Ceremonies 'T is true the gross and inexcusable ignorance of most of the Pastors in those quarters who might well come to be Catechiz'd themselves hath contributed much to the obduration of those poor people but the late King of Sueden hath taken order therein enjoyning by a severe Ordinance the Bishop of the Province who hath his residence in the Cathedral Church of Reuel to convocate a Synod once a year for the regulation of Church affairs and then to examine not only the Recipiendaries but also the Pastors themselves thereby to oblige them to apply themselves to the constant study of the holy Scripture It must be acknowledg'd the slavery these people are in is great and indeed insupportable but it is true withall that upon the least liberty given them they would break out into any extravagance For being perswaded that their Predecessors have been Masters of the Country and that only force hath enslav'd them to the Germans they cannot forbear their resentments of it and discovering especially in their drink if any opportunity of regaining their liberty should offer it self a readiness to prosecute it Of which they
cause their names to be enroll'd as well at their departure as at their return to the end notice may be taken that no Robbers Golops or fugitive Slaves get in among them In like manner at the return of their Voyage if they pass through Muscovy in the Winter time it shall be lawfull for them at their own charge to hire such a number of Sledges as they shall think fit so as that they be not hindred in the prosecution of their Voyage either in Cities or in the Country Enjoyning further that all respect be given to the Ambassadors of Holstein and all civillity done their people both going and coming not permitting that they should suffer any violence or be robbed obliging them also for their part not to take any provisions by force of any whatsoever but it shall be lawful for them to buy for their money of those that shall be willing to sell to them both going and coming Writ at Moscou in the year 7144. June 20. and signed The Czaar and Great Duke of all the Russes Michael Federouits and lower Deak Maxim Matuskin and sealed with the great Seal The Pristaf having given us our Pass-port we appointed Iun. 30. for our departure Mr. David Ruts gave us another entertainment that day and kept us till the last hour of the day which the Muscovites beginning it at Sun-rising and ending it at Sun-set having struck the Pristaf caus'd to be brought out the Great Dukes Horses and hasten'd our departure being accompany'd by several persons of quality who brought us as far as the Monastery of Simana three leagues from Moscou where our Boat waited for us avoiding by that means the many windings of the River from Moscou thither But it were not handsome to leave Moscou without giving some account of that great City the Metropolis of all Muscovy to which it gives the name as it takes its own from the River Moska This River which passes through and divides all the rest of the City from that quarter of it which is called Strelitza Slauoda rises out of the Province of Tuere and having joyn'd its waters with those of the Occa near Columna it falls together with the other about half a league thence into the Wolga The City is elevated 55 degr 36 min. its longitude 66 degrees in the midst of all the Country and almost at an equal distance from all the Frontiers which is above 120 German leagues It is about three leagues about and no doubt hath been heretofore bigger than it is now Mathius de Michou a Canon of Cracovid who â—ourish'd at the beginning of the last age says that in his time it was twice as big as the City of Prague The Tartars of Crim and Precop burnt it in the year 1571. and the Poles set it a-fire in the year 1611. so as that there was nothing left of it but the Castle and yet now there are numbred in it above 40000 houses and it is out of all controversie one of the greatest Cities in Europe 'T is true that the Palaces of great Lords and the Houses of some rich Merchants excepted which are of Brick or Stone all the rest are of Wood and made up of beams and cross-pieces of Firr laid one upon another They cover them with barks of trees upon which they sometimes put another covering of Turfes The carelesness of the Muscovites and the disorders of their house-keeping are such that there hardly passes a moneth nay not a week but some place or other takes fire which meeting with what is very combustible does in a moment reduce many houses nay if the wind be any thing high whole streets into ashes Some few days before our arrival the fire had consumed the third part of the City and about 5 or 6 years since the like accident had near destroy'd it all To prevent this the Strelits of the Guard and the Watch are enjoyn'd in the night time to carry Pole-axes wherewith they break down the houses adjoyning to those which are a-fire by which means they hinder the progress of it with much better success than if they attempted the quenching of it And that it may not fasten on other more solid structures the doors and windows are very narrow having shutters of Latin to prevent the sparks and flashes from getting in Those who have their houses burnt have this comfort withall that they may buy houses ready built at a market for that purpose without the white-Wall at a very easy rate and have them taken down transported and in a short time set up in the same place where the former stood The streets of Moscou are handsome and very broad but so dirty after rain hath ever so little moisten'd the ground that it were impossible to get out of the dirt were it not for the great Posts which set together make a kind of bridge much like that of the Rhin near Strasbourg which bridges in foul weather serve for a kind of pavement The City is divided into four quarters or circuits whereof the first is called Catayrogod that is the mid-City as being in the midst of the others This quarter is divided from the rest by a brick-wall which the Muscovites call crasne stenna that is red stone The Moska passes on the South-side of it and the River Neglina which joyns with the other behind the Castle on the North side The Great Duke's Palace called Cremelena and which is of greater extent than many other ordinary Cities takes up almost one half of it and is fortify'd with three strong walls and a good ditch and very well mounted with Canon In the midst of the Castle are two Steeples one very high and cover'd with Copper gilt as all the other Steeples of the Castle are This Steeple is called Iuan Welike that is the Great Iohn The other is considerable only for the Bell within it made by the Great Duke Boris Gudenou weighing 33600. pounds It is not toll'd but upon great Festivals or to honour the entrance and audience of Ambassadors but to stir it there must be 24 men who pull it by a Rope that comes down into the Court while some others are above to help it on by thrusting The Great Duke's Palace stands towards the further side of the Castle with that of the Patriarch and appartements for several Bojares who have places at Court There is also lately built a very fair Palace of stone according to the Italian Architecture for the young Prince but the Great Duke continues still in his wooden Palace as being more healthy than stone-structures The Exchequer and the Magazine of Powder and provisions are also within the Castle There are also within it two fair Monasteries one for men the other for women and above fifty Churches and Chapels all built of stone among others those of the B. Trinity St. Mary's St. Michael's wherein are the Sepulchres of the Great Dukes and St. Nicholas's At the
and will maintain it to the utmost extremity Of this we have an example at Notebourg where two men made their capitulation in the year 1579. The Poles who had besieg'd the Castle of Suikols set it a fire as they were giving the assault yet the Muscovites made good the breach and maintain'd it even when the fire reach'd their Cloaths At the siege of the Abbey of Padis in Livonia they held out till they became so weakned for want of Provisions that they were not able to keep Guard nor to meet the Suedes at the Gate They are not indeed so fortunate in the field and very seldom gain'd any battel against the Poles or Suedes their Neighbours who have alwayes almost had the better of them so that it prov'd a harder matter to pursue them than to avoid their blows But certain it is withall that these misfortunes happen to them through the want of experience and conduct in their Generals rather than of courage in their Soldiers For as to the disgrace the Muscovites receiv'd at the Siege of Smolensko in the year 1633. it is to be ascribed to the Generals perfidiousness who paid his Master for his imprudence in putting the command of his Army into the hands of a Stranger He was a Polander named Herman Schein who to curry favour with the Duke had been so low-spirited as to receive re-baptization The Army he commanded consisted of above a hundred thousand men among whom were above 6000. Germans and several Muscovian Regiments exercised according to the German discipline and commanded by strange Officers French Germans and Scots three hundred pieces of Cannon and all other things requisite to carry on the Siege against that place which the Poles had taken some time before from the Muscovites The reduction of it had been so much the easier â—n that the City is compass'd but with one simple wall without ditch or any kind of fortification Whence it came that the Germans who had made a reasonable breach in it propos'd to have it carried at the first assault But the General oppos'd it saying That he would never suffer it should be reproach'd to the Prince his Master that he had rais'd so vast an Army to besiege a place which a handful of Germans would have taken in so few dayes and then presently to disband it The Colonels that were Strangers on the other side considering that the Great Duke's reputation would suffer by that Siege and the Army it self be destroy'd if it were not employ'd resolv'd to give the assault and were in a manner Masters of the breach when the General commanding the great Guns to be discharg'd at them they were forc'd to retreat They complain'd of that procedure so far as to make some discoveries of their distrust of his fidelity but he sent them word that if they kept not within the respect due to their General he should find a way to chastise them and that he would treat them as Muscovites So that not daring to make any further attempt the Army continu'd there some time without doing any thing and gave the King of Poland time enough to get together a small body of 5000. men who possess'd themselves of all the avenues by which the Muscovites receiv'd their provisions so as that within a few dayes their Army was more straightly besieg'd than the City it self It had been easy for the Muscovian General to prevent the Poles from taking up those posts but he gave them the leasure so to fortify themselves in them that it had been impossible for him to force them in their quarters even if he had attempted it The Muscovian Army being reduc'd to this extremity the General to hinder it from starving was forc'd to capitulate with the Poles to come in with the whole Army at mercy and with all that Noble Artillery to leave hostages for the ransome of all the Officers and Soldiers which the Great Duke was oblig'd to pay The General was so impudent as to return to Moscou and shew himself at Court where he had friends enough to protect him notwithstanding the charges put in against him by the Officers and Soldiers but the people express'd themselves so mov'd at his treachery that to prevent an insurrection which threatned both City and State they were forc'd to execute him publickly in the market-place Most of the great Ones had a finger in his Treason but lest he might accuse any they perswaded him that he should not be startled at those proceedings that it was only by way of pageant to give the people some satisfaction and that before execution his pardon would be brought him Which he the more easily credited for that his changing Religion had gain'd him the affection and favour of the Patriarch But he had no sooner layd his head upon the block ere a sign was made to the Executioner to strike it off The same day was executed also his Son who had some command under his Father at the Siege of Smolensko He was brought into the open place before the Castle where he was stripp'd stark naked and whipp'd to death All the rest of his kindred were banish'd into Siberia This execution happened in Iune 1634. The Muscovites spend not much in house-keeping nor the Bojares as well as those of a lower condition It is not above thirty years that their Lords and chiefest Merchants have built their houses of stone for before they were no better lodg'd than the meaner sort in very poor wooden buildings Their houshold-stuff are suitable to their Lodgings and commonly consist only in three or four pots and as many wooden or earthen dishes Some have pewter but very few and unless it be some few drinking cups and gobelets there is not any of silver They know not what scowring means in so much that the Great Duke's plate looks little better than the Tavern-pots which are made clean but once a year The better sort hang their rooms but with mat and to set them out yet a little better they have only two or three Images wretchedly painted They have few feather-beds but are content with mattresses nay with chaff or straw and if not that to be had they lye upon their cloaths which in Summer they lay upon a bench or table in the Winter upon their stoves which are flat as in Livonia In this Country it is that Master and Mistress Men and Maids are shuffled all together into the same room nay in some places in the Country I have seen the Poultry and the Pigs had ordinarily the same Lodging with the Masters of the house They are not acquainted with our delicate meats and sawces Their ordinary food is coarse Meal Turneps Coleworth and Cowcumbers both fresh and pickled Their great delicacy is Salt-fish which being not well salted infects the places near it so that you may smell their Fish-market at a great distance They cannot want Beef and Mutton there being good pastures all over
fasten'd in a Tree that was in the bottom the Cable broke ere it could be had up again The River is very full of those Trees which it brings down with it when it overflows and these accidents happen so frequently that the bottom of the River is so lay'd with Anchors that the Muscovites say there are as many as would purchase a Kingdom The 13. before noon we saw as we pass'd two Cabaques or Taverns and a Village named Wesoska on the right hand and came afterwards before the City of Suiatski It is seated on the ascent of a hill on the left hand having a Castle and some Churches built of stone but all the other buildings as also the Towers and Rampiers of the City are of wood We cast Anchor there by reason of a Sand-bank which we were to pass by The people in the mean time came in multitudes to the River side to see us and by reason that a little sandy Hill hindred their having a full sight of us many came in Boats to the Ship side others swam over to the Hill Having pass'd by certain white Mountains whereof some were of Chalk others of Sand we came at night before the City of Casan 20. werstes from Suiatski We there found the Caravan of Persia and Circassia and with it a Coptzi or Persian Merchant who had been sent Ambassador to Moscou There was in this place also a Tartarian Prince of Terki whose name was Mussal who had succeeded his Brother in the Principality and had then been doing homage to the Czaar at Moscou which he had left some dayes before us The City of Casan is seated in a plain 7. werstes from the Wolga upon the River Casanka which gives it the name as it does to the whole Province I found the elevation there to be 55. degrees 38. minutes It is of a considerable bigness but all its Houses as also the Towers and Rampiers are of wood Only the Castle and its Fortifications are of stone being well mounted with Canon and having a strong Garrison in it The River is instead of a Ditch to it and makes it a very considerable fortress The Castle hath its VVeywode and the City its Governour who commands and administers Justice to the Inhabitants who are Muscovites and Tartars But in the Castle they are all Muscovites and the Tartars are prohibited entring into it upon pain of death The Province of Casan lies on the left side of the River of VVolga reaching Northwards as far as Siberia and Eastward as far as the Tartars of Nagaja It was heretofore subject to the Cham of Tartary and so populous that it could send 60000 men into the Field The conquest of it cost the Muscovite much blood and the story of its reduction is so remarkable that I think fit here to make a short digression to give an accompt thereof Basili Iuanouits Father to the Tyrant Iuan Basilouits having obtain'd a famous Victory over these Tartars made Chief over them one named Scheale a Tartar by birth but one so ill shap'd as to his Person that his Subjects who soon conceiv'd an aversion for him joyning with the Tartars of Chrim who are Mahumetans as they also are made an insurrection surpriz'd him and ejected him This success gave the Chrim-Tartars who had got a considerable Army together the courage to enter Muscovy under the conduct of two Brethren Mendligeri and Sapgeri who forc'd the Muscovite with certain Troops which he had made a shift to get together and were encamped upon the River Occa to retreat to Novogorod The consequence of this was the besieging taking and plundring of the City of Moscou nay they reduc'd the Castle to that extremity that the Muscovites were forc'd to sue for a Peace The Tartars were willing to hearken to an accommodation and having got very considerable Presents from those who kept the Castle who maintain'd it with more courage than success they made a Peace whereof this was one Article That the Great Duke and all his Subjects should ever after be Tributaries to them Basili was loath to submit to such dishonourable Terms but forc'd to comply with necessity he accepted them and confirmed the agreement by his Letters Patents Mendligeri to make it appear he was Sovereign Lord of Moscou caused a Statue of his to be erected in the heart of the City and would needs oblige the Great Duke to express his subjection to smite the ground with his head before that Statue as often as he paid Tribute to the Tartars After this Victory the Brethren parted Sapgeri establish'd the Seat of his Government at Casan and Mendligeri as being the Elder-Brother his at the City of Chrim But the later desirous to add to his former conquest that of the City of Resan resolv'd to lay siege to the Castle thereof and to that end he sent word to the Weywode Iohn Kowar who commanded it that it was madness in him to think to maintain the place and that he should make no difficulty to deliver it up since the Great Duke was become his Subject The Weywode sent him answer that it was a thing so extraordinary that he could not believe it unless he sent him such assurances thereof as should put him out of all doubt Mendligeri imagining there could not any thing be more convictive in that case than the Letters Patents sent them to him by certain Officers just as he had receiv'd them from the Great Duke But the Weywode not a little glad to have the Original of those Letters in his hands sends Mendligeri word that he would keep them as safely as he would do the place he was in which he resolv'd to maintain to the last drop of blood There was in the Castle an Italian Canoneer named Iohn Iordan well known in those parts upon the accompt of his Wife who would needs have her Husband express his affection to her by beating her with a Bull 's pizzle This man did the Weywode very great services and kill'd so many Tartars that Mendligeri perceiving one day that a Canon-bullet had taken off a piece of his Garment was frighted and proffered to raise the Siege upon condition they would return the Great Duke's Letters But the Weywode would hearken to no such thing and having oblig'd Mendligeri to retreat he sent the Letters to his Prince's Court where they were received with the general joy of all the people who immediately thereupon pull'd down and broke to pieces the Statue of Mendligerâ— Nay the Great Duke himself took such courage from that Action that having rais'd an Army of 25000 men he proclaim'd open War against Sapgeri Prince of Casan sending him word that he by surprising and assaulting him without declaring any War had proceeded like a Murtherer and a Robber but that himself as Soveraign Lord and Conservator of all the Russes proceeded therein as a person of Honour should do and sent
those imaginary Mountains Certain indeed it is that the salt-veins we speak of are inexhaustible and that as soon as you have taken off one crust or face of it there comes up another The same Petreius is also much mistaken when he sayes that Media Persia and Armenia are supply'd with Salt from these Mountains whereas these Countries have Salt marshes of their own as also Muscovy hath as we shall see in the sequel of this Relation From Astrachan to the Caspian Sea are twelve leagues and thereabouts the river does so abound with fish that we bought twelve large Carps for two pence and two hundred young Sturgeons which are very delicate there for half a Crown It produces also Lobsters or Seacrevices which multiply in a manner to infinity by reason the Muscovites and Tartars eat not of them The Isles which are in the river afford habitations for all manner of Fowl especially an infinite number of wild Geese and Ducks which the Tartars take with Falcons and Hawks and are very expert in the ordering of those Birds for that kind of sport They are also excellently well skill'd in the hunting of the wild Bore but in regard their Religion permits them not to eat of it they sell them for a small matter to the Muscovites As to the Fruits of those parts it is certain that both in goodness and beauty they yield not to those of Persia especially Apples Quinces Nuts Peaches and Melons but above all that kind of Melons or rather Citruls which the Muscovites callâ— Arpus the Turks and Tartars Karpus because they are extremely cooling and the Persians Hinduanes because they had the first seeds of them from the Indies This Fruit is excellently good and very pleasant to the tast as also to the eye having the rind of a lively-green colour the meat of a pale Carnation and the seed black The Tartars who brought them to the City in Carts sold them two or three a penny It is not many years since that they have had Grapes among them the Inhabitants of Astrachan being oblig'd for these to the Merchants of Persia who brought the first sets thither which an old Monk of a Convent that is in the Suburbs planted in his Garden The Great Duke hearing that it had taken with good success and having tasted the Grape sent order to the Monk in the year 1613. to improve his stock which he did and that with such increase that at the time of our being there there was no house almost but had its Arbours and Walks set about with Vines to the so great advantage of the Planters that the Master of the house where I lodg'd told me the Vines he had about his house had yielded him a hundred Crowns the year before These Grapes with some other Fruits were either sent to the Great Duke or sold to the neighbouring Weywodes but some years since they have planted a Vine there which hath yielded in one year above 60. Pipes of excellent Wine The Monk I spoke of was living at our being there and was a hundred and five years of age He was a German born in Austria and had been carried away prisoner very young by some Turkish Soldiers who had sold him into Muscovy where he had chang'd his Religion and became a Monk He was at that time Superior of the Monastery and still remembred some German words but very few He was a very good natur'd Man and shew'd how much he was taken with our conversation by the frequent visits he made us but as soon as he had taken off two or three Dishes of Aquavitae he was subject to the ordinary weaknesses of those of his age threw away his staff and fell a dancing though not with over much confidence Heretofore all Nagaia was inhabited by Tartars who had their particular King and held a very fair correspondency with their Neighbours of Casan and Crim with whom they also ran the same fortune after their defeat For the Great Duke Iohn Basilouits having reduc'd under his Jurisdiction the Tartars of Casan in the year 1552. two years after set upon those of Nigaia and took the City of Astrachan by assault Aug. 1. 1554. He forc'd thence all the Tartars and having peopled the City with Muscovites he compassed it with a stone wall and added some other Fortifications but it was the Great Duke Michael Foederouits that made it larger than it was by adding thereto that part which is called Strelitzagorod so called from the Muscovian Muskettiers who are quartered therein The City is eight thousand Geometrical feet about and that side towards the River which in that place is two thousand two hundred and sixteen foot broad affords a pleasant Prospect by reason of the great number of Turrets and Steeples of stone which look very delightfully at a distance but within it is not answerable thereto the Houses being all of Wood and not well built Some told us that there were in the City above 500 great Pieces of brass and among others many Mortar-pieces The Garrison consisted of nine Pricasses or Regiments in each of which were 500 Muskettiers under the command of two Weywodes one Diak and several Captains and other Officers who have an eye upon the Tartars whom they have reason to be distrustful of This City being seated upon the Frontiers of two of the most considerable parts of the world it may well be that not only the Tartars of Chrim Precop Bugar and Nagaia and the Muscovites but also the Persians and Armenians who are Christians nay the Indians trade thither and these last have a particular market-place there for themselves All which improves the Commerce of the City so that the Customs which there are very low amount to above 25000 Crowns a year The Inhabitants of the Country who are the Tartars of Crim and Nagaia are not permitted to live within the City but are thrust into a place without the City which is hedg'd and palizadoed or forc'd to live in Huts which they set up and down in the open Fields because they are not suffer'd to build Cities nor to fortify their Towns nor Villages with walls Their Huts are made either with Bull-rushes or Canes being about twelve foot diameter round and towards the top like the Coops wherein Chickens are kept in Europe In the midst of that place which serves them for a Roof there is a hole through which goes out a stick having at the end a piece of coarse Cloath which they turn to the Wind to facilitate the going out of the Smoak and which they draw in when the Turf or Cow-dung which they burn is reduc'd to a live-Coal or Ashes When the weather is very cold they put over the Hut a covering of coarse Cloath whereby they so keep in the heat that they pass over whole days without stirring out with their Wives and Children not feeling any inconvenience They have no fixt habitation in the Summer-time but stay in
all that it would not be fit for the Caspian Sea whereof the high and in a manner contiguous Waves would overwhelm it and there was a necessity of taking down the Masts They all affirm'd that the Culsum so they call the Caspian Sea had never born so great a ship which yet they only said in comparison of their own which are only little Barks made like our bathing-tubs in Europe so to take up but two or three foot water having neither Hatches nor Pump insomuch that they are forc'd to cast out the Water with shovels They have but one great sayl no more than the Muscovites and know not what it is to sayl with a side-wind so that when a Tempest overtakes them they are forc'd either to go with the wind or cast Anchor but commonly they go within Pistol-shot of the shore The Persians having left us the Ambassadors sent to the Chief Weywode whose name was Foedor Vasilouits a Present which was a large drinking Cup Vermilion-gilt intreating his advice for the continuation of their Voyage and to know whether we should prosecute it by Sea or by Land The Weywode desir'd a days time or two to consider of it and to take the advice of persons skill'd in Sea-affairs but we stay'd not for his answer and resolv'd for several reasons to continue our Voyage by Sea Sept. 19. The Tartar-Prince having sent us word that he would give us a Visit aboard our Ship we sent our shallop to Land to bring him aboard he brought with him another Tartar-Prince and a retinue of about 40 persons besides those who belong'd to Alexei Sauonouits the Great Duke's Poslanick He was habited after the Muscovian fashion his Vestment embroider'd with Gold and Pearls and his person and deportment was suitable to the greatness of his birth for he had a very good countenance a very clear complexion and black hair being about 28 years of age of an excellent good humour and eloquent He was receiv'd into the ship with the noise of our Trumpets and the fiering of three great Pieces and conducted to the Ambassadors Chamber through the Guards and Soldiers in their Arms. After some two hours discourse during which he was entertain'd with Musick he desir'd to see the ship He was shew'd it all and at last brought into the Hall where he found a Collation ready but he would not sit down and took leave of the Ambassadors to return to the City At his departure he had the same honour done him as at his entrance Sept. 20. The Ambassadors sent to the Lord Naurus the King of Persia's Cuptzi to entreat him to honour them with a Visit in their ship which he promis'd to do The next day he came accompany'd by another rich Merchant named Noureddin Mahomet and the Pristaf which the Weywode had sent to conduct him His reception was like that of the Tartar-Prince After the Collation at which pass'd several good discourses our Musick playing all the time they entreated us to give theirs leave to come in which consisted of Hawboyes and Timbrels Their Timbrels were made of earth and were not much unlike our Butter-pots making a very strange noise though their playing on them was very regular and well carried on The Collation had put them into so good an humour that in their return we could hear their Musick nay a good while after they were got into the City The 22. The Weywode sent his Presents to the Ambassadors which consisted in twenty Flitches of Bacon twelve large Fishes that had been hung up in the smoak a Barrel of Cavayar a Tun of Beer and another of Hydromel About noon there came aboard us two of the Polish Ambassadors Servants whom the Cuptzi had spoken of to complement the Ambassadors in their Master's name and on the behalf of the Ambassador sent from the King of Persia to the King of Poland bringing along with them a bottle of Scherab or Persian Wine The Polish Ambassador was a Iacobin Frier named Iohn de Lucca and the Persian an Armenian Archbishop named Augustinus Basecius The persons sent to us were two Capuchins one an Italian the other a French-man They told us they had been five moneths at Astrachan and complain'd much of the ill treatment they had receiv'd there in that they were detain'd as Prisoners and not permitted to go any farther The same day the Ambassadors acquainted the Weywode with their desire to Visit the Tartar-Prince entreating him to that end to accommodate them with horses for themselves and some of their retinue which he very civilly did sending the next day by his Gentleman of the horse to the River-side the number of horses we desired Being come to a Lodging prepar'd for us without the City and having acquainted the Tartar-Prince with our arrival we walk'd towards his Lodging where he expected us The Prince having notice of it met them in the Court where he receiv'd the Ambassadors very civilly and conducted them to a Chamber richly hung There were with them the Poslanick Alexei and a Tartar Ambassador of Chrim The Collation was Magnificent and of the noblest fruits in the Countrey in great plenty Our drink was Wine Beer Hydromel and Aquavitae of all enough the Trumpets which the Weywode had lent him sounding in the mean time and other Musick playing When he drunk the Great Duke's and his Highness our Master's health he stood and presented the Cup with his own hand to all the retinue even to the Pages Alexei in the mean time told us Miracles of the birth and noble endowments of Mussal endeavouring to perswade us that he was not to be ranked among the other Myrses or Princes of Tartary but that he was to be consider'd as a very great Prince and Nephew to Knez Iuan Borissouits Circaski being his brother's son one of the greatest Lords of the great Duke's Court He told us that when he did homage the Czaar had done him very particular favours and made him considerable Presents that he had a Brother at Court a great Favorite that his Sister was to marry the King of Persia and that he might serve us in both Kingdoms â— This Entertainment took us up several hours after which the Ambassadors would have gone to see the Habitations of the Tartars without the City but the Muscovites very barbarously shut the Gates against them which oblig'd us to return to the ship The 24. The Poslanick Alexei gave the Ambassadors a Visit upon his own accompt He was kindly receiv'd and after he had been Magnificently treated at Dinner we sent him back to his Lodging attended by twelve persons of our retinue who had each of them a Sable skin This Muscovite who might be about 50. years of age was an ingenious man and had a great inclination to Learning contrary to the ordinary humour of those of his Nation He had learnt some few Latine words and was a Lover of the Mathematicks whence
it came that he Courted our Conversation in order to the advancement of his studies He was so sedulous that in the space of five moneths that we were in company together both in Persia and by the way he made such a Progress therein that he could express himself well enough to be understood in Latine 'T is true 't was not with the Congruity requisite but what he had was very extraordinary in a Muscovite He learnt also the use of the Astrolabe as well to take the height of the Sun and find out the time of the day as to make use of it in Geometry He had one made by our Clock maker and as soon as he came to any City or Village he went out into the Street to take the Elevation of the Pole which the Muscovites not accustom'd to see their Countrey-men employ'd in those exercises thought very strange The 25. The Cuptzi sent to invite the Ambassadors to a feast the next day and desir'd them to send him the name and titles of his Highness our Master as also the names and qualities of the Ambassadors that he might send them by an express to the Chan or Governour of Schamachie in Media that when we came to the Frontiers of Persia we might find all things ready for the prosecution of our Voyage The 26. He sent seven Horses to the River-side for the Ambassadors and their retinue but they made use only of two and causing the rest to be led they ordered the Gentlemen and Officers to walk a foot according to the custom in Germany He had prepar'd the Feast in a great house which to that end he had borrow'd of the Weywode and over against it he had hir'd another Lodging where he had erected a Theater cover'd with Persian Tapistry for the Timbrels and Hawboyes who continu'd their Musick from our arrival to our departure The house where the Feast was kept was all cover'd with Turkish and Persian Tapistry The Cuptzi met the Ambassadors in the Court receiv'd them with great civility and conducted them through two Chambers hung all about into a third which was hung with Gold and Silver Brocadoe In all the Chambers there were Tables and Seats cover'd with the best Persian Tapistry which the Cuptzi had done purposely for our convenience knowing we were not yet accustomed to the mode of Persia where they sit upon the ground to eat The Tables were loaden with all sorts of Fruits and Preserves as Grapes Apples Melons Peaches Apricocks Almonds Raisins of the Sun whereof some were little and without stones Kernels of Nuts Pistachoes and several Indian fruits preserv'd in Sugar and Honey and over them were large pieces of Satin or Taffata We were hardly set ere came in the two Ambassadors of Persia and Poland who had upon their ordinary Habits the Vestiments which the King of Persia had presented them with and the Iacobin Frier had a Golden Cross upon his breast as well as the Armenian Bishop They took their places next the Ambassadors and being well skill'd in the Latine Spanish Italian and French Languages their discourses were accordingly without any trouble and full of diversion 'T is the custome of Persia to begin their Feasts with Fruits and Preserves We spent two hours in eating only those and drinking Beer Hydromel and Aquavitae Then was brought up the meat in great Silver Dishes They were full of Rice of divers colours and upon that several sorts of Meat boil'd and roasted as Beef Mutton tame Fowl wild Ducks Fish and other things all very well ordered and very delicate The Persians use no knives at Table but the Cooks send up the meat ready cut into little bits so that it was no trouble to us to accustome our selves to their manner of eating Rice serves them instead of bread They take a mouthfull of it with the two fore-fingers and the thumb and so put it into their mouths Every Table had a Carver whom they call Suffretzi who takes the meat brought up in the great Dishes to put it into lesser ones which he fills with three or four sorâ—s of meat so as that every Dish may serve two or at most three persons There was but little drunk till towards the end of the repast and then the Cups went about roundly and the Dinner was concluded with a Vessel of Porcelane full of a hot blackish kind of drink which they call Kahawa whereof we shall have occasion to say more hereafter The Persians express'd their civility towards us so highly both in word and deed at this 〈…〉 we could not have desir'd more in our own Country Having taken leave both of our Entertainer the Ambassadors of Persia and Poland and the rest of the Company which was done with much honour and civility on all sides we drew off with the noise of the Timbrels and Haâ—â—boyes which sounded a retreat after a very pleasant manner Two of the most considerable of the Company brought us to the City Gate where they renew'd their civilities and acknowledg'd the honour the Ambassadors had done them and re-assur'd us of their friendship and services As the Ambassadors went into the Shallop some of the Ship Guns were fired which had also been done when they went out of it to go to the Feast The 27. the Ambassadors with some few persons about them took a walk and having gone about the City they went a league farther to see the habitations of the Tartars We found by the way that in those parts Oxen and Horses tread out the Corn whereas in other places it is thrash'd whereby we explain'd that Law which forbids muzzling the Oxe that treadeth out the Corn. No Hut but had its Hawk or Faulcon in our return we met with one of their Princes coming from his sport having his Hawk on his fist and a Sheep-skin on his back as all the rest had He exprest his trouble that he had not been at home to entertain the Ambassadors The same day went thence the Poslanick Alexei Sawinouits continuing his Voyage to Persia by the Caspian Sea The 28. The Ambassadors were treated with the same magnificence and ceremonies by the other Persian Merchant namely Noureddin Mahumed save that the Stage or Theater for the Muscovians was erected in the Court opposite to the Table but more richly adorn'd than that of the Cuptzi He had also invited the Religious Men before spoken of certain Indians and two Muscovites who came from the Weywode and understood the Language The Ambassador Brugman being engag'd in discourse with them broke out into very injurious expressions against the Turks who though enemies to the Persians yet were not then in any hostility against the Muscovites whereupon the former fearing it might reflect on them as being the Masters of the Entertainment entreated the Ambassador not to engage into any further discourse concerning publike Affairs but to be merry and to assure himself that the expressions they then made us of
Sons the two younger whereof were no better in Cloaths than the most inconsiderable persons in the Country Behind them stood certain Servants on whose fore-heads and faces which they had torn with their nails might still be seen the marks of their mourning for the death of the elder brother who had been executed at Moscou On the left hand stood all in a file several Tartars who were all very aged Persons and represented the Council and Officers of the Court The Princess having answer'd our Complement ordered Seats to be brought and a little Table furnish'd with Fruits for the Collation at which our drink was Hydromel and Aquavitae We would have had the Princes to have sate down with us but they would not by any means do it alledging that it was not the Custome of the Country and that the respect they ought their Mother permitted not their sitting down in her presence The Collation being ended and the Princess and others of the Company having handled and taken particular notice of our Cloaths all over the Princess her self presented to each of us a large Cup full of a sort of Aquavitae extracted out of a Millet which we found as strong as Spirit of Wine The three Princes Presented us also with each of them a Cup and intreated us not to take it ill if they did the same honour to our Servants In the mean time there was opened behind the Princess a Chamber-door at the entrance whereof were to be seen several Ladies and amongst the rest the Princess's Daughter who was betroathed to the Sophy of Persia. She might be about sixteen years of age and was very handsome the clearness of her complexion having so much the greater lustre by reason of the extraordinary blackness of her hair These Ladies seemed to be no less desirous to see our Cloaths than those who were in the Hall thrusting one another towards the door which they immediately shut upon the least sign made to them by the Princess but they opened it again soon after to take a further view of us They call'd one of our servants to them to take the more particular notice of his Cloaths the fashion whereof they very much admir'd as also that of his Sword which they desir'd him to draw that they might see the blade of it But the Persian Envoy who every day visited the Princess coming into the Room while they were so employ'd the Chamber door was immediately shut upon them and we took leave of the Princess and the Princes her Sons and went to view the City We there met with several Women handsome young and well made having on them a kind of smocks of frocks of diverse colours who made no difficulty ever and anon to stay us till they had taken particular notice of our Cloaths Nov. 6. The Cuptzi sent us a Letter from the Governour of Derbent in answer to that which he had writ to him from Astrachan the 25 of Sept. before The contents of it was to express his joy at our arrival and to order the Cuptzi not to come away without us but to bring us along with him by Sea The 7. Our Interpreter Rustan return'd from the frontiers of Dagesthan with this news that those who had conducted the Muscovian Ambassador to the frontiers were return'd into Persia before his coming thither and that they thought it not enough to carry away the Camels and all the other Beasts fit for carriage but they had also taken along with them the pieces of Timber and Fagots without which it was impossible to get over those places where the Road was bad upon which intelligence it was immediately resolv'd that we should continue our Voyage by Sea The 8. The Princess sent the Ambassadors a present of two Sheep fifty Pullets and several other Provisions The high Chancellor of Muscovy sent us a Sheep a barrel of Beer and a-another of Hydromel In the afternoon the Prince Mussal came to give us a visit to bid us adieu There came along with him a Myrsa of Dagesthan a Brother of the Prince of Tarku's who made us believe he was come expreâ—s to conduct the Ambassadors as far as the place of his Brother's residence He was no better clad than the other Tartars having over his old cloaths a Cloak of a sort of very coarse Cloath but as to his corntenance and behaviour he express'd a fierceness beyond any of them not dissembling the trouble it was to him that we discover'd a greater respect for Mussal than for him and refusing to stand at the drinking of the Great Duke's health And when Mussal intreated him to consider the place he was in he confidently made answer that he knew not whether the Country he was then in were the Great Duke's or his own and began to pick a quarrel with him reproaching him that with all his gay Cloaths he was but a slave to the Muscovite whereas himself though but in raggs was nevertheless an absolute Prince that acknowledg'd no other superiour than God insomuch that at last not able to govern his passion he absolutely refus'd to drink the Czaar's health in any posture and went his wayes Some of his servants stole from our Minister a silver Spoon and a Knife and cut off one of the sleeves of my Doublet but they were forc'd to leave it behind them it being engag'd under some other Cloaths Prince Mussal staid with the Ambassadors and begg'd of them the pardon of the Mariner whom we had sent Prisoner to Terki The Ambassadors very freely satisfy'd his desire therein and so sent late that night the Secretary of the Embassy and another Gentleman to the Weywode to entreat him to return the Prisoner into our hands and to desire justice of him against the Muscovian Pilot who had run away from us two dayes before A good while after night a Lacquey was sent after us to press our immediate return to the Ship which was then ready to set sayl to make all the advantage they could of the Wind which for some hours had blown very fair We had dispatch'd all our business when the Lacquey came to us but notwithstanding all the expedition we could use we found the Ship under sayl but it was not long ere the Wind turning to the direct contrary point forc'd us to continue in the same place The Weywode in the mean time sent us his Present which consisted of a hundred pieces of hung Beef four tuns of Beer a puncheon of French Wine a tun of Hydromel a puncheon of Vinegar two Sheep four great Cakes of Ginger-bread and several Loafs of other bread There was bestow'd among those that brought the Present about 20. Crowns and good store of Aqua-vitae insomuch that they went their way very well satisfy'd Nov. 10. the Wind coming to South-west we set sayl at the break of day intending to take the course of the City of Derbent which is the nearest of any of
such Bodies as are not interr'd but expos'd to the Air nay it is further requisite they should be Bodies brought very low either by age or sickness for full Bodies are subject to corruption in Persia as well as other places These two places are very famous by reason of the Pilgrimages upon which the Persians resort thither especially about the time that Tiribabba hath a new Garment bestow'd on him and that the old one is torn to pieces to be distributed among the Pilgrims The Inhabitants of the Country relate strange things of the Miracles of these Saints but in regard they can be no other than Fables or the effects of Sorcery and that the Persians are very apt to believe any stories and are very much inclin'd to Sorcery I thought it more discretion to wave the relation of their impertinences Upon the door of this Sepulchre there was this Inscription in Arabick Letters Alla mufethi hibebuad that is to say O God open this door There are cut within the Rock several Chambers Neeches and Holes in which the Pilgrims are lodg'd and do their Devotions nay there are some so high that they must have Ladders of 12. or 15. foot long to get up to them There were three of us ventur'd to get up to the top of the Rock by dreadful precipices helping one the other as we got up There we found four spacious Chambers and within several Neeches cut in the Rock to serve for Beds But what we thought most strange was that we found in that Vault upon the very top of the Mountain Muscle-shels and in some places such abundance of them as would induce a man to imagine that the Rock was made up of sand and shels In our return from Persia we observ'd all along the Caspian Sea several of these shelly Mountains whereof we shall give a further accompt hereafter The Inhabitants of this Village of Pyrmaraas never drink any Wine out of a fear as they say themselves that breaking the Laws of Mahomet and the Directions of the Alchoran the Holiness of the place might be thereby prophan'd At the entrance of the Village near the Sepulchre of Seid-Ibrahim there is a great Vault or Cestern of 52. foot in length and twenty in breadth compass'd with a wall of Free-stone which in the Winter time they fill with Water Snow and Ice to be us'd in the great heats and drought of Summer as well for themselves as their Cattel The 29. the Chan sent us word that we might send our Harbinger to Schamachie to take up Lodgings for us and that we might follow him in the afternoon But after we had loaded part of our Baggage and just as we were going to take Horse the Chan sent an express Messenger to us to intreat us to continue that night at Pyrmaraas And that we might be assur'd this was not done out of any design upon us he sent us several refreshment and among other things four great Pitchers and two Leathern baggs full of Wine good store of Pomegranates Apples Pears Quinces and Chest-nuts and to each of the Ambassadors an excellent Horse sadled and bridled We could not then imagine what might occasion this delay but it was told us afterward that the Minatzim or Astrologer belonging to the Chan had perswaded him that that day was not a fortunate day to receive strangers in The next day Dec. 30. we left Pyrmaraas about eight in the Morning taking our way straight to Schamachy into which we made a very noble entrance Within two leagues of the City we met with one afoot who came to tell us from the Chan that we were welcom and that he would come out of the City in person to receive us This man march'd on still in the front of our Cavalcade Within a league of the City we met with about thirty Gentlemen on horse-back very well mounted who came only to take a view of us and immediately return'd in full speed to the City After this we met near a certain Village with about a hundred men on horse-back who open'd to make us way to pass through them About two Musket-shot thence we met with another Troop of Cavaliers among whom there were tweleve that had a particular Coiffure about their heads having their Turbants pointed upwards like the Spire of a Steeple which they call Takia and we were told it was by Privilege that they were so dress'd it being to signifie that they were of the posterity and kinred of their Prophet Aaly These saluted us with a low inclination of the head and bid us welcome by saluting us with their Chosckeldi in the Turkish Language which they would rather speak than the Persian Having kept company with these about half a League we perceiv'd on our right hand a body of about 500. men and whereas we were told that the Chan and his Calenter or Lieutenant were there in person it was taken into consideration whether we should keep on in the High-way or turn aside and make-towards them The Ambassador Brugman would have had us keep on in the High-way which led streight to the City alleging that it was the Chan's duty who receiv'd us and who ought to be his own Master of the Ceremonies to come to us But our Mehemandar and others of the Company assuring us that the High-way was very deep and dirty and that the fields were more fit for the reception of the Ambassadors and the Complements and Ceremonies occasion'd thereby they prevail'd with us so that we went streight towards the Chan who stay'd for us upon a little Hill and advanc'd towards the Ambassadors as soon as he perceiv'd them coming up He had on his right hand six men very proper persons Arm'd with gilt Bows and Arrows on his left as many of his Guard with their Muskets and after him came a very great number of Gentlemen on Horse-back very well mounted and clad in Garments of Brocado and Mantles and Caps embroider'd with Gold and Silver Being come up to us he would needs do our Nation the greatest honour imaginable which was by taking the Ambassadors one after the other by the hand contrary to the custom of the Persians The first Complements over he commanded Wine to be pour'd into a silver Vessel drunk to the Ambassadors and oblig'd each of them to pledge him twice The Calenter and Muscovian Poslanick Alexei Sauinouits who were about the Chan bid us also heartily welcom and took us by the hand As we march'd along we had before us our loud Musick which consisted in Hawboyes Timbrels Cornets and Tabours but particularly in a kind of Instrument called Kerrenai These are made somewhat like our Hawboyes save that they are of Brass being above eight foot in length and at the extremity above two foot Diameter There were four of these Instruments and those who play'd on them made a halt ever and anon and stood in a Circle as our Trumpeters holding up the
he took it back from me kiss'd it at the begginning and would have given it me to kiss also but I only kiss'd another book I had in my hand and told him that knowing well what book I had my self I made no difficulty to kiss it but not understanding what was contained in his book I should not be too forward to honour it so much He laugh'd and told me I had done very well There was among them an Arabian named Chalil who was a Minatsim or Astrologer born at Hetsa near Meca aged about 65. years He understood Astrology and read Enclid to some of his Disciples I presently knew the book by the figures in it and made him some demonstations as well as I could express my self in the Persian Language whereat the good old man was so much pleas'd that desirous on his part to shew me what he could do he took out of his bosom a little brass Astrolabe and ask'd me whether I had ever seen the like or understood the use of it Whereto having answer'd him that I understood it very well and that I had one at my Lodging he seem'd to be very desirous to see it which oblig'd me to go home to fetch it and to bring along with me the Globe which they wondred very much to see especially when they understood that I had made it my self The honest Arabian desir'd me to shew him how I could set down the Degrees so exactly in regard they have no Instruments wherewith to make their Circles and Degrees I shew'd him the invention of it and how in a short time and with little trouble he might attain thereto for which discovery he acknowledg'd himself very much oblig'd to me insomuch that ever after he let slipno occasion whereby he might assure me of his friendship expressing it as well by his frequent visits coming one day with abundance of excellent fruit and dishes of meat ready dress'd purposely to Dine with me at his own charges as by his earnest proffers of all the service that lay in his power He gave me the Longitudes and Latitudes of the chiefest Cities and places of all Asia which I compared with the observations I had my self made thereof and found them very exact The Molla or Master of the Metzid was called Maheb Aaly and was a very young but mighty good natur'd man and of an excellent humour one who did all that lay in his power to serve me doing me the greatest kindnesses he could upon all occasions especially in my study of the Arabian Tongue He brought me also acquainted with a certain friend of his named Imanculi who was an Ohnbaschi or Captain of a Troop of Horse These two came to see me every day alternately as well to teach me their Language as to learn mine Which they did with very great improvement dayly especially Imanculi who no doubt had in a short time arriv'd to the perfection of it had it not been for the envy or jealousie of some of our own which prov'd so great as to make it suspected that those poor people had some design to change their Religion so that they were forc'd to keep out of the way and for the most part to make their visits in the night Insomuch that one day to wit Febr. 11. being gone to the Metzid to take a Lesson in the Language there came thither a Persian servant to tell the Molla from the Governour that he much wondred how he durst suffer those Christians to come into their Temple that they had nothing to do there and that it was his best course to dismiss them The Molla was at first a little startled thereat but upon second thoughts considering with himself that the Persians are never forbidden the company or conversation of Christians he doubted this was some trick put upon him and having taken the servant aside he understood from him that it was not the Chan but our Interpreter who had sent him to hinder my study of the Language The next day we had such another Message sent us but we knew before both the Author and occasion of it and therefore made no accompt thereof Some time after there hapning some difference between the Ambassador Brugman and our Interpreter he acknowledg'd that it was by order from his Excellency that he had sent the said servant to hinder my learning of the Language Upon the same accompt was it that the said Ambassador ordered me to reduce Persia and Turkie into one Map that so I might be taken off the study of the Language at least as long as I should be employ'd about that teadious and troublesome piece of work Febr. 7. the Ambassadors were visited by a Monk a Roman Catholick named Ambrosio dos Anios born at Lisbon in Portugal The accompt he gave of himself was that he came from Tiflis in Georgia which lies about ten dayes journey from Scanachie where he was Prior of a Monastery of the Order of St. Augustin and that he had undertaken that journey out of no other design than upon the news he had heard that a Potent Prince of Germany had sent a solemn Embassy into Persia and that he could not imagine it should be upon any accompt so much as the advancement of Christian Religion in those parts That he had been the more willing to be at the trouble of that journey out of the hope he had that their Excellencies the Ambassadors would not take it ill that he had taken the freedom to wait on them not only to congratulate their happy arrival in Persia but also to serve them in any thing lay in his power That he had been seven and twenty years in the Kingdom and that during so long a Tract of time he had not been so negligent in inquiring into the affairs of the Countrey and the humour of the Nation as that he might not be in some measure serviceable to them in their Negotiation We knew not upon the first proposal what to imagine of the intentions of this Religious Man and therefore we thought fit to stand as it were upon our Guard till that after ten dayes conversation with him we really found him sincere in all his proceedings insomuch that we made no difficulty to trust him absolutely in all things Besides the Portuguez which was his Mother-Tongue and the Latine in which he entertrain'd the Ambassadors he understood also the Georgian the Turkish and the Persian Languages for the attaining of which last he gave me many excellent directions About this time many of our people were troubled with burning Feavers which was a consequence of their abundant drinking of Wine after the much VVater they had been forc'd to drink before The VVine of Persia is very good but strong and our people drunk so freely of it that the Ambassadors were forc'd to forbid the use thereof by a very strict order There were two and twenty of them kept their Beds at the same time but by Gods
his valour that Schach-Sefi made him Controller of his Ordinance when he besieg'd Eruan which the Turks had taken from the Persians He discharg'd that trust so well and in all other things answer'd the opinion the King had conceived of him that he bestow'd on him then the Government of Scamachie which became vacant by the death of Terruch-Chan who was kill'd in the siege we spoke of before Areb took no small pleasure in shewing us the wounds he had receiv'd in that War and in telling us how many Turks heads he had brought to his King who sent him continually upon parties and forlorns against the Army which was coming to relieve that place The Governour and his Lieutenant had both very gracefull and bold aspects and with that all the requisite qualities in Commanders save that they were both so addicted to Wine that they were seldom met fasting but the Governour had still this advantage over his Lieutenant that he was more apt to be overcome by it than the other I may boldly and truly say that in all this City I found not the least track of Antiquity For though I took abundance of pains to find out that great Tower whereof Iohn Cartwright an English Gentleman speaks in the relation of his Travels into Persia where he sayes it is built of Flint and Free-stone and that they have thrust many dead mens skulls between the stones yet could not find any such thing or learn any news of it 'T is true I found two mens heads cut in the stone at one certain place of the City-wall but no body could tell me what they Represented It is also true that not far from the City there are to be seen the ruins of a Castle which had some time been fortify'd as the same Author sayes elsewhere For it is certain that there are the remainders of a very strong place within half a League of the City and that towards the North-side upon a very high and very steepy Mountain which is called Kale Kulestan I had the curiosity to go up to the top of the said Mountain and found nothing whole but a very noble great Cellar and near it one of the deepest Wells that ever I saw both compass'd with the best free-stone that ever was put in any work We were told that that Province had heretofore had its particular Kings and that Schiruan Scach had built that Castle upon the accompt of one of his Chasses or Concubines who gave it the name and that it was Alexander the Great that destroy'd that noble Structure which none ever after offer'd to repair I am of opinion that the Castle derived its name from the neighbouring Valley in as much as having running through it a Brook which makes it one of the most delightful places in the World and that being in the Spring cover'd with an infinite number of Tulips which nature her self is pleas'd to produce there sit is not to be much admir'd that they called the place Kale Kulestan that is the Fort or Castle of Roses since the Persians give the name of Kulestan or Valley of Roses to all those places where they would have it express'd that there is an extraordinary pleasantness So that there is no necessity of seeking the Etymology of that name in Fables or in things which might have hapned before the time of Alexander the Great whereof the Persians have had nothing transmitted to them Near Kulestan between the Fort and the City of Scamachie there are also two Chapels upon a Mountain which is higher than that we spoke of last In the greater of the two which is built in the form of a Parallelogram there is a very high Sepulchre to be seen and all about it several pieces of Cloath and Rags of all sorts of colours with Rods of Iron whose ends are like the tops of Arrows and they are fastned or ty'd to the Sepulchre with a silk string In the other there were two Sepulchres adorn'd much after the same manner with the former These are the Tombs of some of their Saints near which they often do their Devotions From this last Chapel there is a descent into a spacious Vault where is to be seen the Sepulchre of one of their Kings Daughters named Amelek Kanna of whom they relate that she had so great an aversion against marriage that her Father desirous she should match with a Tartar-Prince she kill'd her self to prevent it The same Cartwright says that the young maids of those parts go once a year to the Sepulchre of this Princess to bewail her death It is possible that in his time some such thing might be done but let it be taken for certain that that custom is now absolutely abolish'd and that it is not Devotion but the Heat which obliges the Inhabitants in the height of Summer to retire to this Mountain as also to Kulestan for the greater coolness of the air and that it is out of such a consideration that they do their Devotions near these Saints more frequently in that season than at any other time of the year Trades-men and persons of mean condition stay there only in the day time and at night return to the City but the Chan the Calenter and persons of quality have their Tents pitch'd there and remove not thence during the three hottest Moneths of the year During which time they also drive their Cattel towards the Mountain of Elbours where they find not only a more temperate air but also as good Meadow-ground as any in all Persia. That Mountain is part of Mount Caucasus and it is of such height that though it be at a very great distance from thence inasmuch as it lies on one side of Tabristhan towards Georgia yet may it be discover'd from Kale Kulesthan and the other neighbouring Mountains of Scamachie It was upon this Mountain of Elbours as it is reported that the Persians kept and antiently Worshiped their perpetual Fire but now there is not the least track to be seen of it neither there nor near Iescht though Texeira and those who follow him would have us believe the contrary True indeed it is that there are to this day in the Indies certain Religious men who have a Veneration for the Fire and keep it in with the same care that the Persians did heretofore as we shall take occasion to shew in the subsequent Travels of Mandelslo into those parts But it is time we return to the pursuance of our Journey The Baggage being sent away the 27. of March in the Evening the Ambassadors follow'd the next day and were upon their way two hours before day The Ambassador Brugman who was dis-satisfy'd with the Treatment we had receiv'd at Scamachie would not permit the Calenter should have the honour to conduct us but gave order we should dislodge and depart without any noise and that all should go while it was yet Night afoot out of the Gates where we took
spend the whole night in Prayers Towards the dawning of the day they come down and go to the City of Meca where their Hetzas or High-Priest makes a Procession conducting through the chief streets a Camel which is appointed for the Sacrifice The Hair of this Camel is a very precious Relick among them whence it comes that the Pilgrims throng to get as near as they can to the Beast and to snatch off some of his Hair which they fasten to their arms as a very sacred thing The Hetzas after he hath walk'd the Beast sufficiently leads him to the Meydan that is the great Market-place and puts him into the hands of the Baily or Judge of the City whom they call Daroga who attended by some other Officers kills him with an Axe giving him many blows in the Head Neck and Breast As soon as the Camel is dead all the Pilgrims endeavour to get a piece of him and throng with such earnestness and so confusedly with Knives in their hands that these Devotions are never concluded but there are many Pilgrims kill'd and hurt who are afterwards allow'd a place in their Martyrologies After all these Ceremonies they go in Procession about the Mosquey they kiss a Stone which was left after the finishing of the Structure and they take of the Water which passes through a Golden Chanel over the Mosquey and carry it away as a Relick with a little piece of a certain Blackish Wood of which â—ooth-picks are commonly made When the Pilgrims are return'd from their Pilgrimage they are called Hatzi and they are as it were Nazarites dedicated to God in as much as it is unlawful for them to drink Wine ever after From this Pilgrimage and the Sacrifice perform'd at Meca we shall take occasion to insert here what the Persians and Turks relate of that of Abraham as Mahomet hath dress'd up the story falsifying the truth of it in all its circumstances They say in the first place that Abraham was the son of Azar who was Graver to Nimroth King of Egypt and that he married Sara who was so beautifull a Woman that the King having cast his eye on her Abraham grew jealous and carried her away into Arabia but finding that she bore no Children he there bought a Slave named Hagar whom he carnally knew and by her had Ismael Hagar being near her time and not able any longer to endure the ill treatment she receiv'd from Sara resolv'd to run away Abraham coming to hear of her discontent and fearing she might make away the Child especially if she came to be deliver'd without the assistance of some other Women follow'd her and found her already deliver'd of a Son who dancing with his little feet upon the ground had â—ade way for a Spring to break forth But the water of the Spring came forth in such abundance as also with such violence that Hagar could make no use of it to quench her thirst which was then very great Abraham coming to the place commanded the Spring to glide more gently and to suffer that water might be drawn out of it to drink and having thereupon stay'd the course of it with a little Bank of Sand he took of it to make Hagar and her child drink The said Spring is to this day called Semsem from Abraham's making use of that word to stay it After this Sara pray'd to God with such earnestness that he gave her her son Isaac Some time after Ismael's birth the Angel Gabriel appear'd to Abraham and told him that God commanded him to build a house upon the River which Ismael had given the rise to in answer whereto Abraham representing that it was impossible for him to build any great structure in the midst of a Desart where there was nothing but Sand the Angel reply'd that he should not be troubled at that and that God would provide Accordingly Abraham was no sooner come to the place appointed him by the Angel but Mount Arafat forc'd out of its quarries a great number of stones which roll'd down from the top of the Mountain to the side of the little River where he built a house which hath since been converted to a Mosquey and is the same where the Pilgrims of Meca do their Devotions The Structure being finish'd there happened to be one single stone remaining which began to speak and to complain that it had been so unfortunate as not to be employ'd in that Edifice But Abraham told it that it should so much the rather be comforted in as much as it should one day be in greater Veneration than all the rest put together and that all the faithfull who came to that place should kiss it This is the stone we spoke of before These people say it was heretofore all white and that the reason of its being now black is that it hath been constantly kiss'd through so many ages Some years after the same Angel Gabriel appeared again to Abraham who was grown a very rich and powerful man and told him that God intended to make the highest tryal that could be of his affection and gratitude and that he would have him in acknowledgement of so many favours to sacrifize his son to him Abraham immediately consented and being return'd home bid Hagar call up her son and put on his best Cloaths that he might be the better look'd on at the Wedding to which he intended to carry him They departed the next day betimes in the morning and took their way towards Mount Arafat Abraham carrying along with him a good sharp knife and some Cords But as soon as they were gone Sceithan that is to say the Devil represented himself to Hagar in the shape of a man reporach'd her with the easiness wherewith she had consented that her son Ismael should go from her and told her that what Abraham had related to her concerning the Wedding to which he was to bring him was pure forgery and that he was carrying him streight to the Shambles Hagar ask'd him why Abraham would use her so since he had alwayes express'd a great tenderness to her son The Devil made answer that God had commanded it should be so whereto Hagar reply'd that since it was God's good pleasure to make that disposal of him it was but fit she should comply therewith Whereupon the Devil pressing harder upon her and treating her as an unnatural Mother endeavouring by those aggravations to bring her into rebellion against God she pelted him away with stones The Devil's endeavour proving unsuccessfull that way and too weak to overcome the obstinacy of a woman he apply'd himself to Abraham reviv'd in him the tendernesses and affection of a Father represented to him the horrour of the murther he was going to commit and remonstrated to him the little likelyhood there was that God should be the Author of so barbarous and abominable an action But Abraham who was acquainted with the subtilty and artifices of that wicked spirit sent him
away and to be the sooner rid of him cast also a stone at him The last attempt the Devil had to make was to represent to Ismael the horrour of death and the unnatural procedure of his Father but he found the same treatment from him as he had from the other two and had a good stone flung at his head The Father and Son being come to the top of the Mountain Abraham said to his Son Ismael My Son I cannot imagine thou knowest the occasion of our journey and the reason why I have brought thee to this place It is only this that God hath commanded me to sacrifize thee whereto Ismael made answer that since it was God's pleasure it should be so his will be done only let me entreat thee Father to grant me three things The first is that thou have a care to bind me so fast that the pains of death may not engage me to attempt any thing against thee The second is that thou whet thy knife very well and after thou hast thrust it into my throat that thou hold it very fast and shut thy eyes out of a fear the cruelty of the action dishearten thee from going through with it and so leave me to languish a long time And the third that when thou art returned home thou remember my duty to my Mother Abraham having promis'd to observe all these things and whetted his knife binds his son directs the knife to his Throat and shutting his eyes holds it as fast as he could but finding when he opened his eyes again that the knife had made no entrance he is extremely troubled and tries the edge of it upon a stone which he cuts in two He was so astonish'd thereat that he address'd himself to the Knife and asked it why having so good an edge as to cut a stone it could not as well cut his Sons Throat The knife made answer that God would not have it so Whereupon the Angel Gabriel took Abraham by the hand and said to him Hold a little God would only make tryal of thy faith Unbind thy Son and sacrifize this Hee-Goat and immediately there came into the place a Hee-Goat which Abraham offered to God for a burnt-offering They affirm that the three stones which Hagar Abraham and Ishmael cast at the Devil are yet to be seen near the High-way between Medina and Meca and that there are made thereof two great heaps of stones by the means of the Pilgrims who bring every one three stones to be cast at the Devil at the same place where these heaps are to the end he may not distract them in their Devotions We saw also the same day above five hundred Women who were going before day to the Church-yard to weep over the Graves of their Husbands and others of their kinred There were some who had somewhat to eat at the same time others had some passages of the Alchoran read to them and those of any quality had Tents pitch'd there for their reception that they might not be expos'd to the sight of all that pass'd by This kind of Devotion for the Dead is commonly performed in the time of their Orut or Lent The Ambassadors were again that day treated out of Schich-Sefi's Kitchin The meat was brought in in six great Copper Vessels tinn'd over which they call Lenkeri and the Conserves in nine great Vessels of Porcelain The next day the Chan treated them very Magnificently at a Dinner he had provided in one of his Summer-houses The 27. in the evening the Governour communicated to the Ambassadors the good news he had received from Chan Rustan General of the King of Persia's Army who had writ to him that the Ianizaries in a mutiny at Constantinople had kill'd the Grand Signior and impriâ—â—n'd the most eminent Ministers of his Courr The Persians express'd their joy thereat by the fire-works which the Governour order'd to be made as also by the Musick which ecchoed all over the City The Ambassadors did the like on their part with their great Guns causing them to be fired six times over and ordering the Trumpets to sound and the Drums to beat while from the roof of their Lodgings they could see all the fires about the City The Governour was so well pleas'd to see that the Ambassadors concern'd themselves so much in the publick joy that he sent them two flaggons of Schiras Wine with a Glass-Vessel full of Sugar-candy'd May the first we Celebrated the Birth-day of the Ambassador Crusius which was concluded at night with a Magnificent Supper to which we had invited out Mehemander Netzefbek The 4. the Ambassadors receiv'd a visit from the son of Saru-Taggi Chancellor of Persia who was come purposely from Ispahan accompany'd by some persons of quality to see the Ambassadors We entertain'd him with our Musick which he seem'd to be much taken with and treated him with a sumptuous Collation during which the great Guns were discharg'd as often as there was any great health drunk May 14. the Persians began to Celebrate a mournful Festival which they call Aschur which signifies ten in regard it lasts ten days and begins with the Moon of the moneth Maheram Of all the sorts and Sects of Mabumetans the Persians only Celebrate this Feast in memory of Hossein the youngest son of Haly whom they accompt one of their greatest Saints The Legends relate of him that he was kill'd in the War he was engag'd in against the Calif Iesied He was at first according to their story of him troubled with an extraordinary thirst in regard they had depriv'd him of all water Afterwards he had seventy two wounds which he receiv'd by Arrows and at last Senan ben anessi run him through the body with a sword and Schemr Sultzausen kill'd him out-right That this Feast lasts ten dayes proceeds hence that Hossein having left Medina to go to Kufa was for ten days together pursu'd by his Enemies who treated him as we related before During all that time the Persians go in mourning express much affliction suffer not the Rasour to come near their heads though at other times they make use of it every day live very soberly drink no Wine and content themselves with Water The whole City of Ardebil was taken up in these Ceremonies and extravagant Devotions In the day time the Children and young Lads assembled themselves in great companies up and down the streets carrying in their hands great Banners at the extremities whereof there were Snakes of Pastboard winding to and fro much like Mercury's Caduceus The Persians call them Eschder They went to the Doors of their Metzits or Mosqueys and cry'd one after another ja Hossein ja Hossein that is O Hossein In the evening especially the three last days of the Festival after Sun-set men did also meet in several places under Tents with abundance of Torches and Lanthorns having at the tops of their Poles Orenges as
to be had in almost all the other Provinces of Persia. Apples Pears and Peaches thrive very well there Which is to be understood of the City it self and the Plain in which it is seated for the Air is incomparably more hot and more temperate at the foot of the Mountain whence it comes that thereabouts you have all sorts of Fruits and the Trees which in April do but begin to bud about Ardebil were very forward at the Village of Alaru at the foot of the Mountain Bakru This particular of fruits only excepted the soil thereabouts is very good as well for arable Lands as Pastures insomuch that the Plain which is not very great is able to maintain the Inhabitants of above sixty Villages all which may be seen from the City Besides all which the Revenue which is rais'd for the King from the Arabian and Turkish Shepherds is very considerable by reason of the Liberty allow'd them to feed their Cattel thereabouts and to Trade therewith in those parts after they have purchas'd the Schach's Protection or embrac'd the Religion of the Persians Some of the Clarks belonging to the Farmers of the Revenue assured me that within fifteen dayes before there had pass'd over the City-Bridge above a hundred thousand sheep and for every sheep they pay four Kasbeki or two pence sterl for their pasturage and as much when the owner sells them This last duty is called Tzaubanbeki and the other Abschur Eleschur or the duty of Water and Herbage which the Turks call in one word Othbasch The City is somewhat but very little bigger than that of Scamachie but hath no Walls No House but hath its Garden so that seen at a distance it seems rather a Forest than a City Yet are there no other Trees about it than Fruit-Trees inasmuch as the Country produceing no Wood fit for Building nor indeed any for Firing the Inhabitants are oblig'd to supply themselves out of the Province of Kilan which is six good dayes Journey distant from it Within a League of the City South-ward lies a Village named Scamasbu out of which rises a little River called Balachlu Before it comes into the City it divides it self into two branches one whereof divides the City and the other compasses it and is joyned again to the other and so fall together into the River Karasu It is so apt to over-flow in the moneth of April when the Snow upon the Mountains begins to dissolve that if the Inhabitants of the Plain had not the industry to divert it by Trenches which they make on that side which is towards the City it would drown them all Of such an inundation there happened an Example in the time of Schach Abas when the violence of the water having broken the Dikes over-threw in a moment a great number of Houses in regard the Walls being built only of Mortar and Bricks bak'd in the Sun there is not any able to stand out against the least inundation so that the River caried away their Housholdstuff nay many Children in their Cradles as it had also near happened at the time of our being there upon the 12. of April when there were a thousand men at work day and night in making Chanels and in turning the River by means of a Trench which was made in the plain upon the River side which over-flow'd all the adjacent fields The City besides a great number of narrow strees hath five very fair and broad ones named Derwana Tabar Niardower Kumbalan and Kasirkuste in all which they have been at the pains of planting both sides with Elms and Linden-Trees to have some shade against the excessive heats of the Climate The Market-place or Maydan is large and noble as being above three hundred paces in length and a hundred and fifty in breadth and having on all sides Shops so orderly dispos'd that no Merchandise no Profession but hath its particular quarter On the right hand as you come into it you find behind the Sepulchre of Schich-Sefi and the last Kings of Persia a Metzid or Mosquey in which lies interred Iman Sade or one of the Children of their twelve Saints Malefactors and Criminals may retire thither for a certain time and thence easily get to the Monument of Schich-Sefi which is their great Sanctuary As you come out of the Market-place you come to a place which they call Basar where the first thing you meet with is a great square arched Building called Kaiserie where are sold all the precious Commodities of the Country as Gold and Silver Brocadoes and all sorts of precious stones and silk stuffs As you come out thence you enter by three Gates into so many streets cover'd over head all beset with Shops where are sold all sorts of Commodities There are also in these streets several Caravanseras or Store-houses built for the convenience of forein Merchants as Turks Tartars Indians c. We saw there also two Chineses who had brought thither to be sold Porcelane and several things of Lacque There are also in the City a very great number of publick Baths and Metzids the chiefest whereof is that which they call Metzid Adine which is seated upon a little Hill as it were in the midst of the City and hath a very fair Steeple There the greatest Devotions are done on holy-days and particularly on Friday from which it derives the name At the entrance of the Metzid or Church there is a Fountain which the late Saru Chotze otherwise called Mahomet Risa Chancellor of Persia brought to that place by a Chanel under ground from the very source which is in a Mountain above a League distant from the City South-west-ward The Sumptuous Monuments of Schich-Sefi and the last Kings of Persia are near the Meidan The Persians call that place Mesar and Kibel-Chan Governour of the City did us the favour to let us into them upon Whitsun-Monday He sent us word before hand that since we were so desirous to see the holy Sepulchre we must be oblig'd to abstain from VVine that day and that our Supper should be brought us out of Schich-Sefi's Kitchin The Ambassadors went thither immediately after Dinner attended by all their Retinue and their Guards The Gate at which we entred to get into the first Court is a very large one and above it there was a great silver Chain reaching from one side to the other at which there hung such another perpendiculary in the middle It is a Present which Aga-Chan Governour of Merrague had out of Devotion made to the holy Sepulchre This first Court is very spacious and pav'd all over with broad stones having on both sides great Vaults where there are many Shops and backwards a very fair publick Garden open to all The Governour having receiv'd us in the Base-Court brought us to another Gate over which there was also a Silver-Chain like the former and it was an expression of the Devotion of Mahomed-Chan
presuming we should have kept the High-way was gone before us with all the Provisions Iune 18. we got on Horse-back after Sermon and Dinner marching after the rate of a full trot between two very sleepy Hills and we came about midnight to the Village of Kamahl which is two leagues or better out of the High-way and six from our last Lodging and we were Lodg'd in several houses scatter'd up and down upon three hills They had taken up for the Ambassadors a great unfurnish'd house at the entrance of the Village but finding there was no convenienee at all for them they refus'd to Lodge there and having left two of their Guard upon the Avenues of the Village to give an account of them to the rest of the Retinue they took up other Lodgings and we after their example though the Country-people who were surpriz'd at our unexpected arrival and could not so soon get their Wives and Daughters out of the way deny'd us entrance and put us to the necessity of taking up Quarters by force half-dead as we were with cold and spent with hard travelling But we were hardly laid down hoping to rest our selves the remainder of that night when our Trumpet sounding to horse made us get out of our Beds to see what the matter should be Being come to the Trumpetter he brought us to the Ambassadors Lodgings where we understood that twenty Persians of the same Village all hors'd had set upon abus'd and dis-arm'd the Guard which the Ambassadors had left upon the Avenues of the Village and that they had kill'd them if our Steward with the Muscovian Interpreter who by reason of his sickness had not been able to follow us had not come up to their relief and made the Persians draw back fearing there might be others coming after them There was a Lieutenant with twenty Musketiers commanded out to clear the High-ways all about and all the Retinue were Lodg'd as near as could be to the Ambassadors The 19. we continu'd in the same place where we caus'd Tents to be pitch'd Here our Secretary fell sick of a burning Feaver The next day being the 20. we departed thence about two in the moâ—ning and march'd all the Fore-noon which was extremely hot through a vast Plain where we saw only barren and heathy grounds About noon we came to the little City of Senkan six Leagues from Camahl The City is not enclos'd with a Wall but is otherwise sufficiently well built Within half a League of the City we receiv'd from the Governour of Sulthanie who was then in the City a Present of certain Dishes of Aprâ—cocks and Cowcumbers which were a great refreshment to us in that excessive heat and sultriness of weather At the extremity of the Suburbs we were met by thirty persons on Horse-back well mounted who receiv'd us in the name of the Governour of Sulthanie whose name was Sewinduc Sulthan Among these Gentlemen there was one who though he had neither hands nor feet yet made a shift to guide his horse with as much skill as any of the rest He was son to one of the principal Inhabitants of the City who had been heretofore much in favour with Schach-Abas the Grand-father of Schach-Sefi for his Poems and other excellent Productions of his Understanding upon the accompt whereof he was so well respected at Court that the King not only granted him the life of his son who for some Crimes had deserv'd death but would also continue him in his favour contrary to the custom of the Country according to which all the relations of a Malefactor or unfortunate person participate of his disgrace or misfortune The young man had been guilty of strange debauches and extravagances even to the Ravishing of Maids and Women in their houses so often reiterated that they became at last insupportable so that the Schach ordered him to have his hands and feet cut off and caus'd the stumps of his arms and legs to be thrust into boyling Butter to stop the blood He had wooden hands crooked at the extremities wherewith he made a shift to hold his Bridle The City of Senkan was heretofore of a considerable bigness and famous for its Trading before Tamberlane destroy'd it but what reduc'd it to the condition it is in now is the Turk who hath taken and plunder'd it several times Yet are there some very handsome houses in it and those well furnish'd in which we were entertain'd with much civility and our sick people extremely well accommodated The Sulthan came to visit the Ambassadors immediately after their arrival and made his excuses that he had not met them which was upon this score that having been wounded in the shoulder at the siege of Eruan and the wound being lately opened he could not have waited on us in person We sent to him our Physician and Chyrurgeon who dress'd him which he look'd on as so great a kindness that he thought it not requital enough to send us a Present of several excellent Fruits but he also doubled the ordinary allowance of our Provisions All about this City there are only Barren and Sandy grounds which bring forth only Briars of about the height of a mans hand About half a League from it there may be seen a branch of the Mountain Taurus which they call Peydar Peijamber and reaches from North to South towards Kurdesthan where may be seen as they affirm the Sepulchre of one of the most antient Prophets from whom the Mountain derives its name At the foot of this Mountain there is a very pleasant Valley which is checquer'd up and down with a great number of Villages Iune 21. having stay'd till the great Heat were over we left Senkan after Sun-set taking our way by Moon-light through a Plain of six Leagues at the end whereof we came with the Sun-rising to Sulthanie It had been so calm and cold in the Night that we had hardly the use of our Limbs so that we had much ado to alight This sudden change from extreme cold to the excessive heats of the next day occasion'd the falling sick of fifteen persons of our retinue at the same time all of a violent burning Feaver the fits whereof were very frequent accompany'd with a benumd'ness of all the Members but that misfortune hindred not but that they were set on horse-back and though to avoid the heats of the day we afterwards travel'd only by night yet were they so far from over-mastering their former weariness that they were brought lower and lower Two of our Guards took occasion to fall out at this place and fought a Duel wherein one of the two who was a Scotch-man named Thomas Craig was run into the Lights near the Heart of which VVound he lay long sick but at last was Cur'd As to the City of Sulthanie it lies at eighty four degrees five minutes Longitude and at thirty six degrees thirty minutes Latitude in a spacious
about noon the Sun so heated the Wind it self that the hot blasts which come out of an Oven could not be hotter insomuch that we were forc'd to retire into the Caravansera where the heat was somewhat more moderate Nay the ground it self which in those parts is only Sand and Heath was so hot that a man could not go five or six steps without burning his feet About this time both the Ambassadors were very sick but their indisposition giving them altternately a little ease the weaker of the two made use of the Litter and the other rode on Horse-back The 19. we travell'd five Leagues and got in the morning before the City of Kom The Daruga receiv'd us within five or six hundred paces of the City accompany'd by fifty Gentlemen on Horse-back and certain Tumblers among whom there were some who went upon Stilts before the Ambassador Brugman whose chance it was that day to be alone on Horse-back and shew'd a thousand tricks of activity all the way to the Ambassadors Lodgings As we pass'd through the Market-place we found a great number of Timbrels Hawboyes and Fifes which made a kind of Musick after their way and their Inhabitants had water'd the streets which being not pav'd no more than those of Caswin and several other Cities of Persia the dust had otherwise troubled and annoy'd us very much The Persians place this City at 85 degrees 40 minutes Longitude and at 34 degrees 45 minuts Latitude but after I had made a more exact observation thereof I found on the 20. of Iuly precisely at noon that the Sun was 74 degrees 8 minutes above the Horizon and that the Declination taken upon the same Meridian was 18 degrees 35 minutes so that the elevation of the Pole could be but 34 degrees 17 minutes The City of Kom is very antient Prolomy calls it Guriana and heretofore it was of a great extent as may be seen by the ruins of its Walls and other buildings which are a great way without its present compass It lies in a Plain on the right hand of the Mountain of Elwend which is discover'd at a great distance by the whiteness of its Sand and by the extraordinary height of its points In this Mountain there rises from two several Springs a little River which making but one Chanel at the entrance of the City runs through some part of it and is one of the chiefest conveniences belonging thereto but about three years before our Travels that way the little River over-flowing by reason of the Snow which the precedent heat of the Spring had melted broke down and carried away above a thousand Houses There are in the Gardens whereof there is a great number as well within as without the City all sorts of excellent fruits among others a kind of Melons which they call Scammame much about the bigness of an Orenge There are upon the rind spots of several colours and they have an admirable scent but they are more lushious in taste than the other Melons which in sweetness exceed all those I ever cat any where else There are also some of these Melons at Ardebil where by reason of their scent they commonly carry them in their hands but they told us that they were brought from the Village of Alaru where there grows abundance of them The learned Golius Professor of the Oriental Languages in the University of Leyden gives a large account of them in his Arabick Lexicon pag. 1309. There is also in the same place a kind of Cowcumbers of extraordinary largeness being above two foot long and as thick as a mans Arm which they call Chunchiar that is crooked Cowcumbers as having the form of a bended Arm. These the Persians pickle with Vinegar without any Salt but the taste of them is not very pleasant especially to those that are not accustomed thereto The ground about these parts is very fit for Tillage and produces all sorts of Grain as also Cotton in abundance but the principal Trading of the Inhabitants consists in earthen Pots and Sword-blades Those blades which are made in this City are accounted the best in the whole Country and are sold sometimes at twenty Crowns a piece The Steel of which they are made comes from the City of Niris within four days journeys of Ispahan where there are found in the Mountain of Demawend very rich Mines of Iron and Steel The Pots also made in the City of Kom are very much esteem'd especially the Sâ—eans or great Pitchars as well by reason of the excellency of the workmanship as for this reason that it is conceiv'd they will keep water fresh and sweet even in the greatest heats of Summer The Inhabitants of this City are somewhat light-finger'd and apt to find any thing lies in their way We had hardly alighted but our Pistols were taken away and what was not lock'd up immediately vanish'd In this City some of our people began to be troubled with bloody fluxes occasion'd by their excessive eating of Melons and other sorts of fruits and drinking water after fruit and in the greatest heats Iuly 21. we left Kom an hour after Sun-set and travell'd that night five Leagues The next the 22. We stay'd in a great Village called Kasinabath where all the Houses of one whole street were built so as that they made altogether but one continued Vaul or kind of Cloister The 23. we got seven Leagues to the Village of Sensen where we found abundance of Provisions and fruits which the Mehemander had appointed to be brought â—nither from Karschan a place five Leagues distant thence In this Village died one of our Interpreters for the Persian Language whose name was Gregory He was by birth a Muscovite but had been Circumcised upon which score we left the body to those of his own Religion to be buried after their manner The 23. in the evening we departed thence and the night following we lost a Muscovian servant who dy'd of the bloody Flux by the way We kept the Body to have it buried at Katschan with that of another Muscovian Servant who died two hours after the former We got thither the 24. but so betimes in the morning that we were forc'd to stay above two hours before the Daruga could come to meet us in order to our reception He was accompany'd by fifty Gentlemen on Horsâ— back and had appointed to be led several excellent Horses cover'd with Lynxes skins nor was the ordinary Musick of the Countrey wanting At the entrance of the City he shew'd us two Indian Oxen very black and of great height and bulk which had Bells about their necks and Plumes of Feathers in their heads and at their Cruppers This Daruga had some time been a Foot-man to Schach-Sefi when being very young they were forc'd to hide him from his Grand-father Schach-Abbas and Schach-Sefi having no money to live upon sold the Foot-man for fifteen Tumains
between the last of Iuly and the first of August we travell'd four leagues further and came the next day to a Village called Kuk We were lodg'd in the house of the Kaucha or Judge of the place where we continu'd all that day and the night following August 2. we departed thence two hours before day the Moon shining bright and got but two leagues further to one of the Kings houses where we took up our quarters in a very fair Garden which was our last nights Lodging in our passage to the City of Ispahan For very betimes the next morning being the third of August horses were sent us to make our entrance into the Metropolis of the Kingdom Within a quarter of a League of the City we found one of the principal Officers of the Court named Isachan-beg in the head of 200 horse and some paces thence two great Armenian Lords named Sefaras-beg and Elias-beg who conducted the Ambassadors to their Lodgings The dust which the horse and the people who came to meet us had rais'd was so thick that we were got to the Gates before we imagin'd we could have seen the City Not only the streets and windows were full of people who out of curiosity were come to see our entrance into the City but also the tops of the houses were covered with them We were conducted through several streets through the Maidan and before the Kings Palace to that part of the Suburbs which is called Tzulifa where we were lodg'd in the Quarter of the chiefest of the Armenian Merchants who are Christians and have their habitations there We had hardly alighted ere there were brought us from the King's Kitchin the ordinary Presents of Provisions for our welcome thither They laid upon the floor of the Ambassadors Room a fine silk Cloath on which were set one and thirty Dishes of Silver fill'd with several sorts of Conserves dry and liquid and raw fruits as Melons Citrons Quinces Pears and some others not known in Europe Some time after that Cloath was taken away that another might be laid in the room of it and upon this was set Rice of all sorts of colours and all sorts of Meat boyl'd and roasted to wit Mutton tame Fowl Fish Eggs and Pyes in above fifty Dishes of the same metal besides the Sallet-dishes great Porrengeâ—s and other lesser Vessels Presently after Dinner the Commissary or Factor for the Dutch Commerce whose name was Nicholas Iacobs Overschle who was afterwards Governour of Zeilan for the East-India Company came to visit the Ambassadors who being then looking upon the unlading of the Baggage though that should have been the employment of their Steward or some other Officer would have wav'd the visit upon that pretence But the Dutchman would not be put off his visit wherein he ingenuously acknowledg'd that he had received Orders from his Superiours to oppose our Negotiation but that nevertheless as to what concern'd the Ambassadors themselves he should do them all the civilities they could expect from him He seem'd desirous to drink and we had the Complyance to give him his load ere he went away The joy we conceiv'd at our having at last arriv'd to a place where we hoped to put a period to our Negotiation was soon disturbed by a most unhappy accident and the Divertisements intended us were within a few days after our coming thither changed into a bloudy Contestation with the Indians occasion'd by the insolence of one of the Domesticks belonging to the Mogul's Ambassador who was Lodg'd not far from our Quarters with a Retinue of three hundred persons most of them Vsbeques One of their Domesticks standing by and looking on our people unloading and putting up the Baggage our Mehemanders servant named Willichan said to him jesting that it would speak more good nature in him to come and help them than to stand as he did with his Arms a-cross whereto the other making answer somewhat too snappishly as he conceiv'd the Persian struck him over the pate with his Cane The Indian incens'd at the affront ran to some of his Camerades who were lying hard by under the shade of a Tree and made his complaints to them of the injury he had receiv'd upon which they all got up and fell upon Wellichan whom they wounded in the head with stones Our Domesticks perceiving this tumult brought our Steward notice of it who taking along with him five or six Soldiers and some others of our servants charg'd the Indians whole number was augmented to hear thirty so home that they mortally wounded one and pursu'd the rest to their Quarters but what most troubled the Indians was that in this engagement they had lost a Sword and a Poniard whereto a little Purse was faste'd in which there was some small money which our People brought home as a sign of their Victory The Industhans at that time thought it enough to threaten how highly they should resent that affront and that they should take occasion to revenge their Camerade Nor indeed were they unmindful of their threats for the Ambassadors having resolv'd to change their Lodgings by reason of the great inconvenience it was to them that their Domesticks were scatter'd up and down the Suburbs and quarter'd at a great distance from them and having appointed the seventh of August for their removal the Indians took their advantage of that occasion to be satisfy'd for the affront they imagin'd they had received We had sent before a Lacquey belonging to our Steward and some of our Seamen with part of the Baggage to be by them conducted to the Lodgings we had taken up which were within the City a quarter of a League or better distant from the former Certain Indians who were lying under Tents to keep their Master's Horses which were then feeding between the City and Suburbs knew him as having seen him in the former engagement set upon him and though he gallantly defended himself with his Sword and Pistol at last kill'd him with their Arrows which done they cut off his head toss'd it up and down in the Air and bound his body to his Horse-tayl which dragg'd it to a certain place where the Dogs devour'd it The news brought us of this Murther was enough to assure us that the Industhans would not think that revenge enough but that they were resolv'd to set upon us with all their forces Whereupon the Ambassadors sent out Orders that all of their Retinue should stand upon their Guard and come with all expedition to their Lodgings But before this Order could be put in Execution the Indians had already possess'd themselves of all the Avenues of their Quarters which they had in a manner block'd up in so much that none could get in without running the hazard of being kill'd However reflecting on the imminent and inevitable danger it was to lie scatter'd up and down in several quarters most of the Domesticks thought it their safest course though with some
alighted took out his own knife and cut off what the Executioner had left to the great astonishment of all us who were not accustomed to see Persons of that quality turn common Executioners Within the enclosed place I spoke of there was a little building much after the fashion of a Theatre into which the King brought us to a Collation of Fruits and Conserves That done there were driven into the place thirty two wild Asses at which the King discharg'd some shots with the Fowling-pieces and shot some Arrows and afterwards permitted the Ambassadors and the other Lords to shoot at them It was pretty sport to see those Asses run having sometimes ten or more Arrows shot into their Bodies wherewith they incommodated and wounded the others when they got in among them so that they fell a biting one another and running one at another after a strange manner Having knock'd down all those that were wounded there were let in thirty wild Asses more which they also kill'd and laid them all in a row before the King to be sent to Ispahan to the Court Kitchin The Persians so highly esteem the flesh of these wild Asses that they have brought it into a Proverb in their Kulusthan This kind of Hunting being over Dinner was brought in at the same place Here it was that the Ambassador Brugman was pleas'd upon his own account to present the King of Persia with his Highness the Duke of Holstein's Picture in a Box all beset with Diamonds as also with a very fair Steel Looking-Glass polish'd on both sides and embellish'd with several Figures grav'd by that famous Artist Iohn Dresde and done after an Excellent way whereof he himself had been the Inventor After Dinner we retir'd into some houses thereabouts to take our Mid-dayes repose The King sent us thither ten Ahues and a very fair Stagg the horns whereof had twelve brow-ancklers but ere we were well laid down word was brought us that the King was got on Horse-back in order to some further sport We immediately follow'd and found him a Hawking He soon gave over that sport and taking along with him nine persons of his own Retinue and six of ours he went into a spacious low Walk at the end whereof there was a place for the keeping of wild-Dacks but instead of hunting he must needs fall a Drinking and was so dispos'd to mirth that the noise we made kept the Ducks and Geese from coming near the place The King did Monsieur Mandelslo the favour to permit him to present him with a Glass of Wine and after he had drunk and that Mandelslo had kiss'd his knee he presented him with an Apple which is an expression of so particular a kindness that the whole Court began to look on him from that time as a Person very much in the King's favour The Kerek jerak or ordinary Steward of his Majesties Houshold whose name was Mahumed Aly-beg who had fill'd the King his drink during this Debauch and had not forgot to take off his own was grown so drunk that sitting at the entrance of the Walk he made such a noise that the King sent one to bid him get thence and perceiving no intreaties would prevail with him he commanded him to be dragg'd thence and set on horse-back Aiy-beg could not hinder their dragging of him thence but they were not able to set him on horse-back nay he abus'd and struck those that should have done it The King goes out of the Gallery and would have perswaded him to get on horse-back but he was no better treated than the rest so that laying his hand on his Sword he made as if he would have cut off his head The fright which that put the Steward into made him cry out so loud that the whole company concern'd themselves in the fear he was in He was very much in his Prince's favour but knew him to be a person not to be jeasted withall and he had so many sad examples of it before his Eyes that the terrors of Death did in a moment disperse the Vapours which had unsetled his Brain and bestow'd wings on those Feet which the Wine had made unable to go He immediately got on horse-back and rid away as fast as his horse could carry him and so made a shift to escape that time The king who was got into a pleasant humour only Laugh'd at it he came very merrily in to us but withdrew soon after and we went and were lodg'd in our own quarters The 20. there was no hunting at all We dined with the king who was that day serv'd by a hundred young Men very handsome Persons and richly Clad who alwayes stood before him Many of our Retinue would rather have kept those Gentlemen company and waited than have been among the Guests by reason of the trouble it was to them to sit according to the manner of the Country This entertainment was made in a pleasant Summer-house that stood in the midst of a Garden upon the water-side In the afternoon we went to another Village about a League and a half from the City and in our way took a white Heron. The 21. the king sent betimes in the Morning to invite us to go a Pidgeon-hunting We were carried up to the top of a great Tower within which there were above a thousand Nests We were plac'd all without having in our hands little sticks forked at the ends The king commanded our Trumpets to sound a charge and immediately there were driven out of the Tower or Pidgeon-house great numbers of Pidgeons which were most of them kill'd by the king and those of his Company This was the end of that kind of hunting after which we took our way towards the City but ere we got into it the king carried us into one of his Gardens called Tzarbach which is no doubt the fairest of any we have seen in Persia where we had another Manificent treatment As soon as we were got to our Lodgings there were brought us from the King twelve wild Drakes and as many Pidgeons but they were provided it seems only for the Ambassador Brugman and his Ladies Somes days afterwards it was publish'd by the Tzartzi or publick Crier all over the City that all should keep within their houses and that none should presume to come into the street the King being to goe that way abroad to give the Court Ladies the Divertisement of Hunting The custom of the Country is that the King's Wives and Concubines should not go abroad unless it be in certain Chests or Cabinets which are covered all over and carried by Camels All which notwithstanding they permit not that while they are passing by there should be any one in the Streets or that any men should come within Musket-shot of the field where they are upon pain of present Death The King goes before and the Ladies follow about half an hour after accompany'd by their Women and a great number
After Dinner the Kurtzibachi or Lord high Chamberlain came and conducted the Ambassadors to the King of whom they took their leave The King delivered them himself the Answer he made to the Letters they had brought him with recommendations to his Highness our Master and promis'd that he would send to Visit him by an express Embassy The Ambassadors answer'd the Complement and thank'd the King for the honour he had done them and the noble Treatments they had received from him during the stay they had made in his kingdom and return'd to their lodgings observing the same order in their going from the Court as had been done at their going thither Decemb. 4. the Poslanick or Muscovian Ambassador Alexei Savinowits went to see the Chancellor who dismiss'd him in the Kings name that he might return in our Company The dayes following those Lords who had receiv'd any Presents from our Ambassadors sent theirs to them Decemb. 5. Chosru Sulthan sent the Ambassadors two â—â—orses The next day Tzanichan the Kurtzibaschi sent his Present to the Ambassadors but in regard he had done it by the Persian fugitive Rustan who had so basely left the Ambassadors to change his Religion they would not accept of it and sent him word that they much wondred that it being as they conceiv'd his design to do them an honour and to oblige them by the Present he made them he would send it by a person for whom they must needs have an aversion and one they could not endure to see Three dayes after he sent them by another Man two Horses a Mule and eighteen pieces of Stuff which they accepted and gave the person who brought the Present five Pistols The 10. the Chamberlian sent them two Horses the Chancellor two Horses a Mule and forty five pieces of stuffs among which there were several whereof the ground-work was Gold The same day the Mehemander came to give us notice that the King intended within eight days to goe for Kaschan and that if we could be ready against that time we might make our advantage of the convenience as far as that City Which oblig'd us to put all things in readiness for our journey and the 12. we made an entertainment in order to our departure whereto were invited the same persons who had been at the first save that the acquaintances which the Ambassador Brugman had made in the Suburbs of Tzulfa occasion'd his invitation of several Armenians to this who had not been at the former In the afternoon there was running at the Ring at which Divertisement was present also the Portuguez Agent who manag'd the Viceroy's affairs at the Court and a rich Iew who drove a great trade between the Indies and Constantinople The Walls windows and tops of the neighbouring houses were full of Persians and Armenians who came thither to see that Divertisement The noise of the Trumpets and Tymbrels continu'd all the time as did also that of our Artillery which the Ambassador Brugman ordered to be discharg'd at all the healths that were drunk and that so often that Father Ioseph our Interpreter who knew that they might hear every shot at the Kings Palace fearing his Majesty should take it ill was forc'd to represent to him the Tyrannical humour of that Prince and the danger whereto he expos'd not only his own person after the Ambassadors were departed but also all that belong'd to the Embassy He told him that it was no extraordinary thing to see that Prince exercise his cruelties upon all sorst of persons without any regard of their Quality or Character and intreated him to command that there should be no more shooting But all these Remonstrances prevail'd nothing with the Ambassador who ordered the Trumpets to sound and the Gans to be fir'd as much as at any time before We understood since that the King was so incens'd against the said Ambassador as well for this action as another whereof I shall presently give an account that he was upon the point of ordering him to be cut in pieces and it may be all of us with him if the prudence and moderation of the Chancellor had not prevail'd with him to forbear by representing to him that the Prince his Master who no doubt approv'd not the insolences of that Ambassador would be sure to punish them as soon as he were advertised thereof But what most incens'd the King was this following adventure Lion Bernoldi who had the Quality of a Gentleman in the Retinue of the Ambassadors was put into Irons by order of the Ambassador Brugman upon this account that being born at Antwerp whence he retir'd into Holland there were some jealousies conceiv'd of him upon the frequent Visits he made to the Dutch Agent from whom he receiv'd many little kindnesses However that the Agent might not take ought amiss and the more to smother the jealousie had of him it was given out that he had rob'd the Ambassadors He found means to make his escape and cast himself into the Sanctuary of the Persians which they call Alla-Capi which is part of the King's Palace The Ambassadors sent to intreat the King to return their Domestick into their hands but answer was brought that if what he was charg'd to have stolen were found about him it should be restor'd but that as to his person it was not in his power to force him out of the Sanctuary though he had committed some Crime against his Royal Dignity The Ambassador Brugman was so transported with passion at this answer that he said aloud that he would have him and would kill him though he took refuge and were found within the King's arms Nay not content to betray this sally of his passion he suborn'd an Armenian who was to perswade Bernoldi to get out of the Sanctuary in the night and to hide himself some where else while he sent above twenty persons a-foot and on horse-back Arm'd with Fire-locks and Muskets with match lighted to the Palace-Gate with express Order to kill him if he came out or to get him thence by force His Collegue endeavour'd all he could to prevent that violence and the Kings Guard oppos'd it but the insolence of the party he had sent out upon this design who did more than they were commanded to do was so great that making head against the Guard who would have thrust them back the King awak'd at the noise and desirous to prevent further disorder commanded that Gate through which there was an entrance into the Sanctuary to be shut which was more than had been seen in the memory of Man it being the deâ—â—gâ— of the Foundation that those unfortunate persons who are forc'd thither should find their way in at any hour The King was so incens'd at these proceedings that as soon as he got up the next morning he told the Lords of his Councel that being not safe even within his own Palace by reason of the Germans who
to his Successor who hath as yet done nothing therein If Aaly the Patron and great Saint of the Persians had liv'd in that time he might have done Schach-Abas a very great kindness by opening that Rock at one blow with his Sword and so made way for the River as he sometime did according to the Relations of the Persians in the Province of Karabach where he made a passage for the River Aras through the Mountain which he opened with his Sword and which upon that occasion is to this day called Aaly deressi that is the streights of Aaly The City of Ispahan was twice destroy'd by Tamberlane once when he took it from the King of Persia and the other when the said City would have revolted from him and become Subject to its lawfull Prince Ios. Barbaro who Travell'd into Persia in the year 1471. sayes that about twenty years before Chotza whom he calls Giausa King of Persia desirous to punish this City for its Rebellion commanded his Soldiers not to come thence unless they brought with them the Heads of some of the Inhabitants of Ispahan and that the Soldiers who met not every day with Men cut off Womens heads shav'd them and so brought them to Chotza and that by this means the City was so depopulated that there were not people enough left to fill the sixth part of it It began to recover it self under Schach-Isinael 11. but indeed it was Schach-Abas by translating the seat of his Empire from Caswin to this City brought it to the height it is now in not only by adorning it with many fair both publick and private Structures but also by peopling it with a great number of Families which he brought along with him out of several other Provinces of the kingdome But what contributes most to the greatness of this City is the Metschids or their Mosqueies the Market-places the Basar the publick Baths and the Palaces of Great Lords that have some relation to the Court but especially the fair Gardens whereof there is so great a number that there are many Houses have two or three and hardly any but hath at least one The expences the Persians are at in their Gardens is that wherein they make greatest ostentation of their Wealth Not that they much mind the furnishing of them with delightful Flowers as we do in Europe but these they slight as an excessive Liberality of Nature by whom their common fields are strew'd with an infinite number of Tulips and other Flowers but they are rather desirous to have their Gardens full of all sorts of Fruit-Trees and especially to dispose them into pleasant Walks of a kind of Plane or Poplar a Tree not known in Europe which the Persians call Tzinnar These Trees grow up to the height of the Pine and have very broad Leaves not much unlike those of the Vine Their fruit hath some resemblance to the Chestnut while the outer coat is about it but there is no Kernel within it so that it is not to be eaten The wood thereof is very brown and full of Veins and the Persians use it in Doors and shutters for Windows which being rubb'd with Oyl look incomparably better than any thing made of Wall-nut Tree nay indeed than the Root of it which is now so much esteem'd All things in their Gardens are very delightful but above all their Fountains The Basins or Receptacles of them are very large and most of Marble or Free-stone There are belonging to them many Chanels of the same stone which conveigh the water from one Basin to another and serve to water the Garden Persons of Quality nay indeed many rich Merchants build in their Gardens Summer-houses or a kind of Gallery or Hall which is enclos'd with a row of Pillars whereto they add at the four corners of the main Structure so many with-drawing-rooms or Pavilions where they take the air according to the wind then reigning And this they take so much delight in that many times these Summer-houses are handsomer built and better furnish'd than those wherein they ordinarily live 'T is true their Great-mens Houses and Palaces are very Magnificent within but there is not any thing so ugly without in regard most of their Houses are built only of Earth or Brick bak'd in the Sun Their houses are in a manner square and most have four stories accounting the ground-room for one They call the Cellar and such places belonging to a house as are under ground Sirsemin the ground-rooms of the house Chane the first story Kuschk the second Tzauffe and the third Kesser and they call the open Halls Eiwan Their Windows are commonly as big as their Doors and in regard their buildings are not very high the frames ordinarily reach up to the Roof They have not yet the use of Glass but in Winter they cover the frames of their Windows which are made like Lattices with oyl'd Paper There is also little Wood in Persia I mean in most of its Provinces that not being able to keep any great fire they make use of Stoves but they are otherwise made than those of Germany In the midst of their low rooms they make a hole in the ground of about the compass of an ordinary Kettle which they fill with burning Coals or Char-coal and put over it a plank or little low Table cover'd with a large Carpet Sitting according to their custom upon the ground they thrust their feet under the Table and draw the Carpet over their Body up to the breast so as that the heat is thereby kept in Some pass away the nights also thus accommodated and so they procure a very natural heat with little fire and they imagine it to be the more wholsom in that it troubles not the head which in the mean time hath the benefit of a fresh and healthy air They call this kind of Stoves Tenuer and that the brain might not be offended by Vapours which Char-coal commonly sends up into the head they have certain Passages and Conduits under ground through which the air draws them away Persons of mean Quality and such as are saving dress their meat with these Tenuers and make use of them instead of an Oven and bake Bread and Cakes over them There is not a house in Ispahan but hath its Court which a man must cross ere he comes into the house They say that heretofore the streets of Ispahan were so broad that twenty horse might have rid a-breast in any of them But now especially since the City began to be re-peopled in the time of Schach-Abas they husbanded their ground better especially in the heart of the City near the Maidan and the Basar insomuch that the streets are become so narrow that if a man meets a Mule-driver whom they call Charbende that is a servant to look to the Asses who many times drives twenty Mules or more before him he must step into some shop and stay there
against whom he had taken up Arms and the second was poyson'd by the third so that Vssum Cassan dying on the fifth of Ianuary 1485. Iacup succeeded him but he enjoy'd not long the Kingdom he had got with the price of his Brother's bloud for his own Wife poysoned him within a short time after his coming to the Crown After his death Schich Eider son-in-law to Vsum Cassan sirnamed Harduellis from the place of his birth pretended to the succession but it was disputed against him first by Iulaver a Persian Lord and afterwards by Baylinger and Rustan The Turks who slighted Schich Eider by reason of the meanness of his birth notwithstanding which Vssum Cassan had bestow'd on him his Daughter Martha whom he had had by Despina the Daughter of Calojean King of Trebisond and hated him particularly upon this accompt that he had quitted their Religion presuming that a man who pretended much to Devotion and Sanctity would be unexpert if not unfortunate in the business of Arms declar'd a war against him entred Persia with a powerfull Army gave him battel and defeated him in so much that falling alive into their hands they flead his head and pull'd down his skin over his ears 'T is true there is so great discrepancy among the Persian Authors concerning this story that we have been forc'd herein to follow the common opinion though there are some who affirm that Eider was not King but that Rustan King of Persia fearing he might come to be King treated him as we said before Nay some affirm that this happened in the time of Iacup the son of Vssum Cassan. But what cannot well be deny'd of the story is that about that time the Turks became Masters of most of the Provinces of Persia and that Rustan was succeeded by Agmar Carabem and Aluantes Schich Eider who first chang'd the quality of Schich that is Prophet into that of Schach or King left one son named Ismael but he was so young when his Father died that all could be done for him was to secure his person at the house of a certain Lord of the Province of Kilan a Kinsman and Friend of his Father's named Pyr Chalim who brought him up and instructed him in the same Sect his Father had been of Ismael being come to years of discretion discover'd himself to be a person of an excellent understanding and great courage and there were the greater hopes conceiv'd of him out of this respect that his Father who was well skill'd in Astrology had Predicted that his son should do wonders as being the person designed for the restauration of Persia by the reduction of many Provinces and the propagation he should make of his new Religion Accordingly he made such advantage of the opportunity he then had while the Emperour of the Turks was at Constantinople little thinking what might happen towards Persia that having by the advice of Pyr sent Deputies into the neighbouring Provinces and Cities he so far satisfy'd them of the right he had to the Crown and prevail'd with them to reflect on the interest of the State and the preservation of Religion that having got together an Army of twenty thousand men with which he left Latretzan in the Province of Kilan the Inhabitants of the other Provinces came in so fast that it was of a sudden swell'd to three hundred thousand With this Army he marched streight to Ardebil whence he forc'd away all the Turks some few onely excepted who were got into a street behind Schich Sefi's Sepulchre where they Petition'd for their lives and promised to Embrace the Persian Religion and thence it comes that the said street is to this day called Vrume Mahele It was upon this exploit that many Persians came to be sirnamed Kisilbaschs as we have shewn before Ardebil being thus reduc'd Ismael went to Tabris Scamachie and Iruan and recover'd all the Cities and Provinces which the Truks had taken from his Father and had been possess'd of ever since his death He afterwards entred into Turkey gave the Emperour battel and defeated him The particulars of that War may be seen in the Letter which Henry Penia who was then in Persia writ to Cardinal Sauli and they agree with what the Persians themselves write thereof After this Victory he took Bagdat Besre Kurdestan Diarbek Wan Esserum Ersingan Bitlis Adiltschouas Alchat Berdigk Kars Entakie As soon as he had secur'd the Frontiers against the attempts of the Turks he turn'd his Armies Eastward and took from the King of the Indies the Province of Candahar and the next adjoyning Province the same good success which he had had against the Turks still attending him 'T was after this last Conquest that he went to Caswin to be Crown'd He stay'd there but just the time requisite for that Ceremony and to refresh his Forces with which he afterwards went into Georgia Defeated the King of that Countrey whom the Histories call Simon Padschach and forc'd him to pay him yearly three hundred Bails of Silk by way of Tribute The difficulties which Schach Ismael Sofi met with in all these Wars were not so small but the Persians grew weary of them though the zeal of their Religion induc'd them to suffer the utmost extremities even death it self with resolution enough But the consequence of these Victories and the good success which Ismael had in all his designs was that they raised him to so high an esteem that all the other Princes of Asia nay several Monarchs of Europe courted his friendship by solemn Embassies which gave our Writers the first acquaintance they had with the affairs of Persia. And whereas he made a strict Profession of the Persian Religion and had a great Devotion for Aly so far as to assume the quality of Sofi thence it comes that our Historians speak of him as the principal Propagator nay indeed as the first Institutor of that Sect. He died at Caswin in the forty fifth year of his age and was buried at Ardebil He had the reputation of being a great observer of Justice but it is affirm'd of him that he made no great difficulty to drink Wine and eat Swines flesh nay that in derision of the Turkish Religion he had a Hog kept in his Court which he named Bajazeth Schach Ismael Sofi left four Sons whereof the eldest named Tamas succeeded his Father in the Kingdom of Persia but not in the vertues and great endowments which had made him considerable all over the World The three others to wit Helcasi Beiram and Sor-Myrza had certain Territories assign'd them This change was perceiv'd at the very beginning of his Government For Sulthan Solyman Emperour of the Turks taking notice of the weakness of Schach Tamas in matter of Government raised a powerfull Army enters the Kingdom of Persia under the Conduct of Sulthan Murat Bascha and recover'd from the Persiaus all that Schach Ismael had taken from the Turks Bagdan and Wan onely excepted Two
and Araxis and reduc'd into his power the Citie of Scamachie after a siege of seven weeks together with the whole Province of Schirun which he left under the Command of Dsulfakar-Chan his Brother-in-law The Inhabitants of Derbent hearing what success Schach-Abas had had against the Turks kill'd their Turkish Garrison and submitted to the King of Persia. Then he entred the Province of Kilan and reduc'd to obedience those people who fell off from the King 's of Persia in the time of Schach-Tamas He ordered to be made neer Lankeran where a great Fen in a manner cover'd that whole Province and made the entrance into it very difficult a way or Bank of Sand and setled Chans in several places of the Province to wit Baindurc-Chan at Astara Mortusa Kuli-Chan at Kesker Heider-Chan at Turkabun a Visir at Rescht Adam Sulthan in Mesanderan and Hosslein-Chan at Astarabad It was Schach-Abas his intention to sit still with these Conquests but the quiet he had after them was so little that he had hardly the time to have his Soveraignty acknowledg'd For being at Ispahan about a year after this War intelligence was brought him that the Turk was coming into Persia with an Army of five hundred thousand men whereupon he got together all the Forces he could and appointed them their Rendezvous at Tabris and ordered all the Inhabitants of the Frontiers to retire with their Cattel into Cities and Wall'd Towns to destroy all in the Fields that the Enemy might make no advantage thereof in order to his subsistence The Turk having advanc'd and encamp'd neer Tabris the King of Persia caus'd it to be publish'd through his Army that such as were willing to serve as Volunteers should list themselves apart and that for every Turks head they brought him he would pay fifty Crowns About five thousand Persians listed themselves upon that accompt so that not a day pass'd but some heads were brought in and at his rising every morning a good number was presented to him Nay one Soldier named Bairam Tekel brought him one morning five together and by that means gain'd the favour of Schach-Abas who rais'd him to the Dignity of Chan. At the end of three moneths Tzakal Ogli who commanded the Turkish Army sent a kind of Challenge to Schach-Abas telling him that if he had as much confidence in God and the Justice of his cause as he would have the VVorld believe he should not be afraid of accepting a general Engagement which he thereby profer'd him Abas was content and having divided the ground the Sun and the VVind with his Enemy gave him battel It lasted all that day and the night following the Turks who had lost many of their men retreated The next day word was brought to the Camp that the Turks were retreated but Abas who fear'd it might be a stratageme of theirs stood on his Guard for three dayes keeping the Army upon continual duty and not so much as going himself into his Tent during that time till that the Scouts having at last brought him word that the Enemy was effectually retreated towards the Frontiers he advanc'd to the Mountain of Sehend where he Encamped and there it was that Mahumed Chan Kasak Schaheruch-Chan Esschar and Iischan Kurtzibaschi were cut to pieces for having given the king poyson who immediately taking an Antidore receiv'd no hurt thereby Two years after this War the Turk made another invasion into Persia with an Army of three hundred thousand men and besieged the Fortress of Iruan in the Province of the same name but he was forc'd to raise the siege and to retreat About two years after that Murat Bascha General of the Turkish Army besieg'd and took Tabris and kept it four moneths within which time there happen'd five set battels between those two Nations with little advantage to the Persians And yet at last Schach-Abas defeated the Turks and recover'd the Citie out of their hands Being after this expedition return'd to Ardebil he there caus'd to be kill'd Dsulfakar Chan of Scamachie in the manner we have related before and put into his Government Iusuf-Chan an Armenian by birth and by condition a Slave who had a long time serv'd him as on ordinary Foot-man After this Persia enjoy'd a Peace of twenty years together at the end whereof the Turks entred it again with a powerfull Army under the Command of Chalil Basscha with whom joyned also several parties of the Tartars of Crim and Precop Schach-Abas sent against them Kartzschuckai-Chan the most Valiant and most Fortunate of all his Captains who wearied them out and forc'd them to retreat after several Engagements or Skirmishes rather wherein he took Prisoners two Tartar-Princes Omersbeg and Schahinkerai-Chan and the Bashaws of Egypt Aleppo Erserum and Wan The King instead of treating them ill presented each of them with a Garment and an excellent Horse and sent them back without paying any Ransom Afterwards Schach-Abas went into Georgia where he staid nine moneths During his aboad there Tameras-Chan the Son of Simon had the confidence to enter with an Army into the Province of Seggen in the midst of Georgia and to give battel to Schach-Abas but he was forc'd to retreat with great loss While he was in those parts he pay'd his Army twelve Musters together and hearing that his Soldiers spent most of their money in Tobacco he forbad the use of it with such severity that he caus'd their Noses and Lips to be cut off who were found to have taken of it contrary to the Prohibitions and having understood that a Merchant who knew not that the king had forbidden the use of Tobacco and brought several Bags of it into the Army in hopes to make a greater advantage thereof among the Soldiers he order'd him to be set on a heap of Fagots with all his Tobacco about him which being set on fire he and his Commodity were reduc'd to smoke and ashes After this was it that Schach-Abas went into Kilan where he put to death his eldest Son as we shall relate anon Schach-Abas had three lawfull Wives and four or five hundred Concubines By his three Wives he had so many Sons to wit Sefi Myrsa Chodabende Myrsa and Imanculi Myrsa He ordered the two younger to have their eyes put out with fire and confin'd them in the Fortress of Alamuth under a very strict Guard The eldest Son was born of a Christian Slave of Georgia This Prince having cast his Eye on a very handsom young Maid of Circassia whom a Merchant of Scamachie had presented to Schach-Abas fell in Love with her and intreated his Father to permit he should marry her The king who dearly lov'd that Prince by reason of the great complyance he had for him consented thereto and ordered her to be brought up in the Seraglio near the Mother of Sefi Myrsa who had by her Sain Myrsa since king of Persia under the name of Schach-Sefi The Over-severe or rather Cruel and Tyrannical
that they said There is but one God Mahumet the Apostle of God and Aly Coadjutor or Lieutenant of God Nay they presume to affirm that though Aly be not really God yet he comes very neer him And to prefer him even before Mahomet himself they add hereto that it was God's intention to bestow the Alcoran on Aly and that it was by mistake it fell into the hands of Mahomet But as to Abubeker Omar and Osman they who at Prayer time call the people together for the Persians as well as the Turks use no Bells will be sure to Curse these three pretended Prophets and to execrate them to the pit of Hell They have commonly these words in their mouth Kiri Sekder deheni Abubeker Omar Osman Hanifebad that is many Dogs stones stop the mouths of these Prophets which is an abomination to the ears of the Turks who upon this accompt are become irreconcileable Enemies to the Persians especially since Sedredin and Tzinid whom some name Gutnet express'd so great a zeal for the establishment and advancement of their Sect which is in process of time grown so strong that their Schichs are become Schachs that is their Prophets have chang'd their quality into that of Kings The Persians not thinking it enough to have establish'd the Sanctity nay in some measure the Divinity of Aly were of opinion that he had communicated some part of that quality to those of his Family and that they might bestow the denomination of Saints upon his first Successors of whom there were related many Miracles whereby their memories have been celebrated and their Sepulchres enrich'd by the Presents sent into them He had lâ—ft two Sons Hassan and Hossein who left Seinel Abedin Mahumed-Bagur Tzafer-Saduk Musai-Casum Risa Mahumed-Taggi Alli Naggi Hossein Alkeri and Mehedi whereof some to wit Hassan Scinel Abedin Mahumedâ—Bagur Mahumedâ—Taggi and Alli Naggi are interr'd at Medina Tzafer Saduk at Bagdat and Hossein Musai-Kasum and Hossein Alkeri at Kelbula or Kufa They affirm that Mehedi is not dead but lies hid in a Cave near Kufa where he is to remain till the day of Judgement which is to be when his shooes which he left at the entrance of it and which are already turn'd half way shall be quite turned towards the Cave so as that at his coming out he may put his feet into them to go and convert all the World to the Faith of the Alcoran On these twelve Saints they bestow the quality of Imam or Prelate To these as also to the Institutor of their Sect Schich-Sosi they address their Prayers and Devotions and it is to the four Sepulchres of them that they go on Pilgrimages especially when their affairs permit them not to go to Meca or Medina They give the Pilgrims a Certificate or Testimonial called Sijaretname whereby they are not only known to be true Mussulmans professing the true Persian Religion but there is also a further particular advantage of these Testimonials in that they save their lives who are in disgrace with the Kings or Governours of the Provinces where they live We have seen instances hereof in our Interpreter whose name was Rustam who took one of them to avoid the punishment which he migh have suffered for embracing the Christian Religion in England and another in Tzirrachan who took this course to save himself as we have related elsewhere The Persians Celebrate every year with great Ceremonies the memory and death of Hassan and Hossein The Turks deride them for it and on the contrary have a great Veneration for Abubeker Omar and Osman and highly esteem Hanife their chief Commentator and Paraphrast of the Alcoran The Persians execrate the memory of the three former and speak of the last as an Impostor who hath made false explications of the Alcoran They affirm that Hanife being a servant to Tzafur Saduk was very carefull to preserve the water wherein that Saint had wash'd his hands which he carried into Turkey rubb'd therewith the eyes of several blind people who by that means recover'd their sight and wrought divers other Miracles the honour whereof belongs only to the Saints of Persia. They add to this that Schach Tamas after the taking of Bagdat caus'd the body of Hanife who had a very sumptuous Tomb there to be taken up and that he converted the Masur or place of his Sepulture into a Stable and the Sepulchre into a Sink or common House of ease There are many Authors have Commented on the Alcoran but they who have had a particular illumination for that work and have in their opinion best understood the Sentiments of Mahomet are Aly and Tzafur-Saduk whom the Persians prefer before all the rest The Turks most esteem Hanife and the Vsbeques Tartars as also the Indians follow the explication of Hembili and Maleki The Alcoran in many places is not to be understood not only in that Mahomet himself seems to have affected obscurity as not knowing himself what he would say but also in this regard that many times he alludes to stories which peradventure never happened and whereof the Commentators certainly having no knowledge have supply'd the defect with their own fictions fables and impostures which have no likelyhood of truth in them But not to digress from the Persians whom it is our particular design here to give an accompt of it is a thing much to be admir'd that these people who are so ingenious and so wise in their Generation and so excellently well vers'd in the affairs of the World could be brought to believe things so ridiculous and the many fables their Books of Devotion are fill'd with As for instance among others that Duldul so they call Aly's Horse was got of a Rock That it was the Angel Gabriel who brought him the Sword called Dzulfakar wherewith he did so many great exploits That with the said Sword he kill'd a Dragon that had seven heads and cut a Devil to pieces And that Sulthan Mahomet Chodabende being one day a-hunting neer Kufa discover'd thereabouts a Sepulchre with this Inscription Vnder this place ly Adam Noe and Aly and that thereupon the Sulthan had ordered the building of the Citie of Netzef where he had erected a Tomb in memory of Aly. But there is not any thing so ridiculously flat as the story they relate of Aly's drinking with the Angels in Paradise And that there may be no scruple made of the supernatural and as it were Divine power attributed by them to the Author of their Sect they relate a great number of Miracles wrought by him which Miracles indeed are chargeable with some imposture among those of other perswasions but in the Religion of the Persians they are the more impertinent in that they make their Saints do them without any necessity As for instance when they affirm that Schich Sofi being yet very young and going to see Schich Sahadi who was a great Saint and a very wise man and liv'd in
be much troubled to imitate Then follow'd three young Boyes having their right shoulder and arm naked and their foreheads and arms so scratch'd that the blood trickled down to the ground Lastly there follow'd three men carrying each of them a Tree whereto they had fasten'd certain red Apples and the Tresses of hair which the said Gentlemans three Wives had either pluck'd or cut off their heads as also certain pieces of red and green paper These went immediately before the body which was carried by eight men upon their shoulders and upon the Bier there was a very fair Garment lined with the precious skins of the Buchar-sheep Behind the Corps there follow'd four men carrying in a very high Chair a young Lad who read certain passages of the Alcoran and the Procession was clos'd with the Relations and Friends of the deceas'd who went along with the body to a certain place of the Citie where it was to remain till such time as it should be transferr'd to Bagdat to be dispos'd near their Imams THE TRAVELS OF THE AMBASSADORS FROM THE DUKE of HOLSTEIN INTO MUSCOVY TARTARY and PERSIA The Seventh Book HAving given an account in the precedent Book of all we thought worthy our observation in the City of Ispahan during the abode we made there as also of all we could learn of the State of the Kingdome of Persia and the Inhabitants thereof and their manner of life at least as far as was consistent with the relation of our Travells it shall be our business in the subsequent to set down the particulars of our return and to reconduct the Ambassadors into their Countrey All things being set in order for our departure there hapned a difficulty which occasioned no small distraction The King of Persia had commanded Abasculiâ—Chan our Mehemander to conduct us in our return through the Province of KILAN out of this consideration that the said Province being one of the best and most fertile of all the Kingdome it was his pleasure we should pass through it as well that we might be eye-witnesses of the riches of it and give an account thereof in Germany as that we might find there those conveniences which we had not met withall in our coming thither and which we should hardly light upon elsewhere But in regard the Inhabitants of Kilan are cruel and barbarous whereas all the other Persians are civil and obliging it rais'd an apprehension in some that the King had given those orders purposely to ruine us and it was reported that his Majesty being incens'd against the Ambassador Brugman who in several Occurrences had demean'd himself insolently and imprudently intended to make those people the instruments of his revenge upon him and all of us And this it had been the more easie for him to do in that he needed only to awaken the resentments of the Governours of Derbent and Scamachie whom the Ambassador Brugman had indiscreetly affronted at our first passage that way Most of our people were so prepossess'd with this apprehension and had given so much credit to the report which was spread up and down the Citie to that effect that five of our Retinue went and took up their Quarters with Lyon Bernoldi in the Alla-Capi or Sanctuary to wit the Captain of our ship Michel Cordes his Mate one of the Pages the Chirurgeon who afterwards went along with Mandelâ—lo into the Indies and one of the Guard We left Ispahan on the 21. of December towards the evening Most of the English Merchants accompany'd us above a League out of the Citie to a certain place where they gave us a Collation at the foot of a pleasant green Hill which done they took leave of us and return'd to the Citie The same night we travell'd three Leagues to a Village named Reschman where we continn'd all the next day as well for some reasons not fit to be discover'd as in expectation of the Poslanick or Muscovian Envoy who was to take the same way and accompany us The Augustine Fathers of Ispahan and F. Ambrose Prior of Tistis came thither also to take their leave of us and afterwards Monsieur Malon the most considerable person among the French Merchants came also to make us his Complements Monsieur Mandelflo came also to the said place as well to take his final leave of us as to acquaint us that the King of Persia had appointed Imanculi Sulthan Eischickagasi or one of his Stewards for the Embassy he intended to send to his Highness the Duke of Holstein our Master that he carried along with him a Present amounting to five and twenty thousand Crowns and that he was taking his leave in order to his departure from the Court within a few dayes after The 23. after we had taken leave of our friends not without the shedding of some tears we got on hori-back and reach'd that day to the Caravansera of Dombi five leagues from our former lodging The next day we got five leagues further and took up our lodging at night in a Caravansera called Serdehe The 25. being Christmas-day we saw neer the Village of Kaskabath within two leagues of Serdehe how the King was encamped there under several Tents which being of divers colours made a very delightfull show The Ambassadors sent thither the Sieur Francis Murrher who understood the Turkish language He made the King so handsom and respectfull a Complement that his Majesty openly express'd how much he was satisfy'd therewith In the mean time we pass'd on and went and lodg ' in the little Citie of Natens The 26. we travell'd on and took up our Quarters at night in a Caravansera named Chotzakassim The 27. we came to the Citie of Kaschan where the difference which happen'd between the Ambassador Brugman and our Mehemander put us to much trouble For the Mehemander thinking it a disparagement to him to be domineer'd over by the Ambassador would have return'd to the Court to make his complaints of the ill treatment he receiv'd from us and had done it had it not been for the Ambassador Crusius who reconcil'd them but it was his business for four dayes which we spent to no other purpose at Kaschan We found the weather there very fair and hot enough though it were in the very depth of Winter M.DC.XXXVIII IANVARY the first we Celebrated the beginning of our New year by the firing of our great Guns which were discharg'd three times and afterwards by a Sermon and the ordinary Prayers In the after-noon we got on hors-back and reach'd that day five leagues to the Village of Sensen The 2. we got five leagues further and took up our Quarters at night at Kasmabath The third we came to the Citie of Kom where we were assign'd lodgings in very fair houses neer the Basar upon the complaints we made of the losses we had receiv'd in our former passage that way when we were quarter'd in certain old
only the smell but also the eye We came at night to a Village where we saw the Sepulchre of Iman Sade in a little Chapel built at the foot of a hill which lay on our right hand All the houses of the Village were cover'd with â—lats and tiles as they are in Europe by reason of the rains which it seems are more frequent in those parts than any where else The 25. we got five leagues and came at night to Rescht The way at first was somewhat uneven and wooddy but after a while we found it planted with those trees which bear silk and at last we came to a plain and smooth way having on both sides Corn-grounds interwoven with several deep trenches such as those which in Flanders they call Water-gangs into which they let in the water by Sluces and there keep it for the watering of their grounds when the heat hath dry'd up the sources of the Rivers nay indeed for the overflowing of them when need requires They had indeed been at the pains to make Bridges over those moats or trenches but they were so ill kept in repair that many of our people fell into the water The Inhabitants of the Country mind only the husbandry of Rice and they have each of them his house at the end of his piece of ground about two or three hundred paces distant one from the other The City of Rescht is the Metropolis of all Kilan and of a considerable bigness but open of all sides like a Village and the houses of it are so hid within the trees that a man at his entrance into it may think he is rather going into a Forest than a City since there is no seeing of it till a man be within it It lies two leagues distant from the Caspain Sea and the Arabians in the Catalogue of their Cities name it Husum and place it at 85. degrees 10. minutes latitude The houses of it are not so well built nor so fair as those of the other Cities of Persia but they were all cover'd with tiles as ours and not any but had adjoyning thereto a great number of Citron-trees and Orenge-trees which had then on them their second fruit ripe of that years growth The Maidan or Market-place is very spacious and full of shops where are sold all sorts of Commodities especially Provisions which are very cheap there upon which accompt it was that our Mehemander treated us very magnificently during the aboad we made there which was five daies The City of Rescht though the greatest af all the Province hath no Chan or chief Governour but only a Daruga whose name at that time was Alyculi-Beg Ian. 26. the Inhabitants of Rescht celebrated a Festival in Honour of Aly with the same Ceremonies in a manner as we had seen at Scamachie on the 7. of February the year before and this Feast happen'd then in Ianuary in regard the Persians regulate their Feasts according to the Moon They borrow'd of us a Drum wherewith they made a mad kind of noise in their Procession The Preacher who made a long relation of the Miracles of Aly concluded his Sermon with these blasphemous words That if Aly were not really God he at least came very neer the Divinity Aly Chodda nist amma ne dures Choddai We were here shewn the Sanctuary which Schach-Abas had ordered to be built at the place where Sefi Myrza his Son had by his command been kill'd by Bebut-beg as we have related in the precedent Book of these Travels Ian. 30. we left Rescht the weather rainy We saw nothing at all that day but a Plain which brought us not only to our lodging that night but also to the Frontiers of the Province of Kilan which is very even on that side All the way was planted on both sides with Box and those trees which bear silk and cross'd by many small Rivers whereof such as were considerable enough to have a name are the Pesi-chan half a league from the City of Rescht then that of Chettiban and somewhat less than a league thence those of Pischeru and Lissar all which have Bridges rais'd very high by reason of the frequent inundations of the Rivers and so untoward to pass over that they put a man into a fright and notwithstanding all our care yet could we not prevent the Horse which carried the Physicians baggage from falling into the River whence we had much ado to get him out by reason of the Fens on both sides it The last River we cross'd that day is called Tzomus and they are all well stor'd with fish in so much that the King farms out the fishing of them which brings him in yearly very considerable sums Having travell'd four leagues that day we came at night to Kisma neet the Town of Fumen or Pumen where Karib-schach was defeated and taken as we related before Ianuary the last we got four leagues further our way being planted all along with those Trees which bear silk and whereof there was so great a number that they made a Forest. We saw also that day great Vineyards according to the Persian way Having travell'd about four leagues we met with the Calenter or King's Lieutenant in the Government of Kesker who came to meet us accompany'd by thirty Horse He had led after him a Mule loaden with Wine Conserves and other refreshments wherewith he treated the Ambassadors and oblig'd them to make a Collation in the field The Chan who was coming after him accompany'd by a hundred persons of quality on Hors-back receiv'd the Ambassadors with great civility and conducted us to the little Citie of Kurab where he invited us to his own house and treated us with Fruit and Conserves making it his excuse that their Fast permitted him not to keep us company and entertain us with flesh The Collation ended he had us all conducted to the Lodgings he had taken up for us ordered certain Gentlemen to wait on the Ambassadors and sent them a Present of four wild Boars The Chan's name was Emir and he was son to a Georgian Christian born at a Village neer Eruan He had been Circumcis'd in his youth and had some time been Cup-bearer to Schach-Abas who had bestow'd that Government on him in recompence of the service he had done him at the siege of Eruan and had given the reversion of his place of Cup-bearer to his Son He was an eloquent person and obliging and took much delight in talking of the Affairs and Wars of Germany and our manner of life He told us he could not forbear loving the Christians but we were told one very extraordinary thing of him and horrid to relate to wit that having some time been in a teadious Disease which having caus'd an universal contraction in all his Members the Physicians had order'd him one of the most extravagant remedies that ever were heard of which was ut rem haberet cum cane foemina This
We intended to take up our quarters that night at Tzauat but understanding that Areb Chan of Scamachie was lodg'd there with his whole Court and that he would stay there all the next day we also resolv'd to continue the 16. at the place where we were We had some reason to be distrustfull of Areb-Chan by reason of what had happen'd between us at our first passage but he made it appear that the Persians have this also common with all Generous minds that they can forget injuries For he did us no unkindness nay on the contrary as long as we were in his Government he let slip no occasion of obliging us laying the cause of our misunderstanding one the other on the Interpreter Rustan who had forsaken us and as he said had made him several bad reports of us not doubting but he had said as much to us of him and protesting that if he had him his head should go off for it He order'd us to be receiv'd by a Person of Quality of his retinue upon the first news were brought him of our being come to the River Aras and made us a Present of three baggs of Wine which came to us very seasonably in as much as that day and the day before we had been but poorly treated Aetzebeg who had been our Mehemandar at our former passage came also to visit the Ambassadors and presented them with an excellent Greyhound-bitch The 17. we cross'd over the famous River Araxes near Tzauat where they had made a Bridge of Boats which they call Tzissi The antient Historians and Geographers speak so differently of this River that I conceive it will not be amiss I said somewhat here of it by the way True it is most of them put it in the Province wherein it really lies but they are mistaken in the description of its Course in as much as they do not well understand Q. Curtius who speaks of it in two several passages but in a different sense For in the 5. Book he puts it in Persida and sayes its course is Southward and in the 7. Book he makes it pass through Media and to fall into the Caspian Sea Nor does Strabo express himself more clearly Raderus in his Commentaries upon Q. Curtius thinks to make these passages very clear by saying that the River Medus into which the Araxes fall hath its course at first from North to South and that it falls into the Caspian Sea But he is mistaken for it is impossible that River should make its way through the dreadfull mountain Taurus which is many leagues in breadth and which runs through all Persia nay indeed all Asia and pass from Persepolis towards the Caspian Sea But the truth is there are two Rivers of the same name of Araxes in Persia one in Media the other in Persida As to that which passes by the walls of Persepolis now known by the name of Schiras Q. Curtius calls it Araxes as he gives to the Iaxartes which passes to the Frontiers of the Scythians the name of Tanais and that of Cancasus to the Eastern part of the mountain Taurus for which it would much gravel him to shew any reason The Persians call that which is in Persida Bend-Emir by reason of a great Miracle which they believe Aly did there and it falls into the Ocean near the Persian Gulf. That which we cross'd over in the Heaths of Mokan still keeps its name which is deriv'd if we may credit Eustathius from the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to pluck in as much as when it overflows it plucks up and carries along with it whatever lies in its way It rises out of the mountains of Armenia behind the great Ararat and receiving into its Chanel the waters of many other Rivers the chiefest whereof are Karasu Senki Kerni and Arpa it goes near Karasu a great way into the Land and falls soon after near Ordabath with such a noise as is heard above two leagues thence in the Plain of Mokan which lies very low in comparison of Armenia and Schiruan It s course there is very slow and after it is joined viz. 12. leagues above Tazuat with the River Cur or Cyrus which is as big as it self and comes Northwar'd out of Georgia or Gurtzistan it falls into the Caspian Sea Whence it appears that Ptolomy and those who follow him are mistaken when they affirm that the Araxes and the Cyrus fall into the Caspain Sea by two different chanels as also when they say that the City of Cyropolis was that which is now called Scamachie This is inferr'd by Maginus from the degrees of Latitude which Ptolomy gives him But if it were so we must put these two Rivers not above but below the City towards the South in as much as we found their Conflux or meeting together which the Persians call Kanschan at thirty nine degrees fifty four minutes and Scamachie at forty degrees fifly minutes that is thirteen leagues thence and under another Meridian And indeed we found such a distance between them when we travell'd those parts Nor is there any other River eminent enough or big enough within nineteen dayes journey of Scamachie on either side of it to deserve that name The 17. we took up our Quarters at Tzauat where we were receiv'd and magnificently treated by the Mehemandar whom the Chan had sent to us This Villâ—ge derives its name from the Arabiau word Tzauat which signifies a passage in regard that at the crossing of this River people are oblig'd to shew their pass-port which is done to prevent the entrance of the Turks into the Kingdom The 19. we travell'd eight leagues for the most part over barren Lands and a desert Country cover'd with Reeds and lodg'd that night at the foot of the mountain of Scamachie in three Matzuchs or round Hutts which had been purposely set up there for us That day dy'd our Painter whose name was Tâ—ierry Nieman after he had been shaken several months together by a quartane ague whereto a flux joyning carried him away in four dayes He died by the way in a Wagon and in ill weather We had him buried the 22. before the City of Scamachie in the Church-yard belonging to the Armenians with the ordinary Ceremonies of our own Country The 20. we were upon our way betimes in the morning that we might in good time pass over the mountain of Scamachie which extends it self in those parts like a Crescent towards the East from the Sea along the River Cyr and it is called there Lengebus tachi by reason of a Village named Lengebus which is upon the op of the mountain The rain which was then so cold that we thought Winter coming on again had so broken the high-wayes that this was one of the saddest dayes journey we had ever since our first setting forth The Ambassadors and such others as were well mounted got to the City ere day-light was shut
from one house to another The 6. we travell'd three leagues all through a continu'd Forest and we cross'd the three Rivers of Kossar Sambur and Kurgane That of Sambur is the most considerable and rises out of the mountain of Elbours dividing it self at this place into five branches the chanels whereof were so broad that our horses as we pass'd through had not water up to half the legs The 7. having gone three leagues we came to the most antient City of Derbent There came to meet us only a certain number of Kisilbachs in regard the Governour Scahewerdi Sulthan between whom and his horse-men there was some difference durst not come out of the Castle lest the Kisilbachs should possess themselves of it The Persians put this City at 85. degrees longitude and I found it at forty one degrees fifty minutes latitude It is in length reaching from East to West about a league and in breadth four hundred and fifty ordinary paces It serves for a Gate to the Kingdom of Persia on that side for on one side it reaches to the foot of the mountain and on the other to the Sea which is so neer that sometimes the waves beat over the walls The Persian Authors as also the Inhabitants of the City affirm that it was built by Iscander that is Alexander the Great not such as it is now for that honour is due to their King Nauschiruan but only the Castle and the Wall which encompasses the City on the South-side These walls are very high and at least five or six foot thick and viewing them at a distance a man would think them built of the best and fairest kind of free-stone but coming neer them he finds that the Stones are made of Muscle-shels and pieces of free-stone beaten and molded like Brick which time hath reduc'd to a hardness beyond that of Marble I found upon one of the Gates which are remaining of the building of Alexander the Great a Syriack Inscription of three lines and in another place certain Arabick words and strange Characters but so eaten out by time that they were not legible The Castle where the Chan lives is upon the top of the mountain and kept by a Garrison of five hundred men who are of two several Nations Asumrumlu and Koidurscha The second quarter of the City is at the foot of the mountain and the most populous but the lower part of it is very much ruin'd since Emir Hamse the Son of Chadabende recover'd the City out of the hands of Mustapha the Turkish Emperour to whom the Inhabitants had voluntarily submitted themselves The lower part and that which reaches to the Sea is about two thousand ordinary paces in compass but it lies desert having no houses but converted into Gardens and Corn-fields It was heretofore inhabited by Greeks whence the Persians call it to this day Scaher Iunan that is the Greek City All this coast is pure Rock upon which score it is very dangerous for Vessels It serves for a foundation to the walls of the whole City which are so broad that a Wagon may easily be driven on them The mountain above the City is cover'd with wood where there may be yet seen the ruins of a wall above fifty leagues in length which as we were told had sometime serv'd for a communication between the Caspian and Euxine Seas In some places it was some five or six foot high in other but two in others there was no track of any There might be seen also on other hills the ruins of several old Castles whereby it might be judg'd that they were built four square There were two undemolish'd and had garrisons in them There are also several redoubts of wood upon all the avenues The most remarkable thing about this City is the Sepulchre of Tzumtzume of whom the Persians relate this story after their Poet Fiesuli who hath left in writing They affirm that Eissi so they call our Saviour Iesus Christ coming one day into those parts found in his way a dead man's skull and desirous to know whose it had been pray'd to God with whom he was in great favour to raise that deceased person to life again which God accordingly did and then Eissi asked him who he was He made answer his name was Tzumtzume that he had been King of all that Country and so powerful that he consumed every day in his Court as much salt as forty Camels were able to carry That he had forty thousand Cooks as many Musicians as â—any Pages with Pearls in their ears and as many Sersants But says Tzumtzume to Eissi Who art thou And what Religion dost thou profess Whereto Christ made answer I am Eissi and my Religion is that which saves all the World If it be so reply'd Tzumtzume I am of thy Religion but I pray thee let me dy assoon as may be for having been heretofore so powâ—rful it would extremely trouble me to be here now without a Kingdom and Subjects Eissi granted his request and immediately permitted him to dy and at this place is his Sepulchre over which there is a great tree and adjoining to that there is a Scaffold erected ten foot high and sixteen square We took notice on this side of the City of about five or six thousand Tombs cover'd with stones much larger than the ordinary stature of men all half round Cylinder-wise and hollow within They had all of them Arabick Inscriptions and it is reported that antiently yet since the time of Mahomet there had been in Media a King named Kassan by birth an Okus a people living in Thabesseran behind the mountain of Ebbours who being ingag'd in a war against the Tartars of Dagesthan whom they call Lesgi was desirous to give them battel in that place but that he was there defeated and that he caus'd the Officers then kill'd to be buried in the Tombs which are yet to be seen there Towards the Sea-side there were forty others compass'd by a wall but much bigger than any of the fore-mentioned These as the Inhabitants affirmed were the Sepulchres of so many great Lords and holy Persons who had been kill'd in the same battel Every Sepulchre had its Banner The Persians name these Sepulchres Tziltenan and the Turks and Tartars Kerchler The Persians and Tartars do their devotions at them in so much that this place was heretofore very famous both for the many foundations and charities given thereto but now it is kept by an antient man who makes a poor shift to live upon the Alms that are given him King Kassan who liv'd many years after this Battel is interr'd neer Tabris neer a River named Atzi that is bitter waters The Tomb of Queen Burla his wife is to be seen neer the Fortress of Vrumi and they say it is forty foot long Apr. 13. we saw several Tartars as well men as women coming to do their devotions there which consisted in going one after another to kiss the
Sepulchres of these forty Saints upon which they set their hands while they pray'd It was the tenth day of their Silhatza on which they make a commemoration of the sacrifice of Abraham There are not any Christians at Derbent but the Inhabitants are all Mussulmans unless it be some few Jews who pretend to be of the Tribe of Benjamin It is accordingly a place of no Commerce save only that the Tartars bring thither a great many stoln Children or haply such Turks and Muscovites as they have taken upon some occasion or other and there sell them to be carried further into the Kingdom The Soldiers who kept the Garrison there as also the Citizens were a proud daring and insolent sort of people so far from treating us with any civility that on the contrary they did what they could to pick a quarrel with us The Mehemandar himself gave us notice before-hand to stand upon our guard whence it came that on the 8. after Sermon the Ambassadors order'd upon several penalties that none of their retinue should either in word or deed give occasion of offence to any Soldier or Inhabitant nor relieve any person whom they should find engag'd in any quarrel with them lest they should take occasion from a particular difference to fall upon the whole Company The 9. the Chan of Tarku who had given the Ambassadors a visit at their former passage that way sent us word that the way we were to travel through the Country of the Tartars of Dagesthan was very dangerous desiring us to make use of the Convoy he proffer'd us The Ambassadors considering that those proffers were made by a Tartar of Dagesthan and that there were no more safety in his Company than among the Robbers themselves return'd him their thanks and sent him word that they would not put him to that trouble However we thought it prudence to make our advantage of the notice given us of the danger we might fall into among those Barbarians and we order'd a view to be made of our Arms and found there were among us two and fifty Muskets and Firelocks ninteen cases of Pistols two brass Guns and four murthering-pieces all well fixt and fit for service Having staid some time for Imanculi who had promis'd to follow us within a few dayes and finding our selves in a place where the Governour instead of supplying us with provisions forc'd us to buy all at a dear rate the Ambassadors resolv'd the 12. to give order for their departure commanded the Baggage to be made ready and deliver'd every man his allowance of bread for four dayes in as much as there was no great likelyhood we should find much at the places we were to travel through The 13. we were got on horse-back and ready to march when word was brought that the Governour had shut the City-gate This news somewhat startled us and oblig'd the Ambassadors to send the Mchemandar to him to know the reason of his so doing His answer was that having receiv'd intelligence that Osmin a Tartar-Prince not far from Derbent intended to set upon us by the way and put us to an excessive ransome or take away all we had and that being responsable to the King for what might happen to us he thought it not fit we should go thence without a Convoy which being not to be had that day he desir'd us to stay till the next We knew the Convoy he intended us would serve us in no stead and that the care he took proceeded not from any kindness he had for us but it was fit we put on the best face we could upon it and acknowledg'd our selves oblig'd to him Only we sent to desire him in regard we were all mounted to permit ' us to encamp without the City and there expect the Convoy He was content we should do so whereupon we went and encamp'd a quarter of a league without the City near a Vineyard upon the side of a small River which serves for a common Frontier between the Tartars of Dagesthan and the Persians We found near that place the Sepulchres of two other Mahumetan Saints one that of Pyr Muchar in the plain at the foot of the mountain the other that of Imam Kurchud within the mountain They say the later was of kin to Mahomet and that he alwayes sate at his feet to be instructed by him They add that he liv'd three hundred years after Mahomet's death and that he retir'd to King Kassan whom he diverted by his playing on the Lute and incessantly animated to make a war against the Lesgi by the songs he sung to that instrument but that at last presuming to preach to those Barbarians who were Pagans in hopes to convert them to the Mahumetan Religion they kill'd him His Sepulchre is in a Cave cut within the Rock There is also another hollow place in the same Rock where there is a Coffin made of four boards nail'd together and rais'd about four foot from the ground I saw it over-night and found at it an old woman who had the keeping of the Sepulchre but the next day I found it set forth with a Carpet of Brocado and the floor cover'd with Mat for their convenience who came thither to do their Devotions There resorted thither many Women and Maids from the City and other places who went all bare-foot into the Cave kiss'd the Coffin and having said their prayers made their offerings to the old Woman to whom they gave some Butter Cheese Milk others Bread Mony Wax and the like The night following we heard here a confus'd and dreadful noise much like that of persons singing dancing and weeping all at the same time I never heard any thing so barbarous Apr. 14. we expected our Convoy till three hours after Sun-rising but seeing none came we set forward observing the following order The three Lieutenants with their Souldiers having their matches lighted made the Vanguard Next them follow'd a Field-piece of two pound and a half Bullet upon a carriage with four wheels and then the four Murthering-pieces with all things belonging to them in a Wagon Then marched the Camels loaden with the baggage having on both sides some of our retinue commanded by the Ambassador Crusius and in the head of them a Trumpetter Next the Baggage came the other Field-piece and after that the Ambassador Brugman who brought up the Rear consisting of all the rest of the Company In this order we left the Frontiers of Persia to go into those of the Tartars of Dagesthan Ptolomy and his followers affirm that this Country is part of that Albania out of which Q. Curtius would have to come Thalestiis Queen of the Amazones who came to Alexander the Great in Hyrcania to get of him that kindness which Women will not often beg though they ever so much desire it The Persians call these people Lesgi and they name themselves Dagesthan Tartar that is Mountain Tartars from the
to lodge in his return at the same place had quarrell'd with the Inhabitants of Boinak and was kill'd with all his retinue only three Servants excepted who got back to Derbent whence the Mehemandar who had conducted him thither carried them to the Court During their stay there the King allow'd each of them three Abas's a day till he found a convenience to send them home which he did afterwards upon an Embassy which the Great Duke of Muscovy had sent to him The 16. we departed betimes in the morning and came long before night into the Territories of the Prince of Tarku where I narrowly escap'd falling into the hands of those Barbarians For hearing that we were not above a quarter of a league from the Sea-side I left the Company taking along with me the Master's Mate Cornelius Nicholason to go and observe the situation thereof but we were hardly got thither ere we discover'd at a distance two Tartars follow'd within two or three hundred paces by eight more who assoon as they perceiv'd us made all the haste they could towards us but we soon recover'd the Road. The two first seeing us retreat pursu'd us in full speed with their Javelins in their hands till the other eight doubting it seems that we might not be alone in those parts got up to a hill to take a view of the Country and seeing all our Company from which we could not be above a Musket-shot distant they call'd to the other two to give them notice it was in vain to pursue us Whereupon they rode on gently and came all together to the Company saluted it admir'd our Cloaths and would needs see our Pistols but were not permitted to handle them We met that day with several parties of Tartars some appearing before us some behind us Some only pass'd by others accompany'd us a quarter of a league or better Some try'd whether we would suffer them to cross us in our march but we would not permit it Having travell'd seven leagues that day we came at night before the City of Tarku and encamped without the City near a Fountain within a quarter of a league of the Sea The next day Apr. 17. the Lord of the place sent his Brother accompany'd by three persons of quality to complement us and make proffers of his friendship and services The Chan himself being sick could not come in person which the Ambassadors understanding they sent their Physician to him as well to return their thanks for his civilities as to offer his assistance for the recovery of his health He made use of him and found such ease that some dayes after he sent to complement the Ambassadors and thank them for the care they had had of him He was a Lord of about 38. years of age named Surchou Chan and pretended himself descended from the Kings of Persia with whom he held so good correspondence that when the Dagesthans are ingag'd in a war amongst themselves he implores the assistance of the Schach who fails not to back him His authority is very considerable among them yet not so absolute but that several Myrsas of his kindred participate of the Government Nay he had a Nephew a younger Brother's son who was Lord of some part of the City The City of Tarku the Metropolis of all Dagesthan lies within the mountain between steepy rocks which are so full of shells that they seem to consist of nothing else there being not the space of a hands breadth but a man meets with five or six of them most about the bigness of a Wall-nut-shell The Rock is as hard as flint yet is there good pasture upon the top of the mountain Out of these Rocks there rise several pleasant springs which fall into the City several waies The City is not wall'd It may contain a thousand houses built according to the Persian way but not so well These Tartars as also those of Boinak and the others who live more Northerly are called Kaitack but those who live behind Tarku in the mountain towards the West are named Kamuk or Kasukumus who have most of them their particular Lords The Inhabitants of Tarku are as barbarous mischievous as those of Boinak but the women and maids were more civil They go with their faces uncover'd and are not kept in such restraint as those of the Persians The maids have their hair ty'd up in forty tresses which hang down about their heads and they were not shy of being seen nor of having their hair felt We met here with and old man named Matthias Magmar born at Ottingen in the Dutchy of Wittenberg who having left off his trade of weaving to go into the wars of Hungary fell into the hands of the Turks who had sold him to these Tarters He was circumcis'd and had almost forgot the German tongue yet he told us he was a Christian and believ'd one God and three persons He also said the Lords Prayer but with much ado The proffers of friendship and service which Surchou Chan made us had rais'd us into some confidence that we were safe under his protection but we found since that we were in greater danger there than we had been any where before For during the five weeks we were among the Tartars all their discourse was of robbing rifling killing and cutting of throats We desir'd the Mehemandar to go along with us to Terki upon the frontiers of Moscovy or at least to leave us the Camels and other conveniences for carriage considering the little likelyhood we had to get any of the Tartars and we should requite his kindness with a considerable sum of mony But he told us that he had express order to bring us only to Tarku and that if he went any further it might endanger his life That we might treat with the Camel-drivers and that he would assist us what he could do in it but instead of obliging us in that he took them all along with him that night unknown to us This sudden departure of his startled us the more in that the next day two women who sold us milk and pretended to be Muscovites born and Christians and that they had been stoln away in their yourh maried in that Country came to tell us that the Tartars intended to kill us all out of an imagination that we carried along with us a vast treasure That the Inhabitants of Osmin and Boinak had sent word to Surkou Chan that we had pass'd through their Country and that instead of paying the duties for our Merchandises and Baggage we had been so insolent as to threaten them and give them ill words That they had resolv'd to set upon us to kill all the aged persons and make the rest Slaves and to that end had sent Messengers to Surkou Chan and that there was one gone from him to the Schemkal We put the best face outward before those women and made as if we were not
we have spoken heretofore accompany'd by a Colonel whom the Weywode sent to meet and complement us He receiv'd us in Tents pitch'd without the City where we had a Collation of Ginger-bread Beer Hydromel and Aquavitae During our stay there there were Lodgings taken up for us in the City The next day the Weywode sent the Ambassadors four dishes of Meat for their wellcom thither The Ambassadors sent to visit the Princess Mussal's Mother and some dayes after went to her in person They din'd with her Now was our joy compleat to find our selves out of the power of the Tartars of Dagesthan and among the Moscovites who were our friends and acquaintance which made us send for our Musick to divert our selves at Prince Mussal's We promis'd in the precedent part of this Relation to give a further account of the Circassian Tartars in our return in as much as travelling by Sea as we went we could not learn much of them There is no Historian either antient or modern that I know of who speaks of them Scaliger makes mention of them in his Exercitations against Cardan Exerc. 33. 167. 303. sect 3. but in very few words and with Strabo calls them Zigi placing them beyond the Caucasus upon the Euxine Sea and towards the Palus Meotides upon the Frontiers of Asia and Europe whereas they whom we saw are Scythians or Caspian Sarmatians and possess'd of part of the antient Albania which hath for his Frontiers on the East and West side the Caspian Sea and mount Caucasus and on the South and North the River Bustro and the dreadful Deserts of Tartary and Astrachan Their Metropolis is Terki but ever since the reduction of those parts by the Great Duke he hath put Garrisons into all the Cities leaving the Circassian Tartars for their habitations but only open Towns and Villages though under the Government of the Lords of the Country who are all subject to the Czaar and oblig'd to take an Oath of Allegiance to him The administration of Justice whereof those of their Nation have the management passes under the Czaar's name and in the presence of the Weywode especially if the affairs be of importance Their houses are but poor ones built for the most part of earth and boughs of trees and within plaister'd over with Clay The men for the most part are strong and of yellowish complexion but not so broad-fac'd as those of Nagaia Their hair is black and long save that they shave the midst of their heads from there fore-head to the neck about the breadth of an inch leaving at the crown a little lock which falls down behind Scaliger saies that the Circassian Tartars are the most perfidious and most barbarous of any Nation It might be more truly said of those of Dagestan For the Circassians are somewhat less barbarous and more compliant 'T is likely that since their coming under the Jurisdiction of the Muscovites and their conversing with Christians they by degrees quit their former barbarism They have their Language common with all the other Tartars and besides that most of them speak also the Muscovian The men are cloath'd as the other Tartars save that their Caps are a little larger and much like those of our Priests Their Cloaks are of a very coarse cloath or Sheep-skin fasten'd at the neck with a point or string but both sides do not come together so that it being able to cover only some part of the body they turn it before or behind according to the Wind and Rain Their Women are well shap'd and have good faces a clear and smooth complexion and their cheeks well colour'd Their hair which is black hangs down in two tresses oâ— both sides of their faces which are never cover'd They wear about their heads a black Coif cover'd with a piece of very fine Cotton or some other wrought linnen cloath which they ty under they chin The Widdows have hanging behind in their necks an Ox bladder fully blown cover'd with a piece of Cotton Lawn or some other stuff of several colours so that at a distance they seem to have two heads The Women in Summer wear only a smock which is red green yellow or blew cut so deep before that a man may see all down to their Navels They were very familiar and of a very good humour The first day after ouâ— arrival four of them came to us in a stately gate aud with such a confidence as the Poets attribnte to the Amazons whom they place in or neer these parts They stai'd us and would not let us go till they had taken particular notice of all things about us Nor were they on the other side so shy as to take it ill that some of ours who pretended to handle the beads of amber and shells or necklaces of Tinn or Copper which they wear about their necks slipp'd their hands down into their bosoms Some invited us to their houses and we were told it was the custom of the Country that the husband seeing any one going to his house to speak with his wife should to avoid being troublesome go out of doors and leave them together Though the men are seldome at home as being all day busied in the fields about their Cattel yet do they relate miracles of the chastity of these women One I have to this purpose from a Military Officer of ours who being got into one of their houses and finding the woman handsome grew familiar with her and found her very willing to do him any little kindness that lay in her power even to make him Handkerchers wash his head so that thinking the fort as good as taken he would try how much longer she could stand out But she told him there was no such thing done among them that the confidence their husbands had of their honesty requir'd they should be as faithful on their parts nay that though their husbands might connive at such a miscarriadge yet would not the rest of the people pass by an inconstancy of that nature They made no difficulty to endure any thing else and would be paid for it taking and begging Presents nay under pretence of visiting our cloaths all about they sometimes put their hands into our pockets and took out what they could light on Though it be lawful among them for men to marry several wives yet most content themselves with one When a man dies without issue his Brother is oblig'd to marry the widdow to raise up seed to him and according to this custom the Mussal had married his Brothers widdow Their Religion is in a manner Pagan for though they are circumcis'd yet have they neither Bible nor Alchoran nor Priests nor Churches They are themselves the Priests and offer the Sacrifices especially on the day of St. Elias When a person of quality dies the relations and friends meet in the fields both men and women to sacrifize a he-Goat and to
find whether it be fit to sacrifize they cut off the privy members which they cast against the wall if they do not stick thereto they are oblig'd to kill another but if they do they proceed with the Ceremonies fleaing it and stretching the skin upon the top of a long pole before which they offer their sacrifice and boil and roast the Flesh which they afterwards eat The Feast ended the men rise and go and adore the skin and the prayers concluded the women withdraw The men stay and grow so bestially drunk with their Bragga or Aquavitae that they seldom part without fighting This skin is left upon the pole till another person of quality dies and then the former is taken away and another set up instead of it We saw neer Terki both going and coming not far from the Princess Bika's house one of these stretch'd skins with the head and the horns on upon the black cross The pole was planted in a quick-set hedge only to keep the Dogs from coming neer it and by their pissing against it profaning the Mystery They interr their dead very honourably adorn their Sepulchres with pillars and build houses over those of persons of quality We saw one over the Sepulchre of Mussal's Brother the boards whereof were of diverse colours plac'd checquerwise having upon the roof several wooden Statues poorly done which represented the hunting of some wild Beast To express their sorrow for the departure of their friends they tear their forehead arms and breasts with their nails after a barbarous manner so that the blood comes out in abundance Their mourning continues till the wounds are healed and if they would have it last longer they renew them by opening the scratches in the same manner May. 21. we began to set things in order for the prosecution of our journey We had a Desert of seventy leagues to travel over and to find horses for all the Company to ride would have been too great an expence Wherefore we agreed with the Waggoners of Terki at nine Crowns a Wagon drawn by two horses which might carry each of them three or four persons to Astrachan There joyned with us a Caravan of Merchants of several Nations as Persians Turks Greeks Armenians and Muscovites so that then we had above two hundred Wagons in our Company But the Provisions allow'd us were but small for so great a journey to wit to every man with the Suchari and a loaf of mouldy brown bread half a dry'd Salmon that stunk without any drink For the Tartars pretending they had bargain'd only for the cariadge of men would not receive any barrels or other vessels into the Wagons and the Ambassador Brugman would not be at the charge of a Wagon purposely to carry beer or water for us though he made good provision of all for himself and his Favourites And indeed we stood not much upon it out of an imagination it was impossible we should want water but we had time enough to repent us of that presumption We left Terki the fourth of Iune in the afternoon and soon entred into that dreadful Heath taking our way on the left hand and turning from the Caspian Sea 'T is a thing strange yet very certain that in eleven daies journey we saw neither City nor Village nor tree nor hill nor any River but that of Kisilar contrary to what all Maps represent thereof Nay during all that time we saw not so much as one Bird but only a vast Plain desert sandy and cover'd in some places with a little grass and pits or standing pooles of salt or corrupt and stinking water We got the first day but two leagues and lodg'd at night neer one of those standing pools The 5. we encamped neer the River Kisilar The 6. we travell'd six leagues and lodg'd neer one of those pools These three first daies we took our way towards the West-north-west and East-north-east to the River Wolga The 7. we got six leagues further through a great Fenn which we had much ado to pass Heat and thirst troubled us extremely but not so much as the Flies Wasps Gnats and other infects which both men and horses found it no small difficulty to keep off The Camels which have no tails to keep away those infects as the horses have were all bloody and full of swellings The 8. we were going before day and having travell'd 4. leagues we gave our horses a little rest and provender at the entrance of a very sandy road In the afternoon we got four leagues further and lodg'd at night neer a standing pool The Tartars perceiving that one of their horses was like to miscarry by the way prevented him cut his throat and shar'd him among themselves At night they roasted him making a fire of little bushes of thorns and reeds and were very merry The 9. we travell'd seven leagues and lodg'd neer a pool which the overflowing of the Sea made thereabouts The water was so bad as was also that of all the rest that we were forc'd to stop our noses while we drunk it The 10. we got seven leagues further to a place cover'd with Reeds where we found a little fresh water deriv'd thither from the Wolga The 11. we got seven leagues further to a standing pool made there by the inundation of the Wolga The water is not salt but so dead and stinking that there was no drinking of it That day twelve great wild Boars cross'd out way Some Tartars on horse-back came riding after them and as ill fortune would have it there came two of them close by our Waggon The horses were frightned and fell a-running so that the Physician and Steward fell out of the Waggon with the Baggage The Siâ—ur Vchterits and my self who sate in the fore-part of the Waggon considering there was no getting out without danger kept our places till the horses being not able to go any further stopp'd at the entrance of a Fenn The 12. we travell'd eight leagues and found in our way upon the ground a Neast wherein there were two Birds not quite fledg'd Some were of opinion they were young Eagles VVe pass'd by two salt marshes the scent whereof was somewhat like that of a Violet and very delightful The 13. we travell'd eight leagues further lodg'd at night in a place whence we could discover the City of Astrachan The 14. we got three leagues and lodg'd on the side of the Wolga over against Astrachan All our people who had not drunk any fresh water since their coming from Terki ran up to their knees in the River to drink with greater ease Assoon as they had notice at Astrachan of our arrival they presently came to visit us and he who had the keeping of the Provisions sent thither for us brought us a sack full of bread Neats-tongues hung-Beef a tun of Beer and a barrel of Aquavitae We continu'd that day on the River-side to give the Weywode time to assign
City of Casan the bodies of two Monks named Warsinosi and Kursi whose sanctity was approved not only in that their bodies had been found entire after so many years but also by the many miracles they did there being no sick person but recover'd his health after he had done his devotions at their Sepulchre I ask'd him why he complain'd of his back and how it came to pass there were so many blind people and so great a number of other sick persons at Casan The Priest had not a word to say but grew angry and went his way Having stay'd at Casan five weeks till the Ice and snow were able to bear we departed thence the 13. of December with sixty Sledges leaving by order of the Weywode the Persian Ambassador behind us We took our way upon the Wolga and came the 21. to Nise sixty leagues or three hundred werstes from Casan The Ambassadors lodg'd at Mr. Bernards our Factor and the retinue up and down the neighbourhood There it was we left the last Lutheran Church Their Pastor dy'd six months before so that our Minister preach'd there the Sunday before Christmass The said Church was very desirous the Ambassadors should stay there till after Christ-mass day that the Sacrament of the Lords Supper might be administred that day but the Ambassador Brugman was against it and order'd our departure thence on the 23. in the afternoon qnitting the Wolga to take our way by the River Occa which was also frozen up The 25. we had a Sermon at two in the morning at a Village named Kurim ten leagues from Nise and travell'd that day ten leagues further The 29. we came to Woladimer 42. leagues from Nisan and 28. from Moscou The ruins of the walls towers and houses which were to be seen up and down are undeniable demonstrations of the antiquity of the City December the last we came to a Village named Rubossa within eight leagues of Moscou where our Pristaf who had gone before to acquaint the Great Duke with our arrival came and told us that within two daies we should make our entrance into Moscou The Ambassador Brugman fell into such a peevish humour at this place that he threatned some of the retinue to have their noses and ears cut off assoon as he were come into the Frontters of Germany But his menaces troubled no body nor did so much as any one offer to run away M.CD.XXXIX The first of Iunuary we departed before day and travell'd five leagues to a Village named Bechra whither we came betimes and there did our devotions The 2. we made our entrance into Moscou conducted by two Pristafs whom his Czaarick Majesty had sent to meet us The Ambassadors sate each of them with a Pristaf in a rich Sledge lin'd with Crimson Satin and hung with the richest Persian Tapistry and the chiefest of the retinue had excellent horses sent them from the Great Duke's Stable all white twelve in number We were lodg'd at the ordinary house appointed for the reception of Ambassadors and during our stay there we were supply'd with all things requisite for the Cellar and the Kitchin The Ambassadors horses and such of our people as went from Astrachan along with the Caravan were arriv'd there some time before and Reusner was gone for Holstein according to the agreement between him and the Ambassador Brugman Twelf-day the Muscovites celebrated the confecration of the holy Water at which Ceremony the Great Duke and the Patriarch were in person The 8. the Ambassadors had their first private Audience which laste'd above an hour The night following dy'd Knez Iuan Michaelowits second son to the Czaar in the eighth year of his age His departure put the whole City into mourning especially the Court Both men and women put off all manner of ornament as gold silver jewels and garments of silk cloathing themselves only in old vestments for the most part of a dark grey colour Ian. 21. the Ambassadors had their second private Audience and had a conference of two hours There were sent to them and those of their retinue black horscs and they found the whole Court hung with mourning and all the Senators clad in black Chamlet Ian. 30. departed thence the Sieur Vchterichs He had a long time before desir'd leave to return into Germany to look after some affairs of his own but he could not obtain it of the Ambassador Brugman till then and that under a promise that he would not carry Letters for Holstein from any but himself But he deceiv'd the deceiver and shew'd him the Letters of the Ambassador Crusius who was content they should be seen and carried away the rest without shewing them to him February the second died the Sieur Gruneauld a Senator of Dantsig who had travell'd with us as a Gentleman belonging to the Embassy He was a person of much worth and one who had before travell'd into the East and West-Indies The 5. the Persian Ambassador made his entrance into Muscou and the 8. had his first Audience The 11. the Ambassador Brugman desir'd and had a private Audience without acquainting his Collegue therewith Febr. 23. the Ambassadors had their publick Audience in order to their departure at which they took leave of his Czaarick Majesty March the 7. the Persian Ambassador departed going before us towards Germany The 15. the Ambassadors left Moscou making what haste they could thence that they might have the convenience of Sledges till they came to the Frontiers of Germany and fearing the spring then neer would spoil the waies they travell'd so hard that the 18. they came to Tuere and the 19. to Tarsok Tarsok is but a small City yet hath it thirty Churches and Chapels whereof one is of stone and makes a handsome show at a distance but the Muscovites would not permit us to come within the City The 23. we came to great Novogorod where we found the Persian Ambassador We left it the next day and getting out of Muscovy the 27. entred Ingermania March the last the three Ambassadors made their entrance into Narva where Colonel Wrangel came to meet us with a party of fifty horse The Persian Ambassador was lodg'd at one of the Senators houses about which there was got such a multitude of people to see his wife that he was half in a mind to get out of the City and take up his Quarters in the open fields that none might see her so that they were forc'd to get the people away This oblig'd him to take another course for the future which was to have a Curtain drawn from the Wagon or Sledge that brought her to the house where she was to be lodg'd that she might not be seen going in April the 14. the Ambassadors left Narva and lodg'd at the Village of Purtz where they staid one day to change their horses The 8. they came to Kunda a house belonging to a Senator
engraven upon a square pillar certain unknown characters which have nothing common with either the Greek Hebrew or Arabian nor indeed with any other language There are twelve lines of these characters which as to their figure are triangular Piramidal or like obelisques but so well graven and so proportionate that those who did them cannot be thought Barbarians Some believe they are Telesmes and that they contain some secrets which Time will discover Besides these there is also a great Court upon the same ground-work which is ninety paces square having on each side two gates whereof some are six others but three paces wide all built of a very well polish'd marble whereof the several pieces are eight foot in length and three in breadth In another Court there are represented in carv'd-work in marble battels triumphs and Olympick games very well done and with an exact observance of proportion Upon every gate is represented a man with a graceful countenance sitting and holding in one hand a Globe in the other a Scepter though the Kings of Persia never sate in that posture I had the curiosity to get up on high where I found the figure of a King at his devotions adoring the Sun Fire and a Serpent It is not easie to affirm whether the Architecture of this Palace be of the Ionick Dorick or Corinthian order the building is so ruin'd though there be yet as much left as would find work for a good able Painter for six months 'T is a thousand pities that no body hath yet had the curiosity to have it graven had it been only out of this motive that the barbarous people thereabouts ruine it daiâ—â— more and more and convey away the stones to carry on private buildings Aeâ—ian sayes that the Grand Cyrus was grown famous for the Palace he had built in the City of Persepolis whereof he had himself laid the foundation Darius for that built by him at Susa and Cyrus the younger for the pleasant Gardens which he had himself planted and cultivated in Lydia If this be the same place which Diodorus Siculus makes mention of it is certain that both as to greatness and magnificence it exceeded all those of that time He sayes it was encompass'd with three walls of Marble whereof the first was 16. the second 32. and the third 60. ells high with the gates and balconies of brass The work of so many years and all that wealth were destroy'd in a few hours by Alexander the great who upon the perswasion of a common Prostitute caused it to be fired as Quintus Curtius gives an account of it in his History Having view'd these Antiquities which with those of Derbent were all we met with in our Travels I prosecuted my journey the 28. of Ianuary and got that day ten Leagues to the City of Sehiras In this City I met with four Italian Carmelites who have a very handsome well built Monastery there and enjoy an absolute liberty of conscience under the jurisdiction of the King of Persia. There had also been heretofore a Monastery of Austin-Friers but they were forc'd thence with the other Portuguez when the City of Ormus was taken from them Schiras is the chief City of the Province of Fars at 29. degrees 36. minutes seated in a very pleasant place at the foot of certain Mountains upon the River Sendemer heretofore called Arâ—xes which disembogues it self into the Persian Gulf. We were told the City had been much bigger then it is now though there be in it at present above ten thousand houses which I the more easily credited in that we found all about it and half a league beyond the ruines of the gates and walls of a great City Whatever Nature supplies mankind withall not only for necessity but also for pleasure is here to be had in great abundance as Wheat Wine Oranges Lemmons Pomegranats Almonds Dates Pistachoes c. and the lovely Cypress-trees afford a pleasant shade against the excessive heats The best Wine of all Persia grows hereabouts and in such abundance that it is transported all over the Kingdom especially to the Court where the King and great Lords drink not any other 'T is more sprightly and more pleasant then Canary but in regard no person of quality but drinks of it and is willing to treat his friends with Schiras Scharab it is dear enough at Ispahan where it is sold at half a Crown a pottle The soil hereabouts is very fertile and produces abundance of Wheat and Fruit. The Sheep which are of an Ash-grey colour with an eye of white have their wooll curled or frizled and their tails are so big and so fat that they weigh 18. or 20. pound The adjacent Forrests afford abundance of Mastick which the Country people gather in dishes fastned to the Trees It is at first green but the Air in time corrupting it gives it the brown colour it is of when brought into Europe I stayed eight dayes at Schiras as well to rest my Horses as to fortifie my self against the hardship I was to expect in my future travel it being a hundred Leagues to Ormus through a Country where I should not find what I left behind me at Schiras which is doubtless the principal City of Persia for Wine and Women and affords so great enjoyments to those who can use these two things with moderation that the Persians are wont to say that if Mahomet had tasted the pleasures of Schiras he would have desired God to make him immortal there I left it the fifth of February and passed by two Caravanseras and took up my lodging at the third having travell'd that day ten Leagues through a fair even way The sixth I got seven Leagues having a very bad way but in sight of many Villages whereof the prospect was the more pleasant by reason of the Date-trees all about them The seventh I passed by one of these Caravanseras and got that day ten Leagues taking up my quarters in the little City of Scharim in the middle of a Forrest of Date-trees The five dayes following were the most troublesome of all my life For the eighth of February we got but five Leagues through the most horrid way in the world I cannot imagine how people made a shift to travel that way before Imanculi Chan of whom somewhat hath been said elsewhere who was so cruelly put to death with all his children by Schach Sefi caus'd it to be repaired with incredible expence when at this day a man cannot pass but in great danger of his life by reason of the uneven and narrow wayes between steepy mountains on the one side and dreadful precipices on the other where I very narrowly avoided a mis-fortune which happens there very often For my Horse's hoof which I was leading by the bridle being fill'd with snow he stumbled upon me forc'd me out of the way so as that had I not caught hold of a wild Almond tree which
became so eminent for Commerce that not only it had its particular Kings but the Arabians said of it by way of Proverb that if the Universe were but a Ring the City of Ormus was the Diamond that should be set in it Teixera sayes that Scach Mahomet the son of an Arabian King who liv'd in the tenth Age having reduc'd under his Jurisdiction the Provinces that are seated upon the Persian Gulf as far as Besra pass'd over into the Island where he laid the first foundations of the City of Ormus Schabedin Mahomet eleventh King of Ormus of the posterity of Mahomet dyed in the year 1228. And he who liv'd when the Portuguez became Masters of it was called Sâ—yfadin and paid Tribute to the King of Persia. D. Alfonso d' Albuquerque made a Conquest of it in the year 1605 for Emanuel King of Portugal of which attempt the manner and success of it take the following Account Tristan de Cugna who had taken the Island of Zocotora whereof we shall have occasion to speak hereafter left certain Vessels under the command of Albuquerque with Orders to visit the Coasts of Arabia while he attempted some new Conquest in the Indies he being a person of great resolution thought his only course to settle himself there was to set upon the Kingdom of Ormus which he did with 470. Souldiers whom he had aboard his Fleet. Emanuel Osorio Bishop of Selvas in Portugal sayes that Albuquerque made his advantage of the Mahumetan Kings weakness who then reigned For understanding that the principal Minister of State whose name was Cojeatar a Forreigner a Native of Bengala and an Eunuch had exasperated the people against him by converting the publick Revenue of the Kingdom to his own profit and advantage having left his Soveraign only the bare Title of King he thought fit to strike in at that conjuncture of Affairs and to that end left Zocotora upon the 20. of August and having in a very few dayes taken in the Cities of Calaâ—ate Curiate Mascate Soar and Orfassam he took his march directly to the principal City to which he came the 25. of September The first thing he did was to defeat a very strong Fleet which the Moors had within the Haven and by that means oblig'd the King to come to a capitulation by which the King of Ormus promised to take the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity to the King of Portugal to pay him every year fifteen thousand Ducats as a Tribute in Gold Silver or Pearls and five thousand towards the charges of the present War and to permit Albuquerque to build a Cittadel where he should think most convenient for the preservation of the City The Portuguez began the said Cittadel on the 25. of October following and gave it the name of Our Blessed Lady of Victory It is true this establishment was not so absolute at the beginning but that the Moors made some attempts to rid themselves of these new Guests but the Portuguez made a shift to maintain what they had gotten and to make the place they were in a Magazine of Armes for the Indies taking occasion by that means to engross all the Commerce to themselves and obliging all the Persians and Arabians to buy of them all those Commodities which they stood in need of from the Indians Nay this was so rigorously observed that the Governour of Ormus prohibited the Inhabitants to sell any of their Commodities till such time as he had sold his own The permitted Seyfadin to live in the Island but at a certain place far enough from the Cittadel so not to give the Portuguez any occasion of jealousie Scach Abas King of Persia being no longer able to endure the insolence of the Portuguez and very much incens'd at their receiving into Protection the Gentlemen of the House of the Gabrieli whom we have spoken of elsewhere bethought himself of some course to get these Forreigners out of those parts To effect this he address'd himself to the English who traded at Ormus and by the advantageous proffers that he made oblig'd them to promise him all the assistance they could to carry on the siege of that City which was aâ—â—aulted and taken by the English in the year 1622. They put both the City and Cittadel into the hands of the King of Persia who found in it six hundred great Guns some Iron some Brass which Scach Abas caused to be transported to Laar and Ispahan all but fourscore Pieces which he left in the Cittadel He caused the walls of the City to be demolish'd and the Materials thereof to be translated to Gamron which began even at that time to raise it self upon the ruines of its Neighbours The King of Persia desirous to reward the services which the English had done him upon that occasion did not only grant them an absolute exemption from all Impositions but he also bestow'd on them one moyety of those Duties which other Merchants were to pay there but as we said before the English come very far short of receiving what is due to them I found in the Port of Gamron an English Ship called the Swan of 300. Tun carrying 24. Guns Master Honywood Agent for the Affairs of England recommended me to the Captain of it and commanded him to carry me over to the Indies and to defray all my charges till I came to Suratta I had brought eight Horses with me making account to sell them with very great advantage in the Indies but the Ship was so full of Goods that it was with much ado that I could get in only two of them So that I was forc'd to put off the other six to very great loss as being able to get but thirty pound for those which had cost me sixty pound at Ispahan and which I should have sold at above one hundred and fifty pound at Suratta I embark'd the sixth of April with Mr. Manley and Mr. Hall English Merchants whom the President of the English at Suratta had ordered to come from Ispahan about some business concerning the Company and went aboard accompanied by most of the Strangers that were at Gamron as also many Indian Merchants with whom I had upon some occasions made acquaintance The Captain ordered four Pieces to be fired at our coming aboard and received us with much civility inviting us it being then about noon to dine with him We went from Gamron to Suratta in nineteen dayes during which the Captain treated me very magnificently and did me the honour to resign his own bed to me and to give me precedence upon all occasions He was well furnished with Fowl Mutton and other fresh Meat but above all things with excellent good Sack English Beer French Wines Arak and other refreshments which prov'd so well for me that by the help of these good Cordials and the benefit I had by the drinking of Ptizanne which I caused to be made with Cinnamon and rinds of Pomegranats at my
the Christian Religion but he had no sooner made his first acquaintances at Surat ere he understood that an Uncle of his by the Mother-side could raise him to great fortunes at the Mogul's Court where he was Master of the Horse Upon this intelligence he soon took a resolution to leave me and to desire the protection of the Sulthan who kept him a while at his own house and afterwards sent him to Agra I was the more startled at this departure of the young fellow the more it run in my thoughts that knowing all the particulars of our engagement with the Indian Embassadour at Ispahan his design might be to betray me into the hands of my enemies And certainly had I known of his going to Agra I should not have had the confidence to take that place in my way though it might appear by what happened afterwards that God sent him to that place expresly to save my life since had it not been for him I might have lost it there In May there came news to Surat that the Chan who commanded at Candahar for the King of Persia had revolted and had rendred the place to the Mogul upon this account that the Scach had threatned to put him to death The Mogul sent immediately 500000. Crowns to the place as a requital for the Governours service and to pay the Garrison which had revolted along with him Alymerdan-Chan Governour of the same place had done such another trick at the beginning of Schach-Sefiâ—s â—s Reign who would needs oblige him to bring his head to Court which if he had done he had never carried it away again upon his shoulders Soon after Scach recover'd Candahar again and it was partly upon this account that the Mogul had sent to him the Embassadour I spoke of before though among his other Instructions he had order to demand the Myrsa Polagi his Nephew Iune 16. I went out a hunting with a young Dutch Merchant and another English Merchant with whom having cross'd the River they brought me to an old ruin'd City called Reniel where the Dutch have a Ware-house The Inhabitants of this City are called Naites and are for the most part either Mariners or Trades-men and of the Mahumetan Religion The streets of it are narrow and the houses so rais'd from the foundation that there is not any but hath one step to get up to it There we staid all night and were nobly treated by the Merchants who had the management of the Trade there The next day we went to a Village called Bodick and in our way let fly at a wild Duck and a Heron there we saw about twenty Deers Their skins which were somewhat greyish were checkquer'd all over with white spots and they had fair Horns with several Brow-ancklers There was among them a sort of creatures about the bigness of our Ro-Bucks the Skins whereof were inclining to a dark brown checkquer'd also with white spots having very graceful Horns Some are of opinion that these are the same that Aldrovandus calls Cervi-capras and that it is from this kind of Beast that we have Bezoar We went thence to another Village called Damre where we saw abundance of wild Ducks in the Rice whereof there grows great store in those parts All the fields have a little ascent raised about them to keep in the water the Rice requiring much moisture In this Village we found some Terry which is a Liquor drawn out of the Palm-trees and drunk of it in Cups made of the leaves of the same Tree To get out the Juyce they go up to the top of the Tree where they make an incision in the bark and fasten under it an earthen pot which they leave there all night in which time it is fill'd with a certain sweet Liquor very pleasant to the taste They get out some also in the day time but that corrupts immediately and is good only for Vinegar which is all the use they make of it The City of Surat or Suratta lies at 21. degrees 42. minutes upon the River Tapta which rises near Barampour and falls into the Sea four Leagues below the City It lies all along the River side and is built four-square It hath no wall to the River side but on the Land side it hath a good Rampier of Stone and a Castle all of Free-stone The City hath three Gates whereof one goes towards the Village of Brion where those who go to Cambaya and Amadabat cross the River another goes to Barampour and the third to Nassary All the Houses are flat as those of Persia and most have very fair Gardens The Castle which they say was built by the Turks upon an Invasion which they made into this Country hath but one Gate which looks into a spacious Plain which serves for a Meidan to the City Not far thence and at the entrance of the City stands the Governours Palace and the Custom-house and near them the Bazar as well for forreign Merchants as those of the City The Governour of the Castle hath no dependance on him of the City whose business it is to look after the administration of Justice and the payment of the Customs at the Exportation and Importation of all Merchandises which pay three and a half in the hundred except it be Gold and Silver whether coined or in wedges or made into bars which pay but two in the hundred The Dutch and English have their Houses there which they call Lodges and are spacious and well built consisting of many fair Appartments Lodgings Chambers fair Halls Galleries and Chappels The Haven of Suratta is two Leagues from the City at the Village of Suhaly whence the Dutch and English call it the Kom of Suhaly There Ships are unladen of their Commodities which are brought thence to Suratta by Land This Road lies at 21. degrees 50. minutes upon the course of North-east and South-west The entrance into it is not very broad since that at high-water there is but seven fathom water and at low but five The Haven it self is not above 500. paces broad before the Village sandy at the bottom and most of the banks are bare and dry at low-water and so sharp and steepy that sounding there is to no purpose at all 'T is very safe riding there being no danger of any wind but that of the South-west But from May to September there is no staying on those Coasts by reason of the winds and tempests accompany'd by extraordinary thunder and lightning which reign there during all that time The Inhabitants of Surat are either Benjans Bramans or Moguls These last are Mahumetans and much better look'd on then the others as well upon the account of their Religion which they have common with the Great Mogul and the chiefest Lords of the Country as upon that of the profession they make to bear Arms. They have an aversion for Trades and Merchandise and had rather serve
then engage themselves in any honourable employment for if they can but once get to be Masters of a Horse they court Fortune no further and immediately list themselves in the service of their Prince The Benjans on the contrary are a reserv'd people and laborious and apply themselves to Trades and Merchandise and have an extraordinary devotion for the things that concern Religion as we shall have occasion to insist on more at large hereafter There are also in the City some Arabians Persians Armenians Turks and Iews who either have their habitations there or trade thither but there are no Forreigners so considerable for their settlement there as the Dutch and English They have there their Lodges their Store-houses their Presidents their Merchants and their Secretaries and indeed have made it one of the most eminent Cities for Traffick of all the East The English particularly have made it the main place of all their Trading into the Indies and have established there a President to whom the Secretaries of all the other Factories are oblig'd to give an account He manages Affairs with the assistance of 20. or 24. Merchants and Officers and hath under his superintendency the Factory of Agra where they have a Secretary accompanied by six persons that of Ispahan where they have a Secretary and seven or eight other Merchants that of Mesulipatan with fifteen that of Cambay with four that of Amadabat with six that of Brodra and Broitscheia with four and that of Dabul with two persons who are all oblig'd to come once a year to Suratta there to give an account of their Administration to the President The English have also a Factory at Bantam in the Isle of Iava but that hath its particular President who hath no dependance on that of Suratta which hinders not but that he hath a certain deference for him as have indeed all the English Ships which perfect not their Voyage without casting Anchor at Suratta The places about this City are the most delightful of any in the world For besides the fair Gardens where they have all sorts of Fruit-trees all the Champion seems to want nothing that might recreate the eye Among other things I observ'd there one of those Trees whereof I have given a description when I had occasion to speak of the City of Gamron as also very many sumptuous Sepulchres built of Marble and a Tanke or Cistern made eight-square of Free-stone having at every angle a pair of stairs to go down into it and in the midst the Sepulchre of the Founder of that magnificent Structure which is so spacious that it contains water enough to supply the whole City even in the greatest heats of the year The tempests of Rain begin to cease with the moneth of September About that time viz. the 14. of that moneth news was brought that two English Ships were arrived at the Port of Subaly The President would have gone thither in person but some business he had with the Governour hindred him so that he was forc'd to send two of the chiefest Merchants who took me along with them We came to Suhaly about noon and having left our Horses in the Village went aboard one of the Ships called the Discovery 'T was a Vessel of 600. Tun having 28. Guns and 190. Men. Captain Menard who commanded her and the three Merchants who came to the President for Orders receiv'd us kindly and being come directly from England they told us all they knew of the Affairs of Europe which discourse made us pass away the best part of the night pleasantly enough The next day we went to the other Vessel called the Mary which was 1200. Tun burthen and carried 48. Guns She had past by Aden on the Red-Sea where she had lost her Captain who dy'd of sickness The Merchant who commanded her instead of the Captain made us a reception equal to what we had in the other Ship and both of them oblig'd us to come every day to see them till the President were come which was not till eight dayes after Which hindred not but that we went sometimes a walking and a hunting but so as that we lay every night in one of the Ships As soon as the Commanders heard that the President was come to Suhaly they went a shore and meeting him on the River side he made a short discourse to them exhorting them to shew their fidelity and complyance to their Superiours during the time they should stay in the Indies Which done he went into the Boat to go aboard of the first Ship where they fir'd twelve Guns at his arrival After supper he went along with the whole company to the other where they fir'd sixteen Guns besides those that were discharg'd at the drinking of the King of England's health and those of some other persons of Honour in that Country The two dayes following were spent in feasting at which the Commanders of the two Ships treated the President who afterwards return'd to Suratta but night overtaking us by the way we were forc'd to take up our Lodging in the little City of Reniel The 24. of the same moneth arrived two other Ships whereof one was called Boldue a Hollander of 1400. Tun. She came from the City of Batavia in the Isle of Iava and was returning for Holland loaden with Pepper and other Spices The other was an English Vessel call'd the Swan and had been sent by the Secretary of Mesulipatan into Persia for Silks but the contrary winds having kept her four moneths together at Sea had oblig'd her to put in at Suratta whereas the Hollander had in less time made the whole Voyage from the Texel to the Indies I again accompany'd the Merchants who went to the Port to see their Ships We went first aboard the Hollander who receiv'd us very nobly and we were shewn all the conveniences of the Vessel which no doubt was the best contrived and the biggest that ever came out of the Ports of Holland It was twenty foot longer then the Mary but not altogether so broad During my abode at Suratta I wanted for no divertisement for either I walk'd down to the Haven or found company in the City especially at the Dutch Presidents who had his Family there and with whom it was the easier for me to make acquaintance in as much as I could converse with them in my own Language But understanding that the English Ships with which I intended to return into Europe would not be ready for their departure under three or four moneths I resolv'd to take a journey into the Country to the Great Mogul's Court taking my advantage of a Caffila or Caravan of thirty Wagons loaden with Quick-silver Roenâ—s which is a root that dies red Spices and a considerable sum of Money which the English were sending to Amadabat The President had appointed four Merchants certain Benjans twelve English Souldiers and as many Indians to conduct and convoy this
small Caravan so that confident I night undertake this journey without any danger which it had not been safe for me to attempt without this convenience by reason of the Rasboutes and their robberies upon the high-way I took the Presidents advice and put my self into their company These Rasboutes are a sort of High-way men or Tories who keep in the Mountains between Brodra and Broitscheia which are called Champenir where they have their fortifi'd places and retreats wherein they sometimes make their party good against the Mogul himself Not long before he had taken in one of their strongest places and by that means kept them a long time in subjection but they revolted again and exercised their robberies with greater cruelty then ever We left Suratta the last of September being accompany'd by the President and some English Merchants who having brought us a League out of the City there took leave of us We took our way towards Broitschia and came to the Village of Briou or Briauw where we cross'd the River Then at four Leagues distance from Briou we pass'd by Cattodera which is a ruin'd place seated upon a River of the same name and then by Enklisser where we soon made a shift to take above thirty wild Ducks and many other Water-fowl wherewith we feasted our people We also kill'd a Roebuck and met with so many Deer and wild Boars that it was no hard matter for us to get us a good supper since the Dutch and English never travel without their Cooks who dress the Fowl and what else their Masters kill which they never fail to do in abundance The next day we cross'd a River which is more broad then deep before we came to the City of Broitschia into which we were no sooner entred but the English Secretary sent to us to dine with him which we did The City of Broitschia is at 21. degrees 56. minutes 12. Leagues from Suratta and 8. from the Sea upon a River falling out of the Mountains which divide the Kingdom of Decar from that of Balagatta It lies upon a pretty high Mountain having its Walls of Free-stone and so well built that it may be numbred among the strongest places of all the Indies On the Land side it hath two great Gates and two small Gates towards the River by which is brought abundance of Timber for building which none dare unload without the Governours express permission There is a Guard kept in it as well upon account of the place it self which is very considerable as upon this that they exact there two in the hundred upon all Merchandises that pass through it The City is sufficiently well peopled as also its Suburbs which are divided into two quarters which they call Poera though very few persons of Quality live therein most of the Inhabitants being only Weavers who make of those kinds of Cottons called Bastas which are finer then any made in the Province of Gusaratta All the fields about this City lie flat and even unless it be that about five or six Leagues from it towards the South-west may be seen the Mountains called Pindatshce which reach as far as Barampour and beyond it and are very fertile as is also all the rest of the Country which brings forth Rice Wheat Barly and Cotton in abundance It is out of these Mountains that the Agat is gotten whereof are made such noble drinking Cups Seals Handles of Knives and Daggers and several other rarities which are commonly to be bought at Cambays The jurisdiction of the City of Broitschia extends it self over 84. Villages the Demesne whereof belongs to it but heretofore its territory comprehended three other Cities who have now their particular Governours Four Leagues below the City the River divides it self into two branches which there make an Isle near half a League about below which it falls into the Sea by two several channels It hath no Port but only a Road which is so much the more dangerous in that the Ships which may indeed anchor there at seven fathom water lie open to the mercy of all Winds Eight Leagues from Broitschia upon the way of Cambaya there is a great Village called Ianbaysar or Iambouser where abundance of Indico is made and upon the Road to Amadabat there is to be seen the Sepulchre of a Mahumetan Saint named Pollemedory whither the Moors or Moguls go in pilgrimage with so great devotion that some of them put Padlocks on their mouths to keep them from speaking and never take them off but only when they are to eat Others fasten Iron chains to their arms and it is reported that the Padlocks are opened and the Chains loosed by some supernatural power as soon as they have accomplish'd their Vows at the Sepulchre We left Broitschia in the Evening accompany'd by the Secretary who would needs bring us half a League out of the City He return'd thither but it was to the end he might overtake us five Leagues thence for being entrusted with the management of the Commerce of Brodca as well as of that of Broitschia he thought fit to go along with the Caravan We travell'd all night and the next day till the extraordinary heat forc'd us to encamp near a Fish-pond where we pass'd away the rest of that day and some part of the night following our recreation being to set a dancing the Women that were among the Benjans in the Caravan We went thence after midnight I intreated the Secretary to come into my Coach where I learnt of him several particulars of the Country which by reason of my small stay in those parts it was impossible I could have observed We pass'd through the Village of Karawanet and Kabol where they made us pay a certain passage-Toll Being come within some Leagues of the City of Brodra the English Secretary went on before to take order for our lodging and entertainment We met him with his Second about half a League from the City whither we came the seventh of October The Kaffila pass'd through the City to be lodg'd on the other side of it and the English Merchants carried me into a pleasant Country-house without the City purposely built for a Mausâ—leum to a person of Quality of the Country whose desire it had been to be there buried with all his Family Having taken two or three turns in the Garden we went to the Lodge belonging to the English where they made the greatest entertainment imaginable and to come to the height of that Countries endearments they sent for some Benjan women who were very desirous to see my cloaths which I still wore after the German fashion though the English and Dutch who are settled in the Indies go ordinarily according to the mode of the Country and would have oblig'd me to put them off but perceiving I was unwilling to do it and withall that I made some difficulty to accept of the proffers they made
handsome pleasant place and was built by two Brothers who have made a very considerable Castle on the North-side of the City The Inhabitants of it are Benjans and they make there great quantities of Cotton-thread wherewith they drive a great Trade October 12. We travell'd five Leagues and having pass'd by Canis Batova and Issempour where there is a very fair Caravansera or as they call it in India a Sary for the lodging of the Caffilas or Caravans we got the same day very safely to Amadabath The two Merchants and my self went before and we took along with us the Wagon that carried the provisions Within half a League of the City we entred into one of those Gardens in which persons of Quality are wont to have their Sepulchres and staying there for the coming up of the Caravan we sent to the principal Merchant who mannaged the Commerce in those parts to acquaint him with our arrival His name was Benjamin Roberts and he had no sooner heard the news but he took his Coach and came to receive me His Coach made after the Indian fashion was gilt all over covered with several pieces of rich Persian Tapistry and drawn by two white Oxen which express'd as much metal as we could have expected from the best Horses in Germany There was also led by the Coach a very stately Persian Horse the harness whereof was covered with plates of Silver He took a Collation with us of the little Sack and English Beer we had left after which he took me into the Coach with him and brought me to the City ordering the Merchants to stay in the Garden till the Caravan were come up The English House or Lodge is in the middle of the City well built and hath many fair and convenient Apartments with spacious Courts for the disposal of Merchandises Master Roberts brought me first into his own Chamber which look'd into a little Flower-garden in which there was a Fountain The floor was cover'd with Tapistry and the pillars which sustain'd the structure were set out with Silk-stuffes of several colours and above a great white tassel according to the custom of the great Ones of the Country We had a Collation after which he shew'd me the whole house and brought me into a very fair Chamber with a large Closet in it which he had design'd for my Lodging We supp'd in a great Hall whither the Dutch Deputy came after supper to see us with some of his Merchants with whom I had occasion to be acquainted at Suratta After he was gone the whole company conducted me to my Chamber where my Host kept me company till after midnight And that there might not be ought wanting in my entertainment which in answer to the recommendatory Letters I had brought from the President he would needs have in all things extraordinary he sent for six Women-dancers the handsomest could be found in the City and told me that if I liked any thing in them besides their singing and activity I needed only to express my desires and be confident that they would give me all the satisfaction and divertisement which those of their sex are able either to give or take I thanked him for his civility but besides that I had had some touches of my discase by the way I made some scruple to meddle in that kind with a Pagan They admir'd my cloaths but above all that Lock of my hair that hung down over my shoulders and could hardly be induced to believe I was what I really am Having slaid two dayes at Amadabath my noble entertainer took me along with him in a Coach followed by two others and shewed me some part of the City He first brought me to the great Market-place called Meydan-Schach or the Kings Market which is at least 1600. foot long and half as many broad and beset all about with rows of Palm-trees and Date-trees intermix'd with Citron-trees and Orange-trees whereof there are very many in the several Sterets which is not only very pleasant to the sight by the delightful prospect it affords but also makes the walking among them more convenient by reason of the coolness Besides this Meydan there are in the City four Basars or publick places where are sold all kinds of Merchandises The same day I saw also the Castle which is very large and built of Free-stone insomuch that into is one of the most considerable in the Kingdom Not far from the Meydan we went into a House built of Brick which they call the Kings Palace Over the Gate there was a kind of Curtain or Stage for the Musick consisting of Violins Haw-boys and Bag-pipes which play there in the morning at noon in the evening and at midnight as they do in Persia and all other places where the Prince professes the Mahumetan Religion All the Appartments of the House were sumptuous gilt and adorn'd with painting according to the mode of the Country but more to their satisfaction who are pleas'd with diversity of Colours then theirs who look for invention and stand upon the exactness of proportions Then we went out of the City to see the Walls of it which are very fair having twelve Gates and many great Towers with a Ditch sixteen fathom broad but in many places it is ruin'd and without water We return'd into the City to see the principal Mosquey of the Benjans which without dispute is one of the noblest structures that can be seen It was then new for the Founder who was a rich Benjan Merchant named Santides was living in my time The Mosquey stands in the middle of a great Court which is enclos'd with a high Wall of Free-stone all about which there is a Gallery much after the manner of our Cloysters in Monasteries having all its Seats or Cells and in every Cell a Marble Statue white or black representing a Woman naked sitting and having her legs lying cross under her according to the mode of the Countrey There were some had three Statues to wit a great one between two little ones At the entrance into the Mosquey there are two Elephants of black Marble done to the life and upon one of them the Effigies of the Founder The whole Mosquey is vaulted and the Walls adorn'd with several Figures of men and other living Creatures There was not any thing within the Mosquey save that at the further end of the Structure there were three Chappels or obscure places divided one from the other by wooden Rails wherein might be seen Statues of Marble like those we had seen in the Cells with this difference only that there was a lighted Lamp before that which stood in the middle We saw there also one of their Priests who was then busie in receiving from the hands of such as came thither to do their Devotions Flowers wherewith he adorn'd his Images as also Oyl for the Lamps which hung before the Rails and Wheat and Salt for the Sacrifice While
slash'd doublet much after the fashion which was worn about 30. years since which the Governour thought so ridiculous that he could not forbear laughing at it and askt the English President in what quality that slash'd Gallant serv'd him since that according to his habit he conceiv'd he kept him for his Fool. The President made answer not without some confusion that he waited on him in his Chamber and that he had opened his Doublet in that manner to make way for the Air the better to avoid the excessive heats of the Country which the Europaeans could not well endure Whereto the Governour reply'd that that reason gave some satisfaction but what he most wondred at was that the Christians who are a wise and understanding people had not yet found out the way to make their Doublets of several shreds rather then cut and mangle whole pieces of Stuffes to put themselves into that mode This jesting with the English Merchant put him into so good an humour that he would needs devote the remainder of the day to sport and divertisement and thereupon sent for twenty Women-dancers who as soon as they were come into the room fell a singing and dancing but with an Activity and exact observation of the cadence much beyond that of our Dancers upon the Ropes They had little Hoops or Circles through which they leap'd as nimbly as if they had been so many Apes and made thousands of Postures according to the several soundings of their Musick which consisted of a Tumbeck or Timbrel a Haw-boy and several Tabours Having danc'd near two hours the Governour would needs send into the City for another band of Dancers but the Servants brought word that they were sick and could not come This excuse being not taken he sent out the same Servants with express order to bring those Prostitutes away by force but they returning the second time with the same excuse he order'd they should be cudgell'd Upon that they cast themselves at the Governours feet and acknowledged that it was indeed true they were not sick but were at a certain place where they got Money at a more delightful and easier sport then dancing and that they absolutely deny'd to come saying they knew well enough the Governour would not pay them He laught at it but immediately commanded out a party of his Guard to bring them to him and they were no sooner entred into the Hall ere he ordered their heads to bâ— struck off They beg'd their lives with horrid cries and lamentations but he would be obey'd and caus'd the execution to be done in the room before all the Company not one of the Lords then present daring to make the least intercession for those Wretches who were eight in number The Strangers were startled at the horrour of the Spectacle and inhumanity of the Action which the Governour taking notice of fell a laughing and ask'd them what they were so much startled at Assure your selves Gentlemen said he that if I should not take this course I should not be long Governour of Amadabat For should I connive once at their disobedience these Bete-Seioth or Sons of Whores would play the Masters and drive me out of the City 'T is but prudence in me to prevent their contempt of my Authority by such examples of severity as these are October 21. I left Amadabat with a Coach and one Saddle-nag in the company of a young English Merchant who by order from the President was to be my Fellow-traveller The Rasboutes make the way between Amadabath and Cambaya very dangerous which made me take for my Convoy eight Foot-souldiers arm'd with Pikes and Bucklers This kind of Souldiers do also the office of Lacqueys running just before the Horses and may be hired for a small matter for I gave them but eight Crowns for the whole journey though I had them three dayes in which time I travell'd thirteen of the Country Leagues All the English Merchants brought me half a League out of the City where I saw a sumptuous Tomb which they call Salu. I got that day to the Garden of Tschictbag made in memory of the place where the Sulthan Mahomet Begoran whom we spoke of before was defeated and is without all comparison the fairest of any in the Indies but it being dark ere I got thither I shall forbear the description of it till my return that way at which time I had the convenience of taking a particular view thereof The 22. Having travell'd seven Leagues I came to the Village of Serguntra where saw not any thing remarkable but a great Tanke or Cistern wherein rain-water is kept all the year The 23. After five Leagues travelling I came to Cambaya I din'd in sight of the City among certain Trees and in the mean time sent one of my Foot-souldiers to a Brocker that is to say one of those Benjans whom the English and Dutch make use of as Interpreters and who understand their Language together with the Portuguez which they learnt by means of the great Commerce that Nation hath had all over the Indies He immediately came in a Coach and having brought me into the City lodg'd me at a Mahumetan Merchants where I was very well accommodated which course I took because the English Factor being from home I made some difficulty to lodge at the English House As soon as I was got into the City I desir'd the Brocker to shew me what was most worth the seeing there The City of Cambaya lies 16. Leagues from Broitscâ—ia in a sandy place upon the River side which makes there a great Bay into which the River May having past by the Walls thereof disembogues it self The Haven is incommodious though at High-water there be above seven fathom water but at Low-water the Ships lye dry in the Sand and Mud that is at the bottom The City is encompass'd by a very fair Wall of Free-stone and hath twelve Gates very large houses and strait and broad streets most whereof have Gates which are shut up in the night time It is much greater then Surat as being at least ten Leagues about It hath three Basars or Market-places and four noble Tanks or Cisterns able to find the Inhabitants water all the year long The Inhabitants are for the most part Pagans Benjans or Rasboutes whereof some apply themselves to Commerce others to a military life Their greatest traffick is at Achim Diu Goa Meca and into Persia whither they carry all sorts of Stuffes of Silk and Cotton and bring back ready Money both Gold and Silver to wit Ducats Chequins and Ryals also Ruynas Dates and other Commodities of those parts After a walk of two hours my Conductor carried me out of the City and shewed me 15. or 16. publick Gardens but among the rest one into which I went on that side that was towards the Sea by a pair of stairs of Free-stone of many steps It was enclos'd with a high Wall and
had in it two or three fair Structures one whereof being over the Gate had many noble Appartments In the midst of the Garden there is a very high place within which was the Sepulchre of the Mahumetan who had founded it and was there buried with all his Family The Tomb was covered with Marble and had several Arabian Inscriptions There is not any place in all those parts that hath so noble a prospect as this not only towards the Sea-side but also towards the Land where a man hath the sight of the noblest Champion Country in the World This is so pleasant a place that the Mogul being one day at Cambaya would needs take up his Lodging in the Garden and caused the Stones of the Sepulchre to be taken away that his Tent might be pitch'd there While I was taking a particular view of that Structure came up to us two English Merchants who obligingly reproach'd me with the slurre I put upon their Nation in preferring the House of a Mahumetan before their Lodge as if I had been but poorly entertain'd at Suratta and other places where I had lodg'd among them They proffered me their company to walk and promised to carry me the next morning to a place where an Indian Widow was to be burnt with her own consent I went at night to my Lodging whither the Brocker brought several Alcatifs or pieces of Tapistry quilted Coverlets Silk-stuffes Cottons Vessels Handles for Knives Seals Bracelets Rings and Buttons of Agat Cornelian and Jasper c. of all sorts of colours which pleased me very well but not being in a condition to spare any money I only bought some few trifles to keep in favour with my Merchant The next day the English Merchants came to my Lodging whence we went together to the River side without the City where this voluntary execution was to be done The Womans Husband was a Rasboute and had been kill'd near Labor 200. Leagues from Cambaya As soon as she had heard of his death she would needs do his Obsequies by causing her self to be burnt alive but whereas the Mogul and his Officers are Mahumetans who endeavour by degrees to abolish this heathenish and barbarous Custom the Governour had a long time oppos'd her desires under pretence that the news of her Husbands death being uncertain he could not consent to the doing of an inhumane action whereof there would afterwards haply be cause to repent The Governours design was to see whether time would abate any thing of her passion and the earnestness she was in to follow her Husband into the other World but seeing she was daily more and more instant to do it he permitted her to comply with the Laws of her own Religion She was not above twenty years of age yet we saw her come up to the place of her execution with so much confidence and a chearfulness so extraordinary to those who go to present and inevitable death that I was much inclin'd to believe that she had dull'd her senses with a dose of Opium which is as commonly used in the Indies as in Pâ—â—sia In the front of the Procession marched the Country Musick consisting of Haw-boys and and Timbrels Then follow'd a great many Maids and Women singing and dancing before the Widow who was drest in her richest Cloathing and had her Fingers her Armes and Legs loaden with Rings Bracelets and Carkanets After her came a confused company of Men Women and Children and so concluded the Procession She made a stop at the Funeral Pile which had been purposely erected for the Ceremony The Woman had wash'd her self in the River that she might meet her Husband in a state of Purity in regard the body of the deceased being not upon the place she could not accompany it in its passage into the other World The Pile was of the wood of Apricock-trees among which they had put in some Sanders and Cinnamon Having look'd upon it with a certain contempt she took leave of her Kindred and Friends and distributed among them the Rings and Bracelets she had about her I was something near her on horseback with the two English Merchants and I think she perceiv'd in my countenance that I pitied her whence it came that she cast me one of her Bracelets which I had the good hap to catch and still keep in remembrance of so extraordinary an Action As soon as she was got upon the Pile they set fire to it which she perceiving pour'd on her head a Vessel of persum'd Oly which the fire immediately taking hold of she was smother'd in an instant so as that she was not perceiv'd to make the least wry face at it Some that were present cast upon her several Cruses of Oyl which soon reduc'd the body to ashes while the rest of the Assembly fill'd the Air with their cries and shouts such as must needs have hindred those of the Widow to be heard if she had the time to make any in the fire which had made a sudden dispatch of her as if it had been Lighting The Ashes were cast into the River I was told that this barbarous Custom had been introduc'd among the Pagans of those parts upon this account that Polygamy occasioning much heart-burning among the Women arising either from the little satisfaction they could have from a man who is oblig'd to divide his affections or the jealousie which is unavoidable among Rivals of that Sex it happened that the Women procur'd their Husbands death and 't was found that in one year there had been four Men buried for one Woman so that to oblige them to be careful of their Husbands lives it was ordered that such as were desirous to be accounted honest Women should be ingag'd to accompany their Husbands at their death and to be burnt together with their bodies Certain it is that the Persians and other neighbouring Nations have ever had so particular a veneration for the fire that it is not to be admir'd they should chuse rather to reduce their deceased to ashes then bury them I say this Obligation of dying with their Husbands was imposed only on those Women who stood upon the reputation of honesty yet so as they were engag'd thereto only by a principle of honour there being not any punishment to be inflicted on such as refused to follow them in that dreadful journey other then that they were not admitted into the company of Persons of quality as being looked on as infamous Women They who are not so scrupulous and stand not so much upon the punctilio of Honour and prefer their lives before their reputation do ordinarily strike in among the publick Dancers The Ceremony being over I went to see one of the chiefest Merchants of the City named Myrsabeg to whom I had Letters of recommendation from the Director of the Engglish Commerce at Amadabat He was not at home but I found him on the River side looking on some Workmen he had about
does indeed discolour the Teeth which by the frequent use of it become of a red colour but that is one of the Beauties of the Indian Women No corner of a Street but it may be had ready prepar'd so that a man need not to be troubled about the quantity he is to make use of Great Lords have it brought after them in Boxes of Lacque or Silver and take of it as they go along the Streets nay many times when they are about business of consequence and that in any place They are also of a belief that this Drug fortifies the natural heat and accordingly account it one of their delicacies upon which account it is that they abstain from it when they are in affliction and particularly when the Moguls and Mahumetans celebrate their Fasts Myrsabeg having taken a little of it took leave of me and I got into my Coach intending to call on the Kings Lieutenant at his own house as I pass'd by in regard I was to go by his door but I met him in the Street in his Coach there being carried before him three Banners of Taffata Red and Green charg'd with flames of Silver as soon as he perceived me he turn'd his Coach and oblig'd me to go along with him to his House His House was seated in the most delightful quarter of the City having two Gates to enter in at one whereof led into a spacious Court the other into a fair Garden about the Walls where of there was one continued structure He treated me with Bettelé and Palm-wine but having time little enough to perform the journey I intended that day I staid not with him above half an hour He sent one of his Menial servants after me to give order to the Officer of the Custom-house and the Guards at the Gate that I might pass without paying ought I came in the Evening to Serguntra but it was so late that the Benjans who burn no Candles for fear that Flies and such other Insects might be destroyed thereby would not open their Shops to sell me any forrage for my Beasts It is much different from what is commonly used in Europe For the Country bringing forth no Oats and very little Grass they accustom their Beasts to another kind of sustenance and keep them with a certain Paste which they make up of Sugar and Meal into which they sometimes put a little Butter We were going to break open one of their Shops but ere we had done any harm one of the Benjans brought us some forrage The next day before noon we travell'd five Leagues to a great Village where we baited our Beasts giving to each of the Oxen a pound and a half and to the Horses two pounds of Sugar mixt with Meal Thence we got to the Garden of Tzietbagh where we baited again This Garden which no doubt is the most delightful of any in the Indies is also the most considerable of any in the whole Country not only in regard of the Victory which the Mogul gain'd in that place over the last King of Guzuratta as we have mentioned before and which gave it the name of Tzietbagh that is to say the Garden of Victory but also in respect of its magnificent Structures and the noble Fruits which grow there in great abundance It is seated in one of the most pleasant places in the world upon the side of a great Pool having on the side toward the water several Pavillions and on that towards Amadabat a very high Wall The sumptuousness of the buildings speaks the great Spirit of the Prince that founded it as doth also the Caravansera adjoyning thereto There are in the Garden many Allyes of Fruit-trees as Orange and Citro-trees of all sorts Pomegranate-trees Date-trees Almond-trees Mulberry-trees the Trees which bear Tamarinds Mangas and Cocos besides many other not known to us and there was such abundanâ—e of them and they were planted so close that we could walk about the Garden in the shaâ—e which was a great refreshing to us The branches of all these Trees were infinitely stor'd with Apes which added not a little to â—he divertisment and satisfaction of our walk We staid no longer in it then while our Horses were baiting in regard we were resolv'd to get that day to Amadabat whither we came at night I was that day on horse-back and by way of sport would needs frighten the Apes which plaid a thousand tricks about us in so much that we began to think them troublesome I shot two of them with my Pistol whereat the rest were so incensed that they seem'd to conspire together as if they had a design to set upon us Their cries and distorted looks discover'd how much they were inclin'd to do us some mischief in so much that about twenty of the biggest of them followed us for above half a League but perceiving us ready to turn towards them they got among the Trees and at last gave over their pursuit of us Coming to Amadabath I met with a Caffila or Caravan of about 200. Merchants English and Benjans which was going to Agra the chief City of all the Mogul's country The English President had ordered him who had the conduct of the Caravan to take me along with him and the Director of the Commerce at Amadabath added thereto his particular recommendations so that those Merchants received me into their company and I went along with them thence on the 28. of October The weather and the way were very fair but I met with so few Villages that the first I have any account to give of was that of Paingat and the sixth day after our departure from Amadabath we came to the City of Heribath which is fifty Leagues distant from it This City is not very big and hath neither Gates nor Walls as having been razed by Temurleng or Tamberlane as had been also the Castle whereof the ruines are yet to be seen upon a high Mountain not far from the City Between this City and that of Damtiges which is distant from that of Heribath other fifty Leagues we met a Caffila of Benjan Merchants who told us they had been set upon by 200. High-way-men of the Rasboutes who had forc'd them to ransom themselves at a hundred Ropias and that we should do well to stand upon our guard inasmuch as the day before they had seen a hundred more of them who having understood from them what they had paid their Camrades had siad no more to them and only took away one of their Oxen but that they were gone to joyn with the former and that they would not fail to set upon us We made our advantage of this Intelligence and caused our Waggons to be fastned together and the Souldiers that guarded them were so disposed as that they might relieve one another without the least fear of any disorder Near a certain Village we met with fifty of those rascally Companions but
resolve how to make our party good against them we saw coming out of all sides of the Wood a great number of Rasboutes arm'd with short Pikes Bucklers Bows and Arrows but without any Fire-arms We had the time to charge those we had which were four Fire-locks and three pair of Pistols The Merchant and I got on horseback and bestow'd the Fire-locks among those who were in the Coach with express order not to fire till they were sure to do execution Our Fire-arms were charged with square pieces of Steel and the Rasboutes came on in so close a body that at the first firing we saw three fall They shot certain Arrows at us wherewith they hurt an Oxe and two foot Souldiers One was shot into the Pommel of my Saddle and the English Merchant had another shot into his Turbant The Dutch Caffila hearing the noise commanded out ten Souldiers but ere they could come in to our relief we run a great hazard of our lives For I was set upon on all sides and was thrust twice with a Pike into my Buff-collar which certainly sav'd my life that day There came two of the Rasboutes so near as to lay hold on my bridle after they had kill'd two of my foot Souldiers and were going to carry me away prisoner But I dispatch'd one of them with a Pistol-shot which I gave him in the shoulder and the English Merchant came in to my relief and behav'd himself with as much gallantry as it was possible man could do The ten foot Souldiers belonging to the Dutch Caffila being come in and the Caffila it self not much behind them the Rasboutes got into the Wood leaving six men kill'd upon the place and carrying along with them many hurt On our side we had two foot Souldiers kill'd and eight wounded besides whom the English Merchant had also received a slight wound From that time we kept along with the Caffila marching in very good order out of an imagination we had that the Rasboutes would be sure to set on us a second time but we heard no more of them and came about noon to Broitschia where we stayed till the evening We departed thence about four of the clock that same day in order to our crossing the River and that we might get five Cos further to the Village of Onclasser where we lodg'd that night and the next day being the 26. of DECEMBER we got to Surat At my return to Surat I found in the English Lodge above fifty Merchants whom the President had summon'd out of all the other Factories to give an account of their Administration and to be present at the change of Government This Assembly consisted of the persons following viz. Mr. Metwold the then President Mr. Fremling who was to succeed him in that charge five Consuls from several places of the Indies three Ministers two Physitians and twenty five Merchants Being all met together the President made an excellent Speech to give the Assembly then present his hearty thanks for the many expressions he had received of their fidelity and affection during his Government as also for the honour and respects they had rendred the East-India Company in his person and to intreat them to continue the same towards Mr. Fremling to whom he had received Order to resign up his charge exhorting them in all things to do that which conduced most to the reputation and advantage of the Company Having ended his Speech he delivered Mr. Fremling the Letters Patents by vertue whereof he was to assume that new Charge and made him a short Complement upon that occasion This Ceremony ended they went to their Garden without the City where Mr. Metwold had prepar'd a magnificent entertainment consisting of whatever the Country afforded that was excellent and rare as also a set of English Musick Violins another of Mahumetan and a third of Benjan which for our further divertisement was accompanied by the Women-dancers of the Country All which being over Order was immediately given that those Ships which were fully loaden should make all necessary Provisions for their return and we began to make all things ready for our Voyage December 28. There came to Surat a Sultan sent thither by the Mogul to succeed him whom I had found there at my Arrival The new President went half a League out of the City to meet him accompanied by five of the chiefest Merchants who intreated me to go along with them The Sultan had marching before him several foot Souldiers and a certain number of Palanquins and after them an Elephant upon which a Man carried a Banner of red Taffata After the Elephant came above a hundred foot Souldiers and after them twenty other Souldiers carrying every one a little Banner much like those of our Cornets of several Colours These march'd immediately before the Sultan who was mounted upon a gallant Persian Horse and attended by several Persons of quality and a great number of Men on horseback On one side of him went a Page with a great Plume of Feathers which serv'd for a Fan to keep off the heat of the Sun and he had carried behind him his own Palanquin which was all gilt His name was Myrsa Mahmuda one with whom the new President had been acquainted long before Having accompanied him to his Palace amidst the Acclamations of the people which throng'd in the Streets to congratulate his Arrival he return'd to his own house Immediately upon the establishment of the new President all the other Officers and Merchants departed one after another to the places of their ordinary Residence and the Ships were ordered to make all things ready to set sail They were the Mary and the Swan but there were to go along with them two other Vessels one whereof being too old to get home into England was to be sold at Goa where the President was to touch in his way and the other was bound for the same place to receive fifty thousand Ryals which the Portuguez were to pay in execution of the Treaty of Peace they had made with the English to be imployed in the Indies according as the President of Surat should dispose thereof The Swan had Orders to set sail ten dayes before us and to stay for us at the Cape of good hope But ere we leave Surat it will not be amiss to give that account of the Kingdom of Guzuratta wherein that famous City of Trade lies which we promised elsewhere We call it the Kingdom of Guzuaratta in regard it is not above 120. years since the Mogul united it to his Crown upon occasion of the King of Guzuratta's minority who then reigned For then Sulthan Mamoâ—t who died about the year 1545. left only one Son named Madofher who being but about eleven or twelve years of age was put under the Guardianship of Ehamet-Chan his Fathers Favourite This Guardian perceiving that his young Master was not in a condition to protect him from the envy
them whose Profession it is to bear Arms make a distinct Sect which they call that of the Rasboutes of whom we shall give an account anon Those of the Sect of Bisnow have this common with the two precedent that they abstain from feeding on any thing that hath had life They fast also and in the moneth of August have their Assemblies in their Agoges so they call their Mosqueys Their principal Devotion consists in singing of Hymns to the honour of their God whom they call Ram-ram and pray to bless them and their Families with a supply of what they think necessary that they may live without discontent and inconvenience Their singing is accompany'd with dancing and Musick consisting of Drums Pipes Copper-basins and other Instruments upon which they play before their Idols They represent their Ram-ram with his Wife in several manners and adorn both their Statues on Holy-dayes with many Gold Chains Collars of Pearl and all sorts of precious Stones and set up many Lamps and Wax-candles before them This God hath no Substitutes as that of the Sect of Samarath but doth all himself The ordinary sustenance of the Bisnow is only Herbs and Pulse fresh Butter Milk and Curds They are great lovers of the Atschia which is a certain Composition made of Ginger Mangas Citrons Garlick and Mustard-seed pickled with Salt and drink only Water or Baratte They are either Women or Priests that dress their meat and instead of Wood which they forbear burning because there are sometimes Worms in it which might by that means be destroyed they use Cow-dung dried in the Sun and mixt with Straw which they cut in square pieces as they do the Turfs in Holland and so expose it to sale Those of this Sect are for the most part addicted to Merchandise either upon their own account or as Agents and Factors under others They understand the business of Commerce extreamly well and their Conversation is not unpleasant whence it comes that both Christians and Mahumetans employ them as Brokers and Interpreters in their way of Trading They have this particular Custom in this Sect that they permit not the Women to burn themselves with their Husbands but they oblige them to perpetual widowhood even though the Husband died before the consummation of the marriage It is not long since that among them the younger Brother was oblig'd to marry his elder Brothers Widow to raise up seed to him but this custome is abolish'd by an express Law which condemns the Women to celibate In the morning they all wash themselves in a Tanque or rather in a River if there be any near the place where they live and they think it not enough to go into it up to the Waste but they tumble wallow and swim in it muttering certain words between their Teeth while the Braman who sits on the River-side and looks to their Cloaths gives them his Benediction and prayes God that they may be as clean from their sins as their bodies are clear of filth At their coming out of the water he rubs their Foreheads Noses and Ears with a certain Composition made of Sandal or some other Odoriferous wood and they give him for his pains a small quantity of Wheat Rice or Pulse Those of the Sect of Gâ—êghy intermeddle not with either Trade or Traffick but live a very solitary life in the Country in obscure Villages or the ruines of Houses where they worship their God Bruin and his Servant Mecis They have neither Mosqueys nor any other publick places wherein to assemble to do their Devotions nay will not go into the Mosqueys of the other Benjans unless it be into those of the Sect of Samarath but it is only to take up their Lodging in them for want of other accommodation For they are forbidden by their Law to be proprietors of any thing They shun the conversation of Men and live in Woods and Desarts like the Hermits and ancient Aâ—chorites They have nothing about them but a piece of Linnen-cloath to cover that part which Nature is unwilling should be expos'd to the view of all They rub their Bodies all over with Ashes and when-ever they sit down they have a little heap of Ashes near them which they are perpetually handing and scatter of it upon their moist Hair which disfigures them after a strange manner They never speak to such as pass by them nor give them the time of the day nay they will not answer those that speak to them out of this perswasion that being consecrated to their God Bruin they believe they should defile themselves by speaking to other men Whence it happens that when they come into any City they make no stay therein and will not turn out of that Street which leads them to the Gate they would go out at Wherein they are so scrupulous that they will not ask for any thing though they were ready to starve They will indeed receive what is giveâ— them but if there be nought given them they live on Herbs and Roots which they find in the fields There are some among them that have three or four servants who put themselves voluntarily into their service that they may participate of their sanctity but all the service they do them is what they list themselves For the Masters never command them to do any thing nay not what is most necessary to life All the other Benjans have a certain veneration for the Goêghys except it be those of the Caste or Sect of Ceurawath who have a horrour for them and shun their conversation There are some among them have a greater reputation of knowledge and sanctity then others but they make no advantage thereof in as much as their condition is equal They never marry but live in so great observance of Chastity that they would not suffer a Woman to touch them The common people hath a great devotion for these Goêghys saluting them with much respect and receiving their Benediction with great submission The Goêghys believe that their God Bruin hath created all things and that he continues them in being by his infinite power by which he is able to destroy and reduce them to nothing They affirm that he is not to be represented by any Figure of either Man or Beast but that he is a light which cannot be the Object of our sight inasmuch as having created that of the Sun it is not to be admired that we cannot contemplate the principle of so transcendent a brightness They believe not the Transmigration of Souls as the other Benjans do but affirm that the Souls at their departure out of the body are immediately transferred to their God Bruin to live with him eternally and to be united to that infinite Light Certain it is that Charcoal-men and Chimney-sweepers among us are not so besmutted as these people who take a pleasure in disfiguring their bodies and countenances not only by the Ashes
and go from Surat Cambaia and Broitschia upon the Coasts of Persia bring home Brocadoes Silk-stuffes Velvets Chamlets Pearls dry Fruits as Almonds Raisms of the Sun Nuts and Dates and above all Rose-water wherewith they drive a great Trade These go away in the moneths of Ianuary and February and return in April or the beginning of May. There are other Ships of a hundred two hundred and three hundred tuns burthen which carry to Acim in the Island of Sumatra all sorts of the Commodities of the Country and bring home Sulphur Benjamin Camphire Percelain Tin and Pepper These last set sail in May for this reason that the Portuguez who forbid the selling of Pepper any where but in the Cities where they have established their Commerce upon pain of death and confiscation of Goods and guard the Coast against the Pirats of the Malabares draw not into their Havens till that time and therefore they must so order their Affairs that they may be at home again in October before the Portuguez set out their Fleets to Sea The Malabares who inhabit that part of the Indian Coast which reaches from Cap di Rama ten Leagues from Goa Southward as far as Cap di Comori about a hundred and seven or a hundred and eight Leagues in length and comprehends the Cities of Calicut Onor Bacalir Bacanor Mangalor Cananor and Granganot have also very great trade at Surat Cambaya and Broitschia and bring thither Cayro which is the bark of the Cocos-trees whereof they make Cordage for Ships Copera or the pith of the same Trees brown Sugar which they call Sigaga Areca and Bettelé which they call in their Language Dimang a certain kind of Wood which dyes red called Patang and Harpus wherewith Ships are calked as also Rice and other provisions They carry home Opium Saffron Coral Cotton Thread Linnen-cloaths and other Stuffes They come to Surat and upon the Coasts in the moneth of December and go away in April The Portuguez who for a long time had all the advantages of the Trade of Guzuratta and were become Masters thereof by means of the Forts they had built at Daman Diu and Goa to make their party good against the Malabares their irreconcileable Enemies brought thither Lead Tin Vermilion Quicksilver all sorts of Woollen-clothes Ivory Sandal-wood Pepper Cardomomum or grains of Paradise Cloves Porcelane China-Stuffes Cinnamon Cocos Cayro Vessels of Gold Vermilion-gilt made in Europe and bought there all sorts of Stuffes Cotton-clothes Indico Saltpeter Lacque Sugar Mirobalans Preserves Bed-steads Cabinets and other pieces made of Lacque which they brought to Goa and disposed into their great Ships or Carracks which set thence for Portugal in Ianuary and February They bought there also Butter Assa foetida Opium Cummin Cotton and Thread to be transported to Malacca China and Sapan where they traded many times at two hundred upon one hundred profit But since the English and Dutch setled themselves in the Kingdom of Guzuratta they have been forc'd to quit some part of that Trade and to content themselves with what they still carry on at Goa whereof we shall give some account in the second Book of this Relation MANDELSLO's TRAVELS INTO THE INDIES The Second Book THe English President Mr. Metwold who had resign'd his charge in the Indies to his Successour Mr. Fremling having taken all requisite order for our Voyage went the first day of Ianuary 1639. to take his leave of the Sulthan who receiv'd him very kindly and presented him with a Vestment of Brocadoe the Collar whereof was made of two Martins Skins with Sables which he then had about him as also many other rare things which he entreated him to keep for his sake At our coming out of the Sulthans Palace we were received into a Shallop which brought us aboard the Mary then lying in the Road two Leagues from the mouth of the River The new President and the chiefest of the English Officers accompanied us into the Ship where they stayed three dayes entertaining and treating one another and drowning in good Wine the affliction which was to ensue upon so long a separation We set sail the fifth two hours before day and got at night in sight of the City of Daman where we found one of our Ships which was gone before us to take up a Portuguez Vessel that was to go along with us to Goa The Governour sent us a Vessel of Wine about the bigness of a Barrel and some other refreshments notwithstanding the siege which the King of Decam his Neighbour then maintain'd against the place but with little good success in regard the Haven being not block'd up the Indians could not prevent the sending in of relief into the City even in the day time The Kingdom of Decam or rather Cuncam for so it is more commonly called though from its Metropolis it sometimes gets the name of Visiapour reaches all along that Coast from Ingediva which lies within twelve leagues of Goa towards the South to a place named Siffarde The Neighbouring Princes are on the North-side the King Nisamsa who is possess'd of the Country which lies between the Province of Dolte babth within the Kingdom of Decam and the Kingdom of Bailama on Daman side and on the East the King of Benghenal whose residence is in the City of Golcanda which is corruptly called Golconda The chief Maritime Cities of the Kingdom of Decam are Geytapour Rasapour Carapatan and Dabul but the Metropolis of the Kingdom is Visiapour eighty Leagues from Dabul and eighty four from Goa The way from Goa to Visiapour lies according to the following direction which we thought fit to insert here purposely to take occasion by that means to discover a good part of the Country As soon as you come out of Goa you cross the River Madre de dios to get into the Country of the King of Visiapour in which the first place you come to is the City of Ditcauly three Leagues from Goa The Governour of this City is Governour also of the Fort of Ponda which is upon the same River From Ditcauly to Danda are counted six Leagues This City is of a competent largeness and hath very fair Streets It is seated upon the River Dery which falls into the Sea near those Isles which the Portuguez call Islas quemadas Its Inhabitants are Decanins and Benjans who traffick very much at Goa From Danda to the Mountain of Balagatta are nine Leagues and you pass through the Villages of Amby and Herpoli and at the foot of the Mountain through that of Amboly This Mountain reaches along the Kingdom of Cuncam as far as the Coasts of Coromandel and there on the top of it Plains whose fertility is equal to that of the most pleasant Valleys From Amboly to the Village of Herenekassi upon the River of the same name there are eleven Leagues and within Cannon shot of it you pass
to the City of Calliar which is wholly destroy'd Two Leagues thence there is a little Village called Galoure whence you pass through the Village of Winge and afterwards by the City of Qualampour where much Linnen is made and by that of Domo to the City of Tamba which is six Leagues from Galoure The City of Tamba is considerable both for its largeness and its being very populous It lies on the other side of a River the name whereof I could not learn for that of Coyna which they give it is a general name and signifies only a great River The Inhabitants are Benjans and Ientives who live by Commerce and Tillage From the City of Tamba to the Village of Morel are two Leagues and thence to that of Suppero two Leagues to Belour four and thence to the Town of Werad two Leagues This Town lies nine Leagues from the Mountains of Balagatta and there is not far from it a Village called Patan which was sometime the retreat of a famous Robber named Hiewogby who made all he took pay a certain Ransome and when ever notice was brought him of any design against his person he got into the Mountain whither it was impossible to pursue him From Werad to the Village of Helewacko and the River which runs by it are counted above three Leagues This River which comes down from the City of Chaury which is thirty six Lâ—agues distant from this Village hath no other name then that of the Village though they give it also that of Coyna as being indeed the greatest of any in the Kingdom of Cuncam From the River to the Village of Gattamatta which is within the Mountains of Balagatta are three Leagues and thence to the Village of Pory three more This Village is seated at the foot of the Mountain which is at that place very rough and craggy Thence to the Village of Camburley are two Leagues and thence to that of Chipolone two more this last Village lies upon the River Ghoyhbeer which falls into that which runs by Helâ—wacko whence it comes that those who go to Dabul by water embark at that place Dabul being sixteen Leagues from it At the same place they also embark all the Merchandises which are transported to all parts of the Kingdom paying a Larin and a half upon a Candy which comes to four Quintals or four hundred weight and a half carriage The City of Dabul is seated upon the River Kalewacko at seventeen degrees forty five minutes on this side the Line though Linschoten puts it at eighteen degrees It is without doubt one of the most ancient Cities of the whole Kingdom but now it hath neither Gates nor Walls and all its Fortifications consists in two Batteries on the Rive-side upon which there are four Iron Guns The Wood which lies on the left hand as you go into the River represents a great Castle and at the foot of the same Wood may be discover'd a white Tower which serves for a Pagode or Mosquey and is an infallible direction to Pilots The entrance into the River is somewhat difficult there being at the mouth of it a Sand-bank which at low-water is dry so that as you go in you must alwayes keep towards the South in regard that even at low-water you have on that side between five and six fathom water unless it be at the very mouth of the River where you have not above twelve or fourteen foot water at most The Road is good within a League of the River but it is incomparably better four Leagues thence in the Bay of Zanquizara Twelve Leagues thence lyes the Haven or Road of Ceitapour which is within twenty Leagues of Goa at seventeen degrees ten minutes and is no doubt the best on all the Coast for casting Anchor behind the Island which shelters it you need not fear being expos'd to any wind Three Leagues thence lyes the City of Rasapour which is one of the chiefest maritime Cities of the Kingdom of Cuncam The Bay of Wingurla nineteen Leagues from Rasapour and three from Islas quemadas is a convenient Haven but we shall forbear any further description thereof in regard it is not our design at present to afford materials for a Maritime Map of those parts The Inhabitants of Dabul are either Pagans or Mahumetans whose principal trading is in Salt which is brought thither from Oranubammara as also in Pepper Heretofore there were set forth thence several Vessels for the Gulf of Persia and the Red-sea but now their Commerce that way is so inconsiderable that they hardly send out three or four wretched bottoms for Gamron The Custom paid there is three and a half upon the hundred but the English pay only a moyety thereof The Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Cuncam or Decam though they are for the most part Benjans eat any kind of flesh unless it be that of an Oxe Cow Buffle or wild Oxe and a Swine They have a certain veneration for the Oxe and the Cow but Swines-flesh is an abomination to them As to their manner of life their Marriages Entertainments Purifications and other Ceremonies they imitate therein the Benjans of Guzuratta Their Houses are of Straw and the Doors so low that a Man cannot get in without stooping All that 's to be seen within them is only a Mat on which they lie in the night and a pit in the ground wherein they beat their Rice Their habit is the same with that of the other Benjans save that their Shooes which they call Alparcas are of wood ty'd up over the Instep with straps of Leather Their Children go naked till they come to seven or eight years of age and they are for the most part by profession Gold-smiths There are also among them some who work in Brass they have Physitians Barbers Chirurgeons Carpenters and Masons who work for the Mahumetans the other Benjans and the Parsis whereof there is a greater number in those parts then there is of Decanins and Canarius They make use of the same Armes as the Indosthans do and they have this common with them that they are not so good as either those of Turkey or Europe Their principal Commerce consists in Pepper which is transported by Sea into Persia to Surat and into Europe as also in provisions wherewith all the neighbouring Provinces are thence supply'dâ— There are made also in those parts great quantities of Linnen-cloath which is transported by Sea out of the Kingdom and they traffick much by land with the Inhabitants of Indosthan Golcanda and the Coasts of Coromandel whither they carry Cotton-clothes and Silk-stuffes There are abundance of Jewellers at Visiapour and there is found thereabouts great quantity of Pearls but it is not there they are to behad cheapest since they are brought thither from other places There is also abundance of Lacque made in the Mountains of Balagatta but it is not so good as that of Guzuratta
carried with them which is a Priviledge allowed only persons of quality nay the Portuguez even to the Vice-Roy himself and the Arch-Bishop make use of them rather then of those of their own Nation They never eat but with those of their own Sect though they were ready to starve Nay in this particular they are so scrupulous that if in their journey to Cochim their provision should fall short they would rather starve then be oblig'd to eat what another had sown or made ready Most of the Porters about Goa are Christians as are also their Money-changes whom they call Xaraffes who make an external profession of Christianity but in their dealing are Iews apt to over-reach and deceive all that have to do with them There are in Goa many Decanins and Canarins who have Shops there and buy of the Portuguez Porcelane Velvet Damask and other Stuffes of Silk and Cotton as also some China Commodities all by whole sale and afterwards sell them again by retail These also bring Provisions from the Continent and trade therein having to that end their Brokers and Factors who mannage their business while they go to Cambaya and along the Coast to improve their Traffick There are amongst them Goldsmiths Jewellers Gravers and other Artizans who do things incomparably better then any of ours These also farm the Kings Demesne in the Islands of Bardes and Salsette upon which account having sometimes occasion to go to Law they are so well vers'd in the Laws and Customs of Portugal that they need no Advocates to plead their Causes Most of the Canarins are either Husband-men or Fisher-men There are some of them have no other employment then dressing the Cocos-trees to get the Wine and Fruit they produce Others only wash Linnen or whiten Cloath The Peasants bring in every day to the City wild Fowl Milk Fruit Eggs and other provisions to be sold. Their Wives are deliver'd with the greatest easiness imaginable They make no use of Midwives but are deliver'd alone wash their Children themselves as soon as they are born put them under a few Fig leaves and return to their work as if they had not been about any such thing The Children brought up after this rate grow so hardy and strong that it is an ordinary thing to see Men among them of a hundred years of age yet have not a Tooth missing but all the time in perfect health They are all excellent Swimmers whence it comes that they venture over to the Continent in their little Boats called Almadiâ—s which indeed are so little that they can hardly carry one person in so much that they are frequently overturn'd but they recover them again by swimming cast out the Water and prosecute their Voyage Though in these parts they burn the dead bodies instead of burying of them yet are not the Women oblig'd to burn themselves with their Husbands Corps but only to cut off their Hair and make a Vow of perpetual Widowhood The Iews who live at Goa have there their Temples and Synagogues and enjoy an absolute liberty of Conscience They are either Indians born of Father and Mother Iews or they come out of Palastine these last for the most part speak the Spanish tongue The Mahumetans who live there trade for the most part to Meca and other places upon the Red-sea whither they carry Spices The Portuguez and the Mestizes have their greatest Trade in Bengala Pegu Malacca China and in Guzuratta at the City of Cambaya No Person of Quality at Goa but goes once a day to the Market whither the Merchants nay most Gentlemen come as well to hear what news there is as to see what there is to be sold for from seven in the morning to nine after which the heat is such as that a Man is not able to stay there the publick Criers whom they call Laylon sell there by outcry all sorts of Commodities but especially Slaves of both Sexes and Jewels There you shall see the Crier loaden with Chains Gold Rings and precious Stones and followed by a great number of Slaves all to be sold. There are also to be sold there Persian and Arabian Horses Spices all sorts of Aromatick Gums Alcatifs Porcelane Vessels of Agat several things made of Lacque and whatever is thought precious or rare in any other part of the Indies Merchants and Tradesmen are distinguished by Streets so that Silk-men are not shuffled in among Linnen-Drapers nor the Druggists among those who sell Porcelane The greatest profit they make is in the exchange of Money For when the Spanish Fleet comes in they buy Ryals at ten or twelve in the hundred loss and in April when the Ships go away for the Molucca's and China where the Ryals are much esteem'd they fell them again at twenty five or thirty in the hundred profit notwithstanding the Order there is to sell them at four hundred Reis They make the same advantage by the change of the Laris which they also sell at ten or twelve in the hundred profit They have several sorts of money The least is that which hey call Basarucques which on the one side have a Globe on the other two Arrows cross'd They are made of Tin and Lattin mixt together and eight of these Basarucques make a Ventin whereof five make a Tanghe Five Tanghes make a Serafin of Silver which according to the King Command is set at three hundred Reis and six Tanghes make a Pardai The Serafin hath on the one side Saint Sebastian on the other a sheaf of Arrows There are also Serafins of Gold coined heretofore at Ormus of a more refin'd metal then any other Moneys of the Indies whence it comes that the Gold-smiths melt down all that fall into their hands of them They have also Santemes of 16. Tanghes and Pagodes of 14 15. and 16. Tanghes Forreign Merchants pay at their coming in eight in the hundred for all Merchandises and as much at their going out but the Farmers of the Customs are so reasonable in their valuing of them that the Merchants have no cause to complain They have also this favour that if a Merchant hath paid the Customs at his coming in and hath not put off his Commodities he may carry them to some other place without paying ought at the Exportation In like manner a forreign Merchant that hath bought of a Portuguez or other Citizen of Goa Spices or any other Commodities of Malacca or China may enter them under the Sellers name and so avoid paying the Customes due at exportation The Viceroy at the time of our being there was D. Pedro de Silva His person was not answerable to his quality but he had about him above fifty Gentlemen who gave him the same respect as they could have done the King himself This charge is continued in the same person but for three years as well in regard it were dangerous a Subject should longer be possess'd of a Dignity
Caratts in weight appertain to the King Next to Orixa winding towards the North lyes the Kingdom of Bengala which gives name to the Gulph by the Ancients called Sinus Gangeticus They drive here a great trade in Rice Sugar and Cotton but chiefly in Silks which are esteem'd the best in all the Indies The finest Canes we have are brought from Bengala where there likewise grows a sort of Canes which are finer then the Osier in so much as Vessels are made of them which being glazed with Lacque on the inside coâ—tain liquid matters as long and as well as a Glass or Silver Bowl There also grows a certain Herb having on the top of its stalk which is about the compass of a mans thumb a great button like a tassel this tassel is spun out and there are excellent Stuffs made of it The Portuguez call it Herba de Bengala and make of it Hangings and Coverlets in which they represent all sorts of Figures The people of the Country are all Pagans and in the manner of their living exceeding brutish Theft is here very common and Adultery though it be punished with severity by cutting off their Noses who are taken in it they forbear not nevertheless to pollute themselves with all sort of uncleanness can be committed in that Vice The bear religious worship to the River of Ganges and hold the water hereof to be so holy that who wash themselves therein are cleansed from all their sins and this superstition reaches so far that the King of Narsinga sends to the Ganges for the water he uses for his purifications The Kingdom of Pegu joyns upon Bengala upon the East-side and takes its name from the capital City where the King hath placed the Seat of his Monarchy This is a very potent State and as Gaspar Balbi sayes whom I follow in this Relation because I saw not the Country the Metropolis is divided into two parts the one called the old the other the new Town The King with all that relate to the Court live in the latter and Merchants and Tradesmen inhabit the other For the greatest part the dwelling-houses are built of Canes but they are joyn'd to Ware-houses that are vaulted to prevent fire The new Town is four-square and the Flankers of it so streight that from any Gate thereof one may discover both corners of the Wall There are Bastions of Timber and a large Moat full of water where they keep Crocodiles to secure the Town from surprizal The Peguans hold this Creature to have something Divine about it whence it comes they are so desirous to drink the water though they fetch it not without danger of being devour'd by the Crocodiles as it often happens Notwithstanding they water their Elephants there but this is a Beast that strikes terrour in the Crocodiles and would be too hard for them The Palace Royal stands in the middle of the City and hath its peculiar Fortifications Walls and Moats whereby it is divided from the Town The Castle is said to be much more spacious then the City of Venice and that there is no entrance but on the Town-side by two Ports and as many Draw-bridges Within the first Port are the Houses of the Grandees who enter not into the body of the Castle without express Order from the King His Guard consisting of a great number of Souldiers with them called Bramas is kept at the second Port where they sit having their Arms hanging before them on the Wall In this place are the Stables for Elephants as well such as are kept for the Princes service as those design'd for War being about eight hundred in number The Kings Appartment is exceeding rich painted Azure with Flowers of Gold and when the King gives Audience he appears in great magnificence In his hand he holds a Fan to Fan himself and on his head he hath a quadruple Crown of Gold enamell'd white Near his person stand four Youths whom he makes use of in his brutalities and before him all the Grandees of the Court who whensoever they speak to him lift their hands above their head and bow down to the ground Being sate they bring before him his fairest Elephants and amongst the rest his white one which is said to be the only one in all the Indies nor ever is there more then one to be seen at Court which was brought thither after the Victory he gain'd against the King of Siam with whom he had not made War but to gain that Beast as we shall tell you anon These Beasts make their reverence to him and testifie a Worship to his Person If we may give credit to the fore-mentioned Balbi this next the King of China is the most Potent Prince on Earth He sayes this Prince can bring into the Field fifteen hundred thousand Men and above eight hundred Elephants and that his Treasure is sufficient for so mighty an Army by reason every Person of Quality is oblig'd to raise and maintain so many Men of War at his own proper charges He relates to this purpose that in his time the King of Auva his Fathers Brother but Vassal to the King of Pegu denying homage to his Nephew and to pay such Diamonds and precious Stones as he stood oblig'd to in that consideration the King of Pegu who was well assured his Uncle held a very private intelligence with some Noble men of his Kingdom against the security of his State and Person to shew how mindful he was of his Fathers request on his death-bed and the recommendation he then made in favour of the King of Auva sent him an Embassadour extraordinary to reduce him to his Duty and perswade him to come in again to him but his Uncle instead of taking the advantage of his Nephews Nobleness puts the Embassadour to death and declares War against the King of Pegu. But he having raised an Army of three hundred thousand men before he would march into the Field purg'd his Court and put to death those Traytors who had ingagede to deliver him into the hands of his Uncle Assembling then all the Confederates of this Treason under pretence of calling them to a Councel about this War he caused them to be secured and they their Wives and Children to be burnt alive Then to free himself from the Odium of so horrid an Execution he sends to the Judge that he should defer the Execution till he receiv'd express Order under his Signet but the Dogad gini or Judge who had other private instructions proceeded according to them That done the King of Pegu appeared in the head of his Army mounted on an Elephant covered with trappings of Tissue having by his side a Sword that was presented him by D. Lewis of Atayda Viceroy of Goa resolving to march in few dayes against his Uncle but he was hindred by the small Pox which he had in extremity As soon as he was recovered
his younger Brother alive at this day 'T is not long since the King of Siam had the satisfaction to have two young white Elephants together but they both dyed in a short time The Indians do believe that a white Elephant hath something in it of divine and say they respect it not only for the colour but they observe in him that he looks to be treated as a Prince and that he is troubled when other Elephants render not him the honour due to him The King of Siam is a Pagan nor do his Subjects know any other Religion They have divers Mosquees Monasteries and Chappels where their Ecclesiasticks retire and assemble to do their Devotions They are discerned from other buildings by the gilt Towers and Pyramides There are infinite Pagodes of Gold Silver Stone Timber and other materials of all sizes some of twenty some thirty fourty fifty foot and amongst the rest one which sits which if it stood would be sixscore foot in height Their ecclesiasticks are very exemplary in their life having amongst them a kind of Hierarchy under the direction of the High-Priest of the Grand Mosquey of the City of India to whom all the rest yield obedience In matters of Religion his Authority is great but in Temporals he acknowledges the King and yields him the same respect as his other Subjects do In the City of India there are above thirty thousand of these Ecclesiasticks who are easily known by their habit for they all wear Garments of a yellow Linnen-cloath and have their Crowns shav'd Amongst them they chuse the most learn'd and accomplish'd for Priests and to take charge of the Mosqueys These are as Parsons amongst them who on Festival dayes preach to the people and sacrifice to their Idols They are prohibited the company of Women on pain of being burnt alive but their Vows are not so indispensible but such as have not the gift of Continency are allowed to change their profession every Mosquey hath a Convent belonging to it for entertainment of Priests design'd for the service which is regularly said morning and evening They live partly on the Revenue of the Mosqueys and partly on Gratuities given them by the King and Nobility in the way of Almes but they have their chiefest livelihood at the peoples Charge by begging every day through the City like our Friars Mendicants They have likewise Religious Women and Beguins who are aged devout Women who inhabit near the Mosqueys that they may be present at all the Church-Services but these make no Vow nor are obliged to any particular rule of Discipline They believe there is one God who created the Universe and hath under him divers other Gods by whom he governs the World They believe the Soul is immortal and that at its departure out of the Body it goes either to injoy beatitude or into eternal torments having first passed through other Bodies This is the ground of their Religion which they say they have received from time immemorable by Tradition of Saints whom they have exalted to Deities and now do part of their Devotions to them They hold likewise that good works will save them and in particular their Charity which they direct not to men alone but to Beasts likewise And hence it is that on Festival dayes the people bring Birds and Fish hard by the Mosqueys which they buy on purpose to set them at liberty because with the Benjans they believe a Metempsychosis or transmigration of Souls In their Ceremonies they use abundance of lights which they set up before their Pagodes in time of Service They likewise Incense them and adorn them with Flowers and precious Stones They have no certain day in the week design'd for their Devotions but they have some in particular every quarter of the Moon and observe moreover a sort of Lent for three moneths during which they abstain from several sorts of Meat They pray for the dead and bury them with many Ceremonies They wash shave and perfume the Corps in the presence of the Ecclesiasticks then they are brought near the Mosqueys where the Corps is burnt and the Ashes buried in the same place under a rich Tomb or stately Pyramide according to the degree and abilities of the deceased The nearest Relations shave themselves give Alms procure the Priests to say Prayers and attend the body with Musick Theatrical Representations and Fire-works so as these Obsequies put them to great charges They never dispute with any of a contrary Religion but believe that by living well they may be saved in any Religion though they are so fixt to their own that there is no hope of ever introducing another The Portuguez endeavoured to catechise some but with as little effect as the Mahumetans who would have brought in the Alcoran The inferiour people here invoke the Devil contrary to the doctrine of their Ecclesiasticks who incessantly preach against this abomination but hitherto they cannot pluck up this rooted wickedness which they sucked in with their first Milk The Siameses are comely and well proportioned but ill Souldiers though cruel and insolent enough after Victory They are rather black then brown ingenious in Commerce but they are cautious dissident dissemblers unconstant false and lyars The Men are lazy and care for no employment which requires labour such they leave to their Women and Slaves leaving affairs and husbandring of land to their charges while they walk the Streets or make their addresses at Court They cover themselves with a painted Cloath from the Navel to the Kâ—ces Men wear short Shirts with sleeves hanging to their Elbows and Women hide their Breasts with a linnen Cloath which is fastned about their Neck All observe one fashion in Clothes so as Persons of Quality are not to be distinguished from others but by their Train which consists of about five and twenty or thirty Slaves Their Houses are made of Timber or Canes of a fashion peculiar to the Country and covered with Coco leaves they are raised three or four foot from the ground and in every partition have several windows which is very commodious They have no other moveables then what are necessary for the Chamber and Kitchin and their diet is Rice Fish and Pulse and they drink nothing but Water but at Feasts they make better cheer and are willing to be invited to be drunk with Arac or Strong-water Ecclesiasticks meddle not in the marriages of Persons of Quality by reason the parties are content to confide in each other for the conditions agreed upon and obtaining the consent of their Parents they consummate the marriage But they ever reserve liberty of separation with an equal division of Goods and Children without License of any Magistrate and to marry again with whom and as oft as they will Their contract with their Concubines is of a different kind for they are considered but as Slaves and under the authority of
Silver or Iron so polished they might be taken for Silver The King of Cambodia is nothing so powerful as the two Kings whom we last mentioned for an Army of twenty five or thirty thousand is the most he can draw into the Field so as were the Siameses more Martial they might with small trouble make Cambodia subject to their King The Nobility of the Court are divided into Ockinas Tomimas Tonimnes Nampras and Sabandars each in his degree but for the best part without any particular charge except the first who are most considerable in publick Assemblies distinguished by little Cabinets of Gold carried after them wherein are Cardamum and other Drugs to rub their Lips Cissars to cut their Bettele by them called Pynang and for the Lime Areca and Bettele which they chew continually In the presence of the King whether it be for Councel or Complement they stand in a semi-circle and behind them the Tommaes known from the others by their Bottles of Silver No address is made to the King but by mediation of these Ockinas for though the Priests are next his Person between him and the Ockinas and converse familiarly with him they esteem it notwithstanding a king of Sacriledge for an Ecclesiastick to meddle in secular Affairs so as none but the Ockinas communicate general or particular Affairs to him of which 't is their Office to take cognizance as also of the Kings Orders upon their report In the whole Town there is but one Pagode or Mosquee wherein there are three bigger and three lesser Statues It is supported with wooden Pillars varnished black with a folliage of Gold and the floor covered with Mats Their Priests have no houses near the Pagode and when the chief of their Ecclesiasticks dyes they build him a Monument of Stone which at the bottom is four-square and upwards to the top grows round like a Pear The Portuguez are so well settled here that the Hollanders cannot hope to carry on any Trade till they have first destroyed that of the Portuguez At their first Arrival in the year 1637. they committed the management of their Affairs to an adoptive Son of the Queen to whom the King had given the name of Tisnecha and the honour of Nampra and they used the credit of the Chabandar of the Iaponeses in hope by this means they might gain a small establishment But the friendship they had contracted with the King of Siam and the Artifices of the Portuguez bred them difficulties they could not master otherwise they might have laded there yearly eighty or a hundred thousand Deer-skins besides Neat and Buffles hides above a hundred Picols of black Lacque at ten Thails the Picol above three or four hundred Picols of Benjamin at seventeen or eighteen Thales the Picol and might have vented their Cotton-yarn and Cloath for above sixty or seventy in the hundred profit Provisions in these parts are so plentiful that the Inhabitants having so much more then they have use for sell them in a manner for nothing specially Venison Beef Pork Goats Hares Kids Cranes Herns and all sorts of Poultry as likewise Oranges Citrons Mangas Cocoes c. but to judge the better of the fertility of this Soyl take notice that the people of Quinam alone fetch yearly thence two thousand Coyangs of Rice five Coyangs making four Lestes or eight Tuns at seventeen or eighteen Thails the Coyang And so much by way of Account of the small Kingdom of Cambodia That Tongue of Land is called Malacca which in form of a Peninsula extends it self from the Kingdom of Siam from the South-east towards the North-west even to the Equinoctial Line betwixt the Gulfs of Bengala and Siam or Cambodia and contains besides the City of Malacca whence it derives its name the Kingdom of Iahor and Patana The Country was discovered by Alphonso d' Albuquerque in the year 1511. since when the Portuguez have kept their ground there so firmly that none yet can supplant them Malacca is scituate upon the strait that divides the Isle of Sumatra from the Continent on this side the Line two Degrees and half in a large Plain where there is but only one Mountain the foot whereof is almost wholly taken up with the Town leaving only a small space open towards the North-east About eighteen hundred paces may be the compass of it for six hundred whereof it lies on the Sea-coast enclosed with a good Wall as likewise on the River-side which bounds another third of the Town and on the Land-side 't is fortified with four regular Bastions The first which is on the River-side is called the Bastion of Saint Domingo another on the Sea-shore Saint Iago and two more betwixt these two called Madre de Dios and Vnze mil Vergenes from that of Saint Iago to that of Madre de Dios there is a good Pallisado of eighteen foot high and between those of Madre de Dios to Saint Domingo a sufficient Ditch The Colledge of the Iesuits also called Saint Pauls which serves likewise for a Parish Church stands on the top of the Hill whence it commands the Town and the Country near about it There is likewise another rising ground about a Cannon shot from the City where there is a Convent of Iacobins The River there which runs North-west is not very broad and at high-water it mixes with the Sea but is fresh at low-water There is a Bridge over it though one side is without comparison much higher then the other by reason the Land South-east is so low and marshy that it cannot be broken but water comes in immediately and in some places 't is absolutely drown'd No week passes but it rains two or three times unless it be in Ianuary February and March The Ebb there leaves open above two thousand paces of shore which being nothing but a deep mud affords no landing at low-water Before the City lye two Islands one the Portuguez call Ilha da Naos about a Canon-shot distant from the City the other Ilha de Pedra for the Quarries where they get Free-stone for their building and lyes something more remote The Caracks and Gallions cast Anchor betwixt these Islands at four or five fathom water but Frigots and Barks enter the River and Vessels of a middle rate shelter under the Ilha da Naos between the River and the City In the City of Malacca its Suburbs and the neighbouring Towns possessed by the Portuguez there may be about twelve thousand Inhabitants thus accounted in the Parish of Saint Thomas in the place they call Camp clein a thousand in the Suburbs towards the River eighteen hundred in the Parish of Saint Lawrence two thousand and in Senhora Nossa de Pidaede as many in Nossa Senhora da Guadalupe five Leagues thence about seven or eight hundred and within the walls of the City three thousand making at most not above three thousand fighting men Amongst them there are not above three hundred
natural Portuguez the greatest part are Mestizes or Malâ—yans The City is so commodiously scituate for Commerce with China and the Moluques whereof the Portuguez having experience to hinder other Nations from footing there gave out that the Air was unwholsome that it was not inhabitable especially for Forraigners while they notwithstanding continued there and followed their business They are possessed of no more then the City and Suburbs and five Leagues off upon the same River the Town of Nostra Senhora de Guadalupe for about half a League thence live the Manancambos Subjects to the King of Iahor but that would not have hindred the Portuguez from making it one of the most considerable places of the Indies if the Hollanders did not disturb their Commerce and find work for the King of Spain's Armies in that part of the Universe At the request of the King of Iahor in the year 1606. they came down into Malacca and besieg'd the chief City upon promise they should be possest of it but the aid that King brought them was so inconsiderable that they were constrain'd to raise the Siege yet not till they had so ruin'd the place that it could never since be repaired six thousand lives being lost in the Siege On the other side since the Hollanders got such strong hold in Ceylon and Iava the Portuguez trade with China and the Moluques is quite lost by reason they are no more Masters of that Sea But what more and more ruines the City is the avatice of the Governours who will not accept of that Government but on condition to inrich themselves two hundred thousand Crowns in three years to raise which sum they are forc'd to oppress the Inhabitants as well as Strangers which oppressions will in time so ruine the Commerce of this place that for the future the Portuguez must make no great account of it The Kingdom of Patana is not so great as that of Iahor but without comparison more populous for some that have dealt there for the Hollanders and have staid there a sufficient time affirm they have seen Records that assert the King of Patana can raise an Army of an hundred and fourscore thousand men True it is the Patanans are bad Souldiers and very improper for war but we speak of the number not the quality and say that the City of Patanan the Metropolis of the Kingdom can alone set forth at least ten thousand that is the Malayans four thousand the Chineses three and the Siameses as many The City of Patana stands upon the Sea-side but the Haven is two thousand paces thence The Houses are of Timber or Canes and well and handsomly built The Kings Palace is surrounded with a Pallisado and the Mosquey is made of Brick As to the Inhabitants they may be said rather brown then Olive-coloured of body well proportioned but they are haughty and proud yet this rather in their Comportment then Conversation wherein they are very affable for the Queen her self admitted the Hollanders to come into her Bark with her Noble men and excused it that the severity their Sex observe neither permitted her to see them more often nor to admit them to her Retirement to which she was oblieged since here Widowhood The Chineses and Siameses who have lived any time there are ingenious and understand Navigation but the Malayans meddle only with Husbandry and Fishing living miserably and drinking nothing but Water They have no liking to Wine and for Arac and Aquavitae they have an aversion but Women they love and prefer that pleasure before all others wherefore there is not a Man who besides four or five lawful Wives hath not as many Concubines Simple â—ornication they allow of and hold it no sin but Adultery they punish severely This is a Crime unpardonable and for which the Father or Son or one of the nearest Relations is obliged to be Executioner the manner of death being left to the person guilty yet is this Crime so common that they would dispeople the Country should they punish all that are guilty of it Their wealth consists in Land and Slaves whom they feed with nothing but Rice and a little Fish yet make great profit out of their labour Only the Chineses and the Mestizes betake themselves to any Trade or apply themselves to Traffick which they chiefly have in Siam Burdelon Lugor Cambodia Cochinchina Macasser Grece Pahan Iambi Iohor Bantam Bandar Malfin Suchidanar and other places upon the same Coast or Countrey where they carry all sorts of China Commodities Purcelane Skins Pots Kettles and other Iron Utensils as likewise Flesh powder'd and smoak'd Fish dry and salted Cloath which they have from the Hollanders and Chineses From their Neighbours they fetch Timber to build withall Rottang that is Cordage of Cocoe Oyle of the same Fruits dry'd and preserv'd Skins of Neat Buffles Goats Pepper and particularly a Drug they call Saroyboura These are only Swallow-nests which they find on Rocks by the Sea-side and are of such esteem in China that they sell them for three or four Crowns the pound There are two sorts of them the white which are much in request and are sold for six seven or eight Campans the China Catti but the grey are not so dear and not worth three or four Campans the Catti which amounts not to above eleven Sols or a Mamide of Cambaya Though the Country lye not far from the Equinoctial yet is the Air good and wholsom though the heats are exceeding great Summer begins there in February and lasts to the end of October there falls continual Rains during November December and Ianuary with a North-west wind They Till the Earth with Oxen and Buffles and sow nothing but Rice of which they get great abundance They have for every moneth several Fruits and Hens that lay twice a day by reason whereof the Country abounds in all sorts of provisions for the belly as Rice Oxen Goats Geese Ducks Hens Capons Peacocks Deer Hares Coneys Fowl and Venison and specially in Fruits whereof they have above a hundred several sorts as Durians Mangosthans Annas Lanciats Ramboutammas Pissans Oranges and Lemmons and above all Lemmons gibol called in France China Oranges bought there five or six hundred for a Campan Mamplans Batians and Centals c. whereof more hereafter The Inhabitants breed no Swine but the Forrests are so full of wild ones that they are forc'd to hunt them to prevent the destruction of their Rice which being taken they bury them in the ground as being Mahumetans and eat none themselves nor suffer others In the Forrest likewise there are abundance of Tygers and Apes which are no less pernicious to the Fields then the wild Swine are but the wild Elephants of which there are likewise great numbers are very harmless They are taken by hunting turning a tame Elephant amongst them with whom they presently fight and while they are in the fury they tye their hinder feet
together so as being not able to withstand any longer they yield to be driven away and are tam'd by hunger in a short time The Portuguez heretofore bought there fifteen or sixteen horned Beasts in a year and carried them to Malacca paying a Campan a head for the export But the Hollanders pay nothing neither for those they slaughter in the Country nor for those they ship for Sumatra or Iava for doubtless they win more on their affections then the Portuguez or any other Strangers The King of Patana is Subject or rather Vassal to the King of Siam but payes him annually a very inconsiderable Tribute Not many years since there reign'd a Queen that sent him no more then once a year a Flower of Gold and some Silk-Stuffes and Scarlet she was about that time fifty years of age whereof she had been a Widow fifteen when she appear'd abroad which was seldom to take the Air she was attended by four thousand Persons of Quality with the Armes and Equipage of her deceased Husband born before her The King of Iohor possesses all the utmost parts of the Penninsula the Ancients called Aurea Chersonesus to the Streight of Sincopura the chief Towns are Linga Bintam Caryman c. but the chief City of all the Country is Batusabar scituate six Leagues from the Sea upon the River Iohor divided into two Towns one keeping the name of Batusabar the other called Cottasabrang one being thirteen hundred paces about the other about five hundred They are both built with Free-stone and all the Houses stand along the River-side raised on piles eight or ten foot from the ground which lies so low that at high-water 't is covered twice a day In it are near four thousand Inhabitants able to bear Armes and could they bring themselves to take pains in Fortification with little labour might this River be brought about the Town which might thus be made one of the strongest places in the Indies The Hollanders have used all their Endeavour to bring them to it and to secure themselves from the Portuguez their irreconcileable Enemy but their Houses in Cotta Zabrang and thereabouts being nothing but Straw they care not much for burning so they have but time to save themselves in Batusabar where the building is of Timber and they can defend themselves against flying parties The Country belongs intirely to the King who gives Land to manure to any that desire it but the Malayans are so slothful that the Ground is all as it were overgrown with Moss though by the Herbage and Trees it produces it is easie to perceive great profit might be raised if the Soyl were cultivated For further testimony of this the Hollanders in their Relations amongst other things observe that at a time the King of Iohor presented their Admiral with Sugar Canes eighteen foot long and seven inches about The Malacca or Malayan Language is held the most elegant of all the Indies where it is at least as general as French in Europe and is the easier to learn because there are no inflections neither in Nounes nor Verbs For the Readers curiosity I shall here insert some of their words that he may spend his judgment and begin with the numbers which they thus count Satu one dwa two tyga three eupat four lyma five nam six tousion seven de lapan eight sambalan nine sapalo ten sabalas eleven duabulas twelve tyga balas thirteen capat balas fourteen lyma balas fifteen nam balas sixteen tousion balas seventeen delaban balas eighteen sambalan balas nineteen duo pola twenty saratus a hundred c. Arys the day Malam night Zouson the stomack leheer the neck dangudo the mustachoes Bat the tongue Iargary the fingers Toulang the leg Goumo the foot Tangam the arm Capalla the head Rambot the hair Pourot the belly Ianget the beard Tangan the hand Molot the mouth Martye the eyes Yrotdon the nose Conet the skin Babpa Father Maa Mother Ibou Grandfather and Grandmother bewangdarnet to bleed mackol to beat mollay to begin billy to buy chiuy to pay diem to be silent ambel to take toulong to assist Manyte I Pakanera you andrior to melt boday to deceive dengaer to hear battou to content mansuiry to prick Mus Gold Salacha Silver ada I have Palla a Nutmeg toy quitabo we Lacky a Man bilby to traffick tidor to sleep tavar to promise britacot to menace terran to clear pang to cut Negle Steel Lada Pepper minnon to drink tackana to enchaunt chium to kiss bretoun to make dousta to lye banga to rise suitsidana to wipe the Nose tieda tau I understand it not Sicke Cloves Leaving the firm Land and the Peninsula by the Ancients called Aurea Chersonesus on the Coast of Malacca we find the Isle of Sumatra not above ten Leagues distant Some have said 't was rent from the Continent by the Sea Currents as Ceylon from that part of the Indies heretofore called India intra Gangem but for this conjecture there is little ground in History it being not to be affirmed more of this place then it can of Sicily or England or any other Island in the World except we shall presuppose that at the Creation the Sea compassed the whole Earth and that then there was no Islands but that they were made by the Sea which afterwards by degrees form'd them out of the firm Land To enter into this dispute is not our design no more then to decide whether Sumatra were the ancient Taprobane as Ios. de l' Escale Mercator and divers others think or Ophir where King Solomon's Ships fetch'd the Gold and other precious things as the Scripture sayes but we shall recite only what we could gather out of these last Relations All conclude that Sumatra extends from the fifth degree on this side to the sixth degree beyond the Line by which Rule it should contain a hundred and sixty or a hundred sixty five Leagues in length with a breadth of sixty and so they who inhabit the middle of the Island to have the Equinoctial Line perpendicularly over them By the scituation we may judge the heats to be there extream and herewithall there is so much Wood and such a multitude of Lakes that the Air especially for Strangers is exceeding unhealthful Nevertheless it is abundantly fertile and besides Gold Silver and divers other Metals as Copper Iron Brass whereof they have the Art to make as good Artillery as they do in Europe it produces Rice and Millet particularly Fruit in such quantity as the Forrests are loaden with it and sufficiently furnish all the Inhabitants In the middle of the Isle there is a burning Mountain flaming by intermissions as Vesuvius in the Kingdom of Naples and they report there is a Balsom Fountain running incessantly 'T is wealthy in Diamonds and other precious Stones Silks Spices Wax Honey Camphire Cassia and divers other Drugs used in Medicine There are whole Woods of white Sandale
weighed one parcel so as they may have a near guess at the rest pay them present money or according as they have occasion for it and by this means engross so great a quantity that they have sufficient to lade the China Fleet when it arrives selling for fifty thousand Caxaes the Sack what cost them but twelve thousand This Fleet arrives at Bantam in the moneth of Ianuary to the number of eight or ten and are Vessels of fourty or fifty Tun. By them likewise comes the money hither which in the Malayan Language is called Cas in Iavan Pity and is current not only at Bantam and all the Isle of Iava but through all the neighbouring Islands 'T is a little thin plate made of Lead and the Skum of Brass so brittle that letting fall a string of Caxaes you shall break at least ten or twelve They are made in the Town of Chincoa in China and they are beholding to Wanâ—y King of China for them who lived about the year 1590. and finding that the Caxaes made by his Predecessour Huyien King of China went not off by reason the Chineses had so filled the adjacent Islands with them he contrived this brittle money which his Successour Hamendon put forth as now it is corrupted It hath a four-square hole through it at which they string them on a Straw a string of two hundred Caxaes called Sata is worth about three farthings sterling and five Satas tyed together make a Sapocon The Iavians when this money came first amongst them were so cheated with the Novelty that they would give six bags of Pepper for ten Sapocons thirteen whereof amount but to a Crown But they have had leisure enough to see their error for in a short time the Island was so filled with this stuffe that they were compelled absolutely to prohibit all trading which so disparaged this money that at present two Sacks of Pepper will scarce come for one hundred thousand Caxaes Likewise from China they bring Purcelane which they sell here at cheap rates for at the first arrival of the China Fleet six pieces of Purcelane may be bought for a thousand Caxaes They bring their Country Silks Sattins and Damask and take away Pepper and Lacque brought to Bantam from the City of Tabanbaon Anil or Indico brought thither from the Town of Anier Sandal-wood Nutmegs Cloves Tortoise-shell whereof they make Chests and Cabinets Ivory whereof they make Chairs for the Mandorins who prefer this stuffe before Silver The Portuguez that deal at Bantam live out of Town in the same Quarter with the Chineses They drive here a great trade in Pepper Nutmegs Cloves Mace Sandal-woods Cubebs long Pepper and other Drugs and sell here Cotton Cloath and other Stuffs sent them from Malacca for the greater part of them are Factors and Commissioners of the Governour of Malacca and the Arch-bishop of Goa At Bantam they have neither Priest nor Chappel but at Panarucan they have both In the Isle of Iava are all sorts of Beasts both wild and tame The Forrests are full of Elephants and Rhinocerots Leopards and Tigers which are more cruel and furious then those of any other place and do so much mischief that people go not without danger to gather Frankincense Mastick Myrrhe and Benjamin which is there in its greatest perfection and whereof there were great quantity to be gotten if the Forrests were not almost inaccessible by reason of the wild Beasts as also for Serpents Lizards and Salamanders exceeding dangerous and of so extraordinary a growth that there are Serpents have swallowed Children and Sheep intire The Tigers and Leopards often come out of the Woods and make great spoil amongst the Cattle which for this reason are reared with great difficulty Their Swine have no bristles and are so fat their bellies trail on the ground The Rivers breed Fish in abundance and Oysters have there been seen that have weighed three hundred pound a thing would seem incredible if Olearius in his Notes upon Mandelslo's Relation did not observe that being in Holland in the year 1652. he â—ought at Encluysen of the Wife of a certain Sea-Captain who had made a Voyage to the Indies two Oyster-shells that weighed four hundred sixty seven pounds yet to be seen in the Duke of Holstein's Cabinet at Gottorp and he adds That the woman affirm'd there was so much meat within them that it sufficed all that were in the Ship being an hundred and twenty persons 'T is very hard to hunt Deer Goats Boars and other game fallow or black which abound there by reason the Woods are so thick that 't is impossible to make any way through them and the Iavians are so unskilful at their Fire-arms that it hath been observ'd That a Iavian having shot at a wild Buffler made a shift to kill the beast but the Musket recoyling he fell down with his cheek all bruised and the loss of two of his teeth in so much that these creatures may be seen in whole herds feeding up and down the fields There are likewise abundance of Apes Foins Squirrels wild Peacocks and Parrots and infinite other birds exceeding beautiful to the eye In the Rivers there is abundance of Crocodiles which seize not only on men bathing but attempt the Cannows as they pass along snatching men out of them and dragging them to the bottom The Chineses tame this Creature and fatten it to be afterwards eaten as a great dainty Their Civet yields as much perfume as that of Guiny but it is neither so white nor so good They have two sorts of Poultry one like ours the other betwixt ours and the Indian kind and these last which are in a manner monsters are so furious they will fight till death decides the battel Amongst the common sort there are some whose flesh is black yet are they very good meat The Rhinocerot by the Indians called Abadu is not so ordinary in the Isle of Iava as in Bengala Patane and other places though there are some and the Iavians make so great account of this Beast that there is nothing about him which they use not in medicine not only the Flesh the Bloud the Horn the Teeth but even his very Dung They hold there is no better Antidote against Poyson and attribute the same qualities to this that ancient Authors do to the Unicorn The Ants are exceeding troublesom in most of these places but chiefly in the Isle of Iava They are much bigger then in our parts and so mischievous that there is no Stuff they spoil not nor Victuals they consume not if they can get to it wherefore they ordinarily set the feet of Tables and Cupboards in Tubs half filled with Water to hinder the Ants from creeping up and 't were impossible to preserve any Birds did they not set them on Polâ—s planted in a Dish of Water for should they put them in a Cage the Ants would get up and kill
do to their King He seldom appears in publick but all Addresses are made to a Noble man in whom the direction of Affairs lies He is intitled Quillor which is the same as Constable or Grand-Minister in other places He governs by divers other Persons of Quality who have their Divisions and Provinces to regulate according to Orders from him The Kings name is in such veneration amongst them that all the Subjects unanimously joyn in a moment to oppose any disturbance to the peace of the State As appear'd in the end of the last preceding Age in the person a Prince of the bloud who rising against the King and having some design upon the life of his Prince was immediately taken and condemn'd to death but the King in compassion chang'd his Sentence to perpetual exile in Pulo raza that is the desert Island where he stood confined with all his Complices who so well did cultivate it that divers other families have been since transplanted thither They retain the Pagan Religion they profess in the Isle of Baly and quit not that accursed custom for Women to burn themselves after the death of their Husbands The Isle of Borneo lyes more North then Iava and is one of the greatest in those parts 't is scituate under the Equinoctial Line but so as the greater part is on this side of it extending to six degrees towards the North. Some do assign it four hundred Leagues in circumference as Bartholomew Leonardo de Argensola who wrote the History of the Conquest of the Molucques and others but the Hollanders allow it but two hundred and fifty Leagues The principal Towns are Borneo Sâ—ccidava Landa Sambas and Benghemassin The City of Borneo from which the Island derives its name stands in a Marsh as Venice doth so as there is no passing from Street to Street but by boat The same Argensola sayes it contains 23000. Houses but the Dutch allow it but two thousand The best Camphire in the Indies is gotten in the Isle of Borneo Here is also Gold and Bezoar This Stone breeds in the Maw of a Sheep or Goat about a knot of Grass that stayes in the Maw and is often found within the Stone The Persians call these Beasts Bazans and the Stone Bazar which is a Market as by excellence proper for a Market or Fair and from the same word comes the Bazarucques the least Money that is sent to the Market The Stone is smooth and greenish and the more substantial and weighty it is the better it is and of the greater vertue In the Country of Pan near Malacca they find a Stone in the Gall of a certain Swine more highly esteem'd then the Bazar It is of a reddish colour as smooth and slippery in the feeling as Soap and exceeding bitter so that when it is to be used they only steep it in cold water and the water is a most soveraign Antidote against all poyson and an effectual cordial against all infectious Diseases Here they have likewise Diamonds Sapan-wood for dying as also Brasile Wax and good store of Pepper Frankincense Mastick and all other sorts of Gums The Island hath divers Havens and Roads but its Cities are not very populous Borneo is better then the rest and the Haven upon the mouth of a fair River is large and very commodious The Spaniards were once Masters of the Haven but they quitted it because the Air was so unhealthful they could not subsist Their Houses are of Timber but so sleightly built that they ordinarily pull them down to change their habitations or pass over to the other side of the River They are an ingenious and dexterous people but addicted to theft and great affecters of Pyracy so as sometimes they will cruze up and down the Sea as far as the Coasts of Pegu which is four hundred Leagues from that Island They use all sorts of Arms as Swords and Gosos which are Bucklers made of boyled Leather Lances Darts and a sort of Pikes they call Selihes the wood whereof is extreamly hard but withall so small and brittle that if it break in a Wound it leaves Splinters that render the part incurable The King is a Mahumetan as also the greatest part of the Islanders on the Sea coast but they that live in the heart of the Island are Pagans Their hue is rather black then tawny they are of compact well proportioned bodies and go habited near like the rest of the Indians with a Linnen about their loins and on their heads a little Turbant On the first of October in the year 1609. the Hollanders treated with the King of Sambas for establishing a Commerce of Diamonds which are to be found in the Mountains far within the Country and since have made one for Pepper with the King of Borneo with exclusion of all other Forreigners but the Borneans are no more faithful in the observance thereof then the other Indians Betwixt the Isle of Borneo and Molocques under the Equinoctial Line lies the Isle of Celebes and if credit may be given to Mercator this is one of the three Islands Ptolomy calls Sindas The chief City here is called Macassar and lies in the most Southerly part of the Island five degrees seventeen minutes beyond the Line It abounds in all sorts of Provisions particularly Rice wherewith in the moneths of March April and May the Territory is so entirely covered that 't is not to be imagined there is an inch untill'd and in effect besides what they convert to pasture for their Cattle and what they assign for their Cocoes there is not the least parcel lyes unsowed In the face they are like the people of Pegu and Siam and 't was but in the beginning of the present Age they deserted Paganisme and imbraced the Mahâ—umetan Religion 'T is said that in the time of Paganisme they were Anthropophagi and that the Kings of the Molucques sent their Malefactors to them to be devoured But it may be averr'd for truth that at this day the Indies have not a people so tractable as they yet they are couragious and irreconcileable where they once declare enmity Their chief Armes is Bow and Arrow whereof they impoyson the head to render the Wound mortal The Men are of a comely make carrying in their Prepuce a Ball or two of Ivory or a Fish-bone massie and not hollow like the Siameses and Peguans but this custom by degrees wears out as that amongst the Women to cut their Hair off for at present they let it grow and coif themselves as the Malayans do Women when they walk the Streets and Slaves have their Breasts open and wear Breeches that reach from the Navil to the Knee but when they bathe in their Cisterns or Wells in the Street they are stark naked The Houses of Macassar are built upon Piles and rais'd nine or ten foot above the ground by reason of the Rains which fall with the West and North-west Winds
to some Island for very petty Offences The Castle of Iedo which is the place of his ordinary residence is near two Leagues in compass and is fortified with three Walls and as many Moats very deep and built of Free-stone but so irregular that it is impossible to assign it any certain Figure Within less then three hundred paces a Man must pass through eight or nine Gates not one of them standing opposite to another for being come within the first he must turn on the right hand to go to the second and being come within that on the left hand to go to the third and so alternately till he comes to the last Just within the last Gate there is a Magazine of Arms for three or four thousand men on which about all the Streets which are fair and broad having on both sides many magnificent Palaces The Gates are done over with great Iron bars and over every Gate there is a House wherein two or three hundred Souldiers may be lodg'd The Emperours Palace stands in the midst of the Castle and hath belonging to it many Appartments Halls Chambers Closets Galleries Gardens Orchards Groves Ponds Rivers Fountains Courts c. and several particular Houses for his Wives and Concubines At your coming out of the Palace you go into that quarter where the Princes of the Bloud and Counsellers of State live and thence into another quarter where are the Palaces of the Kings and great Lords of Iapan which are all gilt both within and without and the more sumptuously built out of this respect that there is a certain emulation amongst them who shall be at greatest expence to please the Emperour In the next quarter to this there live other Princes and Lords who are not so powerful as the former yet have their Palaces gilt and so richly furnish'd that a Man would think at his first coming in he met with Mountains of Gold In this quarter there live some of the Wives and eldest Sons of those Princes whom the Emperour hath brought up in the sight of the Court as so many Hostages of their Fathers fidelity so that this Castle though as big as a considerable City yet is so full of people that the Streets can hardly contain them When the Emperour goes out of his Palace he either rides on horse-back or is carried in a Palanquin open of all sides and he is accompany'd by a great number of Lords whom they call the Emperours Camarades These Lords are of great quality and very rich yet do they not think it any dishonour to apply themselves to such things as are either necessary or delightful Some are skill'd in Musick some in Physick some are excellent at Writing or Painting others study eloquence and the mannagement of Affairs Next them there goes a part of the Guard which consists altogether of persons cull'd out among the Children of younger Brothers Cousins or Kinsmen of great Lords among whom there are also some natural Children of such as either actually are in employments or may upon presumption of their Birth pretend thereto Then follow the ordinary Guard commanded by their Colonels and other Officers who so dispose thereof that two or three thousand march before the Emperour and as many after him Among so many Souldiers there is not one but there hath been some trial made of his courage nor any that hath not gone through all the necessary exercises in order to such a kind of life and whose countenance and demeanour is not answerable to the employment they are put into They leave a space between them and the Emperour for a great number of other great Lords who are about his Majesties person who must needs make a strange shew among five or six hundred Men all clad in black some on horse-back some afoot all marching with such gravity and so orderly that there is not only any one man to be seen out of his rank but a man hears not so much as a word spoken The Streets are swept and strew'd with Sand or Gravel and the doors of all the houses standing open yet is there not a person to be seen either in the shops or at the windows or if it happen there be the Guard makes them kneel till such time as the Emperour is passed by Once every five year the Emperour goes to Meaco to do reverence to the Dayro who is the true Prince of Iapan and still hath the quality but without any function There is a whole year spent in making all things ready for that journey whereof we shall hereafter give a particular description and Orders are issued out to the Lords who are to follow and who accordingly come at the day appointed to the places where they are to meet the King dividing themselves so as that some go before to relieve such as come from the Court so to prevent the disorder and confusion which were unavoidable among so great a number of Princes who are all oblig'd to make their appearance upon this occasion with all the bravery and magnificence they can From the City of Iedo to that of Meaco there are a hundred and twenty five Leagues and within every three or four Leagues there is a considerable City able to lodge the whole Court yet hath the Emperour caused to be built between those two places at an equal distance one from the other eight and twenty fair Houses of which there 〈◊〉 twenty great Castles and in every House there is a Retinue and 〈…〉 else befitting a Kings Court as Gentlemen Guards Horses Officers and Servants with Provisions necessary for the subsistance of the whole Train They who go along with the Emperour from the City of Iedo leave him to the care of those whom they find in the first House These accompany and conduct him to the second and so from one to another till he comes to the City of Meaco in his return from whence he observes the same order being attended from one House to another till he comes to Iedo The Emperours of Iapan build many of these Castles and have them finish'd in so short a time that they will have a Structure compleated in six moneths which in Europe would take up as many years We have an Instance of it in the Castle which the Emperour had built in the year 1636. in the Province of Nicko four dayes journey from the City of Iedo It is fortified with a double Moat and a double Rampier and both of Free-stone and it is so spacious and consists of so many particular Palaces for the Grandees of the Court and so many Appartments Gardens and Fountains for the Emperour himself that the best Architect in Europe would not have finish'd it in several years yet was this great building compleated in less than five months there were so many Masons Carpenters Joyners Stone-cutters Gilders Painters c. employ'd about it This Castle is so far within the Countrey that the Emperour lodges
their presence nay a licentious one were criminal Instead of Tapistry they have a kind of Scenes or Shutters which serve them also for Pictures whereof they cover the closures with Paper painted and gilt and so neatly pasted on that the whole piece seems to consist but of one sheet These Shutters are made of very thin boards and fall one into another so as that of two or three small Chambers they can of a sudden make a very fair Hall All these little Rooms make◠a kind of Gallery which serves equally for both the Appartments of the Husband and Wife and leads to a common Door to go into the Garden which Door is ordinarily opposite to the Hall-windows In the midst of the Room there commonly stands a Cabinet on which they set a Pot of Flowers which are there to be had all the year long They are very curious about their Gardens and make them as pleasant as may be with Groves Fountains Orchards and especially one kind of Tree which is as green in Winter as in Summer There is not much Houshold-Stuff to be seen in their Houses in regard they bestow on their Wives the Trunks and Cabinets of Lacque their rich Tapistry and the like or they dispose them into some private Rooms into which they admit only their most intimate Friends They are very expensive in their Pots for Cha or Tsia as also in Pictures Pieces excellent for the writing and in Arms. They are civil and entertain such as visit them with great Complements Persons of Quality make such as come to see them sit down and present them with Tobacco and Tsia If the Master of the house hath a particular esteem for the Friend who visits him he will treat him with Wine which is brought in a varnish'd Cup and it were an incivility in him to whom this honour is done to refuse it They are not so reserv'd but that sometimes they will take a little more then they are well able to carry away but seldom to that height as to do ought whereof they may repent the next day or quarrel in their Drink for the perpetual apprehension they have of the unavoidable Death that would follow keeps them in and sends them to bed with whole Skins In Cities and upon the High-wayes there are Inns for the entertainment of Travellers and Passengers but otherwise there is not a Tipling-house or Cooks-shop in all Iapan For though there are great lovers of good chear and company keeping yet have they not any publick places for that purpose but they meet at one anothers houses and there spend the time in good fellowship and drinking and have a kind of Musick which is not very harmonious They have but few Musical Instruments and that most used among them and which they are most taken with is a kind of Lute the belly whereof is above a foot-square with a long and narrow neck as being made only for four strings which are of Silk and they strike them with a Peg of Ivory about the bigness of a Mans singer They sing to it but the voyce is as immelodious as the sound of the Instrument Their Wine they make of Rice putting thereto some Sugar or Honey and they call it Moursack or Saltse It is a kind of Hydromel rather then Wine yet it is as strong as the best Sack and makes a Man drunk much sooner As for Tsia it is a kind of The or Tea but the Plant is much more delicate and more highly esteem'd then that of Thé Persons of Quality keep it very carefully in Earthen-pots well stopp'd and luted that it may not take wind but the Iaponneses prepare it quite otherwise then is done in Europe For instead of infusing it into warm water they beat it as small as powder and take of it as much as will lye on the point of a Knife and put it into a dish of Porcelane or Earth full of seething Water in which they stir it till the Water be all green and then drink it as hot as they can endure it It is excellent good after a debauch it being certain there is not any thing that allayes the Vapours and settles the Stomack better then this Herb doth The Pots they make use of about this kind of Drink are the most precious of any of their Houshold-Stuffe in as much as it is known that there have been Tsia-pots which had cost between six and seven thousand pound sterling Their Marriages are sollicited only the Relations who have some superiority over those that contract them The Father and Mother find out the party and propose that alliance and for want of them others of the Kindred so as that the young Couple know nothing of what is done in so much that the persons who are to be married never see one another till the Marriage is to be consummated This is the more easily effected in that it is in the Husbands power to keep what number he thinks fit of Concubines nay may prosecute his enjoyments among common Prostitutes whereas the least suspition of the Womans dishonesty would cost her her life They have also the convenience of Divorce and may send their Wives back to their own Friends yet conceive it no disparagement to them True it is that only Persons of mean condition use it as Merchants Tradesmen and common Souldiers and that Persons of Quality take another course out of a respect to the Birth and Relations of the Woman and in case of disagreement they still maintain them according to their Quality Which hinders not but that they also are most liberal of themselves among their Concubines little it seems troubled at the discontent they give their Wives whom they see but when they please themselves For certain it is that the Women only are married and that the Men are as much at liberty after as they had been before marriage Common Brothel-houses are allowed and there are some Masters who buy Slaves only to drive that trade it being their perswasion that to avoid a greater scandal this may be permitted They bring up their Children with extraordinary indulgence and mildness never beating and very seldom chiding them out of this consideration that knowing they are not come to the use of their reason they conceive they are not to be made capable thereof before the time and that things are to be instill'd into them according to their weak capacity with mildness and that they ought to be instructed rather by good Examples then many Precepts It is to be imagined that the little correction they give them in their Childhood strengthens that obstinate disposition which is remarkable in all the Iapponneses but it is to be confessed withall that this noble and mild kind of education much heightens that vivacity of Understanding and Judgment which is discernable in them while they are yet very young in so much that Children of seven eight or nine years
embroydered Curtains Before and behind they were made like the Front of a House as was also the Door at which they went in which was made behind at the back The Wheels were of Iron and the Coach was varnished all over with black so that the Wheels might be seen turning as it were in a Looking-glass The Roofs of them which were built Arch-wise had drawn thereon the Dayro's Arms within a great Circle of Gold The Pillars as also the inside of the Coach was inriched with Figures of beaten Gold and Mother of Pearl and all the extremities were garnished with Gold Two great black Bufflers covered with a Net-work of Crimson Silk drew each of them and they were guided by four Halberteers clad in white Every Coach was valued at seventy thousand Tayls which amount to twenty thousand pounds Sterling These Coaches had also their Foot-guard and many Pages marching on both sides of them Twenty three of the chiefest Servants belonging to these Ladies were carried next to them in so many black Norrimones adorned with Brass plate having each of them marching before him a Halbertier who carried an Umbrello on each side two Pages and behind them sixty eight Gentlement of the Dayro's clad and armed as those we mentioned before These march'd two a breast and were followed by a great number of Pages Halberteers and Slaves After them there were carried Two gilt Stools with Plates of Gold at the extremities A great Fire-work A great and very rich Sea-Compass Two great Golden Candlesticks Two Pillars of Ebony Three Cabinets of Ebony garnished with Gold plates Four other Cabinets bigger and richer then the three precedent Two great Gold Basins carv'd A pair of Pantofles varnish'd After these there followed in two Coaches of the same making as the three first the Emperour and his Ward having before them a hundred and sixty Gentlemen armed with two Cymitars and a Nanganet serving for a particular Guard about their Majesties persons These Guards they call Sambreys and they are chosen out of the most valiant and most active persons in the Kingdom Immediately before the Coaches there march'd four Men with Umbrelloes four others with great Iron Rods to make way two light Horses magnificently cover'd and with very rich Trappings accompanied each of them by eight Men arm'd with Bows and Arrows and two great Pikes The Emperours Brethren followed next on Horse-back accompanied by all the Princes and Lords of Iapan who were also on Horse-back all armed and sumptuously clad 164. in number The Chiefest of these Lords were Owaruy Camny Samma the Emperours Brother Quiney Deymangon samma another Brother of the Emperour Mittot Chonango samma a third Brother of the Emperour Massummenamoet Nocammi samma a fourth Brother of the Emperours Matsendairo Thoy quese Nocammi samma Lord of Canga Matsendairo Moutsnocammy samma Satsumadonne that is Lord of Satsuma Matsendairo Iondonne Mansendairo Symouts quedonne Matsendairo Quonenoch Wacchoo and Turoganâ— Deynangono Cammy samma These march'd all in a File having each of them a long train of Pages Lacqueys Halâ—erteers Guards and Slaves The other Lords among whom were Ouwaydonne and Woutadonne the ehiefest of the Emperous Councel march'd two a breast he of the greater quality taking the left hand which among them is accounted the more honourable After them march'd four hundred of the Guards of the body and in the same order in white Liveries Next them in six fair Coaches came the Dayro's Concubines but these Coaches were not so large as the former and were drawn each of them by a single Buffer Then followed sixty eight Gentlemen on Horse-back attended by a great number of Lacqueys and Slaves The Dayro's Secretary accompaied by thirty seven Gentlemen on Horse-back follow'd next in a Coach and immediately preceded forty six Lords of the Dayro's House who were carried in Norimonnes whereof fifteen were of Ebony beautified with Ivory thirteen varnished with black and gilt and the other eighteen were only varnished with black There were carried after them fourty six Umbrelloes suitable to their Norimonnes Then followed the Dayro's Musick which consisted of fifty four Gentlemen very odly but very richly clad who plaid on their Instruments which were only Tabours Timbrels Copper Basins Bells and that kind of Lute we spoke of before which was not heard by reason of the confused noise of the rest Yet was this distracted kind of Musick delightful to the Dayro who immediately followed it He was sate in a little wooden Structure made like a Sedan but much larger as being about seven or eight foot high and as many Diameter having windows on all sides with embroidered Curtains The Roof of that little Structure was arch'd and had in the midst upon a great Button a Cock of massie Gold with his Wings spread in a Field Azure with several Stars of beaten Gold about the Sun and Moon which appeared there with a lustre coming near the natural This Machine was carried by fifty Gentlemen of the Dayro's retinue all clad in white with Bonnets on their Heads Fourty other Gentlemen went before it and represented the Guard for the Dayro's person These were clad after a particular fashion much like that of the ancient Romans carrying each of them a gilt Nouganet The Captain of the Guard marched alone on Horse-back behind the Dayro's Chair armed with a Target stuck through with several Arrows and had carried after him fourty Umbrelloes for the Guards Next were carried thirteen varnish'd Chests and in the close of the Procession came four hundred Souldiers clad in white who marched six a breast and by that means hinder the crowds of people to interrupt that Order This Ceremony took up the whole day so that night coming on upon us at the place where we were we thought it not safe to venture home at so unseasonable a time by reason of the many Robberies Murthers and other Violences committed in the Streets during the disorder which proved so great that the next morning there were found a great number of dead persons some whereof had been kill'd and robb'd and others had been smother'd in the throng The Dayro staid three dayes at the Emperours Palace who during that time waited on him in person with his Brethren and had the charge of his Table for that time defray'd by Sugadonne chief Judge of the City of Meaco Ivocamosamma Cobâ—ritot homy Samma Macamora Mockiemon samma and Mannosa Frâ—yemon samma There were brought to his Table at every meal a hundred and fourteen dishes of meat Ouwaydonne the President of the Emperours Councel Ivemondonne one of the Counsellors of State Farimadonne Quiniem Ondonne Sioyserodonne and Chirotadonne provided for the Table of the Dayro's three chiefest Wives The Emperours Present to him were Two hundred Marks of Gold A hundred Garments of Watte of the best Two great Silver Pots full of Honey Five Catties of the Wood of Calambae Two hundred pieces of Crimson
University But indeed this Nation is so punctual in point of Ceremony that it goes beyond any other even to importunity The first Lectures they make to Youth are those of Complements whereof there are whole Books that they may be sure to have them upon all occasions If a man hath but once seen a person he is obliged to salute him and this is not done with the Hat but closing the left hand they put it into the right and so both to the breast with a low inclination of the head accompanied with protestations to confirm what they would express by their gestures Persons of Quality meeting in the Street make a stand joyn their hands by putting the fingers one within another and stretching out the arms bow-wise they do their reverences with low inclinations and continue a good while in that posture proffering one another the way When there is no equality between the persons who meet the inferiour gives way to the other does him reverence and lets him pass by He who goes to speak about any business to a Loytia at his own Lodgings kneels down as soon as he comes into the Room and advances and continues in that posture till he hath done speaking or delivered his Petition and having done his business he retires still kneeling without turning his back on the Loytia If a man standing at his own Door or in the Street espy a Kinsman or Friend coming out of the Country if he who lives in the City thinks not himself well enough clad to welcome his Friend as he would he will pretend not to have seen him go into his Lodging put on his best Clothes and then will come and meet his Friend and salute him as if he had not seen him before If he meet him in the Street at some distance from his own House the first question he makes is whether he hath din'd or supp'd if not he will carry him to the next Tavern and treat him magnificently with Fish and Flesh if he hath din'd he will give him only a Collation of Fruits and Conserves They are very sumptuous in their Treatments and have a custom different from what is done in all other places They set up as many Tables as there are guests but instead of cloths which would hide the beauty of the gilding and painting wherewith they are enriched they have only carpets of Damask Taffata or some other Silk stuff which covering only the edges thereof hang down to the ground At the four corners of the Table they set a paper of Fruits and Conserves for the Desert and several figures of Sugar made and painted to the life and flowers for the divertisement of the Eye and they set the meat in the midst They use either Silver-plate or Porcelane and have no Napkins in regard they make use of their forks so neatly that they never have any occasion to wipe either their hands or mouths They drink often but little at a time whence it comes their drinking cups are very small and whereas they serve up many dishes they are very long at meals but that the guests might not be weary they give them all manner of divertisements as Musick Plays tricks of Legerdemain and Puppet-showes If it be a person of quality that is invited they set up in the Hall where the treatment is made several other Tables on which are all sorts of tame and wild Fowl all which are carried away by several servants marching in a file before him when he returns home whither having brought them they with great Complements oblige him to suffer them to leave at his own house what he had not consumed at their Masters The treatments they make for a Governour of a Province lasts sometimes fifteen days or three weeks and costs them a years Revenue who undertake any such thing what ever their Estates may be Their entertainments are commonly in the night making choice of some time about the change of the Moon especially that of March with which they begin their year That day they all spend in merriment put on their best clothes hang their houses with the richest stuffs they have cover the streets with Roses and other flowers adorn their triumphal Arches with branch'd works Damask and silk Tapestry beset with Torches and plant before the door a tree so enlightned that though there were but one in a whole street it might give light to the whole quarter Their Priests are present at these publick rejoycings and adde to the solemnities of the day by the Sacrifices they make to their Gods Speaking of their civility I shall here give an accompt of that which they have particularly for the Embassadours of Forreign Princes for whom the Chineses have the same veneration and respect as they might express to their own Masters They do not look on the occasion of the Embassie but the quality of the Prince who sends the Embassadour who is received at the entrance of the Kingdom by the Governour of the first Frontier City who meets him with all the persons of Quality within his Government They suffer him not to set his foot on the ground but assoon as he comes out of the Ship he is put into an Ivory Chair and carried by eight men to a house appointed for that purpose which is furnished at the Kings charge and so spacious that several Embassadours may be lodg'd therein at the same time without any inconvenience The next day the Governour of the City goes to wait on him and endeavours to learn of him the occasion of his Embassie to be communicated to the Governour of the Province who immediately sends to the Embassadour to desire his Credentials that he may dispatch them to the Court and get thence the Pass-port requisite for the prosecution of his journey This Pass-port is upon Parchment with the Kings Seal in Gold which is carried before the Embassadour with the Credentials written upon a board having over head in Golden letters the name of the Prince who sends him The Governours of Provinces make provision for his expence by the way and when he is come near the Metropolis there meets him the President of the Privy-Councel who receives him in the head of all the Councellors and most of the Courtiers and conducts the Embassadour to his Lodgings and as he takes leave of him he empowers him to create a certain number of Loytias and to set at liberty some Condemn'd persons the number whereof is regulated sutably to the greatness of the Prince who sends him They allow him a certain time to repose himself and then the same persons who met him at his entrance conduct him to his Audience which the King gives him as often as he desires it and is present at all the Propositions he makes The entertainments they make at Weddings are very great for the Brides Father gives her no other Portion then what he spends the first day in treating the
only augmented the number of discontented and treacherous persons which were on both sides in so much that most of the Grandees minding only their private Affairs they either neglected sending the relief which the Governours of the Provinces required against the Tartars or maliciously dissembled the need they stood in thereof and by that means the Rebels had time to make sure work on their side Lizungzo so well knew how to make his Advantages of these Distractions that having settled all things relating to the Province of Xensi he without any obstruction crossed the River Hoangh or Croceus and entred the Province of Xansi where he took the great and rich City of Kiangcheu The other Cities of the same Province afterwards came in save only that of Thaiyuen which was taken by storm and plunder'd The Emperour hearing that the Rebels had passed the River Hoangh and fearing they might beset him in the City of Xuntien would have retreated to Nanking but he was perswaded to the contrary by his Council it being the intention of some by that means to keep up the reputation of his Armes of others to deliver him up to Lizungzo so that he sent against the Rebels a powerful Army under the Command of the Colao or President of the Council who prov'd so unfortunate in his business that out of despair he hung himself Lizungzo who had his Correspondents in the City of Peking or Xuntien understanding how things stood at Court sent some of his people into the City who under pretence of keeping a Tavern or opening Shops for Mercery were to make a Rising when they heard the Army was advanced near the City Some affirm he had corrupted him who had the Command of the City and that by his Order he found one of the Gates open at which he entred it in April 1644. and afterwards became Master of the Palace before the Emperour had any notice of his coming The Traitors who had kept him from hearing of it prevented him also from getting away so that perceiving Lizungzo was possessed of all the Avenues of the Castle and thinking it too great a dishonour to submit to the Commander of a sort of Robbers he with his own hands kill'd an only Daughter he had so to secure her honour which she could not have kept with her life and going into the Garden he took off one of his Garters and hung himself at a Plum-tree The Colao the Queen and some of his Eunuchs followed his example and hung themselves in the same Garden Zunchini left three Sons whereof the two youngest had their Heads cut off three dayes after the Fathers death but the eldest vanish'd and could not be found notwithstanding all the diligence Lizungzo used to get some account of him I shall forbear giving a relation of all the executions which this barbarous person ordered in the City where he put all the Officers to death only this I cannot omit that among others Persons of Quality there was an ancient man named Vs whose Son commanded the Chinese Army upon the Frontiers of Leaotung Lizungzo sent order to this Vs that he should write to his Son to this effect That if he with his Army would acknowledge him Emperour of China he would divide Fortunes with him threatning if he did it not to put him to death The Father writ to Vsanguei so was his Son called in such terms as he might infer from them what condition he was in but the Son generously made him answer that he could not own him for a Father who had been unfaithful to his King and that if he had so base a Soul as to advise him to be a Traitor he for his part had one so loyal as to persist in the resolution he had taken rather to die then obey a Highway-man Whereupon Vsanguei immediately sent to the Tartars to desire them to joyn and march along with him against that Usurper The Tartar thought it not amiss to make his advantage of the opportunity he then had to get into the Heart of the Kingdom and so marched with his Forces against Lizungzo This lewd Villain who had put so many innocent persons to death trembled at the first notice he received of the March of the Tartars left the City of Xuntien and retreats into the Province of Xensi intending to establish the Seat of his pretended Empire at the City of Sigan The Tartars pursued him to the River Croceus or Hoangh defeated part of the Rear-guard and had the Plunder of some part of the Baggage in which were all the Riches which the Emperours of China of the House of Tayming had been two hundred and eighty years getting together The Tartars would not cross the River as well because they would secure the Conquest of the Province of Peking as for that they were without any Prince ever since the death of Zungte who died when the Army began to march out of the Province of Leaotung He had left only one Son about six years of age whom he had recommended to the tuition of the eldest of his three Brethren who proved so faithful to his trust that the Tartars gave him the name of Amaban that is Father-King Vsanguei finding the Province of Peking and the Metropolis thereof deliver'd of those Robbers would have requited the service the Tartars had done China and obliged the Forreigners to leave the Kingdom But he who commanded the Tartarian Army told him that it was too soon to talk of any such thing as yet that Lizungzo was still alive and might re-enter Peking that there was a necessity of ruining him so as that it should be impossible for him to recover himself and that Vsanguei should go himself with his Army and some of the Tartarian Force against the Usurper and put the Rebels to an absolute Defeat As soon as the Tartars were intreated by Vsanguei to come into China they sent to invite all the other Tartars from the Eastern Sea to the River Wolga to come and participate of their Conquests in so much that no Colony of them but sent in some Forces which coming into China brought along with them that young Tartar King the Son of Zungte As soon as he was come the Tartars discover'd what their intentions were for they settled him upon the Throne and caused him to be proclaimed Emperour of China under the Regency of the eldest of his Uncles He took the name of Xunchi and ordered his Family to be called Taicing and they say that young Prince made so sensible a discourse at his inauguration as very much startled those who heard it and expected no such thing from one so young The same day that these Ceremonies were performed at Peking they sent away some Tartarian Regiments with Orders to establish Vsanguei King to give him the quality of Pingsi that is Pacifier of the West and that he should reside in the Province of Xensi He was
being in danger of sinking two of the four desisted from an enterprise wherein they thought to meet with more danger then in staying a while longer among the Turks so that only two one English man the other a Dutch-man ventured themselves in it All the tackling they had was only two oars and a little Sail all the provisions a little bread and fresh water and so they put to Sea without either Compass or Astrolabe insomuch that being the first day overtaken by Tempest which at every wave fill'd their boat they were forc'd to go as the wind drove them without keeping any course They were continually imploy'd in casting out the water the Sea had spoiled their bread and they were almost quite spent inasmuch as they could not take any rest when they were cast upon the Coasts of Barbary There they found a little wood wherewith they somewhat enlarg'd their boat but they narrowly escap'd being taken and kill'd by the Moors and had much ado to get to Sea again What troubled them most was thirst but they made some shift for that with the blood of some Tortoises they took and at last after ten days floating up and down they arrived upon the Coasts of Spain at the Cape of St. Martin between Alicant and Valentia Those of the Country seeing them at a distance sent a boat to meet them carried them bread and wine treated them very civilly and found them passage for England The sixth of Ianuary being Twelfth-day the King of England touched many that were troubled with the Evil. The Ceremony ended my Lord of Strafford brought me to his Majesty who was pleased to honour me with the kissing of his hand The next day the same Lord procured me the like Honour from the Queen besides which he did me several other extraordinary favours upon all occasions Afterwards I went often to Court where their Majesties were pleased I should entertain them with some particulars of my Travels especially as to what I had observed in Muscovy and Persia I continued at London near three months partly to refresh my self after so long a Voyage and partly in expectation of some mony from my own Prince that I night make some acknowledgments of my Obligations to those who had treated me so kindly from the day of my arrival at Surat to that time and set my self in a posture of returning into my own Country Of the time of my abode in England I spent some at Court where I had made several acquaintances and some in viewing the publick and private Structures of the famous City of London as also several places near it as among others Enfield Tibulls White-Hall Saint Iame's Hampton-Court Windsor Westminster-Hall and the Abbey the Tower Greenwich c. Of the places above mentioned here in England as also some of those he passed through in the Low-Countries the Author gives a short description But in regard what he says of the former is known to most English-men who are in any measure acquainted with the things remarkable in their own Country and what he delivers of the latter affords no extraordinary satisfaction to the curious for whose diversion works of this nature are intended we thought fit to forbear the insertion thereof that we might make the more haste to bring him to the end of his Travels which shall be done according to his ordinary method March the 20. taking water at Graves-end whence I went to Rochester and so came the twenty fourth to Dover The next day I embarked thence for Dunkirk whither I got the same day The next I embarked thence for Newport where I stayed only one night and got the next day to Bruges The 29th I came to Gaunt which I left the first of April and got that night to Brussels the chief city of the Dutchy of Brabant At Brussels I staid two dayes and came the fourth to Louvain which I left the fifth and got the same day to Macchlin about four Leagues distant from Louvain The 6th I left Macchlin and came to Aâ—werp where having staid two dayes and leaving it the ninth I got the next day to Breda where I stayed only the remainder of it and went the next day to Bois-le-due or Boldâ—e five Leagues from Bredâ— April the twelfth I went to Saint Gertrudenberg with an intention there to take boat for Rotterdam as I did the same day The thirteenth I came to Rotterdam whence I went the same day to Delf thence to the Hague thence to Leiden and thence to Haerlem The City is the biggest of any in Holland next Amsterdam and pretends to the invention of PRINTING and would have the Glory of it due to one of its Citizens named Laurence Câ—ster who in the year M. CCCC.XX framed the first Characters of Beech-wood and afterwards found out the Ink now used by Printers nay changed the Wooden Characters into Leaden ones and afterwards those into Tinâ—e in so much that in the year 1440. the Mystery was almost in its perfection They are so fully perswaded as to this in the City of Haerlem that the Senate would Eternize the Memory of LAVRENCE COSTER by the Inscription set upon the House he lived in Which is this MEMORIAE SACRUM TYPOGRAPHIA ARS ARTIUM OMNIUM CONSERVATRIX NUNC PRIMUM INVENTA CIRCA ANNUM M. CCCC.XL I left Haerlem about six in the Evening and came at nine the same night to Amsterdam Of this place I had heard so much even in the Indies that I had framed to my self a certain Idaea of its greatness but what the more surprised me was That going out of my Lodging the next morning I had much ado to get through the throâ—g of people walking up and down the Streets in such numbers as if there had been some Faire All the other parts of the World seem'd to have sent their Factours thither and that the East and North had brought thither all their Commodities whereof there were in the â—â—ops 〈◊〉 the Patterns whereas the main Stock was disposed into Store-houses publick Weighing-places upon sledges in the streets upon the Kayes in the flat-bottomed boats which unload the great Ships and others which serve for Store-houses for the Wheat It was at some losâ— which I should rather admire in that great City whether the Commerce of it which is greater then that of all the other Cities of the Low-Countries put together the neatness of its Streets especially that of the New City the sweetness and cleanlines of its house the Magnificence of its publick and private Structures the abundance of Ships and Barks which come thither and go thenec every day the largeness of its Port wherein there are at all times seven or eight hundred Ships or the Order and Policy observed by the Magistrate in all things relating to the 〈◊〉 of the City the well fâ—â—e of its Inhabitants and the improvement of Trade by which only the City subsists and causes to subsist that powerful State whereof it
EST DOMARE CVNCTI PAVENT Where they are constantly imployed in sawing Brasil with inexpressible pains or some other work according to the nature of the Crime for which they were sentenced to that punishment and the women in another house by themselves But there is not any thing so miraculous as the order observed there for the education of poor Orphans who are very well kept maintain'd and taught as also in the administration of their Estates who are under Guardians these being obliged to give an account thereof to the Magistrate The Exchanges of London and Antwerp are indeed noble places but there is something more magnificent in that of Amsterdam at least this may be affirm'd of it that for the number of Merchants daily resorting thither at noon neither of the other two is to be compared to it I may put also among the publick Structures the Weighing places the Gates of the City the three Sluces which have not their like in the World the publick School or Colledge which the Magistrate hath opened there some years since The Arsenal the Theatre for Playes the Anatomy-Hall the places appointed for shooting with Long-bow Cross bow and the Arquebuse and if I may be allowed to speak of a thing which is not yet but no doubt will be within a few years and whereof I have seen the draught I mean the Town-house or Guild-hall I may boldly say there is not any in Europe comes near it I stayed at Amsterdam eight dayes and finding something in that City which pleased my fancy beyond what I had observed in any I saw before I was unwilling to see any more but having my imagination full of it I took shipping the twenty third of April for Hamborough whither I reach'd the twenty eighth following I rested my self there one day and got the first of May to Gottorp where I presented my self to their Highnesses the Duke and Dutchess of Holstein and so put a period to my long and toilsome TRAVELS FINIS A JOURNAL OF THE TRAVELS OF JOHN ALBERT De MANDELSLO FROM PERSIA INTO THE EAST-INDIES And thence back into GERMANY M.DC.XXXVIII IANVARY THe 16. Mandelslo leaves Ispahan the Metropolis of Persia and came to Schiras the 28. 97. Leagues in 13. dayes Pag. 1 The Sepulchre of Maderre Soliman which the Persians believe to be that of Solomon's Mother but is indeed the Sepulchre of Scach Soliman Calife Tziminar or the Castle of forty Pillars the opinion of the Persians concerning it its description as now it is p. 2 A description of Schiras Metropolis of the Province of Schiras-wine the best of any in Persia the fertility of the Country Shiras women the handsomest of any in the Kingdom p. 3 He continues at Schiras 7. dayes FEBRVARY The 5. He leaves Schiras and comes the 10. to the City of Laar 48. Leagues in 6. dayes p. 4 A dangerous way where the Author was like to lose his life ibid. A description of the City of Laar its houses Cittadel a kind of Worm breeding between the flesh and the skin about an ell long how Laar came to be united to the Crown of Persia Well-water Salt ibid. Leaves Laar the 12. and comes the 23. to Gamron where he stayes five weeks p. 5 The Authors indisposition his treatment by the Sulthan a King of Gelkenda would marry his own Daughter Mandelslo's distrust of the Dutch ibid. MARCH An English Vessel comes to Gamron from Surat The 11. the Persians celebrated their Naurus ibid. The King of Persia payes the English 30000. Tumains Arbola de Rays or the Indian Fig-tree the Sepulchre of a Benjan Saint p. 6 APRIL The 1. Comes to Gamron an Envoy to assure the Sulthan of Sefi's favour ibid. A description of the City of Gamron the errour of some Geographers as to the scituation of Persia The scituation of Gamron its houses streets p. 7 The Island of Kitsmich its extent fruits abundance in fish and Cattel how the Inhabitants live their cloathing nature of the climate the commerce particularly that of the English and Dutch ibid. Their Money Weights Pearls the manner of fishing for them the King of Persia's Officers at Gamron the priviledges of the English there p. 8 Persian Horses much esteemed among the Indians the City of Ormus described taken by the Portuguez p. 9 Recover'd out of their hands by the Persians with the assistance of the English who are granted an absolute exemption for that service ibid. The 6. He embarks at Gamron and arrives at Surat the 25. following above 250. German Leagues in nineteen dayes He continues there 5. moneths p. 10 The course from Ormus to Surat the description and scituation of the Island Zocotora its inhabitants their commerce which consists in Aloes p. 11 Their Armes their Religion the Qualities of the Climate of Surat the year hath but three seasons there p. 12 The Presidents reception of the Author how the English live at Surat their divertisements their respect for the President p. 13 A general description of Indosthan its Provinces Candahar ibid. Kabul Multan c. p. 14 15 The extent of the Mogul's Country a description of the Kingdom of Guzuratta its extent p. 16 It s principal Cities Rivers Ports its fertility ibid. MAY. There came news to Surat that the Governour of Candahor had revolted and delivered the place to the Mogul p. 17 The City of Reniel described Terry or Palm-wine Surat described its Houses Castle the Kom of Suhaly ibid Surat the General Factory of the English Trade the places about Surat p. 18 SEPTEMBER The 14. Two English Ships arrive at Surat ibid. A Dutch Vessel of 1400. Tuns comes to Surat The Rasboutes what kind of people they are 19 September the last the Author leaves Surat and comes the 12. of October to Amadabat 45. Leagues in 13. dayes ibid. He continues there 8. dayes Broitschia described Indico the Sepulchre of a Mahumetan Saint 20 OCTOBER The 7. He comes to Brodra which described where the best Lacque is made the Sepulchres of divers Mahumetan Saints p. 21 The 11. Comes eo Mamadebath p. 22 The Indian Oxen as metalsome as our Horses the Maidan of Amadabath ibid. The Castle a Benjan Mosquey Amadabath described p. 23 The principal Commodities there a piece of Ambergreece that weigh'd eighty pound Musk. p. 24 Merchandises pay no Custom at Amadabat the Revenue of the City the Sepulchre of Kasia that of a mischievous Father p. 25 Princes not subject to the Schachbag-Garden an Alley ibid. Leagues in length p. 26. Parrots Cormorants c. ibid. Crocodiles and other Creatures Amadabat maintains twelve thousand Horse the Governours wealth p. 27 His Court and Expence the Authors visit to the Governour their discourse a second visit p. 28. The use of Opium ibid. A Character of the Governour of Amadabat p. 30 His cruelty ibid. The 21. He leaves Amadabat and comes the 23. to Cambaya 16. Leagues in three dayes ibid. Tschitbag Garden where Sulthan Mahomet Bergeran was
Muscovy made use of the Haven of Narva whither there came in the year 1654. above sixty Ships and took up there Merchandizes amounting to above 500000 Crowns Upon this they took occasion to cleanse and augment the Town to build new and regular streets for the convenience of strange Merchants and to facilitate the passage of Ships into the Haven Queen Christina of Sueden exempted this City out of the general Jurisdiction of the Governour of the Province and gave it a particular Lieutenant to judge of affairs Secular and Ecclesiastical without appeal to any other place The Castle is on this side the River and on the other that of Iuanogorod which the Muscovites have built upon a very steepy Rock whereof the River of Narva makes a peninsula so that the place was judg'd impregnable till Gustavus Adolphus took it in the year 1617. At the foot of this Castle is a Town called Narva Muscovite to distinguish it from the Teutonick or German Narva whereof our discourse hath been This Town is inhabited by natural Muscovites but Subjects of the Crown of Sueden to which the said Gustavus hath also joyned the Castle of Iuanogorod where Nichola Gallen govern'd at our passage that way in quality of the King's Lieutenant The Country between Reuel and Narva as also generally all Ingermania and Livonia have in the Woods a great number of Beasts that are yellowish and black and among others such abundance of Wolves and Bears that the Peasants have much ado to keep them off their Cattel and themselves In Winter when the ground is covered with snow the Wolves not meeting with ought abroad will come in the day time into mens yards and carry away the Doggs that keep them and will break through the VValls to get into the Stables We were told that in the year 1634. upon the 24. of Ianuary a Wolf not of the biggest had set upon 12. Muscovian Peasants who were bringing Hay to the City He took the first by the throat got him down and kill'd him he did the like to the second He flead the third's head eat off the nose and cheeks of a fourth and hurt two more The other six got together put themselves into a posture of defence struck down the Wolf and kill'd him It was afterwards discovered that he was mad for all those he had hurt dyed so The Magistrate of Narva had caus'd the skin to be preserv'd which was shew'd as a thing very remarkable We were told also that a Bear finding a Vessel of Herrings which a Peasant had laid down at an Alehouse door fell a-eating of them and went thence into the Stable whither the Peasants follow'd him but having wounded some of them the rest were glad to get away Thence he went into a Brewhouse where meeting with a fat of new Beer he got so drunk that the Peasants perceiving he reel'd every step and at last fell asleep in the High-way pursu'd and kill'd him Another Peasant having turn'd out his Horse a-grazing in the night found him next morning dead with a Bear lying by him who had fed very heartily upon him But as soon as the Bear perceiv'd the Peasant he leaves the Prey he was already assur'd of got hold of the Peasant and was carrying him away between his paws to his Den but the Peasants Dog having got the Bear by the foot made him let go and while they were engag'd the Master had time to get up a Tree and save himself In the year 1634. A Bear digg'd up thirteen Carcasses out of a Church-yard belonging to a little Village near Narva and carried them away with the Coffins Not is it long since that a Lady of quality in those parts met one carrying away a Carcass with the shrowd trailing after it which frighted the Horse that drew the Lady's Sledge so as that he ran away with her cross the fields to the great hazard of her life Many other stories were told us as that of a Bear who had kept a Woman 15 days together in his Den and the manner how she was deliver'd thence but we shall forbear any further accompt of them as relating more to natural History than Travels I shall only add that the Peasants who are not secure from these Creatures when they goe but into the fields especially in the night time are of opinion that the noise of a stick they fasten to the Sledges frights the VVolves and makes them run away March 7. We left Narva and lodg'd at night at Lilicnhagen seven leagues from it The 8. we travel'd six leagues to Sarits The 9. before noon we got four leagues to Orlin where the Interpreter we had sent before to give notice of our departure from Reuel met us with this news that a Pristaf waited for us upon the Frontiers And whereas many disorders were crept into our retinue insomuch that some express'd but little respect to their Superiours the Ambassadors caus'd all to come before them and told them that being upon their entrance into Muscovy where they judge of the quality of the Embassy and the greatness of the Prince that sends it by the honour which the Ambassadors receives from those that are about them they should be mindful of their duty We all promis'd not to fail therein provided we were mildly treated every man according to his place and quality Which the Ambassadors having promised for their parts we parted cheerfully to go and meet the Pristaf We found him in a Wood within a league of Orlin where he stay'd for us in the Snow with twenty four Strelits about him and ninety Sledges As soon as the Pristaf whose name was Constantino Iuanouits Arbusou had perceiv'd us and saw that the Ambassadors were a lighting he also came out of his Sledge He was clad in a Garment of green flower'd Velvet which came down to his Hams with a great Golden Chain crossing over his breast and an upper Garment lined with Sables As the Ambassadors advanced he also came forward till that being come up to them and the Ambassadors having put off their hats the Pristaf said Ambassadors be uncover'd The Ambassadors return'd him answer by the Interpreter that he saw they were uncover'd whereupon the Pristaf read out of a Paper That Knez Peter Alexandrowits Repuin Weywode of Novogorod had sent him by order from the Grand Seigneur Czaar and Great Duke Michael Federouits Conservator of all the Russes c. to receive the Ambassadors Philip Crusius and Otton Brugman and to accommodate them with Horses Carriages Provisions and what else were necessary for the continuance of their Voyage to Novogorod and thence to Moscon After we had return'd him our thanks he gave us the precedence enquir'd how we did and of the particulars of our voyage and causing the Horses to be put before the Sledges he made us travel six leagues further that day to a Village named Tzuerin March 10. About noon we