overpowr'd by their Enemies so as to be constrain'd to yield the City to them they could overwhelm both it and them in a whole Deluge of Water by breaking down that Bank From this City passing down that Branch of the River Orietan which runs towards the North you come to Orietan the whole Course of the River being extreamly delightful the Banks being cover'd with tall Trees always green and shady which bending their Head towards the Water make one continued Arbour and defend the Travellers from the scortching Sun And the variety of Apes or Peacocks flying or skipping from branch to branch adds very much to the pleasure of the Passage Orietan is a City of great Concourse of Merchants from most Countries of the East Pegu China Japan Malacca and from Malabar Westward and other parts of India 'T is govern'd by a Deputy appointed by the King at his Coronation receiving a Crown from his Hand and always enjoying the Title of King himself this City being one of those Twelve the Capitals of Twelve Provinces subject to the Kingdom of Arracan which are always govern'd by Crown'd Heads Not far from this City arises the Mount of Maum which imparts its Name to a Lake washing the Foot thereof thither are sent all those that are Exil'd by the King who causes strict Guards to be kept in all the Passes and further to prevent the flight of the Criminals cuts off their Heels The Mountain is hardly passable for Travellers being not only craggy and impervious but so infested with wild Beasts that it is a difficult thing to escape them From the Mountain of Maum Peroem crossing the Gulph you come to another City Peroem which being situate near the Sea and having a good capacious Harbour is a Town of great Traffick 'T is likewise the Residence of a Governour who exercises absolute Authority within his Precincts and keeps a Court answerable to the Majesty of a King Ramu is another City of equal Condition with Peroem Ramu from which it is not many Days Journey distant but he Way betwixt them very dangerous whether by Land or by Water The Sea being subject to sudden tempestuous Storms and that by Land lying cross the Mountains of Pre which separate Arracan from Pegu as dangerous by reason of the Wild Beasts as the former What is further taken notice of in there parts is a Mountain called Pora which in the Language of the Country signifies God or an Idol which Name it borrows from an Idol plac'd upon the very top thereof sitting cross-legg'd upon a Pedestal to which those Heathens resort with great Devotion By this place runs a large River from which some Engineers would have perswaded the King to have cut a Channel as far as Arracan but he absolutely refus'd to hearken to the Proposal because he thought he should thereby expose the place of his Residence to the Incursions of the Great Mogul who might with Ease convey his Forces down such a Channel Dianga The next Town of Note along a tempestuous Coast is the City of Dianga or Diango which seems to belong to the Kingdom of Bengala but made by Father Tosi a principal City of this Indeed this City as well as Chatigam which was undoubtedly once a City of this Kingdom and the Government thereof commonly allotted to the King 's second Son has run the risque of Frontier Towns frequently to change its Master and to be sometimes in the Hands of one of the Neighbouring Princes and sometimes in those of the other The greatest part of its Inhabitants are Portuguese Fugitives who live here and injoy great Priviledges and Immunities granted by the King The Fathers of St. Augustine have here likewise a firm Residence with a good House and very decent Church Many of them likewise make their abode in two neighbouring Villages Arracale and Angarracale Other places along this Coast subjected to this King are Coromoria Sedoa Sundiva Zara and Port Magaeni To which let me add the Island of Sundiva which is an Island in the Gulph of Bengala scarce twenty Miles remov'd from the Continent of that Kingdom 'T is about an Hundred Miles in Compass and affords such vast quantities of Salt that it needs no other Commodities to give in Exchange for any of those of the Neighbouring Countries being able with it alone to lade two Hundred Vessels every Year 'T is so well fortifi'd by nature alone without the Assistance of Art that 't is almost impossible to seize it without the consent of the Inhabitants which made the Portugueses cast an Eye upon it with intent to make it a Retreat for themselves Accordingly in the Year 1602 they took it from the Moguls who some time before had depriv'd its lawful Prince thereof who after they had 〈◊〉 it confirm'd their Title to it by a free Grant of all his Right and Claim thereto But they never quietly enjoy'd it first the Inhabitants molesting them and when they were Defeated the King of Arracan fearing the growth of their strength in those parts endeavour'd to dislodge them and tho' at first he was constrain'd to raise the Siege and to make an Agreement with them yet in the Year 1603 they were compell'd to yield it to him and retire into Bacala and other parts of the Kingdom of Bengala Assaram Tipora Chacomas Upon the Northern parts of this Kingdom lie the Cities of Assaram Tipora and Chacomas all said to be the Capital Cities of so many Kingdoms but all subject to this of Arracan Indeed I take their Kings to be no more than Deputies or Vice-Roys and Governours of these Cities plac'd there with the great vaunting Title of Kings by the King of Arracan as we are assur'd of those Governours afore mention'd and that there are no less than Twelve of the same Dignity in his whole Dominions Nor do I meet with any thing remark'd of any of them but that being places upon the Frontiers they are constantly provided of good Garrisons Unless I may have leave to add what Mr. Tavernier has Recorded of three of the Subjects of Tipora which he calls Tipra that he found them such notable Topers that they never gave out 'till they had drunk him dry and at last when all his Wine was spent seem'd to express a great deal of concern that they could have no more He tells 't is true further that there is a Gold Mine in the Dominions of this Prince but so very course that it is not fit to be exported that the King exacts no Subsidies of his Subjects but obliges the prime of his Nobility to work six Days in the Year in his Mines in lieu of them There are besides some Silk-works here of which they make good Advantage Taking the Southern Stream from Arracan it conducts you to the City Dobazi Dobazi which is a place of very great Traffick being a Port much frequented by Strangers Thence continuing your Voyage along the Coast
I am under to a very worthy Gentleman Mr. Daniel Sheldon in the free and kind Communication of these Memoirs I shall not therefore detain the Reader with any further account of this matter but pass on to what I am satisfied will be very agreeable to him viz. The History of this Revolution in Golconda The present King of Golconda was Son to an Arabian of good Family and Esteem but low in Estate and Fortune to raise which resolving to Travel and seek Employment from some Foreign Prince he came to Golconda and by the Favour of some persons of Quality had the opportunity of presenting himself and his Service to King Cotub sha who being pleased with his Person and manner of Address gave him a small Government wherein he behav'd himself so well that he was advanc'd to one of the most considerable Commands in the Kingdom in which and his Prince's favour he continued 'till his Death After which his Estate being very great was seiz'd on by the King who is the general Heir of all his Nobles and Persons employ'd by him none of those Countreys having any Hereditary Estates so that his Son was reduc'd to a very poor Condition but having that left which could not be taken from him viz. his Father's Wit and Courage he resolv'd to follow his Example hoping to find his Fortune Full of which hopes he enters himself into Munsub that is the Kings Pay and had allow'd him twelve or fifteen new Pagotha's which is about four Pounds sixteen Shillings or six Pounds Sterling per Month with which and the hopes of better Preferment he made a shift to maintain himself The King Cotub-sha had at this time no Son but three Daughters the Eldest of which was Married to Sultan Mamood Eldest Son to the Great Mogul Aureng-Zebe The second to an Arabian of great Quality Meera Mamood and the third was unmarried To this unmarried Daughter an Arabian of high Birth and Quality called Siud Sultan was an importunate Suitor and the King grown Old and oppress'd with the Factions of those to whom he had left the management of Affairs having all his time wholly minded Pleasures and left Business and the Concerns of the Kingdom to the Cares of others and mortally hating Sultan Mamood who by a cruel War almost to the utter Ruine of him and his Kingdom had forc'd his Consent to the Marryage of his Eldest Daughter hoping thereby after Cotub-sha's Death to add the Kingdom of Golconda to the Empire of the Great Mogul and having no Kindness for his second Daughter or her Husband but being extreamly fond of his Youngest he design'd to Marry her to one whose Quality Parts and Courage might make him able either to break or manage the Factions of his Court withstand Sultan Mamood who he resolv'd should not succeed him and one who being rais'd by his Favour he thought would wholly depend upon it and thereby only expect the Succession And this Young Servant to his Daughter being an Arabian who in these Countreys are thought the Wisest and fittest for Government and of the Cast of the Siuds that is of the Family or Kindred of Mahumet and therefore much reverenc'd by all likewise of a brisk and lively Wit and Spirit He thought him a fit Person by whom to manage his Designs and consequently to Marry his Daughter therefore countenanc'd his Adresses to her but the young Man was so dazled with the prospect of so glorious a Fortune that he could not see his right way to it for presuming too soon upon the King and Princesses Favour instead of contriving how to increase and strengthen his Interest by gaining the Consent and Support of the great Ministers of State he carried himself so insolently towards them that he utterly disoblig'd and made himself hateful to them and they fearing the Tyranny of one who when their Equal began to exercise it over them resolv'd to disgrace and ruin him by hindring the Match The chiefest Persons about the King were Moso Cawne Siud Meer Zapher and Musshuke these three managed the King and his great Affairs for Meera Mamood the King's Son in Law being not in Favour was not in Business yet not so quite laid aside but that he had free Access to the Court and Presence and was by all respected as one that having Married the King's Second Daughter Circumstances consider'd was likely enough to succeed him Therefore having great hopes and not enduring the Insolent Carriage of this new Favourite nor to think of his Marrying the King's beloved Daughter put himself in the Head of the Faction against him And the Old Courtiers perfectly knowing the King and the usual and surest ways of working him to their Designs soon unsetled the unwary young Man in his Affections and then threw him from the height of his Prince's Favour to the contempt and scorn of the meanest Subject For they possessed his Majesty with an Opinion that he was an high Spirited Ambitious Man and aim'd at great things that he was at the Head of a great Party and Faction at Court that if he were once strengthen'd with so near an Alliance to the King he might do whatsoever he design'd what he design'd they knew not but he gave them great Reason to fear it was not his Majesty's safety nor the Kingdom 's Peace and Affairs being wholy manag'd by their Directions and all Officers at Court about the King being their Creatures they made their Information seem more than probable The King being naturally jealous and frighted with the Shadow of any thing that he thought might disturb his Pleasures was quickly perswaded not to marry the Princess to so dangerous a Person and immediately upon the breaking off the Match one of the three Persons before mention'd 't is not certainly known which of them but thought Musshuke advis'd his Majesty to find out some one for the Princess of small Fortune but noble Birth and Courage a comly Person and of a generous and chearful Disposition and inclin'd rather to Pleasures than Business for if he was qualified with high Birth and the Endowments of Nature it lay in the King's Power to supply the Defects of Honour Riches c. and Men of such Dispositions being given to Pleasure were seldom ambitious or designing therefore such a one being Created meerly by his Favour would wholly submit by it and enjoying what he most desir'd his Pleasures would not disturb himself or them with the thoughts of Business or Cares of Government but be Obedient and perfectly contented with the Condition he was in without aspiring to untimely Greatness The Advice was liked and communicated to the two other Counselors who considering it was a way for continuing them in their Governments and all Affairs and Business in their management confirmed the King by approving of the Counsel given him and having his Order to find out such a Person the Young Arabian Souldier whose Father 's Estate had been seiz'd on by the
Persuasion and kind of life are several sorts both among the Gentiles and the Moors some of whom shew their Devotion by a shameless appearance and walking naked without the least Rag of Cloaths to cover them And even at Mid-day and in the heart of the City and places of chief Concourse will they walk the Streets as shameless and unconcern'd as if they were Cloathed all over The constant sight of them in the City which offers it self at every turn abates that bashfulness in the Spectators which such an immodesty might be apt to create and diverts neither Sex from their Society from a familiar Conversation and Intimacy with them and Custom has wore off all that Coyness even in the Women which would be startled at such an immodest Spectacle at first Others make solemn Vows of continuance in such and such kind of Postures all the days of their life The several tormenting Postures of these Faquirs and will never move from them or alter them tho' the Pains are never so violent which seem to be attended with so much Torture as would even force them to forbear For these are Penitentiaries in earnest without any Mask or possible appearance of Deceit and voluntarily mortifie their Limbs and distort their Joints to a perfect Dislocation For by the Delusions of Satan these infatuated Votaries are possessed with a wretched Opinion of making themselves unspeakably happy hereafter by these insufferable Torments here And the Enemy of Mankind impatient of Delays in exercising his infernal Cruelty persuades them to undergo these Torments which will end in making them Meritorious Saints and that by these horrid Punishments they may secure a future larger Bliss Among these violent Postures some I observ'd with both their Arms stretcht out toward Heaven continually which they never let fall and are therefore by long use grown so much into that Position that by long continuance it begins to grow Natural and without Violence they cannot move them downward The Nails from their Fingers too are grown beyond the Paws of any Lyon into three or four Inches length by an Opinion which they have imbibed like that of the Emperour of Japan who after his Coronation is deterr'd from permitting either Razor or Scissers to come near his Hair or Nails upon a Persuasion that it is a kind of Sacriledge in those cases to cut them Others as devout as these gaze with their Eyes continually toward Heaven by holding their Faces directly upwards They throw their Heads so far backwards between their Shoulders that their Eyes can never behold any other Object but the Stars and Sky whither with unwearied Earnestness they look continually delighted as it were with the pleasant sight of the blessed Regions above and loath to cast their Eyes upon any thing of this vile and wicked World But before their Eyes can be thus fixt and their Heads setled in this Posture the Faquirs run thro' much Uneasiness and Trouble molested both in the Utterance of their Words and in receiving any Food And both those who extend their Arms continually towards Heaven as if they were reaching at that place and those whose Eyes are constantly fixt upwards are rendred thereby wholly unserviceable to themselves and are therefore attended always by a Servant or two who administer to them in their Necessities and conduct the gazing Saints to different places of Abode Others there are with their Right Arm brought round the Neck over the left Shoulder and the Left Arm over the Right Shoulder and their Fingers clasping one another before their Breasts with the Palms of their Hands turn'd outwards This twists the Arms dislocates the Shoulder-bones and therefore vexes the Patient with inexpressible Torments Some of the Faquirs neither sit nor ever lie down but constantly either walk or lean They lean upon a small Pillow or Quilt laid upon a Rope which hangs down from the Boughs of a Tree where the two Ends are fastned above and swing in that posture to and fro Day and Night But when these Faquirs prepare themselves to pray they change this Gesture and fasten their Feet in two Ropes that hang down from the Boughs of a Tree and with their Heels upwards and their Heads down as if they were asham'd to lift up their Eyes to Heaven they pour out their powerful Supplications And from the Prayers of these humble Saints are expected to flow considerable Blessings and the prevention of many Mischiefs Some of these devoted Mendicants extend only one Hand toward Heaven others turn only one Arm round their Shoulders But they are all in singular Esteem and religiously resorted to by the Vulgar and by these Distortions of their Bodies they gain the Repute of Men of perfect Hearts and of upright Minds Besides these painful unnatural Postures near Suratt A savage Custom near Carwar a savage Custom is still maintain'd by the Gentiles near Carwar in offering Sacrifice to the God of Plenty at the Season of the growing Corn. The Bramins at this time kill a Cock and make an Oblation of his Blood as was usual with other Heathens while the People that are concern'd in it are struck with amazing Horror and Consternation their Faces are writhed and their Looks ghastly their Flesh creeps upon them and their Joints tremble and to all Men they appear frightful as if they were possessed and they own too that the Devil at that time inhabits them and acquaints them with several strange things After the Sacrifice is past Six Men and an equal number of Women are appointed to perform a Ceremony very dreadful Upon each side of the Back-bone of the Men are stuck two Iron Hooks into the Flesh by which they are lifted up to the top of a Pole standing out like a Gibbet above 20 Foot high This Gibbet is fasten'd to an Engine with four Wheels which is drawn upon the Ground above a Mile with the Men hanging upon the Tenters all the way The Women have each of them a sort of Bason upon their Heads upon which are set Six Cups as large as Tea-Cups one upon another with Fire in each of them which being very tottering makes the Women exceding careful how they tread lest if they slip and thereby any Cup falls or the Fire be shaken out of any the Woman forfeits her Life and is sentenc'd to immediate Death But if with Care and Dexterity they go thro' with the Walk as far as the Men they then are safe and the Solemnity ceases And notwithstanding all the tediousness of the Passage and the jogging of the Carriage whereon they hang which one would think would force the Hooks to tear the Flesh in pieces yet will the Men poor miserable Wretches take Swords and brandish them in their Hands as it were in defiance of their Torments all the way The Faquirs resort sometimes together in great numbers and live upon the Spoil and Alms of the Country as they pass in their Pilgrimage If they find the
The fruitfulness of the Soil And this fair Country which the Blacks inhabit is blest with a Soil as pregnant as the Days are pleasant and prepar'd for any Improvements Beeves and Sheep Hogs and Goats feed here upon the Herbage of the Field which makes them flesht and very well tasted And all those sorts of Grain which are proper for Food or for making strong Drink thrive here and grow in that plenty that no part of Europe can abound with them more Which is all to be ascrib'd to the indefatigable Diligence and Industry of the Dutch who being forc'd to a good Husbandry of the Ground by the scantiness which they live upon at home continue their thrifty Cultivating humour when they are remov'd to a Soil where they may Cultivate what quantity they please for they are a People remarkable for Improvements for their commendable Pains and Care where ever they Inhabit But here grows the fruitful Vine as well as the Wheat and the Barley and the Dutch delight themselves in the double variety both of French and English Liquors of Beer and Wine of their own growth with the sprightly Juice of the one and the healing Oily quality of the other The Rivers and Ponds are full of Fish of great variety and very delicate The Country is cover'd with Woods and Forests which abound with store of Beasts and Fowls as Deer Antilopes Baboons Foxes c. Ostriches whose Eggs are transported to various Countries Herons Partridges Feasants Pelicans Geese Ducks Tygers and Lions are very numerous and so bold that they range sometimes within Gun-shot of the Fort and for that reason seldom return back and do often prey upon the Cattle for which cause they are kept within shelter in the Night Two French Ships taken at the Cape Two French Ships returning from the Indies in A. 1689 with very rich Cargoes were invited to touch at the Cape by the store of delicate Provisions which they heard were there But the taste of that fresh Mutton cost them both their Ships and Men. For the speedy Intelligence which the active Dutch had sent abroad of the Eruption of the War that Year arriving at the Cape before any News could reach the French betray'd them to the vigilance of the Hollanders who seized their Ships as soon as they were well Moored in the Bay The Ancient Inhabitants of this Cape The next description which I come to Secondly is of the Ancient Inhabitants of this Promontory in what relates to their Nature and Customs They retain the vulgar name of Hotantots The reason of their Name because of their constant repetition of that word in their hobling Dances There is a vast difference between the nature of these People that dwell upon this place and the Country they Inhabit for of all parts this affords a Dwelling most neat and pleasant and of all People they are the most Bestial and sordid They are the very Reverse of Human kind The Bestial nature of the Hotantots Cousin Germans to the Halalchors only meaner and more filthy so that if there 's any medium between a Rational Animal and a Beast the Hotontot lays the fairest Claim to that Species They are sunk even below Idolatry are destitute both of Priest and Temple and saving a little show of rejoicing which is made at the Full and the New Moon have lost all kind of Religious Devotion Nature has so richly provided for their convenience in this Life that they have drown'd all sense of the God of it and are grown quite careless of the next They are more Tawny than the Indians Their outward form and in Colour and Features come nearest the Negroes of any People only they are not quite so Black nor is their Cottony Hair so Crisp nor their Noses altogether so flat For Nature pleases her self as well in the variety of Individuals of the same kind as in a great number of Species of all sorts of Animals A Discourse concerning the Negroes blackness It might seem here a rational Conjecture for the reason of the Negroes Blackness that they are burnt by the Sun's Beams which we experimentally find tinctures the fairest Complexions when it comes near them which recover again by withdrawing to a cooler Air. And therefore that those who are most expos'd to the Sun's Heat should always be the Blackest For Blackness and Whiteness are not suppos'd natural to any People whatever 't is presum'd to be the effect of the Climate because those that are Fair by living a long time under or near the Line shall in two or three Generations as 't is affirm'd become tawny and Black tho' they Marry only with fair People But methinks there is something in Nature which seems to thwart this current Opinion For under the same Parallels are People of quite different Colours as for instance the Hotantots who live between thirty four and thirty five Degrees are Black the Inhabitants of Candie who are under the same Elevation of the Pole are White The People of England are white and the Natives near Hudson's Bay which is as Cold and Northerly a Climate are Black And neither the Colony of the English near Hudson's Bay nor the Dutch at Cape Bone Esperanse receive any alteration in their Colour but are fresh and fair as in Europe and yet the Natives in both parts are Olive-colour'd Some are apt to ascribe this to the Air and Climate or Earth which in some places produces Patagons who are Giants as in other Pygmies but this seems weak and unaccountable Others resolve much of it into the effect of Food and Diet which I believe may be of some power and efficacy in this matter upon this Account Because at Suratt I observ'd a young Indian very Black taken into the English Service who by tasting Wine and Eating Flesh grew paler sensibly than he was before The strong Aliment by a frequent mixture of its lively Juyces with the Blood and Spirits which for a long time had been kept low by a Phlegmatick Nourishment did actuate and purify them by degrees and thereby shew'd in sometime the effect of their fermentation by a faint Varnish upon the Face Besides it is a Remark of the Ancients but not methinks very sound whereby they took notice that 't is the Humidity of the Elements which defends the Indians against that Action of the Sun which burns the Complexion of the Negroes and makes their Hair grow like Cotton whereas some of the Indians whose Hair is long and uncurled live as near the Aequator and endure as intense a Heat as the Hotantots and several Negroes of Africa whose Hair is crisp and frizl'd And therefore something must be added besides the Sun's Heat for distinction of Complexion and of Hair under the same Parallels Lewenhoock observes that the Blood of the Negroes is of a different Contexture from ours And Malpighi observ'd a small Membrane not transparent between the Cutis and Cuticula
administer either to the Exigence or Delight of Man so is it suited with the greatest convenience imaginable to the important Negotiations of the Dutch whose Ships that Design for India and those that return from thence to Holland are refresht here with all Conveniencies as in the mid-way between those two distant Regions The Industry of the Hollanders has inlarg'd their Borders so far upon the main Land of this Delightful Fertile Cape that were they ever put to those straits as to be forc'd to Decamp and leave their Native Country here they might fix in a Soil of so much more desirable Habitation that they might thank the Fates that caus'd the Change and bless the Authors of their Misery Here they might live without any danger of the Seas Incroaching upon their Banks to threaten continually a second Deluge and free from all dread of Invasion from any Neighbouring Land-Tyrant And might spread themselves over spacious Plains which would afford them Work sufficient for all their Husbandry and Pastures Pleasant and large enough for all their Cattle And because nothing can please these People so much as Trade and Traffick therefore here they might find convenient Harbours for their Ships by which they might keep up their Spirit of Merchandizing and establish their Commerce to the Indies and other parts of the World The Refugees of France who are received here with the same priviledge the Dutch enjoy acknowledge the happiness of their Transportation and boast that their Misfortunes are turn'd into their Felicity since they are blest here with peaceable Dwellings and kind Accommodations who had not formerly where in safety to lay their Heads The Encouragements to such as settle here The Encouragements of such as come hither to Cultivate the Land for their own Livelihood and Benefit of the grand Proprietors is thus stated as I understood it Those that design to settle here are allow'd their Transportation from Holland gratis After their Arrival they are invited to range and view the Country and survey such parts as lie wild and unmanur'd where they may choose such a Portion as they fancy they are able to stock and Manure and will yield them a Commodious settlement for their Families This is to be a Patrimony intail'd upon their Children without any Rent or other Acknowledgment to the Dutch East India Company but the Sale of their Goods to the Governour and at his Price This by the way presses hard upon the Tenants and keeps them under by running the chief Profits of what they possess into the Company 's hands The Governour and Council agree with the Country-man for his Goods and Cattle at a very low rate and sell them again to the Ships that put in there as dear as they please because all Men are strain'd from vending any Commodities to Strangers without the Council's leave But however the Industrious Planters want neither plenty of Wine for their Tables nor variety of Tame and Wild Fowls for their ordinary Entertainments of which they have often rather too much Store than any Scarcity because the Company has no occasion for them and therefore they lie dead upon their Hands Some upon this account quit the place and very few of any Substance but easilier may increase their Goods than their Treasure Those whose Poverty renders them unable to stock their Land the Kindness of the Governour provides with Necessaries 'till their Abilities can reach a Payment Which has mightily increased the number of Inhabitants within a few Years For whereas about nine Years since they could scarce reckon above four or five Hundred Planters they can now number almost as many Thousands abundance of whom were sent hither by the French Persecution who are much delighted with the Convenience of their Dwelling The space of Land which the Dutch at present inhabit They have stretcht their Plantations in the Country above seventy five English Miles and see still a vast space of untill'd Land before them In this District they rear their Cattle sow their Corn plant Vines and sedulously improve all things of worth to the best advantage So that within the Revolution of a few Years many valuable Commodities will be Exported thence to the other Quarters of the Universe The Cape Wine Their very Wines in which they will suddenly increase both to a great plenty and variety are now able to supply their Ships and to furnish the Indies with some quantity where they sell it by the Bottle at a Roupie 'T is Colour'd like Rhenish and therefore they pass it under that specious Name in India but the Taste of it is much harder and less palatable it s Operations are more searching and the strength of it more intoxicating and offensive to the Brain The Impositions which are laid upon Wine and other Liquors that are sold by Retail seem almost incredible The great Taxes upon Liquors especially when the small number of People that are presum'd to drink them is consider'd For in the Town of the Cape are not reckon'd above 500 Inhabitants besides those that are brought in Ships and come out of the Country and yet the Annual Impost upon Europe Beer and Wine is four thousand Gilders upon Cape Wine four thousand one hundred and Brandy Arak and distill'd Waters pay twenty Thousand Gilders Yearly to the Governour of the place for a License to sell them All which Taxes summ'd together make up above twenty eight Thousand Gilders Yearly which according to our Accounts raise between two and three Thousand Pounds for the liberty of selling Liquors by Retail This exorbitant Fine upon the Taverns and Tipling Houses makes them exact extravagant Rates from the Guests that drink the Liquor who are indeed the People that pay it For he that resolves to drink Brandy must pay at the rate of ten Shillings a Bottle for it and the Cape Wine which in the Cask is sold for less than six Pence a Quart is in the Tavern half a Crown and such proportionably are the excessive Prices of the rest A tame submission is the only Remedy for these Impositions from which there is no Appeal or Relief which is apt to imbitter the Lives of the People nor can any be very happy who are subject to the Tyranny of a Government that is under no Restraint The Arbitrary Proceedings of the Dutch Commissaries in India have been much resented and have likewise rais'd loud complaints against them by the injur'd Factors but have met with very little redress The Governour of the Cape Min Heer Simon Vanderstel labours much in Improvements and Accommodations for the Inhabitants and Sea-men The Governour of the Cape and to render it valuable to the Company The Sailers are well furnisht with fresh Water and fresh Provisions and in the Bay is caught great store of Fish which is Pickled and put up in Barrels and sent home instead of Pickled Herrings A delicate Watering-place The Watering for Ships is contriv'd with
King was propos'd as one every way qualified according to the King's desire He is therefore sent for by Ziud Meer Zapher to his House and the King being plac'd where he might perfectly see and hear without being taken notice of Ziud Meer Zapher entertain'd the Young Souldier with some Discourse concerning the Greatness and Merits of his Father how much he was belov'd and favour'd by the King told him he was sorry to see the Son of so great a Man in so low a Condition promis'd his Assistance in getting some handsom Command for him bid him therefore be chearful and not dejected and Melancholy And after he thought the King had fully view'd dismiss'd him When he was gone the King told Ziud Meer Zapher he was not so comly a Person as he was presented to be nor had he that Life and Vigour in his Countenance that he would willingly have in the Person he made choice of To which Meer Zapher reply'd that his Majesty rather saw his Misfortunes than the Man himself for being the Son of so great a Person and having liv'd in all the plenty of his Father's Great Estate to be now reduc'd to the poor Condition and Allowance of an Ordinary Horse-man must of necessity make melancholy Impressions both upon his Body and Mind but if his Wants were supplyed with Money to maintain him according to his Birth and Quality he would quickly come to and appear like himself and to be such a one as his Majesty sought for The King resolves to try and therefore orders Meer Zapher to contrive how to furnish him with as much Money as he would have without letting him know the Bountiful Hand that reliev'd him Immediately some Xeruffs or Money Merchants are sent for and Meer Zapher gives them directions to offer and let him have as much Money as he would take promising to see them repaid again but strictly Commanded them upon the forfeiture not only of their Money but Lives not to let him know they had any such Order to furnish him Away the Xeruffs go and give him several Visits under a pretence of desiring his Assistance in some Business they had with some great Men for he being a Man of high Birth and Quality such Persons tho' never so poor being by all much respected in those Countries would have better Access and be sooner heard and taken notice of After two or three Visits growing more familiar with him they told him he looked Melancholy and Discontented and desir'd to know if it were for want of any thing with which they could furnish him if Money they would supply him with any Sum he would please to take and desir'd him to try them for two or three Thousand Old Pagotha's which is about a Thousand or fifteen Hundred Pounds Sterling His Wants made him ready enough to take Money but considering who they were that offer'd it and that such kindnesses from such Men were always paid for at the dearest Rates though his Condition was bad he was unwilling to make it worse by putting himself into such Mens Clutches for being once in their Debts he could not foresee any hopes of ever getting out and therefore would not sacrifice his Liberty and the little Content he had left to his Inclination which but two earnestly perswaded him to enjoy the present Conveniences of the Money offer'd without troubling himself with the Thoughts of future Payment but resolv'd to content himself in his Wants till they were by some better and more agreeable way provided for So refus'd their Money but accepted of their Kindness in the most grateful and obliging manner he possibly could But at last the importunity of the Xeruffs and his own Wants prevail'd upon him to receive a considerable Sum for which to his great Admiration they were so far from taking Security as accustomary that they perswaded him not to spare his Money but to live like the Son of so great a Father offering him more when that which he had received was spent The young Man naturally inclin'd to Gallantry and high Living being thus plentifully supplyed with the Means resolves to please and appear like himself with a handsom House Retinue Palankeen Horses and all things fit for a Person of his Quality more wondering at the Merchants for lending than at himself for Spending so much Money All this while Siud Meer Zapher had his Eye upon him and quickly perceived the alteration he expected both in his Person and Humour and that he began to be very much esteem'd and respected by all that knew him So desires the King to see him again which he does and now so well likes him that he gives Meer Zapher Order to let him have as many opportunities of seeing him as he could and the oftner he does see the more he is pleas'd and taken with him Therefore resolving to Marry his Daughter immediately to him one Evening he sends the Deveer or Secretary of State with an Omrah or Noble Man called Jabber Beague and a Guard of Horse to fetch and Conduct him to Court The Young Gallant was entertaining some Friends and himself with some Dancing Women when News was brought him that some great Officers belonging to the Court were at the Door away went his Friends and Women by a Back-way and he to meet the Secretary and Jabber Beague to conduct them in As soon as he saw them well knowing who they were he was very much troubled not imagining why so Eminent Persons with a Guard of Horse should come to visit him And his Fears were very much increas'd by a rich Vest with which the Secretary presented him with from the King For verily believing it was poison'd he desir'd them to Excuse him for being so surpriz'd that he could not tell whether to receive the King 's Present as his Honour or Disgrace and Ruine for his Father's Services being long since Rewarded and forgot and he having never yet the opportunity of doing his Majesty any he could not expect any honourable Notice could be taken of him and yet he was in hopes he less deserv'd Punishment than Reward since he could not call to mind any one Crime he had committed in his whole Life that might give his Majesty the least or any Offence And if his late living in a more plentiful way than formerly had been taken notice of and was displeasing he did assure them he had no other design in it than to appear according to his Birth and Quality that upon the least Command or notice he would have retir'd to his former Obscurity that he had done no unjust thing to get the Money he spent but would have been willing to have given either his Majesty or them an Account how he did get it Then he told them he always had been and still was so truly Loyal to his Prince that he should upon all occasions freely have ventur'd his Life for his Service and now durst lose it for his Pleasure So snatching
Precincts who are brought up at the King's Charge 'till they are twelve Years old at which age being brought to his Court he chuses by the smell of their Garments in which they have been made to sweat those whose Scent pleases him disposing of the rest to the Gentlemen of his Court. He assumes to himself as great Titles as any of his Neighbours The King's Titles stiling himself Padxa or Emperour of Arracan Possessor of the White Elephant with the two Caneques and by vertue of them rightful Heir of Pegu and Brama Lord of the Twelve Boioni of Bengala and the Twelve Kings who lay the highest Hair of their Heads under the Soles of his Feet with others of the like importance His ordinary residence is at Arracan but in the Summer time 't is usual with him to spend two Months in a kind of Progress by Water from thence to Orietan in which he is attended by all the Nobility in Boats so artificially contriv'd with distinct Apartments and Conveniences for the Court that they appear rather a floating Palace or City than a Fleet of Boats Nor does he at this time omit the Administration of Justice but hears Causes and attends publick Business as much as in his Palace One Pretence for his Marine Progress is to visit the Pagod of their Supream Deity whom they call Quiay Poragray and to whom the King daily sends a sumptuous Dinner By this and several other Instances they shew themselves very Superstitious and this Superstition frequently leads them into Acts of the most inhumane Cruelty Tosi vol. 2. pag. 45. 'T is related of one of them that being told he could not long survive his Coronation which is usually perform'd with the greatest Ceremony and Pomp imaginable the Twelve Royolets attending and the Xoxam Pungri setting the Crown upon his Head he deferr'd that Ceremony Twelve Years after he came to the Crown But being press'd to it by his Lords and not able handsomly to put it off any longer he consulted a Mahumetan whether there was any way to avert the Omen who with a barbarous intent to destroy those whom he counted Enemies of his false Prophet advis'd him to make a Composition of six Thousand of the Hearts of his Subjects four thousand of those of White Cows and two thousand of those of White Doves which being used as an Electuary would protect him from that Presage This the King believing built a House the Foundations whereof to make it still more auspicious were laid upon Women great with Child and in that butcher'd no less than Eighteen Thousand innocent Persons to preserve his own hateful Life Race Of the Descent of these Kings we have no account in any Author I have seen nor whence they derive that Appellation of Moghi Only we are told by Tosi they are very careful to preserve the Blood unmixt upon which account the King is oblig'd to Marry his Eldest Sister THE KINGDOM OF PEGU THE Kingdom of Pegu is bounded on the North with the Countries of Brama Bounds and Extent Siammon and the Calaminham towards the West it is partly separated from Arracan by the Mountains of Pre and partly wash'd by the Gulph of Bengala extending it slf along the Coast from Cape Nigraes being about 16 Deg. of Northerly Latitude as far as the City of Tavay whose Elevation is said to be 13 Deg. On the East it joins with Lao on the South it touches upon the Territories of Siam But these Bounds are by no means fixt and determin'd being subject to many Alterations as it has prevail'd over its Neighbours or they on the contrary over it In the Year 1690 one Brama King hereof by his Victorious Arms extended its limits beyond those known to his Predecessors subduing the King of Siam and reducing him to be Tributary to the Crown of Pegu. But this continued no longer than to the time of his immediate Successour The Soil being water'd with several Rivers one whereof arising from the Lake Chiamay takes a Course of between four and five hundred Miles before it falls into the Sea is very rich and fertile abounding especially with Rice and good Pasturage for their Cattle The River is known by the Name of Pegu after that of the Country and City which is washt by it but for the Advantages it brings and its constant Annual Inundations 't is not unfitly stiled by Maffeius the Indian Nile Mafeius lib. 16. Its Overflowings are indeed almost incredible reaching Thirty Leagues beyond its usual Course and by leaving behind it a kind of Slime or Mud upon the Ground so Enriches their Soil and increases their Crops of Rice that a hundred Ship Loads thereof have been Exported in a Year without so much as being miss'd But a great augmentation of the wealth of the Country which before a late Desolation in its Wars against Arracan and Siam was esteem'd as great as of any Kingdom in the East are the Precious Stones such as Rubies Topazes Precious Stones Saphirs Amethists c. all which the Inhabitants comprehend under one common Name of Rubies and distinguish them only by their Colour calling the Saphir the Blew the Amethist the Violet the Topaz the Yellow Ruby and so of the rest But that which properly obtains that Name is a Jewel transparent sparkling Red and towards the extremities thereof or near the surface something incling to the Violet of the Amethist Some take it to be the same with the Hyacinth of the Ancients Cl. Salm. and a notable Critick would perswade us that Jacut the Name given it by the Arabians and Persians is deriv'd from the word Hyacinthus 'T is found in several places of the Indies as also in Europe but those most valued are the Stones of Ceylon and Pegu the chiefest place for them in this 〈◊〉 being the most barren part thereof viz. a Mountain near Capelan or Cablan between Siriam and Pegu as likewise those Hills which stretch from this Kingdom to that of Cambodia They are distinguish'd into four sorts or species the Ruby the Rubacel the Balace and the Spinel of which the first is much preferr'd before the rest The natural shape is generally Oval or Globular being scarce ever found with Corners Their Value as that of the Diamonds increases proportionably to their Weight being weighed by Ratis whereof one is reckon'd three Grains and a half or seven eighths of a Caratt and a Stone of this Weight has been fold for twenty Pagods one of two Ratis and one of eight for eighty five Pagods one of three Ratis and one fourth for an hundred eighty five one of four Ratis and five eighths for four hundred and fifty one of five Ratis for five hundred twenty five and one of six Ratis and half for nine hundred and twenty Pagods But if the Stone exceed this Weight and be clean and perfect there is no certain value to be set upon it Of the Vertue of this Stone as
well as the Diamond 't is pleasant to read the Conceits of some fanciful Men Tavern part 2. pag. 144. as that 't is a Soveraign Antidote against Poison either wore or taken inwardly in Powder and a great Preservative against the Plague that it chears the Heart expels Sorrow restrains Lust drives away frightful Dreams lessens sleep Beot l. 2. c. 14. inspirits the Blood and incites to Anger and what is beyond all these by its changing Colour foretels approaching Dangers or Calamities to him that wears it and the more darken'd and obscur'd it appears the greater will be the Misfortune To this purpose one Wolfgangus Gabelchoverus relates of himself That travelling with a Wife a Rubie set in a Ring which he wore upon his Finger chang'd colour several times 'till at last it seem'd to have lost its splendour and was turn'd almost quite black whereupon he took it from his Finger and laid it aside his Mind presaging some great Evil hanging over the Head either of himself or Relations which happen'd accordingly for in a few Days he tells us his Wife fell sick and died after whose Death his Ruby immediately recover'd its Ancient Lustre and Beauty The Balace Ruby is suppos'd by some to have taken its name from Palatium or Palace because it is as it were the Palace or Matrix in which are form'd the true Rubies Others think the Name is deriv'd from Bala which in the Persian Language signifies high or topping which agrees to the natural Form of the Stone which is commonly oblong or pointed the most probable Conjecture is that of Marcus Paulus Venetus that it is borrow'd from the Country where they are found in the greatest Plenty which he says is by the Inhabitants called Balaheia Tho' I must confess I could have wish'd he had given us some better hints whereby to find out that Country THE INHABITANTS OF PEGU THE Inhabitants are of Colour Customs rather Tawny than Black not unlike those of Arracan but in their manners more corrupt than any I have yet met with Their very Women seem to have lost all Natural Modesty going almost quite Naked with only a thin Covering about their Middles so carelesly bound about them as not to cover their shame They tell us indeed in excuse for it they were injoin'd to go so by an ancient Queen of the Country who to prevent a worse Vice in the Men commanded them to use this means of stirring up and inflaming their Desires towards them Their Habitations are as slovenly as their Manners corrupt Tosi Vol. 2 pag. 69. making no Scruple to lodge in the same Room with their Hoggs and as for their Diet they always take care to season it with Sidol mention'd in the Description of Arracan so nauseous and offensive that none but themselves can endure so much as the smell thereof Their Marriages are likewise loose and uncertain for the Man as it were buying his Wife being oblig'd to pay a Dowry to her Parents if after he has some time Enjoy'd her he dislikes either her Person or Conditions he has liberty of divorceing her and remitting her back to her Relations On the other side if the Woman or her Friends dislike her Husband they may take her away from him repaying only the Dowry he gave to them When any Stranger comes to reside amongst them they offer him his choice of their Daughters one of which he hires at a certain rate according to the time of his stay to cohabit with him and at his departure she returns again to her Parents without the least disgrace Nay should the same stranger return again into the Country tho she should be Married to another Man her Husband is oblig'd to restore her to him for the time of his continuance there and when he leaves the place receive her again They are Superstitious to the highest Degree and great Worshippers of the Devil making as the Manichees of old two Authors of Beings one the Author of all Good which is God and the other of all Evil which is the Devil Upon this Principle they are as zealous in the Worship of the Devil as of God and use as much Art and Pains to obtain his Favour When any sickness or other Calamity befalls them their first Addresses are to him making Vows to him if he will free them from their present Misery and cease to afflict them for the future Nor dare they omit the solemn Performance of these Vows upon their Recovery But chusing a Man whom they call the Father of the Devil as being one of the greatest of his Priests and best understanding or at least pretending to do so what will be most acceptable to him to direct them make a great Feast attended with Musick of all sorts to pacifie and appease this incensed Adversary Many of them will run about the streets in the Morning with one hand full of Rice and a Torch in the other crying aloud They go to give the Devil his Breakfast that he might not hurt them all that Day Others before they eat throw part of what they have over their Shoulders to feed him And with such a panick Fear are they struck at the thoughts of this Author of Evil that they will run as if they were really possest from a Man in a Mask lest he should prove a Devil come out of Hell to torment them And at a place call'd Tavay they have a Custom to replenish their Houses with Victuals and then leave them for three Months that the Devils may come and dwell in them feeding upon what they have provided and to be propitious to them all the rest of the Year They have an Order of Religious among them had in much esteem who do frequently oppose this Diabolical Worship but are not able to root out of the minds of the People what their Fears have so deeply imprinted there These Religious they call Telapoi who are not unlike Mendicant Fryers living upon the Alms of the People and so highly venerated by them that they would be glad to drink the Water wherein they wash their Hands They are usually of the very dregs of the People but assume to themselves great stare and Majesty walking thro' the streets with a grave compos'd Countenance and Gate in long Robes girt with a leathern Girdle four Fingers broad at which hangs a Bag in which they bestow what they get Their Heads are always cover'd but they suffer not a hair to grow on them or any other part of their Bodies Their Habitations are in the Woods in little kind of Nests or Cages upon the Tops of the Trees for fear of the Tygers that infest those Parts Every New Moon others say every Monday they preach to the People calling them together by the sound of a Bell or Bason and for the Subject of their Discourses they generally make use of some Precept of the Law of Nature as not to steal not to commit Adultery