Purse up-side down with t'other Hand and scattering the Gold among his Favourites would add This is my Humour Once as he was passing on Foot through a Town in France under his Father's Government the Chief Magistrate of the Place who was an Old Man met him and begun to make an Oration with the best Rhetorick he could But the Prince being in a Frolicksom Humour took Advantage of a very low Conge the Old Gentleman made him and leap'd over his Head and stood still behind him The Magistrate not taking any Notice of this wild Prank turned very gravely about and address'd himself with a new Obeisance but not so low as the Former However the Nimble Prince catch'd him upon the Half-Bent and setting his Hands on the Old Monsieur's Shoulders whipt over again the second Time Which quite spoil'd his intended Speech to the great Diversion of all the Spectators In his Youth he was much addicted to Women and took a peculiar Delight in debauching Nuns Which occasion'd the Queen-Mother to reflect on him something Satyrically once when he inform'd her that the Suisse Souldiers were guilty of great Disorders some of them getting into the Nunneries and violating the Chastity of those Consecrated Females For the Queen replied If you had told me they broke into the Wine-Cellars I would believe you for the Suisses are all known Drunkards But as for Amours with Nuns none is so likely to make 'em as the Duke of Enguien However all that I have said hinders not but that he is now a Prudent Man a good General and Fortunate in recovering his Sovereign's Favour In a Word this Court is so overjoyed at the Marriage of their King with the Infanta of Spain that they have no Room left for peevish Resentments All Crimes are forgiven And the Devil himself would be welcome at the Wedding provided he would be debonair and good Company The Nuptials are only Celebrated by Proxy as yet But here are vast Preparations making for the compleating the Ceremony What the Issue of this Marriage and Peace will be 't is not easy to divine But I doubt the Christians are hatching Evil against the Ottoman Port in Regard all the Princes in Europe are coming to an Agreement Illustrious Kaimacham Let not this Intimation pass away as a Dream For I tell thee again these Infidels are plotting of Mischief Paris 1st of the 7th Moon of the Year 1660. LETTER IX To the same I Believe thou wilt now receive from me the earliest News of a Mighty Change a Surprizing Revolution in the English Government Know then that he whom I have so often mention'd under the Title of King of the Scots in my Former Letters the Eldest Son and Rightful Heir of the British Kingdoms ' Charles II. is restor'd to the Throne of his Father's without Violence or Blood-shed by the Unanimous Consent and Earnest Desire of his Subjects This Young Prince has been an Exile for Twelve Years in Foreign Courts and has heard of as many several Alterations in the State of his Dominions during his Absence every Change producing a New Form of Government The Rebels had run over all Aristotle's Politicks and the Various Models of Plato and other Philosophers who treated of Common-Wealths to find out such Patterns as best suited with the Necessities and Genius of that Nation There is not a Species of Aristocracy Democracy and Oligarchy which they did not put in Practice to support the Frame of that Government whose Basis they had remov'd for it was founded on a Monarchy of a long and Hereditary Descent And therefore all their most Artificial Contrivances were Ineffectual and they might as well have endeavoured to make Buttresses for a Castle in the Air. In a Word the English found themselves so disjointed and weaken'd by Civil Wars Taxes and the other Usual Effects of Usurpation and Tyranny that they had no other Way left to save their Nation from utter Ruine but by bringing their Lawful King back again who is the Angular Stone whereon all their Welfare and Interest is built There is one Thing Remarkable in this Turn of English Affairs That their Sovereign landed and made his Triumphant Entry into that Island on the Anniversary Day of his Birth Which puts me in Mind of what is Generally discoursed here at Paris That on the Day of his Nativity there was seen a Bright Star in the Heavens when the Sun was just above the Meridian From hence the Astrologers of those Times predicted great Things concerning him And those of the Present Age who have seen his Fortunate Return to his Kingdoms presage yet greater Events to come God only knows what Embryo's are in the Womb of Futurity and we Mussulmans have no Reason to rejoyce at the Grandeur of any of these Infidel Princes Yet such a Sign as that of a Star appearing at Noon-Day just over the Place where a Mighty Queen was in Labour with a Prince has Something in it Extraordinary and full of Promising Circumstances It was an Appearance of this Nature which render'd the Birth of the Messias so Illustrious tho' otherwise obscure enough when the Eastern Magi directed by such a Star came and found Mary the Mother of Jesus in a Stable and the Infant-Prophet lying in a Manger instead of a Cradle So we are told That Eclipses of the Sun portend the Misfortune or Death of Great Personages and that all other Prodigies whether in Heaven or Earth have their proper Signification But whether these Observations be true or no 't is certain this late banished Prince is return'd with Abundance of Splendor and Advantage to his Native Royal Possessions And I thought it would be a Grand Neglect in me to let one Post-Day pass before I gave thee an Account of a Revolution so astonishing to all Europe and which is like to give a New Turn to the Affairs of most Christian Princes and States Besides I know there is an Ambassador from England residing at the August Port which determines the Quarrels of all the Nations on Earth There are also Abundance of English Merchants in the Imperial City They may have Feuds among one another The Interest of some of them is joyn'd with that of the English Rebels others are for their King Therefore knowing of his Restauration thou wilt be better able to adjust all Matters of this Nature according to Reason Equity and the Honour of the Majestick Port. For this King makes already a greater Figure than any of his Progenitors and therefore his Friendship is not to be contemn'd The Care of these Things rests on thee who art the Vicars Vicar of the Vicegerent of God Paris 3d. of the 7th Moon of the Year 1660. LETTER X. To Mehemet an Exil'd Eunuch at Caire in Egypt OH that I were in one of the Pyramids near the City where thou residest shut up in Tremendous Darkness in the most Obscure and Horrible Vault of the Royal Pile That I might converse with the Ghosts
Rebellion of the Bassa of Aleppo and that he shou'd endeavour to cheat the Empire with so stale an Imposture as a Sham-Son of Amurat. Yet it seems he made a Considerable Progress under this Pretence Some were glad of Novelty others were frightned out of their Allegiance Whilst only a few serv'd his Interest in pure Discontent and Hopes to amend their Fortune The Country People are generally oppress'd by their Governours and ' is no Wonder if they take up Arms for one that promises to deliver 'em from their Calamities This is the Usual Pretext of all Innovations in the State The Soldiers also are defrauded of their due Pay and then they 're ready to Fight under the next General that brings most Money with him Neither are there wanting Male-contents among the Grandees at such Times to foment and abett an Insurrection All these Events proceed from the Ill Conduct of the Supreme Ministers who alone are Responsible for the Miscarriages of the State Illustrious Kaimacham the Frame of the Ottoman Government is out of Order I wish Fate does not pull it in Pieces as a Necessary Step to its Amendment Adieu Paris 2d of the last Moon of the Year 1659. LETTER VI. To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire I Wish thee all Imaginable Joy of thy New Dignity yet question whether thou or thy Predecessor be the Happier Man 'T is a vast Honour indeed and attended with Immense Profit to serve in this Station the most High most Potent and most Invincible Monarch on Earth But at the same Time there 's Infinite Toil and Fatigue in it with Abundance of Perils From all which the Fortunate Muzlu is now deliver'd and they are become thy Portion As for him I cannot but esteem him Happy in that he has got Permission to retire to his Country-Seat out of the Crowd and Noise of the City and from the Stifling Businesses of State which choak the more Innocent and Natural Delights of the Soul Now he is fully restor'd to the Elements and to himself whereas before the perpetual Hurry of the Court made him in Part a Stranger to Both For there a Man insensibly loses Acquaintance with his own most Intimate Affections His Spirit is alienated amidst the Multiplicity of his Concerns 't is stretch'd on the Rack of Ten Thousand Cares and Inquietudes 't is divided shatter'd and rent in Pieces Besides were he as free from these distracting Thoughts as a Santone yet the very Necessity of living always in a City was enough to render him Miserable For I esteem such a Confinement no better than a Prison at Large and not far from being buried Alive 'T is true Constantinople has the Advantage of all the Cities in the World for the Delightfulness of its Situation the Houses being so pleasantly intermix'd with fair Gardens and the Streets refresh'd with cool Breezes from the Sea It looks at a Distance like a Town in a Wood or one may term it a Forest compos'd of Minarets and Cypresses The Terrasses afford agreeable Prospects of the Neighbouring Fields and Mountains And 't is pleasant to stand on the Water-Side and view the Innumerable Variety of Boats and Vessels Sailing from one Port to another with all the other Divertisements on the Sea and the Beautiful Mixture of Palaces and Groves Chioscs and Gardens Seraglio's and Villages which grace the Opposite Shore O Queen of Cities Mistress of Kingdoms Glory of Nations Commandress and Sanctuary of the Whole Earth Thrice Happy shou'd I count my self if I might have the Favour to reside within thy Venerable Walls and exchange the polluted Society of Infidels for that of True Believers How often do I languish to see the Glittering Crescents the Triumphant Ensigns of the Ottomans on the Tops of the Minarets in the Imperial City How oft do I wish my self prostrate on the Carpets of the Sacred Mosques in the devout Assemblies of the Faithful Adoring the Eternal in Perfection of Sanctity Whereas now I 'm forc'd to go into the Temples of Idolaters to kneel and bow down before Stocks and Statues to join seemingly with Vnbelievers and pray to that which has no Life nor Sense nor Power How do I envy the Blessed State of the meanest Artizan in Constantinople who daily feeds on the wholesom Pillaw of the East and drinks the delectable Sherbets or Waters tinctur'd with the Rich Fruits of Greece Whereas I am compell'd to eat Meats forbidden by our Holy Prophet and to render my Soul Execrable by an Impure and Prophane Diet or I must Starve For these Vncircumcis'd are more Abominable than Ravens and Vultures to whom the most filthy Carrion is a Dainty And to cloak their Uncleanness they corrupt their own Gospel and forge a Toleration from the Messias himself As if that Holy Prophet who in every the least Tittle obey'd the Law of Moses and set himself as an Example for his Followers to imitate cou'd be guilty of Contradicting those Divine Precepts and running Counter to his own Practice in recommending Vncleanness and Libertinism No the Admirable Son of Mary was the most Temperate and Abstemious Man in the World and both in his Words and Actions preach'd up those Vertues to others having often expresly declar'd to his Disciples That he came not to abolish the Law but to refine and perfect it He was Circumcis'd on the Eighth Day after his Nativity according to the Injuntion of Moses and the constant Practice of the Sons of Israel In a Word through the whole Course of his Life he never deviated from the Traditions of his Fathers the Seniors of the House of Jacob. 'T is true he frequently argued against the many Trivial Superstitions of the Pharisees who evacuated the more Essential Points of the Law by superinducing a Number of Insignificant Ceremonies But he never open'd his Mouth against any Positive Precept such as were those which limited the Choice they were to make of Meats distinguishing the Impure from the Clean. Yet the Christians delude themselves with a False Belief that he gave 'em a Dispensation to eat any Thing without Caution or Reserve Hence it is that they defile themselves with Swines-Flesh and Creeping Things and Blood is in all their Dishes They scruple not to eat of that which died of it self and banquet as freely with what was knock'd down or strangl'd as we wou'd do with the Flesh of a Beast that was kill'd in Pronouncing the Name of God The Shambles here afford no other Provision but such as this and he that will not Eat that which is an Abomination to a Mussulman must be contented with Herbs This I reckon as one of the Greatest of my Misfortunes and it makes me burn with Desire to return to Constantinople Yet after all I shou'd think my self far more Happy if I might have the Liberty to spend the Rest of my Days in my Native Country So great an Admirer I am of a Rural Life and Solitude And 't is
the Affection of a Brother shall suggest as most conducing to the Interest of our Sovereign and our own Honour which we ought to prefer to our Lives Our Mother is in Health and Salutes thee with a tender Embrace Paris 9th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER VI. To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire THis Court of late makes a double Figure the one of Real Sorrow for the Dutchess of Savoy's Death who was of the Blood Royal of France the other of Counterfeit Mourning for the Death of Carolus Josephus Brother to the German Emperour For they inwardly rejoyce at this Latter and wish the whole House of Austria were laid in their Graves That Family being the only Obstacle to the Grandeur at which the French Monarchy aspires The only Rub which Cardinal Richlieu and his Successor Mazarini found in their Way when they sought to exalt the Bourbons to the Empire of the West The Rise and Fall of Kingdoms the various Changes of Government the Alternate Fate of Nations are Themes worthy of a Mussulman's Thoughts considering that the Victorious and Happy Osmans at this Day possess the Territories of ancient Renown the Provinces and Dominions which formerly made the greatest Figures and Noise in the World What is now become of the most Famous Monarchies of Babilon Persia Assyria Macedon Greece and Rome Look for the Mysterious and Learned Kingdom of Egypt the Religious State of the Jews The most Ancient Kingdoms of the Sicyonians and Argives The Commonwealths of Lacedaemon and Athens with many other Countries mention'd in the Records of Time and we shall find them all Swallow'd up in the Universal Empire of the Ottomans The Histories of Belus and how he got the Sovereignty by Hunting of Ninus his Son who first taught the World the Methods of Idolatry of Serimamis Ninyas Sardinapalus Arbaces Belochus and the rest of those Assyrian Monarchs sound now like an antiquated Tale or Dteam Neither is there any more Life at this time in the Babylonian and Persian Registers The mighty Acts of the Nebuchadnezzar's Cyrus's and the rest of those renown'd Conquerours now serve but as Foils to set off the more Glorious Enterprizes and Successes of our Immortal Sultans 'T is true the Persians at this Day retain some Fragments of that once Vast and Formidable Eastern Empire And the Germans have a Shadow of the Ancient Imperial Majesty of the Romans But both the one and the other are grown Effeminate and Weak they have lost the Vertue the Power and Fortune of their Predecessors Thou hast travell'd over all the Dominions of the Sophi and been an Eye-Witness of the Persian Luxury Libertinism and Nakedness Thou hast seen the Off-spring of Heroick Sages transform'd to Swine Dogs Asses and other contemptible Brutes as if they 'd drank of Circe's Cup. So fatal is it to decline from the Way of Vertue nay so impossible even to stand still in that sacred Path without being violently pull'd backward In a Word thou art so thorowly acquainted with the Present State of Persia and all its Circumstances that I shou'd appear too officious in pretending to describe either the Country or the People that inhabit there But as to Europe thou professest thy self a Stranger and hast commanded me to characterise this Quarter of the World Wherein Germany makes the most Majestick Figure by Land England and Holland by Sea Spain boasts of her Gold whilst France treasures it up to pay her Armies to keep foreign Kings in Pension to Build mighty Fleets and Magnificent Palaces to corrupt the German Princes and make 'em Pimps to her Ambition Instruments of her design'd Grandeur which is no less than the Western Empire As for the Duke of Savoy he is a mere Tennis-Ball or a Shuttle-Cock bandied to and fro between the Kings of France and Spain The Swisses are Poor and Mercenary They cannot stay at Home unless they cou'd banquet on the Turfs and Stones For all the Flesh Fruit and Corn in the Land is not half enough to keep 'em alive and they have little or no Money but what they get abroad This makes 'em all Travellers and most of them take up the Trade of War They serve the Pope the French King and many other Princes for Pay And where they once engage they are very true to their Trust But I can tell thee they wou'd be unwilling to fight for the Grand Signior unless he wou'd allow 'em plenty of Wine which thou know'st is contrary to the Discipline of the Mussulman Armies And these Suisses are the profess'd Adorers of Bacchus The Hollanders are Industrious and Rich They mind nothing but Merchandizing and Mechanicks They wou'd fain engross the Trade of the Indies and the Levant to themselves They traffick that they may be in a Condition to fight and they fight to establish their Commerce having no sense of Honour but only of Profit If they attempt any Conquest or make an Invasion it must be in America or some other remote Country For they 're only upon the Defensive among their Neighbours not daring to be the First Aggressors in a War in a Word they 're like a Nest of Pismires that trudge up and down continually to get Provision but sting and bite those under whose Protection they live if they have an Opportunity 'T is thought the Prince of Orange who descends from an Illustrious Stock wil e'er long reduce those Republicans to another Form of Government The French Style him the Head and Heart of the Vnited States and these thou know'st command the Hands and the Feet Germany is counted the Bulwark of Christendom against the mighty Power of the Ottomans and Tartars But in my Opinion one of our Embassadors at the Emperor's Court gave a truer Description of it when he compar'd Germany to a Great Monster with many Heads and Tails which having a desire to break through a certain quick-set Fence or Hedge and each particular Head making Way where it cou'd best among the less entangl'd Branches were all caught in so many different Noozes by the Interposition of strong Trees and so the Monster was forc'd to retire with Shame and Loss Whereas he said the Osman Empire was like an Animal with One Head and many Tails and that One Head not encountring the like Difficulties easily pass'd through being follow'd by the Tails with one Consent as the untwisted Ends of a Ten-string'd Cord pass through a Ring or Hole when the united Part has lead them the Way I shou'd have mention'd Italy Poland Denmark Moscovy and other Regions of Europe but it wou'd be too tedious for one Letter which I shou'd neither have Time to write nor thou Patience to read at once Therefore I desire thee to accept of this only as a rough Draught an Imperfect Sketch of some Parts of the West But in my future Dispatches I will imitate the Painters and endeavour to draw each Member and Lineament of this great Body
True Believers May the Angel of the House of Ismael continue to prosper the Holy Off-spring to extend their Conquests and propagate the Faith unblemish'd that the Names of Alla and Mahomet may be heard in all Climates and from the utmost Borders of the Earth Paris 5th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER XI To Isouf his Kinsman a Merchant at Astracan I Have often wonder'd why among the Rest of the Nations in Christendom thou would'st not bestow the least Transient Visit on Spain But upon more mature Consideration I find thou art a Man of Judgment in Travelling That Country lies under a very ill Character for the Penury of all Things necessary to sustain the Lives of the Natives and by Consequence 't is not to be thought they can spare much for Strangers A very Inhospitable Region abounding in Beggars Thieves and Drones Full of Wine and Gold yet barren of Corn and Rich People Thou wilt not think this a Paradox when thou shalt consider That the Spaniards have all their Corn from France Germany or Sicily And that for this and other Reasons Spain is but like a Sieve through which the Immense Treasures of Peru and Mexico are drain'd into other Countries You may Travel some Days together in Spain without seeing any Thing save the dry Face of a Desart And if you chance to meet with a House wherein you may shelter your self and your Horse expect no better than a Ramezan-Entertainment For you must fast all Day and think your self much respected if you can get a few Onions or other Roots and Herbs with a Morsel of Bread and Flesh at Night to keep you from being sensible That you are actually starving Then the Inhabitants are the Proudest People on Earth You shall meet with none but Kings Princes Viceroys or at least Men that conceit themselves such They are also Merciless in their Revenge Cruel Obdurate Covetous Morose and Inexorable In a Word Spain is the Jesuites Paradise the Jews Purgatory and the Hell of Women I therefore commend thy Fortune or thy Prudence rather which would not suffer thee to fall into the Hands of those Barbarians nor think it worth thy Pains to breath an Air infected with so many Vices Thou hast pass'd through many more inviting Provinces and art at last happily seated to thy Mind Improve thy Opportunities in doing good I sent a Letter to our Cousin Solyman advising him to give thee a Visit If he comes receive him kindly and perform the Part of a Kinsman put all Expences to my Account and remember that no Man is born for himself Paris the 6th of the 7th Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER XII To Afis Bassa ALL Europe is alarm'd with the Mighty Preparations which our Invincible Sovereign is making to invade the German Empire Great is their Consternation and Fear and Couriers are every where running up and down from one Kingdom and Court to another to remonstrate the Common Danger and beg Assistance Every Body appears Zealous in a Cause which concerns all Christendom and the French King has lent the Emperour Eight Thousand Men. The Duke of Beaufort is also gone with a Squadron of Ships to encounter the Corsairs of Argiers and other Dominions of Barbary The Pope has sent to the Emperour's Assistance Six Thousand Foot and Two Thousand Horse And the Rest of the Emperour's Allies are raising Levies for him as fast as they can It being current News that the Grand Signior in Person is at the Head of Two Hundred Thousand Men entring Hungary as a Conqueror That he has taken above Forty Towns ruin'd all the Country where he pass'd through and that in a little time he will be at the Walls of Vienna In the mean time this Court appears Insensible of the General Danger which threatens Christendom They are altogether taken up in Ballets Plays and Feasting minding their own Interest more than that of their Neighbours and revelling as if the King of France were sole Monarch of the World Here is arrived a Legate from Rome to compose the Differences between the Pope and this Crown His Name is Cardinal Chisi He is receiv'd with unparallell'd Magnificence as if he were an Angel from Heaven For the French King loves to shew his Grandeur on such Occasions Besides all the Nations which are in the Communion of the Latin Church have an unreserv'd Veneration for the Roman Mufti whom they esteem the Successor of Peter the Prince of the Apostles This young Monarch has a large Soul The whole World seems too little to satisfy his Ambition He lays the Foundation of Designs greater than those of Alexander the Conqueror of Asia He heaps up Money at a prodigious Rate raises vast Armies builds Magnificent Palaces keeps Kings in Pension supports many Princes of Germany and in a Word commands more of them than does the Emperour himself who is their Lawful Sovereign Yet after all I cannot perceive that he loses any Degree of that Respect which he owes and which his Predecessors have always paid to the Grand Signior who is the undeniable Arbiter of the whole World God grant our Sovereign long Life perpetual Victories and a good Stomach to his Meat which the King of France wants to the Accomplishment of his happiness For at present he feeds like a Sparrow Paris the 19th of the 8th Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER XIII To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire THou wilt perceive the vast Respect I have for thee by my frequent Dispatches Thy Commands are to me as the Laws and Sanctions of the Ottoman Empire which I will never violate I am no Flatterer witness my Letters to some of the Grandees wherein I have not spar'd to reprove their Vices Errors and Male-Administration If a Bassa has been unjust seditious or engag'd in Rebellious Practices If he has prov'd an Extortioner a Drunkard or a Tyrant he has not escap'd without a due Reprimand I have been bold in correcting advising and giving Counsel to the Greatest Ministers in the Empire And this was a Province appointed me by the Flower of Sublime Glory the Phoenix of Honour Sole Favourite and Trustee of the Grand Signior the Vizir Azem in whose Custody were the Seals of Imperial Secrets Majestick Decrees and Royal Edicts Who being the Primum Mobile of the Refulgent Mussulman State gave Life Activity and Order to all the Inferior Orbs Springs and Instruments of Government I receiv'd this Command many Years ago and he that gave it me is gone to the World of Spirits Yer the Injunction remains in Force being stamp'd with the Mysterious Signet the Character of Supreme and Immutable Authority In Obedience to which I have never warp'd or flinch'd from the duty enjoyn'd me And to demonstrate that I did not do this in a vain Ostentation of the Power which was given me I have not fail'd all along to pay to a Man of Merit the Attach and Veneration which was his
1664. LETTER XVI To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire THE French have had so many Occasions of Joy of late that it is hard to determine which affects them most nearly The Satisfaction which the Pope gave this Monarch for the Injuries formerly done to his Embassador at Rome began the Triumph of the French Court I have already sent Intelligence of that Quarrel and how high the Resentments of the King flew on the same Day that he receiv'd the First News of so Barbarous an Affront Now I shall acquaint thee That there ensu'd a Treaty between them at Pisa a City of Italy in the Dukedom of Tuscany after the French Troops had terrified them into a State-Penitence by the menacing Approaches they made toward the Ecclesiastical Territories through the Principalities of Modena and Parma These Two are Friends to France and their Interest makes them so in Regard that Crown protects 'em from the Pope's Oppression who is always esteem'd an III Neighbour by the Italian Princes whose Dominions lie next to his For this Roman Prelate is very Potent and Rich he would in a short time be Lord of all Europe in Temporals as well as Spirituals were he not curb'd by the King of France and his Allies This makes all the little Sovereigns round about Rome stand in Awe of the Monarch who was born to command Crowned Heads Wonder not at the Expression For I tell thee some of the greatest Princes in Europe are his Pensioners This very Quarrel with the Pope has gain'd the French King Three Cardinals more than were his Friends formerly The Conclusion of the Treaty was That the Pope should send a Legate de Latere into France to pacify the King's Wrath and that the Militia or Roman Guards whom they call Sbirri and Corses should be for ever abolish'd and a Pyramid to be erected over against their Guard-House with an Inscription in Latin and French declaring their Crime and Punishment This put the Court of France into a very Jolly Humour They fell presently to Feasting and Revelling and the King 's next Project was the Conquest of Barbary To this End he sent the Duke of Beaufort with a Fleet of Great Ships to clear the Seas of African Corsairs that so an Army might be safely transported from Toulon and landed on the opposite Shore His Design in this was to reduce the Inhabitants of those Happy Countries to the old Idolatry of their Forefathers to plant there the Nazarene Superstion and make himself the Sole Lord and Proprietor of Africk I cannot divine what Success he will have in this great Enterprize but it appears as if God were angry with the Mussulmans Such continual Losses they sustain by Land and Sea It is with no small Grief I saw not long ago the French who serv'd in Hungary this Campagne return to Paris laden with the Spoils of True Believers I cannot behold the very Cymetars and Ensigns which these Infidels took from the vanquish'd Osmans hang up in their Temples as Trophies of their Victory without inexpressible Passion and Regret 'T is said here the Grand Signior has lost in Hungary above Thirty Thousand Men this Campagne whereof Ten Thousand were kill'd in one Battle and a Hundred and Fifty Colours taken with Sixteen Cannons Besides these Giafers grate my Ears with another Bravado boasting that one French Ship of War fought Seven Hours with Three and Thirty of the Grand Signior's Gallies sunk Five scatter'd the rest and came off with a compleat Victory 'T is a vast Advantage the French have in the Situation of their Country in that it is wash'd on the South by the Mediterranean on the North by the Main Sea So that 't is easy for them to curb the greatest Part of Europe on one Side and sufficiently molest the Levantines on the other As for the Western Parts this Kingdom is their very Center where all the Lines of War Peace Commerce and Traffick meet and terminate She is to Christendom what Egypt and Sicily were in former Ages to the Empire of Old Rome an inexhaustible Granary Whatsoever desirable Things Nature has frugally drop'd here and there in other Regions are found in this Kingdom as in their Original Seminary Corn is plentiful as Grass Wine is almost as cheap here as Water with you in some Parts of Turky The Fens and Lakes are cover'd with Wild Fowl The Meadows with Sheep Deers Goats and Oxen. There 's nothing scarce but Hens Eggs and True Believers I had almost forgot their Remarkable Plenty of Sault the bare Custom of which augments the King's Coffers with Four Millions of Zequins every Year France also abounds in Hemp a most necessary Vegetable whereof she not only makes all her own Cordage and Sails but also furnishes her Neighbours which brings in a considerable Revenue There is an Infinite Plenty of Fruits and Trees for Timber of Iron Marble Free-stone and all Things necessary for Building Ships or Houses for Defence or Offence by Land or Sea Neither are there wanting Mines of Gold Silver Tin Lead Copper and other Metals whereof Men make the Instruments of War and the Entertainments of Peace In a word this Country is so enrich'd with every thing that some Historians and Philosophers have call'd it the Parent of Plenty others the Fountain of Earthly Bliss the most Incomparable Region of this Globe the Epitome of the World or rather a little World it self Serene Scribe thou wilt not wonder at the Universal Successes of the French Arms when thou considerest these things and that here the Provinces are Peopl'd like Kingdoms the Cities appear like whole Provinces for Multitude of Inhabitants To say all in a Word The common Character of France is the same which Philosophers give to Nature That there can be no Vacuum found in it Paris 25th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER XVII To Abdel Melec Muli Omar President of the College of Sciences at Fez. PErmit me to rush into thy Presence Venerable Patron of Philosophy without the usual Formalities of Address or Punctilio's of Introduction Let me be admitted like a Man with Coals of Fire on his Head as the Custom is at the Imperial Port in urgent Cases For I am newly inflam'd afresh with Pythagorism Platonism and Indianism Floods Fires and other Devastations by War Famine Pestilence Earthquakes and such like Contingencies have either quite abolish'd the True and Primitive Science of the First Ages in most Parts of the Earth or at least very much diminish'd and obscur'd their Original Splendor The best Manuscripts are lost unless the Indians have preserv'd ' em Our Fathers grew Torpid Stupified and Desperate under the Publick Calamities which overwhelm'd whole Cities Provinces Kingdoms and Empires There was no Encouragement for a Scribe or a Man of Letters to put himself to a needless Toil in labouring to preserve the Records which came from Heaven Histories of the World Invisible Celestial Perfect and Eternal
their Mother's Breasts Toil and Recreation with them are one and the same thing since they know no other Pleasure but what consists in Riding Fighting and Conquering or else in Death which they believe translates them to new Joys and those more poignant than they knew before Therefore they bravely court it at the Point of a Sword or the Mouth of a Cannon Nothing being more scandalous or hateful than a Coward among them I protest the very Idea of Palus Maeotis and Taurica Chersonesus with the Rest of those Horrible Fens and Marshes on the North of the Black Sea which encompass the Dominions of the Tartars affects me with a Passion or rather such a Medly of Passions as I know not how to name Those ample Desarts those untrack'd Solitudes appear to my Imagination like the Limits of this old Habitable World and the Frontiers of some new strange and unknown Region some Terra Incognita where an Universal Desolation and Silence keep their Seat for ever Where no Voices are heard but those of uncouth Satyrs Fauns and other Exotick Tenants of the Woods and Moors No other Sound but the whistling and roaring of the Winds No Prospect but that of Trees which have appear'd from the Infancy of Time and where those are wanting the Eye is wearied in a long endless Waste which nothing seems to bound but the declining Arch of distant Skies or low black melancholy Clouds skirted with Mists and Fogs Eternal Mantles of the Northern Climes This is the Figure of those solitary Tracts where I wou'd chuse to live rather than in a City which stifles me with too much Plenty of every Thing but fresh Air and honest People Isouf the Contrarieties which we find in Earthly Things give a Gust to each other And the most Magnificent Palace wou'd seem a Prison were a Man always confin'd to live in it Cousin I wish thee perpetual Liberty and Happiness Paris 7th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER XXI To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire AMidst the Variety of Obligations which I have to discharge I forget not to obey thy Commands I have already in my former Dispatches acquainted thee with the Characters and some Remarkable Passages of Henry IV. Lewis XIII Lewis XIV Cardinal Richlieu Cardinal Mazarini and the Prince of Conde Now I will say something of the Famous Mareschal de Turenne whose Fame reaches wheresoever the French Wars have been talk'd of for these Forty Years The Name of this great General is Henry de la Tour d' Auvergne Son to the Duke of Bouillon When his Father was near his Death he call'd for both his Sons whereof this was the youngest And among other Exhortations he recommended in a special Manner Three Things to their Practice Never to renounce or change their Religion Never to take up Arms against their Sovereign Nor to provoke the First Minister As to the First the Mareschal de Turenne has hitherto kept it inviolably but he has faulter'd in both the other having revolt-from his Master's Service during his Minority and oppos'd the Interest of Cardinal Mazarini when the Parliament persecuted that Minister However this hinders not but that he is a Great Souldier and besides he is since reconcil'd to the King He seems to be born for Martial Affairs And they relate of him That when he was but Ten Years Old and his Governour missing him had sought up and down every where for him he at length found him fast asleep on a Cannon which he seem'd to embrace with his little Arms as far as they wou'd reach And when he ask'd why he chose such a Couch to lie on he made Answer That he design'd to have slept there all Night to convince his Father that he was hardy enough to undergo the Fatigues of War though the Old Duke had often perswaded himself to the Contrary And to speak the Truth no Man was more Careless of his Body than this Prince At Fourteen Years of Age he was sent into Holland to serve in the Army under the Prince of Orange who was his Uncle There he apply'd himself to all the Discipline of War doing the Duty of a Private Soldier Which is the common Way that Cadets or Younger Brothers take to rise to the most Eminent Offices He was equally forward in Labours and Perils never shunning any Fatigue or Hazard which might bring him Glory yet he was not rash the Common Vice of Youth but temper'd all his Actions with an extraordinary Prudence and Solidity of Judgment beyond what was expected from him at those Years Yet on the other Side his Counsels were not slow and Flegmatick being of a very ready Forecast and he seldom fail'd in his Contrivances He was soon promoted to a Place of Command And the Exactness of his Conduct rais'd him a vast Reputation so that by Degrees he at last arriv'd to that Height of Power and Honour he now possess He appears Indefatigable in his Body and of an Invincible Resolution He hates Flatterers that think to gain his Friendship by praising him And is equally averse from making Use of such fawning Insinuations to others though the Greatest Princes of the Blood or the First Minister himself He has also a certain Stedfastnese of Spirit which cannot be warp'd by any Artificial Addresses though made to his own apparent Advantage if they propose to him any Thing that has the least Semblance of what is base and dishonourable Thus he wou'd never consent that the Honour of taking Dunkirk some Years ago should be ascrib'd to Cardinal Mazarini tho' that Minister privately courted him to it offering him the Greatest Commands in the Kingdom if he would do him that Service and the Mareschal knew it might prove his Ruin if he did not Yet such was his Integrity and Love to the Truth that by no means would he be brought to condescend to this Meaness of Spirit Yet perhaps it might only proceed from the Aversion which in those Days he had for the Cardinal Many times it is evident That a Natural Passion is made to pass for a Moral Vertue Besides perhaps he was unwilling to be depriv'd of the Glory due to him for that Important Service He is a Man of few words and so secret in all his Counsels that no-body knows any thing of his Designs till he puts them in Execution Every Man esteems him the most Liberal Prince of this Age having no other Regard for Money than as it serves the Necessities of his Family and enables him to oblige his Friends In a Word whatever Vices he may have he is yet endu'd with so many Good Qualities and Vertues that he is belov'd by all the Nation and in Particular Favour with his Sovereign who treats him not as a Subject but as one of his most intimate Friends May God who has rais'd up this Great Genius to aggrandize the French Monarchy continually supply the Grand Signior with Valiant and
Expert Generals that the Empire of the Faithful Osmans may encrease like the Moon but never be in its Wane till that Planet shall no more appear in the Heavens and the Fastning of the Elements shall be dissolv'd Paris 12th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER XXII To Orchan Cabet Student of the Sciences and Pensioner to the Grand Signior This Letter was written Originally in Sclavonick THE French King has lately receiv'd a gross Affront from the Poets They have often been Satyrical upon his Loves and now they begin to burlesque upon his Money A Day or Two ago as he was newly risen out of his Bed he found on a Table in his Chamber a Paper containing these Verses Tu és Issue de Race Auguste Ton Ayeul est Henry le Grand Et ton Peré Lowis le Juste Pour Toy tu n'és qu' un Louis d' Argent Thou know'st where the Force of the Poet's Wit lies having travelled in France and learned their Language The King smil'd at the Reading of it and seem'd to be pleas'd with the Frankness of the Author saying He was worth a Thousand Flatterers He promised likewise to give him Five Hundred Louis's for his Wit if he would discover himself as also to pardon him on his Royal Word But the Satyrist would not venture himself knowing that Kings have more ways than one to revenge themselves of Private Persons their Subjects However since the King appear'd so well pleased with this he was resolv'd to give him another Touch of his Skill And the very next Morning in the same Place the King found these words Tu ne le Sçaura pas Louis Car j'etois seul quand je le fis There have been many Conjectures made about the Author of these Lampoons Some say one thing and some another And there are not wanting such as fasten it on a Virgin of Collen now residing at this Court Her Name is Anne Marie de Skurman She is very Learned and speaks Arabick Latin Turkish Greek Italian French and Spanish as fluently as her Native Dialect She is of a Fine Wit and piercing Judgment in the Controversies of Philosophy and Religion There are several Epistles of hers in Print some penn'd in Latin others in French address'd to the Queen-Mother Cardinal Richlieu Cardinal Mazarini and others besides a Book of Poems most of them Satyrs And 't is this last gives the World such a Jealousy of her writing the Lines whic◠were found on the King's Table For th◠Criticks hove compar'd 'em with her Style and find a very near Resemblance between them But let who will be the Author I think the French King is wrong'd in the Character they give him For tho' he has heap'd up great Quantities of Gold and Silver to carry on his vast Designs yet he is no Miser being very Liberal to Persons of Merit I send thee this for thy Diversion and in order to our Future Correspondence Take it for an Example and be as Familiar with me remembring the Old Latin Proverb Manus manum fricat Paris the 11th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER XXIII To the Captain Bassa MAY thy Heart be Chearful and thy Voyage crown'd with Success where-ever thou sailest Noble Old Tarpaulin and Favourite of the God of the Sea The Empire of the Ottomans has not had so brave a Commander of the Navy these Thirty Years God grant thee good Fortune against the Infidels whether on the White or Black Seas Thou art already Famous for thy Exploits on the Latter in above Twenty Engagements with the Cossaks Circassians and the rest of those Thievish Countries But nothing has rais'd thy Character so high as the last Combate thou hadst with Pachicour the Renowned Pyrate of those Parts who threatned not only his Christian Neighbours but also the Ottoman Empire with Infinite Ravages But thou hast stemm'd the Tide of his Glory humbled the Maritine People his Confederates and by that means made thy self a way into the Archipelago and Mediterranean where thou ridest as another Neptune King of the Waters Take not this for Flattery for I tell thee I have not said so much to a Bassa of the Se◠these Seven and Twenty Years Neither indeed had I any Reason He that merited the most Applause in all that Time was the Brave Zornesan Mustapha And I address'd no more to him than his due Fortune did not favour him or else he had done great things As for the Rest they were generally Men never bred to Sea-Affairs but Miniors of the Court or Bullies of the City who were better at making a Noise than at any Action of Hazard or Importance And there were some Bold Renegadoes but they play'd fast and loose and no body knew where to have ' em Treachery infects the whole World but in these Western Parts it reigns as in its Center Here 's nothing but Undermining and Ambushes One State trepanning another out of their Guards and then they play their own Game It would be endless to acquaint thee with the Original of the Quarrel between the English and the Dutch Let it be enough for thee to know that these People are at odds now And in Regard the Strength of both Nations lies in their Shipping they are preparing to cover the Northern Seas with Navies But the Islanders still get the best on 't They claim the Sovereignty of those Seas and in my Opinion they deserve it I speak according to my Intelligence being assur'd that no Nation ever prevail'd against 'em on that Element They have had a terrible Fight this Summer wherein the Dutch lost Seventeen Ships of War besides Vessels of smaller Note The Commander of the English Fleet is call'd the Duke of York a Great General and Brother to the English King His Name was famous in France and Flanders during the Spanish War And tho the Land afforded him no farther Occasions of Glory yet he has found some in the Sea Opdam the Greatest Admiral that ever the Dutch could boast of fell a Sacrifice to his Genius I am the more Particular in this Relation because it is fit thou should'st know the Characters of all the Brave Heroes living Since this Fight the King of France has sent an Embassador to the English Court to mediate a Peace What Issue his Negotiation will have is of no great Import to us who serve the Grand Signior Sole Lord of the Four Seas But I will tell thee something which it concerns thee to know The King of France is a going to cut a Canal through Part of his Kingdom by which the Mediterranean may be joyn'd to the Main Sea This is a vast Design and much discours'd of in Europe being a Parallel to what has been formerly attempted by some Kings of Egypt and Emperours of Rome to joyn the Mediterranean and Red Sea together for the sake of an easier Traffick to the East-Indies Thou oughtest also to be inform'd of the