Selected quad for the lemma: master_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
master_n	able_a	good_a	time_n	441	4	3.1384	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07788	The arrivall and intertainements of the embassador, Alkaid Jaurar Ben Abdella, with his associate, Mr. Robert Blake From the High and Mighty Prince, Mulley Mahamed Sheque, Emperor of Morocco, King of Fesse, and Suss. With the ambassadors good and applauded commendations of his royall and noble entertainments in the court and the city. Also a discription of some rites, customes, and lawes of those Affrican nations. Likewise Gods exceeding mercy, and our Kings especiall grace and favour manifested in the happy redemption of three hundred and two of his Majesties poore subjects, who had beene long in miserable slavery at Salley in Barbary.	Glover, George, b. ca. 1618, engraver.	1637 (1637)	STC 18165; ESTC S112908	9,637	29

boord the King of Englands ships those that list to have a more ample Relation of the surrendring of this Towne with the other passages that happened there they may read a Journall written by Master John Duntons Direction who was the Master of the Admirall-ship the Leopard who as it is thought hath described it truely but hee is here and there wrong'd by the Writer in misplacing some things unorderly were in number 302 English Scottish and Irish amongst whom there were 11 Women Also there were 27. French men which wisely ran away from their keepers and there were likewise set at Liberty 8. Dutch-men and 11. Spaniards all these great Mercies of God to these poore captived Christians ought never by them to be forgotten but with praise Thankesgiving and amendment of life to be had in perpetuall Remembrance and we and they are all bound to love honour and obey Our most Gracious King whose piety and pitty was so great as to take the Affliction of his poore Subiects so farre into his most Princely consideration as to send his Ships under such wise and able Commanders for their Redemption And it is a most Remarkable Note of the Almighties Mercy in that hee stir'd up and ordain'd Master Robert Blake to be the Agent and Instrument to move the Emperor of Morocco to be so well affected for their enlargement Their slavery for the time was worse than the Aegyptian Bondage under Pharaoh for imagine Good Reader what misery can be more than for a man or woman to be bought and sold like a Beast for a Christian to be servile to an Infidell in the most base and contemptible drudgeries to eate the Bread of sorrow and drinke the water of affliction to have the Head shaven the body pin'd and beaten to grind in Mills to digge and dresse Vineyards to draw Ploughes to be labourers dayly and all their wages to be hard fare hard blowes hard lodging and more hard than those never to hope to be freed till Death but hardest and worst of all to be urged enforced and enticed to forsake their Faith and turne Miscreants or at the best to be ever debar'd the exercise of the Freedome of their Religion and Conscience Now the Learned doe say That all kind of Servitude is miserable but that especially is intollerable when a Man is enforced to serve one that is dishonest and vicious And therefore as a wise man saith it is better to live free with a little feare than to be in servitude with much and great aboundance for Liberty is sweete and worthy to be regarded These and more than these were the insupportable calamities of our poore distressed Countrey-men with 46. of other Nations who are now by Gods especiall mercy and providence at liberty some of them having endured 30. yeeres slavery and some fewer but all too much and too many In February last 1635 Mr. Robert Blake being a Merchant and trading to Morocco by his good conversation and carriage there the Emperor cast an eye of Regard and Favour upon him insomuch that he caused him to leave his Merchandise and Traffique in trust to his servants and Factors and himselfe to be neere attendant to his Person in the Court where his Maiesty taking especiall notice of his good diligence and Integrity entertain'd a liking to him and his Services every day more and more so that in short space hee purchas'd the Office of Farmer of all his Ports and Customes which place hee still retaines There were then in the Emperors Court 33. English Captives whom hee and his Father had formerly bought from Argeir and Tunnis and some of them had beene in Captivity 25. yeeres some 20. yeeres some 14 some fewer but each of them thought that the time was too long And although these mens miseries were not altogether so great nor their Captivity so heavy in the Court at Morocco as it was at Tunnis Argeir or Sally yet was their Thraldome so irkesome to them that they had a desire to see their owne Countries their mindes ran upon their Parents Kinred Friends and Acquaintance from whom they had beene long unfortunately separated so that their best mirth was but forc'd and a kinde of mourning and all their ioyes were too much mixed with care and sadnesse which Mr. Blake with great griefe of heart did note in them dayly and his most sorrow for them was that he suppos'd hee could not helpe them and therefore he did often see them with an eye of Christian compassion and pitty and in his minde like a true English-man had a Sympathy or brotherly feeling of his with houses for so large a circuite It hath three Castles two of them to the Land-ward and one to the Sea-ward with other strong Cassamats and Platformes well furnished with great Artillery From Sally to Saffee is neere fifty Leagues more to the Southward and there the Embassador tooke shipping as is before-said And although I have written before in this Relation that I have no skill in Geography or Description of Countries and Climates yet for the satisfaction of many such as will not or cannot be at the charge to buy larger Relations it is not impertinent that I write somewhat of Affrica and consequently of Barbary Morocco Fesse Sus and other of those Dominions with their Religions manners Rites Lawes and Cermonies For their Religion they are strict observers of the Law of Mahomet they say Christ was a great Prophet borne to bee a Saviour of the World but not incarnate that hee was the Breath of God that hee was borne of a Virgin and that the Iewes should have beleev'd in him but would not and therefore because they went about to murder and crucifie him he left them and ascended from them into Heaven and that then they put another man to Death instead of him whom they tormented and cruelly Crucified Therefore these Mahometans doe hold and esteeme the Jewes as the worst of men and very slaves to all Nations of the World The one and onely Booke of their Religion is called their Alcaron devised by their false Prophet Mahomet who was of their Nation a Larbee They may not use any other Booke for Devotion nor on paine of losse of life no part of it doe they dare to examine or question but if any be diffident or any point or Sentence be intricate and hard to be understood by any of them then it is lawful to aske the meaning of the Talby which is a poore weake learned Priest They are all Circumciz'd and they use a kind of Baptisme but not in their Churches but at home in their houses Their Lent is much about the time as it is with us which they doe hold but 30. dayes and they neither eate nor drinke all that time on any of those dayes betwixt the dawning and the twi-light but when once the Starres doe shew themselves then for their Day Fast they feed fast all Night That Priest or Talby that cannot