THE Present State OF THE EMPIRE OF MOROCCO With a Faithful Account Of the Manners Religion and Government of that PEOPLE By Monsieur de St. OLON Ambassador there in the Year 1693. Adorn'd with FIGURES LONDON Printed for R. Bently at the Post-Office in Russel-street in Covent-Garden W. Freeman at the Bible against the Middle-Temple in Fleet-street and S. Manship at the Ship in Cornhill 1695. The Audience given by the Emperour of Morocco to the French Ambassador Printed for R. Bentley W. Freeman and S. Manship TO THE Right Honourable Sir William Trumball One of the Lords Commissioners OF HIS Majesty's Treasury SIR THo' I have long been Ambitious of giving some publick Instance of the Veneration I have for You I would not have presum'd to have done it now had not the Book of which what follows is a Translation been written by an Embassador and dedicated to a King The Character which you have so honourably maintain'd not only at the Court of that Prince but with an Emperor greater than that of Morocco entitles You to the Protection of more finish'd Works than this the Author of which tho' a Person of great Skill in Business perhaps not unjustly thinks himself not altogether vers'd in the nice way of Writing Yet his Book contains so many pleasant and useful Remarks and may discover so many Mysteries to the piercing Eyes of a sound Politician that You are Master of too much Goodness not to allow it a Place on that Score among that admirable Collection which You possess no less in Your Mind than in Your Library Fear not SIR I should like many Dedicators attempt a Panegyrick instead of an Epistle I know You are so far from being the least indulgent to such a Practice that You more carefully avoid Addresses of this Nature than some who deserve them less industriously encourage them For still Your Modesty seeks as much to keep Your other Vertues veil'd as most of us Writers do to discover them and it has brib'd some of them into a Concealment of Your real Merit in a more liberal Manner than the Vanity of many has recompens'd a Publication of their imaginary Worth I dare not then pretend to mention those Qualifications that endear You to Your Country nor am I so partial to my self as to desire You to protect the Original or the Translation of this Book from the Censures of the Reader to whom I freely abandon it My whole Design is merely the Acknowledgment of Favors receiv'd tho' at the same time You cannot pardon this without conferring a new one since I know You would have bestow'd on me fresh Marks of Your Generosity had I consented to spare You the Blush which the sight of this will raise But SIR even those who are not able to return Obligations if of a grateful Principle do not love to be too much indebted and 't is some Ease at least to Acknowledge when we cannot Requite I only beg then to let all those who will read this know That I have the deepest Sense imaginable of Your obliging Goodness that singular Humanity or rather Charity which as it extends to many of our unhappy Refugiés has made me a sharer in the Effects of Your Bounty doubtless much more than the most tolerable of my Attempts as a Writer You pitied a Man who having the real Love of a Loyal English Subject for the Great Prince under whom we live endeavours to appear as much an Englishman as he can even in his Writings since he is driven on the barren Coast of Parnassus that idle Business Poetry for want of better May Heaven still preserve You for the Good of Mankind and more particularly of Your Country to whom You so wholly devote Your Self and may You believe me with the greatest Zeal and Respect SIR Your most humble and Most obedient Servant PETER MOTTEUX THE AUTHOR's Epistle Dedicatory TO THE KING SIR I Doubt not but that Your Majesty has from Time to Time been faithfully inform'd of what relates to the State Forces Customs and Religion of the Moors and indeed what I have seen in Print on that Subject generally agrees with what I have observ'd while I was in the Emperor of Morocco's Dominions Yet Sir Your Majesty's Orders and what I was enjoyn'd in my Instructions having oblig'd me to make there some newer and less common Observations I hope Your Majesty will not dislike that without affecting to swell the Memoirs which I now have the Honour to lay before you with superfluous Repetitions of what some Authors have said I only should give as a kind of Supplement such Observations as seem to have been omitted by them either in what concerns the Nature and Particulars of the Trade of that Empire the Character Manners and Genius of those who have the greatest share in the Government of it or as to what the Conquests of the Prince who Rules there at this time may have contributed to the Enlarging of his Dominions the encreasing of his Forces and the heightning of that Vanity that does not reign less in him than the other Qualifications by which he is so particular When Your Majesty did me the Honour to make choice of me to go in Your Name to conclude with that Emperor the Treaty of Peace of which for some Years he had shew'd himself so desirous that he even seem'd to have remov'd before hand all the Difficulties that might obstruct it in the Letter which he had written about it and sent to Your Majesty by the Consul of Sally You were already convinc'd by frequent Trials how little his Proposals and Promises are to be rely'd upon Accordingly one of the most essential and most inforc'd Articles in my Instructions was That I should take care not to be deceiv'd by them and therefore 't is what I chiefly apply'd my self to prevent by all the Means and Expedients that seem'd to me most proper to conciliate the Artifice of his Council and Ministers with the fervency and fidelity of my Zeal for Your Majesty's Service and Glory Even what I said to that Prince at my first Audience which I insert at the end of this short Treatise may also convince Your Majesty that I have not been sparing of such Encomiums and Insinuations as I judg'd most capable of flattering his Ambition and of inclining him to concurr with Your Majesty's Pious and Solid Designs for the Freedom of Your Captive Subjects and for the security of Your Merchants If the Memoirs or Journal which I sent to You of my Negotiation in that Prince's Country and at his Court have been read to Your Majesty You have not only seen that You had entertain'd very just Thoughts on that Subject but that far from my being able to remove that Punic Faith so general here at this time or root out its Scions grown stronger than their ancient Stock it has not been in my Power with all my Care and Endeavours to shake them in the least
Aly and Fatima his Son-in-Law and Daughter and is prouder of this Parentage than of the long Train of Kings of his Family Which sufficiently shows that his Predecessors who us'd also to style themselves Miramoulins which signifies Emperors of the Faithful made use of a Religious Pretence for their own Establishment And now since I have mention'd this it may not be amiss to say something of their Religion The Alcoran is its Foundation and the Moors and Arabs who explain that Book after a particular way follow the ridiculous Expositions which their Doctor Melish one of the four Chiefs of Mahomet's Sect has left them of it grounding their Faith on certain Fundamental Points without which they give out 't is impossible to be sav'd They hold that there is but One GOD without any Trinity of Persons that JESUS CHRIST was a great Prophet born of a Virgin whose Name was Mary that his Incarnation was such as we believe it and even foretold her by the Arch-Angel Gabriel God's Embassador that he was the holiest of Men and wrought many Miracles but that he did not die as we believe having been assum'd into Heaven where he is in Body and Soul and that when Judas would have betray'd him to the Jews one of his Disciples whom God caus'd to appear in his likeness was crucified in his stead and that 't is this Disciple we adore They also believe that the same Jesus Christ is to return to live forty Years on Earth to re-unite all Nations under one Belief that he will be laid in the Tomb which Mahomet caus'd to be plac'd on the Right-hand of his that those who profess'd the Doctrine of Christ till Mahomet's Coming shall be sav'd but that what we now believe differs from what he taught which also the persecuting Jews kept him from bringing to Perfection and that therefore those who will not follow the Precepts of their Prophet whom they call God's great Favorite and the Explainer of his Will and who was sent by God only to finish what the other had but begun are to be damn'd eternally They admit the Books of Moses the Psalms of David the Gospel as Sergius has expounded it to them and the Alcoran as Holy Writ They believe a Heaven and a Hell the Resurrection and Predestination placing the Eternal Blessings that are to be the Reward of the Faithful in a sight of the Sovereign Being of his Angels and of Mahomet and besides in the Enjoyment of Seventy Virgins with whom they are continually to be wrapt in Extasies of Delight without impairing or rather annihilating their Virginity they are also fondly possess'd with the Hopes of indulging their Appetites with all sorts of most delicious Food and of bathing themselves in Rivers of Milk Honey and Rose-Water nay they even believe that the very Excrements of the Body shall evaporate in most grateful Sweats and that they are to take up their Lodging in Banquetting-Houses and stately Palaces built with Pearl and precious Stone They have a Lent or Ramadan which lasts thirty Days and keep it so strictly that they do not only religiously abstain from eating or drinking the least thing from the very dawn to the first appearance of the Stars on the Evening but also forbear smoaking Tobacco and smelling any Perfumes indeed I must needs own that they make themselves large amends for this abstinence at Night passing it generally at that time in all manner of Luxury and Licentiousness On the Eve of that Ramadan they prepare themselves for its observation by publick Rejoycings that are attended with discharges of Fusils and Muskets and with repeated Acclamations of Allah more like Howlings than joyful Shouts every one of them watches that he may be the first who discovers the Moon and they fire their Muskets at that Planet as soon as they perceive it which done they meet to say their Prayers with their Marabot at the head of them and kneel rise and prostrate themselves on the ground several times still turn'd towards the East They have three Easters which they keep Holy for seven days together however without abstaining from Buying or Selling as they do on Fridays that are their Lord's Days The first Easter is kept on the first day of the Moon that comes after their Ramadan and if it happens to fall on a Saturday which is the Sabbath of the Jews those of that Nation in this Empire are oblig'd to present the King with a Hen and ten Chickens of Gold or with the value of them in Money On the first Day of that Easter the King commonly causes all the Prisoners in the Town where he then is to be brought before him and either Absolves them or puts them to death according to their Crimes and the humour he is in He put Twenty Criminals to death after this manner on the third Day of this Easter which happen'd to be the fourth after my arrival at Mickeness The second Easter which they call The Great is twenty Days after that of Ramadan They use then to sacrifice to Mahomet as many Sheep as there are Male Children in each Family and this in Memory of the Sacrifice which was offer'd by Abraham the Father of Ismael the Patriarch of the Arabian Sarazens from whom they believe their Prophet's Mother deriv'd her Original The King makes a publick Ceremony of it at a Chappel or as they term it at a Saint about a quarter of a League from Mickeness but with the addition of this superstitious Circumstance As soon as the Sheep's Throat has been cut for they take great care not to kill otherwise all the Animals they are to eat believing they wou'd not bleed enough another way which wou'd make them impure and forbidden Flesh As soon I say as the Sheep's Throat has been cut a Moor on Horse-back takes it wraps it up in a Cloth and gallops away with it full speed to the Alcassave which is the King's Palace Now if when he is got thither the Sheep is still alive they draw a good Omen from it and there is great rejoycing But if it die by the way then every one goes home very doleful and there is an end of the Festival The third Easter which falls always three Moons and two Days after the second is kept in honour of Mahomet's Birth and on its first Day the Moors eat Hasty-Pudding in remembrance of that which was eaten by that Prophet They light great numbers of Lamps and Wax Tapers in the Mosques on the Night before that Easter and all their Talbes or Priests sing his Praise without ceasing till Morning They Solemnize St. John Baptist's Day by Bonefires which they make in their Gardens where they burn a great deal of Incense round their Fruit-Trees to entitle them to the Blessing of Heaven They admit of Circumcision but neither fix the Age of those that are to be Circumcis'd nor the time when They all say the Sala or Prayer which they also call the
Imprisonment so they only play at Chess Draughts and a kind of Tictack quite different from others neither do they make any great use of all these and I did not perceive by those I frequented that they are much given to Gaming They are not much more addicted to Reading and it may very justly be said That Sleeping Eating Drinking Women Horses and Prayers share and almost wholly engross their time the remainder of which is generally linger'd out in a tedious and unuseful Sloth and accordingly they are often seen sitting on their Heels along the Walls with long Strings of Beads which tumble through their Fingers with a nimbleness equal to the shortness of the Prayers they say at the dropping of each Bead for that Prayer barely consists in mentioning one of the different Attributes of God as in saying on one Bead God is Great on another God is Good on a third God is Infinite on a fourth God is Merciful c. I ought not to forget the particular Veneration they have for those who have been in Pilgrimage to Mecca they call them Hadgys or Saints and are so Supersitious on their account that they also esteem their Horses to be holy as their Masters They wrap the Animals in Shrowds and bury them when they die as they would their greatest Friends and Relations thinking it a Pleasure and Duty to visit them often and see them feed The King of Morocco had one of these Horses The first time I was admitted into his Presence it was led in State just before him and besides the particular Distinction which appear'd by the richness of his Saddle and Harness his Tail was held up by a Christian Slave who carried a Pot and a Cloth to receive his Excrements and wipe him I was told that the King from time to time went to kiss that Horse's Tail and Feet All the Horses who are thus sanctified are usually freed from all manner of Service and if the Masters cannot afford to keep 'em some Pensions are settled on them for their Subsistance out of the neighbouring Mosques They are distinguish'd by the Beads or Relicks about their Necks the latter of which are nothing but some Writings wrapt up in Silks or Cloth of Gold containing the Names of their Prophet and some pretended Saints of their Law They also are as so many Sanctuaries for Criminals like the Towns and Chappels of the Saints already mention'd These Places which are to be seen in many Parts of the Country are according to their bigness the dwelling of one or more Morabots or Talbs the Priests of the Moors who may marry and are very much esteem'd there chiefly by the Arabs they are maintain'd according to the Ability or Devotion of the Founders and lead a lazy and luxurious Life at the Expence of those deluded Creatures who esteem themselves happy in being able to bestow large Donations on them while they live or bequeath to them when they die Methinks these Places and their Foundations may justly enough be compar'd to our Abbeys Priories and Chappels Bur resuming the Idea of the King of Morocco's Picture which I had begun I shall observe that he is between forty nine and fifty Years of Age of a tawny Complexion and lean his Hair is black but begins to turn grey he 's of a middle size his Face oval his Cheeks hollow as well as his Eyes which are black and sparkling his Nose is little and hook'd his Chin sharp his Lips thick and his Mouth pretty well proportion'd He 's extream Covetous and Cruel Interest and an excessive love of Money can almost make him do any thing and he 's so much delighted in spilling Blood with his own Hands that 't is generally believ'd he must have put above Twenty thousand Persons to death himself during the twenty Years that he has fill'd the Throne I am the rather inclin'd to believe or confirm this having my self reckon'd up no less than Forty seven whom he killed during my one and twenty Days stay at his Court And besides he was not asham'd to appear before me at the last Audience he gave me by the Gate of his Stables himself being on Horse-back with his Cloths and Right-Arm all imbru'd with the Blood of two of his Chief Blacks whom he had just butcher'd with a Knife Every Nation is amaz'd to find his Subjects so submissive and Patient under so excessive and cruel a Tyranny but they must know that not to speak of the general and particular want of Power to oppose it they so fondly believe that dying thus by the Hands of a King who is a Xerif and descended from their Prophet they immediately go to Heaven that the greatest part among them esteem that a Happiness which a smaller and more judicious Number abominate but cannot hinder and indeed the latter keep at a distance from him as much as they can and think themselves as happy in not seeing him as the mad Herd in being kill'd by him Notwithstanding this 't is said this Prince is of a pretty good Temper when his Passion is over but he 's subject to violent Capricio's that are the more dangerous for being always cover'd with the Cloak of Religion of which he affects to appear an exact Observer and he is so firmly persuaded that his Subjects think him such that for that reason and being full of that prevention he assumes a License of doing whatever he pleases He only studies to be fear'd by his Subjects and cares very little whether they love him or no and therefore they generally tremble when they come near him and tho' they approach him out of Duty never do it out of Good-will the rather because none ought to come into his Presence but by his Order or Permission and not without Presents He has a great deal of Wit and Courage is Active Indefatigable and very Dexterous at all Martial Sports as Running with the Lance and Horse-Exercises in which Pastimes I must observe by the way that all the Moors are wonderfully expert and in this do not seem to have in the least degenerated from what History so much celebrates the ancient People of Granada for in their Turnaments He drinks no Wine because his Religion forbids it but when he takes Opium or drinks a certain Hypocras that he makes himself with Brandy Cloves Anniseed Cinnamon and Nutmegs which happens pretty often woe to him that comes in his way when the Fumes are got up into his Head 'T is also not very safe to meet him when he 's cloath'd in a yellow Habit for it has been long observ'd that this Colour is a dangerous Omen when he wears it and almost generally fatal to some of those who come near him at that time He had a Vest on of that Colour when he gave me the Audience of Leave all bloody as I have observ'd He 's very much given to Women and has near Four hundred in his Alcassave for his own use besides
is neither Hereditary nor Elective but always his among the Xerifs who is then most in Favour There are in the Armory besides these Musquets a Hundred and Fifty Pieces of Brass Cannon one part of which came out of the Ship The Captain of Spain which was lost ten Years since before Ceúta and the other from the Town of Larache which was retaken from the Spaniards Tho' this Prince has no regular Forces he has nevertheless a standing Guard of three or four Hundred Blacks Arm'd with very heavy Musquets They are always very young and he chuses 'em such because he will not trust the Guard of his Person to those of a riper Age for fear of some Attempt against him They are for the most part Children of the Seraglio and he only provides Food and Cloaths for 'em but they are better and more neatly Apparell'd than the greatest Lords in that Kingdom Besides this Guard the King has seven or eight Alcaydes who never approach him otherwise than bare-footed and without Turbants but they are allow'd to wear a red Woollen Cap on their Heads and in these consists all his Court. There are three sorts of Alcaydes the chief are the Governours of Provinces where they are effectually like so many Vice-Roys the other are either particular Governours of great Towns or General Officers of his Armies They are all of 'em oblig'd to reside where their Imployments require their attendance and the King keeps near him only such of 'em as are more particularly useful to him and gives their Children leave to act for them There is no considerable Officer either for his House or for the general or particular administration of his State besides the Grand Mufti for Affairs of Religion and Justice the chief Eunuch for his Wives and Seraglio and one chief Treasurer for his Revenues and the latter's Office too is passive and burthensom at best for he never makes any distribution of the Money he receives and is immediately oblig'd to return it to the King who lays it up among his unprofitable and subterraneous Hoard as I have already observ'd And as for what concerns the ordinary Expence of his House and his Wives or the occasion of some extraordinary Charges in time of War this Alcayde must raise the Fund out of the Revenues of his Government this Prince never giving any Salary Pension nor Gratuity in Money to any one whatsoever He who at present executes the Office of High Treasurer is the Alcayde Abdalla Mussy Governour of all the Kingdom of Fess the administration of which Government he commits to one of his Sons while he himself continually keeps at Mickeness He is near six and Fifty Years Old little and Lean his Eyes are even with his Forehead he is of a good Aspect enough and is counted an Honest Man and one who keeps his word which is very rare among the Moors He is but meanly descended for his Father was a Mule-driver He is well enough beloved because he is an Honest Man and one who does good but for this very reason he is no great Favourite There is besides another Officer who is in the nature of Superintendant of the Buildings whose Name is Aly ben Jehon He has the inspection and takes care of all those that are built by the King at Mickeness and is so wholly employ'd in it that sometimes he is whole Weeks without seeing his Master and he had need be very Rich to defray the Costs of all the Materials both for the inside and outside of those Buildings which he is oblig'd to provide 'T is true indeed that his Government which contains the whole Country that lies between Mickeness and Tremecen is of a great extent and a very fruitful Soil however I am persuaded considering the unlimitted Expences to which this Office obliges him that notwitstanding all the good management imaginable his bare subsistence is all the advantage he makes of it at the Years end He is about eight and Forty Years Old of a large and comely Presence tho' a Mulatto He has a quick Eye a ready Wit and is of a pretty kind Disposition The Slaves that attend him daily give him the Character of a good humour'd Man and praise him very much but as he is altogether taken up by his Business he does not at all concern himself with Affairs of State He that seems to have the greatest share in that and on whom alone the King seems to rely in those Matters is the Alcayde Mahomet Addo Ben Ottar who is to this Prince as his Chief Minister and has there the same Access and the same Trust as a Favorite and indeed of all them that approach him he best knows how to flatter his Passions and humour him in whatever may please him Twelve Years since he was Embassador in England and what-ever his Treatment may have been there he might be thought a great Enemy to that Nation if his mischievous Inclination did not make him known for such to all others As he has no Government having quitted that of Sally to his Brother thus to exempt himself from the Obligation of making Presents to his Emperour so he is the less Wealthy but has the greatest Interest of all the Alcaydes he is about five and fifty Years of Age he has a quick Eye and an ingenious Look his Ways and Discourse discover a great deal of Cunning he is deceitful and wicked to the highest degree and pretends to be a Friend to the French frequently saying that his Mother was born at Marseilles when at the same time he loves nothing but Money and is pleas'd with nothing but Mischief he is fear'd but not at all belov'd by the Moors who universally hate his Ministery and in private give him all the Curses imaginable he is likewise very great with Muley Zeydan the King's Son and the Partner of all his Pleasures The Alcayde Aly Ben Abdalla and he are Rivals and jealous of each other's Interest with the King which causes the management of Affairs to be difficult there The Alcayde Aly being always absent keeps up his Interest only by his rich Presents but Mahomet Addo's seems to be better establish'd by his continual residence at Court and his Artifices and Method in managing the King's Temper to reduce him to a necessity of never parting with him This Alcayde Aly Ben Abdalla of all those who are at distance from Court lives with most Grandeur and Authority he is Vice-roy of the Algarbs and Governor of the Provence of Riffe and of all the Maritime Places from Zaffarine to Sally that has its particular Governors for which reason the King wholly depends on him for what relates to Sea-Affairs and as he is very vain he calls himself among Strangers Admiral of the Coasts of Africa Formerly he resided altogether at Tetuan but at present his Residence is commonly at Tangier he is about fifty Years of Age and of mean Birth being a Fisherman's Son yet is
Orders and Powers to treat of 'em with your Majesty 's own Person as I have been honour'd with by the Emperor my Master concerning those things about which you writ to him But there is some Reason to believe that your Majesty at that time had been pleas'd to follow the no less judicious than zealous Advice of the Alcayde Aly who perfectly knows what may be most for your Majesty's Interest who truly loves your Person and your Glory and whom I ought to assure you I have found here to be the most faithful and most loving of your Subjects Had your Majesty consulted no other you would doubtless have follow'd and brought to a happy End your first Designs which besides the Profit and Safety they would have procur'd to the Commerce of your Subjects would also have made you Formidable to your Enemies I hope SIR that when you shall seriously have weigh'd those Counsels and imparted your Sentiments to that faithful Alcayde you will again pursue such Resolutions as are most consistent with your Interest and that you will approve what the Esteem and Respect I have for you oblige me to represent to your Majesty assuring you that if I were so happy as to be able to contribute towards the obtaining for you of the Emperor my Master what I know to be so necessary and advantageous to you I would endeavour it with all the Zeal you can desire of him who is entirely SIR Your Majesty 's Most humble c. THE LETTER Which the King of Morocco Wrote and sent to the King BY Monsieur de St. OLON. To the greatest Prince of the Christistians the Monarch of the Kingdom of France Lewis the Fourteenth God grant his Peace to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth THis is to let your Majesty know That as soon as your Servant the Embassador arriv'd on the blessed Lands under our Dominion we had Information given us of it by our faithful Counsellor and Servant the Alcayde Aly the Son of Abdalla who desir'd us to give him Leave and the necessary Orders to cause him to be conducted to our Court This we willingly granted believing that he only came to treat of Affairs of the greatest Consequence such as wou'd be a means for us to obtain whatever we should desire of you and for your Majesty all that you could desire of us But after he was come to our High Throne and we had spoken to him and ask'd him many Questions about this we found that he had only some Proposals to make relating to the Slaves and we did not find that he had the Power which is requisite to treat with us of other Affairs so that what he came about having not seem'd to be of Consequence enough we did not think fit to treat with him about it for 't is certain that what was the Subject of his Embassie might as well have been done even by the management of a Merchant whose Degree were very much inferior to his As soon as he withdrew out of our Royal Presence we left the dispatch of his Business to our faithful Servant the Alcayde Aly the Son of Abdalla on the score of the general Command and Authority with which he is intrusted by our sovereign Order in all our Ports Cities Towns and Tribes of our Sea-Coasts We have given him leave to Negotiate with your Embassador and he has sufficient Power and Authority to treat and transact with him about Affairs of the greatest Consequence in case this Embassador have also some full Power that may be thought as unquestionable and unalterable as is that which we sent to our Servant who will treat with him as he shall think best both now and hereafter The salutation of Peace be given to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth Written the tenth Day of the Month Zil Hadge the last of the Year 1104. that is the Eighteenth of June 1693. THE LETTER Which the Alcayde Aly Ben Abdalla the King of Morocco's Minister for the Marine wrote and sent to the King by Monsieur de St. OLON. In the Name of God the Merciful there being no Authority nor Power but from him who is the most High and most Mighty To him whom his Dignity and Power have rais'd above all the Princes of his Religion whom his Valour and desire of Glory have made dreadful through all the Nations of Christendom the Majestic Emperor of France Lewis the Great the Fourteenth of the Name God give Peace to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth I Must acquaint your Majesty that as soon as your faithful Embassador de St. Olon came to us with his Attendants we had several Conferences with him and ask'd leave of our Victorious Monarch that he might come from this Place to his Court and having obtain'd it we procur'd him the means to arrive at this Glorious Throne After his return from the Court of our Master as we then resided in the City of Tangier which God protect your Embassador writ to us and let us know that he had not ended what he desir'd of the Court of our Emperor for which reason we speedily sent again to his Majesty several Letters with reiterated Instances to desire him that he would explain his Will in that Affair This we did two or three times and he as often return'd Answer letting us know that 't was his Intent to negotiate a Treaty of true Peace in plain and sincere Terms concerning some Affairs of the greatest Consequence that it might remain sirm and lasting by the means of which Treaty most important and considerable Undertakings might be compass'd And in short such a Treaty as is between your Majesty and the People of Constantinople But it seems this Embassador is only come about the Slaves now 't is certain their Number is so inconsiderable and of so small a consequence that if he had demanded 'em gratis of our Mullana whom God cause to triumph he would not have refus'd 'em on your Majesty's account The Emperor my Master did also let me know that he had not the least thing to object against the Treaty that relates to the Marine yet that he does not much value that Affair and that there is no need to make a Treaty for a Concern of so small a consequence This is the summ of what the Emperor my Master to whom God grant Victory answer'd to the Instances I made on this account As for our Part God is our Witness that we have acted for your Embassador in whatever he desir'd as we would have done for our selves and perhaps more And finally I have made it my Business to conferr with him seriously and privately and we have discours'd together a long while about several Points which he has perfectly understood and very deeply imprinted in his Mind he will give your Majesty an Account of it as we have done to him The Salutation of Peace be given to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth Written the