Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	call_v	earth_n	sea_n	3,957	5	6.9260	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51903	The eighth and last volume of letters writ by a Turkish spy who lived five and forty years undiscover'd at Paris : giving an impartial account to the Divan at Constantinople of the most remarkable transactions of Europe, and discovering several intrigues and secrets of the Christian courts (especially of that of France) continued from the year 1642 to the year 1682 / written originally in Arabick, translated into Italian, and from thence into English, by the translator of the first volume.	Marana, Giovanni Paolo, 1642-1693.; Bradshaw, William, fl. 1700.; Midgley, Robert, 1655?-1723.	1694 (1694)	Wing M565EA; ESTC R35024	164,847	384

and other Cities of Holland and in General throughout all the Seven Vnited States Neither have they much more Regularity and Order in other Matters Wonder not therefore if my Pen observes no Method in Treating of a Country which is the very Emblem Proverb and Centre of Ataxy and Confusion However I will now begin to make more Particular Distinctions than in the Former Part of my Letter Zeland has a bad Air especially in the Summer time when the Sun exhales Stinking and Infectious Vapours from the Lakes and Pools of which there is a great Number in that Province Yet it has an Excellent Soil abounding with Wheat and other Corn also with good Pasturage for Sheep and Cattel There is little more to be said of this Province Holland has this Observable in it That frequently the Earth trembles there under the Burden of Coaches Wagons Horses c. Which is an Argument that the Ground is hollow underneath and full of Caverns To confirm this Opinion they say That a Cow once falling into a Gap or Chasm in the Earth was found dead three Days afterwards in the Sea being known to the Owner to be the same Hence a Part of Holland in the Language of the Country is called Waterland Which at first Hearing sounds like a Contradiction But they mean by it a Land situated in the Waters For so indeed the whole Province appears to be divided into small Islands by Innumerable Canals Lakes and Pools that every where expose themselves to your Eye This Province deserves most properly of all the Rest the Appellation of Netherland it being sunk so very low that in many Places the Sea rises higher than it Which compels the Hollanders to fortifie their Shores with High and Strong Banks which with great Cost they continually keep repair'd They have but little Corn or Fruit of their own Growth being supply'd with those Things from Germany Poland and other Countries But there is an Immense Quantity of Grass to nourish Millions of Sheep Oxen and Horses And what I have said of these two Provinces may be in some Degree apply'd to all the Rest Frizland only excepted which is more Fertile of Corn yields Abundance of Pulse and Salt and is well cloath'd with Woods As to the Manners of these People The Zelanders are of a Ready Wit Provident and Subtile Of Stature generally very tall as will appear by a Woman of this Province whom William Count of Holland sent to the Nuptials of Charles the Fair King of France She was of so vast an Heighth and Bulk that the French look'd like Pigmies or Dwarfs in Comparison of her And such was her Strength that She could lift from the Ground a Beam and carry it on her Shoulders which Eight Labouring Men cou'd hardly stir 'T is observ'd of Geldres That it was the First of these Provinces which submitted to the Rising Fortune of the Roman Empire And again The First that shook off the Yoke when that Empire was in its Wane In Vtrecht there are Abundance of Nobles who are more Soft and Polite in their Conversation than the Rest of the Hollanders The Women of Quality there go Veil'd The Publick Affairs of all these Provinces are manag'd by those whom they call the States-General of the Vnited Provinces These are a Convention or Assembly of the Chief Nobles Principal Magistrates and most Eminent Citizens in every Province Courteous Effendi These are the Chief Things which I know of the United Provinces unless thou wouldst have me write their Compleat History Which wou'd be too tedious for Letters Accept of my Labours which tho' Mean yet are Voluntary Chearful and done at a Jerk Paris 4th of the 12th Moon of the Year 1678. LETTER VI. To the same THou wilt say I 'm all upon the Extremes In my last I dragg'd thee through the most Dirty Nasty Abject Valley of all the Earth I mean Holland with the rest of the Vnited Provinces Now I 'm going to lead thee out of those Fenny Bogs and give thee a Breathing up the Salubrious Hills and Mountains of Helvetia or Swisserland 'T is true this cannot be done without a considerable Leap over many Provinces of Germany Part of Lorrain and Alsace But having spoken formerly of the Empire and from thence in my next by a kind of Natural Descent fallen into the Low Countries the Consideration of their Form of Government put me in mind of the other Republicks in Europe Among which that of Switzerland lying next to the Vnited States I chose to make it the Subject of this Letter designing to give thee an Account of Venice Genoua Lucca and the Rest in Order Know then that Helvetia or Swisserland was once a Province of Germany but now 't is a Commonwealth subsisting by it self and not subject to any Foreign Power It is divided into Thirteen Cantons or Provinces I will not trouble thee with the Names of each Districh or with their several Characters The whole Country in general looks like a great Bunch of Rocks and Mountains separated by small but very pleasant Valleys And though the Mountains seem rough yet their Tops and Brows flourish no less with all sorts of Trees and Herbage than the fairest Plains The Inhabitants nourish abundance of Sheep on them besides Goats Hinds Horses with many other Kinds of Beasts For there is great Plenty of Animals in this Country both Wild and Tame The Air is piercing and serene the Soil though not of it self fertile yet is made so by Industry of the Inhabitants In some Parts they have Vineyards which produce a Grape of wonderful Delicacy The Wine of which is much esteem'd in those Parts The Lakes also and Rivers abound with Fish of all sorts Neither is there any Scarcity of Fowls or of any Thing else which immediately serves the Necessities of Human Life Only Things tending to Luxury and other Kinds of Wantonness are not to be found in this Happy Region It is a second Scythia or Tartary And indeed the Inhabitants of Swisserland are thought to come out of those more Northern Regions They have ever been Famous for their invincible Constancy and Valour in War Julius Caesar himself was afraid of them and built a Wall to hinder them from going into France or Gaul when he remember'd that L. Cassius a Roman Consul was Vanquish'd by them and his whole Army routed Some Authors affirm that in the Times of Old the Inhabitants of the North of Europe were so prodigiously multiplied that some of them were forced to seek new Seats Wherefore rushing through Germany and passing the Rhine they were met by the Gauls whom they Overcame and Defeated Upon which News the Neighbouring Nations being terrified sent Embassadors to them desiring Peace The Conquerors replied They came not to wage War or disturb the Peace of Mankind That they only sought a Place to live in quietly where they might manure the Ground without hurting any Body Then Helvetia was granted to them where

the Negroes or Blacks owe their Colour to a far higher and more ancient Original than to the Curse which Noah pronounced on Cham and all his Posterity as is commonly believed And I cou'd even grant them to be of a different Race from that of Adam For it is no new Thing with me to conceive That Mankind had a different Original from that which is Recorded in the Book that goes under Moses's Name And I dare be bold to say That that Book of Genesis was either not penn'd by Moses or if it were that it has been much corrupted in After-Times and that at present there is not any known True Copy of it in the World For how can we Father so many Incongruities as are to be found in that Book on the Holy Prophet Or if he were really the Author of such Contradictions and Absurdities how can we believe him without forfeiting our Sense God gave us our Reason to be a Lamp and a Prop to light and support us as we walk through the Dark and Uncertain Wilderness of this Mortal Life not as an Ignis Fatuus to misguide us or a Reed of Egypt which deceives him that leans on it and causes him to fall He has squar'd our Faculties to the Works of Eternity Our Native Idea's of Things are exact and true till adulterated by the false Strokes of Education Superstition and Foreign Error Thus in my Infancy I remember I cou'd not conceive any Limits to the Extent of Space not any Beginning to the Age of the World And I have retained the same Notion of Infinite and Eternal Matter ever since even to these Grey Hairs So of the Original of Mankind I believe not the narrow and partial Genealogies of the Jews who only strove to exalt themselves and their own Lineage above all the Nations on Earth besides For ought I know there were as many Original Protoplasts of Mortals as there are different Nations speaking various Radical and Maternal Languages obeying several Forms of Government and practising distinct Maxims and Principles Or it is possible the East produced One sort of Men the West Another whilst the North and the South brought forth an equal Variety Who knows the Force of the Constellations and Heavens Above or the hidden Virtues which exhale from the Depths Below These may differ as the Climates do And the first Indigence of the Earth might all be mark'd with the Various Affections Passions and Dispositions of Her their Common Parent even as Children are now-a-days stigmatiz'd with the Lust of a teeming Mother Oh that it were possible with Theseus to descend into the Bowels of this Globe and come up alive and safe again That we might dive into the Abysses below and visit the Caverns of perpetual Darkness That we might creep along by the Roots of the ancient Mountains or through the Channels of Mines a Thousand Miles beneath the Surface There wou'd I seek for the Fountains of hidden Waters which run to and fro in the Veins of the Earth I wou'd find out the Subterranean Seas Lakes and Rivers which feed our Upper Ocean with its Briny Floods And perhaps there I shou'd discover the True Cause of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea which has so puzzl'd all Philosophy Tell me Thou Sage of Sages Can all the Fountains Rivulets mighty Channels Lakes and Seas which we see on the Superficies be constantly supply'd only by Showers from Heaven which in some Places fall very sparingly or not at all Cou'd the constant Regular Tides and Ebbs be still maintain'd by the uncertain fickle Rains and Snows Or is there not an Eternal Circulation of Waters thro' the various Hollownesses of the Earth In a Mine at Bern in Switzerland about 230 Years ago there was found a whole Ship 50 Fathom deep with all its Tackle and the dead Bodies of many Sea-Men I ask How that Ship came there Who can give me an Account of the many Whirl-Pools Vorago's and Charybdis's there are in divers Seas There is one in the North of the World not far from Moscovy Forty Miles in Compass which when the Tide comes in swallows up all the Sea with an insupportable Noise above that of Thunder with Ships Fish and whatsoever else comes within that Fatal Stream then at the Ebb it throws them up again with equal Fury Doubtless there are innumerable such Devouring Jaws of the Earth under the various Bottoms of the Sea And I will never trouble my self any farther for the Solution of this Grand Scruple which cost the Stagyrite his Life Venerable Sage Tell me thy Opinion of these Things for I could bring Instances enough to write a Volume on this Subject But I am brief with thee who canst not improve by any Thing I can say who write this as one that begs Instruction and not to teach or inform an Oracle Paris 20th of the 5th Moon of the Year 1682. LETTER XV. To the Kaimacham HERE' 's a Race of Infidels newly started in France who if they be let alone may for ought I know in Time depopulate not only this Kingdom but the whole Earth A Society of Miscreants Sorcerers Magicians Witches and I know not what They secretly steal Children away from their Parents and offer them in Sacrifice to Daemons Their Blood they save to compound horrible Poisons and execrable Enchantments The Bread of Paris and other Cities is become like the Fruit of the Tree Zacon which overshadows the Center of Hell full of deadly Venom The Fountains of once living and refreshing Waters are now tainted with the Contagion of Styx Phlegeton and Cocytus There is no Safety in eating or drinking Men chuse to perish by Hunger or Thirst rather than taste the very Fruits of the Earth They undergo a Voluntary Famine in the midst of Infinite Plenty And whilst there is an Affluence of all things which use to support our Mortal Life People complain of Scarcity and die for Want of wholesome Food In the mean While no Body can tell the meaning of it but a diligent Enquiry is made Some are arrested on Suspicion others are convicted by undeniable Evidence yet will confess nothing They prove 'em guilty in Matter of Fact and put 'em to more than the common Tortures but can extort not a Syllable from 'em which shall discover their Accomplices or reveal the bottom Secret of this Nefandous Practice Arise Arise Arise Medea Circ● Aesculapius or some other Powers more expert in Nature's hidden Force Arise I say and prop the fainting Reliques of Human Race New Deaths invade the World Men speak seem stout they walk the Streets are merry brisk and gay and yet in the Height of Laughter down they drop and die This is very strange but more so it is that even after Death when they are Cold their Cha●s remain still distorted in the same Comical Figure not much unlike the Statue of the Satyr which stands behind the G●●● of the Womens Apartment in the Ser●●● I have

pray the Almighty and All good God to have thee in his Holy Protection and augment thy Vertues and Felicities Paris 11th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1675. LETTER XII To Ibrahim Eli Zeid Hadgi Effendi Preacher to the Seraglio HEre has happen'd something of Late which the Priests magnify as an Apparent Miracle whilst for ought I know 't is only a pure Effect of Nature Thou art not to learn that the Nazarens have their Saints in great Veneration That they invoke then in their Necessities set up their Images and Pictures in Temples to be ador'd That they preserve their Bones Ashes Hair Garments or any Thing that deserves the Name of a Sacred Relique That they enshrine these in Coffins Urns Chests and other Vessels of Gold and Silver adorn'd with Precious Stones That they place them in their Moscks as in Sanctuaries sometimes under their Altars at other Times upon them Some in particular Oratories or Chapels others in the Choire That they carry them in Procession in Times of Publick Calamity and on certain Festivals thinking by this means to pacify the Wrath of Heaven and draw down the Divine Benediction Thou art not ignorant also That they believe the Saints are Guardians of certain Kingdoms Provinces Cities Families and even of Private Persons Hence St. Denis is esteem'd the Patron of France St. James of Spain St. George of England and so of other Nations Each City also has its peculiar Guardian Saint Hence St. Anthony is accounted the Patron of Padua St. Mark of Venice and to come to the Purpose St. Geneviéve is ador'd by the Citizens of Paris as the Patroness of this Place There is a Beautiful Temple built in Honour of her on the Highest Ground in the City which also is call'd by her Name the Mountain of St. Geneviéve On the Decline of this there is a Fountain of Delicate Water which is called the Fountain of St. Geneviéve They attribute many Miracles to this Female-Saint some of which she perform'd in her Life-time others after her Death if we may believe what the Priests affirm and what is Recorded in the History of her Life in the Annals of Paris and the Archives of the Convent belonging to her Temple For there is a certain number of Dorviches of the chief Nobility in Paris who consecrate themselves for ever to a Religious Life in Honour of this Virgin They meet Twice a Day in the Choire of the Church all array'd in long Robes of white Linnen where they chant aloud the Praises of St. Geneviéve As oft they assemble at different Hours in a private Chappel in their Cloy stere to perform the like Devotions Those who are chosen into this Order are all Persons of Sweet and Lovely Countenances graceful Demeanour and learned Education One shall not see so much Regularity Order and devout Modesty in any Church in Paris as appears in this at the Time of Celebrating their Divine Mysteries Yet for ought I know all this may be but Hypocrisie and pious Artifice to attract the greater Reverence from the People who are present at their Ceremonies I my self was astonished once when being there I saw a Beautiful Youth approach the Altar with a Golden Censer hanging at a Chain which he held in one Hand whilst with the other he wasted the Rich Perfume toward the Statues which stood on high behind the Altar He had the very Signature of Vertue in his Face Besides a certain Lustre that seem'd to spring all on a sudden into his Eyes and Cheeks discovering some inward Rapture of his Soul Methought he look'd like one of the Pages of Eden as they are described in the Holy Alcoran I protest it was impossible for me to fix my Eyes upon him and not to feel the Passions of Platonick Love He deported himself with a Grace which cannot be expressed Afterwards I contracted an intimate Familiarity with him on the account of Arabick which he learns of me He is a Person of excellent natural Abilities and well vers'd in Languages and all manner of Divine and Human Learning Pardon this Digression Venerable Hadgi in regard I cou'd not forbear mentioning a Person of whom I have a great deal more to say than can well be comprised in one Letter Hereafter I will communicate a farther Account of him whilst I now return to the Church of St. Geneviéve In the upper part of the Choire Four Fillars of Jasper with Four Golden Images of Angels on the Tops support the Shrine of this Saint wherein lyes enclosed all that remains of her Body Several Wax Tapers burn before it Day and Night The Devouter sort of People kneel and kiss the Pillars which sustain the admirable Reliques They bring their Linnen and other Vestments to the Priest who is appointed for this Office He fastens them in the Cleft of a long Pole and then raises that End up to the Shrine which is very near as high as the Roof of the Church He touches the Shrine with the Linnen c. and having done so he takes it down again when pronouncing a Benediction on it in the Name of the Saint he restores it to the Party whose it is They believe that Linnen or any Thing else belonging to the Body being so touch'd and bless'd has Power to chase away Maladies to preserve them from Dangers to ease Women in Childbirth and to make them prosper in all Things So profound is the Attach which they have for this famous Saint But whether there be any Thing more in it than Superstition and Bigotry God only knows However the Inhabitants of Paris esteem this Shrine as the Trojans did their Palladium and the Romans their Ancile which fell from Heaven as Numa Pompilius made them believe When the City is threaten'd with any Publick Calamity this Shrine is taken down with Abundance of Pomp and Solemnity and carry'd in Procession through the Streets thinking thereby to divert the Vengeance of Heaven and appease the Anger of the Omnipotent Such was the Case here lately There having fallen such an Overplus of continual Rains as threaten'd to destroy all the Corn and Herbage with the Fruits of the Earth besides the Damage had been already done to Innumerable Persons in their Houses and Goods by the vast Innundations This occasion'd a Decree to come out for the taking down the Body of St. Geneviéve and carrying it in Solemn Procession to the Temple of Nostre Dame Which was accordingly perform'd on the 17th of this Moon In the Procession were seen all the Religious Orders in this City both of Men and Women the Parliament of Paris the Chamber of Accompts the Court of Aides the Court of Moneys with the whole Body of the Citizens But no sooner was the Shrine of St. Geneviéve brought into the open Air when the Rain ceas'd the Clouds dispers'd and the Sky became Serene and Clear And so it has continued over since The Priests will have this to be an Effect of Sr. Genevieve's

not have his Eyes arrested here and there by most capacious and ample Carvansera's where all distressed Foreigners and such as are destitute of a more convenient Lodging may in any of these find a Shelter and Sanctuary from the Injuries of open Air from Night-Robbers and other Inconveniencies These Carvansera's are in number Three Hundred and Three built at the Expences of Ottoman Princes and Bassa's There are also in this City Ninety Hospitals where the Poor are nourished and the Sick attended with extraordinary Piety and Care Besides all these there are Five Colleges where the Sciences are publickly profess'd and taught and where a certain Number of Young Men are educated and maintained at the Grand Signior's Cost being constant Stipendaries to the Sultan There are many such Colleges scatter'd up and down Caramania Natolia and throughout Greece and the Lesser Asia So that the Number of Students in these Countries is computed to be above Nine Thousand not reckoning those in Arabia Syria and Egypt where flourish innumerable Seminaries of Divine and Human Wisdom But to return to Constantinople the next Thing worthy of Observation is the Serayan or House of Equipages where are made all sorts of Trappings for Horses especially Saddles of immense Cost and admirable Workmanship This Place is also environ'd with high Walls and shut in with strong Gates There cannot be a more agreeable Sight to such as take Pleasure in Horses and Riding than to see Four Thousand Men here daily at Work in their Shops each striving to excel the rest in the Curiosity of his Artifice You shall see one busie in spangling a Saddle with great Oriental Pearls and Unions intermix'd for some Arabian Horse belonging perhaps to the Vizir Azem Another fitting a Curb or Bit of the purest Gold to a Bridle of most precious Russian Leather some adorn their Trappings with choice Phrygian Work others with Diamonds Rubies and the most costly Jewels of the East In a Word there is so illustrious a Variety of these Accoutrements that the Eye is astonish'd at the sight of them And I have heard many Travellers acknowledge That the like is not to be seen in any City of the World beside Constantinople I know not what may be in your Cities of Morocco and Fez in regard the Moors are great Cavaliers There are moreover two other Places in the City encompass'd with peculiar Walls In these the Jainzaries are posted who are the Guards du Corps to the Grand Signior They are under the Command of Decurions without whose Leave no Janizary dare set a Foot out of the Place Next is the Arsenal of the City built on the Sea-shore containing a Hundred and Eighty Arches under which are very elegant Portico's or Piazza's where People walk There are above Forty Thousand Men daily at Work in this Arsenal and Eighty great Gallies lie there always in Readiness for any sudden Expedition Besides there is another in the Suburbs wherein there always lie a Hundred and Fifty great Gallies on the Stocks and Sixty fitted up with all Necessaries constantly lie in the Water The Granaries or Store-Houses for Corn present themselves next They are built in a Corner of the City toward Pera where the Walls are far stronger than in any other Part and the Gates are of Iron Here is always laid up an immense Quantity of Wheat and Barly as also of other Grain as if it were to serve for many Years Yet 't is changed for new Corn every Three Years They say That in the Reign of Amurat III. there was an incredible Abundance of Millet found there whose Vertue was much admired in that it had lain there Eighty Years sound and free from any Corruption I have purposely omitted to speak of the two Royal Serails since the least of them will require a large Letter by it self to be described exactly Only this I will say in short That the least is a French League in Circuit or Three Italian Miles and the biggest wherein the Grand Signior dwells is a League and two Thirds or Five Italian Miles The former is called Eschy Saray or the Old Palace the latter is nam'd Bryuch Saray or the Great Serail If thou desirest a farther and more particular Description of these Royal Courts I will send it thee in future Dispatches For it will be too large for one In the mean Time I must not forget the Mosch of Jub where our Sultans receive the Sword when they first come to the Crown This is a Building of great Antiquity seated in the farthest Angle of the City near the Haven Over against it are the Sultan's Stables having very fair Gardens adjoin'd to them Not far from thence is the Topana or Gun-Yard where there lies a vast Number of Brass Pieces of Ordnance without Carriages Of which some are turn'd directly against the Haven As you pass from this Place it is impossible to avoid the sight of a Pillar which shoots up from the Top of a Rock at some distance from the City This Column is all of White Marble and was erected by Cn. Pompey as a Monument of his Victory over Mithridates the King of Pontus On this side of the City there is nothing hardly to be seen for eight Miles together but Houses built for Pleasure and Delight with most beautiful Groves and Gardens Over against the City stands Pera an Arm of the Sea coming between them This Suburb or Borough is inhabited chiefly by Graecians and Western Franks Round about this Suburb are many pretty Country Houses Farms and Granges most deliciously seated in the midst of high Tufts of Trees with Green Fields and Crystal Streams adjoining to them Where the Embassadors of Foreign Princes make their Abode sometimes I will not carry thee from hence to Scutari though a great and stately Village within the Liberty also of the Imperial City I will not detain thee with the Singularities of the Thracian Chersonesus or drill thee along to Calipolis though this were the first Town in Europe which Amurat took in the Year 1363. My Design is altogether at Constantinople Therefore having survey'd Pera which is also call'd Galata let us cross the Water and return again to the Mother-City that we may know what manner of Government there is in it and how the Laws are executed The Chief Magistrate is called Stambol-Cadisi or Judge of Constantinople Before him are pleaded all Causes both Criminal and Civil He has four Deputies under him who separately govern the four chief Precincts of the City There is likewise an Officer called Sabassi whose Business is to take Cognizance of every ones Crime that is seised in the Streets or Houses and to refer it to the Supreme Vizir He has also four Deputies under him and all Men are bound to assist him in Case of Difficulty The Common Prison of Constantinople is divided into two Parts the Upper and the Lower The Upper is only for Civil Offences and has an airy Green Court in

Mony And that Republick has held it ever since till it was lately taken from them by the Invincible Ottomans It is worth Remarks That Candia the Chief City of this Isle call'd Castro and Candax by the Greeks is a Place of that prodigious Strength that it sustain'd a Bloccade of 22 Years from 1645 to 1667 And after that a Siege of 2 Years from 1667 to 1669 In which Space of Time 't is thought 600000 Mussulmans lost their Lives before it The next Republick in Order is that of Genoua a City whose Power and Empire was far greater in former Times than it is at present For they extended their Dominions even to the Black Sea where Tanais that parts Europe from Asia pours her Waters into the Palus Maeotis Here they possess'd the City Theodosia or Caffa as 't is called at this Day They also made themselves Masters of Cyprus Lesbos Chios with other Islands in the Archipelago and even of Pera it self that Magnificent Adjunct to the Imperial City Yet from the Beginning they were Feudatories of the Roman Empire till the Year 600 of the Christians Hejira For then Lotharis King of the Lombards took the City by Force and plunder'd it But when after some Years it had recover'd its Pristine Glory again Charles I. and his Son Pepin Kings of Italy and their Successors the Kings of France bore Rule there for almost a Hundred Years placing Governours in the City who bore the Title of Counts of Genoua And when afterwards the Saracens had subdu'd Corsica Ademarus then Count of Genoua Arm'd out a Fleet of Galleys invaded the Island and having defeated the True Believers took Possession of it and reduc'd it under the Jurisdiction of Genoua whose Power at this Time was very great by Sea After the Dominion of Charles the Great his Posterity was by degrees so diminish'd that at length it became in a manner quite Extinct the more Potent among the Citizens took Turns to Usurp the Government and exercise a Tyranny over the Inhabitants Which so exasperated them that they often submitted themselves to Foreign Princes But finding still as great Inconveniences in this Dependance on Strangers at last following the Example of the Venetians they chose to themselves a Duke in the Year 1337. of the Christians Hejira Him they sent with a Fleet to Conquer Cyprus Which he accomplish'd with good Success For having taken the King and Queen of the Country Captives he imprison'd them till they agreed with him for a Yearly Tribute to be paid to the Republick of Genoua and then he restored them to their Native Possession reserving only Famagusta the Chief City of the Island to himself He enter'd also into a War with the Venetians but being overcome in Battel at his Return he was Depos'd from the Ducal Office and thrown into Prison another being Chosen in his Place This was more Fortunate than his Predecessor against the Enemy doing them many Injuries but at length was kill'd in Battel Then the Genouese Elected another Duke who going to Constantinople perform'd such Eminent Services to the Emperour in his Wars that he gave him the Island Mitylene which the Genouese held till the Year 1354. After this they Created one to Rule over them under the Title of Prince in the Year 1381. But not liking his Government they threw themselves upon the Protection of Charles VII King of France who sent thither his Deputy Being soon weary of the French Government they joyn'd themselves to the Duke of Milan under whose Patronage they liv'd till the Year 1435. and then Abdicating him they Created a Duke of their own again This rais'd Factions in the City whilst some adher'd to the French Interest and others espous'd the Duke of Milan's Cause At last they fell again under the Power of the French whom they obey'd till Andreas D'Oria having quell'd the Seditions and pacify'd the Contentions of the Freggi and Torni Two prevailing Factions in the City one consisting of the Nobles the other of the Commons he Establish'd that Liberty in the Common-wealth of Geneua which she has enjoy'd ever since till of late some new Troubles have been given 'em by the Kings of France and Spain As to the Original of the Genouese it is uncertain Strabo and others are of Opinion That this Nation descended from the Greeks Whilst Thucydides derives them from the Sicilians They were call'd Ligurians by the People of Rome And Florus mentions a certain Race of Ligurians who dwelt in the Dens and Caves of Mountains being a very Fierce and Warlike People But now adays the Genouese are a very Polite and Civiliz'd People of a Lively and Subtile Wit especially in Merchandizing by which they greatly enrich themselves They are also exceeding Industrious shunning no Labour or Danger for the Sake of Gain They appear Studious of those Things which tend to the Good of the Common-wealth yet are extremely Fickle and Inconstant given to Faction and desirous of Novelty As is manifest by what I have before related of them Which occasioned a certain King of France when one of his Lords told him That the Genouese were about to throw themselves on his Patronage Answer not without some Indignation That they might go to the Devil for Protection for I says he will have nothing to do with Men who are more unstedfast than the Waves of the Sea This Inconstancy never appear'd more plainly than in the late Conspiracy of Raggi and Torne which had like to have proved of Fatal Consequence As to Vachero and Balbi they were like the Dog in Aesop's Fables who lost the Bone to catch at its Shadow in the Water So these Sea Myrmidons were not content with the Strong Party which they had made in the City but must needs go to Corrupt the Navy too which ruin'd all their Design For the Plot was discovered by one of the Sea-Captains This Commonwealth has been afflicted with many Wars and Plagues But none of either Sort ever threatned it with so much Desolation as the Last The One having almost exhausted their Treasury and the Other as near emptied the City of its Inhabitants As for the First Misfortune the Scarcity of Mony the knew quickly how to remedy it being perfect Chymists and Masters of the Philosopher's Stone if there be any such Thing in Nature But whether there be or not this is certain That the Genouese are Old Doctors at garbling transmuting and adulterating of Metals And the Ottoman Empire has experienc'd it to the great Damage of our Merchants at Constantinople Smyrna Aleppo and other Ports where the Genouese did put off their Base Coyn to the Value of some Millions But this Cheat may cost them dear one time or other The Genouese appear at present more Inclinable to Merchandise than to War However it must be confess'd that this Commonwealth has brought forth Valiant and Expert Soldiers as is evident from the Families of the Doria's Spinola's and others who have prov'd