A full and just account of the present state of the Ottoman empire in all its branches: with the government, and policy, religion, customs, and way of living of the Turks, in general. ... By Aaron Hill, ...

Table of contents

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- [license]

- [frontispiece]

- THE DEDICATION, To The QUEEN.

- THE PREFACE.

- A LIST OF THE SUBSCRIBERS NAMES.

- THE HEADS Of the Two and Fifty CHAPTERS Are as follow.

- The following ERRATA, which escap'd the Press, the Reader is desir'd to Correct with his Pen, and pardon accidental Literal Faults, from the same Occasion.

- CHAPTER I. Of the Vast Extent of the Turkish Empire.

- CHAP. II. Of the Turkish Policy.

- CHAP. III. Of the Civil Government of the Turks.

- CHAP. IV. Of the Government Military.

- CHAP. V. Of their Naval Force.

- CHAP. VI. Of the Tenets of their Faith, and how differing from the Persians.

- CHAP. VII. Of the Ceremonies of the Turkish Religion.

- CHAP. VIII. Of the several Sects into which they are Divided.

- CHAP. IX. Of the Turkish Studies, and how far Learning is encourag'd among them.

- CHAP. X. Of the Turkish Morals.

- CHAP. XI. Of their Trade, Foreign and Domestick.

- CHAP. XII. Of the Turkish Habits.

- CHAP. XIII. Of their Wives, Concubines, Ways of Courtship, and Forms of Marriage.

- CHAP. XIV. Of the Turkish Women, in General.

- CHAP. XV. Of the Turkish Customs, and Ceremonies in Conversation.

- CHAP. XVI. Of the Turkish Funerals.

- CHAP. XVII. Of the Publick and Private Buildings of Turkey.

- CHAP. XVIII. Of the City of Constantinople.

- CHAP. XIX. Of the Grand Signior's Seraglio, and particularly the Apartment of his Women.

- CHAP. XX. Of the Revenues of the Turkish Sultan.

- CHAP. XXI. Of the Greeks in their Modern State.

- CHAP. XXII. Of the Graecian Religion.

- CHAP. XXIII. Of the Armenians and their Religion.

- CHAP. XXIV. Of the Copties.

- CHAP. XXV. Of the Zinganees, or the Race of the Gypsies.

- CHAP. XXVI. Of Sestos, and Abydos, the Castles Commanding the Hellespont, now call'd Dardanelli; and of the Ruins of Old Troy.

- CHAP. XXVII. Of the Islands in the Aegean Sea.

- CHAP. XXVIII. Of Alexandria in Egypt.

- CHAP. XXIX. Of Aethiopia, and the Source of the Nile, with the Cause, Manner, and Continuance, of its Annual Inundation.

- CHAP. XXX. Of the Government of Egypt.

- CHAP. XXXI. Of the Learning and Morals of the Egyptians.

- CHAP. XXXII. Of the Beasts, Birds and Serpents of Egypt.

- CHAP. XXXIII. Of the Cities of Grand-Cairo, Memphis and Babylon.

- CHAP. XXXIV. Of the Pyramids of Egypt, and of several New Discoveries therein, which were never yet Publish'd.

- CHAP. XXXV. Of the Trade of Egypt.

- CHAP. XXXVI. Of the Revenues of Egypt, and to what Ʋses they are Applied.

- CHAP. XXXVII. Of the Egyptian Catacombs, and the Mummys, which are found in the Ancient Sepulchres of their Dead.

- CHAP. XXXVIII. Of that Part of Egypt, formerly the Land of Goshen, and of the Passage of Caravans, thro' the Libyan Desarts.

- CHAP. XXXIX. Of the Present State of the Holy-Land.

- CHAP. XL. Of Jerusalem. The Sacred Antiquities therein con tain'd, and the Entertainment of Strangers in the Christian Monastery on Mount-Calvary.

- CHAP. XLI. Of the Cities of Palestine, as they now are.

- CHAP. XLII. Of the River Jordan, and the Dead Sea, or Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah.

- CHAP. XLIII. Of the Present State of the Christian Religion in Palestine.

- CHAP. XLIV. Of Arabia the Stony.

- CHAP. XLV. Of Arabia the Desart.

- CHAP. XLVI. Of Arabia, the Happy.

- CHAP. XLVII. Of the Red-Sea.

- CHAP. XLVIII. Of the Turks Pilgrimage to their Prophet's Birth-Place, and their Ceremonies at Mecca and Me dina Telnabi.

- CHAP. XLIX. Of the Arabians, their Government, and way of Living.

- CHAP. L. Probable Conjectures, concerning the Ten Tribes of Israel, which were carried away Captive, by Shalmanezer, King of Assyria. 2 Kings. Chap, 17.

- CHAP. LI. Instructions to the Traveller, who wou'd make a Safe, and Profitable Journey into the Eastern Coun tries.

- CHAP. LII. The CONCLUSION.

The Present STATE OF AETHIOPIA, &c.

FINIS.

A Full and Just ACCOUNT OF THE Present State OF The Ottoman Empire In all its Branches: WITH The Government, and Policy, Religion, Customs, and Way of Living of the Turks, in General. FAITHFULLY RELATED From a Serious OBSERVATION, taken in many Years TRAVELS thro' those Countries.

By AARON HILL, Gent.

Coelum, non Animum mutant, qui trans mare Currunt.

Hor. Epist. 11. L. 1.

LONDON, Printed for the Author, and are to be Sold, by John Mayo, Stationer and Printer, at the Printing-Press in Fleet-Street, Anno Domini, 1709.

ANNE R.

WHEREAS our Trusty and Welbeloved AARON HILL, Gent. has Humbly Represented unto us, that he has, with great Care, Labour, and Expence, Compil'd and Prepar'd for the Press, a Book, Entituled, The Present State of AETHIOPIA, EGYPT, the Three ARABIA's, PALESTINE, and the Whole OTTOMAN EMPIRE, and has therefore Humbly besought us, to Grant him our Royal Priviledge, and License, for the Sole Printing and Publishing thereof; for the Term of Fourteen Years. We, being willing to give all due Encouragement to Works of this Nature, tending to the Improvement of Useful Knowledge, are Graciously Pleas'd to Condescend to his Request: And we do therefore, by these Presents, Grant unto him, the said AARON HILL, his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, OUR ROYAL LICENCE, for the Sole Printing, and Publishing, the Present State of AETHIOPIA, EGYPT, the Three ARABIA's, PALESTINE, and the Whole OTTOMAN EMPIRE, aforesaid, for the Term of Fourteen Years from the Date hereof, strictly Forbidding all our Subjects, within our Kingdoms and Dominions, to Reprint the same, either in the like, or in any other Volume or Volumes, whatsoever, or to Import, Buy, Vend, Utter, or Distribute any Copies thereof, Reprinted beyond the Seas, During the aforesaid Term, of Fourteen Years, without the Consent, or Approbation, of the said AARON HILL, his Heirs, Executors, and Assigns, under his or their Hands and Seals, first had and obtain'd, as they will answer the Contrary at their Peril, whereof the Commissioners, and other Officers of our CUSTOMS, the Master, Wardens, and Company of STATIONERS, are to take Notice, that the same may be Entred in the Rigister of the said Company, and that DUE OBEDIENCE be rendred thereunto.

Given at our Court at St. James's, the Nineteenth Day of February, 1708/9. In the Seventh Year of Our Reign.
By Her Majesties Command, SƲNDERLAND.

H. Hulsbergh Sculp.
•…NE SOLUM FORTI P•…OPRIUM
Mr. AARON HILL. Aetatis Suae 24 Ao Domi 1709

THE DEDICATION, To The QUEEN.

MADAM,

WERE it Possible for me to offer at your ROYAL FEET, a Tribute, so Important, as to MERIT your MAJESTY'S Acceptance, I had never paid my Debt of Duty, in so poor a Manner; But, since the Smile of HEAVEN, upon the WIDOWS MITE, Instructs us, that the WILL, not POWER, must Enrich the Offering; I am almost led to hope, YOUR MAJESTY will Stoop to the Reception of so Low a Present, when you shall be pleas'd to know, 'tis all, I have to give; For LIFE, and FORTUNE are so firmly Yours already, that I cannot hope to tast the Length of one, or Worth of t'other, but by holding BOTH in Your MAJESTY'S Disposal.

THE Sacred Power of PIOUS MAJESTY, Commands not only Love, and Loyalty, from Subjects, and Dependants, but (as the Attractive Virtue of the Wond'rous MAGNET draws the Sturdy IRON to its Sway,) may Challenge an Authority, to Rule the Salvage Minds of Independant Infidels. The Mighty Glories of your MAJESTY'S Successful Reign have bent more Kingdoms than You Govern, to an Envy of the BRITONS, Happy in Your Influences; And Experience Taught me, that while BRITAINS NAME is NOW the Praise, and Wonder of such Nations, as BEFORE scarce knew it, The Prodigious Honour, paid Her NAME, is only owing to the Virtues of Her MONARCH.

TO whom then, MIGHTY QUEEN, shou'd I Address my Self for a Protection of my Labours, but to the THRONE of MAJESTY, where CRITIC'S Malice, and the Sting of CENSURE cannot Reach me, and where HEAVEN has seem'd to Point our Marks of Duty, and Humility to lie, as by the Seat of MERCY, and the VICEROY of OMNIPOTENCE.

BE therefore pleas'd, Great Ruler of the HEARTS, as well as PERSONS of Your People, to accept this humble Offering, which I lay, with Duty at Your GRACIOUS FEET; For, as the small Improvement, many Years continued Travels, thro' the Rougher Corners of the World, have made me Conscious of, may so be Crown'd with the Great Honour of YOUR NOTICE, all my Future Aims, and Utmost Applications shall be, how to make my Self attain one Step above the Character, which now I can with Honesty, and Faithfulness, lay hearty Claim to, of,

MADAM,
YOƲR MAJESTY'S Most Dutiful, but least Deserving Subject, and Servant, AARON HILL.

THE PREFACE.

IT was an admirable Observation of Sir ROGER L'ESTRANGE, That a Book, that Fac'd the World without a PREFACE, shou'd be look'd upon, as much Unfinish'd, as a BEAU, who comes to Court without a PERRIWIG; For it is not only grown a kind of Law, by long continu'd Custom, but is even become a Necessary Labour for the Vindication of a Man, who dares assume the Name of Author, from the not alone Sharp Criticisms, but Reflections, and Scurrilities, he will be sure to meet with.

WE Live, it seems, in a Fault-finding Age, and 'tis almost become a Crime, or Argument of Softness, (a New-fashion'd Word for Folly) in a Gentleman, to Read a Book, with any other Aim, than to Condemn, or Censure what he Ʋnderstands not.

I'M sure, I have just Reason to affirm a Truth, I have been taught by the Ingratitude, (I wou'd not willingly make use of a more Sharp Expression) of some Country-Men of mine, who, by the Baseness of their Tempers, and Malicious Aims of Disappointed Envy, took, I hope, more Pains than Ʋsual, to Convince me, that my Native BRITAIN, cou'd produce as Barbarous, and Sordid Wretches, as I ever met with in my Conversation with the Infidels.

THE Reasons, which induc'd me to Address the World, with an Account of what I had observ'd, in Travelling so many Years together, were not Vanity, Ambition, Mercenary Hopes, or any of the Common Motives, which urge Great Numbers on to Write, and build them up to the Fond Name of Author: Heaven indu'd me with a Soul, too Honest to become a Prostitute to the Poor Dross of Interest; Nor were my Circumstances such, as might reduce me to a Want of those Advantages, which have too often made a Good Man, Infamous.

HENCE, Perhaps, I found so many Enemies, for we are now Ʋnhappily Divided into such Disorder'd Factions, Open Discords, and Ʋnaccountable By-Interests, that Honesty it Self is measur'd by Opinion, and the Scale of Merit is Out-ballanc'd by Partiality; so that, when a Man is recommended to the World, as worth Regard, The first Examination, made about him is, Who sides he with? And a Report is given of his Capacity, or Principles, according to the Party, he may Chance to Vote for.

POSSIBLY, I have been represented, as a Zealous Stickler for some Party, or perhaps, been thought to Side with None, as not too fond of Either; which of these have made me Enemies, I can't determine, or if I have Enemies at all, since it may be, 'tis the Fashion to Discourage VVriters, for endeavouring to take more Useful Pains than other People. Be it one, or t'other, I can only say, I shou'd (if any) be exempt from Prejudice on that Account, since I have been so little Resident in England, that I never yet found time to think on Parties, any further than to wish there were no Ill-divided Ones, so much as dream't of in the Kingdom.

MY Friends Perswasions, when I came from Travelling, engag'd me to comply with their Desires, in Publishing this Book, which I more readily Assented to, because I knew, I cou'd say somewhat more, than had been seen, or told the World by Former Travellers, and I was naturally led to hope, my Youth might plead a Pardon for my Errors, since an Author, who attempts to Write at Four and Twenty, might (I thought) be readily Excus'd for more Mistakes, than will, I hope, in the Succeeding Sheets, disgust the Reader.

BƲT, there are a sort of People, who appear such Zealous Devotees to Malice, that no Reasonable Plea is Proof against 'em, Innocence it self is spurn'd by their Presumption, and they are so over-fond of Warring against Common Sense, Humanity, and Goodness, that, they generally blind their Judgments to indulge their Vices, and Attack the Castle, where 'tis ablest to Repulse them.

THIS has been my own Good-Luck, and the Ill-Fortune of my Censurers, whose Weak Objections, spread abroad for Ends, I am about to mention, were so Innoffensively Ridiculous, as to swell up with huge, and threat'ning Venom, but then burst like Toads, with their Self-dangerous Poyson. Yet tho' they hurt not me, their Guilt and Baseness is not less, than if I had been made a Sufferer by their Groundless Malice: For as the Poet has it,

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Who hurts me not, is not the Righteous Man,

But He, who will not hurt me, when he can.

THE Society of Booksellers have in a manner, quite engross'd the Press, and the Unhappy Circumstances of some Authors, having given them Opportunities to impose on their Necessities, by Purchasing for almost Nothing, their Ingenious Labours, and by making all the Gain their own Sole Property, Instructed them, like Sting-less Drones, to feed upon the Honey of Industrious Bees; they made Advantages of such Occasions, and Encroach'd so far, by gradual Advances, that they us'd all Authors, as they did their Poor Ones, and assum'd not only the Prerogative of Purchasing, for Inconsiderable Sums, the Brightest Copies, but pretended to be Judges of the Work it Self; when, probably, they knew not, what it Treated of.

HENCE they were Encourag'd to Impose upon the Town, by Printing Old Books, with New Titles, Selling Others at a Double Rate; and Authors, knowing, they cou'd reap no Profit from the Publication of their Writings, left 'em wholly to the Bookseller's Direction; whence the Press was commonly Corrected, and the Book expos'd to Publick View, with as much Nicety, and Learning, as became a Bookseller's Capacity.

BY having Printed some Few Little Essays of my own, the Common way, I went as far, as any Line cou'd reach, towards Fathoming the Conscience of a Bookseller, or Two, and thence became Acquainted with their Customs, well enough to care, as little as I cou'd, for Dealing with them; and, unwilling to have This Book come out, as Uncorrect, as it might probably have done, and see the Town impos'd on, by too High a Price, or let the Book come out too meanly Printed, or on Common Paper, I resolv'd to have it in my Power, to use the Buyers, as I wou'd be us'd my Self; and therefore, at my own Charge, undertook the Printing it, but was advis'd, (that I might run as little Hazard of a Loss, as Possible,) to do it by Subscription.

BƲT I was not thus deliver'd from the Imposition of the Booksellers, who pretended it their Right to have Two Books Gratis for Six Subscriptions; I refus'd to grant 'em this Extravagant Demand, and gave 'em often Publick Notice of my Resolution, whereupon, they made it their Endeavour to decry the Book with Open Malice, and discourage it as much as possible: But lest their Curr-like Howlings shou'd be scorn'd, alone, as Insignificantly Noisy, they procur'd some Little Pensioners of theirs to Act the Mastiff, and by joining in the Consort, bark the Base to their poor Trebles.

THE Justice of the Thing was, what they least regarded, 'twas enough for them to say, 'twas Bad. Tho' being ask'd the Cause, they cou'd reply no more than, that 'Twas so, because it was so. Argument was a strange Plant, to their thin Gardens. But it must be held, as an Undoubted Maxim, That it wou'd be an Unpardonable Crime, shou'd they promote an Author's Undertaking, who refuses to promote their Lawless Interest.

SOME have had the Simple Honesty to bring their Money to the Printer in a Rage, and Swear, they never had Subscrib'd, but that their Customers oblig'd 'em to it; owning freely, that they did the Book the greatest Injury, they cou'd, because the Author had refus'd to give 'em Two in Six for Nothing.

WELL, Sirs, go on with your Endeavours, I am above the Reach of your Detraction; Gain I sought not, and for other Matters, let the Book henceforward speak, in its own Vindication, I am only griev'd for those Unhappy Writing Gentlemen, too much Depress'd by Fortune, and thence Subject to your Tyranny.

I was grown so weary of the Mentioning the Booksellers, that I had resolv'd to say no more about 'em, when a certain Humour of a Member of that Good Fraternity, who has the Sign of the Green Dragon for Distinction, made me laugh at the Remembrance, and record him for an admirable Bargain-Maker.

HE had, with much ado, my Promise, by a Friends Entreaty, to allow him Eight, as he desir'd, with a Proviso, he shou'd take 'em all Unbound. But tho' he was Solicitous for nothing more, before I granted it, he humm'd a while, with a Wise Air of Contemplation, when I sent him Word, he might Subscribe so, and reply'd, He thought, that Nine 'twixt Man and Man, were very Reasonable. Had I granted those, he wou'd have ask'd for Ten, and so encreas'd, till I had found, if possible, the Measure of his Conscience.

MY Book lay Open, at the Printers, as it pass'd the Press, for free Perusal, and the Booksellers, and their Adherents, had thereby, an Opportunity to raise Objections, with Pretence of having read the Sheets, but, as I never heard one Censure yet, deserving Confutation, or indeed, requiring more than Common Sense, to Overthrow it, so I thought it only fit to let 'em Sink without regard, to their Original Obscurity. But if there shall be found a Gentleman, who meets with any thing, He justly may Object against, Let him be pleas'd to hint it, in a Letter for me, Directed to the Printer's House; and then, to Satisfie the World and him, I shall not think my Time Ill-spent, to Print it, with as large an Answer as is Necessary, in the Preface, I shall Publish, with the next Edition.

AND now, I leave the Booksellers to their Advantages, assuring them, I owe them no Ill-Will, and only say thus much, to Justifie my Book against their Calumnies; If Profit cou'd have brib'd my Tongue, or Hopes of their Good Character have stifled my Affection to Plain-Dealing, I had never been so Open, in my Declarations of their Artifices; Justice always guides my Pen, nor can Rewards, Desire of Praise, or Fear of any Man's Ill-Word, divert my Course of Truth, from its Direct, and Uncorrupted Channel, Contrary to the Assertion of the Celebrated Juvenal.

Jvu. Sat. 10.

—Tanto major Famae sitisest, quam Ipsam,

Virtutis; Quis enim virtutem amplectitur

Praemia si tollas?

So much more Pow'rful is the Thirst of Fame

Than the Neglected Virtue's Honest Aim;

For who Courts Virtue, or can long Obey,

When the Rewards, She gives, are snatch'd away?

I shall only add, that, as 'tis evidently True, The Methods, I have taken, were as Just and Honourable, as was possible, The Malice, which inclin'd these People to oppose 'em, was a Plain Effect of something in their Principles, not altogether reconcilable to Justice; For where Honesty Encounters Honesty, a Sympathetic Harmony is found between 'em, and we have the Words of an Experienc'd Greek, to teach us, that,

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One Good-Man never Hates another.

SOME Snarlers do, and many more may Cavil at the Style, I have made use of, and the Weightiest Arguments, they bring against it, are, that it appears Affected, and Elaborate; That 'tis Dress'd in a Romantic Air, and that in short, 'tis so like Poetry, that it runs into Blank Verse Measure, and becomes a kind of Prose-Poetic Composition.

'TIS methinks, ungratefully receiv'd, if Censur'd, on so Weak a Ground-Work; For, I doubt not, but the Learned Reader will perceive no greater Difference in the Style, throughout the Book, than where 'tis purposely design'd, according to the Various Natures of the Subjects, Treated on; and a Judicious Tast will easily distinguish, that the Language flows more negligently, than it Climbs Affectedly, in all the Treatise.

BESIDES, allowing, I had taken Pains, by an Elaborate Bent of Application, to Compose a Style, which I might be Deceiv'd in thinking Good, 'twou'd be but Generous, and becoming the Humanity of all, who read it, rather to excuse the Real Errors, than create Imaginary Ones, because the Fault, I had committed, cou'd proceed from Nothing, but an ardent Inclination, to endeavour more than Ordinary, the Satisfaction of the Reader.

AS for its being Dress'd in a Romantic Air, were that Malicious Accusation full as Just, as 'tis Absurd, I cannot see the Reasons, why it shou'd be look'd upon, as an Objection. Every Body Knows, the Language of Romances differs from more Serious Writings, only in the Fine Descriptions, Florid Speeches, Artful Turns, and Winning Eloquence, which are made use of, to Adorn and Recommend a Feign'd Relation; and by Covering the Flaws, occasion'd by its Want of Truth, excite as Noble Thoughts, and raise as Emulative an Esteem of Honour, in the Reader's Soul, as if 'twere Real. And if the abovenam'd Ornaments can Shine so Brightly, in a False Account of Things, and Places, surely when they are Additionally Strengthen'd by the Truth, as well as Novelty, of what they Treat of, vpon Second Thoughts, those Selfconfounding Critics, who have Censur'd me, on this Account, will find, that, what they aim'd, as an Abuse, has prov'd a Compliment.

AND just as Weak an Argument is that, which blames my Language, as Poetical; For I wou'd only ask those Gentlemen, who broke their Shins, by Stumbling upon that Objection, What was the Original Design of Poetry; and, if they know so much, they'll Answer me, 'Twas Introduc'd for Pious Ends, and Practis'd first, to Win Mankind from Guilt and Follies, by the Sweet Insinuation of Harmonious Doctrine; for the Force of Numbers bears a kind of Unresisted Charm, which, having first bewitch'd the Senses, penetrates the Ear, and Warbles Smoothly thro' the Soul, dissolving Passion in a Flood of Pleasure.

WELL then, this granted me, must consequently speak it undeniable, That Poetry is Fittest to Command Attention, and it follows, that the nearer, Prose can Imitate it, so much more 'twill tempt the Soul, to listen to its Eloquence, and if that be all the Ill, my Style is Guilty of, I may presume, the World will easily forgive me.

EPITHETS are certainly the Life of an Expression, and if using them a little oft'ner, and more Artfully, than commonly we do, will not alone adorn our Language with a Smoother Cadence, and Compleater Harmony, but add a Sparkling kind of Vigour to the Style, they're us'd in, why shou'd Men persist in an Old Error, rather than submit to take Example, from the Practice of another.

I know not any Book, before my own, that has been Writ this way, and consequently cou•d not hope to Introduce a Novelty, without encount'ring Ever-arm'd Ill-Nature; Even were my Style as free from Faults, as I cou'd Wish it, 'twou'd have Enemies, because 'tis New, and how can any Lower Aim that way, expect to Prosper Unoppos'd, when, even the Glorious Reformations of our Church, and Government, have many Foes, who dare Reproach 'em.

AMONG the Few, who I heard, were Wise enough to think the Arguments, fore-nam'd, a Proof of their Capacities. There is it seems, a kind of Talking Spark, who holds an Office in the Exchequer, very fond of Raillery; He thinks, that he has Wit enough to make Atonement for his Want of Memory, or I shou'd take the Liberty to Blame him, for forgetting, he attempted once to make himself an Author; But the Itch, that Juvenal calls Scribendi Cacoethes, wanting Force to lift him higher, than the Character of Horace's Promissor Hiatu, he fell down, like Icarus, and Drown'd himself in Infamy, thence losing all Right of Pretence to Censure Others, by the Miserable Insufficiency of his own Labours.

SATYR is a kind of dangerous Edg'd-Tool, and, like a Razor in a Monkey's Paw, will cut the Fingers of a Fool, who trys to use it; Wit, like Fame, is very Coy, and Hates a Ravisher, She Sports, and Wantons, like the Nimble Dolphin, in her Native Channel, but, like Herrings, Dies immediately, and Stinks, out of her own Element.

THERE are a sort of People, to so Silly a Degree, the Enemies of their own Character, that Silence, tho' the only Skreen, to hide their Want of Common Sense, is most a Stranger to their Daily Practice; These are to be Pitied, and it wou'd be Happy, since they are Blind of Soul, cou'd there be found a Mental Occulist, of Skill enough, to Couch the Catataracts of their Obscur'd Capacities, that when their Eyes of Reason, wou'd permit their Judgment to see Clearly, they might borrow a Latin Dictionary, and try to Construe the Two Verses, following.

Juv. Sat. 2.

—Felicia tempora, quae Te

Moribus opponunt, habeat jam Roma pudorem!

THAT I might not alone Inform, but please my Reader, I have taken care in the Succeeding Sheets, to Introduce as many Stories, as I cou'd, with different Aims, for some are Moral, some Diverting, others Melancholy, and of all Kinds some. The only Fault, which can be found with this, is, that it is Digressive from the Subject of my Book: 'Tis true, and so are all the Moral, and Occasional Reflections, scatter'd up and down, yet doubt I not, but, as the Last will be acceptable to Honest People, on account of the Good Doctrine, they contain, (and which I ever hope to bear in my Remembrance) so the First will find a Welcome, for the Diversion, they may give Unprejudic'd Perusers.

AS some may like my Book the better, others will, I question not, complain, that my Quotations from the Classic Authors are too frequently Applied; to this I need reply no more, than that they struck my Memory, as I was Writing, and were thence Transcrib'd, as they occurr'd by Accident: Yet this I dare be pretty sure of, that there's none, will Censure me for the Respect, I bear the Classics, in so often mentioning their Thoughts, but such Poor Wretches, as for want of Tast, are made Incapable of Prizing, or, for Want of Learning, cannot Understand them.

AS I have little Reason to believe my Judgement, any ways Superlative, I will not say, but I have Injur'd them in the Translation; Where the Lines wou'd bear a Literal Version, I have rend'red the Expressions English, Word for Word, but where I cou'd not come so near the very Words, without destroying all the Harmony, I thought it better, to make Ʋse of the Assistance of a Paraphrase, yet still preserv'd Entire, the Genuine Sense of the Original.

A Literal Translation commonly appears Confin'd, Uneasy, Close, and Aukward, like a Streight-Lac'd Lady in her New Made Stays, but when the Version has put on an Easy Paraphrase, and the Fine Lady is compleatly Dress'd, with Ribbons, Manteau, and her Looser Ornaments, tho' they are still the same, they were before, they brightly double Former Graces, and become Adorn'd with an Attractive Majesty.

ONE Sucking Critic, after having turn'd the Book over and over, at the Printers, with a Design to Practise the Discerning Art, he had so lately taken on him, fix'd at last upon this Translation of the following Line,

Coelum, non Animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt,

Men, who o'er Seas, to Distant Countries roll,

Oft Change their Climate, but Retain their Soul.

NOW says he, did ever any Mortal see so Silly a Translation? I am sure, this Author can be no Great Scholar, for Coelum here is Latin for Heaven, and you see, there's no such Word, as Heaven, in the whole Two Verses.

O Tempora! O Mores! to how strange a Length Extends Ill-Nature, Malice, and Hypochrisy! Who knows, which way to please a World, that only can be pleas'd by their own Actions! Vanity is grown the Epidemic Plague, which robs us of our Judgment, and a Daily Proof of the Opiniated Blindness of Mankind in General, serves to show us the Necessity of Learning, that,

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The Maxim, KNOW YOUR SELF, is really grown

Useful in every Place, thought so in None.

PRETENDING to Condemn all Actions, but our own, is common now, from even the Courtier to the Cottage, and Deceit is Dress'd in such an Air of Honesty, they cannot often be distinguish'd from Each Other; Ignorance, Assisted by a Grave Assurance, passes currant for the Depth of Learning; Censure is Esteem'd a Proof of Judgment, and Pretended Merit Elbows from her Throne the Real Virtue. Were but Seneca now living, justly might he add more Sharp Invectives to the following Exclamation.

Sen. Tra. Hip.

O vita fallax! abditos sensus geris,

Animisque pulchram turpibus faciem induis,

Pudor Impudentem celat, Audacem Quies,

Pietas Nefandum.

—O thou Fallacious Life!

What Hidden Faculties in thee we find!

With a Fair Face thou Cloak'st a Sordid Mind;

A Modest Air Disguises Impudence,

Bullies, to Peace make Counterfeit Pretence,

And Pious Carriage hides the Sinful Wretch.

I hope, I need not Fear, that any Man will Carp at my attempting to Translate at all, the Authors, I have Quoted, since the Book will probably be read by many, who can only Ʋnderstand the English, and the Men of Letters, reading the Original, may, if they please, pass over the Translation.

THE Stretch of Malice is so very wide, that it has Seiz'd, among my Censurers, a Pastor of the Church, of which, tho' an Unworthy, I'm an Honest Member, and am therefore very Sorry that, to Justifie my Self from the Aspersions of his Tongue, I am oblig'd to do a thing, so much against my Nature, as expose the Follies, (I am loth to think 'em Worse) of one, who has the Honour to Officiate in the Cause of Christ, and thence shou'd rather Merit the Profound Respect, my Nature teaches me to bear the Cloath, I hope, he will not long be so Unworthily Possess'd of; Men, tho' never so Religious, are not wholly free from Mortal Frailties, He may, possibly, Repent hereafter, tho' I see, as yet, but little Likelyhood of such an Alteration.

I must own, I was surpriz'd, beyond Expression, when, (after having urg'd him to forbear some False, and Scurrilous Reflections, on a
Dr. G--th.

Gentleman of Worth, and Learning in a high Degree,) I saw him Strike his Fist upon the Table, and cry out in Passion, before many Witnesses, Endeavour not to Justifie him, he's a V---n, R---e, and R---l, and I'll run him down, with all the Spite, and Malice, I am capable of uttering. And, to do the Lecturer Justice, he's as Capable of Both, as any Man in Christendom.

I had not wonder'd to have heard this Speech from some Robust, and Brawny Grenadier; But when Mr. D--b--ns, a Parson, utter'd it, from whom I look'd for better Doctrine, I was frighted at the Emphasis, he put on his Expression, and starting backwards with uplifted Arms, cou'd scarce forbear repeating, Et Tu, Brute! as the Dying Caesar did to his Assassinate.

NAY thought I, if you, who from a Pulpit, every Week Instruct the World, can thus by your Example, contradict your Precepts, you may be as well, for ought I know, a Breaker of the Whole Contexture of Religion, which you Preach, and live a Life of Wickedness in every kind, as well as this. If so, I must declare with Juvenal.

Juv. Sat. 2.

Ultra Sauromatas fugere hinc libet, & Glacialem

Oceanum, quoties aliquid de Moribus audent,

Qui Curios simulant, & Bacchanalia vivunt.

Beyond the Tartars Realms I wish to be,

Or ev'n more Northward than the Green-land Sea,

As oft as Wretches dare Good Council give,

Who look like Saints, but more like Atheists Live.

'TIS true, I have less Cause to wonder at the Publick Defamations, he is pleas'd to make, on my Account, because he told me to my Face, that I had better not have Contradicted him, for he had a Considerable Acquaintance, and wou'd do my Book more Injury than I imagin'd; and, I thank his Conscience, he has try'd to keep his Word in this Particular.

I had not mention'd him, in Reverence to his Gown, but that the Credit, he obtains thereby, might easily incline all such, as know me not, to judge, he speaks as Truly, as he ought to do.

Juv. S. 14.

Fallit enim Vitium, specie Virtutis & umbra.

For Vice, when Dress'd like Virtue, oft Deceives.

A Holy Aspect, and the Justly Venerable Character of Clergyman, may easily delude Unthinking Multitudes, to Groundless Censures of Ʋnguarded Honesty. They know him not, and are Deceiv'd, by his Pretending to be free from Malice; therefore, I ow'd this Justice to my own Vindication; for his admirable Dissimulation, and Set Airs of Gravity are, as Persius says,

Persius, Sat. 3.

Ad Populum phaleras; Ego te intus, & in cute novi.

Trappings to please the Mob; But I've look'd in,

And know thy Well-cloak'd Conscience thro' thy Skin.

I hasten from a Subject, so unpleasing, as Complaint, to the more Generous Call of Humble Gratitude, which tells me loudly, that I cannot mention the Advantages, I had of other Travellers, without Rememb'ring, and Acknowledging to whom I ow'd them, and declaring to my Reader, that whate'er I know, and far the Worthiest Part of what I saw, was due to the Unmerited, but Boundless Generosity of that Glory to his Country, The Right Honourable the LORD PAGET, many Years Residing at Constantinople, as Ambassador Extraordinary, and so Wisely Managing that Slippery Post, that he deserves in all Respects, the Lofty Character, he bears in Turkey, of, The only Man, who ever cou'd Preserve the Favour of the Turks, and Interest of his Country, both together.

I went Abroad so very Young, that, after having Sail•d a Voyage, and made use of Accidental Opportunities to Visit Egypt, Palestine, and other Eastern Parts, I came to Constantinople time enough, to owe the Best Improvements of my Education, to the Generous Care of this Wise Nobleman, whose Instructions and Example, gave me first a Notion of the World, and under whose Protection I was afterwards so Happy, as to see it to Advantage, having had the Honour to attend him, from the Turkish Court to England, in a Journey over Land, thro' almost all the Celebrated Parts of Christendom.

THE Great Discretion, Sure Dispatch, and admirable Policy, wherewith he manag'd the Important Business of his Embassy, were such, as won him so Uncommon a Respect, from all the Turkish Ministers of State, that under the Extensive Umbrage of his Interest, any Man, who took upon him the Protective Name of Englishman, was sure to meet, in every Part of their Dominions, more Civilities, and Toleration, than the Christian Travellers, of any other Country whatsoever, cou'd pretend to hope for.

HENCE a Thousand Marks of Favour were Conferr'd, at several Times, on many of our Countrymen, and hence I snatch'd the Lucky Opportunity of Seeing, with some other English Travellers, in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Two, the Great Seraglio at Constantinople, so much farther, than had been before permitted; The Grand Signior being then at Adrianople, and his Ladies with him, at his Palace in that City.

I have little now to add, but that I wish with all my Heart, the Reader cou'd be promis'd a sufficient Share of Satisfaction, in the Perusing the succeeding Sheets, to make Atonement for the Tedious Time, the Book has been expected. Malice is so very Prevalent, and every Man so naturally apt, to put the Worst Construction on another's Actions, that there are but Few, who wou'd omit so fair an Opportunity of Justifying a Delay, so unavoidable, from the Examples of the Greatest Men, who ever Publish'd Books this way.

BƲT, as I seek not the Applause, and very heartily despise the Censures of the Snarling, Ignorant, and Ungenerous Vulgar, I Address my Plea to such alone, as Learning, or a Native Nobleness of Soul has Qualify'd, for Serious, and Impartial Judges, and those (I dare presume to hope) will easily perceive, that if the Book has been a little longer, than it was Propos'd, in coming out; it was no Fault of mine, but owing to the Common Slowness of Proceeding, us'd in all Books, Printed by Subscription.

HOWEVER, as the Great Incouragement, I met with, from the Numbers of Subscribers to this First Impression, leaves an Inconsiderable Quantity for Sale, I am already Printing off a Second Edition, with the utmost speed imaginable, and have taken care, to use such Means, in hast'ning on the Press, that if I set another Time, it shall be, when I find my Self assur'd, that I can keep it Punctually.

AS I have heard no more Objections, that the very Weak Ones, I endeavour'd to Confute, in the Beginning of the Preface, I can now enlarge no further, in Defence of Book, or Author, but, since I have made so fair an Offer, of Obliging all Objectors with the utmost Satisfaction, Truth can give them, I wou'd willingly perswade my Self to hope, that none will be so Groundlessly Ill-Natur'd, as to force a War with one, who holds the Peaceful Palm before him, as a Tutelary Mark, for the Protection of his Labours.

NOTHING sure is Blacker, than Detraction; Hells Wide Store-House yields no Sin, of a more Damning Nature; and methinks, no Subject of a Christian Country, shou'd indulge his Malice, by a Blushless Declaration of Egregious Falshoods, with Design to Stain a Good-Man's Character, when the Speaking Well of, nay, the Using Well those very Men, who most Abuse us, is by the Divine Decree of Christ Himself, Enjoyn'd us, as a Duty, and the very Maxim of a Heathen in the following Verses, serve to Shame the Daily Practices of many Men, who openly Avow a Zealous Love of Conscience, and Religion.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

'Tis a Good Custom to Speak Well of all,

But Cruel to Abuse, ev'n such, as really Fall.

HOWEVER, if 'tis possible, there shou'd be found a sort of Men, who out of Blind Affection to the Dictates of Ill-Nature, are resolv'd to Damn, what e'er they Read, and only Read for that Base Purpose, I shall look upon them, as Unworthy, not of the Resentment only, but the very Notice of an Honest Man, and e'en Content my Self to say with Persius.

Pers. Sat. 3.

—Gigni

De nihilo nihil, in nihilum nil posse reverti.

A LIST OF THE SUBSCRIBERS NAMES.

A.

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- John Ashlin, in Bedford-street.

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G.

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I.

- THE Right Honourable, Lady Jermyn.

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R.

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T.

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V.

- WIlliam Vane, Esq

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- Mr. John Wharton.

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- Walter West, Gent.

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- Mr. N. Weld.

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- Francis Woodcock, Gent.

- Mr. John White.

- Mr. Thomas Wilson, Apothecary.

- Doctor Waller, of Newport-Pagnel.

- Mr. Gamaliel Webb.

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Y.

- Mr. John Yarwell, Pellmell.

- John Young, Esq

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- Mr. John Young, Druggist.

THE HEADS Of the Two and Fifty CHAPTERS Are as follow.

- I. OF the vast Extent of the Turkish Empire. Page 1.

- II. Of the Turkish Policy. P. 5.

- III. Of the Civil Government of the Turks. P. 9.

- IV. Of their Government Military. P. 18.

- V. Of their Naval Force. P. 29.

- VI. Of the Tenets of their Faith, and how differing from the Persians. P. 38.

- VII. Of the Ceremonies of the Turkish Religion. P. 46.

- VIII. Of the several Sects, into which they are divided. P. 58.

- IX. Of the Turkish Studies, and how far Learning is encourag'd among them. P. 65.

- X. Of the Turkish Morals. P. 76.

- XI. Of their Trade, Foreign and Domestick. P. 85.

- XII. Of the Turkish Habits. P. 92.

- XIII. Of their Wives, Concubines, Ways of Courtship, and Forms of Marriage. P. 96.

- XIV. Of the Turkish Women in general. P. 109.

- XV. Of the Turkish Customs, and Ceremonies in Conversation. P. 116.

- XVI. Of the Turkish Funerals. P. 124.

- XVII. Of the Publick and Private Buildings in Turkey. P. 129.

- XVIII. Of the City of Constantinople. P. 135.

- XIX. Of the Grand Signior's Seraglio. P. 147.

- XX. Of his Revenues. P. 170.

- XXI. Of the Greeks in their Modern State. P. 173.

- XXII. Of the Graecian Religion. P. 182.

- XXIII. Of the Armenians, and their Religion. P. 185.

- XXIV. Of the Copties. P. 190.

- XXV. Of the Zinganees, or the Race of the Gypsies. P. 194.

- XXVI. Of Sestos and Abidos, the Castles commanding the Hellespont, now call'd Dardanelli, and of the Ruins of Old Troy. P. 202.

- XXVII Of the Islands in the Aegean Sea. P. 207.

- XXVIII. Of Alexandria in Egypt. P. 219.

- XIX. Of Aethiopia, and the Source of the Nile, with the Cause, Manner and Continuance of its Annual Inundation. P. 222.

- XXX. Of the Government of Egypt. P. 227.

- XXXI. Of the Learning and Morals of the Egyptians. P. 230.

- XXXII. Of the Beasts, Birds, and Serpents of Egypt. P. 233.

- XXXIII. Of the Cities of Grand-Cairo, Memphis, and Babylon. P. 237.

- XXXIV. Of the Pyramids of Egypt, and several new Discoveries therein, never yet Publish'd. P. 245.

- XXXV. Of the Trade of Egypt. P. 259.

- XXXVI. Of the Revenues of Egypt, and to what Ʋses applied. P. 262.

- XXXVII. Of the Egyptian Mummies, found in the Ancient Sepulchres of their Dead. P. 263.

- XXXVIII. Of that Part of Egypt, formerly the Land of Goshen, and of the Passage of Caravans thro' the Libyan Desarts. P. 272.

- XXXIX. Of the present State of the Holy-Land. P. 275.

- XL. Of Jerusalem, the Sacred Antiquities therein contain'd, and the Entertainment of Strangers in the Christian Monastery on Mount Calvary. P. 278.

- XLI. Of the Cities of Palestine, as they now are. P. 291.

- XLII. Of the River Jordan, and the Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah. P. 296.

- XLIII. Of the present State of the Christian Religion in Palestine. P. 299.

- XLIV. Of Arabia the Stony. P. 303.

- XLV. Of Arabia the Desart. P. 307.

- XLVI. Of Arabia the Happy. P. 312.

- XLVII. Of the Red Sea. P. 314.

- XLVIII. Of the Turks Pilgrimage to Mahomet's Tomb, with their Ceremonies at Mecca and Medina Telnaby. P. 317.

- XLIX. Of the Arabians, their Government, and Way of Living. P. 325.

- L. Probable Conjectures concerning the Ten Tribes of Israel, which were carried away Captive, by Shalmanezer, King of Assyria, 2 Kings Chap. 17. P. 328.

- LI. Instructions to the Traveller, who would make a Safe and Profitable Journey into those Parts. P. 332.

- LII. The Conclusion. P. 338.

The following ERRATA, which escap'd the Press, the Reader is desir'd to Correct with his Pen, and pardon accidental Literal Faults, from the same Occasion.

IN the two last Lines of the last Paragraph of Page 257, read, instead of round with stately Chambers, &c. round stately Chambers, &c. indented with, &c.

In the Preface, Page 14. Line 2. for Prentence, read Pretence.

In the Body of the Book, Page 3. Line 46. for Balsora read Balsara. P. 26 l. 17, r. Incapacitated. p. 36 l. 16, r. address'd. P. 96, for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 P. 115 l. 1, r. Quey P. 119, for Numquam r. Nunquam. P. 125 l. 1, r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. P. 143, r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. P. 150 l. 22, for dicisis r. decisis. P. 167 l. 11, r. Congratulatory. P. 168 l. 11, r. Scene for Scent. P. 169. in the last line of the Greek, add 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 after 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. P. 171 l. 37, r. Incapacitated. P. 196 l. 12, for Degree, r. Decree. P. 204 l. 11, r. Corn. P. 226, for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. P. 206 l. 35, r. L'Histoire de L'Asie. P. 245, r. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. P. 320 l. 48, r. Rabbiie, instead of Babile. P. 321 l. 18, for Declaration, r. Declamation.

CHAPTER I. Of the Vast Extent of the Turkish Empire.

The Cause of the Turks Success.

THE Turks arriv'd at their amazing Grandeur from so obscure an Origin, that the invaded World stood wondering at their Growing Fortunes, while they shou'd have endeavour'd to repulse, by a vigorous Opposition, the bold Incursions of their encroaching Numbers. And as at this Day they owe the quiet Possession of their former Acquisitions to the Supine Negligence, and Civil Discords of the Christian World; so the same Neglects, and dissonant Interests and Affections, first built their Glory on the Entire Subversion of our Jarring Ancestors. But 'twill be needless to insert here any more of their History than will be found necessary, for the more easy Comprehension of their present Condition.

The Origin of the Turks.

WHETHER push'd on by Famine, or expell'd by the prevailing Power of contending Neighbours, is altogether uncertain, A Body of Adventurous Scythians forsook their Country, in the Year of Christ; 844, and, inur'd to Hardships by the daily Prospects of Familiar Dangers, pass'd o'er the Caspian Mountains, and wrested forcibly the Possession of ARMENIA MAJOR from its surpriz'd Inhabitants. From the Appellation of its New-come Masters, it receiv'd its present Name of TƲRCOMANIA, who strengthen'd by the daily Accession of their Wand'ring Countrymen, grew strongly planted in their Conquer'd Habitation, and were, soon after, able to send 3000 Men, under the Command of Tangrolipix the Chief of the Selzuccians, a Family Eminent among them, to the Assistance of Mahomet the Persian Sultan, who by their prevailing Valour, gave a happy turn to his declining Fortune: But the Babylonian Caliph being Overthrown, Tangrolipix offering to withdraw his Forces, was detain'd unwillingly by the Arbitrary Power of his ungrateful Ally: This bred a warm Resentment in the Turkish Soldiers, who retiring to a Wood, increas'd their Numbers by a daily Reception of deserting Persians;
Their Advancement to the Empires of Persia and Babylon.

till at last, they Overthrew the Sultan in a bloody Battle, and by the mutual Consent of both Armies, Tangrolipix, in place of the deceas'd Mahomet, was declar'd Sultan of Persia and Babylon. Stupendious Fortune favour'd the Attempts of his active Successors, till the Glorious Expedition of the United Christians redeem'd the Conquer'd Syria from their Usurp'd Dominion.
Their Ruin by the Tartars.

Various was their future Fortune, sometimes Gaining, sometimes Losing, till the Empire of Tangrolipix was wholly Subverted by an unexpected Inundation of the Conquering Tartars;
They rise again.

To whom the Flying Turks abandon'd the Possession of their enlarg'd Dominions, and joining with their Country-Men of the Selzuccian Race in Asia Minor, they follow'd the Fortunes of the Successful Aladine, who Invading the neglected Corners of the Graecian Empire, then Warring with the Latines, Possess'd himself of Cilicia and the Neighbouring Countries, Erecting, at Sebastia, the Arbitrary Throne of a New-won Kingdom.

Are entirely ruin'd in all Parts.

BUT they enjoy'd not long a quiet Possession of their easy Conquests, for the •arring Sons of Aladine dismembred their Dominion by a mutual Opposition to each others Interest, till the fourth King from the Founder of that Monarchy, became a Tributary Vassal to the Victorious Tartar, who had now entirely broken their large Empire in the Greater Asia, as the Successful Mamalukes had drove their Country-Men out of Egypt: But the Tartars neglecting their numerous Acquisitions, the remaining Turks seeing no Power to prevent their Wills, divided with their Interests, the dismembred Country; And he that had Strength enough to take Possession, enjoy'd the Government of whatever Part his Inclination led him to make Choice of.

ERTOGRIEL, the Son of Solyman, a Principal Member of the Oguzian Family, had, with an unexpected Supply, successfully Assisted Sultan Aladine in a doubtful Battle; and was Rewarded with the Possession of Siguta, a Bithynian Lordship, in which he settled his separated Family, whose unstable Residence had, till then, oblig'd them to wander thro' the various Mazes of an uncertain Fortune: And after a long and peaceable Possession, having gain'd the Affection of Christians and Turks by his mild Disposition, he dy'd in the Year of Christ, 1289, and left behind him three Sons, Osman, Saragutin, and Iundas.

The Rise and Antiquity of the Ottoman Empire.

OSMAN was Elected by the Oguzians to his Fathers Government, who taking the opportunity of resenting some Outrages committed by the Neighb'ring Greeks, Invaded their Dominions, Overthrew their Armies in several Pitch'd Battles, and having made himself Master of the City of Nice, was, after the Death of Aladine, Elected to the Dignity of Sultan, and reigning 27 Years, he wrested from the Greeks, Cappadocia, Bithynia, and most of the Fortify'd Towns which border'd on the Euxine Sea, till in the Year 1300, he chose Neapolis for his Regal Seat, and from thence we date the Original of the present Turkish Empire.

Then successive Conquests.

OSMAN was Succeeded by his Son Ʋrchan, whose successful Attempts on the Graecian Provinces, so much enlarg'd his Dominions, that he fix'd his Seat of Empire at the Great City of Prusa; which retain'd that Honour until Mahomet the First, after several Acquisitions in the European Greece, removed it to Adrianople. The Successors of this Prince continued their Invasions on the remaining Branches of the Graecian Empire, till by the unparallell'd Negligence of the State, then disagreeing with their Emperour, they lost their Ancient City Constantinople, to the prevailing Forces of a Second Mahomet; who by this additional Glory, was justly Honour'd with the Title of Great; the Loss of their Metropolis was fatally succeeded, by an entire Subversion of their Shatter'd Empire.

Continuation of their History.

THE Successors of Mahomet by yearly Acquisitions enlarg'd their Territories in Europe and Asia; which at last not contenting them, the Victorious Selym extended his Dominion over Syria and Egypt; bringing the Arabians under his Authority, and raising the Foundation of a Larger Power, on the bloody Ruin of the Subverted Mamalukes; since when, the latter Sultans have added to their Dominions most of the Islands in the Aegean Sea; Rhodes, with those Noble Knights, who so vigorously Defended the Seat of their Order, submitted at last, to the Irresistible Power of the Successful Solyman; Cyprus was oblig'd to fall before the Conquering Armies of the Second Selym; and since then, so prodigiously have they spread their Conquests, that they now enjoy a free, and unmolested Possession of the Noblest Parts of Asia, Europe, and the Remoter Africa, on which Extensive Foundation, they have certainly built the most absolute Empire, and Arbitrary Monarchy, that has ever flourish'd since the Worlds Original.

Extent of the Turkish Empire.

FOR First, the Western Part of its European Dominion, is extended to the very Borders of the once-lost Hungary, stretching to the Adriatick by the Ragusean Confines, bounded on the South by the Mediterranean Sea, on the East with Pontus, Propontis and the Aegean, even to the Scythian Chersonesus; Poland and Russia scarce bound its Northern Limits. Within this vast Extent of Empire are contain'd, the fertil Territories of the fam'd Romania, Servia, Rascia, and Bulgaria: Valachia and Moldavia pay Tribute to its Power; Albania, Epirus, Macedonia, Bosnia and Greece, are now entirely Turkish; and the fruitful Islands of the Aegean Sea, with those of Candy, Rhodes, and Cyprus, acknowledge now no Lord but him.

Their Empire in Asia.

HIS Asiatick Territories contain that vast Tract of Land between the Euxine, Cilician, and Aegean Seas; viz. Bithynia, Pontus, Phrygia, Galatia, Lycia, Cappadocia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, and the vast Extent of Armenia Minor; stretching Northward from Colchis to Catai, and Eastward to the inaccessible Mountains of the Hardy Georgians. Armenia Major is now mostly theirs; Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Coelosyria, and Palestine, are altogether in the Turks Possession, as are the vast Dominions of the Three Arabia's.

Their Dominions in Africa.

IN Africa it stretches along the unmeasur'd Coasts of the Mediterranean, from the Red-Sea to the inmost Parts of the Mauritanian Country, including Tripoli, Tunis, Fez, Algiers, and Morocco, so vastly Large are the usurp'd Dominions of these encroaching Infidels: But that the Reader may more plainly comprehend the Whole by a Measure of some Parts, I have Calculated the following Account for his more particular Satisfaction.

PALƲS Moeotis entirely his, spreads full a Thousand Miles into the Land; The Circuit of the Euxine or Black-Sea contains at least Two Thousand Six Hundred Miles; Three Thousand Two Hundred Miles scarce compass Egypt; and as much of the Mediterranean Coast as is subject to the Turk, contains above Seven Thousand Miles in compass; From the Caspian Derbent to Aden on the Red-Sea is Three Thousand and odd Miles; and near Four Thousand Miles from Tremessen in Barbary to Balsora on the Persian Gulf. So that the amazing Conquests of the Macedonian Alexander are swallow'd at a Morsel, by the swifter Acquisitions of a Modern Empire; The stupendious Victories of the successful Jews outdone by these; The mighty Power of the Egyptian Monarchs intirely baffled by the Turkish Soldiers; The Graecian Empire, once so famous for its Military Atchievements, divided into Provinces by One far Greater; Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Lacedaemonia, and those numerous Governments, so fam'd for their abounding Vertues, are all involved in one Common Ruin, and the Glorious Actions of their Prodigious Hero's forgotten and unimitated, by the broken Spirits of their supine Posterity.

The Conveniencies of their Metropolis.

NOR wants this vast Dominion any thing that is requisite for the strenuous Support of its exalted Splendour; its very Situation seems to speak it built upon the Loftiest Columns of Ʋniversal Monarchy; for its equal Division between Europe and Asia, has plac'd it in the Center of the Surrounding World, whereby they are ever ready to enlarge their Conquests either way, and have fresh Supplies still near at hand, to reinforce their broken Troops in every Corner; while his Imperial City, the Ancient Constantinople, standing so Commodiously on the extreamest Limits of those joyning Regions, is officiously attended by Two Neighb'ring Seas, whose meeting Waters gliding by the Walls of the Magnificent Seraglio, bring Wealth and Honour to this Potent Lord, and lay the various Treasures of the Earth, at the Worshipp'd Feet of their Illustrious Monarch.

The Titles of the Turkish Emperour.

NOTHING can in a more lively manner express the Sense they have of their extended Power, than that affected Vanity with which their haughty Sultans swell their Titles, as "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Ruler of the East and West, and of all Parts of the World, Prince of the Holy and Chast City Jerusalem. Shining with the Brightness of God, Thrice happy Lord of the Refulgent Mecca, Tamer of Infidels, and Scourger of the Unbelieving Race of Christian Vassals; Lord of the White and Black Seas, The most Mighty and Invincible Sultan, who has Power from God to Rule all People with a Bridle, and to break open the Gates and Bars of all Cities and Strong Places, into whose Almighty Hands, are deliver'd all the Ends of the World, none excepted." These and many such-like Titles, are proudly Challeng'd by the Imperious Ottomans, who, in former Times, have Blasphemously presum'd to take upon them the very Attributes of the Almighty: But of late they are become more Modest, which may proceed from the numerous Disappointments, that in the Modern Wars, have so frequently baffled their presumptuous Armies, and by curbing the Designs of their ambitious Sultans, taught 'em better how to know themselves and prize their Neighbours; yet, notwithstanding the Inglorious Reigns of several Modern Emperors, have added nothing to their Territories, they still continue in a full Possession of their former Acquisitions, and are not only able to Defend their own, but Conquer other Countries, shou'd the Warlike Spirit of some more Active Sultan once lead 'em out to Action.

CHAP. II. Of the Turkish Policy.

THE Political Maxims of an Arbitrary Government, may not improperly be compar'd to the spreading Roots and twisting Fibres of some Tall Oak, whose elevated Heigth exposing it to double Danger, by the raging Force of Stormy Winds among its Branches, has no Security but the Rooted Depth, by which it is supported against the strongest Efforts of contending Tempests; and certainly a Government so vastly Large, so inexpressibly Rich, and so strangely different from all other, must be supported strongly by some uncommon Policy; without which Guard, the daring Ambition of aspiring Princes, and the formidable violences of intestine Discords, would like some surprizing Earthquake, break fiercely thro' the Bands of Duty, and by their factious Consequences involve the Empire in most inevitable Ruin.

THAT I may with greater ease Describe the solid Foundations, upon which the Turks have built their Safety, 'twill be necessary to divide their Maxims into Two Parts. The First, are those by which the Sultan supports securely his unrival'd Grandeur, and the sure Dominion of his extensive Empire. The Second, are such Notions as are taught his Subjects with the earliest Rudiments of their common Knowledge, and diffuse with ease a certain Awful Duty, or almost Idolatrous Veneration thro' the whole Country for the Person of their Emperour; and are the only causes of that mild Obedience and miserable Servitude, with which they own themselves his Slaves, and endeavour vigorously to exert an uncommon Industry, in hopes to gain some Mark of Favour from the inestimable Bounty of their Common Master.

The first Maxim of the Turkish Policy.

I shall begin with the Sultan, whose first Maxim of Policy is to Depopulate as much as may be the remoter Parts of his wide Empire, the more effectually to strengthen its Center.
The Reasons upon which this Maxim is founded.

The Reasons he gives to prove the Usefulness of this Maxim are these, First, That Countries far distant from his Eye, might with more ease and less danger be induc'd to some fatal Rebellion, were the Number of their Inhabitants but any way proportionable to the Conveniency of their Situation. Secondly, By the miserable and barren Condition of a dis-peopled Country, 'twould be found a matter of inconceivable difficulty, for an Invading Enemy to penetrate their Empire with a numerous Army; since their Troops without the chargeable Inconvenience of vast quantities of Provisions, would never be able to subsist in a Country, whose flying handful of Inhabitants, would immediately convey what little Stores their Poverty afforded them, to Woods and Mountains, and Places inaccessible to People unacquainted with the Passes of the Country: Another Reason is, the utter impossibility, which Discarded Favorites (by this Means) find to escape the Anger of their Offended Sultan; for knowing no Place capable of Assisting or Concealing them, unless they Retire to some Christian Country, they rather choose a voluntary Resignation of their Lives and Fortunes to the undisputed Will of their Great Master; and quietly submit their Necks to the Sword of the Executioner.

BUT considering on the other side, that the Strength and Glory of a Prince does chiefly consist in the Numbers of his People, he is ever careful not only to draw to the Center the Conquer'd Inhabitants of his disp•opled Frontiers; but by the subtle Bait of some inveigling Privileges, is constantly attracting innumerable Quantities of Tributary Christians, to Embrace the Doctrine of their Fallacious Religion, and by becoming Members of the Mahometan Faith, enjoy the Possession of some little Marks of Distinction, purposely deny'd to their more honest Fellows, who bravely prompted by the Dictates of their Vertue, can without concern despise those gaudy Trifles of a fansied Happiness, and dare prefer the heavy Chains of honest Slavery, to all the guilty Pleasures of an Apostates Liberty.

Second Maxim.

HIS Second Maxim is, That the only way to preserve a Domestick Quiet, is to employ the Heads and Hands of his Subjects in some Foreign War:
Its Reasons.

The numerous Advantages which accrue from this Maxim are so Conspicuous as scarce to need an Explanation; for by this means he is continually enlarging the Bounds of his Dominions, or at least improving the vast Numbers of his Soldiers, in an Instructive Practice of all the various and necessary Points of Military Discipline: By these means he preserves himself secure from the sudden Violence of Domestick Rebellion; for the search of Glory firing the Breasts of Officers and Soldiers, they unanimously bend their utmost Endeavours to encrease the Power of their extended Empire, which a lazy Peace might rather prompt them to Destroy: For the working Brains of Men inur'd to War and Danger, will abhor the Rust of idle Sloth, and stir up gradually an Ambitious Fire in the Breast of the Soldier, to lay a sudden hold on some inviting Opportunity, and raise himself to Power and Honour, upon the bloody Ruin of his surpriz'd Commander.

Third Maxim.

IN the Administration of his Justice he holds it a necessary Maxim, that a tedious Legality is far more dangerous than a swift Injustice:
Its Reasons.

His Reasons for this are, First, The Fear and Awe which so rigid a manner of Proceeding infuses strongly into the Hearts of his Subjects, making them ever ready to obey his most irrational Commands with an unexampled Willingness; and terrifying their Reflections with so deep a Sense of his Power, as to deter them from the smallest Inclination to a dangerous Disobedience; and Secondly, tho' some by so hasty a Severity may unjustly suffer, yet Numbers are by their Examples frightned from Villanous Actions, whose Natures and Necessities, would otherwise incline them, to a constant Practice of the blackest Vices.

Fourth Maxim.

ANOTHER Maxim teaches them, That Learning is of all things the most dangerous to an Arbitrary Monarchy.
Its Reasons.

For First, Was Knowledge encourag'd by the happy Advantages of a liberal Education, the Genius of their People would soon become much more refin'd, and consequently the gross Absurdities and fictitious Lessons of their Alcoran, be look'd upon with Indignation, when compar'd with the Brighter Doctrine of the Christian Religion. They would soon discover the fallacious Dreams and vain Delusions of their fansied Paradise, and throw off (with their Ignorance) the dull Stupidity of their slavish Ancestors, they would soon perceive the Felicity of other Nations in a Glorious Liberty, and casting off the Yoak they had so long submitted to, attempt unanimously some wondrous Revolution, and weary of a shameful Fate in their so long Subjection to a Tyrannical Government, redeem their Honour with their long lost Liberties, and Triumph in the Ruin of their Subverted Sultan. Another Reason for this Maxim is, a Notion commonly receiv'd in Turky, that the Use of Letters is altogether inconsistent with the rougher Genius of a Warlike Nation; and that Learning if encourag'd would lull their Faculties in a silent love of Study, till sinking in the soft indulgence of a Philosophical Solitude, they would neglect entirely the more noble Practice of those Martial Exercises, whose successful Application has bravely rais'd them to the glorious Empire, which now distinguishes them from the less Powerful World.

Fifth Maxim.

BUT above all these, there is One Maxim the constant Care and Security of the Turkish Sultans, and that is to be serv'd by such Men as they can Raise without Envy, and Destroy without Danger. This they put in Practice by admitting none to the Honour or Trust of great Preferments, but such as have been brought up under the strictest Discipline of a Seraglio Education: They are generally the Sons of Christian Parents, taken Captives by the wand'ring Incursions of the Roving Tartar, and sent by way of the Black Sea to Constantinople as to a Common Market: Out of great Numbers of these there are Yearly Chosen a certain Quantity for the Grand Signior's Seraglio, where at their first Admission they are carefully Instructed in the Rudiments of the Turkish Language and Religion. Thence proceeding gradually as qualified in Body or Mind, from the laborious Practices of the meanest Drudgeries, to the loftiest Studies of their more Polite Accomplishments, till their Knowledge and Experience encreasing with their Years, they are Preferr'd at last to some Place of Honour about the Person of their Emperour, and thence advanc'd as Occasion offers to the Government of some Principality, a Seat of Justice, or Command in the Army, whichsoever their Genius has chiefly seem'd to bend them to:
Its Reasons.

And by these Means being Educated from their Infancy with a servile Awe upon their Spirits, their Endeavours are entirely bent to please their Sultan; and starting from so severe a Discipline to the Seat of Power, without Friend or Parent to assist them in their Enterprizes, they have no possibility of attempting with the smallest likelihood of Success the least Design against the Interest of their Sovereign: But besides this, The Grand Signior has another Method no less Politick, to prevent them from making an ill use of the Authority he trusts them with; and that is the frequent Change of Officers, often calling them from one Government to take Possession of another in some far distant Part of the Country; by which means having no time to fix an Interest with the People that are under them, they are absolutely debarr'd from the smallest Hopes of Success in an Attempt against the Person or Power of their Sultan, who seldom continues them so long as Three Years in one Place; and as if in that time there was danger of a Revolt, takes care by other Methods to render it still more impracticable, for giving them no Money, when he prefers them to a Government, and themselves Possessing nothing but what they receive from his Bounty, they are oblig'd to borrow great Sums on Credit to furnish out their Equipage, for which the Christian Merchants exacting often Cent per Cent Interest; they have no other way to pay these Debts, than by a barbarous Oppression of the Provinces they are sent to, and knowing their time to be but short, they seldom fail by Arbitrary Methods to enrich themselves for ever after, by a Three Years Plunder of the poor Inhabitants; by which means they become odious to the People, who would be so far from assisting them against the Sultan, as readily to embrace the smallest Opportunity for revenging their Misfortunes in the Death or Ruin of their Tyrannick Governour; By which the Grand Signior's Power stands more unshaken than that of Christian Princes, who have too often suffer'd by the Ambitious Inclinations of Rebellious Subjects.

THESE are the most noted Maxims of the Eastern Policy, whereby the Turkish Emperours maintain an uncontroul'd Authority over their so vast Dominions: Others there are, which being taught the People as Essential Points of Duty and Religion, oblige them quietly to bend their Necks, and calmly stoop to the galling Yoak of an Ignoble Slavery.

Sixth Maxim.

AND First, Obedience to the Sultan's Will is taught them as a Duty, the neglect whereof, will draw down the Curses of God and Mahomet upon themselves and their Posterity: His Word must ever be a settled Law, and Infallibility a peculiar Perfection of his Nature: None dare believe he errs, and tho' his Actions appear altogether inconsistent with Reason or Humanity, they must rather question the perspicuity of their Senses, than presume to think he ever can be guilty: Nay, so widely has this crafty Lesson spread its Doctrine, that to die by the Hand or Mandate of their Emperour, is look'd upon by these deluded Wretches as a never failing Passport to the Gates of Paradise; and so Sacred a Veneration do they pay to the Person of this Idoliz'd Sultan, as if his People were destin'd as an inferior Species of Mortality, to serve the mighty End of his Creation: The better to support this awful Sense of Fear and Duty, the Expounders of their Law have fix'd a Notion in the Superstitious Breasts of the Common People, that they can never pay too deep a Veneration to the Person of their Emperour, since the good or evil Fate of the Turkish Empire depends entirely on the Preservation or Extinction of the Ottoman Family.

Seventh Maxim.

ANOTHER Maxim among the Turks declares, That Merit is the only valuable Nobility,
Its Reasons.

whereby the Meanest of their People exert their utmost Industry in the pursuit of Honour, as knowing they must owe their Fortune to their own Personal Worth, and not the Hereditary Possession of Lands and Tenements from the successful Labours of industrious Ancestors, for the Grand Signior is the common Heir to all Mens Estates, and distributing some small Part among the Children, leaves them to cut out their own way to Riches and Preferment, and throws in the remainder amongst the numerous Heaps of his own prodigious Treasure.

Eight Maxim.

ANOTHER Opinion not a little conducive to the Turkish Interest is, That those who die in Battle against a Christian Enemy are immediately Transported into Paradise, as a Reward for their Courage.
Its Reasons.

'Tis no great difficulty to guess the Effects of such a Notion on the thoughtless Crowd, who are thereby at all times willing to Invade a Christian Country, and hurried forward to a zealous Madness by so encouraging a Doctrine, fall rashly on, and prove too often fatal Instruments of Death and Vengeance.

Ninth Maxim.

THERE is another Maxim of their Policy, which seems to have been owing to the vast Successes of their Arms in the Infancy of their Empire, and that is, To look upon Prosperity as an infallible Sign of God's owning the Justice and Legality of their Endeavours:
Its Reasons.

By these Means they have encourag'd their Armies to a constant Assurance of repeated Successes, from the favourable Consequences of one single Victory, and drawn in prodigious Numbers of Voluntary Soldiers to the assistance of a Cause, which such propitious Omens had induc'd them to believe must necessarily entitle them to the Smiles of Providence.

Tenth Maxim.

THERE is a Law amongst the Turks, which I believe was introduc'd from an ancient Maxim of their Political Government, strictly prohibiting all Subjects to the Grand Signior from Travelling for Improvement of their Knowledge and Experience, into any Country not under his Authority, especially such Parts of the World as are enlightned by the Heavenly Rays of Christian Doctrine; and so very nicely is this Law observ'd amongst them, that he who is accus'd of having broken it without a positive Order or Permission from the Court, is often punish'd in an Exemplary manner, and his Goods and Chattels forfeited thereby, to whatsoever Use the Sultan shall assign them.

Its Reasons,

THE numerous Advantages arising to their Government from so strict a Prohibition of a Custom, so diverting to the curious Inquisitions of our Europaean Gentlemen, are so obvious to the Judgment of a Common Reader, that they hardly need a farther Explanation; since every Body must perceive, the chief Design of this so useful Maxim was to Cloak the Fallacies of their deceitful Doctrine, from the hoodwink'd Eyes of its Professors, whose clouded Apprehensions, fatally Illuminated by a Christian Conversation, might probably be brought to an entire Discovery of that inglorious Servitude in which they live, and tempt their Courage to assume new Fire, and redeem their Minds from an Erroneous Superstition, while they bravely chang'd the base Subjection of their Insulted Bodies for the generous Enjoyment of a Nobler Liberty: And how far the continuance of this subtle Maxim may be serviceable to their Interest, does beyond dispute appear in the good Effects it has hitherto produc'd; and the frequent Insurrections and intestine Jarrs that almost Yearly happen on such of their Frontiers, as by their nearness of Situation to the Christian Countries, have render'd their Inhabitants no ways Strangers to the difference of their Government.

MANY besides these are the Political Maxims of the Turkish Nation, but I shall content my self with having nam'd the Chief, and those on which they build the Pillars of their Constitution; and will proceed in the next Chapter to give as full an Account as I can of the peculiar Form and artful Management of their Civil Government.

CHAP. III. Of the Civil Government of the Turks.

TIS Perhaps the most difficult Undertaking a Man can put himself upon, to write of the numerous Intricacies of Foreign Governments, and particularly One like that of Turkey; the Native Haughtiness of whose Insulting People, and their coy Deportment to the Travelling Subjects of a Christian Country, are so many inaccessible Barriers to the Curiosity of their Observations: But 'tis a Task yet more difficult to endeavour a satisfactory Description of that Part of their Constitution which composes this Chapter, since the Offices of their Religion are so closely interwoven with those of their Law, that 'tis almost impossible to treat of either without involving both in a promiscuous Confusion.

HOWEVER that I may the more easily avoid the disagreeable Obscurity of so unnecessary a Conjunction, I shall gradually proceed to an Account of the Places of Trust and great Offices of their Empire, as they now differ from, or are dependant on, each other.

BY the foregoing Chapters, the prodigious Power and unlimited Authority of the Turkish Sultan has been fully taught the Reader: But tho' his Rule is Arbitrary, and his Sway Despotick and Tyrannical, he submits the Management of his Large Dominions to the depending Government of a deputed Viceroy; and indeed it has ever been the Custom of the Eastern Emperors to Constitute some favour'd Subject in a Degree of Honour next themselves, a Custom by many Authors condemn'd, as owing its Institution to the slothful Disposition of some Inglorious Monarch, wholly given up to Ease and Luxury;
The Policy of Constituting a Vice-roy a great Support of the Sultans Power.

but in my Opinion founded on the subtle Maxims of a deeper Policy; for by these means, the Emperours may not only, when they please, unbend their Minds from the fatiguing Cares of an intangled Government, but when the growing Anger of their injur'd Subjects provoke them to a Resentment of their oppressive Cruelties, they throw the odium of their own Injustice upon their Guiltless Viceroy; who skreening the Miscarriages of his Imprudent Sultan from the Revenge of a Rebellious Multitude, becomes himself the Object of their Hatred, and lays the Foundation of his Masters Safety, on the Peaceful Consequences of his own Destruction.

The manner of Creating a Grand Vizier.

THIS Officer among the Turks is distinguish'd by the Title of Vizier Azem, or Councellour in Chief to the Grand Signior, from whom all Power is immediately deriv'd to him, and by whom he is Created without any other Ceremony than the delivery of a large Golden Seal, whereon is Engrav'd the Name and Age of the then Reigning Sultan; this Seal he always carries in his Bosom, and becomes thereby Invested with an Authority almost as Arbitrary and Unlimited as that of the Emperour himself.

The Antiquity of this Office.

AMƲRATH the Third was the Institutor of this Office, at a time when breaking into Europe, he conferr'd the Dignity of General and Chief Councellour on one Lala Schabin his Tutor, since which time his Successors have continued to appoint some favour'd Subject to the Dignity of Vizier Azem, and honour those Officers with the Name of Tutor as often as they hold Conversation with them.

His Business and Authority.

THE Vizier Azem, as in Title, so in Power, is the Head and Mouth of the Turkish Law; to him Appeals are brought from all their Courts of Judicature, and by him the former Sentences of Inferiour Judges are frequently disannull'd, and the Cause decided in favour of the Party who before had lost it. There lies no Appeal beyond him, unless to the Person of the Grand Signior; and that so very difficult, that 'tis very rarely put in Practice.
The manner of Appealing to the Grand Signior.

The manner of doing it is so odd and different from the Europaean Customs, that the Reader will be inclin'd to pardon the Digression if I describe the Ceremony as briefly as is possible: At certain Hours of the Day, when the Gates of the Seraglio are set open for the Admittance of great Numbers of Citizens and Others, whose Business with the Officers of that Place require their daily Attendance there, the Persons who would complain of any grievous Injury they have suffer'd, and which the Injustice or Connivance of the Grand Vizier has refus'd to redress, enter hastily the Outward Court, and putting Pots of Fire upon their Heads run swiftly forward, nor dare the greatest Officer presume to stop them, till they arrive in the Presence of the Grand Signior, and humbling themselves at his Feet, declare the weighty Wrongs they labour under, and implore the gracious Mark of his unquestion'd Justice in a kind Redress of their Oppressive Injuries.

THERE is a private Divan or Court of Justice held in the Palace of the Vizier Azem every Wednesday and Thursday; on the other Days (excepting Friday, which is the Turkish Sabbaoth) the Divan is kept in an open Chamber of the Seraglio, whither the Vizier is magnificently Attended by a great number of Pursuivants and Serjeants; at his Arrival he is saluted with the noisy Acclamations of the People, and guarded by a sort of Soldiers, maintain'd purposely for that Use, to his Place upon the Bench; where being Seated with the Cadeelescheer or Lord Chief Justice, and Six Viziers of the Ben•…, who are Grave Men that have formerly born Offices in the Government, and are skill'd in the Knowledge of their Law, but not permitted to give their Opinions on any Point unless demanded by him. He listens to the Judgment of the Lord Chief Justice, who hears and determines all Causes, unless the Vizier shall disapprove his Sentence, and Reverse it as he thinks is most agreeable to the Justice of the Cause, or his own private Inclinations.

THUS much may serve as to the Judicative Power of the Grand Vizier, but is far from expressing the utmost Limits of his Authority, which extends its self so far beyond that of the other Great Officers of the Empire, that tho' he cannot by virtue of his own immediate Order take off their Heads, or recall them from their Governments, he has so great an Interest in the Grand Signior, that he can, without the smallest Difficulty obtain his Warrant for the Displacing or Beheading any Officer at Court or elsewhere, who has unfortunately disoblig'd him, or stands obnoxious to the danger of his Envy.

IN time of War he has the Command in Chief of the Sultan's Armys, and leads them where he pleases, without the least necessity of waiting for his Master's Order. He gives Audience to the Embassadors of Foreign Princes, Receives and Answers the Contents of their Memorials, and is in short the only Master of the Executive Power over the Grand Signior's whole Dominions.

The Splendour of his Court.

ANSWERABLE to the vast Authority of this great Officer is the pompous State in which he Lives; his Court consisting frequently of Five and Twenty Hundred Servants, including the Officers about him; when he appears Abroad he is distinguish'd not only by the Splendour of his Equipage, but the bearing on the fore part of his Turbant Two large Feathers, set on with a great Knot of Diamonds and other Jewels of inestimable Value, the peculiar Mark of his Degree, the Bashaws being permitted to wear but One, and the Sultan himself never appearing with more than Three: Three Horse-tails are carried before him on a lofty Staff, another distinguishing Mark of his Authority. Great Numbers of stately Horses adorn'd with Trappings of Gold and Silver set thick with Precious Stones are led before him; his Stirrops held by the obsequious Hands of his surrounding Slaves, and his Garment kiss'd with the most profound Respect by endless Crowds of prostrate Officers, whose servile Souls encline their Actions to the basest Practice of a vile Subjection to Men by Fortune plac'd above them, while they basely Triumph over the miserable Wretches that are under their Command, with all the haughty Marks of an insulting Arrogance.

His Revenues and Advantages.

PRODIGIOUS and beyond Belief are the amazing Profits arising from this Post to the Coffers of its Possessor: For tho' the Revenues of the Grand Vizier, or his immediate Salary from the Crown does scarce exceed Five Thousand Pounds per annum, 'tis yet impossible to guess the vast Advantages it brings him; for besides the great Sums of Money he receives from the Numbers of his Petitioners, who, be their Business of what nature it will, dare never move it empty Handed, there are daily Rivolets of Plenty from all Parts of the Empire flowing to his Treasury: No Subject to the Grand Signior dares enter on a Place of Power, till by the moving Rhetorick of some considerable Present he has brib'd the Favour of the Grand Vizier; without which he is always sensible his Head will surely pay the Forfeit of his Avarice. There are certain times of the Year, when all the Governours of Provinces are oblig'd to send Presents to the Sultan, after the manner of our New-Years-Gifts, and tho' there is no Obligation which compels them at that time to remember the Vizier, a fatal Experience of the Consequences of such a Neglect has often convinc'd them, that, tis highly Dangerous to forget him; The Rulers of the Remotest Branches of the Turkish Empire are Oblig'd to Court his Favourable Representation of their services with the Perswasive Oratory of their Golden Messengers, and in short no Man who omits his Duty this way can reasonably hope a long Possession of his Honours or Preferments.

BY these means a Vizier of a Covetous Disposition, who loses no Advantage he may Reap from his Authority, has such Incredible Opportunities of Encreasing his Wealth, that many at the Death which generally Attends their short liv'd Splendor, have been found Possessors of such Immense Heaps of Treasure as have Equall'd if not exceeded that of the Grand Signior their Master; But those very Riches which still render this High Office desireable in the Emulative Breasts of the Turkish Candidates, are the very Poyson of its Pleasures, and to a Genius blest with a serious Contemplation on the Frailties of Humanity would open all the dangers of its Gawdy Glories and rather frighten him from their search than allure him to their Possession.

The Office of Vizier, a Dangerous Station.

FOR few there are who long enjoy the Slippery Honours of this wish'd Preferment; the Sultan's Policy forbids a long Permission of such unbounded Power, and urges him to frequent changes of such dangerous Officers, nor are there many, who survive the loss of this High Post, for having some time serv'd like a necessary Sponge to gather Riches for the Sultan's use, he Squeezes them at last into his own vast Treasure; and to free himself from all the fears of their Resentment, invents some Plausible pretence to take them off and put others in their Place, to grow up Gradually to the same Fate their Predecessors met with

IMMEDIATELY under the Vizier are these three Officers, viz. The Muftee, the Ries-Effendie, and the Tefterdar Bashaw. Of the first of these I shall take occasion to speak largely, in the Chapter relating to the Turkish Religion, as being High Priest, and consequently not properly to be Treated of under this Head, further than as he is concern'd in the Interpretation of their Civil Law, and of that in its due Place.
The Office of Ries-Effendie:

The Ries-Effendie, is Secretary of State and in constant Attendance on the Person of the Vizier, by whose Orders he dispatches Innumerable quantities of Patents, Decrees, Commissions and other Instruments, over all Parts of the Turkish Empire:
Its Profits.

This Officer has Places of great Trust and Profit under him, and by the Multiplicity of his Business Collects such Sums of Money to his own Possession, as often Equal the Riches of the Vizier himself.

The Tefterdar;

THE Tefterdar Bashaw, is Lord Treasurer of the Publick Revenues; he Pays the Salaries of all great Officers Depending on the Sultan; by him the Souldiery is Weekly Paid, and all Publick Disbursements made.
His Profits and Danger.

This is an Office of great Honour and Advantage, but has the same Fate Entail'd on its Possessors with those abovenam'd, and exposes them not only to the Danger of their Emperour's Hatred, but often Sacrifices their Lives and Fortunes to the Fatal Malice and Inordinate Caprices of a Discontented People.

The Muftee:

I undertook to say as much of the Muftee, in this Place as concern'd his business in the Management of their Laws;
His Dignity.

He is an Officer of great Authority, Nominated to that Dignity by the Sultan's voice, who ought to choose a Man of Exemplary Piety, Untainted Virtues and Humility, and more Especially of undoubted knowledge in the explanation of their Law: His opinion in matters Civil and Criminal, as well as in Affairs relating to the State is given by Subscribing Yes or No, with the humble Addition of God knows better, to a Paper in which the Question is for that purpose Stated, and tho' he gives his Judgment in a Perswasive not Compulsive manner, his Sentence is notwithstanding wholly Decisive, and the Judges Verdict Regulated accordingly, without the tedious Trouble of a further Appeal, or any Dilatory Practice whatsoever, for the Religion of the Turks, having Plac'd in this Man a Perspicuity of Judgment almost equal to the Peremptory Doctrine of a Roman Infallibility, no Subject dares dispute the Muftee's Wisdom, nor will the Emperour himself contemn his Counsel, for he seldom undertakes a distant War, or any other Business of Weighty Moment, till the Approbation of this Religious Man has Sanctified the Action. When Matters of Difficulty are Debated before the Sultan, the Muftee is always Present at the Council, and his advice requir'd with the utmost Veneration;
The Odd manner of Punishing them.

but as his Honours are Superiour to most other Officers of the Empire, so is his Punishment (when his Demerits have requir'd it) in an Exemplary manner more Surprizing, for in a Castle at Constantinople, which the Turks distinguish by the Name of the Seven Towers, there is purposely expos'd a Brazen Mortar of uncommon Shape and Magnitude, into which the Muftee when convicted of High-Treason, or Unwarrantable Practices, is Publickly thrown Headlong and Pounded to Death with a Massy Iron Pestle.

The Office of Cadeelescheer.

THE next Office below the Muftee, is that of Cadeelescheer, or their Lord Chief Justice,
His Power.

whose Authority tho' Originally confin'd to the Souldiery, extends its self at present to the Determination of all sorts of Law Suits whatsoever, with Submission to the Pleasure of such Superiour Powers, to whom there lies an Appeal from the Tenour of his Sentence, for the Military Body of the Turkish Nation enjoy this Privilege beyond the Civil, that tho' themselves are Subject to none besides their own Commanders, the Authority of their Officers extends Promiscuously over all sorts of People, insomuch that all Commission'd Officers of the Turkish Army are by Virtue of the Commission they possess, Entituled to the Office of Justices of the Peace over all parts of the Empire, a Policy not a little Advantagious to the Grand Signior, by the vast Encouragement it gives the Souldiers, who ever were and must be still the Pillars of his Government, this Office of Cadeelescheer is a step from which they often Mount to that of Muftee, nor can any Man be Legally Entituled to the one, who has not first Discharged with Universal Praise the Duty of the other.

The Mollah.

THEY generally rise to the Preferment of Cadeelescheer from the Office of a Mollah, the Advantages of which Post are different according to the Places over which they Exercise their Power; some are Judges in Chief over whole Provinces and have under their Command the Kaddees or Judges of Stately Towns and Villages; others there are, whose Government is Confin'd to Poor and Inconsiderable Places, having under them the Tatter'd Judges of a few Distrest and Miserable Cottages.

The Kaddee.

THE next Inferiour Officer is the Kaddee abovemention'd or the Lowest sort of Judges among the Turks; the Profits arising from this Post are more or less according to the Places under their Jurisdiction, but is Considerable as being the First Step towards obtaining the Dignity of Muftee, a Preferment Eagerly desir'd by the Politest of their People.

THUS much may have serv'd to give the Judicious Reader a Sufficient Idea of the Fountain of Civil Government now Exercis'd in the Court of Turkey, whence slow Innumerable Streams of Policy, to the Channels of remoter Governments, possess'd in their several Degrees by Beylerbeys, Sangiack Beys, Bashaws, Beys and Aga's, every one of which Offices I shall largely Treat of in their respective Places.

The division of their Empire.

THE Formidable Empire of these Successful Infidels is divided into Twenty Two Parts, each Division of so vast Extent, as exceeds the Magnitude of many of our Europaean Kingdoms, and govern'd by its Beylerbey, or Arch-Duke, for of all Christian Titles there is none which can more nearly express the nature of that Office; every one of these Arch-Dukedoms is divided into certain unequal Numbers of Sangiacks or Provinces, some containing Twenty, some not more than Seven, Ten, or Fifteen, according to which Numbers the Arch-Dukedoms are more or less Profitable to their Governours;
The Sangiack Bey.

over every Province there is plac'd a Ruler, distinguish'd by the Title of Sangiack-Bey, or Lord Provincial: These depend upon, and are subservient to, the several Arch-Dukes under whom they live.

The Bey.

INFERIOR to the Lords Provincial are the Beys, or Lords of the several Partitions into which the above-nam'd Provinces are divided;
The Aga.

These have under them another sort of Lords, distinguish'd by the Name of Aga's, or Captains of a certain Number of Towns or Villages and their Dependencies, all which Officers have their several Courts of Justice, peculiar to the different Nature of the Governments they hold, and yet are link'd together in the joint Promotion of one Common Interest, and a firm Obedience to the Sacred Will of their Great Lord the Sultan.

The Bashaw.

BESIDES these Arch-Dukedoms severally Subject to their respective Beylerbeys, there are certain Parts of the Empire independant on those Divisions, and altogether Subject to the Government of Bashaws, a Title almost equal to that of Prince, and generally born by such Men as having gradually Ascended from the meanest Offices, have inur'd their Minds and Bodies to the roughest Changes that can befall Mortality, and having prov'd their Knowledge by a successful Disintangling the occurring Intricacies of State and War, distinguishably Shine by the conspicuity of their Merits, and Succeed alternately to the Highest Offices of their Unshaken Empire.

BUT that I may explain more fully the unimagin'd Grandeur of the Turkish Emperors, I will particularize the several Governments of all the Beylerbeys, and the Number of those extensive Provinces over which they preside; that by considering the numerous Opportunities the Grand Signior is Master of, whereby to Reward the Fidelity of his Subjects, the Reader may no longer wonder at the Support of his Authority.

The 22 Arch-Dukedoms of the Turkish Empire.

THE Twenty Two Arch-Dukedoms before mention'd are distinguish'd among the Turks by the following Names, Anatolia, Caramania, Diarbekir, Scham, Siwas, Esrum, Pascha, Childir, Cheruzul, Halep, Marash, Kibros, Tripoly, Terbozan, Kars, Musul, Rika, Rumeeli, Kupudan, Bosna, Grand-Cairo and Babylon; of which the Governours of the Two Last receive their Salaries from the Treasury of the Sultan:
The Salaries of the Bashaws of Cairo and Babylon.

The First, which is the Highest Government in the Grand Signior's Dominions, has a Yearly Revenue of Three Hundred Thousand Pounds; the Salary of the Last exceeds not Six Thousand Pounds per annum; but the numerous Advantages which accrue from his Perquisites afford him daily Opportunities of amassing vast heaps of Riches.

THE remaining Twenty have a certain Yearly Income, appointed them out of the Annual Revenues due from their Provinces to the Coffers of the Sultan, which tho' inconsiderable in it self, is constantly multiplied into Fifteen or Twenty times its quantity, by the griping Arts and avaritious Practices whereby these Arbitrary Governours oppress their People. The fixed Allowances which they may justly Claim are these which follow.

The respective Salaries of the Arch-Dukes of Turkey.

l.

The Beylerbey of

Anatolia

has a Yearly Salary of

3000

Caramania

2500

Diarbekir

4000

Scham

3000

Siwas

2931

Esrum

4050

Pascha

4010

Childir

2890

Cheruzul

3000

Halep

2730

Marash

2000

Kibros

1500

Tripoly

2400

Terbozan

2320

Kars

2500

Musul

1900

Rika

1800

Rumeeli

3654

Kupudan

2192

Bosna

1608.

THESE are the certain Salaries settled by the Grand Signior on the several Beylerbeys above-mention'd, but as I hinted before, are seldom the twentieth Part of the Profits into which they improve their Employments.

THE Provinces contain'd in these Twenty Two Arch-Dukedoms are at least Two Hundred and Sixty Four, every one of which, as I said before, has a Lord Provincial over it, whose Profits may be computed about half as much as those of the Beylerbeys their Superiour Governours: The Beys and Aga's possessing smaller Salaries in a just Proportion to the Inferiority of their Offices: The Bashaws are all entitled to Revenues agreeable to their Power, and both the one and the other are alike unbounded.

BY the prodigious Sums of Money amass'd this way, which any Curious Reader may nearly compute by the Account above-mention'd, and which, in comparison with the Sultan's Revenues, are as so many small Canals to the unfathom'd Ocean; you may guess at the surprizing Grandeur and inexhausted Riches of the Ottoman Emperours, which shall be particularly Treated of in a more proper Place; I shall now proceed to inform the Reader in what manner the Turks Administer their Justice, and how the Forms of Law are practis'd by that People.

A Maxim of Tacitus.

'TWAS the Opinion of Tacitus that those Governments have most Laws who have least Policy, and the strenuous Support which the Turkish Empire receives from few but necessary Maxims, does in a great measure justifie the Truth of his Assertion; for they have no confounding Volumes of one Lawyers Observations upon the Remarks of another, no COKE upon Littleton, to explain the different Interpretations of a Thing, that is, or ought to be the same: The Reports of such a Judge, or such a Lord Chancellour, have here no Power to guide the Sentence of a Court of Justice, by the prevailing Virtue of some forgotten Precedent:
The speedy dispatch of Turkish Justice.

Their Laws are few, but always put in Execution with the utmost Severity; and tho' the Sentence Pro or Con depends entirely upon the undisputed Will of an Arbitrary Judge, whereby the Subject is depriv'd of that indulgent Liberty we tast in Britain, and sometimes Sacrific'd to the mercenary Interest of a brib'd Decider, he has yet this Happiness superiour to us, that he always loses a Cause before the melancholy Consequences of a tedious Controversy has disabled him to support that Loss, and depriving him of all possible means of a future Subsistance, unfortunately sink both the Cause and the Client in promiscuous Ruin, by one single Act of an unexpected Injustice.

THE Truth of this will evidently appear by the speedy Dispatch of their decisive Sentence, having no Form of Law but this which follows.
Their Deeds and Instruments.

Whatever Land, Moneys, Goods, or any of the common Benefits of Life are bought by, or given to a Subject of the Grand Signior's Dominions, or any other Inhabitant of that Empire, must be confirm'd to his Possession by virtue of a Seal'd Instrument call'd an Hodget, which being Sign'd by the Kaddee or Judge of the Place they live in, does certainly entitle them to as firm a Property as all the Deeds of Gift, Releases and other endless heaps of Parchment now in use amongst us; such an Instrument being once produc'd admits of no evasive Quirk to weaken its Authority; no Word misplac'd, or Name mistaken by the adding or omitting some single Letter can baffle the Legality of a Subjects Endeavours by the Shock of a Nonsuit, but where the Justice of a Cause is undeniably conspicuous they very rarely suffer by a partial Sentence; tho' where the Case is doubtful or obscure, the native Avarice of a Turkish Judge will generally incline him to a favourable Opinion of that Side from whence most Money challenges his Gratitude;
Bribery common among them.

nor is the Curse of Bribery esteem'd so black a Crime in this Country as in the Western World, most Men practising it in a publick and audacious Manner, wheresoever their occurring Interests make it Usefull.

Womens Oaths not taken.

WOMENS Oaths are never taken but against a Christian, nor a Christians against a Turk. Among themselves the concurring Evidences of a plurality of Witnesses decide a Controversy. Their Punishments are either Bodily or Pecuniary; the first are rarely suffer'd when not deserv'd, but the latter sometimes inflicted unjustly by the malicious Prosecution of revengeful People, or the partial Sentence of some poor and avaritious Magistrate.

The Office of a Saubashaw:

THERE is no City which has not its Saubashaw or Head Constable over it, whose proper Business it is, to inspect as secretly and as narrowly as possible the Behaviour of the Inhabitants, having his inferiour Officers in every Corner to detect the Misdemeanours of offending People, and seizing their Persons, deliver them over to such Punishments as upon Conviction of their Guilt shall be judg'd agreeable to the nature of their Offences.

THE Corporeal Punishments in use among the Turks are different, according to the several Crimes for which they are impos'd; the most Common, and that which is inflicted on Slaves, Servants, and the Practicers of Petty-larcenys, is the Bastinado, or beating them on the Soles of the Feet. The method of putting this in Execution is as follows.

Their manner of Excecuting the Punishment call'd Bastinado.

FIVE or more Officers seizing the Offender by the Arms, conduct him roughly to some smooth piece of Ground or Grass-plat, where throwing him upon his Back, the heaviest among them sitting down upon his Breast, prevents him from springing upwards to avoid the Blows, when two others by the help of a large Stick like the handle of a Broom, bor'd thro' at both ends, to receive a Rope there fastned by two Knotts, and hanging down in a bent Form like that of a Bow, lift his Legs from the Ground, and rowling the Stick downwards as far as the Rope permits them, prevent them from moving either one way or the other; this done another with a stiff Hazel Wand gives him as many Strokes upon the naked Soles of his Feet as he was order'd to undergo, which are sometimes several Hundred, and have often prov'd Mortal to the guilty Party.

A Comical Story of an English Merchant.

I cannot forbear the Crime of a small Digression, to divert my Reader with the Comical Relation of a certain Passage, which once in this Country afforded me the pleasure of a very agreeable Amusement: There was an English Merchant who had for many Years been troubled with the Gout, in a very violent and uncommon Degree, nor could the daily Application of the richest Medicines procure him Ease, much less the Cure he sought in vain for, insomuch that being in a manner transported by the sharpness of his Pain, he became so very peevish that he could neither talk, walk, or sit still in Comfort: The pressure of this Gentleman's extraordinary Affairs requiring his presence at Adrianople, he undertook the Journey with a great deal of uneasiness, and met at the Entrance of a Town call'd Baba, a considerable Party of Turkish Soldiers, who were marching towards Constantinople; the Officer, as is common in those Parts, took the liberty as he pass'd, to express himself a little disrespectfully in contempt of the Christians in the Merchant's Company; and he, unqualified at that time by the peevish Effects of his Distemper, to bear it patiently, made an ill Use of his Skill in the Turkish Language, and return'd the Salutation as roughly as it was sent him: The Inhabitants of that Country are of all others least able to bear Reflections on their Government or Religion; and the Officer of these Men, forgetting that himself had been the Aggressor, resented the Affront so very highly, that he order'd the Merchant to be taken from his Horse, and undergo the Punishment of One Hundred and Fifty Bastinadoes in the manner above written: Vain was Resistance against a Number so much Superiour, and Complaints were altogether useless in a Country where the speedy Execution of an Arbitrary Order is the highest Qualification they believe themselves capable of: In short, the poor Merchant submitted aukwardly to the unwelcome Novelty, and was so sorely beaten on the Soles of his Feet, that for many Days he was oblig'd to continue in a House at Baba, nor was he able to stand upright for a long time after; but the Jest of this Story comes in the Conclusion, for the Bastinadoes it seems having frightned away his Gout, his Distemper went off with his Bruises, nor was he ever troubled with the return of one single Fit from that time forward: The unexpected Consequence of this lucky Beating, oblig'd the Merchant at his return to Constantinople to seek industriously after the Author of his Cure, that he might thank him for the Favour, but not being able to find him out, he contented himself with a grateful remembrance of the weighty Obligation, and to this Day (if he be still alive) as constantly Drinks to the Health of his Turkish Doctor as he sits down to his Table.

BUT to return to the Subject in hand, they have several Punishments peculiar to the Military and other Orders, which shall be describ'd hereafter in their proper Place: One now in common Use amongst them is Impaling Alive; that is, thrusting in a sharp Pole at their Fundaments,
Their manner of Impaling Alive.

and Forcing it out at the Upper Parts of their Body, and so Fastning the Pole upright in the Ground they leave them in some High way as Miserable Examples to Deterr others from the like Practices.

Other Punishments in use there.

STRANGLING in a very Expeditious manner is the Death whereby they distinguish Suffering Noblemen. Hanging they seldom use; Breaking on the Wheel very Rarely; but the most common way of Execution is, Beheading the Condemn'd Person with a Broad Scymetar, while he Kneels upon a large Heap of Sand to that end provided. Other kinds of Punishments there are in Turkey, but such as being very rarely put in Practice, are altogether needless to be here mention'd and for that reason purposely omitted.

CHAP. IV. Of the Government Military.

IF the general Experience of the knowing World allows it as a necessary Maxim, that every Effect of Nature and Morality must be Supported by those very Causes to which they owe their First Production, it will follow Undeniably that a Government not Gradually Rais'd from the continued Improvements of some unresisted Colony, but founded Violently upon the Bloody Ruin of a Conquer'd People, must Slacken by Degrees that Nervous Strengh by which it Flourish'd, when the long neglects of Idle Peace Corrupt its Natives with the Love of Pleasure, and draw them by Degrees to Hate the Practice of those Successful Arms, by whose Unequall'd Force their Braver Ancestors had Cut a Passage to Meridian Glory.

The Effects of Peace of dangerous consequence to Warlike Governments.

'TIS this alone to which the Persian, Graecian, Roman, and every other Glorious Monarchy, have ow'd their Downfal; and 'tis the same Indulgence of a Slothful ease has Rusted all the Powerful Springs of Turkish Discipline, and chear'd Exceedingly the Drooping Spirits of the Eastern Christians, with Reviving hopes to see the Happy Restoration of their Religion, and their Liberty in the Entire Subversion of their Usurping Tyrant, for that perswasive Poverty which once Inclin'd the Turkish Souldiers to a Scorn of dangers, has now no more the Power to Urge a Brave Defiance of the Shocks of War, since they are all Possessors of a Rowling Plenty, the want of which provok'd 'em Chiefly to their Ancient Actions.

A great decay in their Military Discipline.

BUT tho' the present Managment of their Military Discipline falls greatly short of what in former Ages spoke them Matchless, they are not yet so sensibly Decayed, as to become an easy Conquest, were the United Arms of Warlike Christendom now bent against them; for tho' their Souldiers are not now Inur'd to War and Hardship, nor by the Frequent Victorys they were us'd to gain, familiar with the Face of Ruin and continual Contest, they are not less in Number than they were, nor all so Ignorant as their Majority. The Turkish Policy permits no loss of Power by the loss of Souldiers, and is perhaps the only Government that e'er grew Stonger by the Death of Subjects; for having Numbers ready upon all Occasions to Supply the Room of such as Die, their Places are Improv'd to double Worth by a surprizing Management peculiar to the Turks, which shall be told the Reader in its proper Place. They have no occasion on declaring War, or losing Battles, to dispatch their Officers for fresh Recruits about the Country, and supply with raw unpollish'd Rusticks, the Places of well disciplin'd and skilful Soldiers; They have formidable standing Armies, in every Corner of their Empire, which from time to time supply the Vacancies of their contending Bodies, which like the boundless Ocean tho' discharging endless Depths of Water appears no less in Ebb than Flow, but stands the same in every Season, never subject to perceptible Diminution.

IN describing the present Establishment of the Ottoman Forces, I will begin with that Order of Foot Soldiers commonly known by the Name of Janisaries; for the peculiar and remarkable Privileges whereby they are distinguish'd from the ordinary Militia, may justly intitle them to the Honour of a Preference.
The derivation and Original of the Word Janisary.

Janisary is nothing but a Corruption of the Word Yani-Cherr, which in the Turkish Language, signifies a New-Order; they took their Original from the Death of one Hodgy Bectash, an Old Religious Man of an exemplary Life and Conversation, in the Reign of Sultan Amurath, the third King of the Turks: This Man had long endeavour'd to dissuade that Prince from dangerously exposing his Person, by too near a Familiarity with the Subjects of Servia, often Prophesying the sudden Death which afterwards befel the Sultan upon the Overthrow of Lazarus the Despot of that Country, when walking out to view the Heaps of Slain, one Miles Corbelitza, a Christian Soldier, rising heavily from a Mount of Carkasses, made shift to stagger in the Pangs of Death, and by expressive Motions of his Head and Hands desir'd admittance to the Person of the Emperour, who thinking he design'd to beg his Life permitted him to such a near Approach, that the undaunted Servian, falling on his Knees as if he would have sued for Mercy, snatch'd out a Dagger from his bleeding Bosome, and striking it with violence to the Sultan's Heart, reveng'd successfully his Countries Wrongs, and liv'd and dy'd like Israel's Sampson a double Scourge to an Ambitious Enemy.

THE Death of Bectash immediately succeeded that of Amurath, for having often prophesy'd the Blow and not preventing it, tho' near the Sultan's Person, he was cut in pieces by the furious Guards, as a Party in the Treason; but foreseeing easily, what Fate would soon befall him, he rent off a long Sleeve, which he wore continually on his Right Arm, and putting it upon the Head of one of the Soldiers, cried out prophetically in the Turkish Language,

Life from my Death shall like a Phoenix spring,

To Guard from Dangers your Succeeding King.

THIS said, he Fell, a bloody Victim to the Soldiers Anger, but had his Prophecy compleatly verifi'd in the First Year of the next Sultan's Reign, who reflecting seriously on the Fate of Bectash, resolved to take some Method of perpetuating his Memory, and Instituted a New Order of the Militia, by the Name of Janisaries, who to this Day in Imitation of the Sleeve which Bectash put upon the Soldiers Head, are all obliged to wear a Headpiece fac'd with pollish'd Steel, to which is fastned a large piece of Buff, that falling in a moderate Breadth from the Crown of their Head spreads gradually wider to the midle of their Backs.

The ancient Care to supply the Empire with Janizaries.

THE Institution of this famous and formidable Militia, was Founded Originally on the surest Pillars of a deep but barbarous Policy, for Officers were continually dispatch'd to make triennial Seisures of the Christian Children, Inhabiting the Countries unhappily fallen under the galling Yoke of Turkish Slavery: These miserable Wretches thus violently ravish'd from their sorrowful Parents, were distributed in Parties over all the Empire, till they reach'd the Age of Sixteen Years, at which time, compleatly versed in the Knowledge of the Turkish Language and Religion, they were severally disposed of, in the many Seraglio's belonging to the Grand Signior, where for the space of Five or Seven Years, they were inur'd to Hardships by the laborious Practice of continual Drudgeries, such as cleaving Wood, bearing Burthens, working in Gardens, and every other toilsome Exercise; till having learn'd the Art of Patience, and submissive Resignation to the Will of their Superiors, they were instructed diligently in the Art of War; and as the Death of other Janizaries afforded Vacancy, succeeded gradually to their Posts and Privileges, where Practising with an emulative Courage, the Dictates of their Education, they give a fatal Proof how much the present Ties of Life exceed the Bands of weaker Nature; for not retaining the minutest Notion of their Parents or their Country, they bend entirely the Endeavours of their Arms for the wish'd Promotion of their Sultan's Interest; and have in former Ages, by the Excellence of their Discipline and Greatness of their Courage, been Chief Supporters of the Turkish Glory; and by the Just Rewards their Valour won, distinguish'd Honourably as the Flower of that Empire.

The present neglect of that Order occasion'd by their former Insolence.

BUT far below the ancient Spirit of this Martial Order is the grovelling Genius of the Modern Janizaries, who tasting largely of the Sweets of Power in the black Successes of their bold Resentments, grew madly Insolent, and so familiar with Rebellion, that having dy'd their Weapons in the guiltless Blood of many Sultans, they became so terrible to succeeding Emperors, that they have long endeavour'd by the subtle Force of undiscover'd Policies, to Raise some Milder Order on the Ruin of the Former; least like unhappy Rome's Pretorian Cohorts, the rough Effects of their audacious Violence should one Day Ruin that declining Empire, whose Defence alone was the true Design of their Original Institution.

Their Number and Privileges.

THEIR Number was at first confin'd to Seven Thousand, but is now improv'd to more than Forty Thousand lawfully Enroll'd; besides vast Numbers who, by the winning Virtue of an annual Present, to the Officers of this Order, become Possessors of those innumerable Privileges, which exempt the Janizaries from Taxes, Prosecutions, or any other Ties of Justice, so that being own'd on all Occasions by the Muster Masters of that Militia, they stand secure above the Law, and practice Villanies by the favourable Connivance of an uncontroul'd Authority.

Their Way of Living.

THERE are now One Hundred Sixty Two Chambers or large Buildings call'd Odaes at Constantinople, for the Lodging of the Janizaries, but none in any other Part of the Empire, because the Sultan's having ever look'd upon this Order, as the Safety and Support of their Authority, took care to have them always near their Persons, a Design well laid, but fatal in its Consequences. Over every Chamber is an Officer appointed, under the Title of Oda Basham, or Inspecter of the Chamber. The Creation of a Janizary is a peculiar Prerogative of this advantageous Office, and the manner wherein it is perform'd deserves Remark.

The manner of their Creation.

WHEN the Persons to be Chosen have gradually proceeded thro' the tedious Counse of their probationary Labours, they are Summon'd in their Places, to a Personal Appearance before the Muster Master of that Order, who having Registred their Names in Rolls of Parchment, presents them Ceremoniously to the Inspecter of that Chamber into which they are to be admitted, who making them pass by according to their Seniority, the Younger holding up the Elder's Garment, strikes every Man a Blow upon the Ear, to remind him of the Duty and Subjection he then takes upon him, and without the trouble of any additional Formality declares them Janizaries.

Their Pay.

THEY receive their Pay proportionable to their Merit, beginning with little more than a Penny a Day, and encreasing their Allowances upon every worthy Action, till they reach the Salary of Seven Shillings per Week, which is the utmost Pay a Janizary can pretend to, till the Seniority of their Years, or peculiarity of their Actions, advances them to the Offices peculiar to their Order, and makes their Riches equal to their Authority: But by the way, the Reader must observe this Pay is only an additional Encouragement to excite their Valour, for they have not only daily Meals provided in their Chambers, with all the other Necessaries of Life, but receive an annual Present of a Suit of Cloaths from the Bounty of their Emperour, which is generally made of very good and serviceable Green or Violet colour'd Cloth, the Form whereof may fully be perceived, by turning to the Cut relating to the Grecian Wedding, described at large in the One and Twentieth Chapter of this Book.

The Power and Interest of their General.

THERE is an Officer appointed over this Militia, distinguish'd by the Title of Yani-Cherr Aga, or General of the Janizaries, whose suspected Power alarms the Court with such preventive Jealousies, that the Sultan takes a constant Care to give that Charge to one intirely in his Interest: A Policy whose Effects have often sav'd the Modern Emperours from the threatned Violences of their fierce Rebellions: The boundless Power of this Arbitrary Officer extends it self to the decision of every intervening Accident, in favour of, or judgment against them: The common Punishments of their less hainous Crimes are generally ordered by their Inferiour Officers, and executed by the Cooks of their respective Chambers;
The way of Executing a Janizary.

but if any of that Order is detected in a Guilt deserving Death, he is condemned immediately by the Sentence of his General, and thrown at Midnight with the greatest Secrecy imaginable with Weights about his Neck into the middle of the Sea.

Their Arms abroad and at home.

THEIR Arms in War are Scymetars and Musquets wherewith they Fight on Foot, surrounding always the Person of their Emperour, or in his Absence the Vizier or General, they seldom Fight in other Order, than the Figure which of old compos'd the Macedonian Phalanx. When at Home they are appointed a the Guards of Honour to the Christiam Embassadors, to keep perpetual Watch in all the Gates and Avenues of their Imperial City; to Accompany and Protect, such Strangers as are Curious to behold the Rarities of the Country, from the barbarous Insolencies of the rude Inhabitants; which they will do with all imaginable Courtesy and Fidelity, for the small Reward of half a Crown a Day, and sometimes les•. They bear no other Arms at Home than a small Dagger call'd Hanjarr, which with a large smooth Cane, not much unlike the largest Staffs belonging to our Constables, are known so commonly, and so extreamly fear'd by all who meet them, that no Man dares presume to offer the least Affront to any Christian guarded by a Janizary, least his Blood should pay the Forfeit of his Insolence.

A Story of a Janizary at Constantinople.

I remember with concern that at my first Arrival in that Country, while I was a perfect Stranger to their Nature and their Language, I was prompted by the Curiosity of my Temper, to walk about the Streets of Constantinople, and make my Observations on the Place and its Inhabitants, under the undoubted Convoy of a faithful Janizary; we were passing on a Causway in a Publick Street, when the Misfortune of a Rude and Ignorant Potter, led him on to stop our Way, by the means of an Ass that he had loaden with brittle Ware to Sell his Customers about the City: The Janizary had already passed the Door of a large Shop, from whence the poor Fellow drove his Ass upon the Causway, and prevented me from following my Convoy; there was a fair Descent not much beyond him, whereby he might have gone down to the middle of the Street, had he turn'd his Asses Head the other way, but whether mov'd by a Religious Zeal which naturally teaches them to hate a Christian, or by the Native Haughtiness of his unpollish'd Temper, he press'd his Ass with fury forward, and the Passage wanting breadth to give him room, oblig'd me roughly to the inconvenient trouble of an unwilling Squeeze to give him all the way I could, but finding the unwelcome pressure of the Asses Panniers a little incomodious, I was forc'd to lay my Hands upon the Creature's Side, and pushing forward somewhat violently and unexpectedly together, both the Potter and his Panniers fell headlong from the Causway, which was almost Five Foot high, into the middle of the Street, almost half a Foot deep in Mud and Water: The Fellow somewhat hurt by the roughness of his Fall, and very much enraged at the Destruction of his Glasses, drew out a long Knife, which he wore within his Girdle, and running to the Causway endeavour'd furiously to reach my Legs with a revengeful Wound: The Janizary, who had heard the Fall, and was come back to my Assistance, leap'd swiftly down, and drawing his Hanjarr in hasty Passion, struck it to the Hilt in the poor Fellows Shoulder, who falling on his Knees amidst the Dirt, cry'd out with lifted Arms, O God, and Mahomet his only Prophet, in what have I Offended to be made the Ʋictim of a Cursed Infidel. Nay to so unreasonable a Degree was he transported by his Passion, that finding no Redress, he threw the Mud upon his Face, and rowled himself about in Blood and Water, while the Janizary march'd forward unconcern'd and stately, leading me untouch'd, thro' Crowds of People, who tho' their Eyes declar'd their Anger, were oblig'd to hide their Thoughts in the deceitful Postures of a mild Neutrality.

A dangerous Privilege of the Militia.

AMONG the numerous Privileges peculiar to the Janizaries, there is one a little inconsistent with the cautious Policy of the Turkish Government, that is a Permission of increasing their Common Treasury, by the successive Additions of what Sums of Money their Aga's or Generals die possessed of, and the Grant of very considerable Profits, arising from the Tenure of several large Tracts of Land in Anatolia. How dangerous it is to Assign such Power and Riches, to a Standing Army ever Quarter'd in the Metropolis of their Empire, the Turkish Sultans have experienc'd dearly, by the frequent Effects of that audacious Insolence, which having long been nourished by the dictates of their Plenty, has often Flesh'd the Lawless Janzaries in the Murder of their Sovereigns: Nor do they only study their Revenge in the Success of their Rebellion, since 'tis the never failing Interest of this Order, to out-live the Reigns of many Sultans;
Their Abuses of an Interregnum.

for besides the sure Addition of a daily Penny to their former Pay, they gain an uncontroul'd Authority, to Rob and Plunder during the space of a small Interregnum, violently Possessing as a lawful Prize whatever Goods they lay their Hands on; and committing boldly black Outrages with the plausible Pretence of Grieving out of measure for the mournful Death of their Indulgent Master.

THE melancholy Consequences of this Abuse of Power, have as is before declar'd, induc'd the Government to study Means of ruining this Order, which not being able to accomplish by the dint of Force, they have invented many subtil Wiles to Weaken Gradually the Foundations of their Power; for whereas the Matchless Discipline of Ancient Janizaries gave bright Examples to Inferiour Orders, they are now admitted frequently without the Gradual Labours of Probationary Servitude. Marriage once deny'd 'em with the Strictest Prohibition, is not only Suffer'd but Encourag'd by their Officers; Trades are follow'd, and the Weekly Musters Slighted by Permission, insomuch that their Unfurnish'd Chambers, once the Nurseries of Successful Valour, can furnish few at Wars great Summons, who do not Artfully decline the Service, by the prevailing Pleas of Wife and Family, or some mean Shift, whose common Practice has already Weaken'd and will in time Entirely Ruin the declining Columns of that Dwindling Order.

The Turkish Spahee's.

NEXT to the Janizaries, I proceed to speak of that Order of the Turkish Horse, commonly distinguish'd by the Name of Spahee's and divided into two Bodys, viz. the Europaean, and the Asiatick. These Light-Horse Men, were in Ancient times the Noblest Cavalry the World could boast of, Rich and Formidable by the Plenty they were Masters of, never coming into the Field without the Stately Splendour of a Numerous and Magnificent Attendance, and Shining Brightly over all the rest of their Militia by the vast advantages they made of their Acquaintance with, or Interest in, the Greatest Officers of the Empire,
The Reasons of their late Decay.

but Poisoning their Loyalty with the encrease of their Authority, they Sacrifis'd their Honour to the Dictates of Ambition, and Insolently Practic'd a continued Lesson of Mutiny and Rebellion, 'till the common Fate of Falling Treachery Involv'd their Order in a general Ruin, and from the Towring Pyramids of their Unrival'd Grandeur, reduc'd them Gradually to a common Level with the Inferior Orders of the Turks Militia.

Their Pay and Opportunities of Encreasing it.

AT present the Number of Spahees exceeds not Five and Thirty Thousand, who Receive a Quarterly Payment in the Presence of the Vizier Azem, a Custom Introduc'd by the Famous Kupriuli, to prevent the Black effects of those Intestine Discords, common Formerly, from their Pay Day Quarrels; The lowest Salary of a Turkish Spahee is at the Rate of one Shilling a Day, to which they become Intituled to upon their first Promotion to that Office, and encrease their Pay by Gradual Steps, such as the Favour of their Officers, the Addition of 2 Pence or 3 Pence a Day for the Head of every Enemy they bring their General, as much for the Information of a Spahee's Death out of the Pay of the Deceas'd, a Custom Politickly Instituted to prevent the Fashionable Cheats Impos'd on Christian Princes by their Military Officers. Besides which casual Opportunities of Encreasing their Allowances, they Receive the Additional Reward of 4 Pence a Day upon the Accession of every New Sultan to the Throne of his Predecessors, so that by the Favourable turns of Merit or good Fortune they go on Encreasing by Successive Additions, till they attain at last their Ne plus Ʋltra, and sit down contentedly in the full Possession of Eight Shillings and Four-Pence per Day.

Their Arms in War.

THE Common Arms in use amongst these Horse-Men are numerous and convenient, and so strangely differing from one another, that 'tis a Sight Compleatly curious to observe a Disciplin'd Spahee, as fully Arm'd as War requires him. For first a Glittering Helmet rather Graces than Defends their Heads, a Back and Breast Piece Guard their Bodies, and on their Shoulders Hangs a Bow with a Capacious Quiver of their Eastern Arrows, their Girdles often hold 4 Horse-Mens Pistols, a long Light Musket Slung like ours, hangs Neatly at their Sides, and on their proper Thigh, is Fast'ned a Large Weighty Scymetar, werewith when Broken in upon Disorder'd Enemies they do Prodigious Execution, and Riding short in strong and spacious Stirrops, lift themselves with ease beyond their Saddle, and extend a Blow with double Fury: Besides these Arms, they bear upon the left side of their Horses beneath the Girt, another strong and broader Back-Sword; which with an Iron headed Mace, for that purpose fasten'd on the contrary side, they use promiscuously as they see Occasion.

Their Discipline rather desperate than regular.

THEIR Discipline is mean and insignificant, for they never Form their Bodies according to the politer Practice of the Christian Nations, into Regiments or Companies, Rank, File, or any other Order, but uniting strongly into one gross Multitude, observe attentively the Nod of their Commanders, and repeating loudly Exclamations upon God, under the Expressions Allah, Allah, fall rashly on with speed and vigour; and if repuls'd in their two first Endeavours, to break the Order of their Enemies, repeat with desperate Rashness their dangerous Attempt, and if repell'd that fatal time, forget their Courage, and disperse confusedly in all the hurry of a shameful Flight.

Their Punishments.

IN War, the Charge of those Rich Waggons, which contain the Money for the Payment of the Troops, is constantly committed to the Custody of the Spahees; whose place it is to stand on Horseback as Centinels of Honour with a Janizary on Foot, at the end of every Rope which supports the stately Pavilion of their Sultan, or in his Absence the Vizier his General. When their Crimes deserve the Punishment of Death, they suffer privately like the Janizaries, but when Demerits of a lower Nature, call for Punishments of smaller Rigour, they are bastinadoed on their Feet as is before describ'd, while offending Janizaries feel the Cudgel on their fleshy Buttocks, that the one may Ride and t'other Walk without uneasiness; by which means neither is prevented from the Service of his Sultan.

SO much shall serve to have spoken of the two extraordinary Orders of the Turkish Militia, who receive immediate Salaries from the Treasures of the Sultan. I shall now proceed to Calculate as nearly as is possible the prodigious Numbers of their Cavalry, whose formidable Bodies have so often struck a panick Fear thro' the despairing Armies of contending Governments.

Zaims and Ti¦mariot•,

what •hey are.THE main Support and sinewy Foundation of their Military Power, are the Orders distinguish'd in their Language by the Names of Zaim and Timariot; the First of which in Rank and Title is no ways Inferiour to an Earl in Christendom, the last may justly be compar'd with our Europaean Barons, and both not much unlike those Persons, who in England possess'd Estates in Capite, or the ancient Tenure of Knight's Service.

Their Use and Duty.

IT ever was, and still continues a Custom amongst the Turks, immediately after having Conquer'd the Dominions of an Enemy, to parcel out the Lands into certain large Divisions; and bestow them instantly upon such of their Officers as had successfully distinguish'd themselves in the Reduction of that Country: These Men in return for the Possession of their Lands, are besides the necessary Duties of a Rustical Improvement, oblig'd continually to maintain a settled Number of Men and Horses compleatly Arm'd, and ready at a Minutes warning for the Call of War; to which they go themselves attended by their several Numbers when the Grand Signior or Vizier appear in Person in the Field; but generally go or stay, according to the Dictates of their various Inclinations, when the Armies are Commanded by some Inferior General.

The Charge incumbent on a Zaim.

OF these the Zaims, as noblest in their Quality are richest in their Possessions, and consequently Tax'd with a proportionable Weight of Care and Charges. The lowest Charge incumbent on a Zaim, is Four compleat and qualified Horsemen, and the highest Nineteen. The highest of a Timariot is Four, and the smallest One: But many of these Men, ambitious of Preferment, and desirous to be taken notice of, for over-acting their Parts of Loyalty and Obedience, will often double, sometimes treble their Proportion of the Soldiers.

THAT the Reader may be able to compute the Number of the Ottoman Forces, I will proceed to make a reasonable Calculation of these Horsemen, from the several Farms belonging to the Two and Twenty Provinces heretofore mention'd.

In the Province of

Anatolia

are rekon'd

629

Zaims, and

8570

Timariots.

Caramania

073

2165

Diarbekir

118

0873

Scham

128

0560

Siwas

108

3029

Ezrum

122

5548

Pascha

185

0826

Marasch

027

0512

Cyprus

040

1067

Tripoly

063

0570

Rika

060

0666

Terbozan

056

0398

Halep

117

1044

Childir

106

0959

Kupudan

124

1152

Rumeeli

075

8194

Bosna

063

1621

Kars

078

2111

Musul

058

1340

Kibros

094

2450

Babylon

180

7924

The Militia peculiar to Grand Cairo.

GRAND CAIRO is omitted here, as having a Militia peculiar to its self, to be treated of hereafter, consisting of Twenty Thousand Horse and Eighty Thousand Foot, kept constantly to be ready upon all Occasions; so that in the One and Twenty Arch-Dukedoms above-mention'd are contain'd at least, Three Thousand Five Hundred and Four Zaims, and Fifty One Thousand Five Hundred Seventy Nine Timariots; and the Charges incumbent on the First of these, being as I have said before from Four to Nineteen Men, we may reasonably conclude, that the Grandeur of One making full amends for the Deficiency of the Other, they come attended to the Field at the rate of Ten Followers to each Man, which added to their Masters, compleat the Number of Thirty Eight Thousand Five Hundred and Eighty Men.

A Calculation of the Number of the Turkish Horse.

THE lowest Quota of a Turkish Timariot as has been told already, being One Man and the highest Four; and indeed there remaining few of the Former, since the vast Improvements made of ancient Farms, we may with reason judge Timariots to bring, one with another, Three Men besides themselves to serve in War; which make in all, the Number of Two Hundred and Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Eight Fighting Men; which added to the Zaims, Spahees, and Egyptian Soldiers aforemention'd, compleat their Cavalry and form a Standing Army consisting of at least, Three Hundred Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty Eight accomplish'd Horsemen.

NOR is this large Account of their Prodigious Numbers Swoln beyond the fix'd Reality of their Existence, I might rather have advanc'd my Calculation in a High Degree, from the Natural Dictates of Conspicuous Probability, but shall Content my self with having given my Reader an Account, Sincerely void of all Extravagancies, and those Fashionable Practices (whether Justly or Ʋnjustly, I shall not here dispute) so Unfortunately Imputed to the too Prolifick Fancy's of our Modern Travellers.

The Order of the Tukish Infantry call'd Azapi.

PROPORTIONABLE to the Cavalry is the Unnumbred Infantry of the Turkish Nation, which consists of several Degrees in Honour or advantage, and all Maintain'd in War and Peace without the smallest Burthen on the Sultan's Treasury, the most Unvalued, Numerous, and Unpolish'd Souldiers of the Turkish Army, are the Azapi, an Order void of Form or Discipline, who in the Storming Towns, defending Trenches, or Attacking Armies are like useless Blocks of Timber Push'd upon their Ruin, that falling Dead by Thousands they may as it were make Blunt the Weapons of the Enemy, and with their Bodys fill a Ditch or form a Bulwark for the Passage or Defence of their more Valued Followers.

BESIDES these General Bodies of the Turks Militia, every Province has some Peculiar Order for its own Defence, nor do the Guards of Viceroys and Provincials form an Inconsiderable Part of their Unshaken Strength and Power; no Bey, Bashaw, or any distant Governour, believing himself secure without the Guard of certain Thousands of Souldiers Appropriated to his Service, who when the Common Danger, or their Masters Loyalty speaks 'em necessary, are sent to serve their Country, where any Seat of War requires their Presence.

THERE are, besides these mention'd Orders several other sorts of Souldiery, such as Gunners, Armourers, Baggage-Guarders, &c. of which in Constantinople only, may be Reckon'd constantly the Number of 12 or 14 Thousand, whereby the Reader may be able to guess, what Proportionable Swarms must be Distributed in all the Spreading Corners of that Spacious Empire.

The Turks Auxiliary Forces from Valachia and Moldavia.

THE Subjects of Moldavia and Valachia are Oblig'd to send Auxiliary Forces to the Assistance of the Turks, whensoever their occasions Press 'em to Require it, the Settled Quota of each Country is about Eight Thousand Men, Commanded always by their Respective Princes, nor can the Weightiest Plea of Incapacited Poverty, Exempt 'em from that Duty.

The Duty of the Tartar Han, in respect to the Grand-Signior's Service.

BUT the Greatest aid, the Turks Receive from their depending Allies, is the fix'd Supply of Fifty Thousand Horse, a Tribute due to the Occasions of the Sultan, from the Petty Tartar, to be led by the Young Han his Son, or the Chief Minister of the Country, when the Turkish Army is Commanded by the Grand Vizier, or any other General, but when the Emperour Commands in Person, the Tartar Han or Prince himself must come and joyn him with a Furnish'd Army of an Hundred Thousand Men.

HAVING Dwelt so long upon those Numerous Orders whose Unnumber'd Multitudes Compose that Formidable Power whereunto in former Ages the Successfull Turks have ow'd their Fortune, it may not be Esteem'd Unnecessary to describe particularly that Accomplish'd Discipline so strictly Practis'd in the Longest Marches of their Numerous Army.

THO' the Turkish Management of their Body Military has been Rendred void of Form and Discipline by the Mistaken Representations of some too Hasty Travellers, yet a Person who observes with a Curious Impartiality, the Artfull methods of their Warlike Government, will soon percieve a Matchless Order Shine Conspicuously throughout their Camp, whose Good effects Produce continually such Happy Consequences, as will more than make a full Atonment for their known Deficiency in the Art of War,

The use of Wine denied Souldiers of the Turkish Army upon pain of Death.

FOR First, the use of Wine is there Deny'd 'em by so Strict a Prohibition, that the Smallest Quantity, when Discover'd, is a certain Sacrifice of that Mans Life who has it in Possession. Hereby those frequent Quarrels and Audacious Villanies so Fatal and Pernicious to the Christian Armies are Perpetually avoided, and the Noisy Clamours of Tumultuous War, Subservient Calmly to the Milder Influence of a Peacefull Quietude, no Rapes or Murders Plead for Justice to the Base Abettors of a Countenanc'd Disorder, no Hopes or Prospect of Unlawfull gain can Tempt the Officers of a Turkish Army, to the Loose Permission of Licentious Insolencies; all is Mild and Serene and Silent, and the Horrid Face of Gloomy War Disguis'd or Painted by the Brighter Marks of Form and Discipline.

TIS for this the Officers of any Marching Troops throughout the Turks Dominions, Dispatch continually from Place to Place, a certain Number of the Trustiest Janizaries, to Search the Towns through the which their Men must Pass, and Seal or Stave what Buts of Wine or other Spirituous Liquor they find therein, at Least 4 Days before their Camp Arrives.

A Curious sort of Torches us'd in Turkey.

ANOTHER Custom Prevalent amongst the Turkish Armies is to March 'em constantly from Town to Town, and never suffer them in Peace or War to Lie so long in any Place, as to Contrive such Mischiefs as our Christian Souldiers by their Tempting Opportunities do too often Study, and find means to Execute; nay so Carefull are their Chiefs to prevent Disturbances, that they will rather Travel all Night long than give their Men the means of Plundering those Miserable Wretches on whom they Quarter; and indeed it is a Sight Extreamly Pleasant to behold 'em Marching thro' the Thickest Gloom of Winter Nights, with so Innumerable a Quantity of Bright Illuminations as almost Rival Day it self with their Extended Lustre; nor are these Lights like our small Torches, but Compos'd of Large and Massy Balls of Flax and Cotton, dip'd in Tarr or Turpentine, or oftner a sort of Oily, and Bituminous Wood, which certain Arabs, Purposely Attending on the Turkish Camp, and there Distinguish'd by the Name of Massalageelar, bear aloft in Iron Cages, carried on a Tall and Elevated Staff not much unlike those Ancient Lights Describ'd in Old and Valuable Tapesttry.

The form wherein the Turkish Generals Pitch their Camps.

AND now, since I have so often mentioned the Turkish Army, 'twill no ways favour of a Disgressive Prolixity, if I Describe at Large that Gracefull Order and unthought Magnificence wherewith they Pitch their Camps in every Place they come to. First then, the Large Pavilions of the Sultan, Grand Vizier, or any other General then Marching at their Head, are Pitch'd directly in the midst of some Extensive Plain, Surrounded at Submissive Distance by the Tents of his Lord Treasurer, Chief Steward, Secretary and the Master of the Ceremonies; these Five Pavilions Plac'd as I have said before, at a Respectfull Distance, Extend themselves upon a vast Spot of Ground, leaving in the Middle one fine open Square, in whose delineated Center stand a double Row of stately Pillars, which support a lofty Canopy, under which all Punishments when order'd by the General, are put in Execution: Here come the Officers of the Army, either led by Business or desire of Conversation, and walking up and down in several Companies, form agreeably a sort of Promenade, diverting, tho' irregular.

The Turkish Treasury, how Guarded in the Camp.

NOT far from hence are plac'd those valuable Chests which bear the Treasure for the Soldiers Payment, pil'd in gradual Order one upon the other, and rising in a Form directly circular: These Chests are guarded both within and without, by certain Chosen Horse-Men, who all Night long, keep strict and formidable Watch, with Spears and Fire-Arms.

THE Two abovemention'd Quarters are surrounded by the graceful Tents of the Bashaws, Beys, Beylerbeys, Sangiacks, and Aga's, whose stately Form and vast Magnificence can never be imagin'd, but by such whose ocular Demonstration have convinc'd 'em of their Grandeur; for tho' the Turks delight but little in the outward Ornament of Houses, nor aspire in the least to overdo each other in the Europaean Custom of Polite and Solid Architecture, yet do they far more exceed us in the rich Ornaments and Contrivances of their Pavilions, than we outshine their homely Hutts, and miserable Cottages, by the stupendious Fabricks of our finest Marble, and the most lasting Statelyness of our most celebrated Edifices.

The wonderful Conveniences of the Turkish Pavilions.

'TIS every way impossible to describe at large those tripple Walls, vast Rooms of State, innumerable Apartments, Kitchens, Butteries, Cellars, and convenient Offices, wherein those Tents abound which form the Courts of some considerable Officers in their Army; their Rooms are square, and full of Windows, neatly form'd to open always from the Windy Quarter; and in short, nothing either Useful or Ornamental is omitted to compleat them.

The Quarters of the Zaims, Timariots, &c.

BEHIND their Masters lie, in measur'd Order, a prodigious Number of the Zaims, Timariots and Beylerbeys, in Proportion to the Sultan's Army, who with their Horses, Camels, Mules and Carriages, appear a huge and formidable Body, of well-skill'd and disciplin'd Soldiers.

Quarters of the Janizaries.

THe Chosen Glories of the Turkish Camp compose its Front, consisting chiefly of the bravest Janizaries, and such accomplish'd Voluntiers, as having fully qualified themselves by a long Experience for the Duty of an Office, expect impatiently some profitable Employment, by gradual Succession to the vacant Posts of such as fall, or by the long-wish'd Favour of some Great Commander. These encompass at an aweful Distance, the Yani-Cherr-Aga, or General of the Janizaries, whose Place and Power I have lately spoken of, in the foregoing Part of this Chapter.

The Spahees Quarter'd in the Rear.

THE Rear of their Army is generally compos'd of the Politest Spahees, who with many other Regular and Well-appointed Horsemen, of the most Esteem'd and Honourable Orders, maintain their Posts in case of need with wonderful Alacrity and Resolution, making Good the Retreat of their disorder'd Fellows, by bravely Sacrfising their Lives and Liberty, for the preferable Interest of their Sultan and his Country.

Station of the Baggage and heavy Artillery.

'TIS generally under the Guard of these above-nam'd Horsemen, that the Baggage, Camels, and heavy Artillery belonging to the Army are safely Convoy'd; and really when a Man who seriously reflects on what he sees, becomes a Witness of the numberless Attendants, Trains, and Carriages of the Turkish Armies, he cannot but with Wonder bless that God, who curbs in Mercy the Ambitious Arms of this prodigious Government, and has kindly plac'd a powerful Hook in the presumptuous Nostrils of their Great Leviathan.

THUS have I at large describ'd the fatal Instruments of those depopulating Slaughters, whose raging Violence in former Ages, rais'd the Monarchs of a ravish'd Empire, to the loftiest Throne of undivided Power and arbitrary Tyranny, which the World supports; and still continue to maintain the Swords Prerogative, whereby without respect to Justice or Religion, the Turkish Sultans trample proudly on the softer Dictates of Nature and Morality; removing violently whatever Rubs obstruct their Will; and to whose Inhumane Practices nothing can be more applicable, than the Precepts of Photinus, express'd as follows in the Eighth Book of Lucan.

Sceptrorum vis tota perit, si pendere justa

Incipit; evertitque arces respectus honesti.

Libertas Scelerum est, &c.

Scepters lose Pow'r when Kings Religious grow,

And valued Honesty does Tow'rs o'erthrow;

Free Villany Supports an enviod Reign,

And unsheath'd Weapons, unshock'd Pow'r Maintain.

He who in Wicked Actions takes delight,

Is Safe no longer than they Crown his Sight.

The Pious Man in Courts shou'd never dwell,

Vertue and Sov'reign Pow'r agree not well;

But he who meanly thinks such Sin a Shame,

Let him for ever fear, and miss the Road to Fame.

CHAP. V. Of their Naval Force.

The convenient Situation of Constantinople, in respect to Navigation.

LET us now proceed to search a little into those extraordinary Conveniencies for attaining the highest Perfection in the Art of Navigation, so peculiar to the Capital of the Turkish Empire, that it seems as if the Hand of Providence had fix'd at Constantinople the happy Seat of Universal Monarchy, and blest its Neighbourhood with all the mighty Helps that bounteous Nature can afford a Country, or the Hand of Art can possibly require, to extend Dominion over all the World, and spread Authority thro' distant Climates, vainly separated by the Watry Desarts of a Stormy Ocean.

NOT all the Kingdoms of the Christian World, shou'd they resolve to join their Forces, and partake promiscuously of one anothers Blessings, cou'd afford conjointly more Materials for Maritime Improvements, than grow commodiously within the beckon of the Turks Metropolis;
Timber whence brought them.

for round the Shores whose ragged Cliffs encompass the Euxine or Black Sea, stand endless Numbers of Tall Woods, whose stately Timber fell'd for Use, supply the City thro' the Thracian Bosphorus, with the finest Wood requir'd for Building.

Canvas, Hemp Tar, Pitch, Tallow and Bisket.

CANVAS for Sails, and Hemp for Rigging well what Ships they build, they have beyond all possible Necessity, from those Parts of Egypt which surround Grand-Cairo. Valachia, Moldavia, Epirus and Albania, supply them plentifully with Tallow, Pitch, and Tarr, the best in Europe; as for Bisket it abounds incredibly thro' every Corner of their vast Dominions.

The prodigious Magnitude of the Arsenal at Constantinople.

THEIR Ports and Arsenals for building Ships are Numerous, and Convenient beyond Imagination; that at Constantinople is so vastly Large and full of Volta's or Docks for Building, as to be capable of Fitting out above One Hundred and Thirty Five Vessels at one and the same time; nor are the other Arsenals and Harbours of his Empire, less Convenient or Magnificently Splendid, in proportion to the several Magnitudes of the respective Towns or Places where they are;
Whence supplied with Gally Slaves.

and as for Gally-Slaves to tugg laboriously at the toilsom Oar, they neither do nor can want fresh Supplies, while the Barbarian Pirates or dreadful Ravages of the Inhumane Tartars, present or sell them yearly Thousands of such unhappy Wretches, as have fallen unwarily into their Hands, and so become the wretched Victims of their insatiate Avarice.

NOW may my Reader be induc'd to fansie from the Accounts abovemention'd, that the Relation I shall give him of the Turkish Fleets will be proportionable to their Conveniencies for encouraging above the Christian World, the useful Art of Navigation; but he will find his Error with a deep Surprize, when he perceives their Naval Force, not only unimprov'd by an industrious Application, to an equal Balance with the Christian Navies, but on the contrary, every way Inferior to the Maritime Improvements of those Poor Republicks, whose small Extent and insignificant Possessions, do scarce intitle them to the Name of Governments, when look'd upon in Competition with the far superior Power of Confederated Christendom.

Why the Turks grew weak in Navigation.

YET is this great Misfortune rather owing to their Ignorance than Idleness, having frequently Attempted to Equip vast Navies, and with some Success Invaded Hostile Nations with their sometime Formidable Squadrons, but their want of Knowledge in the Arts of Building, Rigging, or the Management of Vessels, still occasion'd Yearly Losses to the Sultan, by their dreadful Shipwracks when they met with Tempests, or more dreadful Overthrows when driven by the Turns of Chance to stand the Shock of a more Skillful Enemy, in the destructive Trial of some decisive Battle.

Gallies now chiefly us'd.

'TIS for this alone they have of late dis-us'd their Large Maa-humes or Ships of War, and fallen wholly into building Gallies and Galleasses, so that trusting rather to the Oar, than their Strength or Courage, they preserve their Navies from those shocking Dangers which so often broke 'em, when they vainly thought themselves a Match by Sea as well as Land for Christian Enemies.

THERE are notwithstanding now at Constantinople so many Tall and Stately Ships of War, as might compose a Navy of Five or Six and Thirty Sail, from Twenty Four to One Hundred and Sixteen Guns; but these are never sent Abroad for Use but Oftentation.
The Form of Turkish Ships of War.

They are beyond imagination high and broad, their Sterns and Heads built high, one Deck above another, for Conveniency of Lodging Officers, but so unweildy by their Form, and so unfit for Stormy Weather by the Green unseason'd Timber which is us'd about 'em, that tho' they put to Sea, with Drums and Trumpets Sounding, endless Crowds of Sailors Shouting, and their Streamers Flying with a rich Magnificence, they soon return Unrigg'd and Shattered, less in Number as in Splendour, bearing shamefully the ragged Marks of Weakness and Disorder in their tatter'd Sails, and Planks just gaping to admit the Ocean.

THE Turkish Gallies, which as I said before, are what they most depend on, are jointly subject to the same Misfortunes with their Larger Vessels, and utterly unable to resist the Fury of a Winter Sea, wherefore being-fix'd in dry Docks belonging to the Arsenal, till the sharp extremity of that unfavour'd Season is a little over, there are Orders given to the Sultan's Admiral, distinguish'd by the Name of Capitain-Bashaw, to call 'em from their Stations, and with all imaginable Expedition put to Sea, and Cruise all Summer.

The manner of their raising Seamen.

PROCLAMATION is immediately hereupon, Issued carefully over all the Turks Dominions bordering on the Black and Midland Seas, that such as hold their Lands in Tenour of Sea Service, shall suddenly Repair with their respective Quotas to their several Posts on Board their Gallies, this is done with utmost speed, and generally brings together about Two Thirds of that great Number which their Fleet requires upon all Occasions.

The Pay of a Turkish Sailor.

TO fill the Vacancies which still require supply, they List immediately prodigious Numbers of a sort of Mariners, there distinguish'd by the Name of Tchurmah, who are kept as Slaves by People in the Towns which border on the Sea, and hir'd to serve the Summer out on board the Gallies, where for Six Months Drudgery at the laborious Oar, they receive a good Allowance of Provision for the Voyage, and about the Sum of Five and Twenty Pounds at their Return, which is the sole Right and Property of their respective Masters, who live an Idle and Inglorious Life, upon the toilsom Labours and unpitied Miseries of their Fellow Creatures.

IN case there still requires a fresh Recruit, they send a certain Number of their sturdiest Seamen, to rove from Place to Place, about the Provinces which border on their Capital, and there Impress the lustiest Clowns they find amongst them, till by this Addition they compleat the Number which the Service of the Sultan then demands.

An admirable Policy.

THESE last are call'd Azaps or Clowns, and as least Useful to the Necessities of their Emperour, are still least Burthensome to his Treasury, for tho' their Pay is equal to the rest, it Costs the Government not one sole Farthing, for out of every Five and Twenty Families they claim a Right to one Azap, and for his Maintenance that Summer, the other Four, and Twenty Houses are oblig'd to raise an equal Sum of Money to reward his Service.

BESIDES these several Orders of the Turkish Seamen, there remains another to be spoken of, which consists of those condemn'd Delinquents of the Christian Churches subject to their Tyranny, whose Crimes or evil Fate have chain'd their Bodies to the Oar of Slavery, whence Death alone has Power to free them; these, with such of the Maltese, Venetian, Spanish, or Italian Mariners, as have unfortunately been the Prize of War, are kept
Misery of Galley-Slaves.

together void of Hope in endless Misery, never to enjoy their Ravish'd Liberty till the Pitying Sea demands their Bodies, Worn and Meagre by continual Labours, or the Happy turn of a Successfull Battle, shall with Joy give back again that Darling Blessing which it once took from 'em.

The Yearly Voyage of the Turkish Fleet of Galleys.

THE Turkish Galleys thus Equip'd, set Sail for a large Port upon the Hellespont now call'd Gallipolis. Their Number ne'er exceeds one Hundred nor can the Mighty Power of the Turkish Sultan maintain a greater Fleet, tho' oft Attempted. Hence they Sail as War or Business leads their Admiral, from Isle to Isle round all the Tributary Islands of the Archepilago, to awe the Natives from Rebellion or Disorder; or Preserve their Shoars from the Repeated Insults of their Christian Enemies, till having spent the time Allotted for their Absence, they return again to the Port of Constantinople, and Discharging all their Hired Seamen, Place the Galleys in their former Stations, and retire to their Respective Habitations, till Approaching Spring Invites their Officers to Renew their Care, and Summon Back the Marriners to their Abandon'd Duty.

Beyes of the Archipalago.

BESIDES the Fleet Immediately depending on the Sultan's Admiral, there are a certain Number (under Twenty) of the Lords or Governours of the abovenam'd Islands, who by the Tenure of their several Governments are still Oblig'd to Joyn the Navy every Summer, with each a well appointed Galley under his Command, when every Prize they Chance to Take is the undoubted Right and Property of their Sultan, but when in Winter, they continue Cruizing, after the Return of their High Admiral and his Navy, whatever Prize their Fortune gives 'em, is their own by Law, and by themselves Possess'd as Lawfull Booty.

A great Oversight in their Governments.

THE Fatal cause of that Unsinew'd Weakness in the Turkish Nvay, may not be Improperly Assign'd to their Unskilfull Practice in the Art of Navigation, guiding with a sort of Listless Application, their Unpolish'd rules of Maritine Improvements, and so Confiding in the sure Perfection of the Christian knowledge in that usefull Science, that without the least Examination into the Pretensions of a Renegado, they Immediately advance him to the Post of Gunner, Sail-Maker, Carpenter or Boatswain, never doubting his Accomplishment in a Study which they look upon as natural to the Natives of a Christian Country.

I know not whether it proceeds from a mean Despair of being able to Exceed or Equal us in Sea Affairs, or is the Luxurious Effect of their Prodigious Plenty, and those Rich Dominions they Possess by Land, which Tempts their Inclinations to a Gross and Unmolested Enjoyment of their Unmeasur'd Wealth, and draws away their minds from that Industrious Application, they must long time use before they can Attain a full Perfection in that neglected Science. But Plain and Undeniable Demonstration, convinces us that they Affect not in the least becoming Formidable by a Powerful Navy, never Venturing into distant Oceans, and very Rarely out of sight of Land, Sailing always by Direction of certain False and Ill-design'd Sea-Charts, Mechanically Drawn without the Smallest knowledge of a Mathematical Proportion, and as a Cloak to Shroud the Shamefull Ignorance which Reigns among them, make Frequent use of an Inglorious Proverb,
A Turkish Proverb.

viz. That God hath given the Land to their Possession, and thought fit to leave the Sea to the Dominion of the Infidels.

IN former Ages the Grand Signior cou'd by Virtue of his great Authority at any time Oblige the Algierines, with those of Tunis, Tripoly, Morocco, Fez, and other Parts of Africa, to come with Powerful Ships of War to his Assistance;
The Pyrates of Barbary Independant on the Grand-Signior.

but the Princes of those Country's having lately much Encreas'd their Power as well as Policy, find constant Means by some Excuse to Quitt his Service, nor Approach his Empire, but in Order to Recruit their own, with Fresh Supplies of Men and Plunder, while they Frequently Attack such Graecian Islands as are under the Protection of the Turkish Sultan, and Artfully contrive to Play the Pirate by Lying off at Sea without the Reach of any Fort or Castle, that upon Complaint by those they Injure to the Officers of the Grand Signior, those Avaricious Ministers who Ʋnder-hand receive their Shares of all the Booty, may have a fair Pretence for the Refusing to demand a Legal Satisfaction, as knowing it beyond their Power to Revenge the Injury.

HAVING lately spoken of the Miserable Fate wherein such Wretches find themselves Involv'd, as are by the Unhappy Chance of War become the Slaves of an Inhumane Enemy, it may not be Unwelcome to Relate a Story, of the Particulars whereof I was Inform'd by many People who were Witnesses to the Truth of most of its Uncommon Passages.

A strange Story of a Turkish Slave redeemed from Servitude.

SIGNIOR PIETRO CORNARO a Young Accomplish'd Gentleman of an Ancient Family, and considerable Fortune in the City of FERRARA in Italy, was led not many Years ago, to Travel thro' the Various Provinces of his Celebrated Country, that by Improving his Experience he might Entirely Satisfie his Eager Curiosity, and Enrich his Mind with such Refin'd Notions, as wou'd distinguish his Perfections from the far less Qualifi'd and common Conversation of his Fellow Citizens.

HE came amongst other Places to Leghorne, and took up Lodgings at an Inn, in order to Observe the Rarities of that well Peopled City, and Hapning to be Plac'd in an Appartment that Op'ned to the Publick Street, wou'd often take a Morning Walk about his Room, and looking Frequently upon the Street, Divert himself Agreeably by a Curious Observation of whatever Pass'd before him.

A Privilege of Slaves in Leghorne.

TIS a Custom of the Town abovemention'd, to Enlarge the Turks who serve 'em as their Slaves, and give them Liberty to Ply as Porters, or betake themselves to any other Toilsome Drudgery, Obliging them to Pay their Masters such a Daily Sum of Money as is Judg'd convenient, and Permitting them to keep the little Over-plus to serve Occasionally their own Necessities.

A Virtuous Curiosity.

DIRECTLY Opposite to Signior Pietro's Chamber was a Bench, on which he often saw a Melancholy Turk sit Thoughtfull and Dejected, Leaning Pensively his Head upon his Hand, and Dropping now and then a Silent Tear, which he Endeavour'd Secretly to Wipe away with a large Knott of Ropes the Wretched Badge of his Unfortunate Employment. The Frequent Repetition of this Mournfull Practice, tho' begun too Early for a Publick Observation, was perceiv'd with Wonder by the Compassionate Italian, who Earnestly desirous to become Acquainted with the reasons of his Sorrow, sent at last a Messenger to Fetch him, and having Carry'd him Directly to his own Appartment, Discours'd a while and Askt him several Questions in the Italian Language, wherein the Turk had then Attain'd Considerable Knowledge, and Receiving Answers Modest and Particular, Proceeded to demand the manner of his being Taken, and how long he had continued in that State of Slavery.

WITH wringing Hands and elevated Looks which seem'd to blame his Starrs for his unpity'd Misery, The poor, disconsolate Mahometan began his Tale, and water'd his Complaint with showers of Tears, whose falling Streams spoke piercing Proofs of his ungovernable Sorrow: I am, says he, an honest Musse•man, never Friend to War or Rapine, but became a Sacrifice to both, in an unlucky Visit to an Aged Father, then in Health, and Peace, at Cyprus; now perhaps laid Cold and Breathless in some gloomy Grave, and may have broke his Heart to hear my Misery.

THESE sad Complaints were follow'd mournfully by a sincere and full Account of every Accident which had concurr'd unfortunately to reduce him to this Slavery; he soon at large inform'd his kind Inquirer, that he had sorrowfully spent Four tedious Years in that Condition, which had left Three Wives, Two Sons now Men, and Nine small Children, drown'd in Grief for his unlucky Loss, and wholly destitute of any means whereby to know his present Habitation.

THE pitying Breast of Signior Pietro, fram'd for tender and compassionate Impressions, melted generously with Sympathetical Concern, to hear the wretched and forlorn Condition of this complaining Infidel, and asking him his Name, and other things he thought convenient, he gave him Money and dismiss'd him kindly, with a Word or two of Comfort.

A generous Compassion.

THE Turk return'd disconsolately back to the unwelcom Practice of his daily Labours, and the tender-natur'd Signior Pietro, seriously reflecting on his weighty Sorrow, and considering that the Will of Providence, or some unthought of Turn of fickle Chance, might one Day make the Case his own, and teach him by the bitter Proofs of sad Experience, how to pity others Miseries, by the insupportable Extremity of his own Misfortunes; he resolv'd to do a noble Act of Christian Charity, and making Interest with the Governour of the Town, found means to get the Turk Releas'd, for the Ransom of about One Hundred Forty Five Duccats.

NEVER could more welcome and surprizing News rejoyce the Heart of Humane Sufferer, than that which brought the happy Turk the News of his Delivery; with rapid Transports of ungovern'd Joy he fell upon his Knees, embrac'd the Feet of his ador'd Redeemer, and with numerous Vows of hearty Gratitude, entreated Signior Pietro to inform him how he might return twice told that friendly Sum, which had so generously purchas'd him his valued Liberty.

An honourable Liberality.

THE Good Italian wish'd him well, but told him he expected no Return, yet if his Soul was Noble and wou'd urge him to be Grateful, he only ask'd his solemn Promise that he wou'd at his Return, Redeem from Slavery some Christian Gentleman, whom he shou'd think did most deserve it, and send him back as soon as possible, to visit once again his Native Country; This last Agreement was in fine c•ncluded on, and the deliver'd Turk, supplied with Cloaths and all things necessary, embark'd on board an English Vessel bound for Turkey, and return'd successfully to his former Habitation.

THERE pass'd about Three Months beyond the Day of the Mahometan's Departure from Leghorne, when Signior Pietro, having been the greatest Part of that time in Venice, pleas'd extreamly with the City and its People, became enamour'd of a Lady Young and Beautiful, call'd Maria Margarita Delfino, who had for several Years resided in that Town, under the Roof and Care of a substantial Merchant, youngest Brother to her Father, who with her Sisters, and the major Part of her Relations, liv'd at Malta: Nothing cou'd disswade the Amorous Italian from a violent Expression of his growing Passion; he sollicited her Uncle with incessant Importunities, and at last engag'd him to permit him to Address her, upon this Condition, that he should accompany his Niece and him to Malta, there to gain her Father's Approbation of his Person and Condition. This he promis'd, and continued Four Months daily visiting the Object of his Affection, till he gain'd entirely her Consent to Marry him when she was Authoriz'd to do it by her Father's Order; and it seems their Sympathetic Ornaments of Mind and Body, pointed out the Match, and spoke 'em only Worthy of each others Value.

A strange Misfortune which befel a Lover and his Mistress.

THEY Embark'd upon a Vessel Bound for Malta, and belonging to that Island, which they were almost arriv'd in Sight of, when a Turkish Gally met and boarded them, making undistinguish'd Prize of all her Cargo, and transporting Signior Pietro, with his Mistress and her Uncle into threatned Slavery, landing them at Smyrna, together with the Valuable Prize in which they took them.

OH! Strange Uncertainty of Humane Life, blind, mad Event of fickle Fortune! How much in vain do thoughtless Mortals boast the Blessings of a Worldly Grandeur, when the sudden Turns of War, or Accident, destroy Tyrannically, in one poor Moment, the stateliest Pillars of that fansied Greatness upon which Foundation we so vainly Build our Hopes of Happiness!

A very odd and surprizing Turn of Fortune.

I forgot to tell you that the Three Companions in this miserable State, had chang'd their Cloaths, for course and rougher Habits, when they saw the Danger they were falling into, that being so disguis'd they might expect a Ransom from a smaller Charge than otherwise would serve 'em; so that being taken with the Common People they were like them, in Chains, conducted to the Publick Market, where the Slaves are Bought and Sold like Sheep or Oxen; Signior Pietro and the young Ladies Uncle were ty'd together, and plac'd with many more to wait the Purchase of the fairest Bidder; opposite to them the Poor, Unhappy Lady stood, half dead with Fear and Anguish, with a numerous Crowd of Christian Women, Young and Old, expecting every Moment to be Bought, and torn away from any hopes of seeing ever more her Lover and Relation.

A grating Trial of a Lover's Patience.

WHO cou'd now express the swelling Grief, conflicting Passions and tumultuous Agonies, wherewith these poor desponding Lovers view'd each other, yet not daring to discover their Concern, for fear their Love should double their Misfortunes; till at last a young and graceful Turk came up to the disconsolate Maria, and bargaining immediately with the Officer who kept her, paid the Money, and throwing on a Veil he brought on purpose, took her from the rest, and carry'd her away with an extraordinary Satisfaction.

MANY a Complaining Look did the despairing Lady give her Friends, who answer'd her with all the mournful Marks of silent Lamentation, and were now, (especially the Lover) so confounded with their Misery that they stood insensible like Marble Statues, looking stedfastly upon the Ground, and took no notice of the many Purchasers, who walk'd about from Place to Place to view the Persons of the wretched Captives.

WHILE they stood thus fix'd in Contemplation on the transitory Blessings of a Mortal Life, there came a Turk from Stall to Stall enquiring earnestly of every Officer, what Quality and Country their several Slaves laid claim to, and examining particularly the Slaves themselves to the same Effect, at last he came to Signior Pietro, who holding down his Head, the Turk stoop'd forward to look upon his Face, a Courtesy not often put in Practice by those barbarous People, who when a Slave refuses to hold up his Face will generally take them roughly by the Chin, as when a Jockey looks upon a Horses Mouth, and rudely force 'em to expose their Countenances.
A lucky Accident.

The Turk no sooner saw the Face, but starting back in great Surprize, he rais'd his Arms and Eyes towards Heaven, and half transported at the strange Discovery, cry'd out aloud, I thank thee Holy Prophet thou hast guided well my lucky Footsteps. The griev'd Italian looking up at this surprizing Exclamation, saw before his Eyes that very Man, whom in Leghorn he had so kindly freed from Slavery; no Pen can tell the Raptures he must needs conceive at this so happy Meeting, swift Embraces follow'd their Surprize, and when the Wonder of the Turk would give him leave to speak again, he thus address himself to Signior Pietro.

A memorable Piece of gratitude.

I promis'd thee, said he, thou best of Christians, that I wou'd certainly redeem such Slave from Servitude as I shou'd judge did more than any else deserve that Blessing; and now, thank Mahomet, in thee, I have discover'd him; with that he order'd him who guarded them to send some Person to receive his Ransom, and conduct him presently to his own House: The overjoy'd Italian heard with Pleasure the Design of his accomplish'd Gratitude, but told him, if he would be doubly kind, he might Redeem his Friend who suffer'd with him, and they wou'd find some speedy Means to reimburse his utmost Charges; the Proposition was embrac'd as soon as offer'd, and a Person being sent to take the Money, receiv'd immediately the Ransoms he demanded, and returning to the Market left the Gentlemen in the Care of their Redeemer.

Another strange Surprise.

THE Turks Two Sons, when told the Accident by which their Father met the Man to whom before he ow'd his Liberty, express'd sincere and grateful Joy, and bid them welcome with an inexpressible Civility, and after having heard the manner of their being Taken, and their sorrowful Complaint for loss of an unhappy Virgin, whom they lov'd so dearly; he who was the Eldest of the Two cry'd out with earnestness, Now by the Religion of our Prophet and his People, my Father's House contains this Virgin; and thereupon proceeded to inform them, he had bought that very Morning a young Christian Slave, to wait upon his Mother and his Father's other Wives, that she had giv'n the same Account as they had done of the particulars of her Captivity, that she was then above among the Women, and he wou'd for satisfaction fetch her down that very Moment.

'TIS easy to imagine the Disorder of their Breasts, possess'd alternately by Hope and Fear; which rag'd impetuously and rack'd their Minds, till Doubt gave way, and boundless Joy o'erspread their Souls to see the Person they so lately lost, conducted to their Arms by him to whom the Laws of Turkey gave her up as lawful Purchase.

THEY staid a Week with their kind Landlord, who wou'd not rest till he had likewise Ransom'd Two Men Servants, and a Maid who waited on the Lady; these together with as many of their Goods and Cloaths as he could purchase from the Turk who took them, he bestow'd again upon their lawful Owners; gave them a considerable Sum of Money and contriv'd to get them Passage on a Vessel of Marseilles then Bound for Malta.

SIGNIOR PIETRO, the young Lady, and her Uncle frequently Endeavour'd to Oblige this Honest Turk to take their Bills, or find some other method to secure his Money; but he Persisted in a Positive Refusal of their smallest Proffers, telling Signior Pietro the Debt was Paid before it was Contracted; and would often lay his Hand Devoutly on his Bosom, and with a Zealous Sigh repeat this Proverb.
A Turkish Proverb.

The God of Heaven has given us Plenty, that we may give from God where need requires it.

Moral reflections on the Instability of Fortune.

THIS Story, tho Digressive from the Subject of the Chapter, may perhaps, so far divert the Reader as to make a full Atonement for its Undesign'd Prolixity; since a Moral Observation may thereby be made, and Teach us happily so well to use our Charitable Opportunities, that we may reasonably Hope, if once our Fate shou'd Chance to be Inverted, duely to receive that Measure of Compassion, which our former Mercy Heap'd Abundantly on those who wanted it, always bearing in our Memories, that the Transitory Smiles of Worldly Fortune, tho' they make a Blessing Great, can never make it Fix'd or Permanent; that KINGS and BEGGARS are alike the Sport of Chance; and those who Rule to Day may Serve to Morrow, while the Blanks and Prizes of our Frail Mortality, Proclaim Alternately the Good or Ill of Humane Life uncertain as a Lottery.

BUT to return to what I Undertook to speak of: Such as before Describ'd is now the Greatest Naval Power which the Turkish Sultan's Boast Possession of; and while the Reader may be led to Wonder at the Blindness of those Enemies to Christendom, he wou'd do well to Praise the Mercies of that God, who by his Undeserv'd and Boundless Providence vouchsafes to Curb the Wild desires of an Ambitious Government, by not Permitting them to know their Interest, and Improve those vast peculiar Opportunities, their Provinces afford them, to the Terrour or Destruction of his Church and People.

A Powerfull Navy the Glory of a Nation.

THE Numerous Advantages a Nation gains, defended Formidably by a Warlike Navy, are beyond dispute the Pillars of her State, and chief Promoters of her envied Glories; since a People strengthen'd by a Powr'full Fleet, not only reap Advantages from Foreign Traffick, and become thereby Immensely Rich at home, but are Enabled fully to extend their Conquests to the spacious Earths remotest Corners, and become free Denizons of all the Countries of the Habitable World.

The decay of Naval Force among the Turks, an Omen of their Downfall.

THAT therefore these Aspiring and Ambitious Infidels, instead of having gain'd a double knowledge of the useful Art of Navigation as their daily Conquests swell'd their Empire, have extreamly Slacken'd their once-warm Endeavours, and begin to slight Marine Improvements, may well be look'd upon as an undoubted Proof of their declining State and Sinking Grandeur, and many reasonable Causes joyn to Prompt a Christian's hope, that he may live to Triumph in the downfall of a Throne whose Black Foundation fix'd its Greatness on the Bloody Overthrow of Injur'd Princes, and the Undistinguish'd Slaughter of Invaded Nations.

NOR are the Turks insensible of their Weakness; they know they lie entirely open to the Insults of the Muscovites, who lately forc'd a Passage through the Euxine Sea, and sent a Ship of 70 Guns, which brought on Board the Czar's Embassador, and coming to an Anchor at the Point of the Grand Signior's Seraglio, saluted and surpriz'd the City with a whole Broadside, never was there seen a greater Consternation, which continued with uncommon Hurry and Destraction till 'twas Publickly Proclaim'd he came to bring their Emperour a Compliment from Moscovy; since that, they have repair'd some Castles on the Entrance of the Bosphorus and Black Sea, but never built one Vessel more, nor taken any requisite Precaution in order to withstand the growing Danger, which alarm'd their Fears from so undreaded and remote a Corner.

CHAP. VI. Of the Tenets of their Faith, and how differing from the Persians.

The Turkish Alcoran, or Body of their Faith.

THREE Noted Books among the Turks, Direct their Faith and Dictate their Religion: The ALCORAN, or Body of their Law and Faith, was first Compil'd by the Impostor Mahomet, assisted by the Pen of Sergius a Monk; this Book is written in Arabian Verse, but rough and inharmonious, nor must be either read or written in another Language; 'tis like the Gospel amongst Christians Sacred and Incontrovertible, and approach'd Devoutly with a zealous Kiss, nor must be touch'd by Christians, or the unwash'd Hands of Turks themselves. The Titles under which it passes are agreeable to their Opinion of its Doctrine, such as Light of God, Sole Guide to Paradise, and Divine Director unto Heavenly Glories.

The Second Book of their Religion.

THE Second Book, which teaches their Religion, is the Assonah, or sure Traditional Decrees of their Enlighten'd Prophets, Ebubeker, Omar, Haly and Ozmyn:
The Third, by whom 'twas written.

The Third is call'd, The Necessary Consequences of the Books of Life; or, True Interpretation of the Prophet's Pleasure: Which last was written by the Ancient Caliphs of Egypt and Babylon, whose vast Authority the Power of the Sword and Change of Governments has centur'd in the Muftee of the Modern Turkish Empire.

The Five Articles requir'd to Constitute a True Mahometan.

NOW tho' these Three above-nam'd Books, contain the total Sum of their fallacious Doctrine, yet are they inverted greatly by the various Explications and directly opposite Opinions of their Expounding Doctors: But notwithstanding their Divisions into numerous Sects, which Teach peculiar Doctrines to their several Adherents, there is a certain Standard of their Faith, containing Five Religious Articles, of Fundamental Piety and Indispensible Necessity; which are requir'd to Constitute a True Mahometan, and allow'd by all, sufficient Proofs to gain a Man of any Party or Opinion whatsoever, the valuable Character of a True Believer: The First, is frequent Cleansing with a Pot of Water all the outward Parts of their polluted Bodies: The Second, is to Pray Five times each Day they live: The Third, to keep one Month in Twelve a Strict and Holy Fast: The Fourth, to give according to their Wealth a large Proportion to the Poor Believers: And the Fifth, to Visit once at least before they Die, the Celebrated Tomb of their Impost'rous Prophet, or depute some Holy Person in their Stead, and Bear his Charges going and returning thro' the Num'rous Stages of that commanded Pilgrimage.

The main Profession of the Turkish Faith.

THE only Great and Noted Article of the Turkish Faith is centred fully in the following Profession, Allah Ekbirr, Esaked hu enlah Ilah he Illallah ve esked hu enai Muhammed weesuul: The meaning of which Words in our Language may be express'd as follows, I verily believe there is but one God, and Mahomet is the Prophet of that God. Other Rites and Ceremonies are only look'd upon as Tryals of Obedience, and never reckon'd necessary Rules to guide their Faith, or forfeit, tho' omitted, their assur'd Salvation.

Certain other Principles of their Religion.

AMONGST these last may be esteem'd the Duty of their Circumcising Children, their abstaining zealously from Blood and Swines-flesh, their observing Friday as an holy Sabaoth, their refusing Images or Pictures in their Churches, and a Number more of their Religious Customs.

A pleasant Notion of the Turks, concerning the Creation.

THO' they acknowledge God in all his Attributes, of Great, Good, Just, Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Incomprehensible, they deny with violence the Doctrine of the Trinity; and not distinguishing the Sacred Union of that Heavenly Mystery, are blindly led to think we Worship Three distinct and separated Godheads: They believe that God Created both the World and all Things in it, and relate a pleasant Story, how he form'd Man of various sorts of colour'd Clay, which having lain for many Thousand Years neglected in the Sun, he breath'd into him the Breath of Life, and being much delighted with his new Creation, made the Angels Kneel down and Worship him; But when the innate Pride of haughty Satan urg'd him to deny his God's Decree, by boldly daring to dispute his Will, the kindled Anger of the Great Almighty threw him headlong down to Hell, with all those Angels which appear'd his Friends; for which, they say, the envious Devils have since that, been unrelenting Enemies to Humane Happiness.

Their Opinion of our Saviour.

THO' they dissavow with Heat the Noblest Principles of opposite Christanity, they do not only speak respectfully of Jesus Christ, but own him as a Prophet far beyond the Hebrew Moses, and inferiour only to their worshipp'd Mahomet, whom he preceeded with inferior Share of Inspiration, as he succeeded Moses with a greater Portion.
They deny his Crucifixion.

They call him in their Books The Breath of God, but own not his Divinity, nor can be brought to credit his asserted Crucifixion, which they say was inconsistent with the Justice of a God, so Holy and Impartial; they can by no means think he wou'd permit a Prophet, whom he had endu'd with Vertue to resist all Sin, Cure worst Diseases, Raise the Dead, and do all other Miracles, to be made a Sacrifice to so Unworthy, Base, and Curst a People as the Jews then were, and die so Vile a Death, as Christian Doctrine says he suffer'd.

A strange Opinion of the Turks concerning Judas.

THE better to defend this Error in their Faith, they have contriv'd a subtle Story, how, when Christ was led to die, Almighty God translated him invisibly to a Place in Heaven, and deceiv'd the Eyes of the deluded Jews by such prevailing and mistaking Blindness, that they seiz'd on Judas who betray'd him to their Hands, and taking him for the departed Jesus, nail'd him to the Cross, and Executed him instead of our Redeemer.

No Jew permitted to turn Turk till he becomes a Christian.

THEY believe him to have been a Virgins Son, and that his Mother Mary Bore him at her Breasts; Conceiving not by Humane Help, but by the virtuous Odour of a certain Rose: They will not suffer him to be Blasphem'd, but own he will return to Judge the World some Years before its Dissolution. Nay, so great a Veneration do they pay his Memory, that they refuse to let a Jew turn Turk, till he has first espous'd the Christian Faith, and will from thence become a perfect Mussulman.

THEY quite deny the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment, believing every Man attended constantly in Life and Death by Two contending Angels, One whereof is White and Kind; the Other Black, Severe, and Cruel. Such they say as die Religiously are transported soon to Joys in Paradise, while such as live a Careless, Loose, Debauch'd, and Sinful Life, shall long be tortur'd by their Sooty Angel, and receive a great and tedious Punishment for all past Wickedness, before their White and Friendly Angel can prevail to lift 'em from the Flames of Hell, and bear 'em pure and free from Stain, to tast the Bliss their Paradise affords them.

THE gross Absurdities of their politest Notions of a Future State, are such as will undoubtedly surprize the Reader with a wonder at their Ignorance, but are not, if consider'd rightly, void of Crafty and Designing Subtilties, since to the rude and barbarous Natures of those unpolish'd, gross, and sordid People, who were first deluded by the Turkish Superstition, nothing cou'd have been a fairer Mark to draw away their Minds, than those alluring Prospects of a Carnal Pleasure, which so entirely suited their extravagant Desires and unrefin'd Capacities.

The Turks odd Notion of a general Judgment.

THE Common Notion prevalent in Turkey, of a General Judgment and its necessary Consequences is ridiculously Founded on the following Particulars; They say, the winding of a frightful Horn shall shake the World to single Atoms, by the raging Force of unresisted Earthquakes, God alone shall Judge all Mortals, Moses, Christ, and Mahomet, appearing severally at the Head of their respective Followers, to intercede with the Almighty for the Pardon of their Sins:
The Line or Bridge of Justice.

That Cain shall lead the Numbers of the Damn'd, all loaden heavily with Satchels full of Crimes upon their burthen'd Shoulders, to pass upon a small and slippery Rope, thence call'd the Line of Justice, that the greatest Sinners shall be forc'd to tumble on the Right-side into prodigious Flames and scenes of Torment, there to be, till having expiated all their Guilt, they shall be taken suddenly to Seats in Paradise, while Hell, the Devil and his wicked Angels, shall become annihilated by the Power of Heaven.

THOSE whose Sins are less in Weight, and fewer in their Number, falling gently to the Left of this above-nam'd Line of Justice, shall be taken in a nearer way to endless Bliss, and undergo but very small and trifling Punishments, to purifie their Natures for the Tast of Happiness.

Reward of Vertue.

BUT as for those whose Pious Lives, and Exemplary Vertues have deserv'd on Earth no just Reproof, they shall be pois'd in Passage by their Guardian Angels, and attain successfully their Throne of Joy, without the trouble of the smallest Stay in either of those Places, not unjustly call'd the Turkish Purgatories.

The odd Chimera's of the Turkish Paradise.

PARADISE is by the Turks conceiv'd a spacious Land, o'erspread engagingly with lofty Palaces, inviting Shades, soft murmuring Fountains, cooling Grotta's, verdant Bowers, and slow'ry Meadows, adorn'd magnificently with Trees of Gold and Rocks of Diamond; amidst whose soft alluring Charms, the never-fading Joys of Love must bless their Hours with constant Pleasure, giving each his lovely Mistress, rich in Beauty, and accomplish'd Sweetness both of Mind and Body, never subject to the Earthly Passions, or Deficiencies of Nature, Pure and Perfect in their Forms and Substance, daily gaining back their rob'd Virginities, to bestow again on those to whom before they lost 'em, ever blooming in the Flower of Youth and serv'd obsequiously by the attendant Duty of divinely Featur'd Boys, or Angels, and in short, Enjoying in their fansy'd Paradise, the very Heigth of those Extravagant desires, which are on Earth, the wild and vain Effects of an Insatiate, Wanton, and Luxurious Appetite.

Predestination, Strictly held in Turkey.

PREDESTINATION, in its Highest 〈◊〉 Extended Pitch, is by the Turks most Zealously Mantain'd, nay, to such strange degrees of Height does this Opinion lift 'em, that they Scruple not to look on God as the Unquestion'd Author, both of Good and Evil.

THEY all Unanimously Acquiesce in one Belief: That every Man Receives upon his Forehead, at his time of Birth, the Undisputed Mark of all his Future Good or Ill, that there is Written both the Time and Manner of his certain Death, nor can he Possibly by any means, avoid the Fate to which the Will of God has so Ordain'd him, and herein they seem Exactly to agree with those Expressions of the Famous Seneca, in his Tragedy of Oedipus.

A Quotation from Seneca, Relating to Predestination.

Fatis Agimur, Cedite Fatis,

Non solicitae possunt Curae

Mutare, &c.

Guided by Fate, we must Subservient be,

Nor can our Care Subvert one fix'd Decree;

Whate'er our Mortal Race does Undergo,

Whate'er we think or Act, from Heav'n must Flow,

All Natures Springs move one Appointed Way,

And the First Hour Points out the Latest Day.

A very Strange and Humerous Custom of the Turkish People.

THEY hold the Name of God so Sacred and Inviolable, that they seldom speak of the divine Omnipotence, without a Reverend Stroaking down their Beards, and Faces; nay so Carefull are they to Preserve from Disrespect the Power of God, that when they find the Smallest Piece of Paper fallen in the Street, the Gravest Man among them will with Reverence stoop to take it up, and Thrust it Closely into some small Nook, or Crevice, in the Walls or Houses as they pass along: A Stranger wou'd be very much Surpriz'd to see the outward Cases of the Turkish Buildings Cram'd as full as Possible of little Rough and Rumpled Scrips of Brown and Writing Paper.

Their Reasons for it.

THE Reasons which they give Inquiring Christians for the Practice of this Odd and Trifling Ceremony are Diverting and Particular; for First, they Judge it an unseemly Action to permit the Feet of Men, or Beasts, or Highway Mud, which fills their Streets, to Touch, or Soil with their Polluted Filth a thing whereon the Name of God might Probably be Written.

THE other reason which Excites the Walking Turks to Narrow Searches for such bits of Paper, is a Notion they have got amongst them, that before they come within the Walls of their delightfull Paradise, they must be all Oblig'd to Walk Bare-Footed o'er a large and Glowing Plain of Red-Hot Iron, without Permission to have any thing Beneath their Feet, but all those Former Bits of Paper, which they Sav'd on Earth, from being Trampled on by the Polluted Tread of Men or Horses.

The Turks Ungratefull for their Womens Favours.

WOMEN are but rarely suffer'd to appear in Mosques, and then are plac'd all over Veil'd, behind a large and darken'd Lettice, for the Turks however fond of Female Conversation, and wholly given up to wanton Dalliances, and the warm Caresses of their Womens Persons, are so far from placing like our amorous Christians, Flames and Darts, Death, Wounds, and Lightning in a Ladies Eye, that they inhumanely deny their Dovelike Women, even so much as one poor Place in that enchanting Paradise, which we like more indulgent Lovers, make our Mistresses the sole Disposers of.

The Turkish Ladies are deny'd a Place in Paradise.

THE fine Virginity-restoring Ladies I so lately spoke of, are not such as here on Earth the Turks Enjoy, but fine, new-form'd, and shining Creatures, purposely Created for the Place they dwell in; while the poor forgotten Objects of their Worldly Love remain without, in Places far less Bright and Glorious, nor are allow'd one distant View of those transporting Joys, in whose Possession their once-lov'd and stately Lords now live in Raptures.

AND now, to give you British Ladies an enlivening Tast of Turkish Arrogance to your deserving Sex, and let you see how little Cause you have to grieve, that we possess a just and mild Preheminence by Natures Laws, and those of Matrimony, I'll venture to Translate a famous Song, now much in Vogue among the celebrated Beaux, and Belles of Turkey: You'l pardon Ladies if it wants the Spirit of a Good Translation, since where the Subject does not please, the jaded Pen will very rarely reach Perfection. The Song shou'd seem to have been made by some successless Lover, on his meeting a Repulse from one he Courted for his Fourth and Favorite Consort.
I.

A very odd and comical Turkish Song.

Three Wives I boast, as black as Jet,

And Comely as the Pine,

'Mongst all the Three, I never met

A Baulk to one Design.

O Mahomet, O Prophet you who can,

Hear, and Revenge an Injur'd Mussulman.

II.

A Short, and Fair, late won my Heart,

And her I wou'd have blest,

She shou'd have had of Love a Part

Superior to the Rest.

O Mahomet, O Prophet you who can,

Hear, and Revenge an Injur'd Mussulman.

III.

But she deny'd the proffer'd Bliss,

And durst refuse to Wed,

But if she suffers not for this,

May I be Lost when Dead.

O Mahomet, O Prophet you who can,

Hear, and Revenge an Injur'd Mussulman.

IV.

Before her Window long I stood,

Sung loudly to her Praise,

Deep gash'd my Arm till drown'd in Blood,

Yet unconcern'd she'd gaze.

O Mahomet, O Prophet you who can,

Hear, and Revenge an Injur'd Mussulman.

V.

But tho' she proudly dares Rebel,

The time will come when I shall see,

The poor inferior Wretch in Hell,

Not Worthy once to look on me.

Then slight conceited Slave, if there you can,

The proffer'd Courtship of a Mussulman.

The Turks forbid the Use of Wine.

THE Use of Wine is in the Alcoran forbid the Turks on pain of the severest Anger of their God and Prophet; yet they Publickly express their great Dislike of that Injunction, by the frequent drinking it in largest Quantities; in Men of Years and grave Appearance 'tis esteem'd a Crime beyond Excuse, to be inclin'd to common Drunkenness, and Men of High and Envied Posts, are careful how they show the smallest Inclination to the like Intemperance, lest they shou'd give a joyful Opportunity to their observing Enemies, to blame the Follies of their several Governments, as an impure Effect of lov'd Ebriety: But Men of Gay and Sprightly Tempers, Young, and unimploy'd in State Affairs, affect the Practice of continual Drinking;
Yet drink it to Extravagance.

nor is the Use of Wine by them conceiv'd as Sovereign by its Virtues, or enlivening Qualities, but by the downright Operation of a pow'rful Quantity, which skrews their Spirits to a strange Extravagance, and robs 'em wholly of their delug'd Reason, by the moist Effects of its intoxicating Nature.

THERE is a Custom I observ'd amongst the Turks, that they will often visit Christian Merchants, at their Country Houses, where, retir'd from fear of Publick Observation, they have convenient Time and Opportunity to Carouse at Pleasure, till becoming downright Drunk and Mad, they run immediately to mount their Horses, and tho' scarce able to continue on their Feet, when fix'd securely in their Saddles, begin to Spurr with restless Fury, riding up and down from Hill to Valley, in a constant Gallop, till they grow again sedately Sober, and return to take a formal Leave of him whose Wine they quass'd so freely of.

THERE goes a pleasant Story of the Cause why Mahomet prohibited the Use of Wine to all his Followers, which is related by the Turks themselves with these Particulars.

A Story how Mahomet came to forbid his Followers the Use of Wine.

THERE was a certain Shepherd in the Neighbourhood of Meccha, whose Possessions were so far Superior to the rest of his Fraternity, that he was Chosen as a Ruler of their whole Society, and exercis'd a sort of mild Authority, by the joint Permission of the Shepherds of that Country.

IT happen'd that this Man oppos'd with violence the Doctrine of the Impostor, then but newly vented in those very Parts wherein he liv'd, and all the Brotherhood depending upon him as on their Lord and Oracle, The crafty Mahomet perceiv'd it difficult without his Friendship to accomplish his Designs, and so resolv'd to court his Favour by the most respectful Marks of Honour and Civility.

ACCORDINGLY he came one Day to make a Visit to this pow'rful Shepherd, attended pompously by a magnificent and numerous Retinue; it hapned that a Daughter of this honest Mans was that Day Marry'd, and a splendid Entertainment made, to feast those many Guests who grac'd her Nuptials; when the Prophet enter'd, he saluted kindly all the Company with his most hearty Blessing, and sat him freely down among the rest, pretending great and wond'rous Satisfaction in their agreable and pleasant Conversation.

The first and best Effect of Wine.

THE merry Company a little Elevated with the Fumes of Wine, forgot their Hatred to the Doctrine which he taught; and pleas'd to see him so familiar and respectful, grew extreamly fond of the Impostor's Person, shaking him by the Hand, embracing him with fervour, and saluting him with Kisses on his Cheeks and Forhead.

BUT Business leading him a little farther, he began to take his leave, and was detain'd against his Will by the uncommon Kindness of the Shepherd and his Family, who wou'd by no means suffer him to go, till he engag'd himself by solemn Promise to return again as soon as he had ended what small Business he was then to go about. He went, and finish'd in an Hour or Two the utmost of his Task, and made all hast imaginable to be there again, imputing the Excess of their Civilities to the Virtue of the Wine they drank so plentifully, which he therefore bless'd, with oft repeated Orders to his numerous Disciples, that they shou'd thenceforth drink a double Quantity of that Celestial Liquor, whose Effects produc'd such peaceable Engagements, and had Power to change the sharpest Hatred into Love, and make a Friend of a profess'd and open Enemy.

The last and worst Effect thereof.

BUT when he came again among them, he perceiv'd a mighty Change in all their Humours; they were now become entirely Drunk, and turn'd the late Expressions of their Kindness, into rude, ungovern'd and tumultuous Violence; him whom so lately they address'd with Kisses, now they Curse and strive to Murder; Noise and Discord, Fighting and Distraction, were the only Scenes he had before him; and in short, with much ado escap'd alive, from their oppressive Injuries.

THE New Effect of this mistaken Liquor, urg'd the Prophet to a New Decree, as much against it, as the First had been in favour of it; for perceiving now it cou'd excite Disorder, and give birth to Broils as well as Mirth, he chang'd the Sentence he so lately gave, and made it an Haraum for ever after, or Abomination not to be encourag'd by the Children of his People.

The Turks and Persians much divided in Religious Matters.

THESE are the prevailing Tenets of the Turkish Faith, but differ widely from the Persian Doctrine; which last Nation, tho' the Followers of Mahomet and his Religion, do notwithstanding that, prefer before him Hali his Successor, and Usurper of his Empire, by the Claim of Marriage with the Prophet's Daughter, who in the end was overthrown and slain by Ebubeker, Omar and Osmyn, whose Opinions are at present follow'd, as believ'd Inspir'd like Mahomet himself, by all the Turks depending on the Government of the Grand Signior: But as for Persia, She adheres intirely to the Thoughts of Hali, and esteems him not Inferior even to their fam'd Impostor.

THESE dissenting Notions and encreasing Differences in Opinion, have at last so far extended their pernicious Influences, that from small and gradual Breaches, they are now burst out to open Hatred of each others Persons; complaining mutually that either Side has added to or taken from the Substance of their Alcoran, as has been most agreable to their respective Interests, and the promotion of their own Opinions.

NAY to such unbounded Madness does their Hate arise, that not contented to heap Loads of dreadful Curses on each others Heads, they set themselves in every Point directly opposite to one anothers Notions, the Turks remaining censur'd as Schismatical, by the adverse Exposition of the Persian Creed, and Persia Stigmatis'd for wilfull Heresy in more than Seventy Places of the Turkish Alcoran.

A rude and barbarous Proof of disrespect.

THUS will the Turks revile that Hali whom the Persians own as their Infallible Director; and the Persians in return, to mock the Objects of the Turkish Worship, raise in Sugar at their Marriage Feasts, the Figures of the Three respected Friends of Mahomet, viz. Ebubeker, Omar, and the forenam'd Osmyn, when growing merry in their drunken Cups, the Bridegroom and his Fellows draw their Scymetars, and with a spightful Scoff, and noisy Mockery, first cut them down from top to bottom, and then proceed to melt the numerous Pieces as a means to sweeten their Sherbets and other Liquors.

'TIS from a natural Aversion, that the favourite Colour Green, which by the Turks is only worn about the Head and Noblest Parts, is by the Persians chosen to make their Breeches, Shoes, or Drawers, and employ'd continually in all the most indecent, disrespectful Uses which a Man can possibly invent to put it to.

Several differences between the Turkish and the Persian Tenets.

THE Turks esteem it necessary to resort in frequent Numbers to the Publick Mosques, to pray conjointly for the Grace of God, and Blessing of their Prophet; but the Persians hold it only needful to convene at Churches in a full Assembly, there to make an open Declaration of their fix'd Belief, without the Duty of a general Prayer to Heaven for Mercy.

THE Persians never Shave the Hair upon their Upper Lip, but cut and trim the Beard upon their Chin, according to the various Forms their several Fancies lead 'em to make Choice of; whereas the Turks preserve with care a very long and spreading Beard, esteeming the Deficiency of that respected Ornament, a shameful Mark of servile Slavery.

SWINES-FLESH, and the Use of Wine, deny'd the Turks with strictest Prohibition, are by the Persians practis'd with a fond Indulgence; nor do the last distinguish Meats by Clean and Ʋnclean, but enjoy promiscuously the common Gifts of Nature's Liberality.

THE Persians when they wash their Feet before they Pray, do seldom more than stroke the outward Part with their Right Hand just dipp'd in Water, and hold it a superfluous Ceremony to rub hard as if they wash'd away the Dirt; which last the Turks believe a Duty of assur'd and indispensible Necessity.

A Number more of such-like opposite and contradictory Opinions, divide the Faith and Interests of these Powerful Neighbours, who invent a yearly Store of black Invectives to attack alternately each others Doctrine; amongst which Curses none are more surprizing, odd and comical, than these which follow;

The Curses common between the Turks and Persians.

MAY your fatigu'd and hated Soul find no more Rest when damn'd to Purgatory, than a Christian's Hat enjoys on Earth. By this I guess they meant to ridicule our European Custom of Saluting one-another with our Heads uncover'd. May your transmuted Soul become in Hell an hackney Ass, for even the Jews themselves to ride about on: These and many others, needless to insert, are fashionable Curses, and in frequent use among the Hot-brain'd Zealots of each Adverse Party.

THUS have I at large set down the most material Articles of Turkish Faith, which if the Reader looks upon as gross, absurd, and void of Reason, let him direct his Praise to that Great Being whose enlight'ning Rays of Mercy and Compassion, have inspir'd his Soul to Steer aright, and miss the stormy Seas of Pride and Ignorance.

YET this the Turks agree upon with us, that tho' they differ in their Notions of the Godhead, yet they own One Great, Supreme, and Sacred Being, to whose unlimited and mighty Power, the Earth, Mankind, and all Things else owe their Existence: And it is observable that tho' most Nations vary in their Opinions, yet they own conjointly One Superior Essence, as is observ'd ingeniously by Lactantius in the following Expressions:

All People under different Notions own One God.

OMNIƲM Sententia quamvis sit incerta, ebdem tamen spectat, ut Providentiam unam esse consentiant: Sive enim Natura, sive Aether, sive Ratio, sive Mens, sive Fatalis Necessitas, sive Divina Lex, idem est quod a nobis dicitur DEƲS.

THE Opinions of all Men tho' never so uncertain, tend directly to one common Center; and agree unanimously upon one conspicuous Providence: Which is, that be it Nature, Light, Reason, Understanding, destin'd Fate, or the Divine Decree, 'tis still the same with that which we distinguish by the Name of GOD.

CHAP. VII. Of the Ceremonies of the Turkish Religion.

The many Inconveniencies of Turkish Superstition.

A STRICT Adherence to the dangerous Tenets which Compose the foregoing Chapter, have expos'd the Turks to constant Troubles; that strange inhumane Tyranny and barbarous Violence with which their haughty Arms have crush'd the Christians, have oblig'd whole Nations to become their Enemies: The rash and inconsiderate Doctrine of Predestinated Fortune has expos'd their Lives, by an imprudent and unnecessary Scorn of Danger from the fatal Influences of contagious Pestilence; their false Belief of a Sublime Reward for Death in Battle, has excited Thousands of their bravest Soldiers to forget the Charms of Life and Liberty, and run directly on the Mouths of Cannons.

YET tho' they see these many Inconveniencies, and have doubtless some amongst them, who have now discover'd the fallacious Principles of their impure Religion, they persist with obstinacy, in the strictest Practice of its weakest Precepts; like those whom Marius Victor censures sharply in the following Verses.

Nil Hostes, nil dira Fames, nil denique Morbi

Egerunt, fuimus, qui nunc sumus; ijsque periclis

Tentati: Nihilo meliores reddimur unquam;

Sub vitijs nullo culparum fine manentes.

In vain dire Hunger, Foes, and Sickness strove,

The fix'd Intention of our Souls to move;

What once we were we strongly still remain,

And the same Snares once felt, now fell again;

No length of Time can our stiff Natures bend,

We live 'midst Show'rs of Vice, and Sin that knows no End.

The danger of entering a Turkish Mosque.

THE Superstitious Ceremonies of the Turkish Nation are as Numberless as they appear Extravagant, nor is it easy to obtain Admittance where we may become Eye-witnesses of their devout Retirements, for so severely do they Guard their Publick Mosques from Christian Observation, that shou'd an heedless and unwary Stranger set his Foot within their Gates, at certain Seasons of extraordinary Devotion, he wou'd be seiz'd immediately by watchful Officers, and hurry'd headlong to a partial Magistrate, whose harsh Decree admits no Bail, nor any other Means of Liberty than becoming instantly a Member of their Faith, by publickly renouncing the Divinity of Christ, and owning Mahomet a Greater Prophet; which they must Attest by the commanded Seal of instant Circumcision, a severe and barb'rous Custom, but must surely be Submitted to, unless the Person so surpriz'd, will die a Martyr to the Christian Faith, and bravely spurn with just Contempt the proffer'd Doctrine of their vile Impostor.

AND now, since I have spoken of the Circumcision us'd amongst the Turks, it will not be improper to begin with that, in the description of their Ceremonies, and acquaint my Reader with the Form whereby they put that Act in Execution.

THEY are not, by the Precepts of their Alcoran, oblig'd to Circumcise their Children as a Point of Duty, but continue to observe that ancient Practice from the Custom of Arabia, long before the Time of Mahomet, and use it now, as an undoubted Mark, whereby they stamp the Faith of Mussulman on tender Infancy.

The manner of Circumcising Infants in Turkey.

THE Act of Circumcision is perform'd by Surgeons, when the Child has reach'd the Age of Seven Years, and is suppos'd sufficiently Capacitated to profess his Inclination to become a Mussulman; at which time all his Friends, Relations, School-fellows, &c. are Invited to a Feast, and Entertain'd as splendidly as their various Qualities may be thought to Merit; then the Boy is brought amongst 'em, and demanded whether he approves of the intended Ceremony; his Assent is given by the lifting up his Finger, and himself extended on a Table, where the Surgeon strait performs his Office, and having thrown the Skin upon a Chasingdish of Coals, he baths the Wound in Salt and Water; after this, his Head is shav'd to one small Lock, whereas before he wore his Hair dishevel'd, and untouch'd by Razor; this done, they put him on a large white Turbant, and from that time forward he becomes a Member of the Turkish Faith.

Their Circumcision of a full grown Convert.

WHEN any Christian ripe in Years, becomes a Turk, and will Apostatize to base and sinful Superstition, he is led in Triumph on a stately Horse, thro' all the Great and Noted Streets, to some considerable Mosque or Temple, holding in his Hand an elevated Javelin, the Point whereof he frequently affixes to his perjur'd Breast; a silent Declaration of his Will to die for that Religion he has then embrac'd: The zealous Turks who pass along, bestow their various Presents on the shameful Wretch, with very large and bounteous Liberality; and being Circumcis'd in publick State, he is attended back with great Solemnity, receiving constantly some Means of Livelyhood, by Pension from the Court, or such Preferment in their Sea or Land Affairs, as his Profession whilst a Christian speaks him sit for.

Sacrifices what, and how made in Turkey.

THEY have at Publick Times, like those of Circumcision, certain Sacrifices, yet not such as formerly were us'd as Duties of Religion, but are commonly the Flesh of Sheep or Lambs, the Heart cut out and burnt in Fire, while the Beast divided, is distributed with care among the Poor and Indigent about the Neighbourhood.

A strange, uncommon, fatal Accident, fell out about the Year 1702, when I resided with his Excellency the Right Honourable the Lord Paget, then Embassador Extraordinary at Constantinople, Mediator and Plenipotentiary at the Treaty of Carlowitz, whose truly Great and Noble Services have left behind him an Immortal Character, to the Interest and Honour of the British Nation, and the Admiration of the Turkish Empire.

A most unhappy Story of the total ruin of a Turkish Family.

THERE was a Turk who liv'd in the abovenam'd City, not extremly Rich, but moderately stor'd with easy Plenty; he had a Wife so tenderly belov'd and gratefully returning a reciprocal Affection, that he wou'd not use the freedom of his Country, in regard to tolerated and indulg'd Polygamy, but confin'd the Treasure of his honest Love, to the endearing Center of his first Wife's Bosom: He had two Children by his Favorite Consort, one was then Four Years of Age, the other lay a Speechless Infant in its easy Cradle, when his Fruitful Wife became deliver'd of a Burthen, which declar'd him Father of a Third and hopeful Son.

THE common Custom of a grateful Sacrifice on such Occasions, led him to prepare a splendid Feast, and summon all his near Relations to be Witnesses of his exceeding Joy for this new Blessing; they met together in an open Court, and after several usual Forms proceeded to the Place where many Sheep were kill'd to give the Poor. The Person who perform'd the Ceremony, cutting the Throat with a large Knife peculiar to that Office, and departing with the Company, to have the Sheep divided in another Place more fit for such an Action.

A strange Curiosity of a Turkish Infant.

THERE was a Window open'd from the Room where the Child-bed Woman with her New-born Infant, lay upon a Saffrai elsewhere spoken of, at the Lettice of this Window stood the Eldest Son, and saw with pleasure the Performance of the Ceremony: He was much diverted to behold the Blood of the expiring Sheep run trickling from their Throats, and taking notice that the Knife wherewith 'twas done, was left behind by Chance or Negligence, and that the People who attended him, were some gone down to see the Sacrifice, and those above intently busied by his Mothers Mattress; he endeavour'd slyly to escape Discovery, and stole away without so much as being any ways observ'd by those about him.

HE was no sooner out of Sight, but he descended by a Case of Marble Steps, directly to the Place where lay the Knife, yet red and reaking with the Blood of those poor Beasts, whose bleating Innocence it had so lately Sacrific'd.

HE took it up, and hiding it with all imaginable Cunning, underneath his Vest, return'd as slyly as he could, and enter'd the Appartment he so lately left, as unperceiv'd as he had just before departed from it.

A Murder innocently committed.

IN a low, capacious Cradle, near the Place where then the Mother lay, his Second Brother, not above a Twelvemonth Old, was Sleeping calmly, and secure from any fear, by yet-unbroken Rest, and native Innocence: To him the poor unhappy Boy immediately repair'd, and little thinking what he was about, began to practise on his tender Throat, the Method he observ'd the Man to use in Butchering the Sheep design'd for Sacrifice; The waking Child began to cry, as quickly sensible it felt some Pain, while still the Boy continued his Endeavours, drawing up and down like some small Saw, the fatal Knife, and laughing heartily, to see the Blood distain the Cloaths wherein his Brother lay; who strugling to the utmost of his little Strength, the other, to maintain the Sport which so delighted him, endeavour'd hard to keep him down, and leaning forward with too great a Weight, o'erturn'd the Cradle and the Infant in it.

A melancholy Consequence thereof.

THE Mother, whom the Cries of the assaulted Babe had just then led to look that way, beheld her Son come tumbling out, all stain'd with Blood, and wounded horribly; the strange surprize of such a shocking Prospect, drew her to forget her weak Condition, so that rising hastily, she stagger'd inconsiderately on the New-born Child, and treading on its Neck became its Murderer.

The Third Effect of an unlucky Accident.

THE guilty Son, perceiving by the Shrieks and Postures of his Mother, that he had someway or other done amiss, threw down the Knife, and running from her Presence to avoid the danger of a dreaded Punishment, fell down the high and slippery Marble Steps, and broke his Neck, by that unhappy Accident.

THE Mother follow'd to the fatal Place, and Swooning at the Sight, was carried back to the unlucky Chamber; but the overstrain'd Attempt she had so lately made, beyond the Strength of her reduc'd Condition, so disorder'd all her Body, that, unable long to bear the Burthens of her Grief and Weakness, she died herself some few Days after.

The miserable End of an unhappy Master of a Turkish Family.

THE wretched Master of this miserable Family surviv'd not long the melancholy Loss of so endear'd a Consort, and such hopeful Children, but became thenceforth abandon'd over to a mournful Solitude; nor could the oft-repeated Efforts of his dearest Friends procure him Comfort, so that wholly losing all the Tast of Mortal Pleasures, he began to languish more and more, and e'er one Year was fully past, quite broke his Heart with weighty Sorrow, and compleated dismally the last sad Scene of such a fatal and surprizing Tragedy.

I have inform'd my Reader in the foregoing Chapter, that the five notorious and essential Points, requir'd by Mahomet from all his Followers, are frequent Washings, Prayers, and Fasting one whole Month, the giving Alms proportionable to their Substance, and performing e'er they die, one Pilgrimage to Mecca.

I shall distinctly treat of all these Duties in their several proper and respective Places; and as their Washing is a previous Ceremony to the other Four, it will be requisite I shou'd begin with an Account of that.

Two sorts of Washings, now in use among the Turks.

IT is divided into Two distinct Formalities, the Publick Washing in their Baths or Bagnio's, and the Private Washing, in whatever Place their Inclinations or their Business find 'em.

The Turks descended from the Race of Esau.

NOW tho' their Prophet has expressly order'd in the Lessons of his Alcoran, that every Turk shall often Wash, declaring Cleanliness a valuable Part of his injoin'd Religion, yet the Custom is of more Antiquity than He, by many Ages; for the Turks derive it from the Days of Esau, whose Posterity they boast themselves to be descended from, and therefore claim the Name of Ishmaelites. But tho' the ancient Institution of these Washings ow'd its being to the wholesome Practice of a cleanly People, and was never meant a Sacred Ceremony, yet the fix'd Decree of their ador'd Impostor, has inclin'd the Turks to such a strange Opinion of its efficacious Virtues, that they now believe the Water they make use of, not alone sufficient for the cleansing all the outward Parts of their polluted Bodies, but of Sov'reign Power to wash away their Sins, and free from Guilt the most internal Passages of their impurest Souls.

Private Bagnio's in Great Men's Houses.

WE may divide their Bagnio's into two Sorts; the First are such as Rich and Noted Persons build, in some convenient Part of their own Houses, where their Wives, themselves, and all their Servants Bathe conveniently in different Divisions, as often as their Duty, Inclination, or their leisure from Employment, urge 'em to it.

The Publick Baths, and reason why so cheaply accommodated in them.

THE Second sort of Bagnio's, are those Publick Places where for payment of a Penny or Three-half-pence, they are wash'd Politely, and supplied with Linen, or whatever else the Bath requires, by the diligent Attendance of appropriated Servants. The reason why they are so cheaply serv'd, is owing to the great Revenues left to Bagnio's by deceas'd Mahometans, who 'mongst the other Dictates of their Morality, hold it as a very meritorious Deed, to build a Publick Bagnio, Hospital, or other Place of Entertainment for benighted Travellers, and endow the same with an extensive Liberality.

Men deny'd Entrance, while the Women bathe.

THESE Publick Baths are very common in their largest Cities, and receive at several Hours, prodigious Numbers of either Sex, and every Quality, for whose distinct and separate Accommodation, they afford divided and particular Conveniencies. When Women Bathe, a large and Ivory-headed Indian Cane is plac'd against the Door that opens from the Street, and no Man dares on pain of Death, at such a time as that, claim Entrance.

THE Law of Mahomet obliges every Turk to bathe his Body when he has Caress'd a Woman, and the Ladies are oblig'd to do the same, so that every Morning when they rise, the first Employment of the Day is washing in the Bagnio, where they are not only cleans'd with Water, but perfum'd, and dried with scented Linen.
Hair, how taken off without the Razor.

The Heads of Men are daily Shav'd, and Men and Women are alike injoin'd to leave no Hair on any other Part. In order to obey which firm Decree, the meaner Sort make use of a compounded Substance, made of Earth from certain Islands of the Archipelago, and neatly mix'd with Lime and Drugs of proper Virtues; this they beat to Powder, and applying it to any Hair they wou'd remove, it takes it off as clean as possible.

BUT as the frequent use of the abovenam'd Powder is of dangerous Consequence, if suffer'd to continue but a moment longer than the falling of the Hair;
Some use Pincers.

the more Polite and Fashionable Ladies, rather choose to use the help of Pincers, and irradicate it swiftly by a twitching violence;
Others shav'd by Waiting Maids.

yet this is only done by such as would distinguish all their Actions from the customary Practices of other People, for the Generality of Turkish Ladies, caring little for the Pain of using Pincers, and unwilling to descend to vulgar Methods, constantly appoint some favorite Waiting-maid to play the Barber, and perform that Office with a sharp-edg'd Razor.

1st. Sort of private Washing, when practis'd.

THE other sort of Washing is divided likewise into two distinct Performances, the First is practis'd after having made the necessary Evacuations requir'd by Nature, and to this they use the three last Fingers of the Left Hand; on this account, the Turks of Note have Cocks of Water running into Marble Basons in their several Privies; and the meaner sort of Men among them never go to such-like Places, without an Earthen Pot of Water form'd commodiously with a narrow Spout, which serves their Use on all occasions.

Second sort, when practis'd.

THE second Sort of this last Washing, is in order to their Prayers, for which sole End, a numerous Quantity of Brazen Cocks supply large Cisterns plac'd in order, at the Entrance of their Churches, here they wash by way of Preparation, first their Arms, Hands, Head, Neck, Teeth and Forehead, thence proceed in Summer Weather to their Naked Feet; but if the time be cold and rigid, 'tis enough to make an Outward Motion, and the Will is taken for the Duty of the Action.

The several Hours wherein the Turks are Oblig'd to Pray.

NEXT come their Prayers, and those, at least, Five times a Day; the Over-Zealous Bigots to their fals belief pray always Seven; but the common times Injoyn'd by Mahomet are, Just before Sun-Rising, Just at Noon, Betwixt Noon-Day and Setting of the Sun, Exactly at Sun-Sett, And last of all, Two Hours after.

Their Forms of Prayer, by whom Invented.

THEIR Forms of Prayer consist of Sentences Collected here and there, from several Chapters of the Alcoran; some few whereof were left by Mahomet, but many more Compil'd by his Successors, Ebubeker, Omar, Osmyn, and Hali; and most Men now of good Capacities, Compose their Prayers according to the Pressures of their several Occasions. They Praise therein the Mercy, Bounty, and Divine Omnipotence, of the Almighty Author of our Earthly beings, Petition Heaven for the constant Welfare of their Sultan and his Empire, and Conclude Inhumanely, with Numerous Curses on the Christian World.

THE Reader will be better able to perceive their manner, by the following Copy of a Janizaries form of Prayer, who was appointed by the General of that Order, to be one amongst a constant Guard which kept the Gate belonging to the British Embassadour at Constantinople.

The Prayer of a Turkish Janisary.

IN God's great Name, in God's great Name, and in the Holy Name of Mahomet, his Mighty, Good, and only Prophet, God is Great, my God is one, I shall be Happy and Successful while I trust in him, may my Sword be Broken, and my Head become the Drinking Cup of Infidels, when I forget his Glory, let my Prince live long and Flourish like the Cypress, let my Order be Ʋnnumbred as the sands of the Sea shore, that we may well defend him, and let his Lands become as large and Ʋnresisted as the Boundless Ocean: Let the Cursed Infidels be Damn'd for Ever, since they dare, O Mahomet, Oppose thy Precepts; let the Meanest Slave within the Territories of my Dread Sovereign put his Foot before 'tis Wash'd, upon the Neck of that Proud King amongst their People who once Blasphemes the Holy Prophet, let the Infidel I Guard be Safe, whil'st under my Protection, but let all others Perish Quickly, or Enlarge the Bounds of thy Religion, God is Great, God is One, and Mahomet his only Prophet.

Their postures when they Pray.

WHEN they resolve to Pray in any Mosque, they leave their Slippers at the Entrance of the Place, when they Pray, they turn their Faces to the East, because their Prophet lies Entomb'd that way, then standing for some time Ʋpright, and Silent, with their Arms a Cross, in serious Contemplation on the Duty they are Summon'd to, they Elevate their Eyes and Mutter to themselves some Pious Sentence, after which they sit down Cross Leg'd with their Hands before 'em, and repeating Slowly several short Ejaculations, at the End of Each, bend forward to the Earth, and Touch it with their Foreheads; some will Kiss the Ground in pure Acknowledgement of their Submissive Natures; this they do for several Minutes, looking now and then behind 'em, over Either Shoulder, for they think their Prophet, when he comes will suddenly appear behind some Mussulman devoutly Praying.

Their fix'd Attention in the Act of Prayer.

THEY Pray with Fervour and a fix'd, Attention, never turning like too many Inconsiderate Christians in our Noisy Churches, to behold what People pass behind them; all is still, and softly Sacred; no Man mutters Prayers of Course, and Gapes the while to see about him, how his Neighbours Cloaths are Fashion'd; no loud Indecent Whispers Interrupt Devotion, to inform some busie Irreligious Asker, who Addresses such a Lady, and how much such a Woman brought her Husband; no Opening Pews and Shutting them again, disturb the Congregation with their needless Clamour; no Holy-Talking, and Conceited Hypocrite outruns the Parson with her zealous Lips, while her lew'd Eyes, behind a Fan, are laughing heartily at some poor Jest her Ears have listen'd to; no turn'd-up Eye-lids seem to speak her Thoughts on Heaven, while a Wry-mouth or Scornful turn of her affected Nostrils, declare her Observation running o'er the Faults, or ill Contrivance of her Neighbours Pettycoat. A Turkish Mosque is free from Noise, and all within it so sedately bent on what they do, that 'tis a matter of sufficient Wonder, to behold so many met together in so deep a Stillness.
A pious Nicety.

And indeed, so very Sacred do the Turks esteem the Act of Prayer, that if the casual Sting of some small Gnat, the scratching of their Heads, or any other common Accident but chance to interrupt them, they begin again tho' almost ended, thinking such prevented Prayers of no Effect, or Virtue whatsoever, but neglected as unworthy the Great Ear of Heaven.

Preaching, how practis'd in Turkey.

A small and unadorn'd erected Pillar, bears a Case, not much unlike a Pulpit, whence the Priests sometimes direct a monitory Sermon to the listning Congregation, consisting generally of explanatory Sentences on the Mysterious Chapters of their honour'd Alcoran, with proper Applications to the numerous Audience: The Book is held in rev'rence to its Author, almost even with the Reader's Eyes, and certain grave, religious Songs are intermix'd with their Devotion; which being ended, every Man begins to stroke his Beard, and uttering short and private Praises to his God and Prophet, takes his leave, and goes away with an extraordinary Satisfaction.

Beads, how us'd among the Turks.

THEY use a sort of Beads, not much unlike the Rosarys of Roman Catholicks, but to an End extreamly different, for whereas the latter make those Trifles guides of Devotion, Men in Turkey only bear 'em in their Hands, and tell 'em over while they want some other Exercise; the Beads consisting generally of a scented Past, agreeably perfuming all who touch them. I mention these, because some heedless Travellers observing them in common Use among the Turks, mistook the Cause, and never searching into their Design, have confidently spread a noted Falsehood, on the fix'd Authority of their afform'd Experience.

No business must excuse the Turks from Prayer.

SUCH Turks as at the common Hours of Prayer, are on the Road, or so employ'd as not to find Convenience to attend the Mosques, are still oblig'd to execute that Duty; nor are ever known to fail, whatever business they are then about, but pray immediately when the Hour alarms them in that very place they chance to stand on; insomuch, that when a Janisary, whom you hire to guard you up and down the City, hears the Notice which is giv'n 'em from their Steeples, he will turn about, stand still, and beckon with his Hand, to tell his Charge he must have Patience for a while, when taking out his Handkerchief he spreads it on the Ground, sits crossleg'd thereupon, and says his Prayers, tho' in the open Market; which having ended, he leaps briskly up, Salutes the Person whom he undertook to Convoy, and renews his Journey with the mild Expression of Ghell Johnnum Ghell; or, Come Dear follow me.

The Creation of a Turkish Yemaum, or Parish Priest.

THE Turks are summon'd at the Hours of Prayer by the repeated Acclamations of their Yemaums, or Parish Priests, a People Chosen to their Offices by the recommendatory Letters of their best Parishioners to the Vizier Azem, if near the Metropolitan, or if in Places far Remote, to the Bashaw of the respective Provinces where such Vacancies may chance to happen; by him they are Examin'd, (for the Turks admit of no such thing as Spiritual Authority) and if found qualified to read the Alcoran, and to have practis'd an austere and rigid Life, they are confirm'd by Virtue of a Sigil, in the sought Possession of a vacant Priesthood.

How the Turks are call'd to Prayers.

THESE call, as I have said above, the Turks to Prayers, by mounting to the Steeple Tops of their high Mosques, where straining to a vast Degree, the shrillness of their Voice, they oft repeat, that God is one, and Mahomet his Prophet; by constant Practice of this ancient Custom, some attain a great Perfection, and stopping with their Fingers both their Ears, will raise their Voices to so high a Pitch, that it amazes Strangers when they hear them crying.

Bells not allow'd in Turkish Churches.

BY this Contrivance they supply the want of Bells, not tolerated in the Turkish Churches;
The reason of their Prohibition.

the Cause whereof some Travellers ascribe to an unwillingness they have to follow any Custom of the Christian Countries, which (tho' they vow a disrespect to our Religion and our Manners) is not altogether, the prevailing Cause of their forbidding Bells throughout their Government. But as the Turks are more inclin'd to groundless Superstition than the Christian World, there is an ancient Prophecy, which having long foretold the Greatness of their Empire, in the Downfall of the Greeks, advises them to take a constant Care, least by the tinkling of a Bell the Walls of Constantinople shou'd be betray'd again, and the undreamtof Fall of that Important Place denote the Ruin of their whole Dominions. The Words of this fear'd Prophecy, translated into English, run as follows.

A Turkish Prophecy.

The time shall come, when Earthquakes shall confound,

With unresisted Shocks a fertil Ground;

When the wide Ocean shall be stain'd with Blood,

And Bulwarks float on the portentous Flood;

When Smoak and Fire shall joyn to form new Rods,

And Mortals ravish Thunder from the Gods.

Then, shall the Courage by mean Swains possest,

Lead the bold East to over-run the West;

The Pride of Conquest shall adorn the Field,

And the Tall Cross to the bright Crescent yield.

But e'er the Growing Moon her Full attains,

Her waning Face shall see her Sons in Chains;

In a black Hour a fatal Bell shall Ring,

Sure Mark of swift Success to a new mounting King.

The meaning of the Prophecy.

THIS Prophecy they look upon as verify'd in the Destruction of the Graecian Empire about the time that Gunpowder and the Use of Cannons was invented; the Swains, who were to lead the East to overthrow the West were successful Shepherds, who laid the first Foundation of their present Empire; the Cross they look upon to signifie the Empire of the Greeks, alluding to the Banner of Constantine the Great; the waning of the Moon before her Full, they say, denotes the Ruin of the Ottoman Family, before they have obtain'd their Wish of Universal Monarchy; and their Interpretation of the Bell I have just now given you.

The Dress of the Yemaums how differing from the rest.

NOW tho' these Parish Priests are reckon'd, while they hold the Places they obtain, amongst the Number of the Turkish Clergy, yet are they no ways differently drest, so much as to distinguish them from Laymen, but in the folding up their Turbant, which they wear a little larger than the rest; they seldom Preach, or venture to expound in Great Assemblies the mysterious Points of their Religion, but content themselves with leading People into Mosques, and the Inferior Businesses before related; and if their Posts are taken from them, they remain no more as Members of the Priest-hood, but betake themselves at pleasure, to such different Employments amongst the Laity, as their several Educations may have qualified 'em for the Practice of.

The Sohoigs or Preachers of the Turks.

THE Common Preachers in the Turkish Churches are the Sohoigs, a sort of Men Politely Bred, of Eminent Perfection both in Mind and Body, vers'd Gentelely, in a more than common knowledge of the liberal Arts and Sciences, and sedate Professors of the rules of Moderation; these are most respected by the Turks and Christians, and are really so Accomplish'd in external Carriage, and the Ʋnfeign'd Practice of an Inward Piety, that 'tis not common to behold their Fellows even in the most Refin'd and Polish'd parts of Well-bred Christendom.

The Muftee.

THE Head of their Religion is the Muftee, an Officer of the highest Dignity, as to the respect, which all Men show him, but not extreamly Powerfull, in that he is rather look'd upon as an undoubted Oracle, in Cases of Dispute in Justice or Divinity, than as Possessor of a large and Personal Authority.
How Created, his Salary and Perquisites.

He is Created by the Sultan's Choice, who puts him on a Rich and Splendid Vest of Sables, and confers upon him as his Places's due, the Yearly Salary of about two Thousand Pounds, which by the Sale of certain Benefices in his Gift, belonging to the Royal Mosques of Constantinople, and the frequent Presents he Receives from Foreign Ministers and those of Turkey, is Improv'd to 3 times as much again.

The Emirs or Kindred of Mahomet, how respected.

I may set down amongst the Orders of the Turks Religious, the Emirs or Branches of their Prophets Family. These are so highly Valued by all sorts of People, that 'tis present Death, to lift an Hand against their Persons. They are Independent on the common Government, and Subject to some Grave and Ancient Member of their own Fraternity: They Wear a sort of Turbant High and Stately, in Bulk not much Inferiour to a British Bushel: Its Colour is and must be Green, for that alone Distinguishes their Lineage; and is Worn, because it was the Colour of their Prophet's Standard, which a Member of their Brotherhood must always Carry to the War, when the Grand Signior does appear himself in Field.

The Turkish Funds for Maintenance of their Clergy.

IN order to maintain their Stately Mosques, and Endless Numbers of the Preists about 'em, above one Third of all the Lands within their Empire, are appointed for the Raising Sums of Money to defray the Charges of Religious Establishments, and such Prodigious Gifts are daily added to the Settled Income of the Lands Appropriated for the use of all their Royal and Inferiour Churches,
The Yearly Revenue of Santa Sophia.

that the fix'd Revenue of that Famous Mosque distinguish'd by the Ancient Name of Santa Sophia, does Amount to near one Hundred Thousand Pounds per Annum.

Their Preists Subservient to the civil Magistrates.

THE Priests of Turkey are not, as in Christendom, subservient to the higher Power of Superiour Clergy, but every Man dependant wholly on the Civil Magistrates of his respective Parish, so that having no dispute upon the several Priviledges of Spiritual and Temporal Authority, they mingle mildly in a joint Obedience, the Clergy showing due respect to the Ʋnbridled Laity, and the latter giving daily Proofs of a Profound and Decent Veneration to the Office of the former, which they show sufficiently in that respectfull Style wherewith they commonly Address them.

How the Turks Address their Clergy.

TO you the Rich and Valued Mines of Eloquence and Wisdom, bright Directors to the Paths of God, belov'd of Heaven, and Children of the Prophet, the Glories of Religion, and Illustrious Pillars of Unbyass'd Justice, may your Judgment be Encreas'd, and joys be Doubled, &c.

The Turkish Ramazaan or Yearly Fast of thirty days.

I now proceed to an Account of the beforenam'd third Injunction of their Prophet to the Followers of his Doctrine, and that is, to observe a Fast one Month in twelve: This Fast they call the Ramazann, and keep it by the different Courses of the Moon, always falling sooner out each Year than other change the Season with the Month they Fast in, and oblige 'em once in Thirty Years to Fast each Day of every season.

Their manner of observing it.

THEY keep this Fast by strict, unbroken Abstinence from the first appearance of the Morning Sun, till after Sun-sett, in which Religious time, 'tis Death to Eat, or Drink, or Smoak Tobacco; but when the Lights appear upon the Steeples of their Mosques, they lay aside Sobriety, and bringing out the Dainties purposely reserv'd, begin to revel in a loud Extravagance, turn Fast to Feasting, Night to Day, and Dallying with their Women, Loose and Wanton spend their their Hours in Mirth and Jollity, till some shrill Cock invites their Sleep, by loudly telling them the First appearance of unwelcome Morning.

Travellers, and the Sick, a little favour'd.

HOWEVER, Travellers, or Persons Indispos'd, may break the Fast of Ramazann, provided, when recover'd from their Sickness, or arriv'd in Safety at their Journies end, they Fast as many Days together as they then omitted doing it.

The strictness of the Duty.

SO strictly do they keep this Celebrated Fast, that in their Noted Cities, Officers are sent about from Place to Place, to make their Observations on the Peoples Actions; and it has been known, that some of their most active Sultans have rode Incognito about the Streets, attended at a distance by observant Executioners, who, at the smallest Beckon of their Masters Finger, were in constant readiness to Strangle or Behead whatever Persons he had found in Actual Disobedience to the rules of their Religion.

The Feast of Bairamm, and manner of its Celebration.

IMMEDIATELY subsequent to the Ramazann, is that short Three Days Feast, they call Bairamm, not much unlike our Easter. They have two of these each Year; the First is Introduc'd by the appearance of the first new Moon that closes up the Fast, and is Proclaim'd by the discharge of all the Cannon round the Sultan's Palace, and the Airy notes of Sprightly Musick sounding loud from every Corner; the Second is about Threescore and Ten Days further in the Year. This Feast is kept with universal Mirth, and all the Sports which Turkish Gravity permits the Practice of; and at this time they visit one another with a nice formality, observing, from the Courtier to the meanest Peasant, certain Punctual and Establish'd forms of Salutation, not inferiour to the polish'd complaisance of Christian Palaces.

Zacatt or giving Alms, how order'd by their Doctrine.

AND now I come to treat of their Zacatt, or Fourth Injunction of their Prophet, which is nothing else but giving Alms, according to the Plenty God has blest 'em with. They are prescrib'd the several rules of this commanded Charity, in Books the ancient Doctors of their Law have left behind 'em. The Standard rule is to bestow one Penny in an Hundred, of their utmost substance on the Publick Funds, for Building Hospitals, maintaining Poor and Aged People, erecting Hans, or Inns upon the Road, where Pilgrims find free-cost, a Three-days Entertainment, or for any other publick good which shall be thought convenient;
The different Principles of the Turks discover'd in their Charity.

this is the lowest they shou'd give, but some are found, whose sordid, base, and avaritious Principles, incline them meanly to deny their Wealth, that they may save a Poor and Inconsiderable Portion, from the uses they shou'd give it to; and others have been known, who generously prizing transient Riches at their proper Worth, refuse to hide one number'd Penny, but, on the Contrary, bestow the Fourth or Third of all their substance on the needy objects of a pity'd Poverty.

The Pilgrimage to Meccha.

FIFTHLY The Annual Pilgrimage to Meccha, is enjoyn'd the Turks, who must from every Part of their wide Empire, once at least before they die, perform that Journey, as a Typical Expression of their Passage from this World to that hereafter. Many Thousands Yearly undertake this celebrated Pilgrimage;
Referr'd to the 48th Chapter.

but as there is a large Account of all the Ceremonies of that respected Duty in another Part of this Book, I shall say no more in this Place, but will referr my Reader for his further Satisfaction, to the Eight and Fortieth Chapter, treating fully of some strange Particulars.

Friday the Turkish Sabbaoth.

FRIDAY, as I said before, is set apart by the Mahometans for their Day of Rest, or Sabbaoth, which they keep religiously till the Duties of the Mosques are fully ended;
Their Punishment for breaking it.

and if in time of their Divine Service, a Turk presumes to open Shop, they nail his Ears directly to his Counter, and expose him to the Scoffs of Publick Scorn, as one who merits not the Name of Mussulman.

The Derveeshes, who they are.

THEY have a sort of Priests amongst 'em call'd Derveeshes, who on these Days, harrangue the People in the open Mosques, and turn themselves about in frantick Postures to the noisy sound of certain Instruments of Musick, till giddy by the frequent Rounds they make, they fall upon the Ground, and lying for a while without the smallest Motion, rise at last, with elevated Eyes, and Arms extended, telling with a grave and artificial Look, their gaping Audience, that while entranc'd as they beheld, they have been taken into Heaven, and convers'd with Angels in the Fields of Glory,
The Cheats they put upon the People in their Mosques.

and so proceed, while shelter'd by the Cloak of deep Hypocrisy, to tell the People what their own Desires wou'd have perform'd, under the prevailing Notion, that they are all the while, pronouncing Sacredly the Will of Heaven.

The Temperance and Longaevity of the Derveeshes.

THESE Priests are most abstemious in their Diet, and austere in Humour, rarely speaking but in Mosques, and never drinking Wine, or any other Liquor than the Fountain Water, whereby secure from those Distempers, which the ill Effects of Gluttony and Drunkenness make common to luxurious and intemperate Appetites, they generally live to a prodigious Age, and serve to prove by undeniable Experience, the inconsiderate Follies of such Rich Men, as hurry headlong to their Graves by lewd Extravagancies, and the constant Practice of a loose Debauchery; on which the following Verses in Lucan's Pharsalià, are a very eloquent and nice Reflection.

O prodiga rerum

Luxuries! nunquam parvo contenta paratu;

Et quaesitorum terrá pelagoque ciborum

Ambitiosa fames, & lautae gloria mensae,

Discite quam parvo liceat producere vitam:

Et quantum Natura petat. Non erigit aegros

Nobilis ignoto Diffusus Consule Bacchus,

Non Auro, myrrháque bibunt: Sed gurgite puro

Vita redit: Satis est Populis fluviusque, Ceresque.

Learn, wastful Luxury, whose dainty Care,

Can never be content with low-priz'd Fare;

And, thou vain Hunger, whose ambitious Tast,

Plows Land and Sea to furnish fine repast:

Vainglorious Folly of a Splendid Board,

With far-fetch'd Cates, and Chosen Dishes stor'd;

Learn with how little Life may be preserv'd,

And how much Nature asks. Ill is he serv'd

Who strives, by strong, old-Wine his Health to raise,

Prest in some ancient King's forgotten Days,

The hearty Poor, the wholesome Country Swain,

Drinks not in Gold, nor does for Myrrh complain:

Bread, and the murm'ring Current of some Mead,

Supply his largest Wants, nor does he Dainties need.

AND indeed it is a very common thing, to see in many of those Countries subject to the Turks, both Men and Women of amazing Ages.
A very odd Discovery of a Man in Bulgaria, who had liv'd to be 162 Years old.

Once I travell'd through Bulgaria and Valachia, into Germany from Adrianople, with the Right Honourable the Lord Paget, then returning from his Ten Years Embassy in the Turkish Court; we pitch'd our Tents about a Furlong from a small and inconsiderable Village, through whose midst a smooth and pleasant River gently glided; natural Curiosity and the coolness of the Day, invited me to take a melancholy Walk along the green and solitary Banks of the delightful Current; where I was surpriz'd to find a very old and graceful Man lie stretch'd upon the Grass, and humming to himself the merry remnant of a Turkish Song.

I view'd attentively the wrinkled Visage of this ancient Man, who seem'd to have been buried and return'd to Earth, with all the Furrows of destructive Time engrav'd upon his Forehead: But while I wondred at the briskness of his Voice, he doubled my Amazement, by his leaping up with such agility of Body, as became the Strength of one in all the Vigour of accomplish'd Manhood;
A cringing Method of Salutation us'd in Turkey.

he came towards me bowing with a servile Air, peculiar to the slavish Nature of that conquer'd Nation, and endeavour'd to Salute me with a strange Humility by the kissing of my Vest, a cringing Custom us'd in Turkey, and only proper for the sordid Practice of a base, submissive, and inglorious People.

I prevented his Design, and pleas'd to see the odd Appearance which he made, desir'd him to follow me to yonder Camp, and I wou'd treat him with a glass of Wine;
A strange Instance of Mirth in old Age.

he seem'd transported when he saw the Tents, and running on before me a considerable way, with aukward steps as if he aim'd at something like a Dance, he threw his Arms and Feet about him, at a merry rate, and with a very brisk and laughing Countenance, repeated in a sort of tuneless Ballad, several Verses to the following purpose.

Wine makes old Men young again,

Ay marry and Women too;

Wine cures Sorrow, takes off Pain,

And former Joys can soon renew.

The odd Account he gave of himself

I brought him to the Camp, where having eat roast Beef and drank above a Quart of strong red Wine, we ask'd him Where he liv'd, How old he was, and many other such like Questions. He return'd for Answer, that he knew no more, than that he was about thirty Years of Age when the Village where he liv'd was burn'd to Ashes; that his Children's Children, he thank'd God, were dead, and he had nothing left upon his Care but his old, brisk and honest Person, and so began to sing and dance again as he had done before.

BY this time several of the Country People, who came out to look upon the Tents, where gather'd round him, and inform'd us, that his Family had liv'd above two hundred Years as Farmers in that Neighbourhood, that he had long out-liv'd the period of his Race, extinct near fourteen Years before, by the death of two of his Great Grandsons, Men full-grown, that he was now maintain'd by charitable Contributions of the Houses in the Village, and that he was by punctual Calculation from the burning of the Place, computed, then arriv'd at the surprizing Age of one hundred sixty and two Years.

Teeth three times chang'd.

HE cou'd eat the toughest Meat without the smallest trouble, leap about without a Staff, and having chang'd his Teeth three several times, the Set he had, were wholly sound, and white as Ivory. Nor was he then, in seeming danger of approaching Death, but may perhaps be now alive, as healthful and untouch'd by those Infirmities peculiar to Old Age, as when he was an Infant.

CHAP. VIII. Of the several Sects into which they are Divided.

Frequent Changes in Religion a certain Proof of humane Imperfection.

AMONGST the num'rous Imperfections which attend Mortality, there is none can better serve to prove the Frailties of our human Nature, than that diffusive Levity which does so often change the Notions of Mankind in matters of Religion. To Day, we strongly fix our Resolutions to defend the Creed we now profess, with Lives and Fortunes; nay, so warmly struggle to promote its Doctrine, that we scarce avoid the Guilt of Persecution to enlarge its Limits; yet, to Morrow shakes the Pillars of our Faith, and leads us headlong to a blind Extravagance, in joyning vigorously with some new Sect, to undermine clandestinely the mock'd Foundations of our forsaken Church, and on Her Ruins, raise the Columns of some New Opinion and prevailing Heresy.

Interest the common Cause of new Opinions.

AND if we guide our Judgment by a contemplative View of those great Turns to which the Ancient or the Modern Changes in Religion ow'd their Introduction; the pricks of Conscience will be rarely found the real Causes of those numerous Innovations; perswasive Interest is still the Motive that excites our Actions to our own Advantage; Man, is naturally prone to love himself, and will embrace such Tenets as do best agree with his desir'd Conveniency, or sooth most favorably the gross accomplishment of his licentious Inclinations, and when the tempting Call of such a Doctrine summons his Adherence, Nature urges him to quit a Faith more rigid and severe, and make himself a Member of such new Profession, as enlarges him to practise free from Censure, the unbounded Pleasures of a welcome Liberty.

Men are naturally led to quit the weakest Party.

THUS every Age produces new and various Heresies, nor can the meanest Doctrine want its Proselytes, if vented at a time when Foreign Wars or Civil Discords shake the Pillars of that Faith it must oppose; for Men of small and undiscerning Judgments, will be proud of owning in its shining Grandeur, a Religion they will quit with scorn and indignation, when too weak to grant its persecuted Sons a claim'd Protection. And as a palliating Excuse for their abhorr'd Apostacy, can only say, with Ovid,

Tempora mutantur, & Nos mutamur in illis.

The Times are chang'd, and we are chang'd with Time.

The means whereby Mahometanism gaind Success.

'TWAS by these means, Mahometanism, invading Asia at a time when Wars and Tumults, Schisms and Heresy, and all the Plagues of fatal Discord rent the Kingdoms of the Christian World, with dire Divisions, met a Swift and strange Success, perhaps beyond the very hopes or wishes of the Black Impostor.

The cause of the Variety of Sects among the Turks.

BUT as all Men, let them change as much as possible their Natures and Religion, must notwithstanding, still retain some Scatter'd Notions of their former Customs, and perhaps a sort of native Fondness for their ancient Practices, so the Prodigious Body of the Turkish Church, promiscuously receiving different Nations to compose its Grandeur, is thereby Divided into full as many Sects and different opinions, as a mixt confusion of Mahometanism in its own Divisions, with the broken Remnants of so many Hundred several sorts of Worship, cou'd produce amongst them.

Above an Hundred different Opinions, now profess'd in Turkey.

THERE are at present near an Hundred noted Sects among the Turks, who disagree in very wide Contrarieties of opinion, and many more, whose unsupported Follies, sinking Daily, by their want of Learning to defend their Tenets, are not worth a Stranger's observation, nor esteem'd enough considerable by the Turks themselves, to claim a Place in their Religious Lists.

TO treat Distinctly of the various Sects that now divide them, wou'd require more Room than can be spar'd from matters more Material and Diverting, and afford the Reader small delight and less Improvement, I will therefore mention but the Heads of some prevailing Tenets, and proceed to what will entertain the Curious with a more uncommon, and agreeable Amusement.

A sort of Turks who own our Saviour for the Son of God.

AND first, in due respect to the eternal Glories and Immense compassion of our blessed Saviour, I must, with zealous wishes for the great Improvement of a happy Prospect, mention an opinion long since form'd, in several Parts of the Grand Signior's Country, and of late encreas'd to such a strength that Thousands of his Subjects openly avow it, in despite of danger.

The Tenets of the Sect above-mention'd.

THE Professors of the Doctrine Taught by this opinion, are distinguish'd by the Name of Choop-Massiahee or Dreamers of Messiah: These declare that Christ was God, is now in Heaven, and shall come to Judgment, far superior to their Prophet, or his followers. To prove the truth of this oppos'd Assertion, they produce the words of Mahomet himself by a Quotation from their Alcoran, where it is said, thine Eyes O Mahomet, shall see thy Lord return in Glory: They are generally Men of clear Capacities, and exquisite Dexterity in management of Business: and by the sacred notions they retain of the Divinity of JESƲS, appear not widely separated from the Pale of his Religion. Some have gone so far in their enlighten'd preference of CHRIST, to MAHOMET, that they have fallen Martyrs to an unripe Faith, and even in Death, maintain'd their Principles.

The Barbarous and Inhumane Doctrine of the Morgee.

ANOTHER Sect Intituled Morgee, hold with obstinacy that all the followers of true Mahometanism, must necessarily attain the most sublime and heightned joys of their transporting Paradise, tho' while on Earth, they liv'd in endless Wickedness, but on the contrary affirm, that any who deny their Prophet, tho' they have led a Sober, Vertuous, truely Exemplary, and Ʋnspotted Life, will find it yet Impossible to be admitted into Heaven, or indeed, to save their Souls from tedious Scenes of Future Punishment.

The Chawargee.

THE Chawargee maintain it an absurd and false Conclusion to assert that ever God bestow'd on Man the Gift of Prophecy, or thought it necessary to inspire with boasted Knowledge or Infalibillity, the blest Capacity of any chosen or distinguish'd Mortal;
They deny the Prophetical Inspiration of Mahomet.

these allow no more to Mahomet, than that he was a Man, whom Nature had endow'd with great Accomplishments, and God afforded an enlarg'd, peculiar, and uncommon Portion of his holy Spirit, in regard to his unequal'd Zeal and unaffected Piety.

The Sephatee.

THE Sephatee, affirm that God Possesses endless Attributes of Power, Life, Wisdom, Truth and Justice, but extend their Notions to such wild extravagance, as to conceive his Senses built upon the same corporeal Organs which compose the Fabrick of our humane Bodies; they think he hears, smells, sees, feels, tastes, and understands as we do here; differing from Mortals only thus, that whereas our Bodies are both weak and finite, God has fram'd himself a Being strong and infinite: This Notion they defend, or strive to do it, from those several Passages of holy Scripture, where the figurative Sense of the Expression, speaks of God's creating Eve from Adam's Rib, as by the virtue of a manual Operation, his sitting on a Throne, repenting often what he had decreed, as of the Actions of a humane Body:
The grossness of their Apprehension.

They will not be disswaded from conceiving those Expressions in a literal Sense, and being for the most part, Men of gross and vulgar Apprehensions, ascend not to the height of sacred Contemplation, on the mysterious Attributes of the All-Great Incomprehensible.

A Sect, among themselves, divided into one and Thirty different Opinions.

WONDERFULLY various, and strangely contradictory to their own Assertions, are the Notions form'd of the Divine Omnipotence, by the Muhaw-Tazlee, a Sect, divided into one and thirty several Interpretations of that controverted Tenet which divides them from the rest. And that is, GOD is Holy and Eternal, by the Virtue of his Essence; yet refuse to own him eternal by his Eternity; knowing, by his Knowledge, or merciful by his Mercy. Their surprizing Caution and fantastic Notion of Almighty God, proceeds from their aversion to the Doctrine of a Trinity; so that to avoid a multiplication of the Divine Power, they run themselves to strange, abstruse and incoherent Dreams, of something which they wou'd conceive but cannot.

A Sect who wait the coming of another Prophet.

ANOTHER Sect, call'd, Zeidee, believe that long before the World shall end, a Persian Prophet shall be sent by God to dis-annul the Laws of Mahomet, and teach a new and surer way to Joys hereafter.

A Blasphemous Opinion.

JABHAIAH are a sort of People who affirm, that God created Man, the World, and all his Labours, by meer chance and accident; denying his Omniscience, and believing that he improves like Men, by Practice and Experience.

Two Sects directly opposite.

MAALƲMGEE and Meizha-Chullha, are Sects directly opposite to one another, the first affirming, GOD is to be known on Earth, by the knowledge of our selves; and the last, maintaining it impossible either in the present World, or that to come, to know him otherwise than by a faint perception of his Rays of Glory.

A stoical and melancholy sort of People.

KAADE-ZADEELI, are a stoical and melancholy Sect, who practise strange and superstitious Ceremonies in praying for the Dead. These Men profess a natural aversion to the sound of Musick, and neglect with rigid and austere disdain, the chearful use of Mirth and Pleasure; they sit whole Days and Nights alone, still bending forwards and repeating with a doleful and desponding Accent, the respected Name of the supreme Almighty.

Idolaters among the Turks.

THERE is a certain Sect call'd Sab-bin, tending strongly to adore Idolatrously, the Sun and Moon; from the conspicuous Influences they are found to have on Things below.

A Sect among the Turks, who allow the Trinity.

ANOTHER sort of Men call'd Escrakee, allow the Trinity, as a Number springing from the Ʋnity of God. This Sect are blest with a Platonic Contemplation on the great Idea of divine Omnipotence, and discerning plainly all the gross and sordid Falsehoods of the Turkish Alcoran, reject the Notions built upon its Fabrick, and support their Arguments upon the surer Principles of humane Reason.

A sort of Men Professors of an exemplary Modesty.

THE Hair-hetwee diffide so much in natures Strength, and humane Understanding, that they think it Sin to contradict the weakest Argument prefer'd against them; affirming, that our frail Capacities can never represent a true Idea, of a Being so superior to us. These Men behave themselves with an accomplish'd Modesty, give no offence to Man or Beast, but when a Question is propos'd for their desir'd Solution, return this Answer, Allah Belerr, ammah Ben Yoketer, God knows all, but I am Ignorant.

A Sect who hold the Transmigration of Souls.

BUT more diverting and extraordinary will appear the Munasahee or Pythagorical Opinion, which maintains with violence, the old Metempsychosis or the Transmigration of our humane Souls: To this Assertion are inclin'd the ablest Physicians of the Turkish Empire, and it is a matter worth the Readers Patience, to reflect a little on the oddness of their Notions, as to this particular.

THEY hold that when a Man departs this Life, his Soul shall enter in that very Moment, the appointed Body of some certain Beast, whose Nature did in Life, the most resemble the prevailing Genius of the late deceas'd; thus for example, the undaunted Soul of some brave Warrior, shall be sent to animate the Lyon; the Coward's Soul, shall dwell at rest within the Hare; the Generous shall possess the Horses Body, and the Goat contain the Soul of the Lascivious.
The Camel much respected among the Turks.

But as a Blessing most desir'd, and the sublimest Happiness they can attain in Death, the pious, grave, religious and contented Man, shall see his Soul inform the Camel, a Beast of every other most respected by the fond Mahometans.

A very strange Opinion.

THUS cas'd and fetter'd shall the Souls of Mortals wander in the course of a refining Pilgrimage, for the full space of three thousand and five hundred Years, still growing more and more polite and glorious, till the longest Date of their injoin'd Peregrination once expir'd, they return again to some bright Part of undiscover'd Earth, where, free from those unnumber'd and insulting Imperfections, which attend Mortality in its impure and unrefin'd Existence, they shall enjoy the choicest of such unimagin'd Blessings, as will fit them joyfully, for that more bright Reception they expect to meet in the transporting Mansions of a future Glory.

THERE is a Story which a very grave and seemingly religious Turk wou'd often tell me, with repeated Vows, and serious Protestations of the truth of his Assertion. He was a strict Adherer to the Doctrine of Transmigration, and gave the following account of a surprizing Accident, which had oblig'd him to embrace the Articles of that till then despis'd Opinion.

A strange Relation, of a Turk's Conversion to the Doctrine abovemention'd.

I was, said he, about my one and twentieth Year of Age, a violent opposer of the Tenets of Munasahee, or such as hold the Pilgrimage of Souls, (for so 'tis call'd among the Turks) and often us'd to laugh at the Opinion of an elder Brother, who delighted much in running Races, and was wonderfully swift of Foot; on which account he often us'd to fansie that after Death, his Soul wou'd animate some Horse or Antelope: He dy'd, and left me very sorrowful, for he deserv'd my love by frequent kindnesses, and triumph'd in a more than common share of my sincere Affection. I often hunted in the neighb'ring Woods, and took a great delight in all the Practices of Rural Pastime; when on a certain Day, with several of my Acquaintance, riding out to seek some Sport, we rows'd a Stagg of stately Size, and spreading Antlers.

Strange Action of a Beast, directly contrary to his Nature.

THE Beast-no sooner saw the Dogs about him, and beheld the Company prepar'd for his Destruction, but instead of flying from impending Danger, he came running swiftly towards my Horse, as if he aim'd to overthrow me with his fury.

A very odd Passage.

SURPRIZ'D at the advance I saw him making, I prepar'd as well as possible, for Self-defence, and poizing in my hand a pointed Javelin I carried with me, was about directing it to wound his Breast, when (O amazing Prodigy!) I saw the Dogs begin to tremble, and instead of tearing his unhappy Limbs, lie down and fawn, with lolling Tongues upon the panting Animal; who with a timorous hast, as sadly apprehensive of the threatning Weapon, rear'd himself upright upon his hinder Feet, and with his two fore Legs, and the expressive motions of his Head and Eyes, made melancholy signs of some important Secret, which his want of Speech deny'd an utterance.

A Turk discovers his Brother's Soul in the Body of a Stagg.

METHOUGHTS, the very moment when this moving posture of the Stagg was pleading for compassion, I perceiv'd a sudden cold strike thro' my Body, and imagin'd I distinctly heard a murmuring Whisper speak these Words, as softly and serene, as if some gentle breath of Wind had fann'd my Temples. Pity, O unthinking Man, thy Brother's Soul, to whose appointed wand'rings, the intended Death of this poor Stagg, shall add twelve Years of tedious Pilgrimage.

ASTONISH'D at the strange, and unexpected Accident, I drop'd my Javelin from my trembling hand, and scarce preserv'd my self from sinking off my Horse, by the industrious Favours of my Friends Assistance: But while they were busy in endeavouring to recover me again, the Stagg was gone, nor did one Dog attempt to follow him.

AND now, continued he, you will not wonder that I hold the Doctrine you so much oppose for certain Truth, and undeniable Reality, my Brother's Soul by this strange Accident converted me; and may the Will of God direct some Chance to lead your Judgment, first, to see the light of Mahomet, and then, the certainty of this sure Faith, the Tenet of his Follower.

EXCUSE me, Reader, that I have so long detain'd you on so whimsical a Subject, nor believe you see this Story here inserted from a fond effect of my Credulity; I tell it to divert you with the Turk's Opinion, who had fram'd hereon, a fix'd belief of Transmigration, and imagin'd by the whisper which he dream'd he heard, that such departed Souls as dwelt within a Beast that hapned to be kill'd, or die by accident before its time, shall lose entirely all those Years they had remain'd inclos'd before such accident, and be oblig'd to wander so much longer, thro' the various Stages of their tedious Journey.

Monasteries among the Turks, by whom Ordain'd.

MONASTERIES, or a sort of Cloisters for religious Turks of several Orders, were anciently ordain'd by Mahomet's Decree, in imitation of the Convents famous then, for exemplary Piety, and great Oeconomy, by the religious Practices of Solitude and Sanctity among the Christians.

Muveh lehvee an Order of Turkish Monks.

OF these, are held in most esteem Muveh-lehvee, an Order, silent, humble, modest, and professing Charity; they wear the coursest Dress that can be possibly invented, and renounce the World with all its Glories, fasting every Thursday round the Year, besides the Ramazann, or publick Ceremony; and neglecting piously all earthly Pleasures, for the preferable Blessings of a future Paradise.

These Monks, the most accomplish'd Spies of Turkey.

ICONIƲM is the favour'd Residence of these religious Men, there dwells the Chief, or Prior of their Order, and from thence they go like Roman Missionaries, up and down thro' China, Persia, and the wide Dominions of the Great Mogul, striving to convert to Turkish Superstition, every Man they can commodiously fall in with; and by travelling without the least suspicion into foreign Countries, become the only able Spies of all the Sultan's vast Dominions.

Not much unlike the Capuchines of Rome.

THERE is no Order in the Romish Church, which does so nearly suit the Manners, Habit, Humour, and Deportment of these Turkish Fryars, as the Capuchines; and they agree so fully and exactly in their several Customs, that, were it not for staining with the near Comparison, a Christian Character, these Eastern Priests, and Monk-Mahometans, might not improperly, be call'd the Capuchines of Turkey.

Nim-tulahee.

ANOTHER Order of the Turkish Priests, they call Nim-tulahee; these have their Convents in the City of Constantinople, weigh their Bread by Drachms and Scruples, fast and pray whole Days together, and avoid the Company of all Mankind. They place no value on the Blessings of Mortality, making frequent use of this grave Maxim in their common Conversation;
Their pious Maxim.

Riches are the vainest Trifles we can possibly collect, since they so far possess our Thoughts, that we forget one fatal Hour may take us from them; and herein, they seem to steer the prudent Course of a sincere Morality, believing the natural Frailty of our humane Bodies undeserving half the pains we take to pamper 'em, and disregarding with a wise Disdain, those transitory Ornaments, and fading Satisfactions, which must perish with the Persons of unthinking Mortals. And here they act agreable to the Notions of the admirable Horace, in the seventh Ode of his fourth Book.

Hor. L. 4. Ode 7.

Pulvis, & umbra sumus.

Quis scit, an adjiciant hodiernae crastina summae

Tempora Dii superi?

Cuncta manus avidas fugient haeredis, amico

Quae dederis animo,

Cum semel occideris, & de te splendida Minos

Fecerit arbitria,

Non, Torquate, genus, non te facundia, non te

Restituet pietas.

What are the Bodies Men so vainly boast,

But Dust, and Ashes, and a fleeting Ghost?

Who knows, if Heav'n, whose Pow'r to day we praise,

Will add one short to Morrow to our Days?

Vainly, fond Mortal, does thy Soul employ

Her greedy Faculties in search of Joy;

For all those Blessings thou dost now prepare

Will fly the eager hopes of thy expecting Heir,

When the impartial Stroke of certain Death

Shall ravish all thy Glories with thy Breath;

When the Great Judge of Heav'ns unbounded State,

Has sentenc'd thee to some eternal Fate,

Alas! my Friend, where's then thy noble Blood?

What will avail thee there thy earthly Good?

Vainly, thy Eloquence will there implore,

Nor can thy pious Life, thy finish'd Course restore.

Edheemi, a grave and solitary Order.

ANOTHER Order of the Turks Religious, call'd Edheemi, live in Woods, Cells, hollow Trees, and other lonely Places, converse familiarly with Lyons, Tygers, and the wildest Beasts which haunt the Forest, if we may believe the Members of their own Fraternity: They have some Convents in the Eastern Parts of the Grand Turks Dominions, but will rather choose to live abroad, and taste the free, uninterrupted Pleasures of a constant Solitude.

Santoons, a loose, and frantic sort of People.

SANTOON's, or Holy-Men, a sort of frantic, idle and conceited Beggars, going almost Naked, with their Bodies wounded deep in many Places, are esteem'd among the Turks as Sacred, and inspir'd by the divine Illumination: These commit the worst extravagancies, under the deceitful Cloak of heavenly Raptures, and are allow'd the use of Wine, and all strong Liquors, to enable them the better to converse with GOD and view his Glories.

Fools and Mad-Men, valued much among the Turks.

MADMEN and Fools are by the Turks esteem'd the Favorites of Heaven: They think 'em taken from their Tenements of Clay, to talk with Angels, in the upper Regions, and will therefore beg the blessing of an Ideot, when they meet him in the Streets, and bending forward, kiss his Garment, with the most profound and humble Veneration.

Schism, more prevalent in Turkey, than in Christendom.

MANY other Sects and Orders are at present found among the Turks, some of which, assert Opinions in diametrical opposition to the Tenets of the others; and divide the Doctrine they profess from Mahomet, into such intestine Jarrs, and publick Disagreements, that the power of Schism in Christian Churches, falls far short of that, now found in every Province of the Turkish Empire.

The Opinions of some, diametrically opposite to those of others.

SOME profess perpetual Chastity, and fearing Nature will incline 'em to forget the tenour of their Vow, will make themselves unable to commit such Sin, by the preventive virtue of a self-Castration; others Marry freely in their very Convents, and enjoy, amidst the rigid Ceremonies of religious Solitude, the loosest pleasures, and unbounded freedom of allow'd Polygamy; some again must never Marry, but are made a full amends for that restriction, by the liberty they have to hold a free and undisputed Conversation, with as many Concubines as they find means to compass.

One common Article, in which they all agree.

THUS they vary widely from each others Practice, and only join unanimously in this One common Article; That 'tis their duty to oppose with Violence, the Doctrine of Christianity, hate, kill, and persecute without compassion, all the Members of that envied Faith, till they have rooted from the Earth the Name of Jesus, and reduc'd the Nations of the conquer'd World, to worship singly One Great God, and Mahomet his Prophet.

BUT the never-failing Mercy of our great Protector, who prevented hitherto their curst Designs, has graciously been pleas'd to take away all Cause of fear from his defended Church, whose firm Foundation he has plac'd upon a Rock, nor shall the Gates of Hell prevail against it.

CHAP. IX. Of the Turkish Studies, and how far Learning is encourag'd among them.

Learning, discountenanc'd in Turkey, and the Reasons of it.

LEARNING, as inconsistent with the nature of a Government, wholly founded on the Power of the Sword, receives but small encouragement in any Part of the Grand Signior's Empire; and as I have said before, it is a Maxim of his Policy, to bend the Minds of all his Subjects to a constant Practice of the Art of War, imagining that, when a Man relaxes from the love of Military Toils, to the more soft, bewitching Charms of Books and Solitude, he grows unfit for Martial Labours, and becomes so deeply sunk in pleasing Contemplations on the Works of Nature, that he loses by degrees, that active Vigour, which shou'd bravely recommend a daring Soldier to the face of Danger.

Learning, agreeable to mild and gentle Governments.

ROME, the ancient, and the glorious Mistress of the kneeling World, has taught the Turks by sure Experience, that Learning, and the moral dictates of attain'd Philosophy, agreeing sympathetically with the noble, honest, and religious Forms of milder Governments, preserve a peaceful and unshock'd Tranquility; for Men thereby, will see the Blessings they enjoy in Liberty, and know to prize their happy Freedom:
Dangerous, and fatal, to an arbitrary Monarchy.

But in Governments Tyrannical and Arbitrary, Learning, like a Spurr to Horses of a fiery Nature, only serves to make 'em feel, and hate their Servitude, exciting warm, and dangerous sparks of Courage in their Breasts, whose sure Effects produce an eager, and undaunted Inclination to expose their valued Lives and Fortunes, for redeeming gloriously the ravish'd Charms of Liberty and Property.

Rome, successful in her pristine Ignorance.

THUS, while the weak and dubious Fate of infant Rome, oblig'd her Sons to slight all Studies but the Art of War, she triumph'd nobly in a vast Success, and grew in time, to such a pitch of Pride, that she subdued the Monarchs of the distant East, and rais'd Her Emperours to all the Pow'r, that arbitrary Rule and unresisted Tyranny cou'd possibly afford them; for the constant Practice of a Military Toil made Dangers natural to all her People, who, allur'd by hopes of fresh Success, attempted freely any hazard, like the Men of whom, thus Lucan in his first Book,

—Quos ille timorum

Maximus, haud urget Lethi metus; inde ruendi

In ferrum mens prona viris.

Who, fearless, ev'n of Death, (fears blackest fright,)

Led on by Courage, swiftly rush to fight,

O'er Groves of pointed Steel.

O'erturn'd, and ruin'd, by polite Improvements.

BUT when the Roman Conquests had possess'd the World, and gain'd the heighth of universal Monarchy, the call of War no more alarming their forgotten Valour, they betook themselves to study Arts and Sciences, and flourish'd for a while in all the Blessings of meridian Glory; but the dictates of their Learning fatally encourag'd, soon inspir'd their glowing Bosoms with a scorn of Slavery, and produc'd such bloody and intestine Discords, as o'erturn'd the Grandeur of their spreading Empire, and involv'd the Government in all the miseries of divided Ruin.

HOWEVER, as 'tis natural for the working Brains of Man to fix attentively on some peculiar and selected Object, how wide soever from the fashionable Practice of the Times they live in; so some are found among the Turks, whose native Curiosity inclines them to the search of what small share of Knowledge they can possibly attain from the perusal of those few and trifling Books they have among them.

The first advance of Turkish Learning.

AND tho' for reasons mention'd in the Chapter of the Turkish Policy, the Art of Printing is prohibited among those People, 'tis not likely they should reach so great Perfection in the Study of Philosophy, and other dubious Parts of Learning, as the more inlightn'd Scholars of the Christian World, yet are not all so meanly ignorant, as the generality. The Person, whose Ambition leads him to bestow upon some favourite Son a costly Education, generous and particular, must first begin like those in Christendom, and see them taught their A, B, C, or Alphabetic Knowledge of the Turkish Language.

The Knowledge of the Alphabet, as much as is requir'd, in any Turkish Minister of State.

NOR is the Knowledge of their Orthographic Learning look'd upon as here with us, like Childrens Study, and the first accomplishment of every mean Capacity: But, on the contrary, nothing further is requir'd from such as are elected to the greatest Places of the Empire, than to be qualified to read a Chapter in the Alcoran, and sign with their respective Names, the written Instruments dispatch'd about from Place to Place by their Authority.

Scribes, or publick Notaries, us'd much in Turkey.

SCARCE One in many Hundreds of the Sultan's Subjects, tho' they read perhaps indifferently well, can write his Name, or form one single Letter of the Alphabet, so that when any Business offers, which they would acquaint a Friend with, who resides at any distance from the Towns they live in, they must address themselves to certain Scribes, or Publick Notaries, whose peculiar Trade it is to write the Letters, Wills, or other Paper Instruments of any such as will employ them.

Their Number in Constantinople.

NO less than Thirty Thousand of these Publick Scribes at present dwell, in full Employment, in the City of Constantinople, and proportionable Numbers are distributed by order of the Court, to other Cities of the Empire: They are admitted upon full Examination, by the Great Vizier, or some inferior Officer deputed by him. They take an Oath to keep all Secrets, no ways tending to the Sultan's prejudice, but discover every little Hint that looks like Treason; hereby 'tis difficult beyond Imagination, to maintain a treacherous or illegal Correspondence.

Their several Businesses.

NOT only Letters and the little Instruments of private Business are dispatch'd promiscuously by the Scribes abovenam'd, but all the Copies of such ancient Manuscripts, or modern Treatises, as are in use among them, must be frequently transcrib'd by some of these, the Art of Printing not allow'd, as I before inform'd you.

The art of Writing fair, in great Perfection with the Turks.

HOWEVER, Omne malum habet in se bonum, Every Ill contains some Good within its self. The Scribes of Turkey by perpetual Practice, are become such Masters in the Art of Penmanship, that they have Pieces common in their meanest Houses, which for justness of Design, equality of Character, and accomplish'd Beauty, Grace, and Smoothness, cannot be exceeded, or indeed match'd by the politest Writing-Masters known in Europe.

The difficulty of sending Letters to any Part of the Turkish Empire.

SINCE I have had occasion here to speak of Letters, 'twill not be digressive from the Subject of the Chapter to acquaint the Reader, that in order to prevent the ill Effects of treasonable Correspondences, they permit no settled Posts in any Part of Turkey; so that he who wou'd dispatch a Letter to a Friend, tho' hardly fifty Miles asunder, is oblig'd to hire on purpose some Courier, or proper Messenger, or must be forc'd to stay the motion of a Caravan, or the departure of a certain sort of Message-bearers, Natives of Arabia, who ramble up and down on foot to every Corner of the Turkish Empire, and will carry Letters for a large Reward to the remotest Borders of the Turks Dominions.

The danger of travelling alone very great in Turkey.

THE Reader will conclude that wanting Posts upon the Roads, must render Travelling a vast expence, fatigue, and hazard; and really where a Man presumes to trust himself alone, or undefended by the Power of some respected Order, he exposes rashly, both his Fortune, and his Life, to the repeated Insults he is sure to meet with, from the barbarous Wretches he must pass by in his Journey.

How a Man must do to travel safely.

BUT the Man who knows the Custom of the Country, will be sure to hire a Turkish Janizary to accompany him; by whose Protection, he will not only be secure from Danger, but may Eat and Drink, Sleep, Ride, or what he pleases, free from Charge, upon the oft-invaded Property of the poor, enslav'd, and miserable Inhabitants.

The second Step of Turkish Learning.

BUT to return to what I was about, no sooner has the Student gain'd a full and finish'd Knowledge of these earliest Rudiments, but he proceeds to change his Theory to Practice, and apply himself to study with the utmost care, and venerable industry, the un-numbred Intricacies of their Alcoran; for to be learn'd in that, is what they all desire with eager Emulation, as the Means whereby they gain the reputation of accomplish'd Scholars, and are throughly qualified for any Post of Honour, or Religion.

The great respect, the Turks show to such as are well vers'd in the Exposition of their Alcoran.

THE Men who reach Perfection, or as great an Height as can be well attain'd, in this respected Study, are on all hands sought to, by the common People, as the Oracles of their Religion, and undoubted Solvers of the most abstruse and noted Difficulties; but more than any other, are esteem'd a sort of Men, who by a daily running over the several Chapters which compose their Alcoran, in time commit it to their Memories, and can repeat in order every Sentence of its valued Doctrine, so that bearing as it were the Body of their whole Religion, within themselves, they are esteem'd as Sacred as the Book it self, and every where distinguish'd by such shining Privileges, as declare how much the Turks (O shame of Christendom,) encourage more than we the Study of Religion.

The Turkish Language, rough and beholding to 3 other Dialects.

THE Turkish Language rough and inharmonious, is oblig'd to the Arabian, Persian, and Chaldean Tongues, for all the softness it at present boasts; which notwithstanding, is so very little, and so seldom understood by common People, that the Turks of late, difuse the Practice of that borrow'd sweetness, once the aim of all their Nation.

Italian, the only Western Language studied by the Turks.

OF all the noble Languages at present spoken by the Western World, Italian is the only Favourite among the Turks, and that being seldom understood, beyond the superficial Knowledge of a common Conversation; the Latin, German, Spanish, French, or British Dialects, are altogether strangers to their Learning or Affections; nor is the Graecian Tongue, that poor unhappy Sufferer with her ruin'd Sons, so much as sought, or any ways esteem'd by the illiterate Subverters of that lamented Nation.

BUT tho' the native harshness of their own unpolish'd Tongue, denys that smooth, enchanting Eloquence, those various Tropes, and graceful Figures, which shou'd form the fine, and lofty Stile requir'd in Rhetorick; the Turks of Note, or lovers of Improvement, are not void of other Means, whereby to reach a wish'd amusement, which the barren Study of their barbarous Language cannot give them.

The Persian, and Arabian Romances much in vogue among the Turks.

THE Method then they take to raise their Souls to emulative heights of Honour and Ambition, is to study an accomplishment in all the artful Turns of Persian and Arabian Oratory; whereby they are inspir'd with lofty thoughts and brave desires of equalling those great and noble Actions, which they read with wonder in the generous Characters of ancient Hero's, celebrated gloriously in the fam'd Romances, and ingenious Novels, numerously scatter'd up and down, in both those Languages.

The common Subjects of the Persian Stories.

THESE Novels and Romances are compos'd by certain famous Writers, who possess a Genius fertilely productive of inimitable turns of Wit and Fancy; they consist, for the most part, of broken Remnants of the several Histories of worthy Men, set off to great advantage, by the fictitious Beauties of their strange Additions; nor do they want the taking Graces, and enchanting Ornaments, which shine so softly thro' the various Subjects of our British, French, and Spanish Novels.

How they are adorn'd.

THEY boast their Knights relieving Ladies in Distress, and Slavery, their Tilting, Tournaments, and amorous Courtships, their enchanted Castles, Gyants, Monsters, Dwarfs and 'Squires; their delightful Meadows, murm'ring Currents, shady Bowers, and Groves of Myrtle; all which are there as frequent and fantastical, as in any Clelia, or Cassandra of them all.

One Kederlee, the same with them, as St. George among the Christians.

AMONGST the many mighty Men of Valour and Renown, whose Acts of Chivalry, they record as Miracles, they relate prodigious and diverting Stories of a certain Knight call'd Kederlee, who by the Actions of his Life, appears no other than the fam'd St. George, that celebrated Dragon-killer of the British Nation.
The 4 Beasts which the Turks have plac'd in Paradise.

And so highly do the Turks respect the Memory of this illustrious Champion, that, in regard of his unequall'd and surprizing Merits, they have given his Horse a Seat in Paradise, and plac'd him there, in state and glory, with the Ass whereon our Saviour rode, the Dog belonging to the Seven Sleepers, and the favourite Camel of their Prophet Mahomet.

The Turks unskill'd in History.

AS for the delightful, and improving Knowledge of History, the Turks are wholly destitute of any means whereby to reach the smallest Skill in that engaging Study; for tho' they take a constant care to keep exact and punctual Records of the Rise and Progress of their own prodigious Empire, they are so ignorantly defective in the Study of Chronology, that by the strangely rude and barbarous dictates of receiv'd Tradition, they confound all Ages, Reigns, and Persons, in the mixt disorder of a wild irregularity.

A strange Opinion of the Turks, concorning Solomon and Homer.

THUS they look on Solomon and Homer to have been two Brothers, who contended with each other for the Bays bestow'd upon the most deserving Poet, and believe that Homer having gain'd the universal Plaudit of the Judges of those times, was envied by his Brother Solomon, and being banish'd from the Court, was forc'd to roam about the World, and beg a livelyhood from charitable Contributions.

I know not how it comes to pass, but Solomon is now the only Prince who lives in their Traditions, and so great a Notion have they form'd of his extensive Power, and the splendour of his Government, that they have listed all the famous Monarchs of the ancient World, as Servants to his Grandeur.

Another of Julius Caesar, Job, and Alexander the Great.

THUS is the celebrated Julius Caesar thought by all the Turks, to have been Admiral of a prodigious Fleet of Ships, belonging to the abovenam'd Solomon, consisting of a Thousand and odd Hundred Sail. They say, that Alexander the Great, was the illustrious General of his victorious Armies; and that Job, so famous for his exemplary Patience, was the Judge of all Civil Causes of his large Dominions.

More vers'd in Poetry, and why enclin'd to study it.

SOMEWHAT more refin'd are their Capacities in the Art of Poetry, if that indifferent Skill they boast may claim the honour of so high a Character; for the ambitious Sultans of the Turkish Empire, hearing that the Works of ancient Poets are esteem'd in Christendom;
Ambition of the Turkish Sultans.

and having been inform'd by Runagado's, what immortal Characters have been confer'd on former Princes, by the Pens of such as writ harmoniously, became inspir'd with eager Wishes, that their own great Actions might be copy'd to advantage, by some Eastern Muse, and so transmitted with a shining Glory, to the praises of Posterity.

The Turkish Language too rough for Poetry.

THIS flatt'ring Notion of the Turkish Monarchs, caus'd an eager application of their Subjects Fancies to the favour'd study of Poetic Excellence, but the unpolish'd Cadence of their guttural Language, not allowing them sufficient Harmony, they make but dull, insipid Verses, unless they tune their Muses to the warbling Lyre of smooth Arabia.

The Arguments they use in its defence.

HOWEVER, notwithstanding all the dis-advantages they meet in their attempt, they still continue to improve their Genius in the practice of this Study, using Arguments to prove the use, and great necessity of Poetic Learning, not much unlike the thoughts of Horace in the following Verses.

Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona

Multi, sed omnes illacrymabiles

Ʋrgentur, ignotique longa

Nocte; carent quia vate sacro.

Men brave, and valiant liv'd before those Days,

Wherein fam'd Agamemnon gain'd his Praise,

Yet does a dark oblivion shrowd their Fames,

And Nights black Mists efface their glorious Names;

Ʋnknown, and unlamented, dead they lie,

While Deeds of later Hero's never die;

Hence springs the Cause, the first no Poets praise,

The last out-live their Death, in Bards immortal Lays.

The Study of Poetry, why oppos'd by certain rigid Sects.

STRONGLY notwithstanding, are these great Encouragers of Poetry oppos'd, by certain Sects of grave, morose, and rigid Principles, who raise Objections to the Study, from the many false and contradictory Assertions of the greatest Poets,
The Reasons which they give for their dislike of Poetry.

which besides the scandal they affirm it must infallibly create to their unstain'd and holy Doctrine, has another ill Effect, which is, so painting over all the Vices of a Man or Nation, and so Satyrically detracting from their envied Virtues, that Posterity will be oblig'd to read a mix'd Account of Truth and Falsehood, without the smallest possibility of distinguishing with certainty, between the one and the other. And herein they seem to blame such noted Fictions, as those for which Ausonius censures Virgil, in the following Verses, on the Statue of Queen Dido; as I remember in the 117th Epigram.

Auson. Epig. 117.

Illa ego sum Dido vultu, quam conspicis hospes,

Assimulata modis pulchraque mirificis.

Talis eram, sed non Maro, quam mihi finxit erat Mens,

Vita nec incestis laeta cupidinibus:

Namque nec Aeneas vidit me Troius unquam,

Nec Libyam advenit classibus Iliacis.

Sed furias fugiens, atque arma procacis Iarbae,

Servavi, fateor, morte pudicitiam;

Pectore transfixo castos quod pertulit enses;

Non furor, aut laeso crudus amore dolor,

Sic cecidisse juvat: Vixi sine vulnere famae,

Ʋlta virum, positis moenibus oppetii.

Invida cur in me stimulasti musa MARONEM,

Fingeret ut nostrae damna pudicitiae?

Vos magis Historicis lectores credite de me

Quam qui furta Deum concubitusque canunt,

Falsidici vates: Temerant qui carmine verum,

Humanisque Deos assimulant vitiis.

The Epigram in English.

I am that Dido's Image, kind and fair,

Whose Form thou seest here carv'd with artful Air;

Such was my Body, but my Soul ne'er knew

The Crimes, which Virgil made my Story do;

Nor was my Life debauch'd by loose Desires,

Nor burnt my honour in incestuous Fires;

Never did fam'd Aeneas see my Face,

Nor land his Trojan Squadrons in this Place,

Flying the Rage of proud Iarba's Will,

To save my valued Fame I chose my self to kill;

Nor was it Madness made my Bosome bleed,

But chast and weighty Grief, that urg'd me to the Deed:

Thus did I fall, unwounded in my Fame,

My Consort's Wrongs reveng'd, and all my Shame,

And built a stately Town, to celebrate my Name.

But why malicious Muse, didst thou inspire,

Erroneous Virgil with a strange Desire,

To heap a feign'd Dishonour on my Name,

And sell my Modesty to raise his Fame?

Learn all from me, credit Historians more

Than those who ne'er will give their Fables o'er;

But daringly expose to publick View,

The secret Acts of Love, which Jove is pleas'd to do;

Poets are Lyars, and for love of Rhymes,

Will make the Gods themselves pertake of human Crimes.

The manner of making Turkish Verse.

THE Turkish Poetry consists of certain short and broken Measures, chain'd most commonly to double Rhymes, that so that jingle of the Numbers may atone as much as possible, for the unpleasant roughness of the Cadence; they confine their Muses for the most part, to low and doggrel Balads, or the whining Composition of some amorous Pastoral; yet some few are sound among them, of a very brisk and sprightly Wit, who will on Weddings, Victories, or other such occasions, exert their Faculties in forming something like a Panegyrick, Epithalamium, Ode, or witty Anagram, and having done their utmost, with design to please the Patrons they address, receive a Present equal to the merit of the Work, or rather given according to the generous, or avaritious Temper of the Person they have complimented.

Examples are the surest means of teaching any thing.

BUT Examples will be most diverting, and inform the Reader more exactly of their peculiar Tast of several sorts of Poetry; I therefore now proceed to come as near as I can trace their Language, to some remarkable and celebrated Turns of Turkish Wit, whereby the Authors gain'd a great and lasting Reputation.

A pleasant Story of a Turk who hir'd Poets to make Verses on his Wedding.

THERE was a noted Turk, who liv'd in Constantinople, and had lately gain'd the Parents Approbation of a certain Lady, young, and beautiful; they were married, and their Nuptials celebrated with a Splendour equal to their Fortunes, which were great and plentiful: The Sports, perform'd on such occasions, drew the Observation of all sorts of People, who were treated and caress'd with wonderful Civility; among the rest, unwilling to omit the smallest point of lofty Liberality, the joyful Bridegroom sent an Invitation to the most esteem'd, and brightest Poets of the City; assuring them they should receive an hearty welcome; and to tempt the trial of their utmost Skill, inform'd 'em, he design'd a good Reward for him, who made the finest Verses, in congratulation of his Marriage.

The Poets feasted by the Bridegroom.

THE summon'd Bards appear'd immediately, and having feasted plentifully on the Bridegroom's Entertainment, thought it proper to remember what they came for, and retiring severally to the private Arbours of their Patron's Garden, soon compos'd the mercenary Praises he expected from them, and returning to the Place where waited the impatient Company, repeated every Man his own Performance, each submitted, each in hopes of preference, to the decisive Judgment of a fair Majority.

THE Consequences of this famous Battle of the Turkish Muses, having made some noise about the City, many Copies of their aukward Panegyricks were distributed about; and since I was oblig'd by an Acquaintance with an Italian Translation of them all, I wou'd not think the Pains too great, for the diversion of my Reader, to present him with their Verses in a British Dress; the first are these which follow.

The first Poets Verses.

I Mustapha Bashaw to you great Ali,

Fav'rite of Mahomet, and pride of Hali,

Address my Lines—you are a Man so clever,

That I cou'd wish you were to live for ever;

For then the beauteous Wife you now enjoy,

Wou'd bring you ev'ry Year a smiling Boy;

So wou'd the World forever happy be,

Beauty, and Youth, Wit, Wealth and Honour see,

Your Wife and Sons wou'd prove the former two,

And the three last, must ever shine in you.

I assure the Reader I have done the Poet Justice in his Fancy and Expression, which tho' a little brighter in the end than the beginning, may be excus'd, in that 'tis more than tolerable in a Country where the Sun of Learning shines so seldom. But here comes another somewhat merry and diverting.

The second Poets Verses.

O mighty Ali let me swear

That a most happy Man you are,

Your self is wondrous wise and witty,

And God has sent a Wife to sit ye;

But that I may discover best,

How much I really think you blest,

Oh Heav'ns! were I one Hour of Life,

To be in bed with your sweet Wife,

S'bud how shou'd I for Joys then strive,

And be the happiest Man alive!

THE Author of this comical Conceit was one Morat, a brisk and airy Spark, who wou'd not lose his Jest, where'er he found it; but his Muse however mist the Prize, and tho' the Bridegroom seem'd well pleas'd, and laugh'd for company, he was not master of a Turkish Nature, if he did not curse the Poet for his odd, uncommon way of praising him. A third succeeded him more gravely, with the Lines which follow.
I.

The third Poets Panegyrick on the Bridegroom.

God made two Sparks of heav'nly Fire,

More bright than others were,

Fram'd 'em to kindle soft desire,

Both Spotless, Chast and Fair.

II.

Go down says He, to Earth, and there,

Long wander up and down,

Till having found the loveliest Pair,

Their Bliss by Marriage crown.

III.

They came and journey'd long in vain,

Untill they found the Two,

Then center'd here, and now contain,

The destin'd Joys of you.

A comical Reward for Poetry.

SOME other Poets tried their Skill, but all fell short of these, and one Zulduc, the Author of the last, was judg'd deserving of the promis'd Prize, which was accordingly bestow'd upon him, by the Bridegroom's Order; the Present was a well-shap'd Ass, with Saddle and Caparison embroidred richly, and the Bridle, Breast-piece, and the other Harness, all emboss'd with polish'd Silver, of which Metal were the large and weighty Stirrops, made according to the Turkish Fashion.

THIS strange ill-chosen Present, soon alarm'd the Town with mirth and wonder, at the novelty of our triumphant Poet's odd Reward; and 'mongst the many others who reflected pleasantly upon the Turks unfashionable Gift, a certain humerous Spanish Runnagado, skill'd compleatly in the Eastern Languages, and still retaining sprightly Reliques of his Countries Genius, was a little sharp upon the Subject in the following Satyr.

A Spanish Runnagado's Satyr, on the Bridegroom and his Present.

Complain not poor Zulduc, that thy Reward,

Seems not to speak a generous regard,

Thou dost alas! mistake thy Patron's Mind,

The Gift he made thee proves him more than kind;

For as a Lover, whom strong Passions move,

Yields up himself a Sacrifice to Love,

So Ali's Hand has giv'n to thee dull Man,

Tho' not himself, as near it as he can;

For Nature, Bridle, Saddle, all combine,

To show how near the Ass and late-noos'd Ali join.

The Condition of Musick, among the Turks.

PROCEED we now to Musick's Charms, as like to those of Poetry as possible, yet not so much encourag'd by the Turkish Nation, who are altogether Strangers to the melting Strains of Vocal Harmony, nor understand the charming use of those delightful Instruments, whose elevating sounds have unresisted Power to move the Souls of dying Men, and make the poor desponding Wretch forget his Sorrows, and erect with Joy his drooping Head, to hear the soft, and tunefull Call, that lulls his Cares, and hushes for a while his loud Misfortunes.

Their Notions thereof a sort of Paradox.

THE Notion of the Turks concerning Musick, will appear a Paradox, for they abhor the brisk and airy Tunes of Christian Composition, and alike despise the dulcid Notes and melancholy, soft, complaining Strokes of grave Sonata's;
The shape of a Turkish Ghittarr.

yet are they never easy when alone, unless they have a kind of course Ghitarr, or such a sort of Instrument, consisting commonly of several Wires, upon a long and slender wooden Body, with a round, capacious hollow head, the form whereof is represented in the Cutt relating to the Graecian Wedding, in the one and twentieth Chapter, above the Letter I on the right hand of the Figures.

Their manner of using it.

WITH this dull Instrument the solitary Turks divert themselves, in every Place, and every Company; they place it in the left hand, and turning its unweildy Belly to their Sides, with the unheeding Fingers of their other Hand, strike up and down at random all the Wires, and whine out horrid, and unpleasant Noises, to the hum-drum Echo's of their barbarous Instrument.

The strange esteem the Turks profess for the abovenam'd Instrument.

YET so bewitch'd are all the Turks to this ridiculous Amusement, that a Stranger must be plagu'd in every corner of their Streets and Houses, with repeated sounds of dolefull Airs, and noisy Voices void of harmony, nay to such extravagant Affection are they now arriv'd, for this prevailing Fashion, that the Soldiers go not to the War without their Fiddles; nor can any travel half a Day in Turkish Territories, but he shall see a grave long-bearded Mussulman, sit singly cross-legg'd, under some large Oak, or shady Cypress, pleasing his conceit with melancholy Ditties, to the Strum-strum Musick of his thrum'd Ghittarr, while his poor Horse is turn'd to graze about the Field, and seeks the pleasure of a more substantial Entertainment.

The shape and use of the Turkish Base-Viol.

ANOTHER Instrument in use among the Turks is a large wooden Trunk, not much unlike the fashion of the former, whereto one large, and rozin'd twisted Cats-gut is affix'd so straitly, that by scraping thereupon with a proportionable Bow, a certain hoarse, and hollow murmur strikes the Ear, like the unpleasant tuning of a bad Base Viol.

The form of Timbrels, and how us'd in Turkey.

ANOTHER very celebrated Piece of Musick, is the noise they make with jingling Timbrels, which are form'd exactly like a Sieve, the bottom made of Buff, extreamly strong and durable; small, long, and narrow holes about the sides, contain a certain number of round, thin, and polish'd Plates of Brass, bor'd thro' the center, and securely fastned with a liberty to play, upon a little Pin; this Timbrel they make yield a very jarring and discordant sound, by striking with their Fists, upon the middle of the Leather, which thereby affords a sort of drowsy Base, to the more shrill and sprightly trebble of the clattering Plates of Brass about it. Both these abovenam'd Instruments are likewise represented, in the Cutt aforesaid.

Wind Musick not in use among them.

WIND Musick is not much in vogue in any part of Turkey; a sort of Pipe, or aukward Flute they make of Reeds, is what they chiefly now delight in: But the Hautboys, Trumpet, and the favour'd Instruments of Christian Countries, even from the amorous Flute, down to the rustic Bagpipe, are entirely strangers to the Turkish Practice.

Drums and Kettle-drums in high esteem.

DRUMS they use in martial Expeditions, and delight extreamly in their warlike Thunder; Kettledrums they beat with skill and pleasure, but they understand no Tunes, nor boast the noble Theory of Musick, but play by rote on any Instrument, the incoherent dictates of a wild, extravagant, and artless fancy.

The Turks unskill'd in Logick.

THE Turkish Studies boast no Logick, nor does any Man among the most polite of all their People know its meaning; no tough Syllogisms puzzle their Discourses; no Nego Minorem, Majorem, or Consequentiam, confound their Students with asserted Contradictions;
The Reasons why they disapprove it.

all is vulgar, plain, and ignorant, nor do they wish to gain a clearer notion, of a dangerous Science, which they say opposes always, and too often overturns, the truth of Argument, and light of Reason.

Their Ignorance in Metaphysicks.

THEY know no more of Metaphysicks, than a trifling Contest on the Attributes of GOD, and that maintain'd with such absurdity and weakness, that the artless Tenour of their jangling Disputations, cannot boast a regular proceeding, but is founded grosly on the obstinate profession of illiterate Contrarieties.

Physick not well understood in Turkey.

PHYSICK is esteem'd a sacred Study, but their Ignorance therein exceeds belief; for tho' the ancient Doctors of Arabia, were the best Physitians of the times they liv'd in, and cou'd say with Solomon, they knew the vegetable nurseries of Nature; nay, cou'd tell their Virtues from the Cedar to the Hyssop, yet the modern Arabs, and the spacious Body of the Turkish Empire, are eclips'd by Clouds of such supine Obscurity, that they can boast no good Physician in their Nation, but respect a Quack, if bred in Christendom, as an undoubted Master of an useful Science, which their want of Learning, or neglect of Opportunities deny themselves the smallest knowledge of.

Navigation, how far known to Turkish Mariners.

NAVIGATION, as I said before, is little understood by Turkish Mariners. The Compass is by them, divided into Eight great Points, and the dependant Usefullness of that illustrious Art so much unknown, that they can only sail before the Wind, and while the nimble Ships of other Nations ply with ease their handy Tacks to star-board or to lar-board Quarter, veer about, lie by, and coming up within few Points of every Wind, sail on secure, in spight of adverse and tempestuous Weather, the baffled Efforts of the Turkish Sailors sailing their Desires, the unweildy Vessels of those ignorant People must be forc'd to creep for hospitable shelter, to the close protection of some neigh'bring Harbour, and expect with patience the desir'd return of proper Winds to prosecute their Voyages.

The State of their Geographic Learning.

GEOGRAPHY is so unknown among them, that they hardly find a possibility of reaching Skill enough to learn the situation of their own Dominions, and so very dark are their Capacities that way, that some the most refin'd among them, have desir'd me to inform them, whether Britain did not border on the Mouth of the Mediterranean, and the King of France's Territories spread their Frontiers to the Western Indies.

Geometry, Astronomy, and Astrology how far known in Turkey.

GEOMETRY they cannot boast the smallest Notion of, and are extreamly ignorant of Astronomical Observations; yet some are found in Turkey, who pretend to Schemes and Figures in Astrology, and calculate Nativities for superstitious People, when even those very Men who pass for Conjurers, and are esteem'd as such by the unthinking Populace, behold with wonder the surprizing Form, and advantageous Uses of our Christian Globes, Celestial, or Terrestrial.

BUT let us now descend from lofty Studies, to the Rural Practices of Country Labours, and we shall perceive the common Ignorance as formidable there, as in their Schools of Education, and unpolish'd Seminaries of Religion and Philosophy.

The Turks unskill'd in Husbandry.

SO little are they skill'd in Agriculture, and the Art of Gardening, that where the Ground requires manuring, they are wholly ignorant of all Improvements, which the rustic Arts of European Husbandmen have taught the Practice of, and let it lie neglected and untill'd; not useful to themselves, nor advantageous to Posterity.

Their Lands extreamly fertil.

BUT Providence has strangely so ordain'd, that they possess such fertil, and productive Territories, as will yield the Blessings of a double Harvest, from the easy Labours of an unfatigu'd and pleasing Industry.

Greeks commonly employ'd to till the Ground.

YET are the native Turks so giv'n to Luxury, that few among them care to take the smallest Pains in rural Practices, but on the contrary, they still employ the subject Greeks to do their Drudgery, and live supinely like the lazy Drones, upon the plunder'd Honey of the Bees about 'em.

The Reason why the Turks neglect improving Lands.

AND perhaps, this universal negligence in Country matters, may proceed from that inglorious and submissive Slavery wherein they live, and which depresses weightily their unsupported Spirits, by the sad reflections of their miserable Servitude to an unbounded Monarch, who possesses at their Deaths, the Product of their Labours, and becomes sole Heir to all their Lands, excluding even the Children of a frugal Father from the wish'd enjoyment of a ravish'd Patrimony.

How a Country Life may be unpleasant.

FOR tho' the Charms and various Pleasures of a Country Life, may tempt the Inclinations of a thinking Man, to leave the hurries of a Town-destraction, and relax the Springs of wearied Life in gentle Solitude; yet is not any of these flattering Blessings to be met, or hop'd for, from a Rural Life encumbred with the plagues of noisy Discord, and severe effects of an insulted Slavery, where every Moment may produce some strange and unexpected Accident, and reduce the Owner of a rolling Plenty to the shame of Poverty or Military Ravages, upon the spiteful Nod of some capricious Governour.

When, and how, a Country Life is truly happy.

THEN, O sweet and gentle Solitude, are thy Retirements truly happy, when we can enjoy, secure from danger, the inviting Pleasures of thy dulcid Mansions; when the softer Wishes of our peaceful Souls, may free, and unconfin'd become successful, and our undisturb'd, and blissful Hours roll smoothly on, within the limits of Paternal Residence. How truly just are the exalted Notions of the Roman Horace on the present Subject, when he says,

Hor. Ode 2d. Epod.

Beatus ille, qui procul negotiis,

Ʋt prisca Gens Mortalium;

Paterna rura bobus exercet suis,

Solutus omni faenore.

Neque excitatur classico Miles truci,

Neque horret iratum Mare,

Forumque vitat, & superba civium

Potentiorum limina.

The Ode in English.

Happy the Man, who free from Care,

As Men in former Ages were,

From Ʋsury retires;

And Plows with pure industrious Hand,

With his own Steers his Father's Land,

The Crown of his Desires.

No storms of War his Peace can shake,

Ʋnmov'd he sees the Billows break

And mocks the Oceans frown,

He shuns all Courts where Lawyers are,

Disdains the haughty Grandeur there,

Contented with his own.

BY what has been already said, the Reader may conceive with ease, the utmost altitude of Turkish Learning; I shall now proceed in the ensuing Chapter, to inform him of the Morals of those mighty People.

CHAP. X. Of the Turkish Morals.

All Men by Nature, more or less are taught Morality.

THE Reader can expect no elevated Notions of refin'd Morality, from such as live on others Misery, and owe the Grandeur of their lofty Fortune to the bloody Ruin of invaded Nations, yet as Natures Dictates; and the common Lessons of a mild Humanity, excite Mankind to do the Justice they again expect, so have the Turks, in the last Age, been more refin'd than formerly they were, by frequent Converse with the Christian Nations, which their extended Conquests made their Neighbours.

Some British Travellers have flatter'd the Turks.

STRANGELY do the Characters which all our Travellers have given the Turks, mistake their Nature, some Ingenious Gentlemen the Natives of Great Britain, have thought fit to speak those People noble Masters of a spotless Vertue, and describe them sailing in a Sea of Glory, laden richly with the golden Notions of Morality and Wisdom, which distinguish'd anciently the Great Inhabitants of the Countries they have conquer'd.

Others have detracted from their real Merits.

OTHERS, less obliging, but alike mistaken, byass'd by the Follies of a fond Partiality, allow them owners of not one commendable or vertuous Practice, but describe their Natures wholly sunk in dull Stupidity, and universally inclin'd to Mischief and Iniquity.

A Medium most eligible, and the nearest Truth.

THESE Extreams are both to be rejected, and a modest Medium chosen to direct us, we shall then discover that the same variety of Humour and Morality, now reigns in Turkey, that is found in Christendom, and that the numerous Mahometans are like our selves divided into Good and Bad, according to the Lessons of their different Educations, or the contrary Impulses of a vicious Soul, or one inspir'd with a sublime and generous love of Vertue.

Their divided Notions of Morality.

NOT more divided is the Turkish Faith, than their infirm Morality; some holding lawful, meritorious, and as duty, that, which other some condemn as odious, sinful, and illegal; nay, to such degrees of violence do they proceed herein, that some believe it Sin to pity Christians, others hold it Charity to relieve them; some hate Mirth, and others Sorrow; some love one thing, some another; each opposing t'others Principle, with all the malice of discordant Obstinacy, as is describ'd by Horace in the eighteenth Epistle of his first Book.

Oderunt hilarem tristes, tristemque jocosi,

Sedatum celeres; agilem, gnavumque remissi.

The Sad the Airy hate, the Brisk the Sad,

The Swift the Slow despise, the Joyless hate the Glad.

BUT to let the Curious clearly understand in what Condition are maintain'd the common Morals of the Turks in general, I will transcribe a sort of Catechism taught their Children, who imbibing early what the Parents make 'em learn, continue when grown up, to justifie their Tenets. The Interrogatories are as follow.

A Turkish Catechism.

Q. Tell me thy Name?

A. My Name is Mustapha.

Q. How wert thou made?

A. By One Great God, alone, and indivisible, Almighty, Mercifull, Omniscient, Sempiternal, full of Truth, and rich in Glory.

Q. By what means dost thou hope to gain Salvation?

A. By walking strictly in the Paths of Holiness, as measur'd out by God's Decree, and set before all true Believers, by the goodness and compassion of our Pastor Mahomet, (whose Name be Sacred) sent by God to teach Mankind, and now in Heaven, his mighty, true, and only Prophet.

Q. How dost thou expect to gain his Favour, or reward his Goodness?

A. By promoting his Religion, and a Charitable Pity of my Fellow Creatures.

Q. How must his Religion be promoted?

A. By destroying with the Sword and Fire, all such as dare oppose his holy Doctrine, till the Infidels are rooted from the Earth, and all the Ʋniverse submits to own his Glory.

Q. How will you extend the Charity injoin'd you?

A. By erecting Hans, or publick Inns for entertaining poor benighted Pilgrims, building Bagnio's, and endowing Mosques with large Revenues, if the Lord of Paradise is pleas'd to bless me with a plentifull Ability: If not, by giving freely to the Poor as much as I can spare, redeeming Slaves, and looking upon the Beasts which serve our Uses with a mild Compassion.

Q. How are you to pity Beasts, or Birds which serve you?

A. When an Ox, Ass, Horse, Dog, Mule, or Camel, has for many Years been truly serviceable; I must let him graze in peace about my Grounds, and live the rest of his disabled Life, entirely free from Toil, or Drudgery, as a Reward for all his former Labours.

Q. What else are you requir'd to do to such poor Animals?

A. I am oblig'd to load my Camels and all other Beasts of Burthen, favourably, and with pity; buy the Birds that pine in Cages for their absent Mates, and let them fly away to seek lost Liberty.

Q. Who, under Mahomet, will you obey?

A. My Prince, and Parents.

Q. How must you serve your Prince?

A. With Life and Fortune, for he is the Lord of all my Plenty, and may honour my Head by making it his Footstool, I am to live and die when he commands it, and depend on nothing but his sacred Pleasure.

Q. How will you respect your Parents?

A. With the unfeign'd Duty of a meek Humility; as becomes the Honour of those Persons, from whom, next God, I had my Being.

Q. How will you deal with your Neighbours?

A. Love those, who love me; hate those, who hate me; kill those, who strive to kill me; but never give back Ill for Good, nor Good for Evil.

Q. What is your highest Wish?

A. On Earth Success, and Paradise hereafter.

Q. Is your Wish sincere? If not, may Heaven refuse it.

A. So be it to me.

THIS Catechism may convince the Reader, that howsoever differing their Notions are, in other Points, they all concur in one unanimous respect, wherewith they humbly own the Power of God, and worship his Divinity, of which the eldest Ages of Antiquity, acknowledge the assur'd Existence, and Hesiod seemingly inspir'd with more than Heathenish light of Reason, thus expresses.

A Quotation from Hesiod, concerning the Power of God.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

High-thund'ring Jove, who in Heav'ns loftiest Throne,

Sits uncontroul'd, and rules the World alone,

At pleasure, lifts to Empire lowly Swains,

And hurls from boasted Grandeur, him who reigns.

With ease extirpates Lines of noblest Race,

And gives undreamt of Honours to the Base;

In short his Arm can make the Crooked Straight,

And draw out all the Pride, which swells the haughty Great.

The bad Effect of a bad Opinion.

THEIR Notions of the Duty, which obliges them to propagate the Doctrine of their Prophet, leads their Reason, Justice and Humanity so much astray, that neither Promise, Vow, nor solemn Oath, can bind their Conscience, to omit an opportunity of adding any thing to former Acquisitions.

The Turkish Trade is manag'd by the Jews.

BY this means, Christians find it dangerous to deal in Turkey, and gaining no security from sacred Oaths, nor oft-repeated Promises, refuse to credit such as they suspect, who therefore, not regarding publick Business, leave the management of all their Trade to crafty Jews, a People wily, and industrious in the art of Cheating handsomely, and who are numerously spread o'er every Corner of the Turkish Empire; Constantinople, and its Neighbourhood, containing many Thousands of those scatter'd People.

The crime of Lying seldom known among the Turks.

LYING is a Crime not often known in Turkey, nor does any Man affirm for certain Truth, what is not prov'd so, by his own Experience; and speaking generally, when a Turk has stroak'd his Beard, and laid his Hand with gravity upon his Breast, sedately to assert some question'd Point, you may securely take his Word, nor is he ever known to falsifie his Promise.

Swearing practis'd and encourag'd.

OF all the Turks immoral Practices, the Vice of Swearing to a strange extravagance, is most in fashion; and so oddly new, and different from ours, are their invented Oaths and Curses, that it will not be a needless trouble, to inform the Reader, what uncommon Thoughts those People exercise on such occasions.

Strange and unexampl'd Curses us'd in Turkey.

THUS for example, When they would express their anger to a Man or Beast, they do it commonly in the rash and inconsiderate manner following; May the Graves black Angel fry your Soul; May you vomit up your Bowels, and your Heart Strings burst in sunder; May the Birds of Heav'n defile your Head, and your unwash'd Body damn your Soul to future Vengeance. But more ridiculous, and impiously void of reason, is a Method they incourage by a constant Practice, cursing, with a strange and senseless fury, things inanimate and void of Understanding; if a Man affronts 'em, Camel, Horse, or any other Beast of burthen checks their Will, or any accidental stumble o'er a Stone provokes their Passion, they proceed, without reflecting on the Object of their Rage, to vent these Curses, Annah sana Secteim Gaour, Annah sana Yonnina Sicheim. That is, I ravish'd your Mother, you Infidel, and I will ravish her again as she lies in her Grave.

The common Oaths in use among the Turks.

THEIR common Oaths are such as these, By Mahomet's Great Office; By the Throne of God; By the Roof of Heaven; By the Sea and Land; By the Sultan's Soul, and the hairy Scalp of my Mother.

Gaming, how far encourag'd.

GAMING is so little prejudicial to the Turkish Government, that tho' the Natives much delight therein, as shall be shown hereafter, it was never known among this People, that Estates were ruin'd, and whole Families impoverish'd by the curs'd Effects of such a vicious Practice.

Drunkeness a prevailing Vice among them.

EBRIETY, I have before inform'd my Reader, is unlawful by their Prophet's Prohibition of the use of Wine, or other strong intoxicating Liquors, yet how far this weak and disregarded Barrier stops their progress in so lov'd a Vice, will be easily conceiv'd, when I assure him, that no Nation under Heaven is addicted more to frequent Drunkenness, than are the Turks in private Meetings.

Whoredom and Adultery but rarely practis'd.

WHOREDOM, and Adultery, too much encourag'd by the Christian's Practice, and alleviated commonly by the palliating Cloak of a pretended Gallantry, are seldom found among the Turks; the Punishments so great, and obviously known, and Difficulties of obtaining Female Correspondence so insuperably hazardous, deterr them from attempting such illegal Love, and the little value which they hold their Women at, the Slavery that poor unhappy Sex are there subjected to, and the unbounded Liberty their Laws afford 'em in promiscuous Use of Wives and Concubines, excite no search of such unvalued Pleasure.

The Turks are much inclin'd to Sodomy.

BUT now, O black and horrid Shame! I must with all the detestation of a Christian Zeal, descend to speak a shocking Truth, relating to the strange and curs'd Pollution of inverted Nature, that ancient hellish Crime, which ruin'd Sodom, and at present reigns among the Turks, with such libidinous extravagance, that they will publickly avow their countenanc'd delight in such a beastly and inhuman Practice.

THEY have their favourite Pooshts, or Catamites, as common as their Concubines, and ride attended to the Wars or distant Governments, by rich and splendid Numbers of these young Male Prostitutes.

The means whereby the Turks grew fond of Sodomy.

'TIS more than probable, that the raging Fire of this impetuous Lust, began to flame from the original Confinement of the Turkish Janizaries, denied, like Roman Priests the liberty of Marriage; who, therefore not supporting the unwelcome Prohibition with expected resignation to the Will of their Commanders, broke out in loose and wanton searches after unknown Pleasures; and like Water, check'd in its incumber'd Chanel, soon doubled former force, and rapidly o'erflow'd the delug'd Banks, whose lofty Mounds had formerly confin'd them.

The Vice encourag'd by Impunity.

IMPUNITY for such unnatural and encroaching Guilt, emboldens their Presumption to so vast an height, that I remember with the greatest horror and amazement, an unexampled Impudence I was my self a witness of at Adrianople.

A Story of a Turk, at Adrianople.

SIR Robert Sutton, now Embassador from Her Present Majesty to the Court of Constantinople, being just arriv'd in the abovenam'd City, where his Predecessor had some time expected him; it was my Duty to Congratulate his Entrance on that Dignity, which I did in company with many British Gentlemen at that time there: The House in which Sr. Robert lodg'd, was seated pleasantly upon a noble River, which runs along the City, and an open Kiosk or airy Summer House look'd out upon the Water.

WE were standing here extreamly pleas'd with the delightful Prospect, when from the Plain upon the other side, we saw a Turk of middle Age and decent Habit, lead a Boy about Fourteen directly to the Bank which slop'd upon the River, where he thought himself securely shelter'd from the People of a Village not far distant.

An incredible Proof of Turkish Insolence.

DESCENDED to a Place convenient as he thought for the execution of his Purpose, he began, to our surprize, and inexpressible confusion, to prepare himself and his consenting Catamite, for acting a Design so hateful to our sight, and such a stranger to our Customs, that we scarce believ'd our Eyes, when they beheld this Object: We hallow'd loudly to the lustful Wretch, who turn'd his Head with seeming wonder to perceive us there, but still persisted in his first Attempt, till snatching up a Fowling-piece, which lay by chance upon a Table in the Summer House, I cock'd it, and presented it against his Body, as if I would have shot him dead immediately; at this he started, and adjusting the disorder of his loosned Dress, retir'd precipitately, with a thousand Curses on the House and Company, for having baulk'd so impious an Intention.

A noted Proof of God's abhorrence of the Crime.

THERE is in Barbary upon the Coasts of Fez, and in the Neighbourhood of that Imperial City, a most strange and dreadful Proof of God's Resentment of this growing Guilt, in his surprizing Judgment on a certain Moor, inflicted in the very moment of the beastly Action:
Why unbeliev'd.

'Tis unbeliev'd, at least suspected, tho' attested in the Works of several Authors; but that common fate of Travellers Assertions shall not make me backward in maintaining Truths I know;
The folly of believing Travellers more apt to lie than other People.

nor will judicious Readers question the Authority of any Man's Relation, for his having travell'd into other Countries; a poor, a weak, malicious Proof of Envy, and the mean effect of Judgments Want, or scarcity of Honour: For Men, by Nature favourers of Truth will still continue so, what ever Place or Climate they may chance to visit: For as Horace says,

Coelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt.

Men, who o'er Seas to distant Countries rowl,

Oft change their Climate, but retain their Soul.

The particulars of the Story.

UPON a spacious wild unshadow'd Common in the way from Fez to Arbacan, a Village not far distant, you perceive at near six Furlongs from the common Road, the Figure of a Turk committing Sodomy upon the Body of an Ass, and coming nearer, led by wonder, or prevailing Curiosity, discover it to be an Image form'd in very hard and solid Stone, the Hoofs, Hide, Hair, Teeth, and Colour of the Ass, as various and distinct as when alive; The Turbant of the poor unhappy Man seems half unty'd and hanging negligently o'er his Shoulders;
A very wonderful Act of Providence.

even the Eyebrows, Nose, Mouth, Lips, and every Feature of his Face exactly form'd to speak him living, nay, the very Rings upon his Fingers, and the Nails of either Hand remain distinguishably obvious to the common View, alike converted into Stony Substance, varying in its Colours answerable to the different Parts of that amazing Metamorphosis it represents.

IT stands so strong and deeply rooted in surrounding Earth, that neither Man nor Ass can possibly be separated, nor the whole conjunctive Monument of Sin remov'd from its Foundation; which, they say, has very often been in vain attempted.

A traditional Account they give of the above-nam'd Accident.

TRADITION teaches them, and they teach Travellers, that in some old forgotten Age, of which their ancient Records make no mention, the miserable Wretch thus strangely represented, frequently committed Sodomy upon the open Common, with Asses, Mares, and other Beasts, which graz'd promiscuously upon the publick Pasture; but that at last the weighty Justice of Almighty God o'ertook his Insolence, and chang'd him into Stone, whilst busy'd in his Wickedness, that so he might remain to future Ages, an immortal Monument of Heavenly Vengeance.

No sort of Robbery much known in Turkey.

HOUSE-BREAKING, Pocket-picking, and the meaner Practices of Petty-Larceny are altogether strangers to the Natives of this Country; who so much abhorr the Person of a Thief, that where a Man accus'd of any Robbery, escapes the hand of Publick Justice, he will notwithstanding, fall a Victim to the unresisted fury of the raging Populace; for all the Turks are so entirely free from fear of losing Goods or Chattels, by the breaking up their Dwellings, that the richest Ware-houses, which their City boasts of, oft lie whole Nights unbarr'd, and open in their lowest Windows, nor are these frequent Opportunities of Robbing any ways improv'd to eithers disadvantage.

A very comical Bargain customarily made among them.

BUT if they over-reach each other in their private Dealings, they do not only think it lawful, but a commendable discretion; and therefore 'tis a common Custom with the Merchants of this Country, when they hire a Broker, Book-keeper, or other Servant, to agree, that he shall claim no Wages; but, to make amends for that unprofitable disadvantage, they give them free and uncontroul'd Authority, to Cheat them every way they can in managing their Business; but with this Proviso, that they never must exceed the privileg'd Advantage of ten per Cent; all under that, which they can fairly gain by blinding their respective Masters in the settling their Accounts is properly their own, and by their Masters Will, confirm'd to their Possession.

THE British Merchants will be apt to censure these Proceedings as ridiculous, and tending to incourage Knavery; but he will soften his Opinion, when he thinks upon the Reasons, which they give for the permission of this Custom.

The Reasons why the Turks allow this Custom.

THE Servant knowing he has nothing to depend on, but the Profits he must gain by an industrious Application to the art of Cheating, puts himself upon a wily Method of o'er-reaching others in the Goods he buys by order of his Master; whom he strives again to over-reach, by reckoning them to his Accounts at full and current Prizes: The Master on the other hand well knowing, that unless he watches carefully his Servant's Managements, he will deceive him ten per Cent. And probably go far beyond those tolerated Limits, becomes observant of his own Affairs, and keeps his Profits in his own Possession.

Murder common in the Turks Dominions.

MURDER is so dangerously common in this Country, that there passes scarce a Day, wherein some Man or other is not kill'd: The Turks however, rarely butcher one another, but the hated Christians fall in every Corner wretched Victims, to the blinded Zeal of such Mad Pilgrims as return from Meccha, or the lawless Insolence of unrestrain'd Levant's, or those who Man their Ships of War;
On what account committed by 2 sorts of People.

the first of these, transported by the Dictates of delusive Doctrine, aim at Heaven, by the Death of every Christian they may chance to meet, till they are kill'd themselves by way of Vengeance; and the last delight in Murder, by the bloody Consequence of a licentious Education; so that you can hardly pass the Streets of Turkey, but you must be witness of an hundred Proofs of their inhumane Practices.

A Story of a Pilgrim who endeavour'd to kill the Author.

ONE Day I went on board a British Vessel in the Port of Constantinople, and returning to the Shore with several Europaean Gentlemen, all dress'd according to the Christian Fashion; we receiv'd a thousand barbarous Affronts as we were landing from the Boat, but being long inur'd to Turkish Insolence, we took no notice of their scurrilous Expressions, but endeavour'd to have pass'd 'em by, with an uncommon exercise of Patience and Humility, till we perceiv'd a certain tatter'd Wretch, in Habit of a Pilgrim, leaping up and down, with elevated Eyes, contracted Forehead, and a Visage full of Passion and Deformity, he held a Dagger in his hand, and skip'd about with such conceited violence, as made me take his zealous Transports, for an Air of Madness, so that thinking him some simple Antick, I laugh'd aloud at his extravagant Diversion.

The barbarous Action of a zealous Madman.

HE saw me laugh and made directly towards me, with his brandish'd Weapon, which a Greek Interpreter, endeavouring to turn aside, receiv'd unhappily to the Hilt within his Bosom; I began at this, to change my humour, and endeavour to prevent the proffer'd Salutation of the Pilgrim's Dagger, stepping back, I drew my Sword, and kept him at a distance still retiring from his aggravated Fury, which being now encreas'd to double height by now and then a thrust upon his Wrist, he grew quite desperate, and finding that he cou'd not come within my Sword, step'd back a Foot or two to gather force, and threw the Dagger swiftly at my Breast, with all the Strength that Zeal and Anger cou'd supply his Arm with.

An odd way of reaching Heaven.

PROVIDENCE perverted its design'd Effect, and led me to avoid the danger of its Point, by sinking suddenly with Knees upon the Ground, but dreading the Event of his continued Villany, I made a strong and lucky Thrust, which pierc'd his Bosome through and through, and brought him stagg'ring to the Ground, to reach the Paradise he hop'd to gain, by such a bloody Method, and inhumane Species of mistaken Merit.

NOT one pretended to detain us from Escaping; but on the contrary, discontinued all their Insolences, to gather numerously round the Body, and repeat a Prayer for his departing Soul, desiring Mahomet to see the Piety of his Intention, and reward his Death with the assur'd Possession of expected Glory.

A strange and horrid Principle! alike destructive to the Turks themselves, and Strangers in their Country, who seldom let the Death of an assaulted Friend go unreveng'd; by which means all the Trading Towns of Turkey, constantly afford successive Scenes of Murder and Destraction.

THE wonderful Discovery of a barbarous Murder hap'ning in the time of my continuance in this Country, claims a Place in my Remarks for two great Reasons; first, the oddness of the thing it self, distinguishes the Accident in a surprizing Manner; and secondly, the never-sleeping Justice of Almighty God, appears conspicuously in the strange Conviction of so black a Villany.

A Story of the wonderful discovery of a Murder.

THE Sackah, or the Man who carry'd Water for the Use of our Embassador at Constantinople, us'd to fill his Leathern Vessels at a very deep and ancient Well not far beyond the Buildings of the City, where one Morning, he with great surprize beheld the lifeless Body of a Man without his Head, lie weltring in a stream of Blood; disrob'd, and mangled in a thousand Places, to disguise him from the Knowledge of such Travellers as might occasionally pass that way;
A cursed Policy.

the virile marks of Nature were entirely cut away, that so the Proofs of Circumcision, or omission of that Ceremony, might not speak him Turk, or Christian.

CONCERN'D to view so sad a Spectacle, the melancholy Sackah soon return'd, and telling every Man he saw the Accident he met with, endless Crouds of curious People flock'd to see the headless Trunk of this unknown, and miserable Object; for a Week or Two it made a mighty noise about the Town, and great Enquiries were for some time made, in order to discover the inhuman Author of this strange Barbarity.

An undeniable Instance of God's Care and Justice.

BUT full three Months were now expir'd, and no news came of any Man so much as guess'd to be concern'd therein, so by degrees it was forgot and silenc'd, till the hand of Heaven thought fit to point out the undreading Villain, and deliver him to Justice, which he thought himself too wise to be detected by.

Hor. Ode 2. Lib. 3.

Raro antecedentem scelestum

Deseruit pede poena claudo.

Rarely does Vengeance quit the Villains Chace,

Tho' She pursues his Crimes, with a slow, halting Pace.

THERE was a public Shooting-Match with Bows and Arrows, appointed to be held upon that very spot of Ground, wherein the Well was dug, near which the Body had before been found; unnumber'd Multitudes were gather'd to behold the Skill of the Competitors, and being heated by variety of Exercise, drew Water from the Well, and cool'd themselves by drinking it.

The Murderers Name, and Quality.

A Crowd of Men were gather'd round the Brink, and gave a sudden Shout as if surpriz'd at some undream't of Novelty; from every corner of the Field the People ran to know the matter, and among the rest, one Cara Musul Alimet, a Scrivener of the City, press'd among the foremost, to demand Particulars.

HE was no sooner come, but looking o'er the Shoulders of a Man or two, who stood before him, he perceiv'd to his confusion and astonishment, that one who had design'd to draw up Water in the Bucket, had attracted to the Brim of the surrounded Well, a dead Man's Head, all pale and ghastly, hanging by the Hair upon the Iron of the Bucket.

A most prodigious and amazing Accident.

HE had reason to appear amaz'd, and had begun to tremble when the Head fell suddenly from off the Pail, and tumbled swiftly o'er a sloping Ground, till it arriv'd directly underneath his Feet, and there lay still; its horrid Face, and dreadfull Visage turn'd quite upwards, seeming to accuse the silent Guilt of his confounded Murderer.

The Name and Quality of the Person murder'd.

THE trembling Wretch, half dead with fear, confess'd he had been Author of the famous Murder that had been of late, so much discours'd of, telling those about him, that the Name of him he kill'd, was Gurat Oglani, a Merchant of Aleppo, newly come from thence to sell some Jewels he had bought a Pennyworth of the Eastern Caravan; that he had been directed to his House, by Letters from a Friend, to lodge and board, while he continued in the City, and that cursed Avarice had tempted his desires to kill him on a certain Evening, near that Well, into which he threw the Head, and had so cut and mangled all the Body, that he knew 'twou'd be impossible it shou'd be known, or guess'd at.

A very curious and particular Observation.

CONFESSION was enough to gain a Sentence for the Villain's Death, who being broken on a Wheel directly in the Place, the Murder was committed in, acknowledg'd it to be as near as he cou'd guess, that very Spot whereto the Head had roll'd, and stop'd beneath his Feet, when first he own'd the monstrous Action.

The Turks more prone to Vice than Vertue.

THUS much shall serve to have spoken of the Turkish Morals, who are generally more inclin'd to Vice than Vertue; and tho' there are some Men sincerely Pious sound among them, yet are the greatest Part of those, who pass for Men of zealous, and religious Principles, but seemingly affected with the love of Piety, and rather honest by the fear of Punishment for acting wickedly, than by the pungent Dictates of a tender Conscience; directly contrary to the Vertuous Man, whom Horace thus describes in the 16th Epistle of his first Book.

Hor. Epist. 16. Lib. 1.

Tu nihil admittes in te, formidine poenae;

Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore.

Never let fear of Punishment incline,

Thy backward Will to act a good Design;

He who is truly worthy hates to Sin,

'Cause Guilt must wait without, where Vertue dwells within.

I lead my Reader now to view their Trade, which with their various and peculiar Arts of Management therein, will be the only Subject of the following Chapter.

CHAP. XI. Of their Trade, Foreign and Domestick.

The Turks not ignorant of the Advantages of Trade.

THE numerous Advantages of Foreign Trade, and vast Improvements which those Nations make, to whom, the Benefits of an extended Commerce open great and glorious Blessings, are so entirely known and envied by the Turkish Court, that they reflect, with grief, upon those Maxims of their Policy, whose rigid Dictates have confin'd their Traffick to the meaner Profits of Domestick Correspondence.

THEY would willingly abate the rigour of their Laws, to tast the Sweets of so desir'd a Liberty, but fear the breaking one Decree should shock another;
Why not encourag'd by their Government.

for 'twould be full as dangerous to a Turkish Sultan to permit a Traffick Foreign and Domestick, and thereby, let his People grow more Rich and Wise, as should some heedless Sailor in tempestuous Weather strike a Window thro the Sides of a deep loaden Vessel to admit the Light, and thereby let in dangerous Waves to sink the Ship in a tumultuous Ocean; however, their esteem for Trade, and inclinations to encourage it, as far as may consist with the Security of the Sultan and his Power, may be discover'd by the Efforts us'd to draw as many Merchants to the Harbours of their Empire, as may settle a continued Commerce with the Turks, from the respective Nations which they all belong to.

The glorious Titles of the Turks Metropolis.

CONSTANTINOPLE is to this end nam'd, The Harbour of the Ʋniverse; Throne of Splendour, and The Seat of Riches: But the common Title, which both Turks and Christians give that City, is, The Ottoman Port, and by that Name alone we generally express it.

SINCE then their want of Skill in Maritime Affairs, and the discountenance of the Supreme and Arbitrary Power, forbid their sending Ships abroad, let us proceed to see what Foreign Nations condescend to sell the Manufactures of their Country in a Turkish Market.

The British Factory at Constantinople.

AND first, the Trade we manage with these People is so great and advantageous, that the Right Worshipful the Turkey Company employ a worthy and a numerous Factory at Constantinople, consisting commonly of five or six and twenty Merchants, with their Servants and Dependants, for whose Protection and Encouragement, the Kings and Queens of England,
The Antiquity of the Turkey Company.

since the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, have still maintain'd some wise Embassadour at the Turkish Court, whose prudent Managements, have all along preserv'd a sure Establishment of profitable Commerce, and defended both their Persons, Character, and Factory, from those affrontive Insolences, and audacious Impositions, which the haughty Carriage of the Sultan's Ministers, have often offer'd with success to other Nations.

The Factory at Aleppo.

ANOTHER British Factory is settled at Aleppo, under the direction of a Consul of our Nation, but that City standing far from any Port but Scanderoon, or Alexandrietta, a little Town which borders on Cilicia, and lies in 39 Degrees of Northern Latitude, that is the Harbour whence the Goods are carried to and from Aleppo, by the Merchant Ships of our and other Nations.

The other at Smyrna.

SMYRNA has its Factory and Consul, and in some measure Rivals both the other in the richness of its Traffick; many other Places subject to the Turk have their peculiar Consuls, but are inconsiderable in respect of the aforenam'd Cities, and dependant on the Plenipotentiary Authority of the Embassadour residing at the Port.

The Goods of British Manufacture, commonly exported into Turkey.

THE Goods exported to these Wealthy Factors, on the Ships belonging to the Turkey Company, are chiefly Cloath, Lead, Tin, Pewter, Linen, Coral, and the finest Iron, all which Merchandices are esteem'd at profitable Rates, and turn to good Account if rightly manag'd.

Sugar how carry'd thither.

BRITISH Vessels often sail to Lisbon, where they take in Cargo's of Brazil, strong Chested Sugars, which they carry on to Smyrna, Scanderoon, or Constantinople, and dispose of to a Profit sometimes reaching Cent per Cent, and always near it.

Gunpowder a profitable Commodity.

GUN-POWDER yields considerable Gain, and ever finds a speedy vent, the Turks not skill'd in making it so well, and eagerly ingrossing any Quantity the Christians will afford them.

Fire-arms how valued.

FIREARMS of all sorts, will be sure to meet a ready Purchase, and the Musquets of a strong, true British Bore, are so esteem'd in every Part of Turkey, that they stick at nothing reasonable in the Price, provided they are suffer'd to approve their Value by a Shot or two's Experience.

Pitch, Tar, and Rozin.

PITCH, Tarr, and Rozin, are exported thither in considerable Quantities; for tho' the Conquests of the Turks, and Nations Tributary to their Government, afford far more than they can possibly consume, they notwithstanding, value that which comes from Britain, and will barter for it with a double Weight of what they have among them, which is often brought again to several Parts of England, and there dispos'd of at full the Price the first had cost 'em.

Clocks and Watches much esteem'd of.

ALL sorts of Clocks and Watches made in Britain, are in Turkey vendible Commodities, with many other valuable Merchandices frequently exported into the Grand Signior's Country, and affording very large and easy Profit.

Goods imported by the Turkey Merchants.

THE British Merchants in return for these, import vast quantities of Grograms, Camlets, Tissues, Velvets, and raw Silk in great abundance; fine Rhubarb, Opium, Aloes, Balm of Gilead, Cassia, Coffee, and a thousand other Drugs of noted Efficacy in Medicinal Operations.

FINE Cochineal, Gum-Mastick, Terra Sigillata, Indico and Cotton; rich Sherbets, Cavear, and Carpets of a noble Size, and wrought beyond Comparison; Embroider'd Muslins, Silks, and Handkerchiefs, or curious Workmanship in Gold on Leather, with a number more of such like Manufactures, profitably pleasant to industrious Traders, are imported with an unknown Gain, from several Harbours of the Sultan's Empire.

Shagreen, how made, and whence imported.

ANOTHER sort of Merchandice imported thence, is Leather of all sorts, prepar'd and unprepar'd, besides which the Country yields great quantities of Seals-Skins, Goats-Skins, and the Wild Ass's-Hide, whereof they make the best Shagreen in use amongst us.

PISTACHES, Almonds, Dates, dried Quinces, Marmalade, and Fruits of all sorts, are by Foreign Merchants, bought at very low and reasonable Prices, whence, transported to the several Ports of Christian Countries, they are sold to great advantage.

The Hollanders Conveniences, in trading with the Turks.

NEXT to the British Factory, the Hollanders maintain the greatest Trade with Turkey, dealing for the same Commodities; but sending Ships much larger and at half the Charges, they (for the most part) make the best Returns, and speediest Voyages.

The ungenerous Policy of France in respect to Turkey.

THE French as well as those last nam'd, maintain Embassadours at Constantinople; but with this difference, that the first design thereby no other Interest than their Factories Prosperity, whereas the last have other ends directly contrary; and by preserving a perpetual Amity between their Monarch and the Sultan, endeavour still at every favourable Opportunity, to stirr that People up to War against such Nations as are Enemies to France; by such unchristian Practices imagining to gain some sure Advantage, by the great Diversion which the Turk must make, invading Christendom.

The Jews the only Brokers for the Turkish Merchants.

I have before inform'd my Reader, that the Jews are Brokers to the Turkish Merchants, and indeed on them lies all the management of publick Traffick; People fram'd by Nature with a Conscience and Capacity, alike endued to cheat the Ʋniverse; they grow by these means soon extreamly Great and Wealthy, but the Turkish Ministers have learn'd a Lesson, how to squeeze a Grape when ripe and juicy, to the best advantage.

Domestic Trade, how carry'd on.

THE utmost of their Foreign Trade is now express'd, I next proceed to speak of their Domestic Traffick, which is partly carried on by Coasting Vessels sailing cautiously at little distance from the Shore, and partly by the Caravans or Land Conveniencies, which are constantly in motion, and export the Manufactures of one Part of their Dominions to another.

THEIR Navigation, as I have before declar'd, is mean and far inferior to the Christian's Skill, and therefore they are backward in the hazarding Commodities by Sea, unless in Trade with Islands, or a Country they may reach with ease and safety;
How far the Turks employ their Ships in Trade.

thus they send their Ships to load with Goods, from Cyprus, Candy, Rhodes, and all the Islands of the Archipelago, and sometimes venture with considerable Fleets to Alexandria, Scanderoon, and certain other Ports of Barbary and Egypt.

The Trade of Turkey with the Euxine or Black-Sea.

THE Euxine, or Black-Sea, has a peculiar Fleet of Ships appropriated to the Trade the Turks maintain, with all its Harbours, whence they deal for little else but Timber, and supplies of Slaves to serve their Uses, which are sold them annually by the salvage Tartars, who in their destructive Ravages, and deep Incursions into Poland, Russia, Muscovy, and other bordering Christian Territories, spare nor Sex, nor Age, nor Quality, but carry all in equal Fetters, to the shame and torment of perpetual Slavery.

THE Caravans of Turkey, are mistaken generally by the vulgar notions entertain'd among our common People, who, misled by their affinity of Name with certain Carriages in use amongst us, think 'em large unweildy Waggons, which contain a multitude of Passengers;
What a Turkish Caravan is.

whereas the true and genuine meaning of the Turkish Etymology is Haraa-vahan, that is to say, a mix'd Conveniency, and such are all the Caravans of Turkey, consisting of unequal Numbers of assembled Merchants, Travellers, and Pilgrims, from Fifty to an Hundred, Thousand, and so on to sometimes Fifty, Sixty, Seventy, or an Hundred Thousand Souls.

The Order they observe in all their Caravans.

OVER these promiscuous Multitudes presides a certain Officer, distinguish'd by the Name of Caravan-Bashaw, or Captain of the Caravan; he constitutes inferiour Officers, punishes Disorders, regulates Abuses, and preserving fix'd tranquility and peace throughout their Journey, guards 'em with a number of selected Soldiers, from the scatter'd Parties of Arabian Horsemen, who are all profess'd Free-booters, and will oft attack a Number ten times larger than their own, and carry off the Merchandice and Camels in the Rear in spite of all the opposition can be made against them.

The method Travellers must take in Turkey.

TRAVELLERS agree with this commanding Officer, for such a sum of ready Money, to be serv'd with Carriage and Provision (if they please) for any Journey; and by means of these continual motions of the Caravans from every corner, they are constantly supplied with all the richest Products of their distant Manufactures, and the finest Jewels, Porcelane, and the rest of the Commodities, abounding in the most remote Divisions of East-India, Persia, China, or the Aromatic Confines of Arabia Felix.

The Turks exact great Custom for imported Goods.

'TWAS long before the Turks had learn'd the benefit of making Foreign Goods pay Custom of Admission, but when once they tasted the Advantage it might bring them, they proceeded to exact such vast, unreasonable Sums, that Christian Traders find themselves oblig'd to raise the former Prices of their Goods, the better to enable them to bear the Imposition.

Mechanic Skill, divided into 2 extreams.

AS for the Skill this People boast in their Mechanick Professions, it is differently great or small, according to the Inclinations of the Natives in general, or particular Genius of the Tradesmen of that Country. Some Handicrafts fall vastly short of ours in Britain; others far excel the fam'd Artificers of even the most refin'd and celebrated Parts of Christendom.

The Turks excellent at Embroidery.

THUS in the Art of Sowing, or Embroid'ring on Leather, with a party colour'd Silk, or golden Wire, they have reach'd so great a pitch of Excellence, that not the nicest Needles of our most industrious Housewives can by any means compare with their Perfection.

Extreamly ignorant in Clock-Work and Ingraving.

AGAIN, in Clock-Work, or the curious Arts of Cutting or Engraving Metals, they are skill'd so poorly, that they understand not good from worthless Work, but will alike encourage every ignorant and idle Vagabond, and the accomplish'd Master of the nicest Operation.

The Turkish art of damasking their Scymetars.

THE Turks have reach'd peculiar Excellence in Damasking their Scymetars, whereby they do not only strengthen, but adorn the Metal with a fine and streaky Substance, yielding a delicious Scent, and odoriferous Perfume, surprizingly agreable to such as draw their Weapons unawares and suddenly.

THERE is a Notion commonly receiv'd, but false and groundless, as is well observ'd by Monsieur Tavernier, in the two hundred and thirtieth Page of his Persian Travels; viz. That all such Scymetars are brought from Damas, or Damascus, and can no where else be made, when it is certain and notorious truth, that they are done as well in many other Parts of the Grand Signior's Empire.

An Error in the Assertion of Monsieur Tavernier.

BUT as 'tis difficult almost beyond surmounting, to avoid asserting some erroneous Probability, while we zealously endeavour to reform the false Opinions of the Men we speak to, so the Author lately mention'd, to correct one Error hath produc'd another, for to undeceive such People as imagin'd Steel was only damask'd at Damascus, he informs his Reader that Golconda does alone afford a Metal capable of that Impression; when it is not only practis'd in the Cities of Aleppo, Smyrna, Cairo, Constantinople, and an hundred other Parts of Turkey; but in many Provinces of Christian Countries; I my self once bought a Sword at Hambourgh of a Cutler, who for ten Pence more than his demanded Price, both damask'd and perfum'd it to so high a pitch that it retain'd the Scent for some Years after.

The manner of damasking.

THIS is done by heating to a moderate degree, the Metal you wou'd damask; and instead of cooling it as usual, by the dipping it in Water, twisting round it a rough Canvas Towel, purposely permitted for an hour or two, to lie and soak in Milk and Fountain Water, wherein has been dissolv'd a certain quantity of Vitriol, Sal-Armoniac, and some other such like Compositions.

The Turks exquisite at making Bows and Arrows.

BOWS and Arrows they have learn'd the Art to make with wonderful dexterity, and can in Steel or Wood, not only shape them to an exquisite Perfection, but contrive them even for Ʋse, far better and more lasting than the celebrated Archers of the Indian Countries can pretend to equal.

CARPENTERS, Joyners, Masons, Smiths, and other Artisans of Turkey, tho' they are extreamly skill'd in their respective Trades, according to the Customs of the Nations they inhabit, cannot boast that admirable Genius which at present shines in the conspicuous Improvements of our Europaean Arts, but labour hardly under the oppressive weights of Ignorance and Tyranny.

Painting ill understood in Turkey.

PAINTING, is in Turkey little understood, because they look on representing any human Image, or a Being blest with Life, as gross Idolatry, and a black abomination in the sight of God; on which account they have maliciously defac'd un-number'd Pieces of Antiquity, by beating off the Heads, or picking out the Eyes of every painted Figure, or accomplish'd Sculpture, which they had the undeserv'd good Fortune to become the Masters of, in their successive Conquests.

Their manner of Painting.

HOWEVER, some there are, who Paint in Miniature, and represent in fine and lasting Water Colours, great variety of Fruits and Flowers, and sometimes Landskips, but 'tis rarely known, that any can attain a tolerable Skill in the expressive Doctrine of a true Proportion.

AND yet they seem ambitious in the search of new Improvements, and wou'd gladly reach the White they aim at, while push'd forward to a vigorous desire of an encrease of Knowledge, by the placing as sublime a Value on the Excellence of Art, as is express'd by the Greek Hipparchus, in the following Verses.

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Life boasts no Blessing more refin'd than Art,

Nor can kind Heav'n to Man a loftier Bliss impart;

For when the unexpected Turns of Fate,

Has shook to Ruin our securest State;

When dubious War shall all things else destroy,

That stands unshock'd and safe, a sure and lasting Joy.

The Cause of Turkish Ignorance in Arts.

BUT what shall Man presume to say, when the Almighty Justice of an over-ruling Providence, permits a poor and miserable People, to continue groaning under the resistless Torments of a servile Bondage, to the arbitrary Sway of an unbounded Monarchy, whose barbarous Policy permits no light of Learning, to disperse the Gloom of an encourag'd Ignorance.

BEFORE I end the Chapter I am now upon, I will propose a useful and an easy way of Gain, to any, who had rather hazard and fatigue their Persons by embracing such a Prospect as will give them more than hopes of great Advantages, than sit contentedly in idle Shame and Poverty at Home, indulging the deficiencies of blinded Reason, by a long neglect of active Industry.

A usefull Project for a skillfull Brewer.

LONDON contains an unknown number of ingenious Brewers, who for want of Stock to carry on a creditable Trade, are forc'd to live in mean Conditions, Servants to the wealthier and more thriving Brothers of the same Profession: Let such as these consider well their present Circumstances, and learn by what I now proceed to treat of, how they may improve them.

BRANDY, Wine, and all strong Liquors known in Turkey, are unlawfull to their Use, by the aforesaid Prohibition of their Prophet Mahomet, yet are these People so inclin'd to drinking, that for want of other pleasing Beverages they will often venture publick Scandal, and severest Punishments, to satisfie the Call of their insatiate Appetites, by drinking Wine in such prodigious quantities, that I forbear to mention what my Eyes have often witness'd, lest it shou'd with difficulty gain belief.

NOW this excessive love of Wine, proceeds from nothing else but their complain'd-of Ignorance, in Brewing other Liquors,
The Turks extreamly fond of English Beer

for I frequently observ'd that when an English Ship had brought some Bottles of our Country Beer or Ale to Turkey, and presented 'em to such as afterwards wou'd compliment the noted Turks of their Acquaintance with a share in drinking them, they constantly express'd a wonderfull Esteem, and eager Inclination to obtain a Quantity, assuring us repeatedly, that cou'd they make such Drink themselves, they never shou'd be tempted to commit a Sin, by breaking thro' their Prophet's Order to forbear the Use of Wine and Brandy.

NOTHING can be possibly more easily accomplish'd than the universal Wish of Turks and Graecians upon this occasion, wou'd some English Brewer skill'd in his Profession, make a Voyage into Turkey, purposely to use his best endeavours for the introducing common use of Beer or Ale, instead of Water.

FOR first, I have sufficiently explain'd my Reasons, to believe the Natives of that Country wou'd with pleasure drink it, and the Price by no means cou'd retard the Practice,
Malt, incredibly Cheap in Turkey.

for so cheap is Malt throughout their Empire, that they feed their poorest Horses with the best of Barley, and with so much ease might he expect to thrive herein, that tho' he sold the Liquor he shou'd brew, at not so great a Price as a Quart a Penny, he must soon grow rich, by more than Cent. per Cent. clear Profit, in his Dealings.

BUT so far beyond this lowest computation, may he reckon his Advantage, that I can experimentally assure him, he might sell it (and be never thought too dear) at full the Price it bears in London; nor wou'd the Turks think more too much, or if they shou'd, the very Factory it self, excluding all the other Christians there residing, wou'd enrich him speedily, provided he took care to manage well the brewing all his Liquors.

Some Objections answer'd.

IF any timorous Man objects the Inconvenience of so long a Voyage, his being altogether unacquainted with the Country and its Language, and his want of Friends to help on his Design, those difficulties soon will vanish when I tell him, he may bargain for his Passage on an English Ship, and be supplied with all Provisions even to Constantinople, for considerably less than twenty Pounds, that he will land within a few Stones throws of the Embassadours House, to whom the Captain must of course present him, if design'd to settle there, that he is bound to grant him his Protection and Encouragement, that he may have a Druggerman, or an Interpreter to wait upon him for a little Charge, and still conversing with his Countrymen, maintain a Trade almost as free and uncontroul'd as if in England.

The probability of the Projects meeting with success.

I beg the Reader's pardon now, and shou'd before have beg'd his Patience, for this long digression, but have said thus much to tempt the Inclinations of some more sprightly Men than ordinary, to attempt a Project that can no ways hurt them, but can boast of more than single probability to advance their Fortunes. If it does the Good for which it is intended, I am fully satisfied, if none believe it worth their while to put in Practice, I shall still remain alike contented.

Why the Turks are more deficient in the point of Trade than we.

I have said as much of both their Foreign and Domestick Trade, as either Subject will afford, and if you think it not proportionable to that mighty Bulk, and far-extended Power of their arbitrary Government, consider them as People altogether strangers to the peaceful Practices of correspondent Justice, a Nation built on Ruin and the Sword, and in its rude Original entirely void of Honesty and Commerce. If then this great unweildy Body has of late descended to the thoughts of Traffick, you must look upon it only as a Branch of their prodigious Oak, and consequently flourishing in far less bright and emulative Splendour, than our Christian Arts of Trade and Navigation, which are the strong and stately Trunks of our more thriving Trees of Profit, by whose celebrated Sap, and vegetative Juice, those spreading Limbs are still supplied, and richly nourish'd with a never-failing and consummate Plenty.

CHAP. XII. Of the Turkish Habits.

GOVERNMENTS so absolute and tyrannical as that of Turkey, give us little reason, by the Notions we conceive of their unpolish'd Constitution, to expect Examples of a common Decency, much less exact Oeconomy, from the untaught and rustical Deportment of their rough Inhabitants.

An exemplary Prudence of the Turks in point of dress.

YET to my great surprize, I found the Turks in many things, I speak it with concern, more prudent, or at least more orderly, than any part of Christendom, particularly so in that accomplish'd Regularity observ'd among them in respect to Dress; you may with ease distinguish there, the Mistress from her Waiting Maid, and know the Quality of any Man you meet by the peculiar Ornaments of his restrain'd Appearance; there, no Footmen huff along ridiculously vain, as if they wore their Master's Honour in the lining of his Livery: Those look great among the Turks, who really are so, and a modest Carriage, and sincere Humility adorn the Persons of the common People.

Men oblig'd to dress according to their Quality.

DRESSES are as Marks, whereby to know the Men you meet, tho' Strangers to your View, and pay the nice Punctilio's of Respect, which are requir'd from every Quality to those above and those below them; but the Head, as commonly esteem'd the noblest Part, is always chose to bear the Mark of an injoin'd Distinction, nor is it possible to speak in any reasonable Compass, of the strange Varieties among their Fashions, every Rank of Men, or different Order, being more or less distinguish'd from the other, by some answerable Turn of Habit and Appearance; I proceed to treat distinctly of as many as may prove diverting to the Reader, or deserving of his Notice.

The Turks observe the Custom of the Ancients in respect of Habit.

THE ancient Custom of the Eastern Nations, who delighted much in long and open Habits, is to this Day prevalent among the Turks; nor do they ever change the Fashion of their Dress, esteeming little such as are misled to frequent Alterations of the Cloaths they wear, and hating with a fix'd and rancour'd Enmity, the modish Shape of Christian Habits, asserting that by openly exposing Legs and Thighs, and wearing Coats so short and close, we do not only act immodestly, but by the Follies of a fond, fantastic, and affected Levity, (for which they willfully mistake our Conge's and genteel Deportment) entirely rob our selves of that grave Majesty, which shou'd distinguish Man from other Creatures.

The Mahometan Lock.

THEY shave their Heads as soon as Circumcis'd, and still continue to renew that Practice through their riper Years, permitting only one small Lock to grow upon their Crowns to an uncommon length, which being daily comb'd and scented by the Barber's Art, is twisted with a neat and wonderfull dexterity, then fast'ned in a Knot and suffer'd to remain unloos'd beneath their Turbants.

The common Notion of it false and groundless.

RIDICULOUS and groundless is the common Notion, that the Turks expect to be receiv'd by Mahomet from Earth to Paradise, their Prophet holding them by the above-nam'd Lock of Hair (thence call'd Mahometan.)

An exemplary Piety of certain poor and miserable Christians.

THEY rather wear it as a voluntary Mark of their Profession of his Faith, as many Christians, now inhabiting the miserable Countries of Bulgaria, Georgia, Servia, and Sclavonia, invent an Art, to stain by application of a certain Juice, the tender Foreheads of their New-born Children with the Forms of Crosses, that when afterward, grown up, and subject to the arrogance of Turkish Neighbours, they must keep their Faith in spite of Persecution, or expose their Persons to the scorn of Christians, and be shun'd forever in their base Apostacy.

The shape and substance of the Turkish Shirts.

THEIR Shirts are form'd alike, for Men and Women, open in the Sleeves, which some Men wear near half Yard broad; they make 'em of a sort of Callico, Crape, or Muslin, without either Neck or Wrist-band; never suff'ring any Linen to appear when they are dress'd; a pair of Drawers tie upon the Shirt, of the same Stuff, and reaching loosely to their very Ancles;
Shacksheers or Drawers.

over these they draw their Britches, call'd Shacksheers in the Turkish Language, made of Scarlet, or a Violet colour'd Cloath; and reaching like the former to the Instep, where, being gather'd at the bottom commonly three quarters round, they strongly sow 'em to a sort of Leathern House-shooes, soft and yellow, and contriv'd exactly to the shape of every Foot; these they call M•sts, which serve within Doors while they sit or walk on their embroidred Carpet;
Papooches, or their walking Slippers.

for they leave at entrance into any House their walking Slippers or Papooches, made with smooth and yellow upper Leathers, and the Sole extreamly thin, but so well beaten that it will resist the Dirt or Water in their Streets to admiration, they are made without the smallest Heel, instead of which they use a piece of Iron fram'd exactly like a Horse-shooe; they are shap'd like Womens Slippers with a sharp and picked Toe, and come not half way up the Instep, so that by the smoothness of the outside of the inner, and the inside of the outer Shooes, I often kick'd 'em off as I was walking in the Streets, nor can a Stranger keep 'em on his Feet till use has made 'em easy to his motion.

The Inconveniencies of wearing 'em.

ANOTHER Inconvenience which attends the wearing these above-nam'd Slippers, is the custom they have got of leaving 'em without, like Womens Clogs, at every Door they chance to enter, so that often, when I have been present at their stately Visits, Feasts, or Publick Ceremonies, coming out amidst a Crowd of People, I have sometimes found my Slippers chang'd, and others, soil'd, and not worth wearing, left me in their room, nay very often have been forc'd to walk thro' all the Dirt, with nothing on my Feet but Mests, which letting in the wet, were worse than if I had gone home barefooted; Coaches are not found in Turkish Cities, as esteem'd an idle Proof of an Effeminate Indulgence.

The shape of Turkish Boots.

THEY ride on Horse-back with a great delight, and wear a sort of Boots unable long to keep out Water, they are shap'd at bottom like the Shooe's above describ'd, and made, but weakly, of the same smooth Leather, reaching to their Knees, and large enough to hold with ease, the numerous Gathers of their spacious Britches.

Their Wast-coats.

A Doublet made of thin strip'd Silk, or Stuff, convenient for a Summer wear, is form'd without the shortest Sleeves; and reaching to the Hipp, is folded, one side o'er another, and fastned on the left with Loop and Button.

Another sort of Wast-coat.

OVER this they wear a Dolamann, or long loose Robe of Callico or Muslin in the heat of Summer, in the Winter made of Silks or Stuffs, embroider'd richly, or not at all, according to the Quality of those, who wear 'em. These reach, like Ladies Night-gowns to the Ground, of spacious breadth at bottom; the Sleeves are close and button at the Wrist, where they turn back with Facings of the same; they button also at the Neck, whence one side sloping o'er the other, they are fastned in the same place and manner with the under Wastcoat just now treated of.

The richness of their Girdles.

THEY bind these Dolamanns with Silk or Muslin Girdles, of a length sufficient to allow three rounds about the Body; after which, they tie an artificial double Knot before, and twist each over-plus within the Girdle to the right and left; the ends of these long Scarfs embroider'd purposely, or richly flower'd with Gold and Silver, finely intermix'd with Persian Silks of various Colours.

A sort of Winter Gown to wear in Houses.

AT home in Summer they have nothing on besides, still turning up the Corners of their Dolamann within their Girdles; but in Winter, most Men in their Houses, wear a sort of loose, and open Gown, which reaches to their Knees; some lin'd with Silk, and some with Furrs, some having open Sleeves, and some not any; all according to the different Inclinations of the Men who wear 'em.

A costly sort of Lining.

WHEN they go abroad, they let down constantly the Corners of their Dolomann, and put on Blue, or Scarlet, sometimes Green, long Robes which train upon the Ground, lin'd thro' with Ermin, Squirrels-Furr, good Fox-Skins, Rats, or Sables, some of which are very costly, and can scarce be bought for fifteen hundred Dollars.

A noble sort of Robe, not much unlike the Roman Mantle.

SOME delight in wearing light and unlin'd Silken Robes, not much unlike the Dress wherein we often see the ancient Hero's painted loosely o'er their Armour, they are fastned with a Silver, Gold, or Diamond Clasp above the Breast, thence falling back with admirable Grace, and spreading with an hundred airy Folds, wide, broad, and stately, from their Manly Shoulders.

The fineness of their Daggers.

GLOVES they wear not, nor appear with Scymetars but when they Travel; all the Arms they bear about 'em, is the short Hanjarr or Dagger, which I mention'd in the Chapter of their Military Government, which being thrust within their Sash, on the left side thereof, does often shine with precious Stones, and other rich and splendid Marks of the Authority and Grandeur of the Man who wears it.

The Quality of Turks, distinguish'd by their Turbants.

THEIR Heads, as I have said before, distinguishing their Quality, are differently dress'd by different degrees of People; yet they all affect the wearing Turbants, some of Muslin, some of Silk, and some of Callico; the various Colours, Forms, and Magnitudes whereof, contain the Marks of Splendour or Subjection. The Muftee wears one bigger than a Bushel, yet not heavy, nor any ways incommodious. The Sultan wears his somewhat less, and differently twisted; the Grand-Vizier, Lord-Treasurer, and other Officers, whether Civil, or Military, are each oblig'd to wear a Turbant answerable to their Quality.

Their several Colours.

THE fashionable Colour of these Turbants is a spotless White; tho' they are sometimes worn of Black, Red, Yellow, or of any other unmix'd Colour, (for a strip'd, or speckled Turbant is a Mark whereby they know a Christian, who must never wear one of a pure and single Colour.) Green is the peculiar Property of those Emir's, or Kindred of their Prophet, which I long since spoke of, a Turk is Punish'd if he dares presume to Wear it on his Head unless Intit'led to it: But a Christian so offending, is without the smallest hopes of Pardon, instantly Condemn'd to a Renunciation of his Faith, or must assert it by the Trial of a Painfull Martyrdom.

The Dress of common People.

THE Meaner sort of People go Bare-Leg'd, with Girdles twisted round their Middles, and a Dirty Towel wrapt about their Heads, or sometimes a small Scarlet Skull-cap, covering their Crown, and reaching to the tops of both their Ears, which is the only cover that the Servants Wear throughout all Turkey, who tho' somewhat better dress'd than are the other common People, yet in this Restriction are not much above them, that is, they must not Wear those loose Furr Gowns denoting Power, but be contented with a tight close-body'd Dress, which speaks their Servitude.

The Dress of Turkish Ladies at home.

THEIR Womens Dress at Home is just the same, in Britches, Slippers, Shirts and Wastcoats, with the Mens before describ'd, upon their Heads they Wear a sort of Past-board like a four-square Trencher, cover'd over with Embroid'red Muslin; to certain Silver points on whose extreamest Edges, their Perfum'd and Scented Hair is fastn'd, so that, twisted into several Locks, and Hanging with a sort of easy Freedom round their Heads, adorn'd with Ribbands, Diamonds and an hundred different sorts of Glitt'ring Stones, it gives a gracefull Look, and amiable Air to the appearance of the Turkish Ladies.

TIS but very rarely that they go abroad, and then to no Place but the publick Bagnio's, or the Funeral, or Marriage, of some near Relation; but when they do they cover their above-nam'd Head-Dress with a Linen Muffler, which Meeting with another Piece of Black and Shining Silk that hides the upper Part of their Faces, nothing but their Eyes and Nose can possibly be seen.

THEY hide their Faces in Obedience to the Precepts of their Prophets Law, which tells 'em tis unlawfull to discover any of those Beauties God has given them, but to their Husband, or their Father;
Their Dress abroad.

they Wear abroad, a Gown of Blue or Scarlet-Cloath, which Buttons fast before, and Hangs with narrow Sleeves below their Fingers; as they Walk, they hold the Bottoms of their Gown in their Left-Hand as low as they can possibly Reach, and Swing their Right each step they take with a Surprising Haughtiness or rather Gravity. They Die their Nails with certain Drugs which yield a Colour like a Reddish Yellow, and delight Extreamly in the Richness of their Habits, tho' they very seldom gain an Opportunity of showing them.

THE Female Slaves and Servants of the Turks are Veil'd or Muffl'd while about their Business, but meanly Dress'd according to the Servitude of their Condition.

BUT what I have already spoken of the Turkish Habits shall the rather serve, in that the Reader may Discover with his Eye the several Dresses Represented in the Cutt hereto Annex'd, more fully and particularly, than can be comprehended in a Verbal and more dark Description.

The Turks in all their Customs opposite to us.

IN every Action of their Lives, the Turks oppose the Europaean Customs; they Wear long Cloaths, we Wear short ones; we in Salutation of a Friend, esteem it Rudeness not to Bow with Head uncover'd, they Receive that point of Breeding as the greatest and most base Affront that can be put upon them; we esteem a bending of the Body gracefull and obliging, they interpret it a mean acknowledgement of our Inferiority to him we speak to; they love Sadness and a grave Deportment, we love Gayety and briskness of Behaviour. Every thing in short is carryed on directly opposite to both our Humours and our Customs; whether one or t'other's Airs of Breeding are the most consistent with that Native Majesty which Man was form'd with, must be judg'd by several Persons, several Ways, and whether they or we are right or wrong, we both believe our own the worthiest Fashion. For as the fam'd Athenian Solon has it in his Elegies.

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The Cowards self is brave in his own Eyes,

And the most homely Wretch will his own Features prize.

CHAP. XIII. Of their Wives, Concubines, Ways of Courtship, and Forms of Marriage.

THE inimitable Virgil was undoubtedly inspir'd with Love and Truth, when he asserted this so oft experienc'd Maxim,

Omnia vincit Amor, & nos cedamus Amori.

Love conquers all things, to his Pow'r we yield,

And proudly lose the Day, when Beauty takes the Field.

The Power of Love.

THE roughest Hero's of the ancient World, amidst the dusty Scenes of War and Ruin, red with Blood of undistinguish'd Slaughter, and encompass'd round with Care and Danger, often slacken'd Nature's Springs, and sinking calmly from the love of Glory, let their Laurels wither on their Heads, and lost the Sense of Honour and Renown, entirely stupified in all their Faculties, and slumbring meanly in the downy Scenes of this Lethargic Passion.

How much that Passion now prevails among the Turks.

EVEN the adamantine Breasts of Icy Scythia, have admitted Love in all its fervour, and forgot entirely native roughness, by the softening Charms of Female Conversation; nay, to such excess does that bewitching Passion now prevail among the Turks, that as if they were not the Posterity of such uneffeminate, and hardy Ancestors, they frequently neglect the great Affairs of State and Interest, to dally wantonly with favourite Women, and enjoy the lov'd and rapid Transports which attend on their Caresses.

HEREIN however they have got the start of Europaean Lovers, that whereas we languish long, and unsuccessfully, for some lov'd Ladies Favours, they enjoy the utmost of their Wishes, in a speedy Consummation of their forwardest Desires.

The Power of Turkish Husbands.

AGAIN, (tho' I'll not give my Country Women cause of Anger by affirming that as preferable an Advantage as the former) they boast a sort of unconfin'd Authority, which makes their Wives submissively Obedient; but since it ne'er allows that mutual Confidence, that generous, free, and open familiarity, so requisite to make a Marriage truly happy, I cannot praise their Policy in robbing Wives of that well tolerated Liberty, which serves to soften Matrimonial Bondage, and proves a sure and winning Mark of Conjugal Good-nature.

An ancient Saying.

IT was the Saying of a very ancient Graecian Author, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Nature did not frame the Woman to command: And Philemon a Poet, who flourish'd in the Reign of Alexander the Great, has left his Notions of the Matter in the following Lines,

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A Wife, my Friend, who takes the wisest way,

Shou'd not command her Husband, but obey;

For where a Woman o'er her Consort Reigns,

The weight, that gaul'd before, now wounds with killing Pains.

AND so entirely do the Turks adhere to this Poetic Doctrine, that for fear their Wives shou'd by degrees encroach on their Prerogative, they rob them barbarously of those indifferent Liberties, without whose tast 'tis morally impossible for Man or Woman to be truly happy.

Submission and affection of the Turkish Wives.

THE good Effects of Turkish Discipline surpriz'd me much, when I perciev'd that notwithstanding their severe Behaviour towards their Wives, the patient Turtles were so far from less'ning their Affection on Confinement, that they rather doubled their respect, and Spaniel-like fawn'd humbly on their Injurers, with the assurance Horace had from Lydia,

Tecum vivere amem, tecum obeam libens.

With thee dear Soul, I cou'd for ever live,

My Life, to die with thee, I'd freely give.

The mistaken Notions of some of our British Ladies.

IT is a strange amazing Labyrinth of Female Wonders, to behold the contradictory Inclinations of that unintelligible Sex; while those in Turkey grow good-natur'd by a brutish Usage, ours in Britain sometimes think it out of Fashion to oblige an easy Husband, and instead of mending on the Kindness they receive, insult the more, and make their Spouses gentle Condescention, their undoubted Privilege of Nature; these speak in rougher Notes than those above, and plead like Juvenal's unreasonable Woman,

Sic volo, sic jubeo, stat pro ratione voluntas.

It shall be so, I will, 'tis my Command,

And Resolution shall for Reason stand.

ENCREASE and Multiply, is held a very good and necessary Maxim by the Turkish Nation, and indeed they lose no time nor opportunity of putting it in execution to the best advantage; Wives, Slaves, and Concubines, promiscuously granted them without controul, and every Tenet of their Faith, and Practice of their Lives, combining jointly to indulge their Wishes, in the gross Enjoyment of a sensual Appetite.

POLYGAMY was by Mahomet allow'd them, freely and unbounded, but the Dictates of their Policy oblig'd 'em to restrain that tolerated Liberty, and fix a certain Limit to that dangerous Privilege for the Reasons following.

The Reasons why the Turks restrain Polygamy.

WERE Men permitted to indulge their Senses in the various Pleasures of promiscuous Embraces, they wou'd Marry inconsiderately such a number of Wives, that on their Death, the major part of their Estates devolving to the Sultan, little wou'd be left to share amongst them, and the helpless Ladies consequently forc'd to Want and Beggary.

ANOTHER Reason (and indeed the wisest of the two) is this, The numerous Doubts, Fears, Envies, Jealousies, and Quarrels, which alternately possess a Womans Mind, where Rivals are respected, wou'd by tolerating many Wives, become so frequent, formidable, and ungovern'd, that those Fairy Pleasures, which invite to Matrimony, vanishing away, wou'd leave behind 'em little else but Noise and Discord, Troubles and Distraction.

How many Wives the Turks may Marry.

HOWEVER, they are yet permitted by the common Custom, to espouse four lawful Wives; and lest their wand'ring Inclinations shou'd induce 'em to believe they were denied a Pleasure Heaven design'd 'em, they are freely suffer'd to enjoy the Persons of as many Concubines, or purchas'd Slaves, as they may think agreable, nor are the Children so begot esteem'd in Turkey as in Christian Countries, spurious and illegitimate, but equally intit'led to their Father's Love, and Honour of his Quality, with others born in Wedlock.

WITH this Proviso, notwithstanding, are they Freemen and Legitimate, they must be manumitted in a publick Form by Will and Testament, before some Judge of Civil Administration, Seal'd, Sign'd, and Given in, by their own Father's Hand, with solemn Ceremony.
A very strange and barbarous Custom.

This neglected, leaves 'em Servants, to their Brother's Will, who may at pleasure use them as their Bondsmen.

O happy Turks! cries some disconsolate, and wretched British Husband, when he hears me tell him, Turkish Matrimony is not quite so true a Gordian Knot, but that 'tis frequently untied without much difficulty; yet perhaps, were some Mahometan his Spouses Consort, he wou'd find a Blessing which her present Owner either does not know, or care to value.

The Turkish Marriages not perform'd by Priests.

BUT e're we speak of their Divorces, 'twill be proper to describe their Matrimonial Ceremonies, and in order thereunto, I must acquaint my Reader, that the Act of Marriage is perform'd by the appearance of the Husband, with the Father, Ʋncle, Brother, or some near Relation of the Brides, before a Judge; where in a publick manner, he avows his Inclinations and Affections to the Person of the Lady; tho' perhaps he never saw one Feature of her Face, but that's no matter, Love you know is painted blind, and thence blind Bargains are become a Fashion.

PROCEEDED this large Step on his intended Journey, he is next demanded by the Judge what offers he can make deserving her Acceptance: Settlements are made according to his Circumstances, or the fetter'd Privileges of Turkish Subjects; and the Bridegroom signing there an Instrument, whereby he owns her for his lawfull Wife, the Match is ent'red in a publick Register, and ever after they are conjugally coupled.

How the Man employs the Night before.

NOW then let's venture to observe the Consequences of this previous Ceremony, after which the Man (transported to be sure, and full of Raptures) takes his own and half-gain'd Spouses Male Relations to his own Appartment, where he entertains them till within an Hour of Mid-night, with the fashionable Musick Vocal and Instrumental, Coffee and Sherbet; and if of brisk, and airy Constitutions, sometimes treats 'em with a glass of Wine, but very sparingly, for fear of Reprehension.

How 'tis employ'd by the Women.

BUT as for the poor Female Victim, who is trembling all this while, with dreadfull apprehensions of some near Surprize, she sits unveil'd on an embroid'red Cushion in the midst of a large Room, round which are plac'd her She-Acquaintance, Friends, and Kinsfolks, all invited by her Mother, if she has one, to inform her what she is about to do, and read alternately, repeated Lectures of the Duty of a Wife, and Power of her Husband, while the poor half-frighted Creature, stares about her with a blushing Ignorance, amaz'd and quite confounded with their Monitory Lessons.

THUS they pass away the time till almost Midnight, when they take the Bride with one consent, and lead her to the Bagnio, if there is one in the House, if not a common Bathing Tub will serve the turn. Here every Gossip plucks a Feather, till having quite undress'd the helpless Virgin, they begin to wash and rub her soundly, smoothing o'er her Body, with a certain scented and balsamick Oyntment, the better to prepare her for approaching Pleasures; after this they put her on a Shift, and wrapping Night-Gown, thence conducting her to take her Rest till early the next Morning.

The Morning Ceremony.

AT the dawning of the Day they come again, to wake the Bride, who rising from the last Possession of her Virgin Pillow, is by them attended with officious Ceremony, dress'd in all her richest Robes, and soon made ready for the amorous Call of her expected Husband.

HE is not tedious we'll suppose, in dressing, but with all the Friends he entertain'd the Night before, sets forward from his House well mounted, and attended by a gallant Troop of Gentlemen on Horseback, Serenaded as they go, by several sorts of Musick, sounding with them thro' the Streets. They come at last where lives the Bride, whose Father summon'd by the noisy Instruments, commands his Door to be set wide open, and demands within it, what they want, and why they visit him?

The manner of the Bridegroom's coming to demand his Wife.

THE Bridegroom answers, sitting on his Horse, he comes to claim the lovely Jewel God has given him, and names her with a loud and haughty Voice; and being further ask'd, how well he can defend her, he lays his Hand directly on his Scymetar, and draws it half way from the Scabbard, every Horseman in the Company proceeding to the same Expression of his Friendship to the Married Couple; hereupon the Father stepping from his Door, advances slowly some few Paces to salute the Bridegroom, who with all his Followers, dismounting nimbly, lays his Hand devoutly on his Breast, and utters this Expression, True Happiness this Moment blesses me; to which the Father answers heartily, O may that Happiness be great, and lasting.

How the Bridegroom is receiv'd at his Father-in-laws House.

THE Bridegroom enters full of Joy, and with his Father, flies up Stairs as nimbly as he can; his Friends mean while, conducted in and entertain'd below, according to the Turkish Fashion; at the entrance of the Womens Chamber he is met by the expecting Bride, her Mother, and Relations, she unvail'd, and aiming all her Beauties to surprize his Fancy; ent'ring, he extends his Arms with wonder, and astonishment, and (doubtless overwhelm'd with Rays of brightness,) finds himself unable to sustain the Shock, and therefore turns him round with great Humility, in order to escape the danger of his Spouses Lightning.

How the Bride receives him.

BUT the tender natur'd Nymph, unwilling to confound at first Appearance, calls him back with gentle Phrases, and the mild Expression of Gehl Giacquir bennum, that is to say, Return, my good Angel; this encouragement removes all fear, and tempts him forward till his new-made Consort takes him by the Hand, and leads him to a Table, little higher than the Ground; she seats him cross-leg'd there upon a fine embroid'red Cushion, and sits down herself in the same Posture, opposite to him; all the Company then place themselves on Cushions, six Foot distant from the ogling Spouses, till they form a fine and spacious Circle round the Table.

His Entertainment.

SMILES and Glances, and the common Airs of meeting Lovers, pass the Time till there is brought upon the Board betwixt them, two small Dishes; one containing a fat roasted Dove, the other fill'd with certain Cakes not much unlike our Barly Sugar.

Emblematical Proceedings of the married People.

THE Dove is cut in four distinct Pieces, whereof the Head and Neck make one, the Rump the second, and the Body slit in two, composes both the other. The Bridegroom first presents his Lady with the Rump, and this Expression, Tho' lowest, yet acceptable. The Bride returns her Consorts Compliment, by giving him the Head with this submissive Motto, Be thou my Head, and I thy Footstool.

THEN put they both their Hands together on the Table, taking each one half of the divided Pidgeon; which denotes, that they shou'd live like harmless Turtles, and that tho' the Head and Tail make some distinction, yet they ought to love and prize each other, as two diff'rent Parts of one sole Body.

THIS done, the Bride extends her Hand, and reaching from the other Plate a piece of the abovenam'd Barley-Sugar, directs her Fingers to her Husband's Mouth, and makes him swallow it; he does the same to her again, by this expression of their silent Will, declaring mutually that it shall be always eithers chief endeavour to oblige the other, by a constant practice of the sweetest Carriage, and most tender Actions which can prove Affection.

A drinking Emblem.

THEY next proceed to call for Drink, which presently is brought 'em in a China-Cup, containing fine perfum'd Sherbet of costly Preparation. First, the Husband sips, and then the Wife; which having done, they jointly lay their Hands upon the Cup, and spill the Liquor on the Table, which is thereupon remov'd immediately. This Emblem signifies that they must always join with sympathetical Concern, or Joy, and gain or lose the Pleasures of this Life with equal satisfaction.

AFTER all these Ceremonies are perform'd, the Bridegroom takes his leave, and goes away to his own House, in order to prepare for the Nocturnal Entertainment of his charming Wife, who in the close of Evening, is attended to his Place of Habitation in the following manner.

In what manner the Bride is carried to her Husbands House.

THE Bridegrooms Brother, or the nearest of his Kindred, claims the Lady in her Husbands Name, who is deliver'd into his Possession Veil'd all over, mounted like an Amazonian Heroine, astride on Horseback, and Attended by a Stately number of her Female Friends, who Ride about her and Support a sort of Indian Canopy, which falling like a Tent below her Horses Breast, becomes a perfect Cover, and prevents her being seen by any of the People who will always Crowd the Streets on those occasions; round this shining Troop of Ladies Ride a greater number of the Male Acquaintance of both Parties, who serve alike to grace the Cavalcade, and Guard the Women from the Insolent Abuses of the common People.

How she is receiv'd there.

ARRIV'D at last, the Waiting Bridegroom standing in his Door, Receives his Consort open Arm'd, and leads her Instantly to some prepar'd Appartment, where their Numerous Men Relations, who Assisted in the Ceremony, enter One by One, according to their Quality, and having each bestow'd some Present answerable to his Circumstances, they withdraw genteely, with repeated wishes for a happy Bedding of the Amorous Pair, returning every Man to his particular Place of Habitation.

The Pastimes of the Women.

THE Women, to divert the Husband and his Bride, begin to Dance, at which Profession they are Skill'd but Aukwardly, performing always Singly; and Inventing Strange, and frequently Lascivious Postures, to adorn their Motion, and Excite an ardent Flame of Expectation, or, to call it by its right Name, Lust, in the already-kindled Fires which Warm the Breast of the Impatient Lovers.

The previous Ceremonies to the Bedding.

BUT now the time, which ever Rolls along with heavy Wheels on such occasions, Summons them to hasten the usual Preparations for the Bridal Bed, in order whereunto they lead the Bride with Songs and Musick, to the Chamber which contains the stately Scene of her expected Pleasures; here they Place her on a small Square Block all cover'd oer with Silk or Velvet, and retiring to the distant Corners of the Room, Invite the Husband to the Comical performance of a Merry Duty, Fashionably Incumbent on new Married People.

NO Pulling off the Bridal Garters, Throwing the Stocking, or other common Practices in use at British Weddings are observ'd among the Turks, but sure the Reader will allow the Turkish Bridegroom has a Task far more Diverting, Strange and Comical.

A Comical Injunction on the Turkish Bridegrooms.

FOR he is First oblig'd to be his Spouses Valet, and Undress her for his Bed; nor is this odd Injunction all is he oblig'd to, for the Young and Airy Turkish Ladies who delight in Dressing a new Married Friend, contrive such Strange and Artful Knots about the Silken strings which Tye her Drawers, that 'tis next to a downright Impossibility to find out gentle means to loosen them; yet the Eager Bridegroom is Injoyn'd to kneel and Fumble with his Teeth, till he can some way or other get them open, which, the Young and Vigorous Lovers, all Impatient of delay, with violent endeavours bite Asunder: none, in such a Case, must use the least Assistance either of their own or Spouses Fingers, so that were there Men as well as Women present at this Ceremony, they would doubtless find themselves far more Diverted than the Merryest Company that ever grac'd a Christian Wedding.

IT would, it is presum'd, be altogether needless to Instruct the Male or Female Reader in the well known consequences of these Preparatory Pastimes, since the common knowledge of both Turks and Christians will direct their Fancy's to a full Discovery of these secret Practices, whic•… eithers Modesty will constantly incline their Will to draw a Curtain over, •… to leave them undisturb'd and private.

AND now, since I am treating of the Lover's fond Elyzium, 'twil• not be improper to observe, that those bewitching Joys are sometime• frustrated, and lessen'd very commonly, by the Jealousy or Malice of som• other Wife, transported with the fear of Scorn, at the appearance of a Riva• in her Lord's Affections.

Witchcraft very common among the Turkish Women.

IN Turkey nothing is more frequent than a deep and cursed Knowledge in the Practices of Witchcraft, Sorcery, and a sort of jugling Villany, whereby they render impotent and ineffectual the strongest Efforts of a vigorous Lover on his Wedding Night; and 'tis perhaps to this, the Turkish Matrimony, tho' indulg'd in Polygamy, owes the common and amazing paucity of Children.

NAY, so skill'd are many in this damnable Profession, that they insolently dare pretend to force Affection from Antipathy it self, to punish Infidelity in Affairs of Love, and give a Lady supernatural Charms to change her humble Servant's vow'd Inconstancy.

The Practice very ancient among the Greeks.

NOR do we find such Practices of Modern Date, the ancient Greece was famous for this Study, which they had Originally with their worthier Knowledge from that Source of Learning Egypt. How skill'd the Grecian Ladies were in Magic Incantations, may be gather'd plainly from Simaetha's Words to her Maid Thestylis, in the second Eidyll of Theocritus, where she endeavours to bring back Delphis, who had abandon'd her Affections.

Part of the 2d Eidyll of Theocritus.

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Where are my Laurels, Thestylis? And where

The pow'rfull Philtres we must now prepare?

This sacred Cup with purple Fleeces bind,

That tho' my fickle Lover proves unkind,

I may some Magic Incantations use,

And force him to a Breast he would not chuse;

Since he ungratefull went, twelve Days are fled,

Nor knows he whether w'are alive or dead.

AND a little further in the following Words begins her Incantation.

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With all the Sacred Charms of Magic Art,

I'll now inchant the lov'd Inconstant's Heart;

But thou, O Moon, shed favourable Rays,

For, grateful, I to thee address my Lays;

To thee O Goddess, and to Hecate,

The pow'rfull subterraneous Deity;

At whose Appearance Curs forget to bark,

And silent let thee Stalk thro' dreadful Dark;

Whilst o'er the Graves at Noon of Night you tread,

And press the clotted Blood of the corrupted Dead.

Hail, awfull Hecate, hail Goddess, hail,

Grant me thy Aid—So shall my Charms prevail.

Go Iynx, go, kind Spirit, hast away;

And drag him to my House without the least delay.

Another sort of Sorcery.

THERE is another sort of Sorcery much us'd in Turkey, if it may be call'd so, since perhaps the Notion took its rise from nothing but the superstitious Fancies, and ridiculous Opinions of Hypocondriacal Persons; they call it Magic of the Eye, or the bewitching by an evil Look; now whether there are any real grounds for this Belief, I shall not venture to determine.
A Story of a Gentleman bewitch'd by an evil Eye.

But this I can assure my Reader, that I knew a Gentleman at Constantinople, who was naturally blest with an uncommon Share of Wit and Judgment, yet became a downright Idiot in the space of twenty four Hours, upon going by the Invitation of a Greek of his Acquaintance, to make one among the Guests at an Armenian Wedding, and it was believ'd in Town by every Man, who heard the Story, that the Evil Eye of one there present had depriv'd him of his Senses.

Another sort of Marriage us'd in Turkey.

THERE is among the Turks, another sort of Marriage, generally us'd by Strangers, who reside but little time in any City; this is call'd Hakabin, and is a Bargain made before a Judge, whereby the Man is bound to take the Woman, and maintain her as his Wife, for one, two, six, or more Months, and when his Business calls him to another Place, he is oblig'd to give her such a Sum of Money as is mention'd in their first Agreement.

Concubinage, how tolerated.

CONCUBINAGE, as I have said before, is granted to the Turks, who always keep as many Slaves as they can purchase and maintain, to serve by Day the Uses of the House, and all Night long the Pleasures of their Master.

THERE is in Constantinople, a Slave-Market twice or thrice a Week, thither the People go, and see the miserable Christian Captive-Virgins, dress'd in all the tempting Ornaments, that can allure the Looks of amorous Passengers; they speak to those they are inclin'd to like, and having ask'd them any Questions they think fit to start, they feel their Breasts, Hands, Cheeks, and Foreheads;
A curious Search.

nay proceed, if curious in the nicety of Search, to have the young, and wretched Creatures taken privately to some convenient Place, where, undisturb'd, and free to use the utmost of their Will, they find out certain subtle Means of boasted Efficacy, to discover instantly by Proofs, and Demonstration, whether the pretended Virgin has as yet been rob'd of that so celebrated Jewel, she affirms her self Possessor of.

THE Slaves they buy, they carry home, and use as is above-declar'd, till growing weary of their Persons and Embraces, they have liberty again to sell them to some Friend or Neighbour, taking others to their changeable Affections; nor are their Wives at all disturb'd to see them use this tolerated Freedom;
The Turkish Wives may claim one Night in seven.

Custom's tyranny has made them humble, none complaining of her Husband's slight, provided he bestows one Night in seven in her conjugal Caresses; that the Law has given them as their unquestion'd Property, and will oblige the Man to own it as his Duty.

The Turks notion of Cuckoldom, more Reasonable than ours.

AN Honest and an Admirable Notion sways the Judgments of the Turkish People in the Point of Cuckoldom, for that, which here with us is strangely look'd upon as the Husbands shame, is in their Country plac'd more Wisely, and with Justice, on the Lewd Adultress, and her Hornified Relations; for where the Husband finds his Bed Dishonour'd and Polluted, he Applies himself directly to some Judge or Governour, and sitting forth at large the Cause of his Complaint, obtains relief by an Immediate Order of Divorce, and free's himself at once from Wife and Scandal.

Why the Turkish Sultan's must not Marry.

THE Turkish Sultan's must not Marry, or it is become a Politic Omission to forbear so doing; First, in that 'twou'd cause Alliances, and distant Kindred to their Royal Family, a thing they always Fear'd and Hated; and Secondly because the Greatest and most Unexpected turns of Fate, shall never wound the Princes Honour, in obliging him to see a Wife become the Victim of Licentious Insolence, and he himself an helpless Witness of her shameful Usage.

The Original of the Custom.

BAJAZET an Ancient but Ʋnhappy Emperour, by dear Experience taught 'em this; for when the brave Victorious Tam-her-lane the Great, had won the Battle which reduc'd him to his Misery; his Wife Dehespeena whom he dearly Lov'd, and in whose Blessings his were Centr'ed, being taken Prisoner, was before the Face of her distracted Husband, Ravish'd by the Conquerour. The Unsupported sorrow, which the Haughty Turk conceiv'd hereat, shook all his Patience into Madness, and produc'd that Rough and Melancholy Death which put an End to all his Sufferings.

THE Princes, who succeded Bajazet, resolving for the Future, to avoid so black and piercing a Misfortune, made a Law that none shou'd Marry ever after on the Throne of Turkey, which has been observ'd with such Religious constancy, that two late Emperours have been depos'd and little urg'd against their Governments, but that they took the Liberty of Marriage, and thereby Infring'd the solemn Prohibition of their Wiser Predecessors.

Four sorts of Divorces, us'd among them.

I spoke just now of their Divorces, and will here Describe Four several Methods now in use, whereby the Turks with ease Untye the strongest Cord which joyns their Matrimony.

The First.

THE First is Registred before a Judge, as are Indeed the other Three, by this the Man and Wife are only separated, either free, and altogether Independant on the others Power; here the Husband is oblig'd to settle a sufficient Maintenance, and keep her separate as well as when they Liv'd together.

The Second.

THE Second kind of separation, is a Wider breach of conjugal Conjunction; for they then are left entirely to their Liberty, and as by joint consent they may return again to one anothers Arms, so may they also Marry at their Pleasure, any other Person, who shall best agree with either of their Circumstances.

The Third Divorce in Case of Impotence.

THE Third Divorce now Practis'd by the Turks, is when a Woman is unfortunately Married to a Man unqualified for satisfaction of her Warm desires, by the Natural Misfortune of an Impotent Frigidity; in such a Case the Man refusing to discharge his Wife, is Summon'd by her Friends before a Judge, and forc'd to bring her with him to the same Appearance; when the Charge is Read against him she is ask'd if she will then affirm the Truth of all that Accusation, hereupon she Stoops, and taking off her Slipper, Spits upon the Sole, and Strikes it on her Husband's Forehead; Modesty requires no further Confirmation from a Female Plantiff, and the Sentence is immediately pronounc'd, in favour of the Lady, who is thenceforth, free to Marry as she pleases, and intitled notwithstanding, to a large Allowance from her former Consort's yearly Income.

NOR is it hard that Women shou'd be favour'd in a case so reasonable, when it is the only Plea they have for gaining a Divorce, while on the contrary, the Men possess a thousand great and boundless Privileges, and are at any time enabled to obtain Releases from their Matrimonial Chain, on every mean and slight Occasion.

A very merry kind of Practice for the Punishment of Levity.

BUT the most diverting sort of a Divorce, that e'er was heard of, is the Oochey Tahalac, which having once disjoin'd a Pair, permits no second thoughts, or change of Inclination so as to be reconcil'd again; till, as a Punishment for his ridiculous and fickle Humour, the repenting Husband will contentedly stand by, and see his Wife in open Day, enjoy'd before his face, by some brisk Stranger, who is led by accident to pass the House, where they expect impatiently the first fair Comer.

A pleasant Passage hap'ning, some Years since, at Constantinople, will afford an entertaining and compleat Idea of this humorous Custom; it fell out as follows.

A pleasant Story of the Master of an English Vessel.

THE Master of an English Merchant Ship, who understood but little Turkish, scarce enough to buy an Orange as he walk'd the Streets, wou'd needs be vent'ring frequently on Shoar, sometimes with Company and sometimes without, well dress'd, with Turbant, Dolamann, and every other part of Habit in the Turkish Fashion; he was often caution'd of the Dangers he might fall into, but never list'ned to his Friends Advice, returning always safely to his Ship, without the least Affront, or meeting any who accosted him in the Country Language.

BUT rambling on a certain Day, about the City, he was beck'ned to by several Turks who stood together at the entrance of a House; surpriz'd at first, he wou'd have pass'd 'em slowly by, as if he took no notice of their Summons; but before he got five Yards beyond the Door, he felt himself pull'd back by one, who smiling, spoke a long and speedy Sentence, and returning towards the Door he came from, dragg'd him as it were by force to follow him.

THE Master understood not one small Syllable of what he said, but went as he was led, without so much as speaking all the way, till coming to the Door, the other Company began to laugh, and talk with eagerness as if they were informing him of something very pleasant, and diverting; he seem'd to listen with a wonderfull attention, and to cloak the matter, laugh'd for Company, but durst not speak for fear of a Discovery; he then began to curse his forwardness and Turkish Habit, and to wish himself secure on board his Ship, resolving to attempt no more such single Wanderings.

A comical Surprize.

MEAN while the Turks had led him forward, and conducted him to a large Chamber, on the elevated Floor whereof there lay a Bed, with Quilt and Mattress, after the Fashion of the Country; upon the Bed sat cross-leg'd a genteel, young Lady, gay, and beautifull, with Face unveil'd, and sprightly Countenance, who blush'd at his appearance; on a Cushion not far distant sat a grave Kaddee or Judge, the Master of the House; and in a corner of the Room, stood leaning, and disconsolate, a well-made Turk, who by the sequel, prov'd to be the Husband of the Lady on the Bed, and standing there, to be Spectator of a Duty he wou'd rather have excus'd.

A very doubtfull State.

THE Company withdrew at the approach of the Master, leaving none behind but the young Lady and her Husband, smiling as they pass'd him by, and pulling to the Door to keep them private. 'Tis not difficult to guess the wonder, which amus'd his thoughts at such an odd and unexpected Accident; he star'd about him like a Man distracted, ignorant what he was to do, and fearing every Moment some Design, which he conceiv'd was form'd against him.

AT last, the Husband looking roughly towards him, spoke a few low Words, which by the accent seem'd uneasy, and with a nod or two, and motion of his Hand, made Signs, that he shou'd do the Duty he was call'd to without delay; the Lady likewise, beck'ned with her Finger, and repeated often these Words, Gehl Adham Gehl, that is, Come Man come; he understood so much, but no ways apprehending what they meant by those expressive Motions, instead of answering their repeated Invitations, stood still, and gaz'd about with mute Astonishment.

THE Husband half amaz'd to see his Silence, and fix'd Posture, as also eager, since he knew it must be done, to have it over, came grimly up, and pushing him with anger forward, cried out aloud. Geddi Brai, Boc Kahdin, that is, Go Fool, see the Lady: But the frighted Britain, all surpriz'd at this new step, was so confounded with the turns of the amazing Accident, that scarce rememb'ring who or where he was, he forc'd himself with fury from the Turk, and in the English Tongue cried out, Why in the Devil's Name d'ye push me thus? I know not what you wou'd be at, nor understand one Word you say to me.

An odd discovery.

THE shock'd Mahometan with all imaginable wonder started back, to hear him speak an unknown Language, and snatching off his Turbant, presently discover'd him a Christian by the manner of his being shav'd; and pointing to his Head cry'd loudly to his Wife, Vollah Boo Adham Gaour. By the Lord this Man's an Infidel. With that he drew his Dagger from his Girdle, and his Wife began in passion to rise up and fall upon the Master, when the Turk bethought him of a cunning Stratagem to save his Honour, and having given the English Man his Turbant back again, endeavour'd partly by fair Words and partly by his Signs, to make him understand, he shou'd go out as silently as he came in, and seem to smile, as if he had been pleas'd with his Adventure.

THE trembling Master, glad of any opportunity to get away from such a dangerous Scene of Wonders, made abundance of expressive motions with his Head and Hands, to thank him for his kindness, and was marching off, with counterfeited Smiles upon his Face, when all the Company still waiting in the outward Room, began to gather round him, and to ask him if he had been satisfied in his good-fortune; he answer'd as the Husband had made shift to teach him, Hevett Sultanum; that is, Yes noble Sir.
A merry Action of a Turkish Lady.

But the expecting Wife, who had it seems been baulk'd of her Desire, and was unwilling tho' she lost the Christian's Kindness, to deprive her self of some more qualified Person's, follow'd to the Door, and cried out Yoketer that is, 〈◊〉, he lies, as loud as she was able.

THIS alarm'd the Judge, and all the rest, and made the Husband hang his Head like one condemn'd to Stocks, or Whipping Post; in short they seiz'd upon the poor discover'd Master, and began to drag him back to do the Duty they expected from him, He, unwilling to comply with their desires, endeavour'd by continued Strugling, to break loose and get away, till in the Scuffling, he again let Fall his Turbant, and with much ado, escaping from their hold, ran swiftly thro' the Street, while all the Boys he pass'd by, seeing him disorder'd, and Bareheaded, and besides,
A Fortunate escape.

Alarm'd by the repeated exclamations of the Turks he broke away from, who Cried out an Infidel, an Infidel, as loud as they were able, gather'd round him, and with Dirt, and Stones, pursued him thro' the City, till he came upon the Water side, and found among the rest some Janizaries, whom he knew, and, whose Authority protected him from further Injury.

I cannot say what Second Spark the Lady found to serve her turn, or how the Business was perform'd among them, but the Masters ill success in this last Ramble, prov'd more Efficacious to disswade him from such bold attempts in future Voyages, than all the Good Advice, and Solid Doctrine, which had been before, in vain, bestow'd upon his rash and Inconsiderate Obstinacy.

I promis'd in the Title of this Chapter, to say a little of the Turkish ways of Courtship, and will now proceed to let the Reader know as much of their Amours and Gallantry as fell occasionally within the Compass of my Observation.

No coming into Womens Company, in Turkey.

THERE is no such thing in Turkey as a Publick Meeting, and promiscuous Conversation of Sexes, at the Park, Ring, Balls or Theatre, or any other tolerated Scene of Honourable Liberty; all are Grave, Reserv'd, and Solitary; Women seldom stirr abroad, before or after Marriage; and as there is never found the Smallest Opportunity of seeing or Conversing with the Ladies, Love is consequently quite a Stranger to their Warmest Inclinations, till they have obtain'd an object whereupon to Build it; yet there Flames amongst the Youth of this Licentious Nation, such a Raging Passion of Desire, that they employ the Wishes of their earliest Manhood, how to get a Wife or two to pass their time with, and apply themselves accordingly, to those allow'd and fashionable means, whereby, tho' Blindfold, they may gain a Mistriss.

Matches made by Friends.

THEIR common Custom then, in such like Cases, is to listen to their Friends Proposals; such a Man has such a Daughter, Neice, or Sister, so and so possess'd of Beauty, and good Humour. Fortune they expect none with a Wife in Turkey; for the Husband there must buy her Person with a settled Sum according to her Value, which they seldom hold at Mighty Rates; or the agreement made between the Parents of the willing Couple.

A Pig in a Poke.

THE Fathers word is sometimes taken for the Daughters Merit, and the Bridegroom signs the Articles of Marriage before he is admitted to a sight of his Beloved: But the Brisk and Wiser sort of Gentlemen, will seldom make so blind a Bargain, and refuse to listen to the smallest motion of a Matrimonial Treaty, till they are convinc'd by Ocular Experience, that the Mistriss offer'd them is really as deserving in her Person, as they speak her in her Character.

The Turkish Custom in case of Rivals.

IT sometimes happens that two Rivals Jarr about one Lady, and in such a Case the Parents of the Virgin will not Interpose their Counsel nor Authority, but by the following Method bring the Lovers to her sight, and let her choice decide the matter; they are both appointed at a certain time to meet beneath the Window of a Chamber of the House she lives in, Lettic'd over so that nothing can be seen within the Room, but those who stand within can easily perceive whatever passes in the Court before it: Here is plac'd the Mistriss of their hopes, who having, by the Throwing down a piece of Silk, inform'd 'em she is there, the Amorous Madmen strait begin to strip one Arm above the Elbow, drawing with the other hand their Sharp-edg'd Dagger, and exerting each his Brightest Faculties, in Singing, Riding, Leaping, Hurling the Geritt or Javelin, and an Hundred other Exercises, in which the Vanity of either has perswaded him to think he can excell the other.

A dreadfull way of making Love.

BUT the most ridiculous and senceless Method of expressing their Affection, is their singing certain amorous, and whining Songs, compos'd on purpose for such mad occasions, between every line whereof they cut and slash their naked Arms with the abovenam'd Daggers, each endeavouring in this emulative Madness, to exceed the other, by the depth and number of the Wounds he gives himself. Some Turks I have observ'd, when old, and past the Follies which possess'd their Youth, to show their Arms all gash'd and scar'd from Wrist to Elbow, and express a great Concern, but greater Wonder at their past simplicity.

How the Lady makes her Choice.

THE Marble Hearted Lady, proof a while against these barbarous Demonstrations of their Love, at last makes choice of him whose Air and Face she best approves, and speaks her Mind by throwing down a Ball of twisted Silk, while he on whom her Mind is bent, is whining out her Praises; this produces frequently so great a fury in the disappointed Soul of him who loses her, that running furiously upon his happier Rival, they proceed at Daggers length, a second time to try their Titles to her partial Favours, and before they can be parted, oftentimes prevent the Bliss of either, by an interchangeable bestowing on each others Bosoms, such amazing Wounds, as bleed away their Love and Life together.

THE oddness of the Stile invited me to render some of the above-nam'd Songs, into English, which are the most esteem'd, and run as follows.

An amorous Turkish Song.

Cou'd I, dear Ray of heav'nly Light,

Who now behind a Cloud dost shine,

Obtain the Blessing of thy Sight,

And tast thy Influence all Divine;

Thus wou'd I shed my warm Hearts-blood,

As now I gash my veiny Arm,

Wou'dst thou but like the Sun think good,

To draw it upwards by some Charm.

Another follows as diverting as the former.

Another Turkish Song, on the same Subject.

Oh lovely Charmer pity me,

See how my Bloood does from me fly,

Yet, were I sure to conquer thee,

Witness it Heav'n, I'd gladly die;

But oh! I fear when I am dead,

In t'other World we shall not meet,

If not, how like a Fool I'm sped,

For dying blindly at your Feet.

I have at large inform'd my Reader of their Matrimonial Ceremonies, and have nothing further left to tell him on that Subject, but that however loose the Inclinations of the Turkish Ladies may be rendred by Confinement, it is seldom known that any Wife defiles her Husband's Bed; perhaps 'tis owing to their want of opportunity, for I must own my self a great and utter Enemy to that restriction which the Eastern Nations lay upon their Women, and believe that, where a mutual Freedom, Liberty, and Familiarity, is by Custom, or Ʋnkindness any ways deny'd a Married Couple, 'tis impossible to reach that elevated Happiness describ'd by Horace, in his thirteenth Ode.

Hor. Ode 13. Lib. 1.

Felices ter, & amplius,

Quos irrupta tenet copula, nec malis

Divulsus querimoniis,

Suprema citius solvet amor die.

Happy, thrice happy, more than blest,

Are the unshaken Pair,

Whose Tie stands fix'd in eithers Breast,

Unbroke by Grief or Care;

Whose grounded Love by trifling Jars,

Feels no abrupt Decay,

But keeps within true Duties Barrs,

Firm to the latest Day.

CHAP. XIV. Of the Turkish Women, in General.

IF by the Title of the Chapter, the Reader may be induc'd to expect a particular Account of the exterior Qualifications of the Turkish Ladies; he must imagine a difference in their Persons and Complexions, answerable to the Climate of a hotter or colder Country; whose various Influences must unquestionably produce as various Effects in the Persons of its Natives:
The Turkish Wives submissive and respectfull to their Husbands.

But as the unlimited Authority, which the Turks usurp as a right of Nature, over their submissive Wives, extends its force to the remotest Borders of their unmeasur'd Empire. The continued Practice of a Conjugal Obedience, has bent the nature of their haughtiest Women, to acknowledge readily an inferiority of Sex, and obey their Husbands with the strictest Duties of an unfeign'd Humility. This usefull Maxim which is for ever taught 'em, with the earliest Rudiments of their infant Knowledge, has, among many other, this one Effect, that by representing the Women, even in their own Imaginations, subservient to the Will of Man, it inspires them all with an ardent Zeal, in the daily Practice of those alluring Parts of Education, which may render their Persons most charming and agreable to the happy Object of their exalted Wishes.

The great Advantages thereof.

MANY, besides this, are the great Advantages the Turks receive from their Wives Subjection; for it entirely frees 'em from the imperious Behaviour of insulting Yoke-Mates; keeps 'em secure from the uneasy Discords of a jealous Consort, and gives their leisure Hours an entire Possession of the fullest Pleasures, to be found in Matrimony; while the common Plagues, and bitter Minutes of some Europaean Marriages are altogether strangers to the sweet Enjoyment of their Consummate Happiness.

How Wives are kept in Turkey.

'TIS a sense of awfull Fear and Duty, that obliges them contentedly to live at Home, without the smallest Power in Domestick matters, shut up together in a long Appartment, divided like our Hospitals for several Beds, where free from Envy, Pride or Jealousy, they Eat, Drink, and Work together, Guarded by the Watchful Observation of Industrious Eunuchs, and excluded from the Society of Men, above Ten Years Old, never Stirring from their Houses, nor making Visits to their Neighbours, but all entirely bent to please by turns the Wandring will of their Respected Husband.

THESE then are the Chief Accomplishments of their Womens Minds, which are Moulded by the same Customs, to the same Nature, in every Part of their Country: And tho' some Provinces have been esteem'd more Famous than others for the Beauty of their Women; the Following Account will serve as a Description of the Turkish Ladies.

The Excellence of their Complexions.

THEIR Complexions are for the most Part, of a Lovely Fair, and without the help of Art so exquisitely Smooth and Ruddy, that 'tis beyond the Power of Imagination to Guess at their Beauty, which Extraordinary Perfection they owe to their so frequent use of Bathing, and Perpetual Confinement to their Houses, by which means they are never Ruffled by the Changes of the Weather, nor subject to the Sultry Influences of a Scorching Sun, but 'tis observable that they lose their Beauty much sooner than the Inhabitants of the Northern World, for the daily use of Bagnio's, tho' it smooths their Skin, and softens their Complexions, does notwithstanding, prejudice their Constitutions by the Warm effects of its Sulphureous Quality.
A Discription of the Persons of the Turkish Ladies.

Their Features are Generally most agreeably Regular, of an exact and sweet Proportion, their Eyes of a Piercing Black, almost Transparently Bright and Striking, and the larger they are, the more Esteem'd, for so vast a Value do the Turks Profess for Great Ey'd Ladies, that the Enjoyment of such is by Mahomet promis'd them as one of the Sublimest Joys of their Chimerical Paradise,
Arch'd Eye-Brows Judg'd a Beauty by the Turks.

the Arched Excellency of their Eye-brows, is no small Addition to the Beauty of their Features, and so Nicely sensible they are of this Perfection, that where Nature has deny'd 'em so agreeable a Charm, they are never contented till by the repeated Applications of Artificial Endeavours, they raise their Brows to a lofty Semicircle, meeting over their Nose in a Sharp and Gracefull Angle.

Their Shapes and Aires.

I can hardly speak of their Shapes, with so large Encomiums as I have done of their Beauty, since the Looseness of their Dress, denies them that forc'd Slenderness of Wast, so much admir'd by our Europaean Ladies; but tho' they boast not that one Excellency, Nature has adorn'd 'em with a Thousand others, which sufficiently supply its want, for their Bodies have somewhat of an agreeable turn, and their Motions carry a Peculiar Grace in an Easy and unaffected Freedom of behaviour, the Native Chams of an Amorous Softness appear unfeignedly in every look, while every Step bears somewhat of an Air not altogether free from a Majestic Gravity, and yet entirely Govern'd by an Ʋncommon Easiness.

The Turkish Ladies are Lasciviously inclin'd.

I am sorry (after so true, yet great a Character of their Persons) to Descend to the Weakness of their unguarded Vertue, which lies so open and Ʋnfortifyed by Principle, as to be Incapable of resisting the smallest Temptation of a Favourable Opportunity. This Vice of Incontinency is undoubtedly no Hereditary Misfortune deriv'd from their Ancestors, since most of the Modern Turks, especially those of Europe, are Descended from the Greeks, the old Inhabitants of that Subverted Country; a Nation so entirely free from Lewdness and Immorality, that they Instructed all the World in the Sublimest Vertues.
The reasons of their Lewd¦ness.

The warm Desires which at present sway the looser Inclinations of the Turkish Ladies, are rather the effects of their unnatural Confinement, and the strict Prohibition they are under from the Society of Mankind, which raising their Imaginations to an opinion of a more elevated Bliss, than is really found in the Conversation of our Sex, enflames their Wishes, as it heightens their Curiosity, and renders the coldest Constitution of 'em all an easy Conquest to the first Addresses of an advent'rous Lover; and 'tis no wonder they have no more regard to their Vertue or their Honour, while the Duties of Religion are never taught 'em; but on the contrary, their Mind's possess'd, that as God has given them a Soul inferiour to that of Man, he exacts less Service from the Female Sex, whom he only created for the Ʋse and Satisfaction of the nobler Males.

BY these Notions, and the want of Liberty before-mention'd, they are all led to so vast an esteem of Men, that they scarce know a difference in their Merits, receiving promiscuously all such as Chance or Assurance throws in their way, and proceeding without the Ceremonies of a formal Courtship to a plenary Satisfaction of their lewd Desires;
The Lewdness of the Turkish Ladies, when they can convey some Stranger into their Appartments.

and so lascivious are their Inclinations, that if by the ingenuity of their Contrivances they can procure the Company of some Stranger in their Chamber, they claim unanimously an equal share of his Caresses, and proceed by Lots to the Enjoyment of his Person; nor can he be permitted to leave them, till having exerted his utmost Vigour in the Embraces of the whole Company, he becomes incapable of further Service, and is dispatch'd with the Thanks and Presents of the oblig'd Family.

I will desire my Reader's Patience while I entertain him with a fair Example of the Levity for which I thus accuse the Turkish Ladies; 'tis not now above eight Years since first it hap'ned to a fond Mahometan, who all possess'd with Europaean Dreams of Love and Beauty, wou'd neither marry Wife, nor take a Concubine, that was not Mistress of a tender Nature, and as he thought accomplish'd sweetly in those bright Perfections, which in spite of Fate, must make him happy;
The folly of our inconsiderate love of Beauty.

but oh! how vainly does deluded Man depend on Beauty as a means of Bliss, when every frail Misfortune of deficient Nature robs him of his Hope; it is a Blessing ever subject to a thousand accidental shocks of Ruin, and even in its longest, and uninterrupted course of Sun-shine, but the transient Shadow of a momentary Satisfaction, excellently defin'd by Seneca in his Tragedy of Hippolytus.

Anceps, forma, bonum mortalibus,

Exigui donum breve temporis,

Ʋt velox celeri pede laberis!

Oh Beauty, doubtfull Good, to human kind!

Thou short-liv'd Blessing, transient as the Wind;

How dost thou slide with slipp'ry speed away,

And how the baffled hopes of Mortal Life betray!

THE Turk of whom I am about to speak, was long an Enemy to ev'ry Thought, that led him to a Scene of Matrimony; but he was caught at last, and I have ever found, that those, who most inveigh'd against it have been soonest tempted to its Yoke, and often most gaul'd by it. It was a very witty Observation made by an old Greek Poet, in the following Epigram.

The witty Observation of an ancient Greek.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

The Man is curs'd, who takes a She,

As Partner of his Bed;

This all Men know as well as me,

Yet, who forbears to Wed?

A pleasant Story of the bold Adventure of an English Sailor.

THIS Turkish Nobleman, for smiling Fortune had enlarg'd his Circumstances to a great and lofty pitch of Splendour, kept a very large Haramm, or Chamber of his Women, he possess'd I think, of Wives and Concubines no less a Number than a quarter of an Hundred, and so fondly doated on their amorous Conversation, that he knew no Pleasure greater than the Enjoyment of their Company, wou'd pass whole Days in their Apartment, and chuse some one among them every Night, to carry to his Bed, and favour with the Duty of his kind Embraces.

HOWEVER, whether Nature had not qualified him for the Womens Favourite, or whether every Lady thought her turn too long in coming, is not known, but this is certain, that the whole Society of Beauties, were extreamly Melancholy, and wou'd pensively retire to a large Window, which look'd out upon a Garden on the backside of their Apartment, and by throwing up the Lettice, let in Air, which fan'd not cool'd the warmth of their Desires; their Lord it seems, was very covetous, and finding Eunuch's somewhat chargeable, maintain'd but one, and that an old and lazy Fellow, who wou'd always go to Bed before his Ladies, and by that means give them favourable Opportunities to open the above-nam'd Window and look out upon the Garden, or divert themselves with any Entertainment they thought fit to pass the Night in.

'TWAS late one Evening and the Family secure in their repose, when a brisk English Sailor, who had lost his Company, in coming, not an Hour before, from drinking at a little Hovel, where a Greek sold Wine, had rambled up and down from Street to Street, till he arriv'd in a small narrow Lane, one Wall whereof belong'd to the above-nam'd Garden;
A lucky Curiosity.

he was walking hastily along, not knowing whereabouts he was, when he was startled at the sudden noise of Womens Voices, and desirous to behold what sort of Creatures Females were in Turkey, he was led by Wine and Curiosity together, to ascend a sort of Wooden Scaffold, which he found there rais'd against the Wall, and had been built in order to repair some Breaches made by Time.

THE Art of his Profession had instructed him to climb, by which means he with ease got up so high, that hanging by his Hands and Feet, he overlook'd the ridge of the Wall, and cou'd perceive distinctly, by the favour of the Moon-shine, several Ladies almost in their Shifts, and sporting wantonly together in a Window, on the other side the Garden; he was wonderfully pleas'd to see a sight, he had been long a Stranger to, and not being able to express himself in Turkish, was resolv'd to show his Breeding in the English Language, and call'd out aloud,
A comical Salutation.

Ha! my dear Rogues, have I caught ye faith? Egad I wish I was among ye.

NOTHING cou'd have been a greater surprize to the discover'd Ladies, than to hear a Voice, at once appearing to be a Man's, and Stranger to their Language or Acquaintance, but 'twas encreas'd if possible, when they beheld a Head, Chin high, looking o'er the Wall with short thick Hair, and Hat of English Fashion;
A Surprize soon over.

the fright at first oblig'd 'em to a Shriek, and drove 'em from the Window for about five Minutes, but perceiving none had overheard them in the House, they gather'd Courage and return'd again, believing Providence had sent a Man to gratifie their Wishes.

THE Sailor had by this time got astride upon the Wall, and was beginning an old Ballad in that merry Posture, not remembring he had chang'd his Wapping Residence, for a short continuance in a Turkish City: But the Ladies gather'd in a knot about the Window, and by the cautionary Motions of their Fingers, hush'd him into silence, and began to beckon him with smiling Looks and all the tempting Invitations of an amorous Deportment.

A very kind, familiar Invitation.

ENCOURAG'D by their unexpected, kind Behaviour, the advent'rous Tarr forsook his Station, and leaping from the Wall into the Garden, express'd his Satisfaction in their beautifull Appearances, by all the aukward Bows, and apish Cringes his Marine Accomplishments had made him Master of. He came at last, and stood directly under them, explaining by the Motions of his Head and Eyes, and other Signs, that he was sorry such an inaccessible Heighth prevented him from reaching them.

An obliging Condescention.

THEY talk'd a while by Signs and Motions, but perceiving they cou'd reap but little Pleasure from so remote a Conversation, the obliging Ladies, loth to lose so rare an Opportunity, began to make successfull use of those inventive Faculties, which Nature constantly bestows on Woman, in her amorous Exigencies; and while certain of the Company continued at the Window, smiling in a sort of wanton Dalliance, with the raptur'd Sailor, others ran and tied as many of their Sheets together as wou'd reach the Ground, which having done, they came again, and making fast the hither end to certain Hooks within the Chamber, threw the other down to him, and kindly beck'ned him to make a proper use of their inviting Favours.

A bold Adventure.

HE was not backward in performing their desires, but never thinking of the Consequences which might happen, made a shift to reach the Window by the help of their Contrivance; they receiv'd him joyfully, and had begun to stare upon the strangeness of his Habit, when he interrupted them by roughly kissing all the Company, imagining, that since he always us'd his English Mistresses in that familiar manner, it was the Fashion so to do in every Foreign Place he came to.

THE Turkish Husbands never kiss their Women but in Bed, and consequently this Behaviour of our merry Britain wonderfully diverted them, they laugh'd exceedingly and gather'd round him; every one ask'd some particular Question, but he cou'd not understand one Word they said, and finding more than he expected in the Chamber, look'd about him with a great amazement, but began at last, to catch them in his Arms, embracing them by turns, with so much zeal and rapture, that 'twas hard to tell which Party knew most pleasure; he in meeting such engaging, beautifull, and willing Creatures, or the Ladies in their accidental Satisfaction of admitting to their Arms, a Lover of so brisk and airy a Deportment, and a Man so full of Mirth and Ʋigour.

A very fair Proceeding of the Turkish Ladies.

THE Room wherein they lay, was long and broad, with Beds all laid in order along either side, and each desirous first to offer him a part of hers, they rais'd a sort of War among them, till it was resolv'd that all shou'd draw a Lot a piece, and stand to the decision.

THIS then at last they all agreed to, and with Scissars cut a Crimson Ribband into five and twenty Pieces, each a little longer than the former; these they made the Sailor hold, and drew their Lots in order; she, who had the longest was that very Night to have him for her Bedfellow, and so proportionably she, who had unfortunately drawn the shortest Lot, was doom'd to be the farthest distant from his wish'd Embraces.

The Order they contriv'd to keep.

THUS had they form'd almost an whole Months Task, for the poor Sailor, who never us'd to think on time to come, and therefore went contentedly to Bed, with his fair first-night Mistress. We will not doubt the satisfaction, which he met with, but proceed to tell the Reader that an hour before the break of Day, that Lady, who was next to be his Partner, came and wak'd him from a pleasing Slumber, lest he shou'd unluckily by over-sleeping his Security, be found as soon as Morning broke by the Eunuch, who was always us'd to walk his Rounds about that time; and this was the concluded order they were all to take, for their assur'd Security.

I scarce believe our amorous Tarpawlin, when the cool reflection of his waking Senses, represented his condition, found himself so pleasant as the Night before; but he had gone too far to think of going back, till he had done the Duty they expected from him, and therefore wisely thought it best to seem transported with his present, past, and future Happiness.
The Contrivance, which they made to hide him.

In short they led him to a very high and spacious Pr•ss, or rather Wardrobe, for it was the Place, wherein they us'd to hang their Cloaths; in this Repository, he was forc'd to stand or lie all Day, and had the Door by chance been op'ned, he had yet perhaps, continued undiscover'd, hid all over, by the Cloaths about him.

THE Master of the House wou'd often come, and pass some Hours every Day amongst his Women, so that all Day long the Sailor was confin'd to keep his Station, yet wanted little else but Liberty, for he had Meat and Drink, far more than he requir'd,
Their good natur'd manner of getting him Provisions.

which the good humour'd Ladies, order'd to be set aside, pretending they wou'd eat it at another time, and taking some convenient Opportunity, when all was safe, they carry'd it directly to their pounded Amoroso.

All overturn'd by an unlucky Accident.

THEY pass'd about ten Days and Nights without the smallest fear, or danger of Discovery, when an unlucky Accident fell out, and ruin'd all; it hap'ned that the Lady to whose turn 'twas come that Night to claim the Sailor for her Bedfellow, was taken by the Turk, her Lord and Master, to the unexpected Favour of his own Enjoyment, so that she, whose Lot came next was sooner than she thought of, Mistress of her long hop'd Happiness, but when the next turn came, the Lady, who the Night before had lawfully possess'd her Husband's Bed, renew'd her Title to the baulk'd Enjoyment of the Sailor's Person, which she, who next expected it deny'd with fervour, urging that she, having lost her turn, shou'd stay till last of all, before she cou'd in justice lay a second Claim to what she aim'd at.

The Sailor's dangerous Discovery.

WORDS were multiplied to noisy Disputations, and from thence they fell to downright Blows about the matter, till the House alarm'd by their Disturbance, wak'd the Eunuch, who came running to the Chamber to demand the Cause of their so sudden Disagreement, and the first thing he took particular notice of, was the poor Sailor, who was got among the thickest of the Fray, to interpose the best of his Endeavours, for appeasing their tumultuous Violence.

His bold Attempt to get away.

THE Eunuch all amaz'd to see a Man so strangely dress'd among the Ladies, came and caught him roughly by the Shoulder, who surpriz'd as much to find himself discover'd, struck the old and feeble Eunuch such a Blow upon the Head, as beat him to the Ground, and running to the Window, never staid to look for Sheots, which if he had he wou'd have miss'd, but venturing his Neck to save his Liberty, leap'd nimbly down, and lighting on the soft and yielding Mould, receiv'd no hurt, but made a shift, to clamber up a Gate which open'd to the Lane; and after half an hours rambling up and down, half dead with fear, came out upon the Port where lay an English Vessel, half Ʋnladen, close upon the Key; He got On-board, and overjoy'd at his escape, went next Morning to the Vessel he belong'd to, which departed two days after, bound for Alexandria.

The Liberality of the Turkish Ladies.

HE brought off Ten or Twelve considerable Diamonds, of a greater Value than the Profits of a Hundred of his Voyages cou'd possibly amount to, every Lady gratefully bestowing One, the Night she Bedded him. Had he but staid to have gone through the Family he had grown Rich by their Successive Bounties, but he had cause to be contented with his Fortune eitherway: And what will serve to make this Accident the more diverting, is, that when the Eunuch rose and look'd about him, the Ingenious Ladies joyn'd to tell him an Amazing Story, how the Man he saw, came in and Frighted them, which Passing for a truth, they sav'd their Reputations, and perhaps their Lives, while it was commonly reported round the City, that the Devil or an Infidel had entred the Haramm of such a Nobleman, nor was it known which way he had got in, or how he cou'd find means to get away again.

A Story of the Unfortunate Intrigue of a French Embassadors Secretary.

LESS Fortunate, tho' equally Adventurous was the Comical Amour of a Young Gentleman, Secretary to the French Embassadour at Constantinople, about the Year 1700, who Attempting to have Brib'd an Eunuch, of a Turkish Noblemans Haramm, receiv'd Encouragement to hope Admission on a certain Night; when coming by Direction of the abovenam'd Eunuch to a certain Woodpile in the Yard, belonging to the House wherein they were, he Mounted on the Loggs and waited for a Summons.

HE had not long continued there, before a certain Lady, purposely as 'twas reported afterwards, admitted to a Chamber very near him, came and look'd about her at the Window, the Amorous Monsieur had no sooner fix'd his Eyes upon her,
A silent way of making Love.

but believing that to be the Future Object of his Love, he put in practice all the Lears, Bows, Cringes and Grimaces, he was capable of using.

BUT while thus employ'd upon the Turkish Woodpile, the Master of the House, who had been told the Secret by his faithful Eunuch, came Attended by a Number of his Servants, and Apprehended him amidst the Numerous Airs of his too distant Courtship.
The bad success of his Amour.

No excuse cou'd plead his Pardon, but he was immediately led out, and in the very Gate, set open purposely to gather Lookers on, receiv'd two Hundred Bastinadoes on the Soles of his Feet, and was turn'd out, to hop along the Streets and reach his Home, as well as his sore Bruises wou'd permit him.

The Turks sharp answer to the French Embassadors complaint.

COMPLAINTS were made by the Embassador his Master, but the Turkish Court return'd for answer, that as all their dealings with the several Ministers of Foreign Princes, had been hitherto directed by the Customs of their Country, so they knew not well to grant a Satisfaction for an Accident which had not yet afforded them a Precedent: Thereby Insinuating that the Secretary had so greatly and so openly Affronted the Turk, who Bastinado'd him, that 'twas an Action, whose peculiar Insolence was past Example.

Loves blind effects excuseable in all Men.

LET Love excuse the Amorous Frenchmans rash attempt, or rather his Miscarriage; 'tis a Flame will Burn in every Country, and the Smoak it raises may excuse the Blindness of the objects, which it Seizes on; No Man can always run too fast for following Indiscretion, and you know, who tells us Nemo omnibus horis Sapit, No Man is always free from Folly. Well spoke that Ancient Greek, who asks this Question, in the very Case we now are Treating on.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Ah! brainless Youth, in vain you fly from Love,

He's wing'd, and you on foot; who then must swiftest move?

The Turkish Ladie's want of Honour rather to be pitied than condemn'd.

CONSIDER Readers, when you see this strange Account of the Fair Sex in Turkey, 'tis not Nature, but the Rules of Education, which inspire the most accomplish'd Chastity with purer Notions; and if the rude and barbarous Ignorance, wherein the Turkish Women are oblig'd to live, has sacrific'd their Honour to the warmth of their Desires, rather pity, than condemn their want of Vertue, and remember in compassion of their Frailties, that

Humanum est errare.

'Tis natural for all Mankind to go astray.

CHAP. XV. Of the Turkish Customs, and Ceremonies in Conversation.

IN describing the general Customs of the Turkish Conversation, 'twill be the plainest Method to begin with their Morning Exercises, and trace them through the various Entertainments of a busy Day; for when you know what manner of Living is practis'd by the richest and most active of their People, you may easily guess at the less stately or stirring Life of the remainder.

The first Employment, whereto Great Men in Turkey put the Day.

EACH then obeys for the most part, the Summons of the earliest Cock, and rising from his Mattress, for Feather-Beds are never us'd in Turkey, his Slaves attend in an obsequious Reverence to wait his Motions to the Bagnio, which Great Men constantly build in their Houses, others must be contented with the Publick ones: Here, when throughly cleans'd, they rub him with Napkins till he is dry, and then attend him silently to that part of his House he pleases to be dress'd in; every Servant knows his Office, one puts on his Shirt, another his Wastcoat, the third his Vest, and another his Turbant, till he is at last compleatly ready.

Their Diversions when at Home.

IF he intends a Visit, he commands his Attendants to put themselves in order, and in the mean time sits cross leg'd on a Cushion in the corner of some Saffrai, looking into his Gardens, smoaking Tobacco, drinking Coffee, or perhaps playing at Chess with some Favorite Eunuch, which are the only Domestick Diversions in use amongst them.

Their manner of making Visits.

WHEN his Horse is ready, for they seldom visit on foot, he comes gravely down to the Gate of his House, thro' a double Row of his Attendants, who laying their Hands on their Bosoms bow slowly to the Ground, and kiss the corners of his Vest, which is the common Salutation of the Turks to their Superiors; his Horse is cover'd with a stately Caparison of Cloath of Gold or Silver, sometimes adorn'd with Jewels, which reaches from under the Saddle to his Heels; his Stirrops are of Silver, and so large as to contain his whole Foot; they are held, while he mounts, by two of his Servants, and when he moves, he is follow'd by a great number of them on Foot, walking two by two at equal distance;
How they receive each other at their Houses.

in this order he proceeds to the House of him he would visit (having before given him notice) where alighting at the bottom of the Stairs, he is conducted thro' double rows of Servants to the Presence of their Master, who meets him nearer to, or farther from his Room of State, according to the difference of their Quality, tho' to Christians they never stirr out of their Places, but receive them sitting; after the mutual Compliments of somewhat declining their Bodies with their Hand on their Bosom, they proceed thro' several Rooms to that, they are to sit in; the Stranger, as they walk, always taking the left Hand, preferr'd as the noblest Place in Conversation, because, whoever has it, is suppos'd to be Master of the others Seymetar, as I think I have in the foregoing part inform'd my Reader. When they are entred, they advance to that elevated part of the Floor, call'd the Saffrai, and place themselves cross-leg'd opposite to each other on Cushions richly cover'd, with their Hands upon their Laps like our Women.

How they are Entertain'd in Visits.

NOW begins Discourse, which is hardly enter'd on, when several Pages richly dress'd bring in a Silk or Muslin Handkerchief finely embroider'd, and spread it on the Strangers Lap; then comes another with a Salver, containing several sorts of Sweet-Meats in little Spoons, like those we use for Tea, some of these he eats, and is immediately attended by a third with a Dish of Coffee; that drank, the Handkerchief is taken away, and they withdraw; but the Visiter has hardly renew'd his Discourse, when they return again with another Handkerchief, which being spread as before, one sprinkles Sweet-Water in his Face from a Silver Bottle, and another smoaking his Beard and the inside of his Vest with burnt Perfume from a golden Incense-Pan, they withdraw again; these two Ceremonies are usually perform'd at the Page's Discretion as to the time between them; but there remains a third, which they must wait their Master's call for, and that is the bringing in a large Dish of Sherbet of an excellent Flavour, which as soon as the Stranger has drank, he takes leave and goes away;
A very odd Custom.

for 'tis their Custom never to call for that Liquor, till they grow weary of their Visiter's Company.

THEY seldom eat above one Meal a Day, and that a Dinner; they are rarely known to be luxurious in their Appetite, and are yet extreamly covetous of heaping vast and numerous Sums of Money from the Offices they hold; unskill'd in that incomparable Doctrine of Horace in the twelfth Epistle of his first Book.

Hor. Epist. 12. Lib. 1.

—Tolle Querelas.

Pauper enim non est, cui rerum suppetit Ʋsus;

Si ventri bene, si lateri est, pedibusque tuis, nil

Divitiae poterunt regales addere majus.

—Cease your Complaints:

'Tis not the want of Riches makes Men poor,

Nor can your Wealth a lasting Bliss procure;

If you have Meat, and Drink, and Habit too,

Oh! learn Content, what more can Riches do?

The Turkish Diet.

THEIR Diet is but course, and rarely varied, consisting generally of boil'd Hens, or Mutton, and a sort of butter'd Rice, of late much us'd in Britain, where 'tis call'd according to the Turkish Name Pilowe; their Butter is not made like ours, but on the contrary, is nothing else but Sheeps Tail Fat once melted down, and so preserv'd in certain Skins for common Uses.

Sheep with Tails so large, that they are forc'd to draw them after 'em on Carriages.

AND since I mention Turkish Sheep, it will not be digressive from the Subject I'm upon, to tell you that there are in many Provinces of Persia, and the Grand Signior's Country, Sheep, whose Tails are so prodigiously encumbred with an incredible load of Fat, that twenty, thirty, often forty English Pounds of Grease, are taken from the Tail of one sole Sheep; nay to such a bulk and weight they sometimes grow, that 'tis a very common Scene in many Parts of Turkey, to behold 'em dragging after them their pond'rous Rumps, on two-wheel'd Carriages, contriv'd on purpose.

Turkish Pies.

ANOTHER sort of Diet us'd among the Turks are certain Pies, indifferently bak'd, and fill'd with Meats of various kinds, but so excessively, and past all relish mix'd with Garlick, that the strongest Appetite of France it self, cou'd scarce digest them.

Their manner of dressing Roast-Meat.

THEY seldom roast, and when they do, observe a very different manner from the Europaean Practice; all their Fires are made in holes cut one or two Foot deep in Earth, about the several Parts of all their Kitchins; an Iron Engine, shap'd not much unlike a Gibbet, holds a String, which, fast'ned to some part of any thing they roast, turns gradually round, and so prepares it for their easy Palates.

A very savory sort of Dish, in use among the Turks.

ONE Dish they have in frequent use, of relish not unsavory, which may be nam'd a sort of forc'd Meat; it consists of many kinds of Flesh, all minc'd and chop'd together, with the rind of Limons, Nutmegs, Pepper, Cloves, and Cinnamon, all this they roll when season'd, into Balls of reasonable sizes, wrapping them about with doubled Bay-leaves, newly gather'd, and proceeding so to roast 'em with a gentle Fire: This I think they call Kabobb, and is if my skill'd Country Cooks will take my Word, a sort of palatable Preparation worth the imitating.

Their way of making Bread.

AS for Bread they use no other than a sort of flat and dough-back'd Cake they call Ecmeck; they make it of a course, and ill-ground Flour, rend'red moist by Milk and Water; after it is kneaded they proceed to press it out with heavy rolling Pins, and cutting Cakes in Trencher form, lay many on an heated Hearth by one another, throwing over them the hot and burning Ashes, till they judge 'em bak'd sufficiently, by which means they are very harsh and grating in the Teeth, as if some Sand had fallen upon them.

Their manner of Eating.

WHEN they eat, they use no Plates, Knives, Forks, or any thing but Wooden Spoons, not much unlike the fashion of our Ladles, these Cakes of Bread supply the place of Plates or Trenchers; upon them they lay their Meat, so throughly boil'd or roasted, that they tear with ease, what part they chuse, by the assistance of their Fingers, eating last of all the Plates themselves, as did Aeneas and his newly landed Trojans, thus describ'd by Virgil in his seventh Aeneid.

Virg. Aen. 7.

Consumptis heic forte aliis, ut vertere morsus

Exiguam in Cererem penuria adegit edendi,

Et violare manu malisque audacibus orbem

Fatalis crusti, patulis nec parcere quadris;

Heus etiam mensas consumimus, inquit Julus!

AN EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, Which Represents the Manner of DINING, Among the TURKS of QUALITY.

- THE Place they Sit in, is a Kiosk or Summer-House.

- The Posture of the Servants, the Towel that goes Round, on all their Laps, the Man, who Reaches Water from the Fountain, the Carpet on the Floor, and every Figure in the Piece, is done as Naturally as is Possible.

To her Grace Mary Dutchess of Ormond &c. This Plate is most humbly Dedicated S Bois•… Turks of Quality at dinner

While having swiftly swallow'd all their Meat,

Nor finding further Dainties left to eat,

Insatiate Hunger, not yet fully fed,

Forc'd their keen Teeth to gnaw their small-shar'd Bread,

With eager Jaws and Hands to bite and tear,

The poor Remains of their portentous Fare,

Nor ev'n the very Plates themselves to spare.

See, cry'd Ascanius, we no Morsel lose,

But make those Trenchers Meat, which we for Meat shou'd use.

Their Postures when they eat.

THEY sit at Meals cross-legd, about a Table scarce so much as half Foot high, made hollow, and the inside plated o'er with Tin or Silver; in their Laps there lies a long course Towel, very narrow, reaching round the whole Table, whose uncover'd Surface contains their several Dishes, still remov'd as soon as tasted, to make room for others, only diff'ring in the Colour of the Soop wherein their Meat is brought before 'em.

The Drink they use at Meals.

AS for Drink, they rarely use at Dinner any other than the Fountain Water, commonly at hand in all their Dining Rooms, and taken up in Silver, Gold, or Earthen Cups that moment it is call'd for, by the Servants who attend them. It is seldom known that all the Family sit down together to their Meat, one Smoaks, another Sings, a third perhaps is playing on his Fiddle, one is Eating, and a fifth employ'd at Chess, with some Companion of no greater Stomach than him self; but that their ways of Eating, and their Postures when about it, may be understood more fully, I have here annex'd a Cut, wherein the Reader may behold 'em plainly represented.

THEY commonly delight in sprightly Exercises after Dinner, as believing 'em conducive to their Healths and Reputation; many Sports they use, all which I shall describe in proper order, and will first proceed to treat about their Hurling the Geritt, the favourite Exercise of all these People.

Hurling the Dart, a common Exercise in Turkey.

THIS Manly Sport is not unlike, perhaps the same, with that ancient Roman Custom of darting Javelins from their Hands, the Vigour wherewith they threw them, and the Execution they perform'd when thrown, may be conceiv'd by the Description of the Death of Turnus in Virgil's last Aeneid.

Virg. Aen. ult

Cunctanti telum Aeneas fatale coruscat

Sortitus fortunam oculis, & corpore toto

Eminus intorquet. Murali concita nun quam

Tormento sic saxa fremunt, nec fulmine tanti

Dissultant crepitus. Volat atri turbinis instar

Exitium dirum hasta ferens, orasque recludit

Loricae, & Clypei extremos Septemplicis orbeis:

Per medium stridens transit femur: incidit ictus

Ingens ad terram duplicato poplite Turnus.

Aeneas, swift to use the lucky Hour,

Grasp'd his strong Spear with a collected Pow'r,

And lifting all his Body to the throw,

Aim'd at his Rival's Breast a dreadful Blow;

Not from Stone Walls by batt'ring Engines broke,

With half such horrid Roar resounds the Stroke;

Not meeting Thunder-Claps, which rend the Sky,

With such loud Shocks roll on, and striking, backwards fly;

The Jav'lin flew, like a black Whirlwind, strong,

Bearing grim Death with hissing force along,

Till thro' the edge of his broad sev'n-fold Shield,

It pierc'd his Coat of Mail unus'd to yield,

Transfix'd his Thigh with a surprizing Wound,

And nail'd, with folded Knee, great Turnus to the Ground.

The Turks how skill'd therein.

NOR is the Turkish Skill inferior to the Roman in this celebrated Exercise, which is so common, and thereby so exquisitely known, that some are found among them, who with one strong throw at fifty five Yards distance, will with blunt, unheaded Wooden Javelins, break a Door of near Inch thickness into twenty Pieces.

NAY to such Perfection are the Turks arriv'd in this encourag'd Practice, that they never miss the smallest Mark they aim at; using the Diversion both on Horseback and on Foot, and catching with their Hands the Weapons of their Enemies, in certain Skirmishes by way of Single Combat, or a Party of an Hundred, Twenty, Ten, or more or less, against an equal Number.
The Beauty of their gracefull Forms of Exercising it.

'Tis a curious sight and worthy observation to behold their admirable Horsemanship, and dext'rous Management of these Gerits, at certain publick and appointed Trials, by the way of Challenge, where an emulative fire inspiring either side with hopes of Conquest, leads 'em on, to act as cautiously as if in earnest. 'Tis amazingly agreable to see these Men, amidst an hissing multitude of Darts, which fly continually from side to side, behave themselves with free and unaffected Carelessness, with ease defending every Part, and turning, prancing, rearing, and curvetting on their Warlike Horses, as if they were not two distinct and separated Bodies.

Their dexterity in several admirable Points.

THEY bear within the left side of their Horses Girt, a certain Cane of crooked top, not much unlike a Crook, or Nut-hook, with which they suddenly snatch up whatever Javelin lies upon the Ground, which some can do without such help, by bending from their Saddles in the swiftest Gallop; others there are found in Turkey, who will throw a Dart with all their Strength, a little rising as it flys, and watching eagerly the Course it takes, spurr violently on and catch it as it is inclin'd to fall, some Yards before it comes upon the Ground, and this they often will repeat for twenty, sometimes thirty Casts together.

AND now, since I occasionally spoke of Turkish Horsemanship, I will describe the manner of their riding, which, together with the gracefull Shape, couragious Nature, and the swiftness of their Horses, renders them the surest and politest Horsemen of the Ʋniverse.

The Turkish Saddles, and Caparisons.

THEIR Saddles are of deep and solid Make, of gentle rise behind, and bearing at the Bow, a sort of high, and round Steel, Brass, or Silver headed Pummel, very dangerous to Men unus'd to Riding: They tie their upper Girt quite round the Saddle, under which is fast'ned to three Buckles, a Caparison, which falling largely back, hangs almost to the Ground, and being made of Silk, or Cloath of various Colours, is embroider'd richly, with a Gold, or Silver Wire, and oftentimes set thick with precious Stones, of a surprizing Lustre, and inestimable Value; their Bitts are excellently made of polish'd Steel, so sharp and yet so easy, that when gently held, they cannot hurt a soft-mouth'd Horse, and yet upon occasion, will controul a Lyon: All the Bridles us'd by Gentlemen, are made about the breadth of one of our Inches, of a sort of fine and twisted Silk, of Green, Blue, Scarlet, White, or any other Colour.

Their way of riding.

BOTH their Bridles and their Breast-plates are adorn'd with massy Plates of Brass, or Silver, gilt genteely, and their Stirrops of a very large, unweildy size, with four sharp Corners, which supply the want of Spurrs upon their Boots, for those they never wear in Turkey. They are fast'ned strongly to the Saddle Frame, but hang so short, that they are forc'd to ride with Knees quite bent as when they sit;
Its advantage over ours.

but tho' this Posture may not seem so gracefull to the Eye, as ours in Christendom, 'tis yet far more secure, and usefull; for by this means, Turkish Horse-men rising in their Stirrops, and elonging all their Bodies to each Stroke they give, both reach as far again as we can do, and strike with twice the strength of Europaean Cavalry; and 'tis in imitation of this Eastern Custom that the Hussars of our Army ride so short, and are esteem'd so usefull in Pursuits or Parties.

Their use of Bows and Arrows.

ANOTHER Exercise much us'd among the Turks, is shooting for a Prize with Bows and Arrows, at which they are expert and dext'rous as I have said before; but practise this Diversion in a very dull and slothfull manner, always near the Mark, and shooting at a sort of plaister'd Target, while they fit in rows upon the shady Grass, and send their Servants for the Arrows as they use 'em.
Their Bows how made.

All their Bows are toughly made, of hard'ned Horns of Buffelo's, mix'd with Steel of admirable Workmanship, and finely Gilt and Painted with an airy Mixture of bright Sylvan Colours.

The Turkish way of Wrestling.

WRESTLERS are esteem'd, and very common, but unskillfull in the dext'rous Art of tripping fairly; all their Method is to strip their Bodys naked to the Middle, oyl their Joints, and stooping forward very low, run aukwardly about each other; making sudden, strange, and uncouth noises to surprize or startle their Antagonist, and snatching with their Hands his Leg or Thigh so throw him upon his Back, without so much as ever making use of their own Legs about it.

Rope-dancers and Juglers.

ROPE-DANCERS, and a sort of Juglers are encourag'd to perform their several Tricks, to please with mean Amusements in the open Street such Persons as will stand, and gather round their Exercises, who contribute something each, to pay their Labours, when a Fellow brings about a certain wooden Dish, to every one of the Spectators, and desires their Penny, Two-pence, or whatever more or less they please to give him.

The Carriages in Turkey.

THE Carriages in use in Turkey, are a sort of long and heavy Waggons, drawn by Buffelo's, a kind of Beast not much unlike an Ox, but stronger far, and larger by one half; their Horns are long, and spread to such considerable Breadth, that I have seen the Tips, or utmost Points, almost two Yards asunder.

Their unfamiliar way of Living.

I have told before, their manner of Saluting one another; as for Visiting, they seldom use it, and when Business leads 'em to each other's Houses, they are always entertain'd in outward Rooms; nor are their Wives permitted to appear, nor grow acquainted with their Neighbour's Consorts.

Their manner of Sleeping in their Cloaths.

THEY sleep on Quilts extreamly hard, and very often in their Cloaths, by which continued Custom they are some of them so lousy, that you cannot pass a Street without observing three or four employ'd, while sitting at their Door, or in their Shops, in searching for, and killing those encroaching Vermin: Nor do they blush to be discover'd in so strange an Action, common Practice having made a Fashion of this lazy Pastime.

They make Water like Women.

WHEN they have occasion to make Water, they withdraw from publick Observation, and like Women, couch themselves almost upon the Ground, least by an accidental drop or two upon their Cloaths, they shou'd become defil'd: They spit with scorn to see a Christian stand against a Wall, and sometimes strike him as they pass along, to signifie their hatred of his Action and Immodesty.

A Story how a Gentleman was circumcis'd for pissing against a Turkish Mosque.

I very well remember that I landed once at Candy, with about four more, all Englishmen, and Strangers to the Customs of the Country; we were busy in observing as we walk'd along, the Buildings of the City, and afforded as surprizing Objects as we look'd upon, by being dress'd in English Habits; till at last, an inconsiderate and unluckly Member of our Company, who found himself inclin'd to Ʋrinate, turn'd round with far more Confidence than Wit to do it, just against the Corner of a Turkish Mosque.

THE People with a sudden hollow flew about us, and began to use us somewhat roughly, but a mild Deportment, and submissive Carriage, sav'd all harmless but the frighted Criminal; he poor Man was doom'd to suffer; certain insolent and unrestrain'd Levants, the Sailors of the Country, came about him with their Knives all drawn, and having a long time beaten him about the Head, oblig'd him to lie down upon his Back, and never waiting for the usual Ceremonies, Circumcis'd the strugling and complaining Gentleman with Butcher-like Incision.

THEY said abundance, but to little purpose, for we understood not then one Syllable of Turkish, yet suppos'd they were upbraiding the Offender, and advising him to err no more, lest he shou'd meet a second sort of Circumcision, far more fatal than the former; and indeed the suffering Person was beyond expression overjoy'd to find his Loss not half so great as he at first expected it. Complaints are vain, where Remedies are never found; so we were glad to march contentedly away, resolving for the future to avoid the danger, which our Friend had met with.

A comical Humour of the Gentleman, in relation to his Mistress.

SHAME and regret so much confounded him, that he endeavour'd once or twice to drown himself, upon receiving a kind, amorous Letter from a Mistress he had left in England, and wou'd often swear he never wou'd return because of his Misfortune; but it seems, some merry Gentleman of his Acquaintance writ a Letter to the Lady, and inform'd her of his Resolution and the Accident, which caus'd it; and upon her writing to her Lover that she knew the Business and was glad it was no worse; the poor dispirited Gallant took Courage once again, and ventur'd to go back. He Married her immediately on his return, and since he found her satisfy'd, has little reason to continue melancholy. I cou'd tell the Reader a more pleasant Story of another Gentleman, but he's unmarried, and might chance to lose his Mistress by the Bargain.

What the Turks hunt with Dogs.

HUNTING is an Exercise in which the Turks take great delight, sometimes with Dogs and sometimes without: With Dogs but far inferior to our English Breed they course the Stagg, Fox, Hare, and other swift defenseless Animals; but when they hunt the Lyon, Leopard, Tyger, Boar, or other Forest Beasts, they use the Dogs for nothing but to rouse the Game, and leave it to their Management.

How they hunt Wild Beasts in Turkey.

THEY have both Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly Hunting Matches, when the Gentlemen about the Country gather in a great and formidable Body, at some noted Place of Rendezvous, each mounted bravely on some Horse that has been train'd to Warlike Discipline, and arm'd with a large oval Target, full of Spikes almost yard long, which hangs on their left Sides; upon their Shoulders certain Quivers full of the beforenam'd Geritts or Steel pointed Javelins, and in their Girdles stick a pair or two of small skrew-barrel'd Pistols; besides all these, a crooked Backsword arms their Thigh: When thus accout'red, they obey the Summons of the Captain's Trumpets, one distinguish'd by that Title being always over them.

The Form they ride in.

THE common form wherein they ride is that of an extended Crescent, or Half-Moon, whereby encompassing the corner of a Wood, they send in Dogs to rouse the Beasts about it, which the cautious Currs no sooner have perform'd, but they come barking back, and save themselves from danger by retiring underneath the Horses Heels: If 'tis a Lyon or a Tyger they disturb, those often have the Courage to run roaring forward and attack the Party.

WHEN the Beast is seen approaching, every Man prepares his Target for his own Defence, unknowing where he aims his Vengeance; while the furious Salvage makes directly at some singled Horseman, who opposing his sharp-pointed Shield, the leaping Beast is wounded deeply, and, while redoubling disappointed Efforts, clos'd upon by the surrounding Party, who discharge a shower of Javelins at his Body, till he falls and dies amidst a thousand Wounds.

When they shoot Wild Beasts with Pistols.

BUT, if, as sometimes has been known, the Man at whom the Lyon leaps, is ignorant at his Defence, and lets him seize his Back or Shoulder with a dreadfull Paw, the Company no more prefer their Sport to their Companions Safety, but ride in upon the Beast, and shoot him dead with Pistol Bullets.

How they hunt the Boar.

THE Boar they often hunt on foot, with Spears of Steel, and having rows'd his bristled anger, wait his coming, with a cautious Eye, and leaping from his Tusks as he runs swiftly by them, take him on the turn, with strange agility, and strike him through the Heart with their abovenam'd Boar Spears.

How Wild-Cats are hunted.

WILD-CATS, or Cats-of-Mountains there, afford an excellent Diversion; they frequent the Woods, and leap about from Tree to Tree, insomuch that all, who hunt them, are oblig'd to wear a sort of Head-piece; for 'tis very common to behold 'em jump upon the Shoulders of their Hunters, and endeavour so to Wound them, till they are prevented by the Dart or Pistol-Shot of some behind them.

The manner of a Turkish Coffee-House.

COFFEE-HOUSES are frequented by all sorts of People, for 'tis there they meet to talk of News, divert themselves with Smoaking, telling Stories, or hearing Novels read; yet are these Coffee-Houses different from ours, in that they only are a sort of Stalls, like Tailors Shopboards, open to the Street, and capable of holding twelve or fourteen Men, who meeting there sit cross-leg'd for an hour or two, to pass away the time, which lies upon their Hands, with several different kinds of innocent Diversions.

Opium, how and by whom taken among the Turks.

OPIUM has in former times, been taken as a Cordial by the generality of Men among the Turks, and certainly that Custom ow'd its Introduction to the Prohibition of the Use of Wine; yet, now, 'tis much disus'd, and mostly practis'd by the Lawyers, Scribes and such, whose Heads are ever busied in Affairs of great and high Importance; these by constant use, become enabled to digest a Quantity, of force sufficient to destroy three other Men. Its chief Effect is for a while to elevate the Senses to a wond'rous Pitch of Mirth and Gayety; but in few hours, they must renew the means, or their agreeable and brisk Deportment, will be soon Transform'd to a surprizing Dullness, and unguess'd Stupidity.

An excellent Custom to encourage Industry.

THERE is an admirable Custom, First no doubt design'd as an Encouragement to Industry, by so perswasive an Example, that the Sultan's must profess some certain Trade, or Calling, so to be the better able, shou'd their Fate require it, to get their livings by their own Hand-Labour. Thus, some are Taught the Art of Turning Cups and Balls in Lignum Vitae; others learn to dress up Turbants; some make Bows, and some Embroider; every one in short, who has the smallest prospect of Succession to the Throne of Turkey, being Taught some useful and Ingenious Art, to Honour and Promote Industrous Applications.

I have as fully Treated of their ways of living in this Chapter, as is needful or diverting to the Reader, who may see thereby, that tho' they boast no Sun-shine of illustrious Learning, nor the more Polite and Ceremonious Customs of the Christian World, they are not altogether void of form and order, in their Publick or their Private Wheels of Government: Proceed we now to trace them to their Graves, and see their Offices of Mourning and respect for such as having run the course of Nature, drop a sleep and make their Exits.

CHAP. XVI. Of the Turkish Funerals.

Moral reflections on the consequences of superstition.

TO what a strange degree will Superstition lead astray the Minds of Mortals! and how wonderfully Blinded in a Cloud of Ignorance, and Obstinacy, must our Senses lie, when even the Brightest Ray of Truth it self wants force to dissipate our Errors?

YET such a Darkness Sways the Judgment of the Turkish Nation, nor can even the plainest demonstrations of their most Ridiculous, Self-Contradictory, and Erroneous Principles, convince them of their folly; they are hardned in their Resolutions to persist Ʋnthinkingly in what they have so long Maintain'd; and the encreasing Weight of dangerous Pride has shut the Door against their Reason.

The Turks unhappy in a grounded obstinacy.

THE follies of our Lives forsake us seldom, where we see them not, and the unhappy Turks, believing all their Superstitious notions Sacred truth, Die as they Live, and have as strange and unaccountable Opinions of a future State between their Death, and gaining Paradise, as of the Pleasures, which they Dream, will there present themselves: Tis pity that a People so prodigiously Successfull and so full of Power, shou'd be Hood-wink'd from the knowledge of a more refin'd and Heavenly Doctrine; how true is that Expression of the Greek Theognis?

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

True Wisdom knows a more exalted Bliss,

Than Boundless Pow'r or Mighty Empire is.

FOR want of that the Turks mistake the Road to Truth, and Wander both in Life and Death, alike estrang'd from reason or the smallest share of solid Judgment.

The Ceremonies us'd by the Turks in Sickmens Chambers.

WHEN any of this People, Weak and Aged by the course of Nature, or perhaps invaded by the raging pains of a distemper'd Body, are suppos'd by their Acquaintance or Relations any ways in danger of approaching Death, they flock in Numbers to the Sick Mans Chamber, and endeavour to perswade him that he ought contentedly to meet his Fate, and Chearfully resign his Soul to him, who gave it; making him repeated Protestations of their great affection, and assurances that they had rather Die to keep him Company, than Live to lose his valued Conversation; they Sing incessantly in doleful strains, a kind of Melancholy Songs, whereby they think they Charm the Evil Angel, who attends to Kill him; the subject of these Songs is the profession of their Love, not much unlike, but far less Tuneful than the 17th. Ode of the second Book of Horace, where he thus Addresses his Expression to the indispos'd Maecenas.

Hor. Ode 17 lib. 2d.

Cur me querelis exanimas tuis?

Nec diis amicum est, nec mihi, te prius

Obire, Maecenas, mearum

Grande decus columenque rerum.

Ah, te meae si partem animae rapit

Maturior vis, quid moror altera?

Oh! why, Maecenas, shou'd you thus unkind,

With your complaining Murmurs rack my Mind?

Believe me, 'tis not kind to Heav'n nor me,

That you shou'd First to Death a Victim be;

You, the great Ornament of all my Fate,

And generous Prop of my depending State;

Ah! if too Swift a Call this Mournful Day,

Must Snatch my Souls dear better half away,

Why shou'd the other part, Imperfect, longer stay?

Their Ceremonies immediately on a Friends Death.

BUT when the Fleeting Breath of the departed Mortal has forsook his Body, and they find no further room for hope, they tear their Cloaths, and for a while abandon o'er their reason to the force of Passion, Weeping with a long Immoderate Sorrow, till at last, those Kinsmen farthest from his Blood, begin to Dry their Eyes, and strive to comfort him, whose nearness of Alliance to the Person of the Deceas'd, requires him to appear Chief Mourner at his Obsequies; they First Condole his loss and then proceed to such advice as the so late nam'd Horace gives his Brother Poet on the Death of Quinctilius.

Hor. Ode 2d lib. 1.

Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit:

Nulli flebilior, quam tibi, Virgili,

Tu frustra Pius, heu, non ita creditum,

Poscis Quinctilium Deos.

He's Dead, and when he lost his precious Breath,

A Thousand pious People Mourn'd his Death,

Yet none, O Virgil, does like you complain,

And ev'n your self, alas! lament in vain;

For not the utmost Pity you can show,

Will bring his summon'd Ghost, from the dark Shades below.

THE melancholy Mourner must a while resist their strongest Arguments, but by degrees is brought to own with them, the Notions of the same abovenam'd Author.

Durum, sed levius fit patientiâ,

Quicquid corrigere est nefas.

'Tis hard, but Patience makes that Burthen light,

'Gainst which 'tis vain to strive and sin to fight.

SO that when their Tears are dried away, and they have time for Ceremony, they proceed to do their other Duties in the following manner.

Their way of laying out dead Bodies.

THE Men by Men and Women by the help of their own Sex, are, in the midst of some large Room, laid out as here in England, on a Carpet, Mat, or something meaner, answerable to their Quality. A Crowd of Friends swarm round the Body, which is naked on the Ground, and having turn'd it nine times round and round, with Prayers, and Invocations for the Mercy of Almighty God, they lather it with Soap and Water, shaving it from head to foot with sharp edg'd Razors.

AFTER this they wash it clean with Milk and Water somewhat warm;
A very strange expression of respect.

then tie their Beads or other little Toys about his Limbs, which is a fashionable method of expressing their Affection: But the strangest Custom I have ever found among the Practices of any Nation, is a method they have got to wound their Bosoms, with a Pin, or Bodkin, and receive as much of their own Blood upon their Fingers end, as will enable them to write distinctly in a crimson Character, their Names and Ages, on the Breast of the Deceas'd.

How they fold the Body.

THEN fold they up the Body in a Linen Sheet, which twists about a dozen times the compass of the Corps, but is left open at the top and bottom for a pleasant sort of reason, which I shall hereafter mention, and which Superstition has perswaded them to think sufficient.

WHEN they bear 'em to the Grave, 'tis commonly about the close of Day, and with a numerous Train of the Acquaintance and Relations of the late Deceas'd; the manner, you will see describ'd at large in the Cut that is annex'd hereto; but for the Reader's further satisfaction, I will set down all the order, which the Turks observe at the most celebrated Funerals of Men of high and noted Quality.

Their forms of marching to a Funeral.

FIRST march a Train of grave Derveeshes, or the Priests of whom I spoke in a foregoing Chapter, these bear a certain number of large flaming Torches, and with melancholy Looks, and carefull, slow, and heavy Steps, foretell the People what is coming after them.

NEXT follow other Priests, who by their wringing Hands, and shaking Heads, and other such expressive signs of Sorrow, seem as much concern'd as if the Parts they only act were true and real.

AN EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, Which Represents the Prospect of a TURKISH FUNERAL.

- A. A. THE Grave, and People, gather'd round it.

- B. B. B. The Church-Yard.

- C. The Torch Bearers.

- D. D. D. The Priests, and hir'd Mourners.

- E. E. E. E. Four Fine Led Horses.

- F. F. The Trailers of the Ensigns.

- G. The Turbant, which lies at the Head of the Bier, and Marks the Quality of the Deceas'd.

- H. The Dead Body, upon the Bier.

- I. Two Priests, who follow the Corps.

- K. K. K. K. K. The Company, Invited to the Funeral.

- L. L. Two Christian Travellers, looking on.

- M. The Guide, who attends them.

To Sr Alexander Cairnes of Monaghan •…n the Kingdom of Ireland Baronet •his Representation of a Turkish Funeral is Respectfully Dedicated.

The Turks all mourn in White.

THEN come several Men, who bear along large Ensigns trailing far upon the Ground behind 'em; after them four, six, or Ten led Horses, at an equal distance, led by Grooms on foot, come slowly forward, cover'd to the Heels with fine white Cloth, (for that's the Turkish Mourning) treading with a grave and heavy step, as if they knew the Cause of their Appearance.

How the Body lies upon the Bier.

NOW comes the Body, carried on a Bier by four tall Men, half cover'd over with the Mourning Cloath, which falls about 'em from the Bier and hangs upon the Ground, the Corps is born head foremost through the City, wrap'd in Linen, with his Face uncover'd, and a Turbant at his Crown, whose shape or magnitude denotes his Quality; they never bury them in Coffins, so they lie all open to the publick View, bestrew'd with every Flower, which may happen then to flourish.

BEHIND the Corps immediately appear two venerable Priests, with Turbants of a large and stately size, who, all the way they go, with elevated Eyes, and Arms extended, sometimes striking furiously against their Breasts, call vehemently on the Name of God, pronouncing it a thousand times, with awfull Sound and melancholy Accent.

The Close of the Procession.

IN the rear of the Procession walk his Friends, in gracefull Order two by two, with Handkerchiefs, to wipe away the Tears they shed for grief or fashion. Women go not to the Funerals of Men, nor Men to those of Women, unless it be a number for their Safety, and performance of the Ceremonies requisite in Burials.

Their Church yards, how, and where plac'd.

CHURCH-YARDS among the Turks are always plac'd without the Town, or in some wild and vacant Place within it; as for Ground they never mind to chuse it level, Hills and Dales are all alike, and for the space of sometimes full three Miles about, you see a sort of Grove or Wood (if the Expression be allow'd) of lofty Stones, for at the head and foot of every Grave, is plac'd a Marble, of the shape and bigness of a common Man: The only way they have to signalize the Memory of Noblemen, I mean great Officers among them, is to carve the tops of both the Stones they fasten at his Grave, to represent a Turbant of a size or form, which speaks his Quality; they strow the Ground with odoriferous Flowers, and often plant such little Trees and Herbs as are for ever green and flourishing.
A charitable Custom of the Turkish Women.

Three times a Week the Women meet in all their Coemitery's, to condole the loss of dead Relations, with continued howlings for about two Hours, leaving, when they go away, on every Grave, Meat, Drink, and Money, as a charitable Offering to the numerous Poor, who afterwards come in, and taking what they find there left, do gratefully repeat a certain number of Petitions for the Soul of the Deceas'd, proportionable to the Alms bestow'd upon them.

Their Ceremonies at the Grave,

HITHER then they bring the Corps, and coming to the Grave, first lay it on the Earth and gather round it, every one repeating Prayers for his Delivery from the Punishment of Purgatory, for they hold (as I have said before) a middle State; this done, they bury him without a further Ceremony, and filling up the Grave with Earth, return again in order as they came.

A very strange Notion of an Examination in the Grave.

NOW says the Turkish Doctrine, they no sooner leave the Body in the Ground, but up start two black, horrid Angels, with their Hands of Steel, and Heads of Fire; these immediately rejoin the Soul and Body, and by force oblige the frighted Wretch to sit upright, while they with great sharp Knives of fiery Substance, cut the Body widely open, and examine nicely all his Heart, to see what sort of Life he led while here on Earth; if they perceive his good Deeds more in number than his evil Actions, they with humble Congees sneak away, and in their room, come two bright Spirits from the Realms of Bliss, who lay him gently down to rest again, and sitting, one to guard his Head, the other to protect his Feet, attend him so till the Great Day of Ʋniversal Judgment.

The Punishments they fancy Ill-Men undergo.

BUT if they find (as ten to one they do) that his ill Actions have surpass'd his Good ones, one black Angel with an Hammer of a thousand Weight, with fury strikes him on the Head and beats him eighteen Fathoms under Ground; by which time being turn'd in passage like a Shuttlecock, the other Fiend receives him at the bottom with another Blow as fatal as the former, and thereby sends him swiftly up again, so continuing to knock him up and down, 'till Mahomet their Prince of Mercy, shall in gracious pity of his human Frailties, condescend to grant a short Reprieve, which being pass'd, the bloody Executioners strait fall to work again, as roughly as before; and this Opinion so prevails in their Imaginations, that they always, in their prayers for Friends deceas'd, implore the Mercy of Almighty God, to ease them from the Torture of the two black Angels. And it is for these two Fiend's conveniency, that, as I said before, the Winding Sheet is left unty'd at top and bottom.

NINE Days successively the dead Man's Friends assemble at his Grave, and pray together for the Welfare of his Soul; that time of mourning over, they erect a Monument of little cost, (but not unless he was of a distinguish'd Quality) upon the flats whereof appear, engrav'd in Turkish Characters, the several Graces and accomplish'd Excellencies, which adorn'd his Person with peculiar Merit while he liv'd and flourish'd.

A pleasant kind of Burial.

SOME are buried in their Gardens, and have Tombs built over them, adorn'd with Jessamines, and all the odoriferous Plants, which blooming Spring perfumes the World with, whose delightful Shades embracing with a sort of melancholy closeness, the half cover'd Pillars of Thebaick Marble, afford a pleasing and surprizing Prospect, through a grated Opening in the outward Wall; form'd purposely to let all Passengers behold the Monument.

The Mausolaeums of the Turkish Emperors.

THE Sultans, who have built large Mosques in Constantinople, and, who shall be spoken of in the Chapter relating to that City, have their rich and stately Mausolaeums near the Temples, where assemble daily numbers of poor Pilgrims, who receive a certain Alms to pray for the departed Soul, of him, whose Liberality they then are blest with; many Lamps are constantly kept burning, and a set of Priests maintain'd on purpose to inspect the Duties of the Place, which are both numerous and superstitious even beyond imagination.

Epitaphs of Modern use among the Turks.

'TIS seldom known that any other Epitaph is plac'd upon a Tomb, than just a plain account of the Condition, Name, Age, Sex and time of Burial of the Person there interr'd, yet 'tis of late become a Custom with the Richest and most Noble of their People here and there, to order certain short and witty Verses, to be made upon the Vertues of the Dead, and either carv'd or writ in Golden Letters on the Marble Monument; I will transcribe and print in English one or two of different kinds; that you may better guess their manner of composing them. Here follows one, upon the Death of Ishmael Bashaw, the Governor of Constantinople, who was kill'd in Battle, at the great Defeat the Turks receiv'd in passing o'er the River Raab in Hungary, to fight the German and Hungarian Forces, under the Command of General Montecuculi on the 27th of July, Anno Domini, 1664.

An Epitaph upon a Turkish General, kill'd in Battle by the Germans.

Here, by his two good Angels guarded, lies,

Ishmael Bashaw, in War the German's Prize,

They kill'd him basely e'er the Stream he pass'd,

He won, but lost again, because he won too fast:

O Infidels beware, he, who perplext

Your Souls while in this World, will damn 'em in the Next.

ANOTHER follows of a merry Strain, upon a certain Orange Merchant, who died in his first Wives Arms, upon his Wedding Night; in which they seem to shew a love of Puns, by jesting on his Profession.

An Epitaph upon a Man, who died in his Wives Arms, on his Wedding Night.

Alas, alas! here free from Cares and Strife,

Lies one embrac'd to death by his first Wife;

Had'st thou been sow'r, as Persian Limons are,

Thou had'st not met a Fate so sharp, so rare;

But as thou wa'st an Orange thou art dead,

For Women love such Sweetness, ev'n in Bed:

And she, who by thee chanc'd that Night to lie,

Tasted thee, found thee sweet, and quickly suck'd thee dry.

I cou'd insert some others, which I now have by me, but the two above-written will suffice to shew their Genius, and the Turkish tast of Wit in Epitaphs.

CHAP. XVII. Of the Publick and Private Buildings of Turkey.

The Reason why the Turks neglect great Buildings.

AMONGST the various and innumerable Follies, which possess the Turks, they boast one Prudence and maintain it with an Argument, that is, 'Tis indiscreet and next to madness, to employ their Thoughts and constant Labours in the raising lofty and stupendious Palaces, whose solid Forms may probably outlive the very Memory of their forgotten Founders. Why shou'd we, cry the Turks, bestow our Cares and Riches on the vain Contrivance of magnificent and stately Structures, when we neither know if we shall live to Morrow, nor are sure to leave our sumptuous Habitations to an Heir's Possession of our Race, or our Religion; Horace wisely in his second Book and eighteenth Ode reproves this Folly.

Hor. Ode 18. Lib. 2.

Tu secanda marmora

Locas sub ipsum funus: & sepulchri

Immemor, struis domos.

In hewing Marble all thy Hours

Unthinking Wretch, roll on,

When the swift Call of Death's keen Pow'rs,

Shall snatch thee hence anon.

In building Palaces of State,

You waste your measur'd Breath,

Vainly affecting to look Great,

Ʋnmindfull of your Death.

The ancient Buildings of Greece, quite ruin'd, and forgotten.

NOR are there now remaining many of those vast and unexampled Buildings of Antiquity, whose stately Spires and venerable Piles in former times, were wont to crown the face of Greece with an amazing Majesty; almost all those ancient Marks of Pride and Grandeur are entirely ruin'd, and effac'd from even the nicest ken of curious Observation, and if any yet remain, they are so mouldred and deform'd by penetrating time and Ages Injuries, that they will hardly serve to any other end, than the presenting a Memento to the Frailties of Mortality, and telling lookers on with a prevailing Silence, and the horrid Marks of an experienc'd desolation, what Ausonius says, when he declares that

Mors etiam saxis, nominibusque venit.

How wide alas! does Death's Dominion fly,

When ev'n our Names themselves, and Stones must die!

The Publick Buildings more magnificent.

THE Turks, however negligent in the magnificent and lasting Structure of their Houses, spare no Pains, no Art, nor Money in their Publick Buildings; such as Mosques, or Churches, Bagnio's, Hans, and Hospitals, which with their common dwelling Houses, form the Subject of this Chapter, and shall at large be treated of in their respective Places.

The situation of their Mosques.

AND first their Mosques, as dedicated to the Service of the Great Almighty, tho' in an erroneous and mistaken way of Worship, claim our Observation. They are ever situated on some elevated Hill, or rising spot of Ground, thereby appearing more majestically Great, and Tow'ring; the common ones are seldom found so stately as our Country Churches, and may be more particularly conceiv'd, if the Reader will be pleas'd to look upon the Form; exactly represented in the Figure mark'd by the Letter (O) in the Cut of a Graecian Wedding in the one and twentieth Chapter.

BUT the Royal Mosques, or such as have from Age to Age been founded by the mighty Turkish Emperors, deserve a more particular and full Description, which take as follows;
The Turks unskill'd in the ancient Orders of Architecture.

first observing that the Turks, unskill'd in ancient Orders of Iönick, Dorick, or Corinthian Buildings, practice methods independent on the Customs of our Europaean Architecture, and proceed by measures altogether new, and owing to the Product of their own Invention.

The description of a Royal Turkish Mosque.

THEY are built entirely of a spotless White and shining Marble, round in form, and rising to a large and stately Cupola, supported nobly by a double, sometimes treble row of Pillars of a different Order each from other, yet without a Name whereby I can express them in the British Language; their Capitals and Bases are not seldom form'd of Brass, and frequently the Columns ring'd about with a continued Piece of twining Carv'd-Work of that very Marble, which composes the Pillar; sometimes other Workmanship adorns them, not unlike that rais'd Work, which Italian Architects distinguish by the Name of Basso relievo; very often they are left quite plain, but admirably polish'd by an Art which gives them lasting Lustre.

A sort of Turret, not unlike the Monument in London.

THE Capitals of these high Pillars support not only the above-nam'd Dome or Cupola, but a broad Marble Gallery, which running round the whole Circumference, at several Doors admits an ent'rance from four, six, or eight tall Turrets, which surround the outside of the Mosque, and are erected of an equal magnitude from top to bottom, rising from the Ground, and reaching half as high again as to the Center of the Cupola; at equal distance from each other every Turret is adorn'd with two, three, sometimes four large Tarrasses, exactly like the Gallery upon the Monument on Fish-street-Hill, in London; whence Priests appointed for that Duty, call the People to assemble in the Mosques at their divided Hours of Prayer.

A glorious Appearance.

THE Cupola's, which often are surrounded with an hundred others, small and close together like a bunch of Grapes, are, with these small ones, richly gilded, as are frequently the Spires of the above-nam'd Turrets, so that the Sun-beams reflected gloriously from their all dazling Lustre, strike the Eyes of gazing Strangers with a sort of new, surprizing Pleasure.

Religious Washing Places.

ROUND the bottom of the outward Building are erected many Cisterns, curiously contriv'd with brazen Cocks, affording Water for the Ceremonious Washings of the zealous Turks, who hold it an unpardonable Crime, to enter any Mosque before their Bodies are prepar'd by Washings, as directed by the Precepts of their Prophet Mahomet.

The fineness of the Marble sides and floors.

A stately Portico admits them to these Mosques, of wonderfull contrivance, and extensive magnitude; here all, who enter, leave their Slippers, and advance bare-footed, upon Mats or Carpets, which are spread at large, and cover neatly all the Floor, which with the sides, is flagg'd with admirable Squares of polish'd Marble, join'd so closely, that in many Places 'tis a difficult attempt to undertake a quick discovery of any Joynt.

Images esteem'd Idolatrous.

ALL Images, as I have said before, are so abhorr'd by the Mahometans, that they esteem it an Idolatrous Offence to have 'em in their Houses, so that consequently they are never found in Mosques, or Places consecrated to the Practice of Religion;
The use of Niches, in the Turkish Mosques.

yet tho' Images are disallow'd, the compass of the inner Wall of all their Mosques is full of Niches, such as in the Europaean Piles, contain fine Statues, but are here appointed to another use; for being large and deep beyond the Christian Form, they fill the surface of those spacious Hollows, with the oft-repeated Names of God and Mahomet, in broad and shining Golden Characters.

FROM the great Gallery, which I just now inform'd you was supported by the Capitals of those vast rows of Pillars which secure the Building, certain broad and stately Arches sloping downwards through the Body of the Church, between the Columns and the bottom of the Cupola, surprize a Stranger with a distant Prospect of the sides of the Mosque and all within it, terminating nobly in the late-nam'd Niches, rendred stately by the golden Names of God and Mahomet.

WITHIN the Temples ever burn prodigious Numbers of Glass Lamps, which hang about ten Foot above the Ground, illuminating Day and Night the Body of the Church with a surprizing Brightness, and requiring such an annual Charge for the supply of Oyl and Cotton, that Revenues are appropriated to that single use; and such amazing Numbers still continue burning in their Royal Mosques, that I dare hardly hope belief when I inform my Reader that in the Mosque call'd Sancta Sophia, at Constantinople,
An incredible Number of ever-burning Lamps.

no fewer Lamps are always lighted than Thirty Thousand, and some outward Odd Ones.

A Description of the Turkish Bagnio's.

TO every Mosque belongs a Bagnio, which as, much frequented by the Turish People, is esteemed a Building of no small Importance; these are often, tho' not always, built of Marble, Square and Spacious, all divided into many and convenient Chambers, Sweating Rooms and Cooling Baths, which each makes use as he finds himself inclin'd; in every one of these Divisions different Cocks of Brass admit what quantity of Water Hot or Cold they think convenient; and since, as I have said before, the Men and Women knowing constantly the Hours of eithers Bathing, never offer at immodest Entrance, there is no Precaution taken to prevent an Insolence the Laws of Turkey Punish so severely. All the Doors are therefore carelessly left open, and the Modestest of all their Women, Wives or Virgins, Bath securely in unguarded Nakedness, as never apprehending they are liable to any kind of Danger.

A Merry Story of an English Cook, who caught some Turkish Ladies Naked in a Bagnio.

YET what withholds the Bold presumption of a curious Ignorance? 'tis not many Years ago since an Assembled Company of Naked Ladies, were unexpectedly surpriz'd by an Adventurous Tarpawlin, Cook on Board an English Merchant Ship, then lying in the Harbour: He was Rambling up and down about the City, when coming by a Turkish Bagnio, built of Marble, Round and not extreamly Large, he took it for a Cockpitt, and perceiving Nobody deny'd him Entrance, was resolv'd to see a little Sport; so in he went, but had not pass'd two outward Rooms before he made a full discovery of his mistake, and something else which the poor Frighted Ladies Shreik'd their Anger at; but the Attendants of the Bagnio being Naked in performance of their Office, and the Starting Britain nimble Heel'd, and Quick to Apprehend his danger, He escap'd and ran directly to his Fellows whom he left upon the Waterside, and got on board without suspicion, so that he can truly boast he was Eye-Witness of a Curiosity unknown perhaps till then, to the most esteem'd and favourite Breast of any Christian.

A Description of the Turkish Hans.

NEXT come their Han's a sort of Square Stone Buildings, for the Entertainment and Reception of promiscuous Travellers, some of these have Lodgings and Conveniencies of Diet, to deliver Gratis to whosoever asks it, which has been the gift of some Deceas'd Rich Officer, as are indeed most Buildings of this kind throughout all Turkey.

OTHERS only give them Room for Carriages and Cattle, which are Rang'd in Rows along the Middle of the Han, whose Sides are all divided into large Partitions, each whereof contains a Chimney, where the Company who take it up, may dress their Meat, and Sleep on Mats if Weariness inclines them, for nothing else can possibly occasion even the least repose, in such a Wretched Place, with such Companions as are generally met withal, and in the midst of such confus'd and strange variety of endless Noises.

The Inconveniency of Turkish Hospitals.

INFIRMARIES or Hospitals are commonly Stone Buildings of a large Quadrangular design, not much unlike our own, but that the Beds lie open to each other, no Apartments being form'd to keep the Sick of one Distemper from Diseases of another kind, but inconsiderately exposing all to Publick View, and dangerous Conversation.

Description of their common Dwelling Houses.

NOW let us look upon their common Houses, and we shall perceive them poor and mean, ill-contriv'd, and never higher than one single Story, they are generally built (I mean the Frames) of green, unseason'd Timber, cas'd with Mud, or unbak'd Bricks half hard'ned in the Sun, which is the cause that, yielding to the Weather, they can seldom stand above ten Years, without expensive trouble in a general Repair; and another Inconvenience, which attends their way of Building, is, that by the sudden Moistures, and as sudden Heats these Bricks are subject to, a sort of black and deadly Scorpions breed so frequently in all their Walls, that I have had them often fall upon my Cloaths as I have walk'd about their finest Houses.

THE meanest of their Buildings rise a little in the Roof, and form a low and arch-like Ridge, defended from the Rain by Slates or Tiles, of odd contrivance, and have a sort of Gallery or Balcony built quite round them:
Description of their finest Houses.

The better sort, are sometimes rais'd to moderate heighth by an unpolish'd kind of Stone of greyish Colour; they open from the Street with low and ill-made wooden Doors, to spacious Courts or Yards, which lead 'em to an ill-contriv'd and timber Stair-case, that admits 'em to an Hall, where wait Attendants at a Door; which opens into the more rich and private Chambers.

ROUND the above-nam'd Court-Yard are the several Offices, as Stables, Kitchen, Cellar, Buttery, and the other necessary Places in a Great Man's Family.

Pleasant Rooms.

THE best Apartments, tho' not stately, are beyond imagination pleasant and agreable, for some are floor'd with Oak, all cover'd over with fine Mats, or Carpets, painted on the Sides and Cieling with an hundred various Colours, richly intermix'd with Gold and Silver, and adorn'd with little Wands of Deal, cut long and in a semicircular form, the Flats whereof are glew'd on cross ways to the colour'd Roof, and form a sort of square confusion, or agreable irregularity; one half of all these Rooms is rais'd about a Foot above the other, call'd the Saffrai, which I have before occasionally mention'd; and is generally that side of any Room, which looking out upon the Gardens, adds a double beauty to the Place it self, which is alone sufficiently agreable, by being cover'd with the richest Carpets, and surrounded on the sides with fine embroidred Velvet Cushions, upon which they sit or lean by Day, to eat drink, talk, or entertain their Family;
How the Turkish Beds are made.

and where at Night their Beds are made, not soft with Down, but stuff'd with Camel's Hair, Sheeps Wool, or Cotton.

OTHER Rooms are pav'd with fine and various colour'd Marble, having Fountains of a round, triangular, square, oval, or what other form their Fancy leads 'em to make choice of, in the midst of the Apartment;
A melancholy but delightfull Amusement.

and several others trickling gently from the hollow Wall, and falling with a sort of melancholy murmuring, upon thin Shells of Brass, contriv'd on purpose to resound the Notes of the complaining Waters, and compleat thereby the dulcid Entertainment, of a charming, natural, and yet uncommon Harmony.

THE Turks delight extreamly in a Country Life, retiring often to some rural Seat, to please themselves in Solitude, to which end also, they have very large and costly Gardens to their City Houses, where tho' 'tis allow'd, they neither know nor covet Christian Arts of Planting Flowers, and marking out their Ground in orderly Divisions;
The Turkish Gardens form a sort of natural Paradise.

they yet contrive so charmingly to imitate soft Natures Sweetness, in their Wildernesses, Groves, and shady Bowers, that walking underneath the Covert of the meeting Boughs, and undistinguish'd Avenues, they seem possess'd of that Elyzian Happiness, describ'd as follows by Tibullus.

Sed me, quod facilis tenero sum semper amori,

Ipsa Venus campos ducet Elysios.

Hic Choreae, cantusque vigent: passimque vagantes

Dulce sonant tenui gutture carmen aves.

Fert casiam non culta seges, totosque per agros

Floret odoratis terra benigna rosis.

Ad juvenum series teneris immista puellis

Ludit: & assiduè praelia miscet amor.

Since gentle Love with ease my Heart invades,

Venus shall guide me to Elyzian Shades;

There, Songs and Dances swell full tides of Joy,

And Birds from Tree to Tree their Wings employ,

Stretching for dulcid Strains their tunefull Throats,

And chanting Harmony in warbling Notes.

Ʋncultivated Shrubs yield Cassia there,

And all the kindly Soil does fragrant Roses bear.

There lovely Nymphs with amorous Shepherds toy,

Mix'd by kind Love in Skirmishes of Joy.

IT may not be improper under the Head of Turkish Building, to introduce a Word or two concerning their Skill in the Art of Fortification, which, far inferior to the Christian Practice, you may take as follows.

The Turkish Art of Fortification.

THEY have no Opinion of the lofty Bastions, Horn-works, Ravelins, Counterscarps, Tenaille's, or Out-works of the Christians; but level all their Modern Works within a little of the Ditches, which surround 'em; which, tho' less chargeable, they hold as efficacious to oppose Approaches as the other Method: But their chief security, and whole dependance, is in undermining all their Works, which they do so dexterously, that by sinking one below another, they can blow up Bull-warks after they are taken, three several times, so often ruining the Efforts of their Enemies.

The Turks the best Defenders of a Town, and why.

THE Turks of any Nation are the best in the defence of Towns Besieg'd, for Priests, or Politicks, have craftily infus'd a Notion in their Minds, that he, who being garrison'd in any Fort belonging to the Sultan, lives to see the Infidels possess it, shall not only lose his Prophet's Favour, but forever be excluded from the future Blessings of expected Paradise.

The Turkish Prisons, few, and weak, and why.

I shou'd add a little of the Turkish Prisons, which the Reader may perhaps, expect of Strength and Number, in proportion to their Cruelty, and Arbitrary Power, which the Sultan exercises; but that very Cruelty is, on the contrary, the only reason why there are in Turkey very few, and those weak Prisons; for the Justice or Injustice of the Sentence, which condemns a Criminal of any kind, is so speedily inflicted, that there frequently are known but fourteen Hours between the Crime and Execution; so that any Place will hold the Guilty, since, for reasons mention'd in the Part foregoing, an Escape from Justice is esteem'd impracticable.

CHAP. XVIII. Of the City of Constantinople.

The Antiquity of Constantinople.

THIS Great and Famous Town, the Subject of this Chapter, and an ancient Seat of Grandeur and Authority, was built about the time wherein the Persian Empire flourish'd o'er the Eastern World, her Founder's Name was Byza, whence she took her first denomination of Byzantium, and continued an obscure and inconsiderable City till the Reign of Pausanias King of Sparta.

When, Conquer'd by the Romans.

TO him it fell the Prize of War, he won it by Assault, and gloriously rebuilt, enlarg'd, and strengthen'd it; insomuch, that long enjoying peacefull Plenty, she continued Mistress of a fix'd Security, and after three Years vigorous Defence, became a dear and bloody Victim, to the conquering Army of Severus an ambitious Roman Emperor.

How rendred Great and Glorious.

SHE chang'd her Masters, but continued notwithstanding, in the same Condition as to Power or Character, till the Choice of that illustrious Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, distinguish'd her by bright and shining Honours from all other Cities, stripping Rome of all her Glories, to adorn this happy Favorite of his Fancy; and in short removing from the Western World the mighty Seat of universal Empire, to dignifie this new Elected Eastern City with that envied Title, and conferring on his rich and stately Residence, the celebrated Name of Constantinople, thereby expressing that he plac'd her Welfare, in an equal balance with his own Prosperity, and had elected that one Place of all the World, to be the proud and splendid Scene of his amazing Grandeur.

TO draw Inhabitants from Rome to this new City, he decreed that Citizens and Freemen of the one, shou'd all of course, be free of t'other, robbing Italy of many Monuments of Conquest and Antiquity, and transplanting endless Numbers to Constantinople,
How long it flourish'd.

which continued from the Year of Christ, 331, to 1453, in all the Glories of unrival'd Plenty, and extended Power; under a successive Race of formidable Monarchs, who possess'd a large and uncontroul'd Dominion over distant Territories, and enroll'd the Glories of their Great Metropolis, in the Politest, nay the foremost Leaf of Fame's bright Register. But how uncertain and delusive are the Honours of Mortality! And all the shining Trains of Pageantry, which join to flatter us with promis'd Fortune! What Condition of our frail Humanity is permanent or solid? Or as Juvenal has it in his tenth Satyr.

Juv. Sat. 10.

—Quae praeclara & prospera tanti,

Ʋt rebus laetis par sit mensura malorum?

Where can be found that uncomplaining State,

Or where the Master of so blest a Fate,

That they can freely and sincerely say,

Ours is a griefless Joy, and Bliss without Allay?

When Constantinople was taken by the Turks.

AMBITION and the wild distractions of intestine Discords, shook at last to worse than nothing that divided Empire, and involv'd her Children in a bloody Ruin, by the conquering Arms of Turkish Enemies, who in the Year above-nam'd, won by storm that miserable City, which with different Fortunes has born different Names; and reign'd by turns the fam'd Metropolis and favour'd Residence of the ancient Roman, Graecian, and the present Turkish Emperors, who now have chang'd her Name from Constantinople, to Stambole,
Her present Turkish Name.

the Etymology of which Arabian Word is by the Turks interpreted, Fair Peace and Plenty.

Moral Reflections on the instability of Fortune.

LEARN O Mortals by the Fate of Empires, not to swell imprudent Thoughts with Sails of Pride for any frail and transitory Gifts of fickle Fortune, when you plainly see how roughly she insults, and swiftly tyrannizes over boundless Monarchies, whose unimagin'd Paleness of to days declining State, so strongly gives the lye to the deceitfull gloss of glittering Yesterday. Well judg'd the Greek who thus defin'd her fickle Nature.

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Fortune makes wretched humane things her sport,

And triumphs from the Hovel to the Court;

Those, who but just before, she downward hurl'd,

She lifts again to shine above the World;

Whilst he, she late exalted to the Skies,

Is thrown to Beds of Clay, and on vile Dunghills lies.

The Beauties and Conveniencies of Constantinople.

LET us then proceed to view this City in her modern Dress, perhaps, not less illustrious tho' more enslav'd, than when she shon the Empress of the gazing Universe; her Situation as I have before observ'd, has open'd all the Gates of Plenty and Command to her unbounded Sway and Traffick, and the unexampled Beauties of the Prospects she affords, are such as render her the Seat of Pleasure, and the Paradise of Nature.

Her form and situation.

THE Town is built of form triangular, and lies upon a Cape of Land, which gently rises with a smooth acclivity, to a considerable imminence of Ground. The Eastern side is water'd by the Bosphorus, or Channel, which divides the Euxine from the Hellespontic Sea, about seven Leagues in length, in breadth three quarters of an English Mile. A spacious Haven of unequal'd depth, security, and beauty lies upon its Northern Line, and to the West, 'tis bounded by the Continent.

The circuit of the Town, and how fortified.

THE Compass of the Town is sixteen Miles, surrounded strongly by a triple Wall, with Towers and Ditches, the remaining labour of the ancient Greeks, whose Arms and Names are yet perceivable, carv'd here and there, upon the Stones: Five Gates of four and twenty open to the Land, and nineteen look upon the Sea or Haven, into which no Ship can come, which does not first pass almost closely by the Point of the Great Turk's Seraglio, which compleatly forms one Angle of the City; and the Buildings rising gradually on seven easy Hills, each crown'd with a magnificent and stately Mosque, whose Spires and Domes are richly gilded, and most strangely intermix'd with Groves of Cypress in the Gardens of their Houses, form a Scene so lovely and surprizing, that the ravish'd Traveller believes himself approaching to a Place no less agreeable, than was the fam'd Elyzium of the ancient Poets.

A wonderfull Disappointment.

BUT nothing can be possibly a greater Disappointment than I found at entrance; all those bright and golden Glories, which had tempted at a distance lost their Beauties in a nearer View;
The Ill-condition of the Town of Constantinople.

and I, instead of an expected Heaven, was amaz'd to find a Hell of darkness; narrow Streets, with dirty Causeways on each broken side, and Windows hanging over, almost meeting in a dark conjunction; low mudd Cottages, and wide divisions, all o'er-grown with Grass or Bushes, and unpleasant Prospects of dead Walls and crooked Lanes, no Glass in any of their Windows, but instead thereof, old rotten Lettices, half stuff'd with dirty Rags of various Colours, and half cover'd over with a sort of thick, white, pasted Paper; every thing in short, but their great Buildings, such as Mosques, or Bagnio's, Han's, or Palaces of powerfull Officers, meanly representing to a Stranger's View, the roughest side of shamefull Poverty, seeming to upbraid the base Inhabitants with their dejected Slavery, in all the shocking Marks of miserable Servitude.

HOWEVER, many stately Publick Edifices well deserve a full description, and in order thereunto, omitting purposely the Great Seraglio, the South-West-Wall whereof divides it from the City, because I shall discourse apart of that proud Palace of the Turkish Tyrants, in in the nineteenth Chapter. I proceed to speak of all things else in proper Order.

The Sultan visits Sancta Sophia every Friday.

AND first, among the many Royal Mosques, which crown the highest Places in Constantinople, none comes near the fam'd Sophia, standing not far distant from the Sultan's Palace, who resorts thereto each Friday in a publick State. By the description of this one the others Stateliness may easily be comprehended.

'TWOU'D be a needless labour to repeat the form, since what I mention'd in the foregoing Chapter, may sufficiently inform the Reader as to that particular; it shall suffice to say, that as no humane Imagination can conceive its wonderfull Magnificence, no mortal Pen can possibly describe it.
A description of that glorious Temple.

'Tis in short, a faultless and unequal'd Edifice, yet not the Work of Turkish Architects, for 'twas erected in the Reign of the Emperor Justinian, and remains unrival'd Queen of Temples, notwithstanding more than half her beauteous Ornaments have been maliciously defac'd by Turkish Superstition.

How much it has been defac'd by Turkish Superstition.

FOR all that excellent Mosaic Work, which so amazingly adorn'd the Floor and Sides with shining Figures of a thousand various Forms and Colours, is at present either hid by Mats and Carpets, effac'd by Iron Instruments, or quite daub'd over with an Inch-thick Plaster. The Stone and Brazen Statues of the Graecian Emperors have lost their Heads, and are become disguis'd by the repeated Efforts of licentious Insolence. The deep and admirable Cisterns, which were form'd amidst the Vaults belonging to that Temple, and supplied with Water from stupendious Aquaeducts, now almost ruin'd by the mouldring rust of Time, and base Effects of Sloth and Ignorance.

Her further Encomiums.

YET is the venerable Pile in spite of Accident adorn'd with such a Sacred, Lofty, and Majestic Aspect, that her tow'ring Roof, bright gilded Dome, and artfull Cupola's, her marble Pillars and unnumbred Ornaments, combine to strike an awfull Reverence thro' the Breasts of Strangers, obliging them to own they see in Her, a sort of shining Glory, which our modern Buildings in their richest Splendour fail to equalize.

A Sweating Pillar.

AMONGST the numerous Rarities this Church affords, there is a large black Marble Pillar, plated from the Basis to the Capital with Sheets of Copper, which at certain Hours of every Day throughout the Year, emits a sort of vap'rous Moisture, and is therefore call'd the Sweating Column; whence this odd Effect shou'd probably arise I cannot guess, but 'tis the common Notion of both Turks and Graecians, that it was the Pillar whereunto the Officers of Pilate bound our Saviour when they scourg'd him, and upon this only ground, (perswaded to believe the Drops afford some secret Blessing, or prevailing Vertue;) you may see great numbers of promiscuous People wiping off the Moisture with their Cloaths or Foreheads, some expecting by its sovereign Power, to be protected from the least Misfortune.

A Door of Noah's Ark.

FOUR Doors it boasts, of stately heighth and curious Workmanship, the Wood whereof the largest is compos'd is said to be a part of Noah's-Ark, and therefore, (being purposely left open in some parts, the rest all plated over.) Multitudes of poor and superstitious People, come, and kneeling in the hallow'd Portico, imprint their Kisses on the holy Timber, with a sort of mad and zealous transport.

Description of the Hippodrom.

WITHIN the View of the above-nam'd Temple, stands the Hippodrom, a large round Spot of Ground like Lincolns-Inn-Fields, surrounded with the best and noblest Buildings of the City; about the middle of this spacious Circle, stands a very large and stately Obelisk, of rich Thebaick Marble; on one Pedestal whereof may be discover'd these remains of some antique Inscription.

A Theban Obelisk.

DIFFIC — S — QƲO — — DOMINIS PAR — JƲSS — — EXTINCTIS PALM — — — O — — — — CEDƲNT — — — — NNI T — — SIC VICTƲS CECOD — — — EBƲS. JƲDIC — — — ATƲS AD AƲR — — —

IT is impossible hereby to guess at what the meaning was, so 'twou'd be vain presumption to attempt Interpreting those broken Sentences. Directly opposite upon another side of the same Pedestal remain these Characters. ‘ΚΙΟΝΑ ΤΕΤ — — Ρ — — ΛΕΧ — — — — ΜΟΥΝΟ — — Θ — — ΔΟSΙ — — — ΒΑSΙS — — — — ΕΠ — Κ — — — — ΔΕ — ΚΙΩΝ ΗΕΔΙΟCΕΝ — — — — — — — ΔΥΩ —’

The Pillar of Snakes.

NOT far from this Thebaick Obelisk, there is a Pillar form'd of Brass, wreath'd upwards in the shape of three large Serpents, looking from the top to three distinct corners of the City, in the figure of a just, proportional Triangle; what the meaning of this ancient Hieroglyphick was, is now unknown; but this is certain, that the Turks have had some grounds to look upon it as an ominous remain of Magic Skill; since just two Months before the Deposition of their Sultan Ibrahim, one Head fell off as if it had been saw'd, which being fastned on again by some Ingenious Artist, kept its Place as firm as ever;
An ominous Observation

but about a Month before that great Rebellion some Years since, which ended in the Sultan's Death, and total ruin of his favorite Officers, another Head fell off, and was attended by as fatal Consequences as the former.

Another Obelisk, of several Stones.

ANOTHER Obelisk not far from thence, consisting of a wondrous number of large Stones, cemented artfully together, now entirely ruin'd, so as scarce to represent the form it bore, upon its Basis wears an ancient Greek Inscription so defac'd by Time, that 'tis a needless trouble to insert the broken Characters.

Constantine's Pillar.

THE Pillar, commonly distinguish'd by the Name of Constantine's, stands tolerably whole, but little more than twelve Foot high, excluding Capital and Basis; this Distich may be read with difficulty, round the top,

ΤΟ ΘΕΙΟΝ ΕΡΓΟΝ ΕΝΘΑΛΕ ΦΘΑΡΕΝ ΧΡΟΝΩ.

ΝΕΟΙ ΜΑΝΟΥΗΛ ΕΥΣΕΒΗΣ ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ.

A deep and most prodigious Cistern.

BENEATH this celebrated Hippodrom there is a very deep and vaulted Cistern, of incredible Extent, and formerly supplied with Water by a subterraneous Passage, in such plenty, that when Constantinople was invested fatally by Mahomet the Great, it yielded daily a sufficient quantity for all the numerous Inhabitants; but whether Avarice, or their dependance on their Strength, has made the Turks neglect repairing it I cannot tell, 'tis now quite ruin'd, all the Walls being fallen in, and rend'ring the Cistern consequently unfit for any future use or service.

Whence it took the Name of Hippodrom.

THIS Place was call'd the Hippodrom, from the Greek Word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, which signifies a Horse-Course, and to that sole use it was of old appointed: The Turks at present, call it Hatmahdan, which is as much as Riding Place in English. 'Tis here each Friday, that the most accomplish'd Horse-Men of the Turkish Court and Army, meet in Parties to encounter one another in the hurling the Geritts, which I so lately spoke of: They do it always with such wonderfull dexterity, that tho' their Darts are blunt, they imitate exactly even the roughest Shocks of real War; nor in their strange agility of Body, come below those youthfull Hero's, whom the tunefull Virgil celebrates as follows, in his fifth Aeneid.

Virg. Aen. 5.

Postquam omnem laeti consessum oculosque suorum

Lustravêre in Equis; signum clamore paratis

Epytides longè dedit, insonuitque flagello.

Olli discurrêre pares, atque Agmina terni

Diductis solvêre choris, rursusque vocati

Convertêre vias, infestaque tela tulêre.

Inde alios ineunt cursus aliosque recursus

Adversis spatiis, alternosque orbibus orbes

Impediunt, pugnaeque cient simulacra sub armis.

Et nunc terga fugae nudant; Nunc spicula vertunt

Infensi, factà pariter nunc pace feruntur.

Soon as with pleasure, they had view'd the Train,

And saw the gracefull Horse-men crown the Plain;

Epytides, who distant from the rest,

A lofty Station purposely possest,

Observ'd them ready swiftly to disjoin,

Then smartly crack'd his Whip, and gave th' expected Sign.

At once, the Troops by gallant Captains led,

Around the Plain in spacious Circles spread,

Then summon'd back, in diff'rent Lines appear,

Each Warlike Hand adorn'd with a sharp-pointed Spear;

Now march in adverse Files the stately Train,

Now changing Forms, renew their Ranks again,

And circling Rings in Rings, curvett along the Plain.

Thus they extend their artfull Wheelings far,

And wage with friendly Arms, a counterfeited War;

Now they by flight their naked Backs expose,

Then turn with lifted Spears, upon pursuing Foes;

Till Peace proclaim'd, they lay their Arms aside,

And mingling Ranks and Files, in gracefull Order ride.

The Historical Pillar.

IN the Womens Market, which the Turks distinguish by the Name of Auharat-Baasar, stands a Column of prodigious height, and such a curious Workmanship, that being full even from the Basis to the Capital with Hieroglyphic Figures representing, in a twining manner, by Towns, Castles, Ships and Horse-men, Battles, and a thousand other strange Devices, all the Rise and Progress of the Graecian Empire from its original Successes; the Figures are contriv'd of such proportionable Magnitude, that both the highest and the lowest seem alike:
The Author enters it, and what he found there.

This Pillar, like the Monument at London, is not solid, but within to be ascended by a strong and winding Stair-case, where the curious Enterer finds not any thing that's worth his Observation, but the Names of Travellers of every Country, cut upon the Stones to tell succeeding Comers, who were there before them; I perceiv'd among them all but three, that I cou'd think were English, which were writ as follows upon different Places. ‘ H. Blunt—an English-Man, and lover of his Country.’ ‘ William Dennis, in the Year 1560 was here.’ ‘ George Sandys, December the 28th, 1610.’

THIS last is doubtless that Ingenious Gentleman, who has so much oblig'd the World, with his polite and learned Observations on the Eastern Countries.

BUT now, methinks I feel in writing it, that weighty Grief, which seiz'd my Spirits, when I saw the poor remains of ruin'd Majesty; the great and glorious Palace of the mighty Constantine, where Honour breath'd as in her native Element, and all the Vertues, which adorn the Mind of Man conspir'd to render good, a Court, whose Greatness, and Magnificence, could possibly admit of no Addition; even this rich Court with all its ancient State and Grandeur, is so strangely chang'd amidst the unexampled Miseries of poor subverted Greece, that those tall Roofs, once shining brightly in a dress of Gold, are tumbled with the Columns, which supported them, and lie confus'd in heaps of Rubbish, scarce deserving even the Name of Ruins:
The Palace of Constantine the Great, now made a Stable for wild Beasts.

Those bright Apartments, which in former times, were wont to shine with ornamental Balls, and glorious Crowds of celebrated Beauties, are at present made a Den, or Stable, for the several sorts of Wild and Forrest Beasts, which serve the Pleasures of the haughty Sultan.

HERE may the Proud Man read his Fate, and see in the Example of this fallen Empire (which by the haughty Reigns of her insulting Monarchs, grew divided, and was consequently weaken'd more and more, till all her Discords ended in her Downfall.) How admirable are the Notions of the great Tragaedian upon this Particular.

Sen. Trag. of Troas.

Violenta nemo imperia continuit diu:

Moderata durant. Quoque fortuna altius

Evexit ac levavit humanas opes,

Hoc se magis supprimere felicem decet,

Variosque casus tremere, metuentem Deos

Nimium faventes.

No Tyrant's Government can long endure,

A mod'rate Sway is ever most secure;

The higher Fortune builds a Man's Estate,

And still the more she elevates his Fate,

So much the more does it become his Mind,

Humbly to own the Gods, beyond his Merits, kind,

To fear the various Ills poor Mortals know,

And worship bounteous Heaven, whence all his Blessings flow.

ANTIQUITY I think, can boast no more remains, than what I have already nam'd, of all those glorious Monuments of Art and Splendour, which in former times adorn'd this City: Modern Buildings, as describ'd in the foregoing Chapter, are not wanting, but as none deserves particular remark,
The number of Mosques in Constantinople.

I only will inform you, that the Turks compute the number of their Mosques at Constantinople to exceed Seven Thousand.

BUT the Reader must not here mistake my meaning, as confin'd to the wall'd Town alone; for they include the Cities following, joining all in one denomination, as we do that of Westminster with London.

The City Scutary.

THE old Chrysopolis, at present Scutary, a Bythinian City, standing opposite upon the other Shore of the abovenam'd Bosphorus, contains within her Bounds, a great Seraglio of the Turkish Sultans, and is large and wealthy, not much less than three Miles round.

The City Pera.

PERA, Galata, or Cornu Byzantium anciently, reaches with considerable breadth, from the opposite Shore of the Haven, much above an English Mile, with steep a scent, even to the very summit of the Hills, which overlook the City;
The use of a Seraglio there.

here is likewise a Seraglio of the Sultans, serving as a Prison to receive at each triennial View of the Grand Signiors Women, whole Shoals of barren, sick, or antiquated Ladies.

ALL the Ministers of Foreign Christian Princes have their Dwelling Houses in some part of Pera, seldom suffer'd to reside within the Walls of Constantinople; the Buildings of this Town are somewhat larger, and more stately than the other, all the Christian Factories residing there,
The Christian Privileges there.

and favour'd with a sort of privileg'd Immunity among themselves, possessing a large Place, thence term'd the Frank-Street, or the Street of French Men, for the Turks in common Talk, call every Christian by that Name, who there, with pleasure, live promiscuously, enjoying almost uncontroul'd, an envied liberty, which very rarely, any Turk presumes to make Encroachments on, tho' some have often insolence enough to threaten it.

SOME other Suburbs, such as those without the Gate of Adrianople, where the Turkish Sultans at a certain Tomb of some old Prophet, are invested with their Power, spread themselves about and much enlarge the compass of the City, which if taken altogether,
A comparison of London with Constantinople.

does indeed possess a a greater space of Ground than London, but, by reason of the Gardens join'd to every House, and many vacant Places of the Town, can notwithstanding boast scarce half her number of Inhabitants.

The Sultan common Landlord of most Houses.

THE Houses, or the greatest Part, of Constantinople, are the Sultan's Property, who lets 'em out at different Rents, according to their Value, and appoints Collectors to receive the Profits thence arising.

Besisteens, their use and description.

BESISTEENS or large and high-roof'd Places, built of Timber, or sometimes of Stone, are publick Markets, not unlike our Old Exchange, where Goods of every kind, are bought and sold, each Mystery or Trade possessing a peculiar Row or Walk: Hither resort both Turks and Christians, who wou'd purchase any thing of worth, for only here they can procure it; all the Streets, directly contrary to ours, made dark and close in Front, no Shops appearing in them, worth the notice of a Stranger or Inhabitant.

The form of Turkish Wherries.

THE Persons, who inhabit the opposite sides of the Haven, correspond at ease, by means of many thousand Boats, perpetually rowing up and down, call'd Kaicks, of long and narrow form, a little rising at each end and widening in the middle, not unlike an open'd Bean-shell: And now I mention their conveniencies of Rowing, I will venture to digress a little way, in order to divert you with a Story common in the Mouth of every Waterman, who rows you by a Castle founded on a Rock, that stands surrounded by the Water, at about two Furlongs distance from the Town of Scutary.

The Maiden Tower.

THIS Fort, for such 'tis now, is call'd by the Inhabitants the Maiden Tower, it is strong and well defended by five and twenty Cannons of considerable Bore; the Sea between the Town and it, runs thirteen Fathom deep, yet is it plentifully stor'd with cool fresh Water, by a spacious subterraneous Passage, which admitting it from a large Brook not far from Scutary, it finds a Channel, and emits vast quantities from a prodigious Well within the Tower, running thence through hollows in the Rock, and mixing with the Waters, which surround the Castle.

THE Story, which they tell, is somewhat odd, but may divert the Reader, or at least, will serve him as a Moral Caution, to beware how much he listens to the tempting Calls of Loves extravagance; whereof the knowing Seneca has left this Maxim.

Sen. Tra. of Hippol.

—Quisquis in primo obstitit

Repulitque amorem, tutus ac victor fuit.

Qui blandiendo dulce nutrivit malum,

Sero recusat ferre, quod subiit, jugum.

He, who can bravely inborn Courage prove,

And dares repulse the first attacks of Love;

With sure applause shall break his fancy's Chain,

And, crown'd with glorious Conquest, safe remain;

But he, who flatters his mistaken Will,

Inflaming Fire, and nourishing the Ill;

Too late shall weep, to see himself undone,

Gaul'd by the weighty Yoke, he could, but would not shun.

A Story of unfortunate and melancholy Love.

THERE liv'd (say Turkish Chronicles) at Scutary, then Chrysopolis, a very rich and noble Earl, extreamly favour'd by the Graecian Emperor, with whom he often us'd to ride abroad on Hunting, and continue absent sometimes twelve or fourteen Days together.

THE Countess, an exceeding good and pious natur'd Lady, being dead, and leaving one sole Daughter of the greatest Beauty, Wit, and other Excellencies, which adorn a female Mind and Person, she was us'd to mourn her Father's absence in a solitary Sorrow, still forsaking Company and Pleasure, to retire alone to sigh or read, amidst the shady Groves and pleasant Meadows, which afforded sweet Retirements, not far distant from her Father's Palace.

A Father's fatal foudness.

HER celebrated Beauties had alarm'd the Youth of Court and Country: Every Father wish'd his Son this Maids Possessor, and the Sons of every Parent mad with Passion, lost their sense of other Pleasures, and enchanted by her Graces, flock'd in numbers to sollicite her Affection; but the aged Earl, entirely doating on his Daughters Conversation, never list'ned to their largest Offers, bent, if possible, to keep her single, that he might, as long as he shou'd live, enjoy her Company.

An unexpected Meeting.

FORTUNE, on a certain time, the Father being absent, led a young and amorous Gentleman, to take a pensive walk along the Bank of a delightfull Current, near the bottom of a Wood belonging to this Earl, and not six hundred Paces from the House, whence just before his lovely Daughter had walk'd out, and was by him surpriz'd while leaning pensively beneath the shelter of a spacious Oak, and reading softly with a fix'd attention.

NEVER was Joy more unexpected and transporting than that, which seiz'd the starting Youth at this surprizing Accident; for he had long been one of those, who languish'd for her Favour, but till now, had never gain'd the smallest Opportunity to let her know how much he lov'd her, having been, among the rest, denied admission by her Father's obstinacy.

A sudden Conquest of a Lady's Heart.

LOVE I think, is seldom wanting upon such occasions, to inspire his Subjects with rhetorical Assurance, so that prompted by the Dictates of prevailing Passion, he address'd the Lady with a Modesty so gracefull, yet becoming Resolution, that she had no sooner cast her Eyes upon his Person, but a sudden Inclination, and as sudden Fright together, seiz'd the tender Regions of her Virgin Bosom.

VARIOUS Arguments with mutual Satisfaction pass'd away the time in sympathetic Pleasures, and such powerfull Charms did each discover in the others Person, that from that time forward, they agreed to meet in the adjoining Grove, at the same Hour every Evening, not having opportunity elsewhere to do it, lest the Ladies Father shou'd discover their Intrigue, and hinder them from prosecuting their resolv'd affection.

I need not tell the English Ladies, that the Rules of Vertue, and her Female Modesty oblig'd the Daughter of the absent Earl, to seem more backward than her eager Lover in the amorous Settlement of their intended Meetings; but where Occasions are so seldom found, it is a needless nicety to stand too long on ling'ring Ceremonies;
A kind and gentle condescention.

so in short, upon assurance of her Lovers honourable meaning, and indeed her Quality had plac'd her far above distrusting his Pretensions; she permitted him to hope he might at last be happy in her wish'd Possession, and for many Weeks met undiscover'd in the secret Grove, and tasted all those innocent Delights, which Lovers may enjoy, without the smallest tincture of a guilty Conversation.

BUT oh 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. How soon decay the brightest Scenes of splendid Fortune! 'Twas not long this amorous Couple held their Bliss unbroken and serene; for the Earl long since return'd, had oft observ'd his Daughter absent in the Evenings, and wou'd frequently reflect with not a little wonder, that she always chose one certain Hour to leave the House, and still refus'd whatever Company propos'd attending her;
A fatal Jealousy.

his natural Jealousy requir'd no fuel to encrease its Fire, but supply'd with this, burnt out in double fury, so that he resolv'd to watch which way his Daughter took, and make it his endeavour to discover what he doubted.

ACCORDINGLY one Evening, purposely disguis'd in habit like a Shepherd he continued in a Meadow near his House, and saw the poor, unthinking Lady hasten from a private Door, and cross the Fields directly to the entrance of the Grove just mention'd.

An unfortunate Mistake.

LITTLE did she dream her Father was so near, and not mistrusting him, who at distance she mistook to be the Person he appear'd, went boldly forward to the Place appointed, where she met the Object of her Love, and sitting down upon a Bank as usual, tenderly reclin'd her Head upon his Bosom, and began to say a thousand soft, endearing things, believing they were then as private as before, till, in a manner stupified with eager Passion, both neglected every Object but each others Person, not perceiving the suspecting Father, who had gone a little round, below the brow of an impending Hill, and now stalk'd forward undiscover'd, till he came so near, behind the Lovers, busied in their Courtship, that he overheard with ease, each little Word, which pass'd between them.

A dangerous Discovery.

KISSES, and a thousand other amorous Actions prompted the unfortunately raptur'd Couple to repeat with loud and solemn Protestations, old assurances of Love and Marriage, insomuch that the surpriz'd and angry Earl transported by his rage to hear his Daughter give away her self to one, to whom he had before denied her, and for certain family Disputes, extreamly hated, drew a Sword, which he had privately convey'd within his Dress, and running violently at the starting Nobleman, who drew in his defence, was kill'd upon the spot before the Lady almost dead with fear, recover'd from the fright, his Sword had put her in.

A cause for sudden and tempestuous Sorrow.

BUT none can surely guess the storms of Grief and Wonder, which o'erwhelm'd her Breast with a tempestuous Hurricane, to hear the Shepherd's dying Voice so plainly speak her Fathers Accent; in short, upon approach she knew him notwithstanding his disguise, and while the Lover, half distracted at the fatal Accident, prepar'd to speak his wonder and her comfort, ran with violence about the Fields, forgetting Love and all its Consequences but this last unhappy one, which she proclaim'd aloud to every Servant of her Father's House, whereto she slew with shrieks and horror.

THE Servants ran, and seiz'd the Nobleman, who stood confounded, like a speechless Statue, looking eagerly upon the Body of the murder'd Earl, nor aiming to defend himself from being taken:
A cruel Sentence to divide two Lovers.

News was carried to the Emperor of every circumstance of the unlucky Action, who considering wisely all particulars, gave the Gentleman a present Pardon, but resolving to prevent them from conversing with each other ever after, order'd the young Lady, with two Aunts and all the Family, to be confin'd in the before-nam'd Tower, then call'd Stony Island, giving strict command to all, who guarded it, that they shou'd never suffer her to get away, nor give admission unto any Person, such excepted as were authoriz'd to claim it by his Royal Passport.

A while the Lady mourn'd so deeply for her Father's Death; and the desponding Lover for the Action he had done, that neither thought upon the hardship of their cruel separation; but when fleeting Time presented to their Minds the sharpness of their Fate in that severe Decree, they both forsook all hopes of Comfort; she, in Prison, grew quite weary of and hated Life, and he, at large, became abandon'd to encroaching Sorrows, melancholy, silent, and a Prisoner to his Grief, amidst the Tracts of disregarded Liberty.

A melancholy way of Life.

TWELVE tedious Months were now roll'd over, and the discontented Lover still continued every Day to visit the remembred Scene of former Bliss, and present Misery; he wou'd often walk disconsolately up and down along the Bank of that delightfull River, which was us'd to murmur out a melancholy harmony to sooth their Minds, oppress'd by fear of ill Success in their commenc'd Affection; and reflecting on the various Words and Actions, which had pass'd between them, wou'd now and then, let fall a mournfull Tear, to think on their Misfortunes.

AT last, despairing ever more to see his dear, contracted Mistress, he began to wish a period to his Life, which only serv'd to lengthen out his Misery, and as he walk'd one Day, perceiv'd a Rock, wherein he had heard talk of some dark Cave, so dismally forbidding, that no Man had ever yet been found, who durst attempt to enter it: Disdain of danger from a weariness of living, urg'd him on to seek the Place with resolution to go in, regardless of the Consequence.

A bold and hazardous attempt.

HE found at last, the gloomy Entrance of the horrid Place, which open'd downwards with a very steep, and dangerous slope, and never waiting for a second thought, went boldly in, and crept along the rugged sides; a narrow Channel from the neighb'ring River, running thro' a Passage 'twixt the Rocks, directly in the middle, for about an hundred Yards; he made a shift to crawl along with wond'rous difficulty, down a very deep and slippery Descent, but there perceiv'd the Water, which till then, had ran confin'd to proper bounds, encreas'd in breadth to such a vast degree, that there was left no more dry Ground to stand upon;
A strange example of the Power of Despair.

however, as desiring Death, he was resolv'd to tempt it, and continued his advances thro' the Water, sometimes scarce above his Knees, then almost to his Neck, here running ten or twenty Yards indifferently smooth, then falling many Foot, and roaring round his head like some Egyptian Cataract; sometimes he fell, half drown'd with the impetuous fury of the Torrent, sometimes walk'd thro' the rushing Streams, which almost tripp'd him from his Feet, with their amazing swiftness.

A strange Curiosity.

STILL he crept as near as possible to some one side, and held upon the edges of the Rocks he met with, till reflecting on the strangeness of the Place he walk'd in, and how much it was impossible to reascend those wat'ry Passages he had already pass'd, he was resolv'd to live as long as he was able, and observe by Touch and Ear, what further wonders the Descent might lead him to, for 'twas so void of the least glimpse of comfortable Light, that he had then no use of Eyes, for none cou'd pierce one Inch of the surrounding Darkness.

HE came at last so far, that he perceiv'd a sensible decrease in breadth, for he cou'd stretch his Arms with ease, and touch both sides; but on the contrary, the depth encreas'd exceedingly, and by the Waters doubled roaring, and beating back as from some Wall, he found the Cavity no further capable of giving room to a continued Progress;
A wonderfull subterraneous Passage.

yet considering there must be some passage of emission, and little caring whither it might lead, he dip'd his Head and Body under Water, and with much ado, shot swiftly with the Eddy, thro' a very short and narrow Neck, and found himself immediatly inlarg'd, but cover'd over with a flood of Waters, which he took to be the Sea, when finding Breath grow short upon him, he made use of strong and artfull Strokes, which he had learn'd by swiming while a Boy, by these means, thinking he shou'd soon be freed, and gain the Surface, or expire amidst the Waves, both which Events he form'd a swift Idea of, expecting either with a like indifference.

A strange Escape.

BUT he was much surpriz'd, when long before he guess'd it, he perceiv'd his head above the Water, and as soon as he could see, beheld himself within a sort of Well or Cistern almost level with the brim: He swam a while about from side to side, at last observ'd a Channel, into which the Cistern disengag'd her rising Waters; there he soon got out, extreamly weak'ned by his subterraneous Journey, and the first fair Object he discover'd when he look'd about him, was his former Mistress walking in a Garden, with a very sorrowfull and pensive Countenance.

The happy meeting of two real Lovers.

THE unexpected shock was much alike to both the Lovers, but the Lady frighted at the odd appearance of a dropping Man, who look'd like some Inhabitant of an inferior World, began at first to shriek and fly, but when he faintly call'd her by her Name, she knew the Voice, mistook him for a Ghost, and fainted to the Earth, unable to support the weight of so surprizing a discovery.

BUT to conclude, the Guards came in upon the Ladies shrieking, and immediately laid hold on their advent'rous Visitor; but when the Emperor was told the Story, he commanded both the Lover and his Mistress to be brought before him, and considering the particulars of this amazing Accident, immediately revers'd his former Sentence, had them Married in his Royal Presence, grac'd them ever after with peculiar Favours,
The Etymology of the Maiden Tower.

and in memory thereof, commanded that the Castle shou'd be call'd the MAIDEN TOWER, which commemorative Name it bears at present.

EXCUSE me, Reader, for the length of my digression, 'tis a Story confidently told amongst the Turks, but Faith is every Man's undoubted Property; believe it, or believe it not, I only quote, and not assert it, as I heard it told me for the strange Original of their old Castle's Etymology.

The seven Towers, a strong Castle

THE Seven Towers, an ancient Castle, by the Roman Emperors call'd Janicula, is now a Magazine, or sometimes, Prison for the noblest Criminals; it is a very spacious Building, and was strong beyond a common Fort, before the murdering use of Cannons was invented; the Sultan constantly maintains therein a numerous Garrison: Its situation is upon the South-east side of Constantinople.

The Aquaeduct of Valentinian, 34 Miles long.

BUT while I treat of this illustrious City, 'twou'd be an Error no ways pardonable, shou'd I fall to mention the prodigious Aquaduct of Valentinian, which, for sour and thirty English Miles, brings Water upon Channels built on Arches, over spacious Valleys, from the top of one tall Mountain to another, till, nigh the City, it pours down from a stupendious height, and fills a Cistern, like a Lake, of fine white Marble, which contains above two hundred stately Pillars of the same, and having been repair'd by several Turkish Emperors, does by Pipes and Conduits, now supply Constantinople, with the finest Water in the Universe.

AN EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, Which Represents, A Prospect of the Great SERAGLIO of the TURKISH SULTAN at CONSTANTINOPLE.

- A THE Highlands of Asia.

- B. The Point of the Seraglio.

- C. The Womens Apartment, in the Seraglio.

- D. The Grand Signior's own Quarter.

- E. A Summer-House, where the Grand Signior often sits, to look out upon the Haven, and Divert himself with his Ladies.

- F. The Royal Mosque of the Seraglio.

- G. The Ancient Graecian Temple, Sancta Sophia.

- H. H. H. The Haven of Constantinople.

To the Right Honble William, Lord Paget, Baron of Beaudesert, &c. late Ambassador Extraordinary, Mediator & Plenipotentiary from ye Court of Great Brittain, to the Ottoman Port, this Plate as an Acknowledgement of the Authors weighty obligations, is most humbly dedicated. H. Hulsbergh facit Prospect of the GRAND SIGNIORS SERAGLIO

CHAP. XIX. Of the Grand Signior's Seraglio, and particularly the Apartment of his Women.

The Introduction.

I Told the Reader in the Preface of my Book, by what uncommon means I was so happy as to gain admission to a Palace, which for many Ages has been kept a secret to the searching Knowledge of our Europaean Travellers, and shall now proceed to entertain him with a wonderfull, but pleasant and sincere account of new Discoveries, which like the Golden Indian World, lay long unenter'd (as appearing barr'd against our View with unsurmountable Impediments,) but gain'd at last, will spread throughout our Western Regions, such surprizing Plenty of her valuable Product, as may more than recompence the patient stay of your expecting Curiosities.

I love not flattery from any hand, much less wou'd sooth my own Performances, with elevated hopes of a success beyond their Merits;
Complaint against the malice of the fashionable Criticks.

but of this the World will give me leave to be assur'd, that as I write the Beauties of an earthly Paradise, and unimagin'd Scenes of amorous Royalty, till now unknown, not only to my Countrymen, but every part of distant Christendom, I have at least deserv'd the thanks of an impartial Reader, and may be allow'd to blame the undistinguishing Ill-nature of such steely Criticks, as instead of owning an agreeable surprize, in meeting Subjects new and entertaining, strive ungenerously to condemn a Labour meerly out of ignorance or incredulity, because they find it something odd, and full of Novelty.

HOWEVER, all that base Ingratitude, which meanly may endeavour to obscure the Worth of what I write, shall never boast that private fear of barking Malice cou'd prevent my Pen from boldly aiming at a publick Satisfaction:
What the Reader may expect in this Chapter.

I will not therefore only entertain the World with an agreable Amusement, but proceed by regular degrees to give the Reader an entire Idea of the fam'd Seraglio of the Turkish Sultan, not omitting any odd and pleasant Observation, but neglecting purposely the trifling repetitions of those things, preceding Authors were enabled to inform you of; and chiefly bending my design'd description, to those glittering Piles of stately Buildings, Groves of Pine, and Bowers of Cypress, Paths of Love, and Labyrinths of Pleasure, which combine their Graces to adorn the Seat of one Great Lord, and render perfect the delightfull Mansions, where the amorous Sultan toys away his Minutes in the wanton Raptures of his Ladies Conversation.

The lovely situation of the Grand Signiors's Seraglio.

FIRST then, if ever Heaven decreed a part of this divided World shou'd shine conspicuously above the rest, and seem to beckon Ʋniversal Monarchy to fix its Throne on her delicious Surface, 'tis the very Ground, whereon now flourishes the glorious Palace of the proud Mahometan; for from that eminence of Ground, on which the Temple Sancta Sophia has its Situation, runs a narrow neck of Land, descending gradually, and on either side politely sloping downward, till it forms at last a charming Angle on the North-East Point of Constantinople.

The Form thereof.

THE Form of the Seraglio, which is built hereon, appears a sort of long triangle, one whole side whereof is bounded by the neighb'ring Buildings of the City, both the other shelving downwards to the Sea, which washes 'em, and with their utmost Angle pointing out amidst the Waves, directly opposite to the surprizing heighth, and rough appearances of certain wild and distant Asian Promontories; Thrace, with all the Beauties of her Europaean Landskips forms a prospect full of Pleasures on the other side; not one small Ship can anchor in the Haven, but must pass the Point of the Seraglio first, whose noble Situation leads the Eye to gaze astonish'd, at such strange variety, that all the ravish'd Sweets of Art and Nature here seem join'd, as if they had agreed to mix their richest Excellencies, and compleat a modern rival Paradise to that of Eden.

Its strength and Circuit.

IT is above three English Miles in measur'd Circuit, quite surrounded by a lofty Wall, defended strongly by a sort of Quey, of five yards breadth which runs all round it, where are planted numerous Pieces of prodigious Cannon, of an unexampled size and monstrous bore; One very deep and spacious Ditch encompasses the Wall, which is moreover strengthen'd by capacious Ramparts, and a square Watch-Tower, at every hundred or two hundred Paces end; in these stand Day and Night, selected numbers of the finest Soldiers in the Sultan's Guard, who see that none presume to venture near the Walls of his forbidden Palace;
The beauty of its Prospect at a distance.

all the inside is adorn'd with Spires and stately Balls, gilt round with Gold, and shining from afar with a majestic Lustre, which sublime appearance, gently soften'd by the mix'd discovery of extended Groves of lofty Cypress Trees, there planted in a sweet and natural Irregularity, and somewhat shadowing in many Places, the refulgent brightness of the Spires and Cupola's, afford a Prospect to the distant view so full of Beauty, and unknown variety, that Words want Power to celebrate the Object; therefore see the Cut annex'd for further Satisfaction.

BUT having given this short description of the Form, Extent, and Outward Beauties of the Sultan's Palace, I will now proceed to lead my Reader with a gradual Curiosity, through every inmost Part of its discover'd Glories; yet as the unnumber'd differences, which alternately occur to claim our observation, may confound the Prospect, if I represent them jointly, 'twill be much the safest way to separate the Building into five Degrees, and treat distinctly of them all, that so we may preserve an usefull regularity.

The first great Court.

FIRST then, I will describe the Outward Court, and all the Offices and Orders of the Buildings, which surround and form it, into which all Travellers, who please, have free access, and uncontroul'd admission.

The second Court.

SECONDLY I will proceed to do the like, by a more spacious Square within the former, and compos'd of far more rich and lofty Architecture, into which, as to the first, all Strangers are admitted.

The third, where all Ambassadors receive their Audience.

THIRDLY I intend to open to your View another Court within them both, and far superior in its Order and Magnificence; for in the rich Apartments, which surround this Square, the haughty Sultans give their Audiences to every Minister of Foreign Nations, at their first arrival in the Turkish Court.

The Royal Lodgings.

NEXT I lose sight of former Writers, and visit with a Wonder equal to the Object, the prodigious Statelyness, and tow'ring Splendor of the ROYAL LODGINGS, so surprizingly transporting me with endless Scenes of artfull Pleasure, Pride and Grandeur, that for want of Models to express their form by, which is quite unknown, nay even undreamt of in the Christian World, I have been forc'd to draw in the course of this Chapter another Plan, of the amazing inside of that stupendious Fabrick, which will give the Eye a true Idea of its wonderfull Contrivances.

The Discovery of the Womens Lodgings, thought by most to be impossible.

BUT now appears a SECRET worth the hearing, the Discovery whereof I often (since 'twas made) stood by and heard the greatest Travellers of several Nations, join in one old fashionable Story, and affirm to be no less than a downright Impossibility: Yet I will not only trace the Sultan to his amorous Pastimes with the Virgins of his Pleasure, but admit the Reader to the close Apartments of the fair SERAGLIO LADIES, nay and into the retir'd Magnificence of their Bedchambers, but shew him all the various Scenes of Love and Courtship, which are practis'd daily by their Lord and them, even to the Consummation of their utmost Wishes; and if the British Ladies are desirous of a further Information, still advance a step or two beyond it.

AS I told you in my Preface, that the absence of the Sultan and his train of Ladies, then attending him at Adrianople, gave a liberty beyond the Wishes of our keenest Curiosity, as a Compliment bestow'd for Reasons there explain'd,
A double Curiosity.

so I was willing to improve the opportunity as for as possible, and while I pleas'd my Eyes with the delightfull Prospect of engaging Novelties, I satisfied my Ear with list'ning eagerly to the accounts our Guides thought fit to give us, of the proper use of every Place, and entertaining Stories of the Sultan's Customs.

Description of the great Gate of the Seraglio.

FIRST then, The Great Seraglio opens to the Sea on either side, with several low and private Gates, but such as never are made use of but when the Emperor himself is pleas'd to order it; the only common Entrance faces the before-nam'd Temple, Sancta Sophia, and admits you through a vast and spacious Portal of white Marble, arch'd and strengthen'd in the ancient way of Building; round the edges of the Arch on either side appear, cut deeply in the Stone, (the hollow of the Letters, richly fill'd with lovely mixtures of Gold, Green, Red, Blue, and every other Colour,) some few Arabian Sentences, almost defac'd by mould'ring time, but such as Turkish Scholars told us signified as follows.

Inscriptions on the Portal.

GLORY TO THE GOD Of MAHOMET, AND MAHOMET HIS PROPHET.
‘HONOƲR, POWER, TRƲTH AND JƲSTICE, TRAMPLING ON THE NECK OF SIN AND GRANDEƲR, HERE ERECT THE SEAT OF NEVER DYING EMPIRE.’

A Chappel built by Constantine the Great.

YOU are no sooner entred thro' this lofty Gate, than you perceive a Court, the Square whereof contains almost three hundred Yards, and is surrounded by a sort of Cloyster, which I will describe immediately. A distant Prospect thro' the Gate at 'tother end, presents you with a long and lovely Scene of Cypress Trees and Fountains, charmingly adorning all the second Court. About twelve Yards upon the left of your first entrance, stands the round and broken Wall of an old Chappel, built by Constantine, and by him dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It has been curious for its Building and Contrivance, but has yielded now to the voracious Rust of Time and Ruin, whose prevailing force is well describ'd as follows, by an old Greek Poet.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

What does not Time, and length of Days o'erthrow?

From Times black current, endless Mischiefs flow;

By Time the Forms and Names of Things are chang'd,

And Nature's mighty Self, from her own Face estrang'd.

The Trophies of the Greeks hung up within it.

THE unintelligible Reliques of an old Inscription, speak the Chappel Christian Workmanship; and all about its broken Walls, are hung as Trophies of their curs'd Success, the Spears, Swords, Breast-plates, Shields, and other Armour, of those generous Greeks, who bravely scorning to outlive the downfall of their sinking Country, chose to die the Martyrs of its Liberty, and tho' they fell above three hundred Years ago, live nobly in the Praises of succeeding Ages, who behold their Spoils here hung together, strangely representing in a ghastly manner, Men in Armour, with their Arms and Legs bound cross each other, which the Turks have done by way of Triumph to commemorate their Fortune. This may seem a barbarous Action, and the base Effect of their vain-glorious Principles; but ancient Practices of the inhumane Custom, will excuse the Turks, when Homer in his Iliads often gives us plain Examples of the like Proceedings; and Aeneas is by Virgil represented glorying in the Overthrow of dead Mezentius, and dressing up an Oak with his insulted Trophies.

Virg. Aen. Lib. 11.

Ingentem quercum dicisis undique ramis

Constituit tumulo, fulgentiaque induit arma,

Mezentî ducis exuvias; tibi magne tropaeum

Bellipotens, aptat roranteis sanguine cristas,

Telaque trunca viri, & bis sex thoraca petitum,

Perfossumque locis: Clypeumque ex aere sinistrae

Subligat, atque ensem collo suspendit eburnum.

Upon a rising spot of neighb'ring Ground,

He plac'd a sturdy Oak, lop'd closely round;

And with refulgent Armour deck'd it o'er,

The Spoils, which King Mezentius lately wore,

To thee Great God of War a Trophy due,

Worthy the Conquest, and the Triumph too;

High o'er the rest his waving Plume he ty'd,

Yet reaking with the Blood wherein 'twas dy'd;

To these were bound the Spears, which in the Field,

Had pierc'd or broken on the Trojan's Shield;

His shining Breast-plate grac'd the Trophies too,

Hack'd deep, and pierc'd in twice six places through;

On his left side his brazen Target hung,

And from the Neck his Sword, all sheath'd in Iv'ry, swung.

The Quarters and Employments of the Ajam-Olans.

THE rowe of Buildings, which upon the left side bounds this outward Court, is low and mean, containing Lodgings for some thousands of those Men call'd Ajam-Olans, or a kind of People bought as Slaves, from every Country where the Turks maintain a Correspondence, and educated from their Youth, or sometimes, Infancy, in all the rough and servile Practices of a laborious Discipline, till being qualified with strength of Mind and Body, they are order'd severally by the Overseers appointment, to the various Offices of the Seraglio.

The Woodyard of the Great Seraglio.

WITHIN the Court, and still descending nearer to the Sea upon the Europaean side, there is a plain and spacious Square, wherein are pil'd in most prodigious and unnumbred heaps, the Logs of Wood, and various kinds of Faggots us'd in the Seraglio, which amount each Year to such vast quantities that fifty thousand Waggon-loads are constantly brought in, each Waggon drawn, and that not easily, by two strong Buffelo's.

Pleasant Places.

FROM this large Wood-Yard to the Wall, which bounds the Palace on the Haven-side, are finely planted stately Cypress Trees, cool Groves, and solitary Wildernesses, which indeed run round the whole Seraglio in the space between the Buildings and the Wall about it, but, as I design to speak particularly of the Garden Part, I shall defer describing this Division, till its proper place requires my doing it.

The Hospital of the Seraglio.

DIRECTLY parallel to the Apartment of the late-nam'd Ajam-Olans, runs another higher and more gracefull Row of Buildings, bounded on the other side the Court aforesaid; this is the Hospital for the Seraglio Sick, divided into Chambers and convenient Lodging Rooms for People indispos'd, according to the Quality of such as want them. Two prime Physitians and as many Surgeons, are appointed by the Sultan to inspect the Management of the distemper'd Persons, who are carefully attended by great Numbers of White Eunuchs, two of which stand constantly to guard the Entrance.

The Lodgings of the Helvagees, and their Employment.

NOT far distant, but behind the Hospital, are built the Lodging-Rooms, appointed for the Habitation of the Helvagees, a sort of Boys, who wear a Dress peculiar to their Office, and are kept to carry Messages from Place to Place, within the Palace; or, upon occasion, may be sent about the Town, to bring in any thing the Servants want; for no Man, who possesses no Employment in the Great Seraglio, ever dares, on pain of Death, attempt an entrance. The number of these Errand Boys, is generally reckon'd to amount to near seven Thousand.

A fine rall'd List, or Green for Exercise.

ABOUT two hundred Yards below the Lodgings of the Helvagees, there lies a Green, of spacious breadth, and rail'd about to keep out such, as have not by their Posts, the liberty to enter: Here the Sultan often comes to see the Exercises of the Manag'd Horse, and hurling the Geritt, before describ'd, and often orders equal numbers of his Negro Pages, to maintain the Lists against the Challenge of selected White-Ones, giving frequently Rewards of valuable Price, to those, who conquer.

Other pleasant Places.

SHELVING downwards towards the Sea on this side also, lie vast tracts of Ground, containing various Scenes of Rural fragrancy, tall Groves of Cypress, sweetly intermix'd with rising Banks, declining Greens, delightfull Labyrinths, and murmuring Fountains.

The Gate, and number of the Men, who guard the entrance of the second Court.

THE second Court is enter'd through the former, by a lofty Gate, adorn'd with Trophies like the ancient Chapel, just now mention'd, guarded constantly by fifty Janizaries, arm'd with Musquets, who oblige all Horsemen, Officers or others to alight and walk, if they design to gain a farther entrance, for 'tis held the Duty of the Sultan's Subjects, high and low, to put off all the Marks of Pride and Grandeur, and proceed as humbly to approach his Presence, as they ought to do when they address the Object of their daily Worship.

Description of the second Court of the Seraglio.

THIS Court is far more large and stately than the former, near four hundred Yards the square, and curiously adorn'd with ever-spouting Fountains, round whose brims fine Cypress Trees are neatly planted, forming various and delightfull Figures of a different Magnitude; all surrounded with a lofty Cloyster, Gallery or Piazza, artfully supported by amazing numbers of white Marble Pillars, with their Capitals and Bases of the finest sort of polish'd Marble, and of that consists the spacious Pavements, which in several places, cross the Court, and lead you plea antly to different Apartments, which appear at some considerable distance, thro' the Columns of this noble Gallery.

ABOVE the Pillars of the great Piazza, and supported by them, are the Lodging Rooms of several Officers of no mean Authority in the Seraglio;
The Stables of the Grand Signior's Seraglio.

and on the left hand, at about a hundred Paces distance from it, are the private Stables, which contain about five, six, or seven and twenty Horses, for the favourite Exercises of the Sultan's Pleasure; above these Stables are the Rooms wherein are kept the Bridles, Saddles, rich Caparisons, and other Furniture for his Led-Horses, most of which are so adorn'd with precious Stones, and rich Embroidery, that they amount in price to a prodigious and incredible Sum of Money. As for the Great Stables, they are plac'd behind the private ones, and keep vast numbers of the swiftest and best-manag'd Horses, of their own and other Countries.

The Divan, or Justice-Hall.

DIRECTLY in a line with the above-nam'd private Stables, but a little nearer to the third Court's entrance, stands a round and open Place they call Divan, a sort of Hall or Council Chamber, where the Grand-Vizier and Lord's-Chief-Justices, with other Ministers exhibit Justice on appointed Days, to all the People in a publick manner.

THE Place is low, and open to the view of all the People; the Roof supported by large Wooden Pillars, and all leaded over in a curious manner. Wainscot gilt is all the Ornament the inside boasts of: On the Floor is spread a Carpet, where, on Benches plac'd on purpose, sit the Judges of occurring Causes:
An excellent Policy in the Administration of the Turkish Justice.

From the Roof of this Divan, there runs along on the left side, a little Gallery, which leads by certain private ways, to the Grand Signior's Lodgings, who by that means, often comes, and, hid behind a Velvet Curtain, overhears the Trials, which are passing in the Court, and if he sees unjust Proceedings, frequently reverses, or makes void the Sentence, as he finds occasion, punishing the partial or unjust Decider; so that, aw'd by doubt, and never knowing when he is or is not there, they are oblig'd to act with constant Caution, and against the grain, impartially determine every Law-Suit.

ON every Council-Day, the Turkish Janizaries are drawn up, and headed, every Company by their respective Officers, upon the Pavement underneath the Marble Gallery, which I before inform'd you runs quite round the Buildings of this second Court;
A piece of Turkish Ostentation.

and there it is that they receive their Pay, upon such Days as the Ambassadors of Christian Princes are admitted to the Audience of the Sultan or his Ministers, that so they may vain-gloriously appear possessors of a rolling Plenty, by disbursing in the Payment of that one Militia for a few days Service, such prodigious heaps of Money.

Another Hall.

BEYOND this Great Divan or Hall of Justice, stands another Building, not unlike it, but of far less magnitude, here they seat such Christian Ministers of State, or Merchants, as may have occasion to apply themselves for Justice, to the Turkish Government.

The Quarters of the Baltagees.

THE space dividing these two Halls, admits you to a Gate, that opens to the left, and leads you into a fine spacious Square, the Quarters of the Baltagees, or Hatchet Men, whose business 'tis to cleave and carry Wood for every Part of the Grand Signior's Seraglio. The Building boasts no Ornament, but is divided humbly into many Chambers, fit for the Reception of the Slaves for whom they are provided.

THE Garden Wall prevents you from a further Inquisition on the left of this large second Court;
The Kitchens of the Seraglio.

so let us visit the right side, and we shall find the vacant space behind the Gallery, politely terminated by a stately row of fine stone Kitchens, seven in number, each whereof is manag'd by peculiar Cooks and other Servants, who are severally busied in providing Meat for different Tables, from the Sultan's own to those of his superior Officers, and from them to others of less Rank, and meaner Quality.

The Confectionaries.

ABOVE these Kitchens are an equal number of Preserving Rooms, to which belong four hundred choice Confectioners, perpetually employ'd in making Sweet-meats, such as Conserves, Preserves, Jellies, Fruits of all sorts, dried, or candied, sometimes liquid Syrups in abundance, and great quantities of Marmalade.

BESIDES these Sweet-meats, 'tis the business of the Confectioners to make Sherbets and Limonades, of rich and costly Composition, for the use of the Grand Signior's self, and such of his Great Officers, as will think fit to pay such Prices, as from time to time are put upon these Rarities by those, who make the Profits,
The Perquisites of the Confectioners.

flowing from their Perquisites this way the most considerable Income of their whole Employment.

BELOW the Kitchens, and the seven Confectionaries, which are plac'd above them, at about some twelve or fourteen Paces distance, nearer to the Gardens ending the declension,
An admirable Aquaeduct.

stands the great and admirable Aquaeduct, extending both above and underneath the Ground, in very strong and stately Arches, Vaults and Cisterns, well supplied with Pipes of Lead, and brazen Cocks of an uncommon magnitude, and constantly attended by an Officer, whose Title speaks him Master of the Water-Works, under whose command two hundred Work-men are continually in waiting.

THE Kitchens, Butteries, Lodging-Rooms, and all the various Quarters of the Great Seraglio, are not only serv'd with Water from this noble Aquaeduct for common uses;
Strange and pleasant Fancies.

but the numerous Fountains, murmuring Currents, artificial Lakes, and small meandring Streams, which dance along with tunefull Cadence, o'er a thousand artfull Falls and pebbled Precipices, cover'd over with surrounding Boughs, or Grass of lovely green and length incredible, are all supplied with never-failing Sluices, from the wonderfull Contrivances of that stupendious Structure.

Description of the third Court of the Seraglio.

WE enter now the third Division, or that Part of the Seraglio, where the Sultan constantly receives the several Ambassadors of Christian Princes; and you may observe that all the proud and haughty Carriage, which in ancient times, distinguish'd Eastern Monarchs, reigns conspicuously, improv'd far, rather than diminish'd, in the Turkish Emperors; who do not only with a sort of slight indifference, refuse admission to a second Audience, even so much as to take leave at their Departure, but behave themselves that single time, when they permit an Interview, with such disdainfull Arrogance and silent Grandeur, that it will amaze the Reader to reflect upon their proud Deportment: Alas! how vainly do they swell their thoughts above Mortality; the common fate of Death at last o'ertakes them, but with this black difference, that while the humble Prince still falls lamented, they are generally made the bloody Victims to their Subject's hatred, and deserv'd resentment; so that falling short in their too elevated race of Power, we may apply the Words of Juvenal to their unpitied Destiny.

Juven. Sat. 10.

Ad generum Cereris sine caede & vulnere pauci

Descendunt Reges, & sicca morte Tyranni.

Few Monarchs die without some bloody Blow,

Or visit free from wound, the Shades below.

And Tyrants, who on Earth dare Heav'n defie,

Are very rarely found in Beds of Peace to die.

How foreign Ambassadors enter the Seraglio.

A publick notice being given to Ambassadors, when 'tis the Sultan's pleasure to admit them to his Audience, they contrive to make as splendid an Appearance as their Quality allows, or Honour of their Country may require them to furnish; gallantly attended by their Retinue on Horse-back, they proceed in order to the Great Seraglio, where alighting, as is usual, at the entrance of the second Court, they are conducted to the third by certain Officers of mean Degree, who there deliver the Ambassador to the Capigee Bashaw, or Lord Comptroler, one, who serves upon occasion, for a Master of the Ceremonies.

'TIS here they stay by the appointment of their Guides, till certain Pages of the Wardrobe come among them, bearing each upon his Arm a sort of Vest, or upper Garment, roughly wove with Silver, Gold, and yellow Silk not neatly intermix'd, of length sufficient to hang down and trail upon the Ground.

Their way of doing Honour to Ambassadors and their Retinue.

THEY first address themselves to the Ambassador, and having cover'd all his other Habit with this ill-contriv'd addition, next proceed as order'd to bestow a certain number on his Followers, observing his direction as to their disposal; thus adorn'd, the Minister himself, and such of his Attendants as before receiv'd the Honour of a Vest, are beckon'd to advance, while those of meaner Rank are entertain'd by Men appointed for that Service, under the Piazza or long Gallery, by which, as I before inform'd you, all the second Court is gracefully surrounded.

The ancient Custom of giving Changes of Raiment, observ'd among the Turks.

THIS giving Vests has been a very ancient Eastern Ceremony, and was practis'd formerly, as now it is among the Turks, to give a Proof of the Respect they bore the Person they so honour'd. All Ambassadors, residing in the Turkish Court, may judge of the Esteem the Sultan bears the Prince they represent, by the receiving more or fewer than is usual of these formal Garments; and it is by long continued Custom, now become a sort of due, for the respective Ministers of different Nations to expect at least as many, as some former Precedent may possibly induce them to lay claim to;
A nicety about it.

and if they find the Officers of the Seraglio obstinately bent to give them fewer, than were bestow'd upon a Predecessor, they will often-times persist so strongly in the claim they lay to better Usage, as to turn again, and leave the Palace, still refusing to obey their Summons to an Audience of the Sultan, till the Turks consent to let them have it on the terms they sue for. Giving Vests among the Ancients may be prov'd in many Places, by the indisputable Authority of Holy Writ, particularly in the five and thirtieth Chapter of the Book of Genesis, and the two and twentieth Verse, where Joseph sending back his Bretheren out of Egypt, it is said, To all of them he gave each Man Changes of Raiment: But to Benjamin he gave three hundred Pieces of Silver, and five Changes of Raiment.

UPON a warning given, that the Sultan is arriv'd and waits his coming, the Ambassador proceeds, conducted by the Lord Comptroller, and attended by such Persons of his own Retinue, as are cloath'd in the abovenam'd Garments: Upon the entrance of the Court, which, much unlike the former two,
The third Court not so regular as the former.

is built irregular, with many different Apartments independent each on other, you perceive, directly opposite, a lofty round and open Hall, the Roof whereof is neatly arch'd, and well supported by a double row of Marble Pillars.

The Gate guarded by Eunuchs.

THE Gate of this third Court is kept by Eunuchs, as too near the Sultan's Lodgings to be approach'd by common Soldiers. All the Ground between the Portal and the Hall of Audience, is enrich'd with Carpets of the costliest Workmanship, on which the Strangers walk, till they arrive at a fine Marble Stair-Case, which ascends to the above-nam'd Hall; on either side whereof there issues from the Wall, thro' various artificial Passages unnumbred Streams of Water, falling with a different sound, according to the bigness of their Channels, upon sloping Shells of polish'd Brass, and thence descending to a spacious Cistern, flagg'd and floor'd with exquisite Mosaic Work of various Colours, which (easily perceiv'd thro' the transparency of the included Water) wonderfully pleases the observing Eye with a surprizing and uncommon Scene of Beauties.

Description of the Hall of Audience.

THE Stairs are cover'd with the richest Silks, on which the introduc'd Ambassadors must tread in their ascent to the extensive Floor, which, tho' politely pav'd with curious squares of various-colour'd Marble, is all over cover'd with a Golden Carpet, if it may be call'd so, every thread whereof is little less than the genteelest sort of Straws, which form our Mats in Britain.

ABOUT the middle of this spacious Hall, there plays a Fountain in a very odd and curious manner, from the Cieling to the Cistern, not unlike a Shower of Rain,
The Throne of the Grand Signior.

and opposite to the Ascent there stands the Throne, of no great heighth, but splendidly adorn'd with an extensive Canopy, broad Back-piece, and thick pleated Bases, all of black and costly Velvet, high embroider'd over with a glorious mixture of both Gold and Silver Wyre, in the squares whereof are sew'd Turquoises, Diamonds, Pearls and Rubys, so contriv'd, that they not only look Magnificent, but form a sort of easy Figure so politely pleasing, that against the Will it captivates attention.

UPON this Throne sits cross-legg'd the disdainfull Sultan, looking round him with a sort of haughty Frown, to view the base and servile Postures of the Slaves about him.

How he is attended on it.

AND first, the Grand Vizier stands humbly on his right Hand, very near him; and at more submissive distance, almost opposite, appear the greatest Officers of his Seraglio, rang'd according to their several Dignities, holding each his Hands across upon his humble Bosom, not presuming once to elevate those servile Eyes, which are not worthy so sublime an Honour, as to gaze upon the Person of their mighty Emperor, thus formidably Shining in his Royal Lustre.

The first approach of the Ambassador.

NO sooner the Ambassador appears within the Hall, than there advance two Officers, who taking hold of both his Arms, attend him as he walks, and still as he approaches nearer to the Person of the Sultan, as it were by force, incline his Body so much nearer to the Ground, in three low Bows. The Sultan condescends perhaps to look him in the Face, and now and then bestows a gentle Nod, while the Ambassador is seated just before him, on an easy Stool all cover'd over with a rich Brocado.

The manner of his Audience.

WHILE the Credentials are produc'd and Reading by the Druggaman, in English the Interpreter, the Presents brought, and constantly expected from all Foreign Ministers upon their Audience of the Sultan, are expos'd to view; and those of the Embassadors selected Train, who have been first distinguish'd as before, advancing with their Foreheads to the Ground, have leave to kiss the Hem of the Grand Signior's Vest, which having done, they silently retire, and stand at some considerable space behind the Stool of the Ambassador.

NO sooner has the Sultan heard the Druggaman read loudly the Credentials, but he presents them to the Grand Vizier, who purposely stands near him, and the Audience being over, the Ambassador takes leave, but is not suffer'd once to turn his Back upon the Sultans Person,
How he must retire.

and in order to prevent it, he is led out Backwards by the Officers, who before Conducted him; from this time forward he must make his Application to the Grand Vizier, and other Ministers about the Court, for the Grand Signior, tho' the Head of all their Business, is himself above its Practice; leaving all the Cares and Hurries of a Throne to his deputed Instruments of State and Power.

The Chambers of the Pages or Icholans.

ALONG the left side of the Court, there run Three Rows of Building, Parallel to one another, call'd the Oda's of the Icholans, or Apartments of the Pages, who ascending gradually from the Meanest Offices among the Ajamolan's, are at last admitted to the lowest Chamber of the Pages, where for full Six Years they are Inur'd to all the Practices of menial Drudgery, such as Baking, Washing Linnen, Brushing Cloaths, and such like Labours.

IN the Second Chamber they continue commonly about Three Years, employ'd in Exercises more Conducive to the Minds Improvement; thence proceeding to the Third, and after Two or Three Years service there, are call'd according to their several standings, to the Hazoda, or Apartment for the Pages of the Presence, to supply the Vacancies there made from time to time, by the Preferment of the Oldest to the Greatest Places of the Empire.

THERE is an Officer appointed over every Chamber, to inspect the Management of these Icholan's, commonly Amounting to almost a Thousand Men; to him they are Subservient in so high a manner, that no Imagination can conceive the Strictness, under which they live;
Their restraint in the Seraglio.

their Beds are Spread in order on each side of the Extended Building, and themselves so rigidly deny'd a common Liberty, that they are never suffer'd to converse with any other Quarter of the Great Seraglio.

The Baths of the Seraglio.

DIRECTLY opposite to these Apartments are Five Rows of Baths, of different Forms and Structure, as design'd for the convenience of the High and Low, and every Person in the Sultans Palace; one Row among them is the Sultan's own, divided finely into Numerous Chambers, Pav'd with Marble of an Hundred Colours, and Adorn'd with Roofs and Walls of Chrystal, and a Thousand other strange contrivances to render them beyond example Pleasant and Convenient.

A Barbarous Custom of the Turkish Emperors.

AMONG the Buildings of this Court, there stands a low Roofed Hall of no mean length, appointed for the Lodging of the Dwarfs, Dumb, Deaf, Crook-Back'd and other Blots of Nature, many of each sort continually maintain'd for the Diversion of the Sultan, who delights in Sporting with those Wretches Miseries.

The Quarters of the White Eunuchs.

THE large Apartments of the Powerfull White Eunuchs, much in Vogue in Eastern Countries, and employ'd in the most profitable Posts of the Seraglio, to inspect the Management of all the Servants, terminate

AN EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, Which Represents The INWARD PLAN of the GRAND SIGNIORS SERAGLIO.

- 1 THE Sea, and Haven of Constantinople.

- 2 The Gate of the Seraglio.

- 3 Watch Towers, where Soldiers stand to Guard it.

- 4 The Way, between the outward and inward Wall of the Seraglio, thro' which the Soldiers pass, to relieve the Guard of the Watch Towers.

- 5 The Great Gardens of the Seraglio.

- 6 The First Court Yard.

- 7 The Ruins of an Old Chappel, that was Built by Constantine the Great.

- 8 The Quarters of the Ajam Olans.

- 9 The Great Wood-yard.

- 10 The Hospital.

- 11 The Quarters of the Helvagees.

- 12 The Green, where twice or thrice a Week, they Excercise themselves at Hurling the Javelin.

- 13 The Entrance of the Second Court.

- 14 The Square Piazza, with fine Lodging Rooms above it.

- 15 Quarters of the Baltagees.

- 16 Private Stables.

- 17 The Divan, or Justice-Hall.

- 18 The Kitchens of the Seraglio.

- 19 The Aquaeduct, and Court about it.

- 20 The Entrance of the Third Court.

- 21 The Pages Chambers.

- 22 The Baths of the Seraglio.

- 23 The Hall of Audience.

- 24 The Mutes Apartment.

- 25 The Dwarfs Apartment.

- 26 The Royal Mosque.

- 27 The Quarters of the White Eunuchs.

- 28 A Stately Piazza.

- 29 The Semicircular Piazza's of the Treasury.

- 30 The Four Treasury Chambers.

- 31 The Grotto's of the Seraglio.

- 32 Two Antient Graecian Obelisks.

- 33 The Quarters of the Pages of the Presence.

- 34 The Quarters of the Great Officers of the Seraglio.

- 35 The Royal Lodgings.

- 36 A Triumphal Arch.

- 37 A River, which divides the Womens Quarter from the other Part of the Seraglio.

- 38 Another Triumphal Arch.

- 39 The Winding Gallery.

- 40 The Ladies Apartment.

- 41 The Apartment of the Black Eunuchs.

- 42 The Ladies Garden.

- 43 A Fine Quick-Set Hedge, which Terminates the Ladies Garden.

- 44 Two Stair-Cases, leading from the two Apartments, thro' several Avenues, and Shady Passages, into the Wilderness, which being adorn'd with Greens and Arbours, Rivulets and Fountains, reaches as you see, to the very Point of the Seraglio.

To the Right Honble Charlot Countess of Warwick this Plate is Most Humbly Dedicated

the Court on either side, and reach within twelve paces of the Garden Walls; their form is in the shape of large Half-Moons, embracing, as it were, the other Buildings with their horns or corners.

The Mosque of the Seraglio.

ABOVE the Hall of Audience, and between the North-East ends of the two great Half-Moons, which form the Eunuch's Lodgings, stands a Mosque, whose Spires and Cupola's are richly gilded, and the Pile surrounded by a lovely Grove of lofty Cypress Trees; 'Tis here the Sultan and his Ladies daily come to their Devotion, yet unseen by any of those numerous Crowds of People, who assemble in the Body of the Church, in that they are divided from the rest by a Partition lettess'd over with an admirable Ingenuity; but their Devotion is no sooner ended, than they all return the way they came, and pass thro' private Galleries, unseen by any, to their own Apartments.

Pillars brought from Troy.

DIRECTLY from the Mosque abovenam'd runs an open Gallery, near thirty paces long, and thirteen broad, its Roof supported by great numbers of fine Marble Pillars, six whereof the Turks report to have been brought from Troy to Constantinople, when 'twas yet Byzantium; they are all of different colour each from other, one is blue, another green, and therefore held as sacred by the Turks, and every one so naturally bright, that they are falsly said by common Fame, to be transparent.

Curious Reliques of Antiquity.

THE high rais'd Fret-work of the Floor, is wonderfully fine and stately, all compos'd Mosaicly of great and little Marble Squares, of all imaginable Colours, richly representing some Historical and Kingly Figures, which the superstitious Turks have now defac'd by picking out their Eyes, and quite deforming all their Heads; however the remaining beauty of this noble Gallery sufficiently demonstrates, that it was the Workmanship of Christian Architects, to grace some part of that illustrious Palace, while it flourish'd gloriously in the peacefull Residence of Graecian Emperors.

Description of the Grand Signior's Treasury.

A very large and noble Portico, or large Piazza, terminates this Gallery, on either side extending to an equal distance, and compleatly forming a large Semicircle, at each end whereof there open two large Doors, each Door admits you to some one of four vast Chambers, which contain the Treasure of the Turkish Sultans.

EVERY Chamber is alike for form and bigness, making four Half-Moons, or Semicircles, two on either side, at equal distance each from other, with their horns or points directly contrary to those of the Piazza just now mention'd, and betwixt one Building and another, all the spaces being planted with the finest Trees, and odoriferous Flowers in various artfull Figures, form a sort of charming Prospect, not to be imagin'd by the most capacious Apprehension.

SIX Seals on either Door, and three large Chains secure the Entrance, never open'd but upon express Command from the Grand Signior to the Hasnadar Bashaw, or Lord High Treasurer; each Room is full of Cupboards, Coffers, Iron-Chests, and Shelves extreamly large, all fill'd with Riches of a different kind, and shining brightly with collected heaps of most inestimable Wealth, and curious Rarities, which have from time to time been freely given, bought, or taken from the distant Corners of the spacious Universe.

The Royal Lodgings.

DIRECTLY opposite to the Piazza, which contains the Doors, that open to this Treasure, stand the Royal Lodgings, which you enter by another great Piazza, not unlike the former, but with its Points so well dispos'd, and so exactly opposite, that both Piazza's make a Space of Circular design, and large extent, the midst whereof contains a Fountain, spouting from its sides large Streams of Water, which Descending in a Body on the Center of the Cistern, form a Figure Pleasantly uncommon.

Two Ancient Obelisks.

AMIDST the space, between the Horns of the Piazza's, stand two Obelisks of lofty Heighth, and wonderfull contrivance, but neglected by the Turks, no Lovers of the Venerable Reliques of Antiquity, are now o'ergrown with Bushes, and Surrounding Multitudes of Brambles.

A Pavement leading to the midst of the Piazza brings you to the Entrance of the Royal Lodgings, which compleat another Semicircle, looking out upon the inmost Gardens of the Great Seraglio, and together with the Gallery adjoining to it, looking like two C's affix'd together in the following manner,

The Wings adjoyning to the Royal Lodgings.

TWO Wings are added to the Center, either enter'd by a Door, which opens at each point of the Piazza, and extending their Apartments in two large Half-Moons directly opposite to those, which form the Treasury, but standing with their Horns the other way, and pointing to the Gardens, like the Sultans Lodgings.

ALL the space between these Wings, and the abovenam'd Treasury, is fill'd with Fountains, Cypress Trees, and curious Flower Gardens,
Melancholy Grotto's.

and the Vacancy on either side, politely terminated by a Semicircular Grotto, Built of Shells, set here and there upon a rough hard substance, exactly representing Natural Rock, betwixt whose Hollows, artificial Groves of fine Impending Coral seem to sprout, and thro' their dropping Branches Murmuringly discharge, small Streams of Water, gently Trickling down the Rock in many Places.

The Hazoda or Apartment of the Pages of the Presence.

THE Right of these two Wings, the Turks distinguish by the Name of the Hazoda, where the Forty Pages of the Presence have their Lodging, under the Inspection of an Officer of high degree; here they first begin to tast the sweets of Liberty, and are permitted to converse with whom they please, a Privilege for many Years before deny'd them.

Apartments of the Great Seraglio Officers.

THE Left Wing is divided into many fine and large Apartments, where are Lodg'd the Selictar-Aga, or Royal Sword Bearer, Hichokadar-Bashaw, or Bearer of the Cloak, and many other of the Greatest Officers of the Seraglio, such as always have Admission to the Presence of the Sultan.

THE Sultans Quarter Boasts no more than Three Great Rooms, but those so Splendid, and beyond Imagination Stately and convenient, that one, who never saw them, cannot comprehend the Twentieth Part of their Amazing Excellences.

Description of the Sultans Glorious Chambers.

THE Roofs are Arch'd, and all set thick with Glittering Spires and Balls of Chrystal, rim'd about with Gold and Azure, whence in many Places hang great Golden Globes, adorn'd with Diamonds of surprizing Lustre, all the sides are Richly Flagg'd in separate Pannels with White, Black, Grey, Blue, Green, and other colour'd Marble, 'twixt every one of which runs one of Gold or Silver, reaching like the rest from top to bottom; all the Floor is Veiny Marble, cover'd over with the finest and most costly Cloath of Gold, that can be purchas'd, neatly interwove with Twenty other different colours; close against the Wall, all round each Chamber lie large Cushions, of a black, green, blue, or crimson Velvet, embroidred in the richest manner, with the finest Pearls, some long, some round, and some of every form and magnitude; in short, no part of all those Chambers but possesses Ornaments, the most accomplish'd Grandeur of the stateliest Palaces of Europe cannot equalize.

A wonderfull River, flowing two ways.

BEHIND the Royal Lodgings at about two hundred Paces distance runs a River, brought by Art from the adjoining Sea, thro' subterraneous Passages, to rise exactly in the middle of the highest Ground of the Seraglio, where it forms a sort of Lake, and thro' an artificial Channel, runs along with mighty swiftness down the Hill on either side, quite cross the Palace, passing thro' the Garden Walls on either side, by a large Iron Grate, and so descending to the Sea two different ways, from which 'tis constantly supply'd, as fast as it emits the rising Waters.

The impossibility of approaching the Womens Quarter.

IT is this River, that divides the Great Seraglio from the Quarters of the Ladies, hindring all Communication 'twixt the two Divisions, by the means of its impetuous Current, nor dares any Man, how bold soever, once presume to straggle from his Station, towards the Verge of this forbidden Ground, since cou'd he pass the numerous Guards of Eunuchs, which impede his Progress, tho' that barr alone is unsurmountable, he must undoubtedly be seen, by the Grand Signior or his Officers, and present Ruin follow his Discovery.

Lovely Gardens.

FROM the Buildings, which contain the Lodgings of the Sultan, and the semicircular Wings thereto adjoining, runs a spacious and delightfull Flower-garden, curiously adorn'd with every kind of odoriferous Plant, and shady Tree, which can afford a Smell or Prospect any ways agreable; numerous Fountains, each of different form, illustrate the Appearance, and the Gardens reaching from one Wall to the other, terminate their breadth upon the Bank of the abovenam'd River, all along whose edge there runs a row of Breast-high Iron Rails, as on the other side appears a line of gilded Banisters.

THERE runs a little Marble Pavement from the Sultan's Postern, through a very stately Wooden Arch, adorn'd with Trees and twining Jessamins, which twist about it in the middle of the Garden, not unlike the fam'd Triumphal Arches of the ancient Romans.

THIS Pavement is divided at about an hundred paces from the River, into two distinct and semicircular Galleries with Banisters on either side, about three Foot in heighth, adorn'd with Spires and Balls of Gold,
Two Draw-bridges, which lead you to the Ladies Apartment.

which lead to two great Draw-bridges, each guarded by a Party of White Eunuchs on the hither side, and crossing the swift Current on each side of the beforenam'd Source of Waters, at the other Foot of either Bridge there waits a constant Guard of Black, or Negro Eunuchs, and two other Galleries, exactly correspondent to the former, lead two ways to such another Pavement, running also thro' an Arch adorn'd and built exactly like the other.

Of the Apartments of the Women.

AND now we are arriv'd upon a Ground, where any Man, except the Sultan, is like Juvenal's Rara avis in terris, even as great a rarity as his black Swan, or any other Wonder; nothing here is seen but Beauty, strangely intermix'd with rough Deformity, each small Avenue leading to the Women, who inhabit this Division,
Black or Negro Eunuchs.

being watch'd continually by Crowds of Blackamores, not only rob'd of all the strong and virile Marks of lusty Manhood by a smooth Castration or Decision rather, but elected from the most deform'd and evil countenanc'd of that untempting Race, as if the curs'd insatiate Jealousy of the lascivious Sultans, cou'd not think the incapacitating them from amorous Practices with their distrusted Women, were sufficient to secure them, but they must inhumanely contrive a way to keep the Ladies Inclinations Chast, by the prevailing Virtue of a strong Antipathy.

Moral Reflections.

HOW wide alas! does this luxurious Prince mistake the real road to Greatness, who instead of awing his audacious Subjects by a warlike Disposition, and the even Balance of impartial Justice, leaves his Empire to subservient Managements, and meanly gives himself entirely over to the constant Practice of voluptuous Living; neither knowing nor desiring other Grandeur than the plenary indulgment of his carnal Appetite, not considering that, as Seneca says in his Tragedy of Thyestes,

Sen. Tra. of Thyestes.

Regem non faciunt opes,

Non vestis Tyriae color,

Non frontis nota Regiae,

Non auro nitidae trabes.

Rex est, qui posuit metus,

Et diri mala pectoris;

Quem non ambitio impotens,

Et nunquam stabilis favor

Vulgi praecipitis movet.

THE transient Honours, which frail Riches bring,

Are not those Royal Proofs, that mark a King,

Not Tyrian Purple o'er his Garments spread,

Nor regal Diadems around his Head,

Not gracefull Robes, which shine in every fold

With a polite embroidery of Gold;

He only is a King, who, not opprest

By those black Fears and Ills, which storm his Breast,

Bravely stands firm, his Justice to maintain,

And hears Ambition tempt his Pow'r in vain;

Who stands th' establish'd Pillar of his State,

Always alike, still Good, and ever Great.

Moral Reflections.

CONTENT will make the meanest Object of uncover'd Poverty a happier Man, than commonly the Sultan is in all these elevated Scenes of Pomp and Glory. The tow'ring heighth, whereon he stands, does seldom fail to make him giddy; then he falls below the bliss of those, who can in Rags reflect on Grandeur in the following Notions of that admirable Author.

Rex est, qui metuit nihil,

Rex est, quique cupit nihil,

Hoc Regnum sibi quisque dat.

That Man's a Monarch, who can fear no fate;

So's he, who never covets to be Great,

And that, which makes such sort of Kingdoms best,

Is, that all Men at will may be thereof possest.

Moral Reflections.

NO Man, who seriously reflects upon the bloody ends, which commonly attend the Turkish Emperors, and overtake their Pride amidst the Sunshine they are fondly basking in, wou'd wish to change degrees with their uncertain Majesty; and surely Death must fall with double weight on such, as Power and Haughtiness of Soul have lifted up beyond the apprehension of its ever reaching them; for, to make use again of Seneca's Expressions.

Illi mors gravis incubat,

Qui notus nimis omnibus,

Ignotus moritur sibi.

Death on that Man must heavy fall,

Who, by his Grandeur, shown,

Known and respected too by all,

Dies to himself unknown.

A winding Gallery.

BUT to return again to what I was about, the Pavement on the other side the second Arch admits you to the entrance of a stately Gallery, perhaps the finest, that was ever heard of, for it reaches from one Garden Wall to the other, winding in and out exactly as we paint a folding Serpent, all the turnings at an equal distance from each other, and so often made, that those, who walk upon it lose the sight of one another every ten or fourteen Paces.

Fine Marble Pillars.

TIS supported nobly by two rows of Pillars, of a red and white large veiny Marble; all the Bases and the Capitals are black; and the inverting Floor, on which they stand, consists of spacious Marble Squares, politely intermix'd one half of red, the other of a lovely greenish Colour.

YOU ascend the top of the abovenam'd Gallery by a broad Marble Stair-case, with three stately Landing-places, rail'd on either side with Iron gilt, and headed with large Balls and Spires of Gold:
A golden Floor.

You enter with a strange surprize, to see the bottom floor'd to all appearance with thick Plates of burnish'd Gold, which is indeed no more than Copper gilt, but every Year or two renew'd or polish'd, so that it reflects a dazling Lustre and amazing Majesty: On either side is built a kind of Wall breast high, whose inside like the Floor is plated over with the Copper gilt, and all along upon its top on either side, at five Foot distance from each other, stand vast numbers of fine golden Pyramids, each Pyramid adorn'd upon its utmost Point with one large Globe of Gold, by four whereof the bottom is supported.

THE Reader I presume, will be inclin'd to think this Place, as I have now describ'd it so magnificent and beautifull, that it can scarce admit of an additional extravagance; he will be consequently much surpriz'd,
A lovely walking Place.

when I inform him, that on either side within the Wall are very deep and artificial hollows, fill'd with Soil of a productive nature, where are planted Wood-bines, commonly call'd Hony-suckles, Jessamins, low Flowers, and Tuberoses, which supported by a stronger and more spreading kind of lasting Greens, so sweetly intermix with one another, meeting at the top, and growing thick upon a frame of rich gilt Box Wood, that you walk as in a dream, thro' all the odoriferous extasies of Natures Blessings.

The Lodgings of the Negro Eunuchs.

THE Gallery is terminated on the left by a large Door, which opens sideways into the Apartment of the Negro Eunuchs, or Black-Guard of the secluded Ladies; which extends it self strait forward, towards the Point of the Seraglio about two hundred Yards in length, and breadth proportionable; it consists of only one large Hall supported by large Vaults, wherein are all the Cellars, Landries, and Conveniencies, requir'd for the service of the Ladies.

THE Room is equally divided into spaces for the Eunuch's Lodging-Places, and its high Arch'd Roof supported by an Hundred Marble Pillars, Fifty on a side; about the Middle opens a low Wooden Door, and lets you out upon a Gallery, which fronts the Gardens; here they Eat, Drink and Divert themselves, when out of Waiting, casting still an Eye of Observation on the Womens Actions.

The Lodgings of the Sultan's Mistresses.

DIRECTLY opposite, and enter'd in the same manner, lie the Lodgings of the Sultans Mistresses, consisting also of one Room and Gallery with Offices below it, the Length, Breadth, Heighth, and whole Proportion just the same with the Apartment of the Eunuchs.

The Furniture of their Apartment.

BUT as for all the Ornamental part, the Roof, Sides, Floor, and Pillars of the Ladies Chamber are exactly like the Sultans own Division; or if any difference appears, it is because the Womens Quarter Shines more Brightly, if it's possible, with Gold and Chrystal; and whereas the Rooms of the Grand Signior, as you read before, are Pannel'd from the Cieling to the Floor, with Gold and Silver every Yard or two between the Marble, here, instead thereof, they sert the finest Looking-Glass, which so surprizingly adorns the place, that viewing as you walk along, a strange confus'd irregularity of prospect, in promiscuous mixtures of the various colour'd Marble Flags, the Cushions, Carpets, and the Numerous Pillars, which support the Building, you are agreable amaz'd at so uncommon an appearance.

Their Beds and way of Sleeping.

THEIR Beds are only Quilts or Carpets five times doubled, over which is laid a Sattin Coverlet, which being turn'd aside, they enter in their Shifts and Mustin Drawers, and contentedly repose themselves till Break of Day, beyond which hour they seldom are permitted to indulge themselves in slumber.

How their Beds are Plac'd.

FOUR Rows of Beds there are, from one end of the Chamber to the other, and the Number of the Ladies, sometimes more, and sometimes less, may commonly be reckon'd at about Five Hundred. Two Rows of Beds are Plac'd against the Wall on either side, and two between the Columns, which support the Chamber.

The Governante's of the Seraglio how chosen.

BETWEEN each Fourth and Fifth of all the Beds their lies a kind of Matron, if it may be proper so to call an Aged Virgin, for they are always chosen out of those more Antiquated Ladies, whose hard luck has burthen'd them with the Ʋnsummon'd Load of Stale Virginity, and consequently made them fit for a Succession to the Vacancies of such a Post, as by requiring a Malicious care to hinder Wantonesses they are Past the Tast of, speaks 'em enviously and extreamly Qualified for its Possession.

How the Ladies live in the Seraglio.

IT is the proper Business of these Ill-natur'd Governante's, to inspect the Actions and Behaviour of the Young Recluses, by day to keep 'em Strictly to their Work, which, for the most Part, is Embroidery in various colours, intermix'd with Gold and Silver, upon Silk or Muslin; at other times to see they miss not those Genteeler parts of Education, such as Singing, Dancing and the like, according to the Turkish Mode, all which is Taught 'em Daily by Black Eunuchs purposely oblig'd to Practice such Accomplishments, as 'twill be Requisite to Teach the Ladies.

A strictness to prevent Immodest Actions.

THERE Burn all Night, not far from each Beds Foot, a sort of fine Wax Tapers, and the only reason for it, is, that by their Light, the Governante may be able to Discover all immodest or indecent Pastimes, which the Wanton Inclinations of the Youthfull Ladies, kept from the Society or Sight of Man, might prompt 'em to the Practice of, did Opportunity and Darkness favour their Endeavours: I cou'd give my Reader some Amazing Instances in that particular, but since it may offend the Modesty of my more Chast and Vertuous Country-Women, 'twill be more Obliging if I spare their Blushes by Omitting the Relation.

The Ladies Gallery.

THE Gallery adjoyning to the Ladies Lodgings, tho exactly correspondent, and alike in Form and Bigness to its Opposite, belonging to the Negro Eunuchs, shines beyond it in a High Degree, by reason of the Rich Embroider'd Cushions, Cloth of Gold, and Silken Furniture, wherewith the Floor, and Saffrai are both cover'd; looking out upon a Garden, filling all the space between the Buildings, and extending its Avenues, Flower-Plots, Fountains, and Cool Grotto's, from the Winding Gallery to the bottom of the Lodgings,
A Stately Quick-sett-Hedge.

where it is terminated by a Quick-sett-Hedge, of a Surprizing Heigth and Thickness, forming a Half-Moon, the Horns whereof Embrace the Inner Angles of the two Apartments, open in the Middle by a smooth and Artificial Gap, which represents a large Arch'd Gate-way, leading to the Entrance of a Shady Grove, the Spreading Branches of whose Various Trees meet over Head and form a Hundred Lovely Bowers, and cool retirements, which I shall hereafter largely Treat of.

Lovely Gardens.

FROM the Galleries, which Front the two Apartments, you descend from either end by a large Marble Stair-Case, turning from the Quick-sett Hedge, and Winding till they look towards the side Walls of the Seraglio: These admit you to the Entrances of many Shady Paths and gracefull Avenues of Myrtle, Cypress, Orange Trees and Jessamins, which Wind delightfully from Place to Place, sometimes admitting you to Subterraneous Grotto's, all supported and adorn'd by Marble Pillars, from whose sides there Issues Water, that by falling down from different Heights on Shells of Brass, of different Thickness, makes a sort of gentle Musick, sweetly full of Melancholy Harmony.

Fine Greens for the Diversion of the Sultans Mistersses.

SOMETIMES these Walks or rather Labyrinths, lead you out upon fine Greens, Round, Square, Oblong, and of all forms imaginable, Moated round by well-stock'd Fish-Ponds, in the Middle of these Greens, there generally stands a Tent, each Rope whereof is Guarded by an Eunuch: Here such Ladies, as are graver than the Rest, sit Cross Legg'd and observe the Pastimes of their fellow Beauties, some of which run Wildly up and down the Field, and form a kind of Sport not much unlike our English Country Game of Threading the Scottish Needle, others Dance upon another part of the same Green, here some are Walking and conversing Merrily, there three or four are Lolling in the Shade, Stretching and Rolling up and down in Wanton Postures, and every now and then you may perceive some serious solitary Virgin, Angling in the Fishpond, and unmindfull of all Pastimes but her own sedate and innocent Diversion,

Lascivious Customs of the Ladies in the Seraglio.

IT is not seldom that the Sultan does in Person grace their Exercises, and then they all contrive with eager Emulation, who shall most engage his fancy by the Artifice of her Behaviour; now Modesty takes leave of these Licentious Ladies, and the Warmer Arguments of loose desire incline them to the Practice of the most Lascivious Dances, Postures, and Performances, which serve to raise a Lustfull Fire, and may excite the Passion of the Amorous Sultan to a Cooling satisfaction of his Heated Wishes, in a full Possession of her happy charms, who more than any other moves his Inclinations.

SUCH Gardens, Groves, and fine Plantations of Delicious Fruit Trees, as I have above describ'd, fill all the large remaining space within the Inner Wall of the Seraglio, which confines the Womens Quarter,
The great Gardens of the Seraglio.

and divides the whole from those vast tracts of Garden Ground, which quite surround the Palace, and consist of Fruits of every kind, Herbs, Cucumbers, and every individual thing, which is requir'd even from the Kitchin to the Dining Room. These larger Gardens are manur'd by Men, of common Knowledge in Affairs of Husbandry; but those belonging to the Ladies Quarter, are not enter'd but by certain of the Negro Eunuchs, purposely instructed in the art of Gardening, that they may be qualified to serve in that Employment.

Another Wall.

ANOTHER Wall divides the largest Gardens from the outward Wall of the Seraglio, leaving only space sufficient for the passing and repassing of those Troops of Soldiers, who from time to time relieve the Guards, perpetually employ'd to keep the Towers, which, as I said before, defend the Palace.

I know the natural Curiosity of my expecting Female Readers will induce them to condemn my want of Complaisance, if, after having led them gradually thro' every corner of the Sultan's Palace, I shou'd hurry 'em away without permitting them, to look a little into his Amours, the hopes perhaps, of which amusement was the only cause, that brought 'em thither.

TO this I answer, That I will immediately comply with their Desires; but must by way of Prologue, urge 'em all to lay aside those vulgar Errors and Romantick Notions, former Authors, or perhaps, their travelling Lovers have possess'd their Minds with.

Common Fame a common Lyar.

COMMON Fame is both a Lyar, and a Magnifier of the falsities of all Mankind; where Truth is doubtful, or the Fact obscure, she strait contrives to fill deficiencies with a productive train of illegitimate Assertions;
A mistaken Notion of the Grand Signior's Courtship.

nor ever cou'd a Subject more entirely prove the certainty of this Opinion, than the Great Seraglio of the Turkish Sultan, and the ceremonious Practices of his uncommon ways of Courtship, such as walking thro' them with a Knott of Handkerchiefs fasten'd to his Girdle, one of which he drops at every Ladies Foot, he has a mind to make his Bed-fellow; yet this erroneous Story had the fortune to obtain so good a Credit, that the Learned and Judicious Sir Paul Ricaut, has not blush'd to tell us in his Maxims of the Turkish Polity, that such as is above describ'd, was universally allow'd to be the Pattern of the Sultan's Courtship.

Love Affairs shou'd be kept secret.

AFFAIRS of Love, the Ladies tell me, shou'd be kept as secret as Affairs of State, and certainly if so, 'tis doubly criminal, when we betray the close Amours of Royal Monarchs; yet for once I'll venture to transgress those rules of Privacy, and give as punctual an Account, as I am able, of the Scenes of Love, occasionally practis'd 'twixt the Sultan and his Mistresses. If any of my Countrywomen shou'd be so delighted with the Pleasures I describe, as to abandon England for the Turks Seraglio, the Nation will forgive me for the loss they suffer, by considering the Accident as such a wonderful surprize, that not the sharpest Mortal guess cou'd ever have expected it.

The notice given by the Sultan, when he intends a Visit to his Ladies.

FIRST then the Sultan almost daily visits the Apartment of his Ladies, and gives notice half an hour or more before he comes, by looking out from his back Windows to the Drawbridge, guarded by the Negro Eunuchs, and informing them of his intention by the Words Helvett, Gelerrum, that is, Make ready, I am coming.

How he is receiv'd, and what he does among them.

THIS notice is enough, and all the inner Palace rings immediately with the repeated sounds of this Alarum, all the Ladies dress themselves with hast, Wash, Shift, Perfume and Polish their Appearances for the Reception of their Master, who upon his Entrance, is saluted by the whole Assembly on their Knees, he sits, drinks Coffee, Tea, and toys away an hour or two in kissing and embracing them with equal familiarity, and then conducts them to the Greens, or Bowers within the Gardens, where he takes delight to see their Emulation in the several Arts of pleasing, which I just now told you they employ their time in.

How the Sultan chuses a Mistress.

THIS is, however, but the method of his publick Conversation with the numbers of his Ladies, amongst whom the Charms of one will often shine superior to the others; Her, on some such Day of publick Sport, appointed purposely, he beckons from the rest, and leads her to some Bower, to talk a while in private, and prepare her Expectation for the Honour he allots her to.

How he Courts her.

THE Eunuchs, who attend, acquainted with the Reasons of their Emperor's withdrawing, summon the repining Remnant of the disappointed Virgins back to their Apartment; while the new-elected Mistress of the Sultan's Love, receives perhaps, the sweet advances of a Kiss or two, in token of the value she has heard her Lord declare he bears her; after which she is deliver'd by the Hand of the Grand Signior to the charge of those Black Eunuchs then in Waiting.

The Respect the other Ladies are oblig'd to show her.

BY them she is saluted with a low Respect, becoming the Address of such as compliment the Partner of the Sultan's Bed; and quite surrounded by her black Retinue, walks in State along the Chamber she so lately was confin'd to; all the other Ladies as she passes by, rise up, and falling on their Knees to kiss her Vest, congratulate the Blessing she must soon become Possessor of.

Their Pride upon advancement.

TRANSPORTED by Success, beyond her self, and giddy by the height of her Advancement to such Fortune, Reason, which before perhaps, had little place within her Mind, now quite forsakes the elevated Creature, who forgetting that her happiness depends upon the humour of a fickle Monarch, and must stand or fall as he is pleas'd or displeas'd with her first Embraces, looks about her with a scornful Air of Pride and Grandeur, and believes herself as much above them in her Merit, as she then appears by the respect they pay her; hence spring a thousand Jealousies, malicious Wishes, Envies and Uneasinesses, which are the neverfailing Consequences of Domestic Preference among the Ladies, and undoubtedly gave cause to that old Graecian Poet, (who by the way 'tis ten to one was Married) to cry out 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 The Envy of the Women make Mens Houses downright Bedlams.

Preparatory Ceremonies.

THE Publick Wardrobe of the Ladies Lodgings is oblig'd to furnish rich variety of Cloths and Jewels upon such occasions, and with these, she is conducted by the grave Matrona's I before discours'd of, to the Bagnio's of the Sultan, where she is not only strip'd, and wash'd from Head to Foot, but scented with Perfumes to add new Charms to those of Nature, that she may appear at Night, deserving that Affection, which her Royal Lover has vouchsaf'd to crown her with.

A pleasant Custom.

BESIDES the Preparation of the Bagnio, previous to her Bedding the Grand Signior, she is offer'd Wine to drink without controul, that so, she may possess at Night an artificial Vigour, more engaging than the modest Bashfullness of her untried and native Innocence.

THUS may the Reader see, how wantonly the Monarchs of the Turkish Empire study means to swell their Pleasures to the utmost pitch of Tast and Luxury, whereby they madly hasten on their Ends, forgetfull of that true, but much unheeded Graecian Maxim.

An admirable Graecian Maxim.

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Three things there are, that shorten Mortal's Breath,

And hurry us compendiously to Death,

Bathing, and drinking Wine to great Excess,

And love of Female Joys to lustful Wantonness.

How the Lady is conducted to the Sultan's Chamber.

WHEN Night is come, and the Grand Signior, full of Expectation, laid in Bed, the Eunuchs of his Chamber notifie his Pleasure to the Waiting Lady, who is thereupon immediately attended by the other Virgins, Matrons, and Black Eunuchs, to the Sultan's Chamber, all the Instruments of Turkish Musick sounding round her, and a hundred large Wax Tapers lighting her along; they leave her at the Door, and wishing her a Satisfaction equal to her Honour, separate, and all return to their respective Places.

How receiv'd there.

MEAN while the trembling Virgin knocks, and is admitted by the Kisler Aga, or Great Master of the Negro Eunuchs, who attends her coming, to instruct her in some necessary Duties, she must offer at Performing; after which he modestly withdraws and leaves her in the Chamber.

Her first Address to the Grand Signior.

THE Sultan all this while expects her in the Bed, to which she is directed, by two large white Tapers, burning in the Room; I shou'd have told you, that she enters, only cover'd with a Wrapping Night-gown, and advancing to the Feet of the Grand Signior's Bed, falls down upon her Knees, and in an humble manner asks this Question. ‘A Slave to your Commands, Great Monarch, waits your beckon, may, or may she not be now admitted?’

YOU may be sure the Sultan answers Yes, and if impatient to possess her Beauties, takes her in as soon and kindly as your self young Reader wou'd your Mistress:
Their pleasant method of creeping in at the Beds-feet.

But alas poor Women! common Custom generally forces them to a more humble Entrance, for, in token of Submission, dropping off their Night-gown, they must gently raise the Bed Cloaths at the Feet, and so creep gradually up to those Embraces, which an Englishman wou'd be so civil to believe deserving of a kinder Welcome; and an Englishwoman, if I know them rightly, think too worthy to bestow in such a mortifying and submissive manner.

Their Salutation in the Morning.

'TIS possible however, that an after-game of Love and Kindness may make full amends for the indifference of her first Reception, that we will not doubt of, but proceed to tell you, that when Morning breaks, they are awaken'd by the sound of Musick, and the shriller Voices of some tunefull Eunuchs, singing certain Songs compos'd on purpose, not unlike the Epithalamiums of the Ancient; all these Songs are handed up and down the City, when the Story of some new Intrigue inclines the People to converse upon that Subject; I had several presented me, and one among the rest I have Translated, to divert the Reader.

A Turkish Epithalamium

Blessings Crown the Royal Pair,

Mighty Sultan, happy Fair,

Endless Pleasures bless your Bed,

Angels Wings around you spread,

Godlike Offspring grace your Joys,

Heav'nly Daughters, lovely Boys,

All that eithers Wish can crave,

That let both together have,

Long continue all your Pleasure,

Let your Bliss be out of measure.

Blessings crown the Royal Pair,

Mighty Sultan, happy Fair.

The Present, he makes her in the Morning.

ALARM'D by the repeated Harmony of these congratulary Songs, the New-made Woman rises from the Bosom of her amorous Partner, who bestows at parting, (with a gratefull Kiss) some precious Jewel of inestimable Value; as soon as she is cover'd by the Wrapper, she threw off the Night before, the Sultan pulls a Silken String, and presently come in the Ladies and their Matrons to attend her in another Chamber, while she dresses richly in the Cloaths I lately told you were demanded from the Wardrobe, having first been bath'd, and well perfum'd all over in the private Bagnio.

The Honour of a Favorite.

IF she has been so happy as to please the Sultan in a more than common manner, she continues Queen of his Apartment and Affection, serv'd all Day upon the Knee, by his Superior Officers, and sharing every Night the Bed of her Great Master, and it has been sometimes known, that One has kept Possession of his Heart for many Years together, insomuch that all the other Ladies have been slighted, or forgotten, while their Monarch's Thoughts were wholly bent to find new Pleasures for the Object of his Passion.

How the Sultan and she pass their time.

WHEN any Lady is so fortunate as this, the daily Custom of the Sultan is to lead her up and down, from Walk to Walk, and Bower to Bower about the Garden, Courting her as amorously and as full of softness, as a Christian Lover wou'd a Mistress he address'd for Marriage; all the while they walk, the Gardens must be private, not so much as a Black Eunuch is permitted to remain, to overhear or see the fond Amours of the delighted Sultan.

Other Diversions.

SOMETIMES they walk or sit in Grottoes, sometimes in the coolest part of some sweet Grove, where fine Cascades and other Water Works seem to join Harmony with warbling Birds about their Heads, as if they strove to drown from any others Ear, the whisp'ring softness of their Voices; sometimes they mount a sort of winding Stairs, that lead up to a little Pleasure House, contriv'd within the Branches of an Oak or Walnut Tree, and cover'd over with Embroid'red Velvet Cushions, where they sit, stand, lie and dally wantonly, (unseen by any thing but Heaven) in a mutual Transport.

A strange Contrivance for a Seat of Pleasure.

AMONGST the numerous Contrivances those Gardens boast, one seems to have been copied from an Indian Model; for in certain thickest parts of the close Groves, is left a Square about four Yards in bigness; at every corner of this Square is planted a large Tree, whose Branches, growing very high, and spreading far beyond the rest, meet overhead, and form a Canopy, that shades all underneath from the most piercing Sun-shine: To the smallest of these Trees low Branches, consequently such as any weight will move most easily, are fastned strongly the four Corners of a doubled Canvass, cover'd over with the richest Velvet, which is pull'd so tight that it appears as even as a Table, yet when any thing of reasonable Burthen comes upon it, all the Branches giving way like Springs, it feels a very odd and pleasant kind of Motion.

A charming Summer-House.

A little Wooden Stair-Case, Winding round each corner Tree, admits the Sultan and his valued Mistress to this Velvet-Cover'd Canvas, where they sometimes roll about, and rocking up and down, so toy away their Hours in Amorous Pastime, sometimes sitting Cross-legg'd Play at Chess, or Talk away their Minutes, in a Pleasing Conversation, while their Ravish'd Senses are Enchanted in a manner, by the Twining Honey-Suckles, Jessamins, and other Odoriferous, Plants, and Flowers, which growing out of certain Pots of Earth, Ingeniously made fast to the Top-Branches of the Trees, Hang sweetly down between the Boughs, and form a Lovely Scent and Prospect, not to be Imagin'd but by Persons present; this Place so rich in Pleasure, tempts the Passions of the Toying Couple to such Ardent Wishes, that the Shady Canopy, which covers them so well, is often Conscious of their Wanton Pastime.

How the other Ladies are dispos'd off, after Beding the Grand Signior.

BESIDES these Inward Scenes of the Grand Signiors Dalliances, there stands a Lettic'd Kiosk or Summer-House, adorn'd with Cloth of Gold and Velvet Cushions, whence, while they are Drinking Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate, they have an open prospect of the Asian Mountains, all the Haven, and the Town upon the other side, with the Kaickgees or Boat Men Rowing up and down, and the said Summer-House being Built upon the outward Wall of the Seraglio, all the Gallies, Ships of War, and Trading Vessels, Foreign, or their own, must necessarily pass almost within Pistol Shot of their Commodious Situation.

THESE are the favours constantly bestow'd upon those happy Ladies, who obtain a Monarch's Heart in lieu of their Virginities: But the less successfull Women, after they have one Night tasted the Embraces of a Man, are carried from the Chamber, where they live when Maids, and lock'd in a Seraglio call'd Kadin Serai, or Ladies Palace, here they live a Solitary Life, confin'd within the Walls of an old Building, Waited on by Eunuchs, and can never hope for liberty, unless they chance to prove with Child, if so, they are brought back to an Apartment near the Sultans, and deliver'd in his presence, ever after living there, with liberty to wear a Crown of different shape and value, according to her Quality, which is defin'd by being First or Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, or Twentieth Hasakee or Concubine.

A Barbarous Policy.

AS for the Sons they are deliver'd of, the Barbarous Policy of their Jealous Government, immediately Imprisons them as soon as Born, in a Dark Underground Apartment, where they are Instructed in their Language and Religion, all their necessaries handed down thro' Holes bor'd thro' the Cieling, being never suffer'd even to see the Sun, till on the Death of him who Reign'd, the Eldest Brother is Elected from his Dungeon to the Throne of that Great Empire; who of old, as soon as he was Father of a Son or two himself, was us'd to order all his Brothers to be Strangled in the Prison, but of late they have disus'd this Black Inhumane Custom.

THE New-Elected Emperor enjoys at pleasure any of those Women, who were brought to the Seraglio for the Pleasure of his Predecessor, only the Sultana's or such Ladies as he had enjoy'd, are Instantly remov'd to the Kadin Serai I lately spoke of; all the rest remaining pure, undoubted Virgins, he possesses as he pleases:
The care they use in getting Virgin.

Here the Reader may take Notice, that no Women are admitted into the Seraglio after Eight Years Old, That so the Sultan may not be deceiv'd as to her being Innocent from even a thought of Man; nor then, unless their Beauties promise by the Fineness of their Bloom, to ripen by degrees to full Perfection.

IT now and then so happens that a full grown Woman, who is made the Prize of War, is sent to the Seraglio by some Great Bashaw, but then such a Lady must be Mistress of those Charms, which seem to mark her, as a Treasure only fit for the Grand Signior's keeping.

How the Sultan's Daughters are dispos'd of.

THE Sultan's Daughters at five, six, or seven Years of Age, are married to Bashaws of high Command, who in acknowledgment of the great Honour he conferrs upon them, are oblig'd each New-Years-Day, to send a Present to their Royal Father-in-law, of such considerable Value, that it drains their Coffers faster than they find fair means to fill 'em, so that by this little Artifice, the Sultan finds continual means to turn the Danger of a Subjects Riches to his own Advantage.

How the Women of the Seraglio plague the Sultan.

NOW will the Reader be inclin'd to think that he, who swims in such a Sea of Pleasure, cannot be invaded by the Stings of Discontent, yet, as a Proof that every Mortal must be subject to the Imperfections, which attend Mortality, a thousand little Anxietys torment and vex him, and the Quarrels of his Women so distract his Temper, that he often will be absent a considerable time, in Hunting or some other Pastime, on purpose to avoid the trouble of becoming Arbitrator of their frequent Disputations.

No State of Mortal Life entirely happy.

THUS can no Condition of our Life be fully happy, Celibacy has its Inconveniencies, and so has Matrimony; we oft change sides like Men in Fevers, yet can never reach the ease we aim at; there are some admirable Notions hereupon in a Greek Poem, which is already rendred English by so great a Hand, that I will give 'em you Translated as I found 'em.

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Domestic Cares afflict the Husband's Bed,

Or Pains, his Head.

Those, who live Single, take it for a Curse,

Or do things worse.

Some wou'd have Children, those, who have them, moan,

Or wish them gone.

What is it then, to have, or have no Wife,

But single Thraldom, or a double Strife?

TO wind up my Discourse of the Seraglio, I will only add, that in respect to the Grand Signior, Mutes are there in great esteem, and such an aweful Silence always kept, that they have learn'd a Language on their Fingers, which is not only practis'd by the Mutes, but all the Officers in the Seraglio, who can readily by Signs, express themselves as fully as they can by Speaking:
Why Mutes are made the Executioners of Turkey.

Another thing the Reader may take notice of, is that the Mutes are kept as Executioners, and sent to Strangle such great Men, as the Grand Signior Signs a Warrant for the Death of: I know not why they, more than others, are appointed to that Duty, unless it is because, by being Deaf and Dumb, they are not qualified to hear and pity those they Execute.

CHAP. XX. Of the Revenues of the Turkish Sultan.

THE Reader must not here expect particular Accounts of those prodigious Sums of Money, wherewith the Emperors of Turkey still find means to fill their Coffers;
Private Treasures, how amass'd in Turkey.

I can only tell him, that besides the Publick Treasury I lately spoke of, there is kept in the Seraglio private Banks of Money in strong leather Baggs, the Sum, which each contains, inscrib'd upon a Label fast'ned to it; These have been amass'd by former Sultans, and are all distinguish'd from each other by the several Names of the collecting Monarchs deeply cut upon the Covers of large Iron Chests, which hold the leather Baggs abovenam'd.

To what Use reserv'd.

THESE Private Treasures, tho' containing mighty Sums of Money, which instead of lying dead might be increas'd each Year by different Improvements, are esteem'd so Sacred by the superstitious Turks, that they believe it nothing less than hainous Guilt or Sacrilege it self, to make the smallest use thereof, till it may do their Country and Religion signal Service at a time, if such a time ever happen, when the Christian Nations join against them and invade their Territories; a thing I fear, too much unlikely, but in which the Turks are apprehensive of a Universal Danger.

The yearly Revenue of the Grand Signior.

AS for the Revenues of the Turkish Sultan, such I mean as are his fix'd Propriety, and the undoubted Right of his Imperial Dignity, they are at present reckon'd at about eight Millions and three hundred thousand Pounds Sterling, yearly Income; a Sum becoming the Possession of a Prince so absolute as the Grand Signior.

The manner of Collecting it.

THE manner of Collecting this prodigious Sum, is by Assessing every Subject of his Empire, at an inconsiderable Yearly Tax, which he must pay as an Acknowledgment of his Dependance on, and Duty to the Sultan; and it is an admirable Method, they have got, of raising all this Money without any charge or trouble to the Emperor.

THE Petty Governors of every little District, are oblig'd to gather the respective Quota's of the Villagers about them, and set out with Guards sufficient to defend the Money towards the next great Town to their dependant Residences; here they must deliver it to the Possession of the Aga, or the Governour of the Place, demanding his Discharge for their Acquittance of a Duty so incumbent on their Offices.

How carry'd to the Capital.

THE Aga's adding to this Sum their own Collections, guard 'em in like manner to the Sangiacks, or the Lords Provincial; they, with the addition of their own deliver it to the Superior Beylerbeys, or Great Arch-Dukes of Turkey, and these last continue all in their Possession, till demanded by the Guards, who undertake to carry it in Waggons safely to Constantinople.

THE Quarterly Collections never are behind hand, for on pain of Ruin no Man dares refuse immediate Payment on the Day appointed, so that ten Days after every Quarter, the remotest Provinces begin to send away their Money towards the City I so lately nam'd. In every Province, the Timariots, Zaims, and other standing Soldiery, are summon'd to appear and form a general Muster;
How guarded on the Road.

whence, with their Commanders at their Head, they all advance, and guard the Waggons to the Residence of the Sangiack of the adjoining Province.

HE with all his Soldiers, joining his additional Collections to the former, there receives the Custody of all together, and advances in like manner till he reaches his next Neighbour, who relieves him with another Party; and in this settled Order they proceed, still swelling their Collections, till the last delivers all the Revenues of one Quarter, to the Lord High Treasurer at Constantinople.

IT is observable, that as the Provinces, which lie the nearest to their great Metropolis, must undertake the Convoy of far greater Sums than the remoter Places, so the number of their Soldiers is proportionably greater, as they are by far more populous, for reasons mention'd in the Chapter, treating of the Maxims of their Policy.

An admirable Policy.

NOW, tho' the Sultan's Treasure is thus brought him by the universal Labour of his Subjects; he is as I have said entirely free from any kind of Charge; this Duty being fix'd upon his Governors of Provinces, as one of those incumbent on their Places, and consequently to be manag'd only by those Officers.

Another way the Sultan has of raising Money.

BUT many are the means, whereby the Sultan daily adds prodigious Sums to his Revenues, such as, for Example, The obliging all the Great Bashaws and Governours of his Dominions every New-Years-Day to send him Presents, commonly in ready Money, which amounts to an incredible Amassment.

Another, which he often uses.

ANOTHER way he has, when his Occasions press him to Collect extraordinary Sums, by sending Orders to the Lords Provincial of his Empire, immediately to raise as much as he requires, which they must do without reply, by Means as absolute as the Command of their Great Master; oftentimes the Sultan takes occasion to demand such Sums from certain Provinces, as 'tis impossible they can supply him with; but sending in compliance with his Will as much as they can spare, excuse themselves, as incapacited for a further Contribution.

A barbarous Avarice.

HERE the Grand Signior gains his end, and finds a thousand fair Pretences for the Execution of the Governors of all such Provinces; he either sends 'em Word that they have quite Impoverish'd their Governments, by tyrannous Oppression of their People to enrich themselves, or that their Lives must pay the forfeit of their Disobedience, having fail'd to execute his Royal Orders, which obliges him to think them either Traitors to his Power, or unable to discharge the Trust he had conferr'd upon them.

EITHER of these Reasons or indeed a Weaker, often none at all, suffice to ruin those, whose Riches speak 'em fit for Execution, which is done as I have said before, by Strangling,
Why the Turks use Strangling.

for it is esteem'd a Crime of an unpardonable nature, to spill the Blood of any Mussulman: The Treasure of such Governors is instantly declar'd Confiscated to the Grand Signior, and accordingly deliver'd into his capacious Coffers.

The Turks very Covetous.

THUS does Possession of a splendid Wealth endanger those, who own it, yet it is observable that Turks of every Nation are the most inclin'd to aim at growing Rich, more zealously pursuing Gain, by how much faster it rolls in upon them; and this in every Age has been a Vice as epidemic as unreasonable. The Poor are commonly the most contented with their Fortune, and Juvenal has left it as a Maxim, that,

Juv. Sat. 14.

Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crescit,

Et minus hanc optat, qui non habet.

The love of Money does with Money grow,

Those wish it least, who least its Comforts know.

THE Customs upon Goods Imported and Exported, are another means of bringing in considerable Sums of Money to the Coffers of the Sultan, and occasional Taxes of an hundred kinds impos'd on Christians and the Turks themselves, of which it was impossible to get a just Account, amount each Year to such amazing Heaps of Wealth, that the Grand Signior cannot tell the bottom of his Income.

BUT as the violent Extortion of Superiors tempts the rest to imitate their Methods in a private Dealing, every Man applies himself to study means of growing Rich, as finding a necessity of being so, if they wou'd make a Figure worth regarding.

Juv. Sat. 14.

Ʋnde habeas quaerit nemo, sed oportet habere.

No Man will ask, which way you Wealthy grow,

Yet, wou'd you gain Respect, you must be so.

THO' all the Nations of the World have ever disregarded ragged Merit, none despise it like the Turkish People; For their Nobility becoming so but by the Riches they are Masters of, the Poor are look'd upon with strange Contempt, and their successless Labours slander'd with the Stain of want of Industry; and the Curse of Poverty were in any Country an insupportable Misfortune, tho' it had but that one Mark of Inconvenience, nam'd by Juvenal.

Juv. Sat. 3.

Nil habet infelix paupertas durius in se,

Quam quod ridiculos homines facit.

Unhappy Poverty, that heavy Curse,

In its oppressive Weight has nothing worse,

Than that such Men, as griping Want endure,

Appear ridiculous by being Poor.

PROCEED we now to view the present State of the poor Modern Greeks, and see how much we find among them of the ancient Spirit of their Glorious Ancestors.

CHAP. XXI. Of the Greeks in their Modern State.

The Learning and Power of the Ancient Greeks.

THE spacious Earth affords no Scene, which plainlier Represents to a Contemplative Genius the frail Foundation of all Human Gandeur, than the present Condition of Subverted Greece, that Ancient Theatre of Power and Learning, and Nursery of the most Illustrious Propagators of Wisdom and Morality. He, who looks back on former Ages, and Traces that unhappy Nation to its Meridian Splendour, will be strangely struck with an uncommon Wonder at the Degenerate Principles of their Unman'd Posterity. The Vicissitudes of Fortune will amaze his Thoughts, when he Reflects Sedately on the Glorious State of Power and Knowledge, in which they Flourish'd under the Instructive Discipline of their Jonick, Socratick, Cyrenaick, Platonick, Academick, Peripatetick, Stoick, and Pythagorean Philosophers, whose Wise and Vertuous Dictates inspir'd their Minds with an elevated Sense of Piety and Honour; in the Practice of which, (as they exceeded and instructed most other Nations) they endeavour'd to out-vie each other: All contending with an Emulative Zeal, for a wish'd Superiority of Speculative Learning, till, by the long continu'd Blessing of such Aspiring Inclinations, they raised the Fame of their Illustrious Governments above the rest of the Submissive World, and Built themselves a Glory, whose encreasing Brightness cou'd receive no Shadow from the affected Ignorance of contending Nations.

The Degeneracy of the Moderns.

BUT strangely different is the present Genius of that Metamorphos'd People, who have so Widely Deviated from the Footsteps of their Ancestors, that, to describe them rightly, in their Modern State of Slavery, we must place 'em in a Diametrical Opposition to Honour, Worth and Industry. Their very Nature seems to have been chang'd with their Condition, as if their Principles had sunk with their Nobility,
Mahomet's Massacre.

whom Mahomet the Great (on his Taking Constantinople) endeavour'd to Extirpate by a general Massacre, imagining Politickly, that a Revolt of the Nation would be Dangerously, and Unsuccessfully attempted, when they should want a Head to guide the rough Resentments of an Undisciplin'd Multitude.
An Emperor Trodden to Death.

Their last Emperour was Trodden to Death in one of the City Gates, and the greatest part of his Family most Barbarously Butcher'd by the Inhumane Conquerors. Those few, who with their Wives and Children escap'd the Tyrants Rage, retir'd to Woods, and Places far remote from the Imperial City; where in Disguises proper to conceal their Quality, they wander'd up and down in all the Wants and Hardships of a Miserable Poverty, till, by the Course of Time, their mean Condition reduc'd the Nature of their untaught Posterity to so low an Ebb, that their so lofty Extract, (which some remaining Members of that Family now vainly boast of) serves but as an Arrow to Stab their Thoughts with the shamefull Idea of their present Miseries. Nothing can more deeply Dictate the strange Degrees and Turns of Fate a Man is subject to, than the Rigid Fortune of this Illustrious Family, whose remaining Branches, scatter'd here and there, and only known by the Name of P•…eologus are so strangely fallen, as to Live, for the most part, by a Laborious Practice of the most Mechanical Employments. I was never more sensibly Afflicted at the Misfortunes of another, than when I saw at Constantinople, in the House of Mr. Williams, an English Merchant, now at Aleppo, one Constantine Paleologus, at that time a Groom of his Stables.
His Posterity reduc'd to extream Poverty.

This Man demonstrated by undeniable Proofs, that he was Lineally Descended from the Emperors of Greece; but was most sordidly Illiterate, and Inexpressibly Ignorant in any thing beyond the Dressing of his Horses; yet he had a peculiar Majesty in his Person, and somewhat uncommon distinguish'd his Extract from the Vulgar Dictates of his meaner Education; an Awful Gravity adorn'd his Countenance, and his silent Postures had somewhat Naturally Noble. But it grieved me to see him, after having readily repeated the Numerous Misfortunes of his Wandring Family, and Proudly boasted of Hereditary Nobility, Run unconcernedly by his Horses Side, Trotting without Thought, thro' the Dirty Streets, with his harden'd Hand upon his Master's Stirrop.

THE same Fate, which attended the Blood-Royal, involv'd the Numerous Branches of the Grecian Nobility, so that scarce a Gentleman now remains, who can Trace his Extract to the Third Generation. All are become alike Unhappy, and alike contented; and tho' the greatest part of the Inhabitants of Bulgaria, Romania, and several other parts of Turkey, are still Greeks:
The Effects of Slavery.

They Possess no Land, enjoy no Liberty, nor study any manner of Learning; but, with an unaccountable Indifference, submit themselves to the Pleasure of the Turks, paying them the greatest Part of that Miserable Maintenance, their Labour gets 'em; nor dare they think of shaking off the Turkish Yoke, by a general Insurrection, tho' the fairest Opportunity should Court 'em to endeavour it; chusing rather to Live Oppress'd by Tyranny, than by an Active Valour undergo the Fatigues of a Vigorous War, to regain the Possession of forgotten Liberty; and the better to excuse the palpable grossness of their Ignoble Genius, they have coin'd a Maxim, now currant amongst 'em,
A Greek Maxim.

That they are Wisest, who chuse to Know least, where Knowledge of Things past would only encrease the Weight of present Misery.

BESIDES the European Greeks, Asia Major, and part of Africa, is Inhabited by great Numbers of these People:
Their Gluttony.

But tho' Resident in different Countries, they are all led by the same Genius to the Practice of little else but Gluttony and Ebriety, (which last Vice they were ever famous for) spending their time in Dancing, Singing, and when they Merchandize, in Cheating to such a Degree, that the Faith of a Greek is now become a Jear, Proverbially thrown at a Man of Dishonest Principles. Some are Masters of small Vessels, which carry Passengers and Goods from Port to Port, in Coasting Voyages: Those in Europe are employed by the Turks to Till the Ground, themselves but little Skilled in Husbandry. They are allowed to Plant Vineyards for their own use, and that Labour they seldom spare, retaining so much their Ancient Vice of immoderate Drinking, that the Man is reputed a Churl, who suffers his Friend to depart Sober from an Entertainment; they Drink in Earthen Cups, replenishing them as fast as emptied, each Man for his Neighbour, and sending 'em round without intermission, till, their Brains Intoxicated with the Fumes of the Wine, they begin, without Order, to Dance, Kiss, and Sing, Embracing one another with such Antick Gestures, and a Noise so disagreeable, that tis very surprizing to a Stranger, who is present at their Meetings.

Mens Habit.

THEY differ in their Habit according to their Professions, ever imitating the Turks, as nearly as they dare, which they are allow'd to do in all things but Yellow Shooes, Green Vests, or a Turbant of one Colour; instead whereof most Greeks use Furr'd Caps, of what Form or Colour they please: Their Ancient Habits are now quite out of Date, and they differ so much from them, that whereas they formerly delighted much in long and spreading Hair, in regard of which Homer often calls 'em 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, The long Hair'd Greeks; they now Shave all their Heads, and account it ridiculous in the Franks not to follow their Example.
Womens Habit.

The Women, as the Turks, wear long Vests, Muslin Shifts, and Drawers of Cambrick reaching to their Feet; their Girdles are of twisted Silk neatly Wove, and Embos'd with Gold, Silver, or Silver Gilt, set thick with Saphirs, Em'ralds, Rubies, or Diamonds; and those, whose Circumstances will not afford 'em to follow this Fashion, procure Sophisticate Stones, and Counterfeited Metal to imitate it as nearly as possible.

Description of the Graecian Women.

THEIR Women are, for the most part, exquisitely shap'd, generally of a brown Complexion, excellently featur'd, and their Disposition of all People the most amorous; which Inclination of theirs is so well known to their Husbands, that they take all imaginable care to preserve them for their own Embraces, who esteem it no great Crime to receive anothers, as often as Opportunity favours their industrious Endeavours: Nature does so early teach 'em the advantages of Beauty, that they use all possible means not only to preserve their Stock but to encrease it, by the counterfeit addition of a sophisticate Complexion; And so much do they esteem the Art of Painting, that they stain the very Nails of their Toes and Fingers, with a certain lively kind of red.

Soon decay'd

IT is to this perhaps, they owe the numerous furrows of a wrinkled Forhead, before they have attain'd the Age of Forty Five, at which time, (contemn'd by their Relations,) they are employ'd in all the Business of the House, and the most menial Offices of a common Servant.

A kissing Custom.

KISSING any but their Husbands, is esteem'd a Crime unpardonable; unless, between the Resurrection, and Ascension of our Saviour, at which time both Men and Women kiss promiscuously all they meet; The Man first kissing the Woman on her left Cheek, tells her in a Voice as grave as the occasion, God is Risen, when she upon his right Cheek yielding back the Compliment, makes answer zealously, His Blessing be upon us.

THEIR Houses are for the most part indifferently furnish'd, not using Feather-beds, but like the Turks content to sleep on Mattresses:
Their Language different from the ancient Greek.

Their Language is a much corrupted Dialect, and differs so extreamly from the ancient Greek, now only known to Scholars, that they hardly make a shift to understand one Word in ten, when Strangers speak it.

Their four Patriarchs.

NOW tho' the Greeks in all things but Religion are subservient to the Laws of Turkey, they have yet four Patriarchs of their own, who exercise a kind of mix'd Authority over them in Temporal, as well as Spiritual Affairs; They are those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Antioch, or rather Damascus; These four have their several Districts of Government. He of Constantinople has by much, the largest Share; extending his Jurisdiction over all the Greeks in the Europaean Turkey, most part of Asia Minor, Colchis, and the Northern Coast of the Black Sea; those in Egypt and Arabia, are under the Patriarch of Alexandria; he of Jerusalem has Authority over those in Palestine, and all the Parts adjacent; and the Greeks of Asia Major and Armenia Minor are subservient to the Jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Damascus.

How Elected.

THE Patriarchs are all Elected by a Synod of Bishops, under whom in most of the abovenam'd Places, the Greeks are tolerated in a free, and unmolested Exercise of their Religion, in Churches and in Monasteries, which notwithstanding, they are not suffer'd to Rebuild, when Ruin'd, without vast Presents to the Ministers of State; By which means all the Places of their publick Worship decreasing daily, they become if possible, each Year more ignorant than the foregoing: This, together with the tempting Opportunities of turning Turks, made more desirable by the oppressive Tyranny, with which their crafty Masters crush their Spirits, draws Multitudes away to a Profession of the Turkish Faith, chusing rather the transitory Enjoyment of a few small Privileges here on Earth, than the lasting Crown of Glory in a promis'd Heaven hereafter.

What Age their Women Marry at.

THE Women Marry very Young, and yet are apt to fansie, if they tarry for a Husband till twelve or fourteen Years of Age, Good-luck has quite forsaken them. The Bargain being made between the Parents, or Relations, for till then, Love, and Good-liking must be kept at distance: A Door is open'd, and the Lover admitted to his Mistresses Conversation, who is generally of too kind a Temper to put him to the trouble of a tedious Siege, and to avoid that Incivility, yields frequently upon the first Attack, perhaps because inclinable by Nature, to profess the same Opinion with an ancient Countryman of hers, who gives us this advice.

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Whate'er you do, do soon, for if done late,

You rob the Favour of near half its weight.

Description of their Weddings.

THE Wedding-Day appointed, certain Men are invited, after the manner of our Bride-Men, who are generally Rivals, or such at least, as the suspicious Bridegroom thinks he has more cause than ordinary to be jealous of. These must each Man present a Ring, which by the Priest is interchangeably remov'd from the Bride's to the Bridegroom's Finger; after which it is esteem'd a Crime, almost of an Incestuous Nature, for these Bridemen to commit Adultery with the Wife, to whom they gave such a Ring, by way of Renunciation from thence forward of all Right or Pretension whatsoever to her Love or Person.

An ancient Custom.

THESE lead the Bridegroom thro' the Streets, as finely Dress'd as his Circumstances will permit; upon his Head he wears a flow'ry Garland, which putting me in mind of ancient Ways of crowning Oxen, when they lead 'em to the Altar, oblig'd me to reflect upon the horny Fate, which few Greek Wives fail of giving them, and made me pity the dull Victim, moving on with-the smallest apprehension of his Danger, for a Sacrifice to Matrimony.

HE is surrounded by a Company of his Relations and Acquaintance, attended by a noisy number of Boys, and Fellows with Ghittars, Pipes, Drums, Timbrels, and other Musick, dancing antickly about the Company, with grinning Faces and strange apish Gestures: As they pass along, there follow Men with Bottles and Glasses, running up and down, from one place to another, and off'ring Wine to every Man to drink as they are walking thro' the Streets. Thus they resolve to lose no time, where Wine or Mirth invites their Application, still retaining, spite of all their Losses, that vivacity of Temper in their Cups, which formerly gave birth to an Old Proverb, which describing gayety of Humour, does it by these Words,
The Original of an old Proverb.

As merry as a Greek.

AN EXPLANATION OF THE CUT, Annex'd, which Represents a GRAECIAN WEDDING.

- A. A. THE Two Janizaries, who attend, as a Guard, to defend them from the Insults of the Turks, one in the Front, and another in the Rear of the Procession.

- B. The Priest.

- C. The Bride.

- D. The Bridegroom.

- E. The Mother, or nearest Female Relation of the Bride.

- F. F. The Two Bridemen.

- G. G. G. The Company, Invited to the Wedding.

- H. A Boy carrying a Torch before the Company.

- I. I. I. The Musicians, attending the Company.

- K. K. K. Persons, hir'd to Sing, and Dance Antickly before the Company.

- L. A Person employ'd to fill Wine to the Company.

- M. A Man, who carries a Basket of Fruit for their Entertainment, as they Walk.

- N. N. Turks Observing the Procession.

- O. A Turkish Mosque, or Church.

- P. A Turkish House, as commonly Built.

•o the Highly Honrd Sr William Wentworth •f Bretton Hall in Yorkshire Baronet. Kirkall sculp A GRECIAN WEDDING

AFTER the Men, the Women come, in a Knott by themselves, and in the midst, the Bride, all cover'd with a Veil of Lawn; which reaches to her Heels, made like a Sack, without the smallest peeping Place for her imprison'd Eyes, ty'd pretty close about the Neck, and falling widely from the Head, o'er the sides of a square piece of Pastboard like a Trencher, over which is hung a Garland of the sweetest Flowers.

IN this Order they advance, guarded before and behind by Janizaries, for fear of Insults from the Turkish Rabble. At the Church, the Priest is sure to meet them, and ent'ring there,
A method to prevent Enchantments.

the Bridegroom leaves his Dagger sticking in the Door, for fear of Incantations or Enchantments, often practis'd in this Country, by which means, they pretend to render the most vigorous Bridegroom altogether Impotent upon his Wedding Night.

HOWEVER, arm'd against so unlucky a Disappointment, they go into Church, and by the Priest are join'd, with several Prayers for the successful Issue of their Marriage; after which, they change their Garlands, and retire to their Houses, where the remainder of the Day being spent in loud Carousing and making merry, the New-married Couple are put to Bed,
A way to prove Virginity.

and the next Morning early, the Mother, or nearest Female Relation of the Bride, coming into their Chamber, takes possession of the Wedding Sheets, to be preserv'd as a perpetual Proof of her Dear Daughter's sure Virginity.

I'LL tell you a pleasant Story, and leave your-self to guess, how admirably Nature has endued the nimble-minded Graecian Ladies, with the finest qualifications in the World, for Cuckolding their Husbands.

A pleasant Story of a Graecian Lady.

THERE is a little Village, call'd Belgrade, about fifteen Miles from Constantinople, wonderfully pleasant for its airy Situation; here a Greek, who was grown rich by Merchandizing, kept a very pretty Country House, and in it a young Wife, extreamly handsome, but, as somewhat brisker than he wish'd her, she alarm'd his Jealousy to watch her strictly, nor wou'd he often let her walk alone in the adjoining Groves and Meadows.

HOWEVER, I was one Day going by a Wood-side, at the bottom of a Hill to Angle in a River, that ran by it, and perceiv'd upon the Bank a charming youthful Lady busy at her Needle, with a Pot of Water standing by her, I immediately imagin'd right, and guess'd her the fine Wife of the rich Greek abovenam'd; I must own I was surpriz'd to find her, so, beyond my expectation, gay and beautiful; I saw she was alone, and ventur'd to address her in Italian, she return'd my Salutation in that Language, and permitted me to sit down by her, and converse with all the Liberties of decent Familiarity.

Her familiar Temper.

SHE presently began to make Complaint of the Restriction she was under, by her Husbands Jealousie, and the Restraint, which Women in that Country were oblig'd to undergoe, and really thence proceeded to make such kind advances, and so prettily encourage me to hope her favour, e'er I ask'd it, that I only wanted vanity, to think I might have met success in any kind of offer, Youth, or Inclination might have tempted me to make her.

A wonderful Presence of Mind.

BUT on a sudden, in the Height of her Discourse and Gayety, we heard a Voice among the Trees upon the other side of the River, Immediately she knew it was her Husband, and expecting every moment, when he wou'd appear in sight, was sure he must Discover me to have been talking with her, so the very minute, that he call'd her, she fell sideways on the Ground, extended both her Arms with natural negligence, let drop the Silk she was at Work upon, and seem'd as much Asleep, as if she really had been so.

TWAS no hard Task to guess the meaning of this Counterfeited Slumber, so that, willing to prevent all cause of Jealousy, instead of striving to get out of Sight, I started up, and bending forward, look'd upon her Face, as if surpriz'd to find a Woman in that Place and Posture.

I had hardly time to regulate my Air of Wonder, when the Greek appear'd upon the Bank directly opposite; he Started, when he saw the Posture of his Wife, and me so near her. I pretended an Amazement equal to his own, at his appearance, and was just about to ask him, if he knew that Lady, when he Interrupted my design by Hallowing, as loud as he cou'd possibly, to wake his Consort.

SHE, Poor Creature, was so fast asleep, that all his Noises were in vain, she Slumbred on, till I, as willing to give all the Countenance Imaginable to her Politic Contrivance, took her by the Arm and shook her pretty roughly;
An admirable Counterfeit.

at this she Rous'd, and having rubb'd her Eyes with admirable Cunning, look'd about her, and was, doubtless, much surpriz'd to see me there, it having been so long, since we Discours'd together.

HOWEVER, I was pleas'd to see, how excellently she contriv'd to humour wonder, mix'd with an alloy of Modesty, both which I fear, and ten to one, you'll think so by the Sequel, were alike Strangers to her Nature; she started up upon her Feet, and fix'd her Eyes upon me with an Artful Wildness, running Backwards, as I offer'd to approach her, with a Shriek or two enough to Frighten all the Tygers in the Wilderness.

THE more to take all cause of Apprehension from the Staring Husband, I advanc'd, as she retir'd, still bowing, and assuring her I meant no harm, desiring her to Apprehend no danger from my presence, who was drawn by Accident to Walk that way, and by her Charms detain'd to gaze upon her Person; all this while the Subtle Female Devil kept a Side-long-glance upon her Husbands Countenance, who seem'd diverted at the Fright, my Compliments had put her in; she saw him smile, and was resolv'd to keep up the Conceit, wherefore, while I still continued Bowing and Addrest her with a Thousand Congees, she Inhumanely stoop'd down, and snatching up the Earthen Pot, which stood upon the Ground, threw full three Pints of Water in my Face and Bosom.

An unexpected return of Civility.

A Reasonable Woman, one wou'd think, had been contented with this first Attack, but she, it seems, was of another mind, for while I stoop'd to shake the Water from my Eyes and Linnen, she fell upon me like a Lioness, Tore of my Perriwig, and laid about her at so Merciless a Rate, that I began to think the Safest way wou'd be to Fly, where Fighting was esteem'd Dishonourable.

ACCORDINGLY I turn'd about in order to escape, but my she Adversary caught me by the Collar on the Back-part of my Neck, and push'd me on as fast as I well car'd to run, still Thumping me upon the Back, and calling Names as loud as possible, till being got at some considerable distance from her Husband, who was all this while half Dead with Laughing,
A Pleasant way of Assignation.

she depress'd her Voice, and in the Softest Accents she cou'd utter, cry'd, Fail not to meet me here to Morrow, and as soon as she had spoke these Words, she push'd me forward, and ran back again as fast as she was Able.

THE turn of this last part of the Intrigue surpris'd me ten times more than all the rest; However, I ran back to fetch my Periwig, while she was crossing a small Bridge a little higher to get over to her Husband, who as soon as his long fit of Mirth allow'd an Interval, cry'd out to me, Excuse her Sir, the Graecian Wives are never us'd to Strangers Company, and only love their Husbands Conversation.
A mistaken Husband.

As soon as he had made this Speech, he fell a laughing more than ever, and it was with much ado, I cou'd forbear to follow his Example, when I saw the Fool begin to kiss his loving Wife, and hug her in his Arms, till they got out of sight in their way homeward.

I must confess I sped so Ill at first, that I had little cause to think my watry Entertainment was an Omen of Success in the Conclusion; Water will at any time extinguish Fires, that have but just begun to blaze, and she had cool'd my Flames a little too soon to tempt 'em to a second kindling, so that I forbore for many reasons going next Day to the aforesaid Place of Assignation.

A second Meeting.

BUT 'twas about a Fortnight after, when, as I was walking up a Lane, which ran along the backside of her Husband's House, she saw, and beckon'd me to a small Summer House, in which she sat at Work, as formerly; Good-Manners led me to embraee the Invitation, where the first Demand was, Why I did not come the Day appointed? I excus'd it as I cou'd, and she proceeded with a number of Assurances to tell me, how concern'd she was that she had been oblig'd, against her Will, to use me so uncivilly, and in short, proceeded to such kind Expressions, that I every moment look'd to have another Invitation to the Rivers side.

A surprize as bad as the former.

BUT in the midst of her Discourse, instead of answering my Expectation, by renewing her kind Summons, she on a sudden rais'd her Voice to double heighth, began to spit upon me, and abuse me to a wonderful degree; however, I had hardly time to be surpriz'd, before I guess'd the reason of her Change, by seeing her turn round, and call as loud as she cou'd speak, Dear, Dear, come hither Dear, and shoot this Stranger thro' the Head, I cannot live in quiet for him: The moment after came the Husband, peeping over his Wives Shoulder, looking after me, who never staid to justifie my self against the Accusation, but made the utmost hast to get away, least he shou'd take an Opportunity to do, as his Good-natur'd Lady had commanded him.

I staid at Belgrade some Weeks longer, but took care to go no more that way, and by the strange Discovery I made hereby of Womens Temper, I resolv'd to bear in my Memory two Maxims of this Country, which are, if I mistake not, left as follows.

Two Graecian Maxims.

The first is,

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A Woman knows nothing, but what she has a mind to.

And the other,

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You that are about Marrying, look upon your Neighbours.

The Graecian Funerals.

THEY differ little in their Modern from their Ancient Funerals, the Parent, Wife, or nearest of the Kindred catches the departing Breath, by joining Mouths with those, who die; when dead, they wash their Bodies with the richest Oils, and then, instead of putting on a Winding Sheet, adorn 'em in the finest Cloaths, they wore while living.

Mercenary Mourners.

THEN they lay them on an open Bier upon a Quilt, or Mattress, twisted round with Garlands of a hundred various kinds of Flowers, and conduct 'em to the Place appointed for their Burial, follow'd by the weeping Friends of the Deceas'd, who are preceeded by a certain Number of bir'd Mourners, commonly of Jewish Women, who by constant Practice of their Hypocritical Concern, become such Mistresses of Tears and Groanings, that by howling, as they go along, with tearing off their Hair, beating their Breasts, and lamentably weeping in a counterfeited Sorrow, they extract a real Flood of Tears, from many tender-hearted People, altogether unconcern'd in the occasion of their Lamentations; so that they appear exact observers of the following Advice of that admirable Tragedian Seneca.

Sen. Tra. Agam.

Lacrymas, Lacrymis miscere juvat.

The mixing Tears with Tears affords a melancholy sort of Comfort.

THEY lay the Body in the Grave without a Coffin, cutting first his Cloaths to pieces with their Penknives, lest the Corps shou'd be dug up by needy People for the sake thereof; they throw great Boughs of Cypress on the Grave, and hang it, as we do Atcheivements, over the Door of the Deceas'd Person's House.

An ancient Custom.

THE Women generally cut a Lock of Hair and tie it to the Body of their dead Relation; why they use so odd a Custom none cou'd tell me, but 'tis certain they receiv'd it from the Practice of their Ancestors, for, that 'twas us'd among the ancient Greeks, appears in many Writers, but particularly in the three and twentieth Iliad of Homer, where he speaks as follows of Achilles, celebrating the Funeral of Patroclus.

Hom. Iliad. 23.

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Standing apart the Pile, where lay the Dead,

He cuts the yellow Tresses from his Head.

Tresses, he long e'er that to Sperchius vow'd,

And, turning to his Friend, thus spoke aloud,

Since I must never, after all my Toil,

Return to visit my dear Native Soil;

On lov'd Patroclus I these Locks bestow,

That he may bear 'em to my Friends below.

This said, His comely Hair he neatly spread,

And laid it in the Hand of his Companion, Dead.

Another ancient Graecian Custom.

BESIDES their Hair, they often bury in the Graves of their Relations things of rich and costly Value, such as Bracelets, Rings, Girdles and the like; this also is an ancient Custom, for the Greeks of Note were burnt of old, and had their Funeral Piles enrich'd with precious Jewels, Gums, Sheep, Horses, Cloaths, and every thing of worth, to serve their Uses in the other World: The Ceremony may be well conceiv'd by a description you may find in Statius of the solemn Funeral of Archemorus.

Stat. Lib. 6.

—Non unquam opulentior illo

Ante cinis; crepitant gemmae atque immaue liquescit

Argentum, & pictis exudat vestibus aurum.

Nec non Assyriis pinguescunt robora succis,

Pallentique croco strident ardentia mella,

Spumantesque mero paterae verguntur, & atri

Sanguinis & rapti gratissima cymbia lactis.

Tunc septem numero turmas (centenus ubique

Surgit eques) versis ducunt insignibus ipsi

Grajugenae Reges, lustrantque ex more sinistro

Orbe rogum, & stantes inclinant pulvere flammas,

Ter curvos egêre sinus, illisaque telis

Tela sonant, quater horrendum pepulêre fragorem

Arma, quater mollem famularum brachia planctum;

Semianimes alter pecudes, spirantia & ignis

Accipit armenta.

Never till then, such Wealth did Ashes know,

Torrents of melted Gold and Silver flow;

The crackling Diamonds snap amidst the Fire,

And Robes consume in Flames, that shine with golden Wyre;

Oaks rich in Syrian Gums, thrown on, blaze high,

Honey and Saffron hiss against the Sky;

O'er-flowing Bowls of Wine are next thrown in,

Black Blood and mingled Milk to boil begin;

Next Sev'n brave Bands of Warriors crown the Plain,

(An hundred gallant Soldiers form'd each Train,)

The Graecian Monarchs all these Squadrons led,

And shone conspicuous at their Warlike Head,

These, Marching to the left, the Pile surround,

With Clouds of choaking Dust the Fire confound,

And trail their mournful Ensigns on the Ground.

Thrice round the Pile they clash their dreadful Swords,

Four times their batter'd Arms a horrid sound affords,

Four times the Slaves their naked Bosoms beat,

As oft to Heav'n, their doleful Cries repeat,

While num'rous Flocks, and Beasts half Slain expire,

Amidst the rising Flames of a less noble Fire.

BY what has now been said, the Reader will perceive the Greeks extreamly fallen from their ancient Glory; and indeed they have not only lost their Wisdom, but their very Industry, deserving nothing less than the Encomium, Juvenal thought fit to give them upon that account.

Juv. Sat. 3.

Ingenium velox, audacia perdita, sermo

Promptus, & Isaeo torrentior: ede quid illum

Esse putes, quemvis hominem secum attulit ad nos;

Grammaticus, Rhetor, Geometres, Pictor, Aliptes,

Augur, Schoenobates, Medicus, Magus; omnia novit

Graeculus efuriens; in coelum jusseris, ibit.

Quick in his Apprehension, Bold in Speech,

Such Eloquence Isaeus cou'd not reach;

Say what you'd have him be, and he's the Man,

All Trades he brings us, and all Things he can.

D'ye want Grammarians? That's his boasted Skill,

A Rhetorician? There you have him still.

Wou'd you a Painter be? He'll teach you when you will.

Wou'd you be taught the Geometric Art?

'Tis still the same to him, he'll play that Part.

Wou'd you in short, Southsay'r, or Conj'rer be:

There's none so Skill'd in both those Arts, as he.

Wou'd you turn Doctor? He'll not fail your hopes;

Or else he'll teach you Dancing on the Ropes.

In fine, the needy Greek does all things know,

Bid him ride Post to Heav'n, and strait to Heav'n he'll go.

CHAP. XXII. Of the Graecian Religion.

The Merit of the ancient Grecian Church.

THE Graecian Church in former Ages has been famous for Converting many Nations to the Doctrine of Christianity, but is as much decay'd at present as their Temporal Affairs, a barbarous Ignorance possessing Ʋniversally their Notions of Religion.

WIDELY do they differ, as to point of Faith, from Roman Principles, and tho' they often have profess'd a perfect Reconciliation to the Tenets of that Church, and frequently agree'd on certain Articles of Ʋnion, it was only at such times as being pinch'd by Poverty or other Inconveniencies, they hop'd Redress from flattering the Papal Clergy into a Belief, that they were willing to embrace the Romish Doctrine.

The Ignorance of the Modern.

I have before inform'd you they are subject to the Power of four Patriarchs, those in former times were Men of Learning, and undoubted Piety, chosen to their Offices for their Integrity of Life, and exemplary Gravity in Conversation; now the highest Briber carries it, and the declining Dignity is strangely sunk from ancient Worth to Ignorance and Poverty.

Two sorts of Graecian Priests.

HOWEVER, under these superior Members of the Modern Graecian Church, are found two kind of Priests, the first a sort of Monks, despisers of the World, and all its Vanities, who taking leave of Temporal Affairs, immure themselves for Life within the Walls of certain strong and ancient Monasteries, which are spread in Numbers over all their Country: And the second are those common Parish Priests, ordain'd by the abovenam'd Patriarchs to teach the People the Great Duties of Religion, a Task for which they are but ill provided, while depress'd by such a weight of Slavery and Ignorance.

The Monks call'd Coloiero's.

THE First, the Greeks distinguish by the Name of Coloiero's, or Monastic's, and among the many Places, which contain the Brothers of their Order, Mount Athos is the Chief; for on that Hill alone, stand four and twenty spacious Convents, constantly maintaining near seven thousand Monks, who live retir'd, by Oath oblig'd to a perpetual Celibacy, and a Life entirely separated from the Layety of their Religion.

The Coloiero's way of living

THEY wear a kind of long black Gowns and Hoods, of a course hairy Substance, letting grow their Locks to inconvenient length, in contradiction to the Shaving Custom of the Roman Clergy; They live by their own Labours on what poor Provision they can get by Tillage, Spinning, and Improving every way the Product of the Country round 'em; They are grave, austere, and modest of Behaviour, and by the Poor unknowing Greeks, set out to Strangers with a thousand high Encomiums on their Learning and Capacities, but fall so, short of expectation when convers'd with by a Traveller, and are so much involv'd in the Stupidity of their subverted Countrymen, that all I learn'd by making them a Visit, was the truth of an Expression, of the admirable Juvenal, who tells us, Fronti nulla fides, There is no knowing a Man's Soul by his Countenance: And another honest Spanish Proverb, that declares,
A Spanish Proverb.

No es tan bravo el Leon come le pintan, that is, The Lyon is not half so fierce as they paint him.

The Parish Priests, describ'd.

THE other Priests of Greece, if possible, are still more ignorant than they, and scatt'red numerously up and down the Country, not being very much respected by the common People, nor in Dress or Manners very different from them; 'tis a wonder, if a Man considers the oppressive Burthen of that Slavery, which crushes 'em, how they have preserv'd the very Faith of Christians, which they do not only rigidly profess, but to support its Doctrine, still retain the following Principles.

Their opposition to the Romish Church.

IN opposition to the Romish Church, which they esteem Schismatical, and laugh at the Assertion of the Papal Title to the Blessing of Infallibility, they hold, that the Holy Ghost proceeds from God the Father only.

Their Notion of the Eucharist.

THEY Administer the Eucharist in both kinds, but as if the very Practice of Religion shou'd submit to the Intemperance of a licentious People, they esteem the Wine, not any way available, unless they drink it in considerable quantities, a sign say they, that what we do, we do with satisfaction, and a heartiness, that proves we bear respect to the injunction; while the moderate sipping of your Western Churches seems to speak a kind of force upon your Inclinations.

Leaven'd Bread.

THEY leaven all the Bread they use in Administration of the Sacrament, esteeming such, as is not so prepar'd, unworthy the Great Use they are to put it to.

Graecian Paintings.

THEY admit of Paintings on the outward Walls, and inward Ornaments of all their Churches, drawing frequently the Virgin, which you may observe, the Eastern Nations always represent a Blackamoore, the Figure of Almighty God, like an old Man with a white Beard, the Holy Ghost, and many of the twelve Apostles, with the later Fathers of the Church, as near as they can place 'em to the Altar.

The Picture of St. George.

AMONGST the Paintings of the Greeks, Armenians, and some other Eastern Christians, nothing is so common as the Representation of St. George on Horseback, fighting with a Dragon, as in the Pictures on our Sign-Posts in Great Britain; why they have this Figure in such Vogue among them, I cou'd never meet a Priest of sence enough to tell me, but am apt to think that •… Basilius, and some other ancient Writers are of Opinion, that much celebrated Piece is nothing but an emblematical Design.
An Emblematical Representation.

St. George, as painted like a well arm'd Warriour, representing a good Christian, strongly oppos'd by a Great Dragon, that is the Devil, who is vanquish'd by him, and thereby the Kings Daughter, that is the Church of Christ, preserv'd from being devour'd by her dreadful Adversary; and this Opinion is the more authentic, because in every other Place but England, we shall seldom see the Picture of St. George, but in some ancient Church, or Monastery, and in either of those places seldom miss it.

The Ignorance of Modern Greeks in Painting.

NOW, tho' they seem to value Painting, they have nothing of the Genius of their fam'd Apelles left among them; what they do is very flat, and scarce deserves a better Name than that of daubing; and it is observable, that, notwithstanding their respect for Pictures, they abhorr all sorts of Sculpture, with a strange antipathy, refusing to admit them in their Churches, or even Dwelling Houses, out of a ridiculous Opinion, that the very looking on such Pieces savours of Idolatry.

Ever burning Lamps.

VAST quantities of Oyl they daily wast, by burning it in Lamps, in all their Churches, never suffering them to extinguish, as believing it a sort of Duty well receiv'd by God, and shewing their respect to the Receptacle of his Divinity.

Their Notions of the State of the Soul after Death.

THEY all agree in the necessity of using Extream Ʋnction, which they practice, as inducted by St. James; they rigorously dissent from the Opinion of the Roman Catholicks, in relation to the Existence of a Purgatory; maintaining, most of them at least, that the departed Souls of Mortal Men are sensible of neither Joy nor Torment till the Day of Judgement.

The Graecian Holy Days.

THE Year they reckon in the Roman way, but mark above an hundred Holy-Days, to be observ'd on pain of Excommunication; this I take to be an undeniable Example of their hatred to Activity, and Inclinations to the Practice of an idle and luxurious Life, forgetting Misery, while drown'd in Sloth, and wallowing supinely in the Down of Idleness, amidst those torturing Proofs of Slavery, which ought to sting a generous Mind with Sense of his Misfortunes.

Their Fasts and Feasts.

THEY Fast on Wednesdays, Fridays, and all Holy Eves, but Feast on Saturday, because say they, it was the ancient Sabaoth, but I rather am inclin'd to think, because they are unwilling to omit the least pretence, whereby they may indulge a craving Appetite.

How far they tolerate Matrimony.

THE Clergy are allow'd to Marry once, but Bigamy is look'd upon too wanton a desire to be permitted them, and Trigamy is so abhorr'd by all the Greeks, that it is never known among them, but forbidden with the strictest Prohibition even to the Laity themselves.

Their Lents.

THEY keep four Lents within the Year, so strictly, that in either 'tis esteem'd a damnable Transgression, and a Sin beyond excuse, to eat the smallest Piece of Flesh, or Fish, wherein there is a drop of Blood contain'd; yet one Exception may be made to this strict Rule, because the Lent preceeding Easter, is not held so rigid as the other, wherefore all the Laity are then allow'd to eat what kind of Fish their Fancy leads 'em to, or Circumstances can afford 'em.

Their Liturgies, and universal Ignorance, and Stupidity

THEY read the Liturgy of St. Chrysostome, unless upon their Festivals, and then their Priests attir'd Pontifically, read St. Basil's, but with little Signs of Decency or Devotion; and indeed so miserably are they led away by love of Idleness, and long Captivity, that they possess in any kind, but few of those Perfections, which, in former times, distinguish'd their Politer Countrymen, retaining nothing but their Name, their very Language being, as I said before, entirely lost among them; and that ruin'd Nation sunk so low, that from the dread and admiration of the distant World, they are become at present the contempt and pity of the vilest Wretches of the whole Creation; such is the uncertainty of humane Blessings, and the certain Frailty of our weak Mortality.

CHAP. XXIII. Of the Armenians and their Religion.

What the Armenians are.

THAT Christian Church, which calls its self Armenian, is in Magnitude far more Considerable than the Graecian, and consists of the displac'd Inhabitants of those large Tracts of Land, which bore the Name, that now distinguishes her People, who have Widely spread themselves in many Countries, and are numerously Scatter'd up and down the Countries subject to the Great Mogul, Grand Signior and the King of Persia.

Their patriarchal Seat.

AT Tyberis, a large City in the Territories of the last, they live in very great respect among the Natives, and are very Wealthy by the means of Traffick. Here their Patriarch has his Seat, and here the Richest and most Noble of their People fix their Dwellings.

Great Numbers subject to the Turkish Sultan.

BUT the occasion of my speaking of 'em here is, that there are Vast Numbers, like the Greeks, remaining subject to the Government of the Grand Signior, who possesses the Dominion of their Ancient Monarchs, by the unresisted force of an Illegal Usurpation, from the Right of Conquest, Handed down from Prince to Prince, for Ages long since past, so that they now retain no notion of their former liberty, but live dependant on the Pow'r of a Despotick Tyrant.

Their Privileges.

IN this however, they have better Fortune than their Fellow-Slaves, the Greeks, that they are free from that unnatural Duty of delivering their Children, to be sent upon Triennial Seizures to Constantinople, and enjoy a Hundred Privileges more,
Why given them.

because a certain Countryman of theirs, a Flatterer of Mahomets, and one, who us'd to Prophesie his Future Greatness, gain'd a Promise from him, that he wou'd injoin his Followers, if ever they shou'd see occasion to Invade Armenia, and the will of God shou'd give it to their Power, that they wou'd distinguish the Inhabitants from other Conquer'd People, by such large Immunities, as shou'd alleviate the Burthen of their Losses.

Their Character.

THEY are very Ignorant, but very Honest, Industrious in their Natures, Slow to Anger, and extreamly willing to forgive an Injury; Abstemious in their Diet, little Drinkers, and inclin'd to Melancholy and Sedate Retirements; Devout, and Superstitious in a High degree; Patient in Affliction, nor too soon Buoy'd up beyond themselves, by the Successful turns of Chance, or their Endeavours.

The Enmity between the Greeks and them.

IN former Ages they were subject to the Graecian Patriarch of Constantinople, but about the time of the Eutychian Heresy, Revolted from his Jurisdiction, and had met with such unbecoming Usage, from the Proud De¦portment of the Greeks in those Old Times, that ever since, they have Abhorr'd their Memory, and now profess so rancour'd an Aversion to the People of that Name, that if by Chance (for it but rarely happens) any Greek becomes a Convert to the Faith of the Armenians, they refuse admiting him a Member of their Church, till they have Rebaptiz'd him after their own Method.

The number, and piety of their Bishops.

THERE are above three hundred Bishops of that Nation, scatter'd strangely up and down, with poor Allowances for the support of their Degree; which notwithstanding is sufficiently atton'd for, by the Veneration paid 'em from the common People, and the humble dictates of their own Morality, which teaches them contentedly to spend their Lives in peaceful Poverty, and raise their Wishes to a Future Prospect, far surpassing the chimerical Advantages, accruing from the gross and earthly Blessings, which attend the aim of Prosperous Ambition.

THE Tenets of their Faith are gather'd from the several Opinions of the Eastern Churches, strangely shuffled into an obscure Collection; hardly one in fifty can inform a Stranger in the Principles and Grounds of the Religion he professes: But the Foundation of their Faith is altogether built upon the following Articles.

Their Notion of one Nature in Christ.

THEY will allow in Christ one Nature only; but yet maintain this Notion with a difference from Eutyches, and the other Introducers of that Heresy; for whereas they taught the Nature of our Saviour to be one, by a commixture of Divine and Human, the Armenians hold the Ʋnion of those Natures to be made by an entire Conjunction, as the Soul of Man is join'd to his corporeal Substance.

Some other Tenets.

THEY Administer the Sacrament in both kinds, but ardently deny all notion of the real Presence in it: They hold a Purgatory, but reject all praying for the Dead; they disallow of the Supremacy of the Roman Church, and joyn with that of Greece in their Assertion, that the Holy Ghost proceeds but from the Father only, and that the Souls of the Departed, Good or Bad, must never feel the smallest share of Joy or Torment, till the dreadful Day of Universal Judgment.

The abstemiousness of their Priests.

THEIR Clergy, like the Greeks, are once, and only once, allow'd to Marry; and so very rigid and austerely Exemplary are their Lives, that they abstain from Flesh of any kind, nor can by any means be brought to eat it oftner than five times a Year; nor wou'd they then, but in compliance with the humour of the common People, who, as Superstitious in a high degree, might be perswaded to imagine it a Sin to feed on Flesh, shou'd they observe their Priests refuse to do it.

Their frequent Fasting.

THEY place the greatest Merit in the World, in duly keeping Lent, which they observe with wonderful Devotion and Austerity; and indeed, the vulgar Sort, as knowing little else of their Religion, take such care to be beforehand in this Point, that I have frequently observ'd them fast Day after Day without complaining; and it may be said, within the bounds of Truth, that they fast three Days out of every seven.

They Fast on Christmass Day.

AMONG the many other Days, whereon the Stamp of Custom has injoyn'd their Fasting, 'tis observable they always do it upon Christmass-Day with double Strictness; what their reason is they cou'd not tell me; use has made it now a Law, and they esteem it as their Duty to obey and keep it.

Their methods of Assembling to Devotion.

AS for Churches, they have very few, and those they have, are so decay'd by Time, or Accident, that they are hardly fit to hold an Audience; wherefore they assemble to their publick Prayers, and other Ceremonies, in low, private Chambers, where they may be free from Noise, and undisturb'd in the calm Exercise of their Religion. They are seldom fond of Painting, but are so entirely of the Greeks Opinion, as to Sculptures, that they cannot bear to see 'em in their Houses.

The Turkish Policy to destroy their Churches.

IT is observable, that tho' the Turks in many things give greater Toleration to the Armenians than their other Subjects, yet they use the same inhuman art to ruin their Religion, never giving them Permission to re-build a Church, when once decay'd; unless they are brib'd to it at so high a Rate, that 'tis a very rare attempt to ask a Licence for that purpose from the Turkish Officers, who always learn one Art, that is, to make the most, if not the best of their Preferments.

Their Postures of Prayer.

THEIR postures, when at Prayers, is like the Turks, cross-legg'd; those past, they elevate their Bodies to a straiter Pitch, and with the greatest Silence listen to their Priest, who reads from the Chaldean Tongue such Chapters, as he thinks convenient, still expounding, as he goes along, the Mystery of what he reads.

Their Forms of Publick Devotion.

THIS Service over, they again repeat their Prayers, in the same Posture as before, the Priest excepted, who then always turns his Face directly to the Altar, and with lifted Hands and Eyes invokes a Blessing on his zealous Auditory: Prayers once over, every Man, as he goes round the Room in order to depart, kneels down before the Priest, or Bishop, if there is one present, and while he kisses his left Hand, is strok'd upon the Head, and Bless'd devoutly by the other.

IT is at these Assemblies, that the Priest or Bishop nominates the Feasts or Fasts, which are to be observ'd the Week ensuing, after which no plea of Business, or extraordinary Occasions can prevail to get a Dispensation, or acquit them from the Duty; and in order to prevent all expectation of succeeding in Petitions of that nature, they have form'd a Sentence, which by common use is grown a Proverb, and is generally painted in the Letters of their Language, on the Walls or Cielings of their Places of Devotion, and the Houses, where they dwell: The Words are these,
An Armenian Proverb.

As the Almighty God is infinitely greater than the World and all therein, by so much ought our earthly Business to give way to his great Worship.

I told my Reader in the beginning of the Chapter, that the People of this Nation are extreamly Poor, and yet entirely Honest; an extraordinary Character, yet what they very well deserve, as what I am about to tell you is a fair Example.

A Story of a young Armenian, land his Honesty.

THERE was at the abovenam'd City of Tyberis, a young Man not thirty Years of Age, the only Son of an Armenian Merchant, who was yet so poor, as hardly to be capable of living in a tolerable Credit: This young Man was much in Love with the fair Daughter of a Countryman of his, who gratefully return'd his Passion with an equal value; But both these Families were Poor and Honest, therefore cou'd not see the smallest possibility of doing well, shou'd they by Marriage suffer the fond Couple to encrease a Charge, they found it very difficult to bear without addition.

A bad Condition.

THE hardship of their Fortune, and sincerity of their Affection half distracted them, when they reflected, that the Barrier, which prevented their so much desir'd Bliss, was never likely to be taken off, and found that every Day, as Love encreas'd, their Poverty grew greater.

THE Poor young Man, industriously inclin'd, had try'd all ways of bettering his Circumstances, but had much ado by all his Labour to support a Livelyhood, and was become so melancholy by the misery of his Condition, oppress'd at once by Love and Indigence, that he cou'd find no Comfort, but in the Conversation of his Mistress, and that a sort of anxious Joy,
An anxious Pleasure.

because, as often as it represented to his Thoughts the Blessings, he shou'd gain by her Possession, it recoil'd upon his Memory, that 'twas almost impossible to obtain so great a happiness.

HE often walk'd disconsolately out of Town, and wandred up and down, unmindful of his Steps, indulging Solitude as a lov'd means of Contemplation; one Evening very late the Moon shone bright, and led him on in a smooth Walk, that ran along the great high Road, till he was met by a grave Man in habit of a Pilgrim, who saluted him and beg'd he wou'd support him to the Town, or he shou'd faint before he reach'd it; the young Armenian looking earnestly upon his Face, perceiv'd his Colour gone, and all the Marks of sudden Illness plain to be discover'd.

HE ask'd the Pilgrim, whither he was bound, who told him, to Constantinople, and again demanding, if he had any Friends within the City of Tyberis, was inform'd, that he was quite a Stranger, and design'd to take his Lodging in some publick Han, or open place of Entertainment, such as is elsewhere describ'd, for Inns and Houses of Accommodation, are not met with in the Eastern Countrys.

A compassionate Action.

THE good Armenian presently consider'd, that the Usage he wou'd meet with in a publick Han, cou'd no ways be agreable to his weak Condition, and invited him to lie a Night or two at his Father's House, by giving him a frank assurance of a hearty Welcome; this kind offer was immediately embrac'd with many thanks by the Sick Pilgrim, so he return'd again, and led his Guest back with him, using him with great Civility, and Entertaining him in every kind, as well as the Condition of the one requir'd, or the others Purse cou'd possibly afford him.

An Artifice, to prevent Discovery.

FIVE Days the Pilgrim kept his Bed, and in that time wou'd often talk with the Armenian and his Father, still concealing who he was, and taking, every now and then, an occasion to complain of his Misfortunes and his Poverty, till on the fifth Day in the Evening he desir'd the Company of the Young Man alone, who came accordingly, and as he us'd to do, began to comfort the Sick Man with hopes of quick Recovery.

AT last the Pilgrim, interrupting his Discourse, began to weep, and taking him by the Hand, inform'd him that he found himself so weak, that he had now no longer hopes of Life, but begg'd him, as he wish'd for Happiness hereafter, to comply with the Request he was about to make him.

The Speech of a dying Pilgrim.

I am, says he, a Merchant, who have traded many Years in Jewels, which by travelling on foot, and in the Habit of a Pilgrim, I have always carry'd safe, when others have been robb'd of all they had; Almighty God has pleas'd to bless me with considerable Substance, most of which is now about me, in rich Diamonds, neatly fastned in some corners of my Cloaths; I have no Wife or Child, but one poor Mother at Constantinople, long maintain'd by my good Fortune; her I make my Heiress, she knows best what poor Relations at her Death to leave it to: Now I design to write a Letter, and for fear she loses all, if sent her by the Caravan, for God Almighty's Sake, do you in Person take the Charge of what I give you; see her, and inform her how I dy'd, and where you bury me: The Charges you have been so generously at, and what my private Funeral may cost you, this small Purse contains a Sum of Gold sufficient to repay you; but to bear the Charges of your Journey to my Mother, and in some degree reward your Goodness, I will give you two good Diamonds for your self, and then deliver all the rest to your safe Custody.

A great Surprise.

HE ended there, and from a Pocket in the bosom of his Vest, that then lay by him, took a Purse in which were Eighteen Gold Chequins of Turkey, value each ten Shillings, and deliver'd it to the Armenian, who was more surpriz'd to see him rip the corners of his Cloaths, and take out two and twenty noble Diamonds, which had been the Business of the Journey he fell short in, Two according to his promise he presented him withal, each worth about an hundred English Pounds, the other Twenty, most of equal value, he committed to his Charge; took Pen and Ink, and writ a Line or two, directed to his Mother, and the next Day died, as he before imagin'd.

A wonderful Example of Honesty.

HERE was a Temptation, few, I fear, in the Armenian's Circumstances, wou'd so nobly have resisted; he conceal'd the Jewels, least his Father or his Mistress shou'd have tempted him to keep them; own'd the Money, buried the dead Pilgrim, who, I shou'd have told you, was himself an Armenian; writ a Letter, and enclos'd one Diamond in it, to assist his Father, and withal inform'd him of the whole Concern, he left this Letter on his Chamber Table, sold the second Jewel for his own Expences, and departed early one Morning, with the Pilgrims Weeds, belonging to the late deceas'd, first having sow'd all up, as they had been, before the Owner had unrip'd 'em for his Satisfaction.

IN short, he brought the Jewels safe to Constantinople, gave 'em with the Letter to the Woman they were sent to, wou'd not take the least Reward, confessing he was paid beforehand, and prepar'd for his Return to Persia, after a short Stay of thirteen Days with the Mother of his deceas'd Countryman.

A generous Action, of a Persian Envoy.

BUT Vertue seldom fails Reward, the Story was immediately spread round the City, and among the rest, a Persian Envoy, then about returning to his Country, hearing the report, resolv'd to see such Worth encourag'd; sent for the young Man, inform'd himself of his Condition, took him back to Persia in his Train, and there presented him before the King, as an Example of surprizing Honesty, and an Object highly worthy of his Royal Favour.

A Reward of Vertue.

THE King commanded a great Sum of Money to be given him, and learning that he was brought up a Merchant, order'd him to be the Man, with whom the Court shou'd for the future deal, for all their Necessaries in his way of Traffick; and accordingly, he soon grew rich by that Advantage and the many, which attended the great Character it gave him; so that he not only Married his old Mistress, but in a few Years rais'd his Family, to be the most considerable of all his Country; a happiness he very well deserv'd, for such a rare Example of an inborn Honesty, and generosity of Nature, commonly inherent to the People of that Nation.

CHAP. XXIV. Of the Copties.

The Original of the Copties.

TWAS in the Infancy of Christian Doctrine, that the old Inhabitants of many parts of Egypt, chiefly such, as border'd upon Aethiopia, were Converted to the Faith of Christ, by the successful Preaching of the Noble Eunuch, who had been inspir'd by Philip with the purest Notions of Religion and Morality: Those early Converts, who embrac'd the Gospel there, transmitted it industriously to the Practice of Posterity, and Multitudes of the Egyptians constantly profess'd the Doctrine of Christianity, thro' all the Ages of inhuman Persecution; and the Modern Offspring of those Ancient People are the Sect nam'd Copties, whom this Chapter treats of.

The Causes of their Ignorance.

BUT, as humane Nature is alone too weak a Prop for Faith, and the mysterious Knowledge of Religion, so, the want of Spiritual Directors thro the Labyrinth of Darkness, which attended the disorders of successive Persecutions, has involv'd them in a Gulph of zealous Ignorance, and taught 'em an unnatural and incoherent mixture of the Superstitious Practices of Pagan Ceremonies, with the heavenly Rites of their profess'd Christianity.

Circumcision us'd among them, and why.

'TIS this Misfortune has confounded their religious Observation of the Sacrament of Baptism, with the Heathenish Custom of an early Circumcision, which they still observe, but rather out of Veneration to the Practice of their Ancestors, than any Notion of its Efficacy in religious Matters: That it was an ancient Custom, we are undeniably convinc'd from the Assertion of so old a Pen as that of Herodotus, who declares it to have been observ'd among that People, long before the Age he liv'd in, they Circumcise their Children at eight Days old, but Baptise them not till on the fortieth.

Tainted with the Jacobin Herely.

THEY were originally tainted with the Jacobin Heresy, and rigidly maintain'd the Doctrine of one sole Nature in our Saviour, long before Jacobus preach'd up that Opinion in the Eastern Parts of Syria; they are so very cautious, least by chance they shou'd expose his Person to the Proof of a Division, that, tho' they own him God and Man, and perfect in both Essences, they will not venture to distinguish one from t'other.

How agreeing with, or dissenting from the Church of Rome.

THEY administer the Sacrament in both kinds, especially to Infants just Baptiz'd: They stigmatize the Church of Rome with Heresy, yet by the too prevailing vigilance of Missionaries sent from many Parts of Italy, great numbers of them frequently embrace the Romish Doctrine; they value not the Resolutions of those General Councils, held since that of Ephesus, and with an universal detestation of the Notions of a Purgatory, Praying for the Souls of the Deceas'd, and Extreme Ʋnction, dissent from those three favorite Points of Roman Doctrine.

THEY have a Patriarch over them, who takes his Title from the Town of Alexandria, but commonly resides at Grand Cairo, or sometimes at a large City call'd Saieta,
An ancient City.

six days Journey higher, on the River Nilus; all Inhabited by unmix'd numbers of the Copties; here 'tis said, our Saviour and the Virgin Mary liv'd, when flying from the Rage of Herod, they sojourn'd in the Land of Egypt, till the Death of that oppressive Tyrant. Here likewise may be seen the Ruins of a noble Structure, stately in the very Dust it lies in, which the Copties tell us, was, in former times, a Chapel built by the religious Helena, Mother to Constantine the Great, and Consecrated to the Virgin, in commemoration of her Residence in that ancient City.

The Copties keep Lent strictly.

THEY are almost as strict observers of Lent, as the Armenians, never eating Flesh therein, but in the Night, unless on Saturdays, and Sundays; but upon those Days they hold it as a Sin to Fast.

A painful form of Worship.

PECULIARLY Devout, and painfully Religious is their rigid form of Worship, for on Saturday at Midnight they are summon'd to their Churches, where they neither sit, stand, kneel, or use the common Postures of a Man, but till the Sunday Noon, support themselves, by leaning on a kind of Crutches.

Boys admitted into Orders.

THE Priest officiating is cover'd with a Veil of fine white Linen, and assisted by three little Boys, attir'd not much unlike himself, on whom, as on great numbers of young Children, they conferr the minor Orders of their Priesthood; assuming their Authority for such a Practice, from a weak Interpretation of that part of the Gospel, where our Saviour uses the Expression, Suffer little Children to come unto me, and prevent them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Their publick Prayers.

THEY frequently exalt their Voices, and accompany the Priest in strange and unintelligible Noises, using some the ancient genuine Egyptian Language, now almost forgotten, some the Moorish Dialect, and some the Turkish; oftentimes the Priest, not much unlike the Romish elevation of the Host, lifts up, above his Head, a Cloth of Crimson Colour, under which is plac'd the Consecrated Sacrament.

Other Customs in useamong them.

THEY Sing the Psalms of David through at every Meeting, sometimes a Chapter of the Old, but oftner of the New, and more respected Testament, as Pen'd by Nicomedes; they pay no Reverence to the Pictures of our Saviour, and the Virgin Mary, nor permit them to be plac'd about the Altar, tho' they commonly are met with in the other Corners of their Churches.

Reliques of Martyrs.

AT the Entrance of their Churches, which can seldom boast Magnificence, or Ornament, you see on either side, square Chests, pil'd one above another, and in these they keep the Ashes, Bones, or other Reliques of those, who having been deluded by the strong Insinuations of the Turks to turn Mahometans, have afterwards repented their Apostacy, and openly professing a Return to the Religion they before abandon'd, have been put to Death upon it, and defended their unshock'd, and persecuted Recantation by the painful Tryal of a glorious Martyrdom.

Men and Women kept apart.

THE Women, like the Turks, are separated, in their Churches, from the Conversation of the Men, and plac'd in Galleries all lettic'd over, to prevent Inspection: They kiss their Hands at coming in, and lay the Right upon the Left, proceeding with a Gravity becoming their Devotion.

Their Habits and Subjection.

THEIR Habits differ from the common Greeks in nothing but a kind of Skull-Cap, of a close and humble Shape, which all the Copties wear upon their Head: They live in great Subjection to the Turks, pay double Taxes, and are hourly liable to the oppressive Violences of unbounded Tyranny, and swift Injustice.

Sciences decay'd among them.

THEIR Ignorance is great, and universal, and their Morals consequently weak, and poorly guarded: Sciences are almost lost, at least decay'd extreamly in the Practice of their Students.

HOWEVER, whether it proceeds from real Inclination, or a Notion that the Character of Conjurer, wou'd better suit them, than another People, by the Stories, which the Scriptures, and Tradition tell the World, of the prodigious Operation of those fam'd Magicians, among their Ancestors, who strove so wonderfully to excel the Power of God in Moses; I say, I know not, which of these excites their Study,
Great Lovers of Magick.

but 'tis very certain that they all incline to practice Magick, or at least such juggling Arts, as with the Vulgar may intitle them to that denomination.

Admirable Jugglers.

THEY confidently boast a Power, by the assistance of Familiar Spirits, to inform Inquirers any thing they ask, particularly in Affairs of Love, and 'tis indeed a very pleasant Entertainment, to behold how some of the Politest of these Jugglers will impose on simple Crowds of Listners by the outward Artifices of a learn'd Appearance, while by subtle means they learn the Business of the Querist from himself, or Company, and then amaze him with a Declaration of no more, than what he just before has told him.

'TIS pleasant to behold 'em, burning Leaves, describing Circles, melting Wax, and using all the outward Gestures, which we read of in the Works of ancient Poets, to have been observ'd by Sorcerers, or others in their Magic Incantations, such as that of Simaetha in the second Eidyl of Theocritus.

Theoc. Eidyl. 2d.

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Go Ïynx, on the wings of Passion move,

And to my Presence drag my tardy Love.

Delphis torments me, but I'll take my turn,

And for my Delphi's sake this Laurel burn;

And as the Laurel crackles in the Fire,

Destroy'd by Flames, which burn it, and expire,

Till not the very Ashes shall appear,

So let strong Flames consume my Perjur'd Dear.

Go Ïynx, on the Wings of Passion move,

And to my Presence drag my tardy Love.

As I now melt this Wax, help'd from above,

Just so let Myndian Delphis melt with Love,

And as I whirl my brazen Wand around,

Let him before my Gate in Circles trace the Ground.

Go, Ïynx, on the Wings of Passion move,

And to my Presence drag my tardy Love.

No wonder that their Morals are not excellent.

BUT certainly it cannot well be look'd upon a Wonder, that Morality shou'd boast no fix'd Impression on the Minds of Men, inur'd to Artifice and Treacherous Practices by the perpetual Dangers they have been expos'd to, by the Wars and Persecutions, Changes and Subversions, which have constantly attended their unhappy Country, thro' a Course of Revolutions for so many Ages, when we find that even our selves, divided as we are from all the World, protected from the Miseries of War and Rapine, and indulg'd by Heaven in all the Blessings of Productive Nature, have no great Cause to think our Morals, generally speaking, better than our Neighbours.

A strange and lab'ring Sect, among the Copties.

AMONG the many Orders of Religion, now profess'd by these Copties, there is one very odd, and new Opinion prevalent among them; a certain Sect, who, Contemplating seriously, and with incessant Application, on the numerous Frailties of Humanity, engage themselves by Oath in the most solemn manner, every Year they live to take upon them some new Mystery, or way of Living: till they find (if possible) some State of Life, entirely happy: These by turns, are Soldiers, Merchants, Husbandmen, and every thing their Substance can create them; and the Good they do by this uncommon Practice of profess'd Variety, appears conspicuously in the repeated Declarations, which they daily make in Publick Places, telling those, who gather round them, that Experience has convinc'd them True Felicity attends not such and such a Life, for such and such occurring Reasons, weighing all the Good with all the Bad of every Man's Condition, and discovering how much the weighty Evils overpoize the Balance.

Their never ending Labours.

THUS are the Lives of these unwearied Wretches spent in searches of Content, a Fairy Blessing, talk'd of like the Phoenix, but unknown like that, and never to be gain'd on this side Heaven; yet they toil incessantly, and drudge away their Moments, in a kind of Interrogatory Contemplation, like the learn'd Ausonius, who thus expresses the convincing Proofs of Mortal Imperfection.

Auson. Eidyl. 15th.

Quod vitae sectabor iter? Si plena tumultu

Sunt fora, si curis domus anxia, si peregrinos

Cura domûs sequitur, Mercantem si nova semper

Damna manent, cessare vetat si turpis Egestas;

Si vexat labor Agricolam, mare naufragus horror

Infamat, poenaeque graves in coelibe vitâ,

Et gravior cautis Custodia vana maritis;

Sanguineum si martis opus, si turpia lucra

Foenoris, & velox inopes usura trucidat?

Afflictat Fortuna viros, per Bella, per Aequor,

Iras, insidiasque, catenatosque labores,

Mutandos semper Gravioribus.

What Course of Life shall my Wild Wishes share?

If Publick Posts are full of Noise and Care;

If anxious Tortures break our Rest at home,

And equal Troubles follow those, who roam;

If still new Losses damn the Merchant's Pain,

Or Poverty excites his toil for Gain;

If constant Labour macerates the Swain,

And dreadful Shipwrecks fright us from the Main;

If weighty Sorrows press a Single Life,

And the vain Cautions of an hourly Strife,

Teach not the Husband to secure his Wife;

If War is bloody, if Extortion base,

And griping Ʋsury destroys the Poor Man's Race?

Fortune, by many means, afflicts Mankind,

By War, by angry Seas and Winds combin'd;

By Storms of Passion, and destructive Snares,

Un-numb'red Labours, and entangled Cares;

And, tho' we think our Present State a Curse,

We seldom change it, but we make it worse.

The humour of the Copties.

THE Generality of these Copties are curiously inclin'd to hear the Customs of remote Dominions, and are overjoy'd to get a Gentleman of Learning, who is travelling thro' their Country, into their Acquaintance; They receive and entertain him with a deep respect, and waiting patiently, till he has ask'd as many Questions as he pleases of their way of Living, put great numbers of inquisitive Demands on him, and listen with a close and wonderful Delight, to hear the Stories, which a Stranger tells them, either of his own or other Countries.

NOR is it any ways improbable, that this shou'd be the reason, which induces such vast numbers to profess the Business of a Guide, attending Travellers from Place to Place, as often as the Arabs will permit them;
An Arbitrary Practice of the Arabs.

but these last are Lords of them and their Pretentions, and are well acquainted with the Profits thence arising, wherefore they will rarely give the Copties liberty to serve as Guides to Christian Travellers, but undertake the Task themselves, and thence extort considerable Sums of Money, in proportion to their Carriage, Avarice, or Honesty.

CHAP. XXV. Of the Zinganees, or the Race of the Gypsies.

NOW, Reader, have I brought you to a sort of People, who for every kind of Villany, and unexampled Practices of Guilt in its most elevated Insolence, may justly boast themselves without a Rival; Impunity encourages them all to Sin, and independent Arrogance protects them in it; They are shun'd by all degrees of Men, and all Men equally by them detested; They are Nature's Outcast, and the black Infesters of Humanity and common Goodness, and of all the World may best lay claim to the Profession of a Maxim, which the Roman Satyrist expresses thus,

Juv. Sat. 1.

Aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris, & Carcere dignum,

Si vis esse aliquis; probitas laudatur & alget.

Wou'd you be Great, and dreaded by Mankind,

Dare to do Mischief never yet design'd,

Contrive some Ill, that may the Rope deserve,

Then shall you thrive; if Good, be prais'd and Starve.

YOU shall rarely apprehend a Zinganee, or execute him for a Crime, but he will readily confess vast numbers more than e'er he was detected in, their only aim is Wickedness, and that they grow inimitable Proficients in; They seldom differ one from t'other, or if some have accidentally been more successful than the rest in bringing Mischiefs to perfection, 'tis because their Opportunities have been more favourable, and proceeds not from a weaker Inclination to the Practice of Iniquity: Their Guilt is thus the same, and therefore, I may well excuse the universal Wishes of the honester Inhabitants of the Eastern Countries, who profess an open and deserv'd Abhorrence of the Wretches and their Customs, desiring nothing more than their very Race might wholly be extirpated.

Juv. Sat. 13.

Nam scelus intra se tacitum, qui cogitat ullum,

Facti crimen habet, cedo, si conat a peregit.

For he, who has his Will to Evil brought,

And secretly dares form a Wicked Thought,

Commits the Crime, that his Consent has won,

Or Sins as much, as if 'twere really done.

BUT, e'er I paint the Morals, and inhuman Nature of these People, 'twill be proper to inform my Reader, who they are, and having trac'd 'em to their black Original, I will proceed to the Relation of their Present State, and lay 'em open in the scatt'red Baseness of their Modern Circumstances.

The History, and Original of the Zinganees.

'TWAS in the Reign of Sultan Selym, the successful Turkish Emperour, who overthrew the Government of the Circassian Mamalukes, and added Egypt to his own Dominions, that the few remaining Soldiers of that Name, who had escap'd the Slaughter, and retir'd in little Numbers to the Borders of the Desart, were encourag'd by a certain daring Slave, nam'd Zinganeus, to assemble in one Body, and make use of those offensive Arms their hasty Flight had left them, to their best advantage; they consented to the motion, and upon examination found themselves a formidable Body, able to defend their Ground by reason of the difficulty of access, against the Power of all Invaders.

A Salvage kind of Life.

THUS they liv'd some time, made Nightly Inrodes to the fertil Pastures on the Banks of Nilus, plunder'd Towns, destroy'd Inhabitants, drove off their Cattle, and committed all Outrages, void of fear, and free from Punishment, not only keeping so secure a Guard, that they defended their Possessions, but admitting daily Numbers of their old Companions, who deserted to their Party in considerable Bodies, as often as they found convenient Opportunities.

THE Turks, who dreaded what might be the Consequences of this threatning growth of Power, sent Great Commanders with some regular Forces to reduce them to Obedience; who fell short in their Designs, and were sent back half ruin'd, to assure their Officers, they were to cope with greater Strength than they imagin'd.

IN short, the Turks perceiv'd so great a Difficulty in the Method they must take to bring 'em to Subjection, that they rather chose to offer Terms of Friendship, and Accommodation, which the Mamalukes as readily accepted of, as growing weary of the Dangerous Alarums they were Hourly Subject to, so that a Peace was soon concluded,
Articles of Accommodation.

and the Articles thereof Obliging the Circassians to lay down their Arms, permitted them to exercise what other way of Living, their desires wou'd lead 'em to make choice of.

BUT Civil Discipline agreeing rarely with the Military Genius of licentious Multitudes, they grew unruly, and became so prejudicial to the common Interest, that the offended Turks at last grew weary of forgiving, and Enacted a degree, that every ZINGANEE, for they were so distinguish'd, from the Name of their Ringleader, shou'd in Fourteen Days depart the Kingdom:
They are Banish'd Egypt.

This was so severely put in Execution, that in less than two Months space, not one remain'd, who Publickly durst own himself of that Denomination, for it was made Lawfull for what Man soever met them, when their Date expired, to Take, Kill, Enstave, or Ʋse them as he thought convenient.

NO Man from that time forward e'er knew certainly, what became of Zinganeus their Commander, tho 'tis commonly believ'd he staid in Egypt, where at present his Posterity and that of his Companions, openly dare own themselves. A certain Prophecy is spread about, relating to some future hopes, Predominant on the Opinion of the Zinganees, tho few among the Turks, regard or Value it. The Prophecy as 'tis Express'd in the Egyptian Language, varies nothing from the following purpose.

A Gypsie Prophecy.

Years over Years shall Roll;

Ages o'er Ages Slide,

Before the Worlds Controul,

Shall check the Crescents Pride.

Banish'd from Place to Place,

Wide as the Oceans Roar,

The Mighty Gypsie Race,

Shall Visit ev'ry Shore.

But when the Hundredth Year,

Shall three times Doubled be,

Then shall an End Appear,

To all their Slavery.

Then shall the Warlike Pow'rs,

From distant Climes return,

Egypt again be Ours,

And Turkish Turrets Burn.

A Vain and Groundless hope.

THIS Prophecy has won so far upon the Miserable Romnant of the Zinganees in Egypt, that they all expect as certainly to see the Restoration of their Empire in the Downfall of the Turks, as the most Rigid Jews believe and wait for the return of their Messias: But how wide from Probability their notion lies, let any Man decide, who will reflect on the Prodigious difference between the Turks and Them, in Number and Authority.

The Wandring Lives of the Banish'd Gypsies.

THOSE Zinganees, who had not Courage to continue in their Country in contempt of the decree, exhibited against them, spread themselves in Banishment thro' every corner of the World, and finding it a necessary prudence to consider on some means of Livelyhood they took upon them the Denomination of Foretellers of the Accidents attending every Persons Life, Pretending to a natural Gift of Prophecy, and finding it an easy matter to Impose upon the World by such Pretentions, the (rather, because many Families among them, had by Art or Nature, really reach'd a Wonderful Ability in such like Practices) they Flourish'd for a while, and grew considerably Rich in many Countries.

Their First Arrival in England.

AMONG the rest, great Numbers Flock'd to England, Travell'd up and down from Place to Place, with Children at their Backs, beg'd leave to he in Barns, told Fortunes for their Livelyhood, and when they could not fairly get Provisions, Stole 'em with an admirable Cunning; till the many Mischiefs which attended the Permission of these Stroling Hypocrites, occasion'd several Acts to pass, in order to extirpate their Fraternity.

THE Laws which were from time to time Enacted to that end, had such effect, that they were soon Transported hence in such surprizing Numbers, that the few mean Wretches, now pretending to the Character of Gypsies, are not really so, but such, whose Miserable Circumstances have reduc'd 'em to a sordid Imitation of the Vices and Pretences of those Banish'd Persons,
The Original of the Word Gypsie.

to whom Originally, our Forefathers gave the Name of Gyptians or Egyptians to denote the Country they belong'd to, but the word has been corrupted by the course of Time to the Present Vulgar Pronunciation, GYPSIES.

BUT tho' the Prudence of our cautious Ancestors, found means to rid this Nation of such Troublesome Inhabitants, few other Countries took that care to free themselves from their Encumb'ring Multiplication,
Turkey very full of Gypsies.

every part of Turkey is (especially) so Pester'd with 'em, that you seldom Travel Four and Twenty Hours without Encountring them.

Their Way of Living.

THEY are Divided into Tribes, Acknowledge no dependance on, or Duty to the Power of any Government whatever; they have no Laws among themselves, but mingle Lustfully together in the most Incestuous manner, never Marrying, but using all in common, Women, Goods, and all they Boast of.

THEY Wander up and down, with Asses, Loaden with their Tents, and other dirty Necessaries, always Pitching their Black Camp as near some Town of Note as possible,
Excellent Smiths.

and Working commonly as Smiths, particularly famous for the making Hatchets of an Edge so excellently temper'd, that no Nail can turn it; they are Hir'd sometimes for every kind of Drudgery, but frequently refuse to Work, and never tarry longer in a Place, than till they have obtain'd as much, as Stealing or their Labour can induce 'em to the hopes of.

THUS in time, they Visit every Part of every Country, hated by Mankind and Preying on the Losses of their Fellow Creatures, void of Principle and consequently of Humanity: If any of them Die, they make a Hole within his Tent, and Bury him about a Foot below the Surface, never using Coffin, Shrowd or Decent Ceremony; Scoffing Publickly at every Law and all Religions;
Their Atheistical Principles.

openly declaring, they believe no GOD, but impiously use no other Argument, than that of Insolent and Ignorant Obstinacy, telling Christians, who rebuke their Wickedness, that they have Daily reason to distrust the Notions of a Godhead, since if there were a Power so Mighty and Omniscient as God is represented, he wou'd never hear himself Blasphem'd, and Ridicul'd at such a Rate, as he is Hourly by their common Practice, without some speedy Judgment on their Guilt. This Simple Notion made me think upon an Ancient Precedent, deliver'd to Posterity by Martial in his Book of Epigrams.

Mart. Epig.

Nullos esse Deos, inane Coelum

Affirmat Selius, probatque, quod se

Factum, dum negat hoc, videt Beatum.

Selius affirms, there is no God in Heav'n,

And the sole Cause, for that Opinion giv'n,

Is, that while thus he dares a God deny,

He Prospers daily, and no Plague draws nigh.

Their Customs, and Humour.

THEY commonly go naked, or at least, the major Part affect not Dressing. Nature stains them of a tawny Hue, and the unresisted Influence of a continual Sun encreases their Deformity; they never wash their Hands or Faces, but permit their Hair and Nails to grow to most amazing lengths: They will not suffer Travellers to pass without accosting them, extracting Money by repeated Declarations of the Good or Evil Fortune, which is likely to attend them: But what most amaz'd me, is, that they assume the Impudence of giving good Advice, exhorting them to Piety, and all the Graces of Humanity, concluding commonly their Hypocritic Lectures with these Words, Be Dutiful to God, your Parents and your Prince, and let the Blessings of them all be showr'd upon you.

WHEN I perceiv'd that such as these cou'd give Advice, who are the open Enemies of common Goodness, I reflected with a wonderful surprize upon the Truth of an old Maxim, I remember to have read in some Greek Author.

A Graecian Maxim.

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How readily do all our Natures tend

To give Advice with Prudence to a Friend!

But if we Err our selves, we know it not;

At least our Self-affection cloaks the Blot.

A Story of the Impudence of a certain Zinganee.

THE Native Insolence of these licentious Wretches may be guess'd at by a Story I will tell you. At a little Country Town in Turkey, where great Numbers of the Zinganees had pitch'd their Tents, a Friend of mine, who kept a Summer House, retir'd to pass a Month or two; and having been inform'd how Skillful they were fam'd to be in making Hatchets of an admirable temper, had the Curiosity to purchase one, at the dear rate of three and twenty Shillings in the Money of that Country.

HE try'd his Hatchet, which was neatly made, and had a fine turn'd Helve, and Leather Case to keep the Head from wet, and found it so exceeding Good, that he commended it extreamly to the Man, who made it, and profess'd he wou'd not lose it for its double Value.

A Cheating Temper.

NOTHING cou'd have been more welcom News, or fairer Invitation to the Zinganee than this, he presently resolv'd to find some opportunity of stealing back the Hatchet, that he might oblige the Gentleman to buy another, or reward him well for the pretence of having found the old one.

IN short, he watch'd a day or two, and having made his observation of the Place 'twas laid in, soon found means to get it, and was met one Morning by the Owner, as he hasten'd from the Chamber with the mark of Theft about him; The Gentleman, surpriz'd to see a Zinganee in his Apartment, took him by the Arm as he was passing by, and ask'd him somewhat roughly, what his Business was, and whither he was carrying his Hatchet; The Gypsy, an experienc'd Artist, answer'd nothing, but with elevated Eyes, and shaking Head, endeavour'd silently to get away;
A wonderful Assurance.

but when the Gentleman encreas'd his anger, and began to call his Servants to secure him, with a bold, undaunted Look, and Tongue as nimble as his Fingers, he began to talk away his Guilt, in Speeches to the following purpose.

The Speech of a Gypsy.

FOOL that you are; but Christians will be blind, and who can help it? Now I know you think that I came hither with design to steal your Hatchet; O poor Frailty of your common Understanding! I have Skill, honest Infidel, and by that Skill knew certainly, that if this Hatchet was not taken from you, this Morning at Eleven a Clock, and just three Minutes after, you wou'd have been inclin'd to try its Metal on you Log of Wood, and so had surely cut your Right Leg half asunder. I have Skill, and valued you, and so prevented it by seizing on the evil Instrument. See here, I will not be dismay'd, I prize your Good above your Friendship, and will, notwithstanding this, prevent your Danger.

HE had no sooner spoke these Words, but off he ran, as fast as he was able, nor was overtaken, tho' the Servants follow'd him, till he had reach'd a Well of an unfathomable Depth, and there he stopp'd, but first threw in the Hatchet, which he knew cou'd never be recover'd from so deep a Bottom.

The Success of a Cheat.

THE Gentleman, who guess'd the Zinganee's Design, cou'd scarce refrain from laughing at the Air with which he carry'd off his Impudence; 'twas dangerous to beat him, tho' he wish'd he cou'd have ventur'd it; in short, the Gypsy won his point, and still maintaining that his value for the Person of the Gentleman had made him throw away the former Hatchet, got the making of another like it.

I should have told you, that they always chuse some even spot of Ground to pitch their Tents, where the Men and Women Sing and Dance, in aukward Gestures all Day long, run, hop, and toy away their Hours in various kinds of active Entertainments.

Another Story of the Gypsies.

I Lay, in Company with several other English Gentlemen, at a large Town in Thrace, now call'd Romania, I think the Place was nam'd Burgoss; upon a spacious Plain, without the City, stood the Tents of several Tribes of wand'ring Gypsies, who were us'd to entertain themselves in Dancing till near Midnight, and express'd their Satisfaction in each others Conversation by the number of their Exercises.

WE walk'd out one Day to take the Air upon the Plain I speak of, and were very much surpriz'd to see a Company of Naked People of both Sexes, join'd promiscuously in a kind of Antic Dance, and leaping up and down, with uncouth Noises, and indecent Postures, which declar'd them Strangers to the smallest Grain of common Modesty.

WE came as near 'em as we cou'd, and were immediatly surrounded by their Numbers, every Person striving to foretell our Fortunes, by inspection of our Hands, which we prevented them from doing, by an obstinate refusal to admit them near us.

An English Modesty.

ONE Young Gentleman among us, of a very modest, or indeed a bashful Nature, was half frighted to behold himself encompass'd by a Band of Naked Women, and instead of striving to defend himself from their Endeavours, kept one Hand before his Eyes and all on fire with Blushes, turn'd his Head aside, and beg'd us to depart from that Society of Devils.

A very dexterous and pleasant Cheat.

THE Zinganees immediately perceiv'd the Opportunity he gave them, and with all imaginable expedition, joining Hands, danc'd round him in a Ring, and pulling him about from Place to Place, laugh'd, sung, and kiss'd him with a strange Extravagance, while several others came about us with a thousand artful Postures and Discourses, to prevent us from observing what they did with our Companion, who was so amaz'd to find himself touch'd, kiss'd, and pull'd about by such a Naked Multitude of Females, that he knew not what they were about, till they had thrown him down, and rolling him along among themselves, found means to pick his Pockets, of his Gold and Silver, two good Rings, and a fine Watch of English Workmanship.

The Impunity of Zinganees in Turkey.

WE were so much diverted with the Accident, that we cou'd hardly frame our Tempers for a necessary Quarrel, which was all in vain, for they had done their Business, and went on with their Diversion, never minding our repeated Exclamations that they wou'd restore the Gentleman the Prize so lately taken; we complain'd to the Chief Magistrate upon re-ent'ring the City, but found no Redress, all Men declining to concern themselves with People, over whom they boasted small Authority, and from whose Punishment, they cou'd not hope Retaliation of an Injury receiv'd, but wou'd be sure to suffer by a swift Revenge, and never failing Malice; so extreamly burthensom and dangerous are the Gypsies in the Eastern World, beyond those here in England, or indeed in any other Part of Western Christendom.

BUT, notwithstanding the abovenam'd Character of the Zinganees in general may incline the Reader to believe the Stories he has heard of Gypsies, and their wonderful Performances are all Chimaeras, and the wild Production of distemper'd Fancy,
Some Gypsies better than the rest.

there are really some among them, in whose Families the Spirit of Foreknowledge seems to live, beyond Examples common in our Country.

THERE is nothing a more certain Truth, than that the Masters of some Merchant Ships have been advis'd to wait a happy Hour, least on such, and such a Coast, they shou'd be Shipwreck'd, which advice, when slighted, has appear'd of more solidity, than they imagin'd, by the fatal Loss of both the Vessel and the Lives of all her Mariners.

Strange Stories, told of some of them.

NOT only these, but many other such like Accidents, and some more strange have happen'd frequently in many Parts of Egypt, and the other Countries, where these Gypsies live; I could relate surprizing things, which have been told me with a good Authority, but I forbear imposing Facts upon my Reader's Faith, which, notwithstanding the concurring Evidences of undoubted Witnesses, and sometimes ocular Demonstration, really seem to shock my own.

ONE Story I will here, however, tell you, and so leave you to your Liberty, believe or not believe, that some of those call'd Zinganees inherit naturally the Prophetic Blessing of foreknowing Things to come, which they pretend to; I can only say, they give such staggering Demonstrations of a Power beyond a common Guess, that tho' I was unwilling to give credit to their Attestations, I perceiv'd them built upon too sure a Ground, to give me any opportunity of contradicting them.

A Story of an Accident, which befel the Author in his Travels.

I Travell'd once, with a considerable Number of my Countrymen, and other People, thro this Country, and was musing Pensively behind my Company on Horseback in an easy Pace, when from a kind of Bushy Covert on one side the Road, there Started out a Man, of Venerable Age, Long Beard, and Decent Habit; In his Shrivel'd Hand he held a Staff, and a Convulsive Palsie shook his Head with an Incessant Motion.

HE came forward Slowly, Beckning me to stay, as if he had some Business of Importance to Communicate; I stop'd my Horse, whose Main he Strok'd with his Right Hand, when he came to me, and Seizing on my Boot Top with his Left, let fall his Staff, and look'd so earnestly upon my Face, that I was Struck with a Surprize at the uncommon method of his Salutation.

I ask'd him, if he knew me, or had any thing to tell me, that he look'd upon me with such Eagerness; He Skook his Head with double force, and after having us'd some Wonderfull Expressions, which for certain Reasons I forbear to mention here, he told me that a dangerous Cloud hung o'er my Head, and Threaten'd me with Sudden Death;
An unwelcome Salutation.

Perhaps, Young Man, says he, you have not half an Hour of Life to come, but Heaven, (which only can) avert the Omen!

YOU must needs Imagine I was somewhat Startled at this declaration, which the Old Man had no sooner made, than he departed, Looking Back almost at every step he took, and lifting up his Eyes in seeming Sign of some concern, which look'd like Pity.

A Wonderful Adventure.

AT last, I fansy'd him a kind of Madman, and converted Contemplation to a fit of Mirth, so Gallop'd, on as fast as I cou'd Ride, to overtake my Company, and entertain 'em with the Story of my odd Adventure; But I had not Rode four Hundred Paces, when from a Cross Road, leading thro' a kind of Wood, on either side, appear'd some Horse-men Arm'd with Javelins, who with elevated Weapons stop'd my Passage, and made signs that I should presently alight, or they would throw them at me.

HERE the Sudden turn of a Reflection on the Probability of that short Space of Life, alloted me by the Old Man, more deeply terrify'd me than the presence of my Enemies;
A Surprizing turn of Fortune.

I made a Shift, unknowing in a manner what I did, to lay my Hand upon a Pistol, and had just presented it when all the Horse-men Gallop'd off together, with a Motion equally Surprizing for its Swiftness and Occasion.

THAT very Moment struck my Ears with the loud Sound of a large Brazen Trumpet, which a Member of our Company had carry'd with him, and the Noise of Horses-Feer, as if they Gallop'd;
A timely succour.

Presently appear'd the Major part of my Companions, who had miss'd me, and came Back by the Advice of an Old Guide among them, who Inform'd 'em 'twas a Dangerous thing to Straggle from ones Company, in such a part of such a Country.

Reflections on the Accident.

NOW, tho this strange Deliverance might possibly have been unknown to the Old Man, who met me, and the Notice, which he gave me of it, the Effect of Chance, or a Strange whim Inspir'd by Providence, 'tis surely far more Reasonable to suppose him Master of a more than common share of Knowledge; or at least, if this Relation does not Tempt the Reader to the same Opinion, yet some Private Circumstances, which attended it, gave me such convincing Proofs of his just Title to a Supernatural Wisdom, that I cannot help declaring, I must still believe him Bless'd with a Prophetic Inspiration.

CHAP. XXVI. Of Sestos, and Abydos, the Castles Commanding the Hellespont, now call'd Dardanelli; and of the Ruins of Old Troy.

Sestos and Abydos.

AND now we are about to Travel into Egypt by the way of Constantinople, we must first sail down the Hellespont, whose Entrance from the Archipelago is defended strongly by four Castles of considerable Force: The outward two whereof are Sestos and Abydos, celebrated by the Pens of ancient Poets, for the famous Loves of Hero and Leander.

METHINKS I found a certain secret Pleasure in the very looking on a Place of such Antiquity; and while I sail'd along the River, the complaining Murmurs of the rolling Waters seem'd to mourn Leander's Drowning, and I cou'd not look upon the venerable Turrets of those aged Buildings, but they brought to my Reflection the Idea of those dulcid Strains, wherein Musaus warbles out the Circumstances of the melancholy Story.

Musaeus de Her. & Leand.

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In ancient Days, upon the famous Shore,

Where Hellaspontic Waves incessant roar,

Close to the Sea, on either side the Flood,

Here Sestos, there the near Abydos stood;

Here, his strong Bow the wanton Cupid bent,

And one swift Arrow to both Cities sent,

The Youth vow'd Love, the Virgin own'd the same,

Both felt one Passion, and profess'd one Flame.

Leander was the Lover's Name, and She

Was Hero call'd, as Fair as Maid cou'd be,

She dwelt in Sestos, in Abydos He,

Both blest alike, in Beauty, and in Love,

Like two fair Stars, Both in their Circles move;

But you, kind Listner, if by chance you roam,

And for those distant Climates, leave your Home,

If in your Wandrings you by chance come there,

And, led by Choice or Business, curious are,

Inquire of some old Liver, grave and good,

Where once a certain ancient Turret stood,

Whereon the Sestian Hero chose to stand,

And held a Lantern in her tender Hand,

To teach her better-half, which way to move,

And act the Pilot to Leander's Love;

Look next, upon those Seas, which hourly roar,

And wash the Sands of old Abydo's Shore,

Weeping, as o'er the Guilty Scene they fly,

That Constant Lover's Loss, whom there they forc'd to Die.

A caution of the Turks.

AND indeed, a Traveller has here a spacious Opportunity to follow the Advice of this old Poet, for he is detain'd three Days, by a fix'd Custom of the Country, and must then submit to be examin'd, whither Bound, what Countryman, and wait the searching of the Ship by Officers, deputed from the Castles, e'er he may have liberty to Sail beyond the Reach of their Artillery.

Its causes.

THIS Caution is occasion'd by the necessary Policy of their sharp Government, whose ever wary Eye forbids the clearing Foreign Ships, till after such a stay within the Entrance of the Hellespont, least they shou'd have Commited any Breach of Articles, before they left the City.

Reflections on the Modern Ignorance of this Country.

BUT Oh! how much in vain Musaeus bids us ask the People of these Ancient Towns, for Places, which they are not only Strangers to the Knowledge, but to the Names of; Ignorance and Insolence have Clouded Learning in the very Inclinations of the Modern Masters of this Country; endless Revolutions in the very Face of Furrow'd Nature have Erac'd the Characters of Former Wisdom, and destroy'd in an Obscure and deep Oblivion those Lamented Monuments of High Antiquity.

The Dardanells, and why so call'd.

THE Present Owners call these Castles Dardanelli, and 'tis a more than Probable Opinion, that their Etymology derives its Birth from their Vicinity in Situation to the Trojan Shore; their strength is little, if compar'd with the more Artful forms of regular and modern Fortifications, and are Incapacitated to defend themselves against the Power of Seiges, carried on by Land Entrenchments; all their use arises from the large and Monstrous Bore of many Cannons, Planted on a Level with the Surface of the Water, and discharging Bullets made of Stone, of such prodigious size, that tho it has been known, that Ships have pass'd in safety by the favourable Opportunity of a great Gale, and Swelling Waters, 'tis a Rash and Dangerous attempt, and ten to one but all, who hazard it, are Sunk in the Performance.

Reflections on the Present State of Troy.

WE Sail from hence and presently gain sight of TROY, at least the Shore, whereon TROY stood, that Towering City, whose Imperial Turrets Brav'd the Fury of Confederate Nations, and repuls'd so many Bloody times the Powerfull Armies of the Graecian Hero's, under whose Renown'd and long defended Walls, the Flowing Blood of Hostile Nations Bath'd a Soil, which Nourish'd Laurels of Immortal Memory; whose unbounded Sway and unexhausted Plenty drew the Wonder of an Emulative World, as her Brave fall, and celebrated Ruin mov'd the Pens of the Sublimest Poets in the Ʋniverse to Eternize her Glory; This Illustrious Scene of Wonders, This amazing Field of Action now lies Silent, Buried, and o'erwhelm'd in the too Melancholy fate of TROJA FƲIT, TROY WAS.

NOTHING is remaining worthy of the Monument of so renown'd a City; the relentless Teeth of Iron Time have Gnaw'd away her Beauties, and the Miserable Remnant of her Ancient Grandeur is confin'd to such a Poor and little Measure,
The Mistake of many Travellers.

that those hasty Travellers, who think it a sufficient Satisfaction to have seen a Place at distance, have inform'd the World, that all is now converted into Pasture Ground, or that in short, a just Idea of the present State of, that subverted City may be comprehended fully, by the Tuneful Chorus of a good old English Ballad, which, as I remember, tells us;

Wast lie those Walls, which were so good,

And Grass now grows, where Troy Town stood.

HOWEVER, as I was too curious in my Inclinations to rest content with the Reports of other Men, in Places, where I cou'd inform my self by ocular experience, I resolv'd to go on Shore, and was the more desirous to become a Witness of the Miserable Blot, which had defac'd so fair a Copy,
The Grounds of that Mistake.

because I very well remembred to have met a Jew in Portugal, who had assur'd me there was more to be Discover'd on the Shore of Troy, than commonly was credited, but the dangerous Barbarity of the Inhabitants was such, as rendred it a hazardous attempt, and consequently frighted many People from Landing in that Country.

THE Captain of the Ship, wherein I Sail'd, oblig'd me with his Boat, while adverse Winds detain'd us on the Coast, and one Francisco Condaliso, an Italian Priest, who had been long a Missionary in the Eastern Countries, and at present, if alive, resides at Padua, consented to Accompany me;
The Author Lands at Troy.

we Landed in a very Fair and spacious Harbour, probably the same, which formerly receiv'd the Boats of Greece, returning to and fro with Soldiers and Provisions.

WE Walk'd about three Miles up thro' the Country, on a Ground still rising from the Sea with small Acclivity, but overgrown with Brakes and Brambles, as, indeed, is every part, which Borders on the Sea, for many Miles along that Land, so that the First Remark I made in this my Trojan Expedition, was that my old Country-man the Ballad-maker, was mistaken in his Calculation.

An account of what he Discover'd there.

WE look'd about, as eagerly as possible, but look'd in vain, and had begun to doubt or even despair of finding any Marks or Ruins of Antiquity, when Francisco struck his Foot with Accidental Violence against a Stone, and casting down his Eyes imagin'd he Discover'd something like a Piece of Building, scarce an Inch above the Ground, all over grown with Moss, and in a manner cover'd by the Gross about it;

A Piece of the Old Walls of Troy.

UPON a closer view, and digging up the Obstacles, which interpos'd themselves, we plainly found, it was a part of some Old Wall, and with our Scymetars removing all the Brambles, and low Bushes near it, we Discover'd it to be near Thirteen Foot in Breadth, but Narrower and Higher in some Places, than it was in others.

TRACING it with more than common difficulty, thro' a little Knot of Bushes, we had soon lost sight of it, and dug in vain, as deep as we cou'd thrust our Swords, to find if it continued farther on; However, having met so fair encouragement, we chearfully proceeded near a Quarter of a Mile, and there Discover'd at considerable distance, something like a Rugged Wall, or broken Ruin of an Ancient Building.

COMING near it, we perceiv'd it was the same continued Piece of Building, we had lately lost, and on a close Examination found it of a black and solid Stone, appearing join'd by Mortar, which the length of time had notwithstanding, hard'ned into Substance, of an equal firmness with the Stone it self.

A description of it.

THE Sizes of the Stones were very different, but rather small, than of extraordinary Magnitude, for few exceeded half a Foot in their Diameter. The length of this old Piece of Wall was sixteen Yards, the heighth at most exceeded not four Foot, but was in many Places broken, and in some, scarce half a Foot above the Ground.

'TWAS strangely overgrown with little Shrubs, and divers Plants appear'd between the Joinings of the Stone, which wore a melancholy Sylvan Dress of Most and Houseleek:
Over-grown with Laurel.

But the most engaging Part of the whole Prospect was a seeming Grove of spreading Laurel-Trees, which flourish'd on the top, and hanging down on either side, protecting, as it were, the Building from the Injuries of Weather; methoughts I never saw those kind of Trees so justly Planted, and I cou'd not help rememb'ring, that they look'd as naturally plac'd on these Old Ruins, as upon the Celebrated Tomb of the harmonious Virgil, in the Neighbourhood of Naples.

A new Discovery.

ABOUE an Hour we feasted Curiosity, with a repeated Observation of the pleasing Object, and had tarry'd longer in the same Employment, but were call'd away by the discovery of certain other Ruins at a little distance from us, which we found to be no more than a Continuance of the Wall, we had before been looking on.

Three Monuments, or Tomb-Stones.

BUT, while we eagerly examin'd every Part, we both took notice of a great disorder'd heap of Stones, near which there stood three things like Tomb-Stones, and upon approach we found 'em to be really such, at least design'd to represent them; they were two Yards long, and four Foot broad, of common Stone rais'd near two Foot in heighth, and cover'd with three fine flat Marbles, which by the Inscriptions on 'em, seem'd to have been done in Christendom, to gratifie the Humour of some curious Person, willing to amuse Posterity, when they shou'd find such Tombs in such a Place, and never know which way they came to be there.

BY the Workmanship and the decay'd Condition of the Monuments, we judg'd 'em not the Children of the present Age, if possibly the last was old enough to Father them; with much ado, upon the first we came to, we cou'd read the following Epitaph, which I presently remembred to have met with in Ausonius, on the Death of Hector.

An Epitaph found upon the Tomb of Hector.

Hectoris hic Tumulus, cum quo sua Troja sepulta est,

Conduntur pariter, qui periêre simul.

This is brave Hector's Tomb,

With whom his Troy found Grave,

One Fate did Both consume,

Both one Sepulchre have.

The Tomb of King Priamus.

A little farther stood the second Tomb, which was it seems, design'd to represent the Monument of Priamus, the Epitaph, which like the first and third is borrow'd from Ausonius, seems to speak a Royal Mourner, and Paternal Sorrow.

Qui Tumulum Priami quaerit, legat Hectoris ante,

Ille meus, nato quem prius ipse dedi.

Hectoris & Patris simul est commune Sepulchrum,

Amborum quoniam juncta ruina fuit.

His Epitaph.

He, who inquires for Priam's Grave,

Shou'd first on Hector's look,

That's mine, the Tomb to him I gave,

For my own Use I took.

One common Sepulchre must hold,

The Father and the Son,

Because at once to Ruin sold,

They jointly were undone.

The Tomb of Hecuba.

THE third, a little shorter than the former two, contains an Epitaph upon afflicted Majesty, in the known Name of Hecuba, the wretched Wife and Mother of the late-nam'd Priamus and Hector.

Quae Regina fui: quae claro nata Dymante;

Quae Priami Conjux: Hectora quae genui:

Hic Hecuba injectis perii superobruta saxis:

Sed rabie linguae me tamen ulta prius.

Fidite ne Regnis, & Prole, & stirpe Parentum,

Quicunque hoc nostrum 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 legitis.

Her Epitaph.

I, who was Queen, who was the Daughter too

Of Dymas, whose bright Glories all Men knew;

I, who was Priam's Wife, who first gave Birth

To Hector, whose Great Actions shook the Earth;

I, Hecuba, fell here, o'erwhelm'd with Stones,

But Curses, e'er I fell, reveng'd my batter'd Bones;

Who e'er you are, who shall hereafter see

This

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

Dogs Sepulchre, which now serves for me,

Learn to depend on neither Sons, Race, State,

Or any other slipp'ry Gifts of Fate,

For what am I, now Dead? Tho' Living, more than Great?

THESE are the most, and I may say, the only Things worth Observation there, tho' they deserv'd the Notice of a Traveller, and I am therefore much surpriz'd that none have mention'd them, at least no Countryman of mine; I have been told, how true I know not, that a French Book, publish'd very many Years ago, and call'd, L' Historie d' Asia,
A rare French Book.

mentions these particulars; The Book I never met with, but am apt to think, that, since they only have the Notion, it was one of their own Countrymen, who found the ruinated Wall and added the three Tombs, I have so lately spoke of.

YET 'tis a certainty beyond dispute, that Englishmen have landed there; at least one Countryman of ours, has left behind him a convincing Argument of his Arrival in those Parts, for underneath the Marble Flat, which covers Hector's Tomb, we found these Lines, upon the side of a smooth Stone, they seem'd to have been carv'd with difficulty by a Knife, and spoke their Author a Salt Water Poet.

A piece of Poetry, made at Troy by an English Sailor, in the Year 1631.

I do suppose that here stood Troy,

My Name it is William a jolly Boy,

My other Name it is Hudson, and so,

God Bless the Sailors, where ever they do go.

I was here in the Year of our Lord 1631, and was

Bound to Old England, God Bless her.

WE staid some Hours with a wonderful delight, and gaz'd about the Country with a satisfaction equal to our Curiosity, but finding nothing more to entertain our Observation, we began to think of getting back, and so return'd the way we came; we were not well on board before the Wind came fair, and we set Sail immediately.

The Island of Tenedos.

WE pass'd by Tenedos, an Island celebrated for having hid the Graecian Navy from the Trojan View, while they, believing the Besiegers gone, took in the Horse, which enter'd big with their Destruction. The Place is now not worth a Strangers notice, but upon account of the above-nam'd Story. Few Inhabitants are found upon it, and those few the worst and meanest of the Countries thereabouts, so strangely subject is the Fate of Nations to the common Changes, and Uncertainties of frail Mortality.

CHAP. XXVII. Of the Islands in the Aegean Sea.

The Islands of the Archipelago, famous anciently.

THE many Great and Little Islands, which compose the Archipelago, have been (at least most of them) so extreamly famous for peculiar Attributes, appropriated to 'em in the memorable Works of ancient Poets, that I cannot pass 'em by, without a transient View of such, as most deserve our mention; some there are so very small, as never yet to have been honour'd with a Name, and many of the largest, being sometimes seen and sometimes not, in Sailing from Constantinople to the Coast of Egypt, I will only speak of such, as Mariners (oblig'd sometimes to shift their Course by adverse Weather) may by Choice or Force go nigh to touch at.

The Names of the most considerable.

AND those are Lemnos, Chios, Metelyn and Samos, Icaria, Patmos, Zea, Rhodes and Coos; sometimes a Ship is driven more Westerly, and Sails by Delos, pretty near the Continent, sees Thebes, and Delphos, Athens, Corinth, and the famous Creto, now Candy; every one of these above-nam'd Places I will therefore treat of, that the Reader may conceive a just Idea of the wondrous difference between their Modern and their Ancient Circumstances.

How it came to be call'd the Aegean Sea.

BUT e'er I come to the particular Description of these several Places, 'twill not be a miss to speak a Word or two in Explanation of the Sea in general, call'd Aegean from Aegeus, Father to the famous Theseus, who leap'd headlong thereinto, believing that the Ship, which brought his Son from Fighting with the Monster Minotaurus, was return'd with the account of his Miscarriage; the abovenam'd Theseus having fail'd in his Promise of converting his black Sails into white, if he came back Victorious.

Its Extent
•

IT is a Part or Arm, and that the largest, of the Mediterranean; it reaches to the Entrance of the very Hellespont, dividing Greece from Asia Minor; 'tis a dangerous Place to Sail in, but especially by Night, the Islands lying so extreamly close, that oftentimes a Ship is driven forcibly upon a Rocky Shore in open Day by Stress of Weather.

Lemnos and its Product, Terra Sigillata.

NOW let us visit Lemnos, a considerable Island, not so much for its extent of magnitude as the unthought Advantages, accruing to the Turks, it's present Masters, from the yearly Exportation of a valuable Earth, call'd Terra Sigillata, from the small Impression of a Seal, which marks the Balls, wherein 'tis sold, with Turkish Characters, and so prevents the danger of an Imposition on the Merchant.

IT was in ancient Times esteem'd of weighty Virtue in Medicinal Performances, and gather'd Yearly by the Priests of Venus with a thousand Ceremonies, and often mingled with the Blood of Goats, in order to be offer'd as a Sacrifice to that imaginary Goddess.

LEMNOS was formerly of no small Note, for being taken notice of by Homer, as the Place, whereon the Limping Vulcan fell, when Jupiter thought fit to kick him out of Heaven.

Hom. Iliad. 1.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

When once I dar'd oppose my Brother Jove,

And Warr'd against him in the Realms above,

He snatch'd me by the Foot, then rais'd me high,

And hurl'd me headlong from the Starry Sky;

Downward all Day I tumbled, and begun

To draw near Earth at setting of the Sun,

On Lemnos then I fell.

Chios, and its Etymology.

NEXT, Chios claims our Observation, anciently receiving that Denomination from the Greek Word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, signifying Snow, because her Mountains frequently are cover'd with it, now her Name is chang'd to Zio, or, as some pronounce it, Sio. 'Tis near an hundred thirty odd Miles in compass, lengthning from the Southward to the Northern Point, and subject to the Turks, who notwithstanding, suffer many Greeks to live among them, with far greater Privileges than they give to any of their Countrymen in other Places.

A description of the City, and Inhabitants.

THE Town of Sio is considerably large, and made convenient by a spacious Haven; the City is defended by a Castle of no little Strength, upon a Hill exceeding steep: The Buildings of the Town are very Neat, especially the Publick Ones, and the Inhabitants, I mean the Greeks, so very merry in their easy Slavery, that all night long a Stranger is diverted with their Songs and Dances, and their Instruments of Musick sounding briskly thro' the Streets: The Women, as esteem'd of old, are yet the Mistresses of admirable Beauties, fram'd by Nature for an amorous Conversation, and possessing sweetly the politest Marks, of gentle Affability: They frequently appoint a kind of Balls, and Merry-makings, which are given alternately from House to House, and spend their Days in all the Gayety of Wealth and Liberty.

The Manufactures of the Island.

THE Product of the Island is the finest Corn and Oyl, some Silks, and Cotton, and the best Sherbets, which can be made, by reason of the Excellence of a rich kind of Honey, found in Mastick Trees: I call them so, because the Gum of that Name is in great abundance brought from thence, and is a Distillation from the Rind, which being cut in August, still continues to emit great Quantities thereof, till the beginning of October following.
An old Tradition.

They have an Old Traditional Account that, when Saint Theodore was led to Martyrdom, he wept extreamly for the Blindness of the World, and every Place, which then was moisten'd by a Tear of his, now bears the Tree affording Mastick; tho' the Tour, he took, must have been very large, for all the South Part of the Island bears them in great abundance.

ARVIS or Amista, a large Mountain, in the middle of the Country, still abounds in that rich Wine, so Celebrated formerly by Virgil in his Eclogues, then call'd Arvisian, now, Il vino Amistano, an Italian Appellation.

Virg. Ecl. 5.

Et multo in primis hilarans convivia Baccho,

Ante focum, si frigus erit; si messis, in umbrâ;

Vina Novum fundam calathis Arvisia Nectar.

When elevated with a lofty Joy,

Our Hours in Bacchu's Pleasures we employ;

If Cold, by the kind Warmth of some bright Fire,

Or, if 'tis Hot, to shady Bow'rs retire;

Then with gay Mirth will we recruit our Souls,

And with Arvisian Nectar crown the Bowls.

AND indeed the present Owners of the Wine agree with Virgil in the same Opinion.

Chios challenges the Birth of Homer.

AMONG the many Things for which the Island Chios is remarkable, she claims the Honour due to Homer's Birth Place, challenging a right to that Pretention from a thousand several Circumstances, and showing Travellers an ancient Monument, which they would fain perswade us to believe, was Homer's Tomb; they either are mistaken in their Claim, or the old Distich on that Subject, shou'd have mention'd Chios in the room of Iös, and have made the Verses run as follow.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

The seven contending Cities for him.

IT wou'd be easy to Translate the Lines verbatim, and inform the unlearn'd Reader, that the Towns, contending for his Birth, were Smyrna, Iös, Rhodes, Salamin, Athens, Argos, and Colophon; but I have met with an admirable Thought in some late English Poets Writings, tho' I cannot say directly, who he was, and rather chuse to quote his Words, since they not only touch upon the present Subject, but will represent a very true and lively Image of the little Honour, Writers get, till past enjoying it.

Seven Wealthy Towns contend for Homer, Dead,

Thro' which, the Living Homer beg'd his Bread.

Mitylen, or Lesbos, both those Names how given.

LESBOS or Mitylen, another Island, next appears considerable in her Magnitude, near two hundred Miles in Circuit, not far distant from the Phrygian Continent, a very healthful Country, of a temperate Air, and Soil Productive of the finest Corn in Christendom. The Island takes its Name of Lesbos from the Adventurer Lesbus, Son of old Sapithus, who was sent by the directions of the Oracle. Mitylen, from Mitylene the Sister to Methymna, Daughter of Macarius, and the Wife of the above-nam'd Lesbus.

The Town of Mitylen.

THE City Mitylen upon a small Peninsula, the Capital of all the Island, likewise claims from hence her Etymology. Her Buildings are magnificently fine and beautiful, her Situation high and stately, and the brisk Inhabitants of this delightful Country, gay, and honest in their Poverty, like those of Chios, and like them now subject to the Turkish Government, which here maintains a constant Fleet of well appointed Gallies, to secure the Islands thereabouts belonging to the Sultan, from the daring Squadrons of the bold Maltese, or Florentine Adventurers.

The Vertue of the Lesbian Wines.

THE Wine of Lesbos is at present look'd upon exceeding good, and boasting one convenient Property beyond most other sorts, for let a Man Debauch as much as possible with an Excess thereof, it never hurts him, nor is troubled with those heady Qualities, which Graecian Wines are generally subject to.

IF you'll allow the Tast of Horace to have been polite, and he methinks shou'd know its Relish, who so admirably well describes its Vertues, you may see his Thoughts upon the matter.

Hor. L. 1. Ode 17.

Hic innocentis pocula Lesbii

Duces sub umbra; Nec Semeleius

Cum marte confundet Thyoneus

Praelia.

Here, under some thick Shade,

By meeting Branches made,

Shall you, while no Sun Beams upon you shine,

Drink Cups of harmless Lesbian Wine;

Nor shall Thyonian Bacchus tempt your Rage,

To rise to Disoord, or with Mars engage.

Spirits, or frightful Apparitions on the Coasts.

THEY have a Notion, that in some few Harbours of this Island, frightful Apparitions flutter dreadfully about a Ship all Night, that dismal Shrieks are often heard, and I have been inform'd by many, that they cou'd not Sleep without the trouble of the most tremenduous and amazing Dreams imaginable: This last Assertion is a certain Truth, but I am rather apt to think the matter an effect of the unwholsome Vapours rising from the Sea, or Lakes about it near those Harbours.

The Island Samos.

AND now we come to Samos, not considerable in its self, but on Account of a Commodity thence brought in very large and frequent Quantities.

A Dangerous Tempest forc'd our Ship to seek a Shelter in a certain Creek upon the Southward of this Island, where we Anchor'd pretty safely, and were drawn by the delightful Prospect of the Shore to Land upon it, about Six in Company.

A pleasant Accident.

WE left the Boat, which brought us from the Ship, within a little Nook or Bay, nigh Land, lock'd by the High and Rocky Ground about it, and were Walking on the Shore in order to ascend the Country, when we Spy'd upon the Water-side a thing, which at a distance look'd not much unlike a Washing-Tub.

WE Walk'd directly to it, and perceiv'd it was a Vessel of a very small and Incapacious Hollow, full of Oyl, in which were Swimming up and down near Twenty little Engines, which upon Examination, we discover'd to be Sponges, each containing upon either side, a little piece of Cork, which being fastned to the middle, kept the Sponge it self afloat, and only suffer'd half to move in, or imbibe the Oyl within the Vessel.

WE were Busied a considerable time in looking on these things, and wondring what shou'd be their use in so remote a Place, from any Town, as that appear'd, whereon we found 'em, but at last resolv'd to sit us down upon the Sand, and wait the coming of an owner to the Vessel, for we thought it Probable there was one, and believ'd he cou'd not long be absent.

BUT, while we Talk'd to one another of the Wondrous Smoothness of the Waters in the Bay, while those without were Ruffled by the Storm, and cast our Eyes upon their stillness,
A Strange surprize.

we were all surpriz'd to see a thing not much unlike a Basket, pop with force above the Surface, and continue Moving up and down a little Space; then up there started something like a Man, who shook his Head, rub'd clear his Eyes, and Swam directly inwards to the Place we sate on, pushing in the Basket just before him.

THIS Second Figure really startled us beyond the First, and brought to our remembrance an Idea of the Sea God Neptune, for we hardly cou'd believe him Mortal, who had risen from the Water, by whose side we had been sitting nigh ten Minutes.

THE Man, for such he prov'd to be, no sooner saw us, but he seem'd a little Shy of Landing, till we beckon'd him, and call'd as kindly as we could, and so perswaded him to come ashore, and bring the Basket with him. He had left his Cloathes, and other things behind the Rock not ten Yards from us, and immediately ran thither for them;
A Diving Basket.

in the mean time we approach'd his Basket, found it quite bound round with Cork, and cover'd with a Canvass, in the midst whereof appear'd a Slit, thro which we put our hands, and drew out Sponges of a surprizing Bigness.

THE Man return'd as soon as dress'd, and finding us more civil than he had expected, told us in a kind of Lingua Franca, that those Sponges grew on Rocks, Ten, Fifteen, sometimes Twenty Fathom deep; that there were many Hundred Divers in the Island, some of whom had left him just before, who got their Livelyhoods like him, by gathering Sponges.

A curious Diving project.

THEN he shew'd us how they were enabled to perform it, in the following manner. Half the Sponge, as I have said, is soak'd in Oyl, the other half is dip'd before in certain Stiptic Waters, to prevent the Oyl from Penetrating farther than it ought to go, when so prepar'd, they take the Sponge, and thrusting it within their Mouths, the Oyl'd part outward (but of that, almost an Inch within the Lips) they press their Teeth a little hard upon it, and by that means force the Oyly Sponge to close the Entrance of their Mouths against the Water.

How the Sponges are gather'd.

THUS they Dive, and with a little difficulty in a Streighten'd Suction make a Shift to tarry under Water a considerable time. They sink the Baskets by the help of Stones, which they contrive to fasten at the Bottom, and with Instruments, they carry down on purpose, cut the Sponges from the sides of Rocks, till having fill'd the Baskets, they take off the Weights, and then they rise with ease, by reason of the Cork about them.

How long they tarry under Water.

BY constant Practice many of these Divers are arriv'd at such Perfection in the Art, that they can tarry under Water till the Oyl corrupts, which it will always do in less than two hours time. There is a Law among the Divers of this Island, that no Man shall be allow'd to Marry, till he can demonstrate by a Tryal, he is qualify'd to Dive for one continued quarter of an Hour: The Novelty engag'd us all to make experiment, and I, who more than most Men, was averse to Diving, did without great difficulty keep my Head two Minutes under Water: But the Secret of the Stiptic Preparation he refus'd to teach us, tho' we wou'd have gladly brib'd him to it.

SAMOS boasts no other Trade than this of Sponges, which is yet so profitable, that they Yearly send away vast Ship Loads of them, and grow Rich thereby, beyond the Emulation of their less Industrious, or less Skillful Neighbours.

Why Juno is said to have been born at Samos.

THE constant clearness of the Air in Samos, gave occasion to the Poets of Antiquity to feign that Juno, taken allegorically for that Element, was Born upon this Island, and the excellent Pythagoras adorn'd the Country with the Honour due to the respected Birth-place of so Great a Man: They also still pretend to shew the Rock, whence Aesop was thrown headlong, and a Cave, where in the Reign of Numa Pompilius, Heriphile a Sibyl prophesy'd of Christ.

Description of the Island Icaria.

ICARIA now Niceria, is a small and inconsiderable Island. Creeks it has, but no commodious Haven, bearing Corn in great abundance, but possessing very few Inhabitants; and famous for the Fornoli, a ridge of sharp and dangerous Rocks, much fear'd by Sailors in a Foggy Night: It's ancient Name, the Poets feign'd to have been given it, together with the Sea it lies in, from the fictious Fall of Icarus, attempting to have flown with artificial Wings, of which thus Ovid in his Metamorphoses.

Ovid. Met.
•

8.Oraque caeruleâ patrium clamantia nomen

Excipiuntur aquâ; quae nomen traxit ab illo.

He fell, and on his Father call'd in vain,

For as he sunk in the relentless Main,

Sky-colour'd Waters stop'd his eager Breath,

And took the Name they bear, from his untimely Death.

AND in another Place.

Icarus Icariis nomina fecit Aquis.

Th' Icarian Sea from Icarus took Name.

THAT the Island took its Name from the same Accident, appears from Daedalus's burying his Son upon it, thus describ'd by the same Poet, in the Book abovenam'd.

Devovitque suas artes, corpusque Sepulcro

Condidit; & tellus à nomine dicta sepulti.

He curs'd those Arts, which drew his Ruin on,

And built a Tomb upon his breathless Son,

From whose unhappy Fate, well known to Fame,

The Ground, wherein he lay receiv'd its Name.

Description of the Island Patmos.

PATMOS is an Island, very small and full of Rocks, extreamly Barren, not affording even the common Necessaries for support of human Life, which therefore the Inhabitants supply themselves withall from other Islands of the Archipelago. The Land is Mountainous, and has no more than one small City, which Equips a Fleet of Trading Vessels to Import Conveniencies from Foreign Parts; the ancient Name is chang'd at present to Palmosa.

THIS Place is famous for the Character it has of being the Seat, St. John made Choice of, while he Pen'd his Revelations;
A Monastery on a Hill.

and upon a Mountain in the Northern Parts, there stands a Monastery of the Graecian Coloiero's, who profess that Saint their Patron, and pretend to shew some Reliques to inquiring Travellers.

THE Notice, which I had hereof, oblig'd me to the hopes of seeing Patmos, and a Tempest was so favourable to my Wishes, that we anchor'd in a Haven not far distant from the Monastery; and the Opportunity inviting me a Shore, I landed with design to Walk and Visit it.

THE Northern side of Patmos is but very thinly Peopled, and as I was destitute thereby, of any means to get a Guide, so, either want of Curiosity, or Indisposition by the roughness of the Storm, disswaded those on board our Vessel from consenting to go with me.

The Author lands at Patmos.

HOWEVER, since the Road appear'd but short, and seemingly conspicuous, I resolv'd to undertake the Visit single, so I landed with a pair of Pistols and a Scymetar, and cross'd a little kind of Plain, which brought me to the bottom of a Hill, on which the Monastery had its Situation.

THE Hill was overgrown with a large Wood, thro' which appear'd no other Passage than a small Foot Path, and that not beaten, but a very unfrequented way, which led me thro' an hundred several turnings to Ascents extreamly steep, and intricate as Labyrinths.

Loses his way in a Wood.

I came at last, where I perceiv'd the Wood grow thinner, and cou'd see a pretty way before me; there I stop'd, and looking up, discover'd on the Brow of an impending Precipice a little Hut, or Cave, which seem'd the Habitation of some melancholy Hermit, or unhappy Lover, like the Swains of ancient Times, who, being baffled in their Hopes, forsook the World for some forlorn and solitary Wilderness, to spend the remnant of their silent Days in Grief for their Misfortunes.

Discovers a Cave.

SURPRIZ'D at first, by the Romantic Air of this low Cave, I stood a while, to think if it were safe to venture forward, since it was a probable belief, that some wild Beast had chose that Den for the rough Scene of his Retirement; but that groundless Apprehension vanish'd instantly, for while I yet continued in suspense, methoughts I cou'd discover plainly something like a Door, that stood a jarr, and consequently rendred it a Place improper for a Salvage Mansion.

I advanc'd with equal Doubt and Curiosity, till, having gain'd the summit of the Precipice, I found it was a Cell, the Door of which stood half way open, and contain'd upon its smooth outside, a piece of course, and half-lost Painting, with the following Latin Sentence in a homely Character.

With an Inscription on the Door.

Hic, & in Coelo Quies.

Here, and in Heaven is Rest.

THE softness of this first Discovery invited me to make a Step beyond it, so that with a gentle Force I push'd the Door quite open, and was all amaz'd, when I perceiv'd the inside of the Cell as still as Possible; no Ornament appear'd to set it off, but just against the Entrance burnt a Lamp, on either side a little Altar, and the weak and broken Light, which they afforded, faintly striking thro' the dullness of the Place,
Finds a Man in a black Coffin.

discover'd in the midst, a large black Coffin, fill'd with something not to be distinguish'd, but as black, and dismal in its first appearance, as the Coffin it was laid in.

NOTHING (I then thought) cou'd add to my surprize, which yet was doubled, when there rose, with a deliberate Silence from within the Coffin, something like a Man, or rather Spirit, who no sooner sate upright, than looking on me with a frightful Aspect, he pronounc'd these Words in a low Voice,

Who invites him into the Place.

Che sei, se un Christiano, ben-venuto.

Who are you? If a Christian, you are welcome.

BY the Language of his Salutation I perceiv'd him an Italian, and the trembling of his Limbs perswaded me to think, that the appearance of my Scymetar and Pistols had as much surpriz'd him, as he had me. I therefore took immediate care to undeceive him in the apprehension he had fram'd, that I was some arm'd Robber, and inform'd him that I was a Briton, Travelling the World, and thrown by Chance upon that Island, where I landed with design to Visit the Greek Monastery.

THE old Man seem'd transported with the News, made shift to rise, and led me to a Seat, hewn roughly from the Rock within the Cell; he laid his Hands upon my Head, pronounc'd a grave and honest Blessing, and proceeded modestly to take the liberty of asking some few Questions, which I willingly oblig'd him with as ready Answers to.

Which proves to be a Hermits Cell.

HE then abandon'd all the Coyness of his first deportment, and inform'd me, he had liv'd a Hermit's Life in that poor Cell nigh two and thirty Years together, that he frequently was visited by the Fryars of the Monastery not far distant, that they sometimes brought him Meat and Wine, which he consented now and then to take for the support of Nature, tho' he rather chose to live on Roots and clear Spring Water; that he always Slept in that black Coffin, never to be absent from a strong Memento of his frail Mortality; that he was born (I think) at Zant, and nam'd Antonio, Giacomo Malaviso.

A Chappel in the Wood.

I purposely omit some Hours Discourse, I had with this old Hermit, because digressive from the Cause for which I mention him, and only will inform my Reader, that he wou'd accompany me to a small Chappel in the Wood, at no great distance from his Cell, built over the Stone Cave. wherein St. John is said to have resided, while he Writ his famous Book of Revelations.

HE left me there, first recommending me to the Civilities of certain Priests, who kept the Chappel: They receiv'd and treated me with wonderful Respect, and having talk'd away an Hour in Questioning each other, as we thought convenient, they proceeded to unlock a private Door, which open'd from a corner of the Chappel to a very dark and narrow Passage.

The Cave, wherein St. John is said to have Writt his Revelations.

WE Descended some few steps, and having Walk'd about six paces farther, came upon a sudden to a very large and lightsome Cave, the Light was introduc'd by very Artificial Hollows, from the Surface through the Rock, and in the midst of one of the Four Squares, which form'd the Cell, was cut a Seat, exactly like the Niches made for Statues in Cathedral Churches.

JUST before this Niche, there stands a solid Rocky Table, of about a yard Square, and here they wou'd perswade us to beleive, the Saint was seated at his daily Studies.
Reliques in the Cave.

To confirm me in belief of this Opinion, they made long Harangues of those Authentic proofs, which justified Tradition, and desir'd that I would take particular and serious Notice of a kind of round Impression on the Area, or Superficies of the Table, which they say was caus'd by the Perpetual standing of the Brazen Vessel, which contain'd his Ink, and on the Floor, they show'd me several little Marks like Spots of Black, which they assur'd me, were the Drops, occasion'd by the Shaking of the Pen, wherewith the Saint was us'd to Write the Dictates of his holy Inspiration.

The Monastery of St. John.

WITH these obliging Priests I visited the Monastery, and was there receiv'd as civilly as I coud possibly have found an Entertainment in the House of an Acquaintance or Relation, every thing was Neat, and Plentiful without Extravagance, becoming the Decorum of Religious Livers, yet not void of Relish, Form, or Delicacy.

A Miracle of St. John's Hand.

AMONG the many Reliques they delight to boast of, and communicate to Travellers, they shew'd me a large bony Hand, which seem'd to be a Mans, Cut off not far above the Wrist; the Bones were dry, and full of little Holes, as if Worm-eaten, yet there seem'd to sprout at all the Fingers Ends a little sign of something, which the Fryars told us were the Nails of the late-nam'd St. John.

HOW they came by St. John's Right Hand, they cou'd not tell me, but attested that on every Second Sunday of the Month, the Nails were Cut, as close as possible, and that they always grew again. They brought me a large Silver Box, wherein the Parings of these Nails were safely kept, as sacred Reliques, never to be us'd,
The Virtue of his Nails.

but when some Father of their order was extreamly Sick, and then, they said, a few of those, thrown piously upon a Fire, and the Smoke thereof ascending at his Nostrils, are a very quick, and never-failing Remedy, provided the Sick Man's appointed Hour of Death prevents not his Recovery.

Description of the Island Zea.

FROM Patmos let us look on Zea, a small Island of about Twelve Miles in Compass, Hilly and extreamly full of Woods, productive of a large and fat'ning Acorn, of such noted goodness, and of such abundance in this Island, that the few Inhabitants upon it, who are generally Greeks, (but subject to the Turks Authority) enrich themselves considerably by exporting Yearly, great Shiploads to other Islands, and some Places on the Continent.

Asses excellent at Climbing.

BUT what is most worth Notice here, is the prodigious Usefullness of certain Asses, which the Natives Saddle, and upon their Backs (so well do those poor Creatures Climb) can Travel over Rocks and Craggy Precipices, so extremely Steep and Rugged, that a Man on Foot wou'd find himself put to it, to ascend without Assistance.

THE Island boasts one little Town, but that entirely void of stately Buildings, or indeed the Poorest Ornaments of common decency, for not a Door in all the Place is Four Foot High, but People almost Creep, who are oblig'd to enter them; and this they do, because the Turks, who often come to buy or plunder Asses in this Island, wou'd if possible, make Stables of their very Houses.

A description of the Island Rhodes.

RHODES is an Island famous now, as it has ever been, for all the Blessings, liberal Nature can bestow upon a Country; in ancient Times her valiant People were the Envy, but withall the Wonder of their Neighbours, Skill'd in every Science, Grace, and Vertue; the temperate Air, convenient Harbours, fertil Pastures, and unnumber'd Benefits, she justly boasted of, were admirable and peculiar, and the Sun so constantly was known to shine upon this Country, that Clara Rhodia, Rhodes the Bright, distinguish'd her among the Ancients, for that glorious Blessing.

Famous for two Things.

TWO things of old, she was particularly famous for, The first Discovery and Planting of the Vine, and that stupendious Fabrick the Colossus, striding on the Sea, from Rock to Rock, that Ships might Sail with ease between the Legs, and when thrown down, the very Brass, whereof 'twas form'd, was found enough to load almost a thousand Camels.

ABOUT the Year of Christ 1308, Emanuel, Emperor of Greece, bestow'd this Island on the Noble Knights of St. John de Acre, just then beaten from their last Asylum in the Holy-Land;
When Conquer'd by the Turks.

in their Possession it remain'd till the Year 1552, when Sultan Solyman, the Turkish Emperor, became its Master at a bloody Price, and the surviving Remnant of its brave Defenders were by Treaty suffer'd to remove to Malta.

IN the Possession of the Turks it still remains, well Fortify'd, and strictly Guarded, and has often, since its Loss, prov'd fatal to the Christians intercepted Navigation, justly punishing their base neglect in the implor'd dispatch of timely Succours, censur'd sharply in the following Lines by Scaliger.

A Reproof of Scaliger, to the Christians Negligence.

Clara Rhodos, sed clara olim; nunc horrida nimbis;

Obnubuit nitidum dira procella caput.

Ah dolor! ah mors! ah aliquid morte, atque dolore

Durius, aut etiam tertius esse potest:

Stertitis? & ferus amenti lupus optima carpit?

O jam sit jam aliquis velle perire pudor.

Bright Rhodes, but bright of old, dark-clouded now,

A dreadful Tempest shades thy shining Brow;

Oh Grief! oh Death! oh! something worse than Both!

Or than that worst ev'n worse, oh shameful Sloth!

Sloth! that with Slumber did your Eyes betray,

While the fierce Wolf snatch'd your best Prize away;

O, this base Shame, if any, sure will stain,

Not only to be ty'd, but ev'n invite your Chain!

Description of Coos.

COOS or Longo, is a little Island, plain and pleasant in its Situation, jointly Peopled by the Turks and Graecians, full of admirable Springs and Rivolets, abounding greatly with a noble Wine, fine Cypress Trees and Turpentine, with many rich and usefull Druggs, exported thence to almost every part of Christendom. But what this Island is most famous for, is, that it was the Birth-place of the great Hippocrates, that Sacred Demy-God of Physick, and Improver of a Science so extreamly Usefull to Mankind in general.

Description of Delos.

DELOS, now call'd Diles, is an Island, all encompass'd by a Ring of Rocks and lies conveniently, directly in the Passage between Greece and Asia: 'Twas famous anciently for the Great Oracle and Temple of Apollo, and receiv'd its Name of
From
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, signifying Clear. Delos from the clear and pertinent Responses, Querists met with to their Questions of all kinds whatsoever; hence Apollo oftentimes was Worship'd by the Name of Delius.

The Ruins of Apollo's Temple.

THE Island now is Ʋninhabited, but well deserves a Strangers View, for there remain the Ruins of Apollo's Temple, still Majestical, and full of Grandeur, many stately Marble Pillars lie neglected in the Heaps of Rubbish, and a very precious kind of Stone is sometimes brought away, to many Parts of Italy.

UPON the Death of Christ, the Oracles grew silent, and from thenceforth Delos lost her Honour, and has never been frequented since that time. We read in Plutarch a remarkable Relation of an Accident, which happen'd to the Knowledge of one Epitherses, who was formerly his Tutor, in the Reign of Tiberius Emperor of Rome, the Story is as follows.

A Story from Plutarch.

BETWEEN Corcyra and Leucadia, lay the Paxe, two small Islands' where this Epitherses, Sailing for the Coast of Italy, was suddenly becalm'd; and while the Passengers, uneasy at the slowness of their Voyage, walk'd upon the Deck, a frightful, shrill, and mournful Voice alarm'd 'em from the Shore, distinctly calling Thamus, Thamus, Thamus.

A Voice from an unknown Shore.

THAMƲS was a Pylot, then upon the Poop, one born in Egypt, who was silent with amazement till the Call was thrice aloud repeated; then he answer'd faintly, and demanded, why he summon'd him? The Voice reply'd, As soon as thou art come to the Palodes, let it be Proclaim'd aloud, that Pan, Great Pan is Dead.

A sudden Horror seiz'd the Company, to hear this strange and unexpected Salutation; presently the Wind came fair, and as the Ship drew near the Place abovenam'd, Thamus, as he was desir'd, stood high upon the Poop, and with an elevated Voice, cry'd, Pan is Dead, when in a Moment, all the Air was torn with Groanings, and a mix'd Confusion of complaining Accents, so extreamly dismal, that it cannot be imagin'd.

CAESAR, hearing this Report, commanded Thamus to be brought before him, who attested it with the concurring Evidences of the Sailors then on board.
The Cessation of Oracles.

Great Pan was Christ, the Universal Shepherd, and his Death had bound the Devil's Power, no longer suff'ring his delusive Oracles to impose upon Mankind; they therefore upon hearing this unwelcome News, bewail'd their Miseries with the abovenam'd Lamentations.

SOMETIMES it happens, that you Sail along the Continent, and see the ancient, venerable Thebes, renown'd of old, for admirable Vertues, Skill'd politely in all Arts and Sciences, Mistress of the Rules of War and Policy; a Government, made famous by the wonderfull Successes of a Race of Heroes, but particularly Glorious in the never dying Memory of Brave Epaminondas, who was yet ungratefully Rewarded for his Matchless Actions, and neglected rather than encourag'd by the Factions of his Country; a very ancient Vice, and still, I fear, too fashionable in the Modern World. I wish it were not in my Power to quote Examples.

Thebes as She now is.

THEBES is now entirely subject to the Turkish Government, and groans beneath a weighty Burthen of Oppressive Tyranny; some stately Ruins of Antiquity may still be seen, and feast the Eye with wonderful Delight, while with a melancholy Contemplation of the short continuance of vain Magnificence they entertain the Ʋnderstanding.

Delphos, as at present.

DELPHOS, memorably noted for a thousand Causes, humbly rears her miserable Head, as if, rememb'ring former Splendour, she reflected mournfully upon her present Fall, and blush'd to be discover'd in her chang'd Condition: The Mountain of Parnassus now no more pretends to boast the Muses Residence, the lofty Songs of ancient Poets are forgotten on the now-neglected Streams of Helicon, and the delightfull Harmonies once celebrated there, are now converted into Howlings of strange Salvage Beasts, and Brayings of Wild Asses.

Athens, describ'd.

ATHENS still may call her self a City, but can only do it as the Skeleton of some Dead Man continues long to represent the Shape of human Body; for her ancient Temples are defac'd and buryed, even beyond the Knowledge of the very Ground they stood upon; her exemplary Forms of Government, and Order, ruin'd, and demolish'd by the arrogance of Infidels, more arbitrary and unjust, than all the Tyrants she oppos'd in former Ages: No longer now do the judicious Laws of the incomparable Solon sway her Natives; Bribery prevails, and Justice yields her Balance to the Rapine of an uncontroul'd and barbarous Authority.

BUT, notwithstanding the Destruction of her valuable Liberty, she still retains her ancient Plenty, constantly affording all the Delicacies, require to be obtain'd by even such, as wou'd encourage Pride and pamper Luxury.

Corinth, and her Product.

CORINTH, situated on that narrow Neck of Land, which joins Moreae to the undivided Continent, is only famous for her Mines of Brass, in great esteem among the Romans, and affording still the finest Metal in the World, but that in small, and inconsiderable Quantities.

Description of Crete, or Candy.

CRETE, or Candy, as at present call'd, was taken by the Turks from the Possession of the brave Venetians, who defended it some Years against a constant Siege, and made the Place a bloody Purchase to the Turkish Army: It is an Island, very large, its Capital containing stately Houses, and defended by a regular and modern Work, of admirable Strength and Artifice. Provisions here are very Plentiful, and the Inhabitants exceeding Numerous; many Harbours of commodious form, and a capacious magnitude, invite the Traffick of the Foreign Merchant; and it is observable, that Crete is blest with a surprizing Property, which some have thought peculiar to the Soil of Ireland, for nothing poysonous is bred therein, nor can the Reptiles of another Country long survive their Importation thither.

Very subject to Thunder.

'TWAS in this Island, Jupiter was born, and thinking, when I saw the Place, upon the fiction of the Poets, I observ'd with Pleasure, that the Judgment of the Ancients still mov'd regularly, for nothing cou'd have been more natural than representing Jove a Native of this Island, since there hardly passes one whole Day throughout the Year, wherein it does not Thunder with a mighty Violence.

CHAP. XXVIII. Of Alexandria in Egypt.

The Origin of Alexandria.

NOW have I brought you into Egypt at the common Landing Place, the ancient Alexandria, so call'd from the successful Macedonian, who, desirous to perpetuate his Memory there, resolv'd to build a City, which he did, upon, or near the Place where now the Modern Alexandria has its Situation.

Its ancient State.

HE Peopled it with Greeks, and so amazingly adorn'd the Streets and Houses with the richest Gifts of Art and Nature, that 'twas long the celebrated Paradise of all the East: The Houses were supported upon Marble Pillars, and as much of them were hid below-ground as appear'd above. Unnumbred Statues of the nicest Workmanship adorn'd the Place, and every stately Ornament was purchas'd to compleat its Excellence.

How different from the Present.

BUT oh! How different from this does she appear at present? The Houses, which remain are low, all meanly built, and thinly Peopled, those excepted, which are situated on the Haven: The form is almost square, encompass'd round by double Walls, with many Turrets in the ancient way: These Walls are commonly believ'd the same, which Ptolemy, so many Ages since, commanded to be built for the Security of the then-valuable City.

Its Situation.

TIS seated in a very Barren Desart Country, and has no Allurement (Trade excepted) to invite Inhabitants.
The Castle of Alexandria.

Upon the Entrance of the Haven, formerly the Island Pharus, now converted into Continent (so great a Change does Time produce in all weak sublunary Beings) stands a Castle, ill supplied with Water, or Conveniencies for long Defence: The Ordnance of the Walls salute all Ships upon their coming to an Anchor; for the Port of Alexandria is free for Traders, of all Nations whatsoever.

THIS Pharus, which is now a part of the Main Continent, was not only divided from it, in Times past, but, if we may believe the Affirmation of old Homer, was an Island situated at considerable distance.

Hom. Odys. L. 4.

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〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

'Midst stormy Seas there does an Island stand,

Which Men call Pharus, before Egypt's Land;

So far disjoin'd, that when the brisk Winds play

On a Ships Poop, the speedy Vessel may,

With swelling Sails, get thither in a Day.

THE Face of Nature has been strangely alter'd since the Days of Homer, and the only Reason Men can give for this Effect is, that it has been caus'd by gradual discharges of the Sand, brought down by Nilus in his Annual Overflows, and so thrown up in heaps between the Island and the Continent, till in the course of time, the Sea was banish'd, and the whole became firm Land as it remains at present.

The Ancient Pharus, or Egyptian Light-House.

ONCE, the Pharus had a Bridge built from it, to the Shore of Egypt, and upon a very steep and rugged Promontory of the Island, stood the Tower, on which the Mighty Philadelphus Built his Light-house, which obtain'd the Honour to be Rank'd among the Worlds Seven Wonders; it took its Name of Pharos from the Place it stood in, and has given that old Denomination to all those Buildings, which are rais'd to hang out Lights for the Direction of such Ships, as else would Labour in a dangerous Darkness.

The Lake of Maroeotis.

THERE is a Place, now call'd Buc-hat-ra, anciently the Lake of Maroeotis, Famous for its Depth and even incredible Extent, which took in Water at the Yearly Overflow, and by the means of Sluyces of amazing Fabrick, kept it in the whole Year round, supplying numerous Canals of Artificial Length, and Breadth beyond belief, on which the old Egyptians Mad with Luxury, continually delighted to Sail up and down, in Stately Barges, Gilt and Painted, full of amorous Men and Women, Brisk in Wantonness, and Sounding Musick as their Oars divided the complaining Waters, Singing, and enjoying all the loose and airy Pleasures of a Juvenile Extravagance.

BUT those Canals are now, at least the greatest part, Dried up and lost, by ever-rolling heaps of Sand;
A Gloomy Labyrinth.

the Lake however, still remains, but quite depriv'd of all appearances of that stupendious Building, which consisted of an intricate and Artfull Labyrinth, that led by many Thousand Windings, Dark and Dismal, to the Seven and Thirty Glorious Palaces, appointed for the Meeting of the Seven and Thirty Jurisdictive Powers of that formidable Country, and at the End whereof we Read, that there stood once a Stately Square, and wonderfully vast, Fine Marble Pyramid, suppos'd to be the Sepulchre of King Ismandes, the Original Contriver of the Lake and Labyrinth, at least the Founder of the Pyramid.

THERE is not any thing in Alexandria worth the mentioning, but some few venerable Reliques of Antiquity, which still proclaim with silent Eloquence, the once-aspiring and unrival'd Stateliness, which Crown'd this City with a Dazling Majesty.

The Tomb of Alexander the Great.

AND, First, they show the Tomb of that brave Monarch Alexander the Great, whose Body, taken from Perdiccas by Ambitious Ptolemy, was brought by him to Egypt, where, when he was kill'd by Soldiers in a Desart, Alexander's Body was by them convey'd to Alexandria, and lies entomb'd in a mean Chappel, visited, but rarely, by some Curious Travellers, and held in great esteem by the Mahometans themselves, who pay a two-fold veneration to his Memory, as a Mighty Warrior, and a Holy Prophet, for Tradition tells them, he was both, while Living.

Joseph's Granaries.

ANOTHER Rarity, they shew most Strangers, is a very Lofty Pile of Buildings, all compos'd of solid Stone, but ruin'd much by natural decay, containing many large Apartments, strangely wild, and void of Regularity, some would perswade us to believe, that these were Joseph's Granaries, or Places, which he order'd to be Built within the Seven Years of Plenty, to preserve the Magazines of Corn, against the following Years of Famine, in those parts.

Cleopatra's Palace.

UPON the rising of a Hill, which overlooks the Haven, stand the Ruins of a spacious and aspiring Structure, probably the Palace of the famous Cleopatra, whereof remain some Pillars yet entire, and some few Arches of polite Contrivance: They pretend to shew the Ruins of a private Gallery, thro' which that Queen receiv'd Mark Anthony, on his Return from the Defeat at Actium.

Pharaoh's Needle.

UPON the Place, where Alexander's Palace stood of old, remain two Hieroglyphic Obelisks of Theban Marble, one quite fallen, t'other standing, of considerable height, and vulgarly distinguish'd by the Name of Pharaoh's Needle.

UPON a little spot of rising Ground, without the City Walls, and on the South-West side, there stands a Column of a Substance much like Porphyry, in height near seventy Foot, and five and twenty in circumference; it stands upon a Cube or Pedestal, far less in compass than the bottom of the Pillar.

THE Conquering Caesar here erected this fine Column as a memorable Trophy of his Victory over Pompey, and left it to Posterity, as an ambitious Monument of his successfull Conduct: But to let Men see how vain are their Endeavours when oppos'd by Heaven, he lost his aim, and has instead of Triumphing o'er routed Pompey, given the Vanquish'd all the Honour, he himself aspir'd to gain from future Ages by the Credit of this Victory;
Pompey's Pillar.

for now the Christians know the Column by no other Name than Pompey's Pillar, so that many thousands hear him nam'd, who never read, or dreamt of such a Man as Caesar.

The Martyrdom of St. Mark, at Alexandria.

TRAJAN was Emperor of Rome, when they condemn'd St. Mark to suffer Martyrdom in Alexandria, where accordingly, they burnt, and bury'd him; his Bones were afterwards remov'd to Venice by the Natives of this City, who profess that Saint as Patron of their Country. There stands a Chappel now upon the Place, where once he lay Entomb'd, and near that Chappel is a House, in which resides the Graecian Patriarch of Alexandria.

Ceremonies there to be observ'd by Strangers.

THUS much of Alexandria, scarce worth mentioning, but as it is the Place, all Travellers must land at, and pay Custom for the Goods, they bring; proceeding thence for Cairo or Rosetta, by the Virtue of a Teskaree, or Passport from the Governor.

THE Christian Nations, such I mean as Trade, do here maintain their Consuls or Subordinate Officers, to manage the respective Int'rests of their Countrys;
The mix'd Inhabitants of Alexandria.

and the few Inhabitants, residing there, are gather'd from all Nations under Heaven, Jews, Indians, Copties, Turks and Graecians, Moors, Armenians, French, Italians, Zinganees, and now and then an Englishman: There was, I think, an honest Gentleman or two, my Countrymen, when I was there, employ'd in managing the Business of our Traffick, but I staid not there so long as to become acquainted with their Characters, which I the less desir'd, because in Company with some Italian Gentlemen of an agreable and airy Disposition, who accompany'd me throughout the Country.

ONE thing I must observe, that, as they are a mixture of all Nations, so they commonly are found the worst of each; and I may very well apply a Word or two of Juvenal's to the Inhabitants of Alexandria, the rather too because it suits the Country as adaptly as the People.

Juv. Sat. 13

Rari quippe boni, Numero vix sunt totidem, quot,

Thebarum Portae, vel divitis ostia Nili.

—Vertue is here so Rare,

That Men exceed not, if you miss the Vile,

The Gates of Thebes, or Mouths of Fruitfull Nile.

CHAP. XXIX. Of Aethiopia, and the Source of the Nile, with the Cause, Manner, and Continuance, of its Annual Inundation.

BEFORE I enter on the Subject of the Chapter, promis'd by the Heads abovemention'd, 'twill possibly, be needfull, I should say a Word or two, to undeceive such Gentlemen, as by the General Title, I have given my Book, may be induc'd to think, I meant to Write a full Description of the Present State of Aethiopia in regard to its Extent, Inhabitants, and Forms of Government, which, tho' perhaps my Opportunities enabled me to do more fully than most former Writers, yet it would require a length too tedious and digressive from my purpose to enlarge upon that Subject.

How far the Author Treats of Aethiopia.

I only mean to speak so far of Aethiopia, as the Country interferes with my Discourse upon the Source and Channel of the River Nilus, as I have had occasion elsewhere in this Book, to mention the Religion of the Persians, Customs of the Tartars, and some other points relating to such Countries, as were widely distant from my purpose, and were therefore Treated of no farther than they had dependance on, or Interest in the Turkish Empire.

A Discourse of Aethiopia.

HOWEVER, that vast Tract of Land, distinguish'd amongst Christians by the Name of Aethiopia, is not as is commonly beleiv'd, commanded by the Arbitrary Nod of one Great Monarch, whom we vulgarly call Presler John, but by corruption of the Genuine Word, which is no more than Prissir-Jan, which in the Language of the Country, signifies Renown'd or Mighty Emperor.

The Government of Aethiopia.

TIS true, he is Possessor of the Greatest share of Honour and Authority, having more than Thirty Tributary Princes under his Command, whose Reigns are Limited, and Power Created by his undisputed will and Sovereign Pleasure; but there are Monarchs, wholly as Tyrannical and Absolute as He. Nine several Kings possess vast Territories, free, and independant on each others Government; and all these Princes so extreamly Jealous of their Neighbouring Equals, and so carefull to preserve their own Prerogative, that they permit no Traffick 'twixt their Subjects, cautiously preventing with the strictest Prohibition, all Communication whatsoever, and condemning to immediate Death all Subjects of a Foreign Prince, they find amongst them.

How divided in their Interests,

AND as the Int'rests of these Princes are so widely separated, so are their Professions of Religion and Morality: Those under the Dominion of the late nam'd Prissir Jan are Christians, or at least usurp that Title; I say usurp, because unfortifi'd by Truth or Learning, they have grossly mingled sordid Remnants of their old Idolatry with the diviner Practices of Christian Duty.

THEY first receiv'd the Faith of Christ by the industrious Labours of the Aethiopian Eunuch, Philip's Convert, and retain a Dusky and Traditional Account of the uncertain Circumstances of that famous Action, whereby they are misled to strange Opinions, widely differing from each others Tenets, but alike mistaken in the universal End they blindly aim at.

And Religion.

SOME prefer our Saviour as the greatest Person of the Trinity, some esteem him lowest of the Three, some believe not in the Trinity at all, and many, ignorantly Zealous in their Folly, still prefer St. Philip's Merits to the worth of our Redeemer.

Their Character.

THEY are a People (generally speaking) of a Slothful Disposition, Obstinate and Rash, extreamly swift to Anger, and of daring Courage, when provok'd by the temptation of a strong Resentment; they are Jealous to excess, and very Avaritious, Temperate in Diet, nor inclinable to Drunkenness; they are Tall of Stature, Strong in Constitution, and Robust in their Proportion, and as I said before, most resolute Defenders of their valu'd Property.

Why difficult to Travel there.

IT is perhaps, to their unreasonable Hatred of all kind of Strangers, that the Civiliz'd Inhabitants of Europe owe their Ignorance of those remote and dark'ned Corners of the distant World; for as they are prohibited by Principle to entertain, or even preserve the Lives of curious Travellers, it has been hitherto impossible to make Discoveries by the Endeavours of Adventurous Men alone, or amicable Parties; and the mighty distance, they are at from Christian Powers, the spacious Countries, interposing their extensive Lands; the Mountains, Lakes, and Desarts inaccessible to all Approaches, were in every Age, and still continue formidable Barriers to the aim of Curiosity or efforts of Ambition.

The Princes, who have been baffled in the Search of the head of Nilus.

IT is this alone, that was enabled, many Ages since, to baffle the Attempts of Powerful Monarchs, Men, possess'd of every help, which Power and Riches could afford their Resolution: It is this alone, that could have foil'd the oft repeated Efforts of Egyptian Philadelphus, or the Roman Nero; it is this alone, that could have disappointed the resolv'd Attempts of Great Cambyses, Fam'd Sesostris, and the Macedonian Alexander: All these Princes have at several times, endeavour'd to no purpose, an entire Discovery of that Mysterious Sourse of Waters so conceal'd by Nature, that it seems to speak our very Search unlawful and prohibited, thus nicely touch'd by Lucan.

Lucan. •

10• Arcanum Naturae caput non prodidit ulli,

Nec licuit populis parvum te, Nile, videre

Amovit{que} sinus, & gentes maluit ortus

Mirari, quam nôsse tuos—.

Nature, O Nile, forbids to look on thee,

Where thy faint Streams declare thy Infancy;

Thy rising Fountains she thought fit to shroud,

And wrap'd thy mantled Bosom in a Cloud,

Thence teaching Nations to admire thy Stream,

And chuse Applause, not Knowledge for their Theam.

A Discovery of the Sourse of Nile.

HOWEVER, if we may believe the confident Reports of such Egyptians, as Inhabit Countries bordering on Aethiopia, or indeed such Aethiopians themselves, as will or dare Converse with Strangers, Nilus rises in a great extent of Marshy Grounds, surrounded by prodigious Mountains of an almost inaccessible Ascent; the Weeds and Rushes so incumbering the uncertain Waters, that no Boat can pass from Hill to Hill, and 'tis a more than dangerous Attempt to venture any other way on so deceitful a Foundation; yet 'tis said, that some have pass'd secure, and seen a Rock of a stupendious Magnitude, whence gush'd a Stream of roaring Waters with impetuous violence.

'TIS said these Marshes lie near twelve Degrees beyond the Aequator, and that the Nile, forsaking his entangled Bed, is found to wander in maeandring Labyrinths quite thro' prodigious Desarts, spacious Kingdoms, and remote Dominions, sometimes forming wond'rous Lakes, and seeming to forget the Order of a River, then recovering his spreading Waters, and continuing a Course for many Leagues together, calm and gentle, swelling as he passes on, to great increase, by the reception of encount'ring Currents, all imbib'd and carried on in his superior Channel; every now and then surrounding some delightful Piece of Ground and making Islands, pleasant in their Situation, and agreeably Productive of the gayest Sweets of aided Nature.

The Course of the River.

SOMETIMES, rolling headlong from a Mountainous and Rugged Country, to the Vallies under it, it forms those loud and dreadful Cataracts, so famous for the noise created by the Waters, violently rushing from the lofty Precipices and resisting Rocks, that many Authors of Antiquity have join'd in the Reports, that such Inhabitants, as liv'd too near those horrid Water-Falls were by degrees made Deaf with their continual roaring.

Where divided.

THUS this great and celebrated River prosecutes his Course thro' many Nations, till it enters Egypt, there grown deep, it smoothly runs within its Banks in one broad Stream, till near five Miles below Grand Cairo it becomes divided into two distinct and Navigable Branches; that towards the East discharging all its Waters from a Mouth at Damiata, situated on the Mediterranean, and the Western Branch, the Old Canopus, likewise falling into the above-nam'd Sea, not far below Rosetta in the Neighbourhood of Alexandria.

Five of the Seven Mouths of Nilus now quite lost.

EXCEPTING many Channels cut by Art, for the Conveniency of letting Waters in upon the Country in the Yearly Overflow, there now remain but these two Branches out of the so often mention'd Seven, sometimes Nine, which Pliny, Herodotus, Ptolemy, Diodorus Siculus, and other ancient Writers tell the World of; they are now, if ever such have been, choak'd up by Sand, or other common Accidents which are not seldom, known to change the Course of Rivers in our Europaean Parts as well as Egypt.

The Rise or Increase of Nilus.

BUT now I come to treat of the Surprizing Inundation, which this River causes Yearly in the Land of Egypt, where it very seldom Rains, and when it does tis rather Mist, and never falls but in the Winter Season; about the midst of June the Nile Infallibly begins to rise, thence Swelling by degrees, till August following, and Mounting in that Space, the Height of two or three and Twenty Cubits.

WHEN thus it has encreas'd to a convenient Height, the Grand Bashaw of Cairo solemnly attended by the best of all his People, comes upon the Bank, and having given with his own Hand, the Warning Stroke, they cut it thro' in many Places, where the Water Rushes in with an impetuous Current, overflowing all the Country upon either side the River, so continuing many Days;
Its Effects.

then Suddenly Decreasing and Retiring orderly within its Banks, leaves all the Land (before a Desart) cover'd Richly with a Propagative Slime, of such an admirable Virtue, that the Corn, upon Abatement of the Waters, Scatter'd Carelessly about the Surface, constantly produces two good Crops, and sometimes more, with equal plenty;
And Decrease.

not quite Five Months the Waters take in Rise, Continuance, and Abatement, for about the First or Second of November, all the Country, lately Delug'd, is entirely free'd from the invading Current, which is then return'd to its ordinary Bounds and so continues till the Year Succeeding.

TIS a Prospect, highly Pleasant for a Stranger to behold a Country Suddenly o'erwhelm'd, and that become a Sea, which just before appear'd a Desart; Men and Women briskly rowing up and down, still more rejoicing, the more deep they find the Waters;
Their Presages by the Rising of the River.

for from the great or small encrease of their Presaging Nilus, they foretell with ease the never-failing consequence of Plenty or a Famine.

THE great advantages, accruing to this Country from the Yearly overflow of Nilus, being so extreamly plain and constant, the Rejoicings, which are made on that occasion, are accordingly extravagant, for when the Banks are Cut, as I just now inform'd you, all the Noblemen attend the Great Bashaw of Cairo to an Ancient Castle, Built upon an Island in the Middle of the River, where, Three Days together, they are Entertain'd and Feasted with the greatest Demonstrations of delight Imaginable.

The Publick Rejoicings, made in Egypt at the Overflow of Nilus.

NOR are the Common People (equal Sharers in the Blessings of Encrease) less gratefull in acknowledging a Sense thereof, but join unanimously in a Course of Mirth for many joyfull Days together, forming Fireworks, Singing, Dancing, Feasting with their Women, and Employing all their time in one Incessant search of Pleasure, and the constant practice of Ʋninterrupted Gayety.

NOW let us search a little into the Receiv'd Opinions of the Learned World, and see if we can apprehend the Cause of this effect, so wonderfully different from the Common Course of gradual Nature.

Euripide's Opinion of the Cause thereof.

AND First, we find Euripides and many others, of Opinion, it proceeded from Prodigious Thaws of Snow, then Melted by the Sun upon the Aethiopian Mountains, but, as we are certainly assured, the constant Heat of that too Sultry Climate cannot suffer Snow to rest, since even in Egypt it is never known, not even on those Mountains, which confine her Borders, so the Modern Judgment of Politer Naturalists has quite rejected that mistaken Notion.

The Opinion of Thales Milesius.

THALES MILESIƲS affirms, that he believes the Inundation to proceed from the continual Blowing of the Rough Etesian Winds, which then begin to Bluster from the Northern Quarter, full upon the Mouth of Nilus, hindering it thereby to enter the Mediterranean, and violently Driving back the Flood upon the low and Sandy Ground of Egypt.

The Opinion of Diodorus Siculus.

BUT this is controverted by the Famous Diodorus Siculus, in his First Book, who, to disprove the Argument of Thales, Nominates some other Rivers, equally expos'd to the Etesian Winds, which yet are never liable to such like Inundations; he therefore in dislike of this Opinion, has prefer'd his own, that Rain or Snow, dis•olv'd from distant Aethiopia, is the only Cause of an Effect so Wonderfull.

The Opinion of Herodotus.

DIRECTLY Opposite to these, is the Assertion of the Learned Herodotus, who imagines, that the Sun, exhaling moisture in a great abundance from the River Nilus, as he forms his Journey in the Winter Tropick, causes it to run in an unnatural narrowness, but, when advancing towards the Northern Climates, the Recovering River swells again with native Grandeur, then possessing all its Streams, and Flowing uncontroul'd, with full Authority, till the returning Sun again demands the Tribute of its Waters.

The most receiv'd, and probable Opinion.

AMONG all these, the most receiv'd and probable Opinion is, the First belief of Diodorus Siculus, that the Encrease of the Waters is occasion'd by continual Rains, not Melting Snow, upon the Hills of Aethiopia; and the Reasons, which are given in defence of this Assertion, are as follow.

Its Reasons.

FIRST, for many Days before the Inundation happens, all the Skies are seen in Egypt, full of Black and Treatning Clouds, incessantly producing rumbling Noises, and by Northern Tempests driven fiercely towards the Southern Parts, where always follows Rain in great abundance, frequently near Threescore Days together.

ANOTHER reason for this last opinion is, the Muddy thickness of the Waters, when they overflow the Country, for, Rushing violently thro' so many Tracts of Fertil Land, they tear up great and hourly quantities of fatning soil, which, mixing thickly with the swelling streams, is left upon the scorch'd and barren Sands of Egypt, of a very deep and slimy substance.

MANY other reasons are by the Inhabitants produc'd, to prove the Justice and Solidity of this accepted Modern Notion; but as tedious Observations, and unnecessary Repetitions grow Prolix and Heavy on a Reader, I will say no more upon the Present Subject, than that all the Naturalists, reputed Famous in the Eastern Countries, agree among themselves in full belief of this Assertion.

The goodness of the Water of the Nilus.

I must inform my Reader now, that as this River boasts peculiar properties in Fractifying Nations to so rich a Plenty, so its Blessings many other ways are equally particular; his Waters are observ'd to be for ever free from Mists or Vapours, Sweet to such an Admirable and uncommon relish, that tis difficult (if hoodwink'd) to distinguish it from Milk.

How Clarified.

TIS Fam'd for many Operative Virtues in Medicinal essays, and has but one known Fault, which is a certain dusky thickness, clouding its appearance with a kind of dark unpleasant Colour, which they Clarifie however in an Hour or two, by casting into certain Earthen Pots (wherein the Water is contain'd) small quantities of bitter Almonds bruis'd on purpose; Fish by reason of the just nam'd Muddiness afford no delicate or pleasant tast, and therefore is by Strangers seldom Eaten, and neglected commonly by even the Natives of that Country.

THE breadth of Nilus, when within the Bounds of its own natural Course, is equal to the Thames, a Mile or two below the Bridge at London, and upon the Banks on either side are built small, poor, and inconsiderable Villages, inhabited promiscuously by Turks and Arabs,
The danger of Sailing on the Nile.

those last nam'd so insolently daring and extreamly dangerous to unsuspecting Travellers, who pass in little Boats upon the River from Grand Cairo, that they frequently attempt with Javelins in their Mouths, to swim at dead of Night, from some small Creek of the undreaded Shore, and coming on them unawares, kill, take or plunder them, as they may think convenient.

A necessary Caution.

HOWEVER, led of late, to think of their own safety by the many fatal Accidents, which have from time to time attended such, as rashly trusted to implor'd Good-Fortune, and were disappointed of her Favours, they have found a way to free the Passengers of their own Country or a Foreign one, from those presumptious Insolences of Arabian Robbers; for at present, none attempt a Voyage on the Nile, without providing usefull Fire-Arms, and very frequently a Guardian Janizary, by whose faithful Care, and honest Courage they may be Protected safely from those villanous Outrages, whose effects have often prov'd unhappy to the headstrong Resolutions of unguarded Obstinacy; so cautious ought a Traveller to be, who ignorant of Danger from an ignorance of Custom, may, unknowingly, involve himself and Company in the unfear'd Misfortune of some treacherous, swift and unexpected Ruin.

CHAP. XXX. Of the Government of Egypt.

The History of Egypt, from the Roman Conquest.

IN Order to inform you of the present State of Government in Egypt, 'twill be necessary to inquire no further back in ancient History, than the times in which the Great Octavius, Emperor of Rome, converted that extensive and subjected Kingdom, to the meaner Title of a Roman Province, which in that Condition, was enlightned by the glorious Rays of introduc'd Christianity, from the unwearied Labours of St. Mark, who suffer'd Martyrdom, as I have said before, at Alexandria.

Conquer'd by the Greeks.

THE Graecian Emperors, upon the fatal weakning of the Western Power by the Division of the Roman Government, became the Lords of Egypt, and her People, till oppressing them inhumanly by heavy Taxes and an arbitrary Tyranny, they forcibly Revolted from their Yoke of Slavery, and in order to expel the Greeks Authority, invited to their Aid the hardy Saracens.

Saracens,

HOWEVER, these about the Year of Christ six hundred thirty five, were beaten from the Government, they gain'd in the expulsion of the Greeks by the successful Arms of Omir, Kinsman and Successor to the Power of the Impostor Mahomet,
And Mahometans.

who, satisfied with Tribute, left them free to the Profession of their own Religion; then fell they under the Dominion of the Babylonian Caliphs.

AFTERWARDS, they chose a Caliph of their own, who was succeeded in a long uninterrupted Line of full three hundred Years, when Almeric the Sixth, King of Jerusalem, invaded and reduc'd them to a great extremity.

AMIDST this exigency, they entreated Succour from the Syrians, whose designing Sultan sent immediately a greater Aid than was demanded from him; but as soon as they had beat the Christians back to their Possessions, Sarco, General of the Syrian Forces, murder'd basely the Egyptian Caliph, and usurp'd the Kingdom to his own Dominion.

The Original of the Circassian Mamalukes.

THE Mighty Saladine succeeded Sarco, and for the space of seventy six Years, the Syrians held Possession of this Kingdom, till ambitious Melec-Salha'a, jealous of the Courage or Integrity of his Egyptian Vassals, yearly bought prodigious numbers of Circassian Slaves from their Allies, the Tartars, and depending wholly on their Valour and Fidelity, arm'd thousands of them, till he had compleated his design'd and numerous Army.

BY the Assistance of these bold and hardy Men he grew successfull in the Wars, he made upon his Foes the Christians, till at last, the Slaves too well acquainted with the fatal Power, wherewith he trusted them, ungratefully Revolted from their just Obedience, murder'd Melec-Salha'a, and upon the bloody Ruins of his broken Power, erected a New Form of Government among themselves, inviting into Egypt all their Country-men, or purchasing in every Place, as many of them, as had formerly been taken.

THUS the Government of these revolted Slaves became in time extreamly Powerfull, dreadfull to their Enemies, and rich in their Possessions, still maintaining their Dominions strongly and with resolution very near three hundred Years; whereby they grew a famous People, and were known by the denomination of Circassian Mamalukes,
Their Overthrow and Downfall.

till Sultan Selym, Emperor of the Turks, in the Success of long and bloody Wars, o'erthrew their Government, and so brought Egypt under his Subjection.

Egypt, how govern'd by the Turks.

IN the Possession of the Turks it still remains, and is at present govern'd by a kind of Vice-Roy, full Possessor of an arbitrary Power, given him as Deputy, or Great Vicegerent to the absolute Grand Signior; he takes his Title from the City of Grand Cairo, is the first Bashaw of all the Turkish Empire, continues seldom in his Government above three Years, and constantly resides in that Imperial City.

DEPENDANT on the Power of this great Bashaw are the twelve Beys, or Lords Provincial, constantly elected from among the Natives of the Country, and Assistant, in the framing Laws and other matters, to the Grand Bashaw, who therefore looking on them as Inspectors of his Actions, and set over him as Spys, or Curbers of his Inclinations, does generally hate and contradict them; hence proceed intestine Jarrs, and frequent Tumults, not a little prejudicial to the Interest of the Turkish Sultan.

The Militia of Egypt.

IN order to support this Power, a Standing Army is Establish'd in the Turkish manner, which consists of twenty thousand Horse, and eighty thousand Foot, accomplish'd, hardy and experienc'd Soldiers, all dependant on respective Zaims, or their Timariots in the nature treated of at large, in the beginning of this Book.

Egypt in its Modern Divisions.

THE Modern Egypt is divided into three Distinct and Spacious Provinces, that part, which lies between Rosetta, and the famous Alexandria, is distinguish'd by the Name of Hersiah; that part, which lies between Grand, Cairo, Tunese, and Damiata, is now call'd Mar-hemha, and the Land, which lies upon the south of Cairo, is in Turkish call'd Saihid.

The Humour of the People.

THESE different Provinces produce Inhabitants, as different in their Natures; some are rougher than the rest, and more unciviliz'd in common Conversation; but it is a general observation, that the nearer to the Port of Alexandria, or the Sea about it, so much more polite is found the humour of these People.

Their Justice.

THE Military Power is in Egypt, as at Constantinople, mixt entirely with the Civil Administration, and the Laws of both exactly Copy'd from the Turkish Government, so that neither in Religion, Customs, Habit, or the forms of Justice, can be found the smallest difference from what I have explain'd in the foregoing Part, relating to the Turkish Policy; 'Tis Money only, Arbitrary, Eloquent, perswasive Money can prevail in Egypt, as it ever does in Europaean Turky, to decide a Contest.

Their Superstition.

THE many Graces, which in former times enrich'd the Minds of their Illustrious Ancestors, are all forgotten; but to show how prone Man's Nature is to Ill, they still retain their ancient Superstition, and tho' they do not practise the abolish'd Ceremonies of a rank Idolatry, they yet impute such power to every little Accident, or Work of Nature, that they tread as near as possible in the detested Footsteps of those old Egyptians, whom the Roman Satyrist has well derided in the following Verses.

Juv. Sat. 15.

Quis nescit Volusi Bithynice, qualia demens

Aegyptus portenta colat? Crocodilon adorat

Pars haec, illa pavet saturam serpentibus Ibin.

Effigies sacri nitet aurea Cercopitheci,

Dimidio Magicae resonant, ubi Memnone chordae

Atque vetus Thebe centum jacet obruta portis.

Illic coeruleos, hic piscem fluminis, illic

Oppida tota canem venerantur, nemo Dianam:

Porrum & cepe nefas violare ac frangere Morsu.

O sanctas gentes, quibus haec nascuntur in hortis

Numina! lanatis animalibus abstinet omnis

Mensa, nefas illic foetum jugulare capellae.

Carnibus humanis vesci licet.

Who knows not, what fond Worship and vain Praise,

Mad Egypt to prodigious Monsters pays?

This part the Crocodile a Godhead makes,

That honours frightful Ibis, fed with Snakes.

There golden Images of Monkeys shine,

And sacred Worship crowns the apish Shrine,

Where Magick Spells make half-left Memnon sound,

And ancient Thebes now lies a ruin'd Ground,

Thebes, which twice fifty Gates did once surround.

Here Sea-Fish, there the River Fish they own,

To Dogs whole Cities bow, but to Diana none.

A wondrous wickedness, indeed, to eat

A sacred Leek, or make an Onion Meat!

O blessed People! in whose Gardens grow

These Gods, to whom such wondrous helps you owe!

From woolly Animals each Board abstains,

To kill a Kid pollutes their Soul with Stains,

Yet none by Conscience led from humane Flesh refrains.

The Effects of Misery.

THE Miserable Poverty, whose ill Effects have crush'd the Spirits of the Warlike Graecians, and subverted Valour to contented Slavery, has work'd so deeply on the humble Minds of the depress'd Egyptians, that they daily more and more become Effeminate, neglecting meanly the once lov'd Practices of Martial-Discipline, and idly sinking in a stupifi'd forgetfulness of all the calls of Liberty or Honour.

Their Character.

THEY are very Lazy, Proud, and Insolent in Carriage, Dirty in their Dress, and stiff in their Behaviour, haters and despisers of all other Countries, scarce affording Love to one another, and so very nasty in their Tents, or Houses, that the very entrance is offensive to a Christian Stranger.

The Egyptian Moors.

THERE are, besides the Off-spring of the old Egyptians, certain tawny Natives of this Land, a Sun-burnt Mongrel kind of Race, descended from the Arabs, and in strength of Body, Humour, Shrilness of their Speech, and great Agility, not much unlike them; for Distinctionsake, these Men are call'd the Moors of Egypt, but are commonly more honestly inclin'd than are their numerous Co-partners in that wide Denomination.

Their Government, a Copy of the Turkish.

THE Towns of Egypt are not many, and those few, they have but ill defended, rather trusting to the number of their People, than the strength of Walls, or tedious helps of Modern Fortification; each Town and Village has its Governor; and as I said before, the nature of their Government is so entirely Turkish, that I need no longer dwell upon the Subject of this Chapter, but will hasten in the next, to look a little into the condition of their Learning and Morality, and see if we can trace the Footsteps of their great Forefathers, in the Modern Applications of their lost Posterity.

CHAP. XXXI. Of the Learning and Morals of the Egyptians.

Egypt in her present Ignorance, a Proof of Humane Frailty.

THE Curious Searcher into Humane Changes, and the various Miseries attending Life, can never find a fairer Proof of Sublunary Frailty than he has before him, in a nice Reflection on the present State of the Egyptian Learning; Egypt, which of old possess'd unbounded Knowledge, and unlimited Dominion; Egypt, which out-towr'd not only the Felicity, but even the Imitation of admiring Neighbours; Egypt, from whose Source of Wisdom, Greece originally drew those Channels, from whose unexhausted Store she afterwards supplied the spacious Universe; Egypt, the neglected Mother of our Arts and Sciences, is now involv'd in stupid Ignorance, and boasts no more than that unpolish'd common Sense, we owe promiscuously to Liberal Nature.

THE black effects of Time and Discord have amazingly subverted ancient Splendor; and the glorious State of Learning, which in former Ages flourish'd in this Country, left her with the Blessings of that wealthy Peace, she once could boast of, Knowledge fell a Victim to the Sword, and the Destruction, which befell them, was so very Ʋniversal, not alone to Power, but even the well establish'd Principles of Literature and Morality, that when I think upon the Ruin of the Old Egyptians, who surviv'd the loss of all worth living for, and then fell lastly solitary Victims to their Nations Enemies, it brings to my remembrance the Expressions, Seneca thought fit to use upon the Fate of Priamus, in his Tragedy of Troas.

Sen. Trag. Troas.

—Felix Priamus!

Felix, quisquis bello morions

Omnia secum consumpta videt!

—O happy Priamus!

And happy all, who, when in War they die,

In one destructive Fate see all things with them lie!

The Origin of the Egyptian Ignorance.

THE gloomy Cloud of unaspiring Sloth and dull Stupidity, which now possesses fallen Egypt, hence receiv'd its fatal Origin, and ever since has skreen'd the Sun of banish'd Learning from that miserable Country, nor has even the most retir'd and private State of Life escap'd the general Calamity, which spread its Influence with an uncontroul'd and Universal Ruin.

AND, indeed it is a vain and groundless hope, for an unthinking Man to flatter his Opinion, with the strange Belief of even a possibility to live contented in a sinking Government, or stand unshock'd, in the destruction of his Country, tho' the share, he boasted in the management thereof, was ne'er so small or inconsiderable, or even tho' the trifling Part, he acted in its Welfare, was so far from helping to support the State, that he appear'd the most unknown and useless Member of his Nation.

THE admirable Solon, an unequall'd Former of the wisest Laws, and consequently an undoubted Judge in Rules of Policy, has left us his Opinion on the matter, in the eloquent Expressions following,

Solon's Opinion, of a Publick Ill.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

When Publick-Ills do Common-Wealths impair,

Each Private Subject feels a Publick Share,

No barring Gates can its effects exclude,

O'er highest Walls it climbs and will intrude;

Still it o'ertakes you, if to Shades you fly,

And finds you, tho' in latent Beds you lie.

Sciences invented by the old Egyptians.

THE old Egyptians first invented Musick and Geometry, with the usefull Knowledge of Arithmetic; they first inspected Heaven, and bravely trac'd the Sun and Starrs thro' their Diurnal Motions; they first divided Years by Months, and from a Knowledge of the various Aspects of Caelestial Constellations, grew Diviners of portended Consequences; Philosophy, and the transporting Flights of a Poetic Harmony were first known there.

Hieroglyphics, what they were.

MECHANIC ARTS, tho' since improv'd, were numerously owing to the deep invention of Egyptian fancy. Hieroglyphicks, us'd instead of Characters, explain'd the meaning of the wisest thoughts by silent Images of various kinds, whereby they strangely represented Humane Nature in its different Passions, with a very still, but moving Eloquence.

BUT now the very Memory of these Perfections is itsself forgotten, by the Deviated Souls of the Possessors of this Country, in its Modern State of Folly, Pride and Insolence, and all, an Author is enabled to inform the World of the Condition of their Learning is, that they have really none among them;
No Learning in Egypt now.

tis a Wonder if, in many Villages of Egypt well inhabited, Ten Men are found, who boast capacity to Read or Write; my Reader will not therefore be Surpriz'd, when I assure him that, for any more refin'd and elevated kind of knowledge, they are altogether Strangers to the very notion of its usefullness.

NOR can I give their Morals a much fairer Character, than I have justly fix'd upon their Learning. Morality is commonly the good effect of Honest thoughts, produc'd by some Improvement of the Mind in serious Contemplation on the Worth of Vertue, and the only way to reach the Power of so bright a Contemplation is by aiming at as great a share of common Knowledge as we can with ease attain in humble Stations;
Why Morality is seldom found in Egypt.

'tis not therefore probable or possible, that these Egyptians, void, by the Tyrannic and oppressive Constitution of their Government, of any means to reach such Practice, nor indeed desirous, by the bent of Inclination, to endeavour after it, should e're attain the happy end, it constantly produces.

I have in the Preceeding Chapter, spoke in general of their Obvious Principles, the less will therefore serve me here, since I can only use the same Expressions, or at least in other words declare the same Assertion, should I now enlarge upon the Shallow Subject;
The Egyptians very covetous.

I will therefore only add, that they are Avaritiously inclin'd almost beyond a Parallel, and, as desirous eagerly of growing Rich, will scruple nothing to obtain the Blessing; hence it will be an easy thing to guess how far from Vertue, Honesty, or Justice lies the Course, they Darkly steer in,

—Nam Dives qui fieri vult,

Et citò vult fieri, sed quae reverentia legum,

Quis metus, aut pudor est unquam Properantis avari?

For he, who has on Riches bent his Mind,

Would still to Wealth a Speedy Passage find,

But what respect to Laws, what Fear or Shame,

Restrains the Eager Wretch, who does at Avarice aim.

I hasten from a Subject, Melancholy in its Truth, and thence Oppressive, and a Clog upon my fansie: But alas! we find no part of Earth, but has sometimes experienc'd Rugged Changes, and our own Examples may convince us daily, that the Scourge of Fortune Triumphs frequently in other Parts, as well as Egypt.

CHAP. XXXII. Of the Beasts, Birds and Serpents of Egypt.

AMONG the numerous Observations, Travellers may make in Egypt of a thousand things, peculiar to that Country, none deserves remark more justly than the Vertue, it can boast of, in producing Creatures as uncommon and particular, as are the many Artificial Rarities, they have in every Age been famous for.

The Hippotamus, or Sea-Horse.

AND first, to mention none of those more common Animals, which may be found promiscuously in almost every Country, the Hippotamus or Sea Horse, of old more frequently observ'd about the River Nilus, than in later times; for Pliny, Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, and many other Authors, have describ'd them in their Writings, some of which have authoriz'd their full Descriptions by their own Eye-witness.

Describ'd.

BUT at present, 'tis a Curiosity not often met with, to obtain an opportunity of seeing any of these Creatures; they have Heads of a prodigious size, their Jaws of very large extent, and full of Tusks in colour not unlike the whitest Ivory, but sharp as Needles, and their bite of very dangerous Consequence to wounded Passengers.

Their strength and fierceness.

IN Shape they differ not extreamly from a Boar, but are so much beyond him in proportion, that we seldom see an Ox of greater Magnitude: Their Colour is a dusky Brown, and all their Backs so arm'd with Scales of an impenetrable Substance, that the sharpest Weapons seldom wound them. They are commonly of such a fierce vindictive Nature, that they rarely fail to turn with violence upon a Boat, when any in it have attempted to insnare them, and have oftentimes been known to rear themselves stupendiously above the Water, and by overturning Vessels prey upon the Mariners, they thence grew Masters of.

The River Bull.

THERE is another Beast, of an Amphibious Nature, commonly distinguish'd by the Name of River Bull, not much beyond a Calf in bigness, nor unlike him in Appearance, only so superior in the Strength of Body, that the spacious Nets, the Natives make of twisted Ropes, have often prov'd too weak to hold him; they have Finns upon their Feet, which spread at bottom to considerable breadth, and serve, as Guides, to their unweildy Motions, which, by plunging forward with an unresisted Violence, break fiercely thro' the strongest obstacles.

The Crocodile.

THE Treacherous Crocodile, so call'd from a Traditional Account, that this deceitfull Animal commands his Tears at any Season, and by counterfeiting a complaining Human Voice, allures the Curiosity of Passers by, and then devours them, is very common on the Banks of Nile, and ever has been look'd upon peculiar to the Land of Egypt. The Shape, exactly like a Lizard, is so fully known in Europe, that 'tis needless here to say much of it.

Their Natures.

THEIR Nature is Oviparous, and when they lay their Eggs, they hide them in the Sand with such an admirable Cunning, that the overflowing of the River Nilus, never reaches them, tho' frequently it comes within a yard or two; and hence the Country People finding now and then their Artfull Nests, are taught how high the Inundation will advance the Waters in that increase; a Turkeys Egg is equal to the Crocodiles, if not Superior in its Pristine Magnitude, but afterwards they grow to such amazing length and size, that many have been found eleven Yards long, and in their Bulk proportionable.

THE common notion entertain'd in Egypt is, that every Female Crocodile can lay one Hundred Eggs, and that their Age has often reach'd the Hundredth Year.

Their way of Catching Men.

THEIR Tails are very long and sharpning to the End, whereby they constantly Entwine and Seize their Prey, and tis a very dangerous thing for Travellers, who pass the Nile in open Boats, to Sleep with Heads inclin'd upon the side, for these observant Creatures gather frequently about the Vessel, watching cautiously some favourable Opportunity, which when they Spie, they Swim up close upon the Surface of the Water, and enfolding the unwary Person by a sudden Throwing out their Tails, have often so unhappily succeeded, as to draw him Headlong from the Vessel and devour him in the River.

How Taken.

THE Natives of the Country bait Sharp Iron Hooks of mighty Magnitude, and sometimes take them. They esteem their Flesh of Savory relish, and as such will seldom Scruple Eating it; But as this Creature is extreamly hurtfull on the Water, Playing on its Surface in a Moon-light Night, so he is no less Destructive on the Land by Day, for then he generally Wanders up and down in search of Mischief, Preying on whatever he can meet with.

How to be avoided.

THEY are Mighty Swift at Running in a line; but having only one continued joint along their Back, are tedious in a motion Circular or any ways Uneven, and thereby with ease avoided by a Man acquainted with the Country and their Nature; Oftentimes they lie a Foot or two below the Surface in the Places, whence the Peasants, living on the Banks of Nilus, fetch their Water, and have sometimes seiz'd a Man or Woman by the Arm, and drawn them in: But to prevent such dangers for the Future, the Egyptians generally take the Pains at present, to secure their Watering Places by a kind of Hedge, which they support with Stakes, and so protect themselves from these designing Animals, who have been long so hated by the prejudic'd Inhabitants, that they have us'd a Thousand Arts to compass their Destruction, and it is not common now to see a Crocodile, within the space of some Days Journey from the City of Grand Cairo.

A Wonderful Observation of the Crocodile and little Bird.

IT is observable that there is found in Egypt, tho' but rarely known, a little Bird about the Bigness of a common Quail, its Colour of a Lightish Grey, the Bill extreamly sharp and small, and both the Wings containing Feathers, at the End whereof are certain Prickles, not unlike the Bristles of a Hog; this Bird, as often as she finds the Crocodile lie Basking in the Sun, and Slumbering, as he often does upon the Banks of Nilus, with his Mouth wide open, flies directly in, and fixing near his Teeth, erects her Prickly Wings, not much unlike a Porcupine, or Hedge Hog, so preventing him from closeing his great Mouth upon her, while she feeds herself by picking somewhat from his Teeth. The Bird was formerly more taken Notice of, than she has been of late, and commonly distinguish'd by the Name of Trochileus.

Ichneumon, or the River Rat.

BUT, while the Crocodile, diverted by a kind of tickling Pleasure, which the pecking Bill of the Bird Trochileus affords him, gapes considerably wider than he generally does, the River Rat, a little Beast about the bigness of a Ferret, clean in Shape, in colour Black, and of a Skin extreamly smooth, his Teeth long, sharp and very numerous, his Tail of an uncommon length, his Legs but short, and Ears of a peculiar roundness, of a Nature very bold and fierce beyond example; this small Beast I say, who bears a strong antipathy to the above-nam'd Crocodile, observing narrowly the tempting Opportunity, comes slily round, jumps thro' his Mouth, and with a wond'rous swiftness passing down his Throat, gnaws forcibly a Passage thro' his Belly, thence escaping with the triumph of a sure Destruction to his mortal Enemy.

Its fierceness, and great hatred to other Creatures.

THIS River Rat is sometimes call'd Ichneumon, which appears to have been anciently the Name, by which he was distinguish'd by the Curious and more Learn'd Egyptians, then inhabiting the Country, he is found in; they are of a mischievous Nature, killing all the Pidgeons, Hens, and Poultry, they can possibly find means to get at; Cats and Dogs they hate extreamly, and will kill as often as they conquer them, nor ever fail Assaulting them, as often as they find convenient Opportunity: But, as in some things they are hurtfull to the Interests of the People, so in many others they appear not only Usefull, but even Necessary for the good they do, by seeking constantly the Eggs of Crocodiles, and breaking them, when they discover where they lie; as also for their Universal Hatred to all kinds of Serpents, Snakes, or Reptiles whatsoever, whom they often fall upon, and kill with wonderfull dexterity.

Moral Reflections.

HOW wisely, and beyond the apprehension of our weak Capacities, has the Supream Creator of our Earthly Beings guided the Performances of his Divine Omnipotence! To what an height of Piety and necessary Contemplation on the Bounties and Omniscience of Almighty God, must that Man needs arrive, who seriously reflects upon the numerous Works of his Creation, yet amongst so many Millions of surprizing Differences, and directly opposite Existences in Nature, cannot find one needless Insect, but perceives them strangely mixt together, in the joint Advancement of one common Interest.

The Chamaelions.

IN many Orchards near Grand Cairo, may be found great numbers of those Creatures call'd Chamaelions, falsely said to live upon the Air, which notwithstanding, is indeed their principal Subsistance, tho' they prey continually on Flies, and extend their Tongue with wonderfull celerity, which is in length not much inferior to his Body, naturally hollow in its top, whereby he may more easily attain his Ends, and serve himself in the Destruction of the late nam'd Insects with a little trouble.

Describ'd.

IN Shape and Size, they are not much unlike the Lizard, their Eyes and Head extreamly large, their Necks unjointed, and of consequence not mov'd, without the turning their whole Bodies; its native Colour is a greenish Yellow, with small Spots of white about the Belly: They are seen with difficulty tho' you pass at little distance from them, for they constantly assume the Colour of most Places, which they stand upon, and generally change their Hue, as often as they find occasion to remove their Station.

Their Antipathy to Serpents.

THESE also bear an innate Enmity to every kind of Serpent, and it is remarkable that, when they have discover'd any Sleeping underneath a Tree, they never rest, till having climb'd the Branches, they direct a little shining drop of Moisture from their Mouths exactly on his Head, which by a certain natural Vertue it possesses, never fails to give immediate Death to the unwary Serpent so invaded.

The Ostrich.

I must not here omit the Ostrich, tho' but very rarely found, unless in the remoter and more Inland parts of Egypt. It is a Bird of Mighty size, long Neck and Feet, with Head and every other part of Shape extreamly near the Pictures, which we draw to represent them.
How Hunted.

They have Wings of spacious size, yet Fly but heavily, so near the Ground, that tis an Entertainment very Pleasant, and not seldom us'd, for Gentlemen to Hunt them with a kind of Spears on Foot; for the Resistance, Awkard motions and Ʋnweildy Flight, they make, afford their Hunters an agreeable Amusement.

An Eater of Iron.

BUT the most Remarkable, peculiar and surprizing Property, the Ostrich boasts of is, that he not only Eats, but even Digests the hardest Iron, Picking up with pleasure broken Horse-Shooes, rusty Nails, and many other things, especially, at certain Seasons of the Year, when they incline (I know not for what reason) to take more delight than usual in the Swallowing that Metal:
And Hater of Women Pregnant.

It is a thing worth Notice that, from certain hidden Dictates of directing Nature, Ostriches are led to an abhorrence of a Woman big with Child, and tis a certain truth, from a repeated Observation, that they are not only sensible, when such a Person is brought near them, but will make directly towards her, and with lifted Feet endeavour to oblige her to withdraw, or Patiently submit to their Unwelcome violence.

The Salamander.

THE Salamander, Famous for resisting Fire, is in Egypt often found, but tis a false and groundless notion that he lives in Flames, but probably that old mistake First took its Rise from something, that appear'd like reason;
How resisting Fire.

for a certain Cold and Mucous Substance, full of Moisture is the only Flesh, that Creature boasts of, who, when put upon the Fire, can emit a certain quantity of Black and Slimy Matter, which extinguishes, for some short time, the Coals about him, but by that time he has once or twice repeated the Experiment, he becomes Exhausted, and is forc'd to yield his Body to the Irresistible Invasion of the Flames, he lies in.

The Basalisk or Cockatrice.

THE Famous Serpent, call'd a Basilisk, or in our vulgar English Tongue distinguish'd better by the Name of Cockatrice, does still remain in many parts of inmost Egypt, but was falsely by the Ancients said to be possess'd of such a Penetrative Venom, that his very look gave present Death to every Man, he fix'd his Eyes upon, whose subtil Poyson Lucan thus describes among the many Noxious Serpents, Cato met with in his March with the Brave Roman Army, thro' the Sands of Africa.

Lucan, lib. 9.

Sibila{que} effundens cunctas terrentia pestes,

Ante venena nocens, late sibi submovet omne

Vulgus, & in vacuâ regnat Basiliscus arená.

The Basilisk, whose Dreadfull Hisses fright

All other Serpents into distant flight,

Whose Subtil Venom humane life confounds,

Nor needs a Touch, but Kills before it Wounds.

Drives meaner Snakes from his frequented Plains,

And on the empty Sands in frightfull horror Reigns.

Why said to Kill with a look.

BUT those, which now are call'd the Basilisks of Egypt, are not so extreamly dangerous, as the abovenam'd Poet chose to represent them; yet 'tis certain, that they bear a kind of natural malignity about them, which affects a Man, tho' at a considerable distance, with a strange uneasiness, but whether Seated in their Eyes, or caus'd by the Effluviums of their Noxious Bodies, does not come within my purpose, and is therefore left to the Opinion of the Reader.

The Asp describ'd.

THE Asp, another hurtful Serpent, is in many Parts of Egypt dangerously known, a small black Creature running swiftly, and is generally found within the hollow Places of a Rock, or rotten Root of some decaying Tree: Their Bite is Mortal, and the Death, they give, attended frequently by various Symptoms, but overtaking all, he bites with equal swiftness, some Die Laughing, others Weeping, many Sleeping; but this last effect should seem to be the most peculiar to the Asps of old, since Lucan thus describes the Nature of that Serpent.

Lucan. Lib. 4.

Hic, quae prima caput movit de pulvere tabes,

Aspida somniferam tumidâ cervice levavit.

Plenior huic sanguis, & crassi gutta veneni

Decidit: in nullâ plus est Serpente coactum.

Here the Sleep-causing Asp with swelling Head

Rose first, from Poyson-mingled Atoms bred,

Full of the thickest Blood, Gorgon o'er Libya spread;

Nor 'mongst the many Snakes, which thence did spring,

Can one be found, who boasts a more invenom'd Sting.

A Story of a Gentleman, bit by an Asp.

SOME Years ago an English Gentleman, residing at Aleppo, and in Company with many Merchants, belonging to the Factory, there Establish'd, went a Hunting, and amongst an heap of Stones upon the Sand, perceiv'd an Asp run swiftly to its Hole, which, fatally mistaking for a little Squirrel, he immediately alighted from his Horse, and thrusting in his Arm, as far as it would go, felt something sharper than he thought to meet withall, and drawing out his Hand upon a sudden, brought the Asp still hanging by the Teeth upon his middle Finger: The immediate Exclamations of the Gentlemen in Company oblig'd him presently to shake it off, but all in vain, the Poyson had affected him too deeply, and tho' with much ado they got him on his Horse, he strait grew Mad, Laugh'd, Wept and Fainted by successive turns, till they had brought him Home to his Ʋnhappy Family, where instantly he Died, by the unfortunate Event of this lamented Accident.

CHAP. XXXIII. Of the Cities of Grand-Cairo, Memphis and Babylon.

THE venerable Marks of mighty Age declare the Towns, I am about to speak of, Children of Antiquity; nor did they only flourish, when the World was Young, but were from Time to Time the Glorious Scenes, whereon were represented the Prodigious Sallies of Ambition, starting suddenly to Ʋniversal Empire, then as suddenly declining from its Pinacle, and yielding Fortune, for a transitory Spurt, to the Possession of some other rising Monarchy.

The Changes; which have hapned in Grand Cairo, Memphis and Babylon.

'TWAS hence, that these renown'd and stately Cities have successively beheld the Haughty Pharaohs, and Luxurious Ptolemies, the Roman Caesars, and profuse Extravagance of the Unhappy Cleopatra; have beheld 'em swoln above Mortality, with elevated Pomp and splendid Royalty, and after all the Triumphs of a short-liv'd Grandeur, seen 'em sink the miserable Victims to some sudden, strange, and unexpected Ruin.

'TWAS here of old, that the Almighty Hand of God himself, perform'd such Miracles; 'twas here the hardned Heart of Pharaoh drew down Vengeance on his tortur'd Nation; 'twas here the Israelites were chain'd in long Captivity, and in returning hence, their Great Redeemer prov'd his Power by dividing Seas to let them pass, and guiding them alternately by Clouds, and Fiery Pillars, through the numerous Dangers of a tedious Pilgrimage.

THIS Train of Wonders, and amazing Scene of Human Changes were in ancient Times transacted here;
The decay these 3 Cities.

and the above-nam'd Cities, which so many Ages have withstood the Shocks of Time or Accident, and gloriously out-liv'd the frequent Downfalls of un-numbred Rulers, now begin to sink Themselves, and prove by slow, tho' sure, Experience, that the strange Vicissitudes of Earthly Strength, involve alike the Prince and Peasant, Town and Hovel in a dark oblivion.

Cairo, now the best.

CAIRO is the only City of the Three, which now retains the smallest Mark of an un-ruin'd Majesty, and has its Situation, near four hundred Miles from Alexandria, upon the Eastern side of Nilus, not above twelve Furlongs distant from the River.

Bow-lac, the Port to Cairo.

THE Boats, which commonly bring Passengers to Cairo, land 'em at Bow-lac, a small Port Town, supported by the Trade, the River brings her, where a sort of Tax, or Imposition by the way of Poll, is laid on every Christian Traveller, who comes on Shore, amounting to about a Crown a Head; and here it is, that we are all oblig'd to hire a nimble kind of Asses, with their Owners, running by on Foot, to carry us to Cairo,
A barbarous Baseness of the Turks at Cairo.

where the Reader may take notice, that the barbarous Insolence, and blinded Zeal of the rude Turks, inhabiting the Place, oblige all Christians, who wou'd ride about the City, to be mounted on those Creatures, in a strange derision of our Blessed Saviour's Choice, who rode upon an Ass, when the transported Multitude saluted him, as he advanc'd, with the repeated Acclamation of Hosanna to the Highest.

The Town and its Extent.

THE Town is built about the Foot of a large Mountain, call'd Muc-haat, extreamly Rocky, and extends its Buildings in a Semicircular Form above half round it; it is Wall'd but ill, and taking in the Suburbs, which are very large, is so prodigiously extensive, that the measur'd Compass has been found full sixty two Italian Miles.

Description of the Houses, and manner of their building Streets.

THE Streets are crooked, long and narrow; all the Houses (those excepted, which the Turks have built of later Years) of solid Stone, and many Stories high; their Roofs are Flat, and open in the top with artificial Neatness to let in the Breezes, which at certain Seasons of the Day, regale the Air with comfortable Coolness; the Streets are every Night lock'd up, at either End by well-defended Gates, at each whereof is kept a Guard of able Watchmen, so that all the Mischiefs of Nocturnal Robberies are here prevented by the visible Impossibility, that Thieves wou'd find to get away, if they shou'd chance to be discover'd.

The Gates of Grand Cairo.

THE High-Street is of a considerable Breadth, extending from the Gate Naufrei to that, they call Zueelia, the First admitting you from the great Road, which leads to the Red Sea, the last directly fronting Nilus, and Bow-lac, the Ancient Town I lately spoke of. These two Gates confine the Length of this extensive City.

A Pleasant Lake.

ANOTHER Gate, distinguish'd by the Name of Futulee, which opens on the Northern side, directly leads you to a Spacious Lake call'd Esbikee, that in the overflow of Nilus is supplied with Water, and frequented, while it is so, by the Painted Barges of the Gentlemen of Cairo, shaded over with the Greenest Boughs, and Rowing up and down with Wine and Musick in delightfull Pastime; But when Nilus is decreas'd, and all the Water dried within the Lake, it changes its appearance to another Scene, and by affording Corn in plentifull Production, yields a Prospect equally agreeable.

Some other Gates.

BESIDES these Three Chief Gates, are many other, for conveniency of free Egress and Regress, thro' the City; but, as those are only Portals for a Private use, not Publick Ostentation, they deserve not the unnecessary Trouble of Remarks upon their Number, Forms, or Situation.

Their way of Darkening the Streets.

THE Sun is here so greatly Incommodious, that to Skreen the City from its Power, they commonly place Rafters cross their Streets, and cover them with Mats, which by preventing the above-nam'd Inconveniency, is found to cause another nigh as bad, for by excluding the Sun-Beams from Shining on them, they are forc'd to Walk as in the Dark, in many Places, where the Narrowness of Streets, and Jetting form of all their Buildings, added to the Dullness, they are Cloak'd in, by the Matts and Rafters, join together in a close alliance to keep out the Day, and Cloud the Houses even at Noon, with the unpleasant Veil of counterfeited Mid-night.

Wooden Locks and Keys.

ONE thing deserves Remark among the many others, which a Stranger may observe in Cairo, that is, they have so excellent an Art in Working upon Wood, that all the Locks and Keys, they use about their Houses, are of a hard kind of Tree, in Colour Blacker than the Box, and in its substance far more hard, and doubly durable.

THE Streets are all unpav'd and full of Sand, and many Lakes of half a Mile, or sometimes more, in Compass, scatter'd every here and there about the City, which with certain Wells of no small depth or Number, serve the People with the Water, fit to be employ'd in common uses, such as Washing Houses, Cooling Streets, or such like purposes;
Water brought on Camels Backs.

but as for what they Drink, 'tis brought on Camels Backs from Nilus, that abovenam'd being neither Clear, nor Sweet enough for that nice purpose.

A Noble Market Place.

DIRECTLY in the Center of this Spacious City, stands a Building, not unlike the Besesteen, or Vaulted Market-Place, I spoke of, in the Chapter of Constantinople, and design'd exactly for the same occasion; Hither Flock vast Numbers of all kinds of People, who wou'd purchase any thing of value; for 'tis here they may be sure to meet with what they search for; and it is observable in Cairo, that they never mingle Trades together, but appoint the Men of each Profession, Rows of Shops by one another, every one whereof must Shut his Doors at Five a Clock in the Evening, the Cooks alone excepted, who by reason of their common usefullness (few Families in Cairo dressing their own Meat) are suffer'd to continue, open till whatever Hour, they think convenient.

Pleasant Gardens.

WITHIN the Walls of Cairo are vast Numbers of delightful Orchards, Gardens and the like, in which are ever growing most delicious Fruits of almost every kind, but Apples, which are here but very rarely met withall; their Oranges and Limons, Almonds, Dates, and many other sorts, do here arrive to such mature Perfection, that I never tasted them so richly pleasant in another Country.

Their Bagnios and Hospitals.

THEIR Public Buildings are both numerous and stately. Bagnio's in Grand-Cairo fall not short of those, I mention'd to be built at Constantinople, and the rich Endowments of not only those, but Hans, or Hospitals, for several Uses, are so very splendidly encreas'd in this Egyptian City, that they cannot be exceeded by the Buildings of their kind, in any part of the Grand Signior's Empire.

Mosques, an incredible Number.

THEIR Mosques are so magnificent in Structure, and prodigious in the Number commonly reported, that 'twou'd perhaps be thought a Falsehood, shou'd I tell my Reader, what my Guides told me, that they surpass in costliness of Building all the Royal Mosques of Constantinople, and are so extreamly Numerous, that they are reckon'd almost Twenty Thousand.

BOTH these Opinions I believe untrue, tho' I perceiv'd, that in the first they have not stretch'd Veracity to any great degree; but in the second, I presume they have made full amends; tho' all, a Traveller can do, is, only to pursue the dictates of a reasonable Probability, when he directs his Judgment on that Point, since they are really so stupendious in their Number, that 'tis morally Impossible, for any single Man to know exactly.

The Great Men's Palaces.

THE Great Mens Palaces are very Stately, and have large Court-Yards before 'em, opening to the Street with Wooden Gates of an uncommon Magnitude. They have a very Insolent and Idle Custom here, to pull a Christian from his Ass, as he rides by the House of any Turkish Officer of Note, and make him walk, till he is pass'd the Wall, in token of Submission and a mute acknowledgment of Inferiority.

Cairo, very Populous.

THIS famous City is so very Populous, tho' of so vast a Magnitude, that as we rode along the Streets, about the Center, we were so extreamly Crowded, that our Guide, who went before with a long Pole, and clear'd the way by crying out, Bda-ha-rack Adam-lerr, Bda-ha-rack, that is, Make room good People, pray make room, had much ado to open us a Passage.

The Castle of Grand Cairo.

UPON a very steep and lofty Precipice, upon the Southern side of Cairo, stands the Castle, where resides the Grand Bashaw, in pompous State becoming his Degree, attended by a chosen Guard of Turkish Janizaries: Here on the three first Days of every Week they hold Divan, at which the Grand Bashaw is always Present, and Administers their Justice, as they Practice their Religion, both in Imitation of the settled Forms, and ceremonious Customs of the Turkish Government, Establish'd, as before describ'd, at their Metropolis Constantinople.

Its Ascent, And Prospect.

THIS Castle is to be ascended but by one Way only, which is hewn with admirable Art and Labour, from the solid Rock, and twining round, permits a Horseman easily to mount its Summit: 'Tis of vast Extent, divided, in the ancient manner, into Courts and Squares, which seem to have been formerly design'd for Warlike Exercises.

And Prospect.

HENCE the City may with ease be over-look'd, from any of the Walls, which are all built of Massy Stone upon the Rock it self, and entred by a Port, amazingly secur'd with Iron Gates, and leading to the Castle by strange, intricate, and winding Passages.

Fine Reliques of Antiquity.

OF Old, the Mighty Sultans of the Brave Egyptian Mamalukes resided here, in all the Grandeur, Empire cou'd afford 'em, and tho' Sultan Selym, the Victorious Turk, defac'd its Ornaments in many Places, yet there still remain such tow'ring Piles, and Marble Columns of so strange a Bulk, and Workmanship so excellent, that they to this Day, show a thousand Proofs of Regal Majesty, and that prodigious Stateliness, wherewith it flourish'd in its old Magnificence.

An Hieroglyphic Obelisk.

DIRECTLY in the midst of a large Court, upon the backside of this Castle, stands an ancient Hieroglyphic Obelisk, near nineteen Foot in height, whereon are represented such distinguishable Figures, as do plainly prove it to have been plac'd there by the Ptolemies, in Commemoration of the Victories, they had obtain'd in War, and the surprizing Grandeur, in whose Bliss they flourish'd.

Several Ruins, near Grand Cairo.

THERE are not many Reliques of Antiquity at present, to be seen in Cairo: Besides this Castle, there remain the Ruins of some famous Palaces, but so disguis'd by their Decay, that Travellers can only Guess at what they were, when many Ages since, they proudly flourish'd.

The Place, where Moses was found by Pharaoh's Daughter.

THEY shew such Strangers, notwithstanding, as are curious in their Searches, many Things worth Observation, and among the rest, a certain Bank upon the side of Nilus, where they say, of old, King Pharaoh's Daughter found young Moses on a Bed of Rushes.

The Etymoligy of the Word Cairo.

THE Etymology of Cairo is from the Arabian, in which Language El Cai-airo signifies a Forcer; as to the Original Foundation, Founder, and Historical Account of this extensive City, Scaliger, and Leo Africanus, with a hundred other Authors, have so fully treated on those Subjects, that I cannot judge it necessary to enlarge on such notorious Circumstances.

IT only then remains, that I shou'd mention the Condition of the People, now Inhabiting Grand Cairo, whom we found in rolling Plenty, and the blest Possession of the richest Smiles of Providential Nature; Trading greatly, and encreasing Wealth with wonderful Dexterity;
The Plenty of that City.

nor can Provisions of all kinds be any where, more reasonably Sold than in the well-stor'd Markets of this spacious City.

A way of hatching Eggs in Ovens.

AMONG a thousand other Customs, in some kind Peculiar to the People of Grand Cairo, they have got a way of hatching Eggs, by Artificial Heat, which they perform by building certain Rows of Ovens, of considerable depth, which they contrive on either side a Room, one Row above another; within these Ovens they take care to lay a kind of course, rough Hemp, on which they spread a Mat, and cover it with Camel's Dung, or that of Pidgeons, to considerable thickness, so that by preserving artful Heats, by constant Fires within the Stoves, built under the above-nam'd Ovens, they continue from the Month of June to the declining of December, to produce vast quantities of Chickens, from innumerable thousands of these Eggs, which, notwithstanding, are observ'd to fall far short of Nature's un-assisted Efficacy.

The Inhabitants of Cairo, famous for Instructing Beasts.

I cou'd not help observing here, that the Inhabitants of Cairo seem Possessors of a quicker Genius than our Western People, in the Arts of teaching wonderful Performances to Asses, Goats, Dogs, Horses, Mules, or any other Creatures void of Reason.

A Story of a Goat.

I have been shown a Man, who kept a Goat, so dex'trous in the poizing his Instructed Body, that he cou'd not only stand upright upon a little Staff, ten Inches long, but climb'd with ease from one, to stand upon another, and proceeded without falling, from that second to a third, fourth, fifth, or more, till he, who own'd him, was no longer capable of adding to the height, by one Staff more.

A pleasant Story of a Fidler and his Ass.

A merry kind of Fellow, of a Moorish Extract, us'd to walk about the City with a sort of Fiddle, and divert the Passers by, with the repeated Airs of one dull Tune; and in return for this, 'tis true, he did not beg Reward, yet by a subtle Stratagem came off so well, that he succeeded generally better than a Down-right Beggar cou'd have reasonably hop'd for.

THE Ingenious Fellow kept an Ass, that always follow'd him from Street to Street, without the trouble of his leading him along, he carried on his back a little Budget, which contain'd Provisions, and the necessary Utensils, his Master wanted in his daily Journeys.

An Ass of good address.

EVERY Man, the Fidler met, he bow'd his Body to, by way of Information, that he hop'd for the Receipt of a small piece of Money, from his grateful Liberality; and still, as often as the Fidler bow'd, the Ass bow'd too, as he had been instructed, in so strange a manner, and an Air so truly like himself, that all, who pass'd the Streets, were mov'd to Laughter, and not seldom, Gentlemen have given the Man a Present for the Pleasure, they receiv'd from the surprizing Prospect of his Asse's Novelty, who constantly, with such another Cringe, return'd the Compliment.

A cunning Practice.

BUT, if it chanc'd, that any Man pass'd by regardless of the Fidler's Musick, or Request, nor thought it worth his while to pay him for his Harmony; The Ass, who cunningly came on behind, at a considerable distance, and observ'd all Passages, but yet pretended not to mind 'em, watch'd their coming, and took care to snap a Piece, from off the Britches of the unsuspecting Person; or, if he went by at too great distance, on the other side the way, he frequently turn'd back, and bit out his Revenge, as soon as he had overtaken him: This pleasant Humour of the Fidler and his Ass became at last so very noted, that Both the Master's Profit, and the great Respect, they shew'd the Beast, grew daily more and more, for really 'twas a dangerous Accident to meet 'em in the Street, for such, as hap'ned to be unprovided of a Charm to soften his Resentment.

ANOTHER Trick, they have of Getting Money, is by training Camels up to dance about the Streets, upon the Sounding of a Drum, or any other Instrument of Musick. This they do with admiraabe quickness in the manner following.

Their way of teaching Camels to Dance.

THEY make a large square hollow Place on some Stone Pavement, not unlike a Bath, of such a depth, that nothing, let down thither, can get out again but with the same Assistance, he was first put in by. Under this pav'd Floor, consisting purposely of well experienc'd Fire-Stone, is built a Furnace, into which they put a necessary quantity of Wood, and heating it to what degree they please, the Stones grow hot like some mild Oven.

THEN they put the poor meek Camel into this square hollow, heated as it is, and standing round the edges of the Place, begin to sound their Drums, or other Instruments, continuing so to do, while the Ʋn-hoof'd and Tender-Footed Camel, all impatient of the Heat, first draws up one Leg, then another, changing swifter, as the Heat encreasing, burns his Feet with greater Anguish, till at last, he rears himself an end, and capers nimbly on his hinder Feet, as if he strove to imitate a Dancer.

A lazy kind of Living, on the Labours of a Beast.

THUS they use him, till by frequent Practice, the unwellcome smart has made impression on the Creature's Memory; at which time, they begin to lead him up and down the City; where at certain Corners of the Noted Streets, they suddenly strike up the Tunes, they us'd to play, which the poor Beast no sooner hears, but dreading the Hot-Stones, he formerly was wont to feel, when he had heard such Musick, he begins to Dance, and Skip about with strange Agility, which soon becomes not only easy, but even natural to his Performance, and is daily practis'd by him, to divert the Common People, who assemble in great Crowds to see the Sport, and pay the Owner a small Sum by voluntary Contribution.

The ancient Memphis.

THE ancient Memphis, which has been by many Authors falsly thought the City, now Grand Cairo, was of old, the Residence of Egypts Monarchs, flourishing in all the Grandeur, Wealth and Royalty cou'd Crown her Sons with; here they kept their Apis, and had once a stately Temple, Sacred to his Worship; here also stood the Glorious Temple of the Goddess Venus, and a thousand Noble Monuments of Power, and Antiquity, all buried now, and only showing their defac'd and broken Reliques, Great in Ruin, and amazingly Majestic in those Heaps of Dust, wherein now lie confus'dly mingled, Marble Pillars, Stately Towrs, and Batter'd Statues of prodigious Workmanship.

Why so call'd.

THIS ancient City took the Name of Memphis, from the Daughter of King Ogdo, whom the Poets feign to have been Ravish'd by Egyptian Nilus, in the Form of a large Bull.
Its Situation.

It stood about five Miles to the South-East of the so celebrated Pyramids of Egypt, and not above two Miles full West of Nilus, distant from Grand Cairo, sixteen Miles or somewhat over.

Babylon of Egypt why so nam'd.

NOT distant far from the South-side of Cairo, lie the ruinated Ruins of Egyptian Babylon, which took that ancient Name from certain Babylonian Colonies, who, here assembling, join'd their Parties in one Body, and sollicited a Licence from the King of Egypt, to lay out a considerable Sum of Money in the Purchase of a Spot of Ground, whereon to build a Place of Habitation.

THEY obtain'd a Grant from the then Reigning Ptolemy, for the Possession of the Land, on which they built the Town, I lately call'd, according to its Old Denomination, Babylon, which now has chang'd its Name to that of Misul-Hetic, and is known to all the People of this Country by the last nam'd Appellation, which I think may claim Arabian Etymology.

The Ruins of a stately Cistern.

AMONG the numerous Ruins, whose confus'd Appearances amuse a Traveller, there is at Babylon, the broken remnant of a spacious Cistern, formerly a mighty and stupendious Labour, and receiving Water from the River Nilus, to supply the Castle lately mention'd, thro' a very strong and artful Aquaeduct, supported on some hundreds of the loftiest Arches, Stone cou'd build, or Resolution finish; nor has Time prevail'd so much as yet, but that it is repair'd to a Condition, which enables it to serve a little for the ancient Ʋses, to whose necessary Practice its well-meaning Founders first design'd it.

The Magazines, which Joseph built in Egypt.

NOT far from hence, stand certain vast unweildy Structures, of Prodigious Height, and antique Figure, all supported by a Number of huge Buttresses, and seeming to remain in that strange form, they bear, to tell the Modern World, how their Deceas'd Forefathers built before 'em; we were told by the Egyptians, that these venerable Piles, were those Seven Granaries, or Publick Magazines, which Joseph built at the Command of Pharaoh, to preserve the Product of the Seven Years Plenty, which preceeded as long time of dreadfull Famine. Repairs have fitted one or two for the same use at present, but the rest are so expos'd to the Inclemencies of Weather, that they cannot be employ'd in such a Service.

The Wonderfull Extent, and Prospect of Egyptian Ruins.

THERE is not in the World, a more uncommon, Mortifying Scene, than Egypt represents to every Stranger, for above the space of Eighteen Miles, on either side the River Nilus, in this part of that depopulated Country; where you cannot Sail a Hundred Fathoms. but you must discover, if you look about you, the afflicting Marks of Misery and Desolation, ancient Turrets have disrob'd their Tops of that aspiring Grandeur, which their Youth once boasted of, and Hoary Age has Whiten'd the Remainder of their Craggy Reliques with a Melancholy Aspect, Heaps of Dirt have Buried Palaces, and every here and there appears the Half-Sunk Capital, or Basis of some Noble Pillar, those Prodigious Master-pieces of elaborate Art, which once supported the resplendent Roofs of Glitt'ring Courts, and Palaces of Princes, now lie low in rough Obscurity, nor are so much as seen by Passengers, while Cover'd with the Grass, which Flourishing in the Destruction of such Stately Pieces, seems to spread with a Malicious Pride, and Triumph in their Downfall.

Moral Reflections on the Worlds uncertainty.

OH! Blind, Willfull, Vain, Mistaken Man! Unthinking, Weak, and Shadow-like Mortality! Why do we still grasp eagerly at Riches? Why esteem the Transitory Blessings of a Wealthy Splendor? Why delight in Worldly Grandeur, or the Noisy Pomp of Momentary Majesty, when not the Stony Scenes of ancient Pride, and countenanc'd Vain-Glory, can preserve the Memory of their forgotten Founders, but the Stongest and most Stately Cities of the Ʋniverse submit their Marble to the Teeth of Time, and prove in Ruins, the undoubted Truth of Ovid's elegant Reflections on the Worlds uncertainty.

Ovid Met. L. 15.

—Sic tempore verti

Cernimus, atque illas assumere robora Gentes,

Concidere Has. Sic magna fuit censuque Virisque,

Perque decem poluit tanlum dare sanguinis annos,

Nunc humilis veteres tantummodo Troja ruinas,

Et pro Divitiis tumulos ostendit avorum.

Clara fuit Sparte: magnae viguêre Mycenae:

Nec non Cecropiae; nec non Amphionis arces.

Vile solum Sparte est; altae cecidêre Mycenae;

Oedipodioniae quid sunt nisi fabula Thebae?

Quid Pandioniae restant nisi Nomen Athenae?

Thus, in the Course of Time, strange Turns we see,

Some Nations Rais'd, whilst others Ruin'd be,

Ev'n Troy—a Town of old, so Rich, so Great,

That Spilt such Seas of Blood in Ten long Years Debate,

Now lowly Prostrate, Ruins only knows,

And her Sons Tombs, instead of Riches, shows;

Sparta was Great, so was Mycena too,

Athens and Thebes un-number'd Splendors knew,

Yet is this Sparta now a Dunghill grown,

And proud Mycena's Tow'rs are overthrown;

What but a Fable does of Thebes remain,

Where Royal Oedipus once held his Reign?

Or where Survives the Great Pandion's Fame,

But in lost Athens, now an empty Name?

NOW let us hasten from the Ruins of these fallen Cities, to some more lasting Structures, which in spite of Time, have proudly stood from Age to Age, and baffled strangely all the Shocks of Age or Accident.

CHAP. XXXIV. Of the Pyramids of Egypt, and of several New Discoveries therein, which were never yet Publish'd.

The Pyramids of Egypt.

UPON the Western Side of the aforesaid Memphis, near the Borders of the Lybian Desart, stand those vast and tow'ring Pyramids, which have so long amus'd the World, with strange Reflections on the strong Ambition, and vain glorious Aim of their aspiring Founders: But before I enter on a full Description of their Building, Number, Form and Situation, 'twill not be amiss to tell my Reader, that I look upon it, as a needless trouble, to repeat the many various Notions and receiv'd Opinions of the ancient World, concerning the Original Design of such Stupendious Fabricks.

What design'd for, by their Founders.

FOR it is now an uncontested and apparent Truth, that they were first design'd, as lasting Sepulchres, wherein such Monarchs, as might claim Interment in those lofty Mausolaeums, were induc'd to hope, they might outlive their Dissolutions, and continue known to after Ages, by the striking Grandeur of their barbarous Monuments.

TO this Opinion, not to mention Pliny, Strabo, Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, and many other ancient Writers, Lucan seems to be a strict Adherer, especially in his eighth Book, where he exclaims against the base Injustice of King Ptolemy, upon the account of Pompey's Murder in the following Verses.

Lucan. l. 8.

Ʋltima Lageae stirpis peritura{que} Proles,

Degener, incestae sceptris cessure sororis,

Cum tibi sacrato Macedon servetur in antro,

Et regum cineres extructo monte quiescant,

Cum Ptolemaeorum manes seriem{que} pudendam

Pyramides claudant, indina{que} Mausolea;

Littora Pompejum feriunt, truncus{que} vadosis

Huc illuc jactatur aquis.

Degenerate Last of Lagu's Failing Race,

To an Incestuous Sister yielding Place;

Must Pompey's Headless Body, Sea-wash'd o'er,

Be dash'd by swelling Surges on the Shoar?

Whilst you the Macedonian's Ashes keep,

And Royal Relicks in tall Buildings sleep,

While the base Ptolemy's Ignobler Race,

Vast Pyramids Entomb, and Mausolaeums grace.

AND thus in many other Places the above-nam'd Author, takes occasion to repeat his Notions of the Use, to which the Ancients put the Pyramids.

One of the Worlds seven Wonders.

'TIS certain, and has been allow'd in every Age, to whom these mighty Piles were known, that they deserv'd the Character, they ever bore, of one of those Stupendious Prodigies, which justly merited the Title of the Worlds Seven Wonders: Their amazing height, an Old Greek Writer nicely touches on, as follows,

An old Greek Writer on the Pyramids.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉

In faithless Stories an Account is giv'n,

That, when Titanian Arms assaulted Heav'n,

Pelion and Ossa from the Earth they drew,

And at the Skys those Rocky Mountains threw.

But those tall Pyramids, near Nilus found,

O'erlooking with proud Heads the distant Ground,

Guide to the Realms above by sure degrees,

And kiss the golden Stars, which form the Pleiades.

The number of the Pyramids.

THE Pyramids extend themselves for many Miles, along the Desart, and are near Fourscore in Number, most of which are small, and inconsiderable in respect of Three, which stand within a little space of one another, and are built upon a certain Hill of Sand, which covers Rocks of a stupendious depth and wond'rous magnitude.

The height and bulk of the Great Pyramid.

THE Altitude in perpendicular, of the most large and stately Pyramid, is near five hundred English Feet, but if we take the Height, as it inclines ascending towards the Point, we find it equal to the Latitude of its prodigious Basis, every way seven hundred Foot, by moderate Computation.

The second and a third.

THE second Pyramid is equal to the first in Height, and not above a Bow Shot distant from it; but the third appearing scarce half finish'd, leaves no room to make Comparisons, and only gives us Cause to think, by the Proportion, it at present bears, that, had it been compleated, as the others are, it had been higher far, and more polite than either of the former.

The Stones of which the first is built.

THE first Great Pyramid is built of vast and solid Stones, which some pretend were brought from Quarries in the Mountains of Arabia; but the gross Absurdity of that Opinion, is extreamly evident from many Demonstrations, but by none more fully dis-anull'd than the remaining Pieces of Sawn Stone, which lying up and down upon the Sand about the Pyramid, sufficiently convince a thinking Man, that they were dug no farther off, than from the solid Rocks not many Foot below the Surface of the Desart.

SOME Stones, and those not seldom met with, near the top of this amazing Structure, are no less than five and twenty, often thirty Foot in length, and depth proportionable: It is a wonderful but very pleasant and engaging Prospect, to observe the Art and strange Oeconomy, whereby this mighty Pyramid, was built so loftily.
To be ascended on the out-side.

You may ascend it gradually on the external Sides, or Steps, which lead you safely to the Summit of the Building.

The Architecture of the Pyramids.

ABOUT the bottom of the Pyramid, there runs a strong degree of Stone, near five Foot high and four in breadth, upon the inner Edges of which round Degree is plac'd another, somewhat smaller, upon that a third, yet smaller than the second, on that third a fourth, still leaning inwards more and more, as it advances in its Altitude, and growing less and less, till at the top thereof, it forms a Square, consisting of three several Stones, close knit together, in the compass of about fifteen or sixteen Foot of English Measure.

The Form thereof, and number of the Steps.

THUS are the four Sides, for I shou'd have inform'd you, that the Pyramid is Quadrilateral, encompass'd by above two hundred of these vast Degrees or Steps, of different Height and Magnitude, which appear like long and narrow Walking Places, but are now so much decay'd by Time and Weather, that it is a dangerous Trial to attempt ascending, but in certain Places, where the Stones continue firm, unbroken, and of promising Appearance.

The Founder of the greatest Pyramid.

THIS Pyramid is said to have been built by Cheops, King of Egypt, who by that Amusement, kept his Subjects from the dangerous Rust of a Rebellious Idleness, and erected for himself a Mausolaeum so prodigious, that it has already stood almost four thousand Years, and may, according to the Dictates of undoubted probability, continue near as long again, before 'tis ruin'd.

How long in Building.

SO vast was the Command, and great the Labour, requisite to carry on so strange an Undertaking, that for the space of twenty Years, there were employ'd about the building it, above three hundred, threescore thousand constant Workmen.

The second Pyramid.

THE Stones, whereof the second Pyramid is built, are white, and shining, not to be ascended on the out-side, which is very smooth, and has its sides extreamly equal.
By whom built.

This Pyramid, as Herodotus and some other Writers tell us, was Originally built by Cephron, Brother to King Cheops the Great Founder of the former.

The third Pyramid.

THE third, unfinish'd Pyramid, is built of a fine, hard, bright, white and clearer kind of Stone than either of the rest, which some, tho' groundlessly, affirm to have been brought, from the remotest Mountains of the sultry Aethiopia.

'TIS more than probable, this Fable sprang from those Old Writers Observations of a mighty quantity of Theban Marble, not unlike the Product of an Aethiopian Quarry, which now lies in heaps, not far from this third Pyramid, and with which Stone, perhaps, they anciently design'd to cover it, but were prevented by some Cause, which God alone is capable of telling us.

The several Persons, said to be its Founders.

THERE go almost an Hundred different Stories, of the Founding of this Pyramid, some say, 'twas built by Macerinus Son to Cheops King of Egypt; some say by Dorica a Courtezan or Harlot; some again make mention of another famous Strumpet, Aesop's Fellow Slave, call'd Rhodope, who, when grown Rich by frequent Prostitution, built this Pile to eternize her Memory.

A Pleasant Story of the Building a Pyramid.

ANOTHER Story gives a strange Romantic Air to the Original hereof, and tells us how the late-nam'd Rhodope, Inhabiting the City of Naucretis, went one Day to Wash and Bath herself in a delightfull Fountain, in the Middle of her Garden, and that leaving all her Cloathes upon the Verdant Brink, a sharp-Ey'd Eagle seiz'd upon her Shooe and bearing it aloft, Flew out of Sight, nor staid a Moment, till he came to Memphis, where he drop'd it in the Lap of Amasis, then King of Egypt, who surpriz'd at the Extraordinary event, and pleas'd extreamly with the shape and Beauty of the Lady's Shooe, gave Orders instantly, that strict enquiry shou'd be made about his Kingdom, for the Owner of it, who at last, was found, and being brought to Memphis, was immediately declar'd the Wife of Amasis, with whom she Reign'd for many Years, as Queen of Egypt, and upon her Death, receiv'd a Stately Mark of his Affection to her Person, in the Orders, which he gave for the erecting over her so fine a Monument.

The Remoter Pyramids.

THERE are but very few of the Remoter Pyramids, whose forms or magnitude deserve the Trouble of a Strangers Observation, yet have all been closely shut from Age to Age, whereby the wisest Writers of Antiquity itsself, have been enabled to report no more, than what they guess'd at Randam, or receiv'd Traditionally from the vulgar notions.

Shut close in all Ages.

I know not why the Entrances of all the Pyramids, (the great one only still excepted) were originally clos'd against the view of an Adventurous Curiosity, nor by what strange means they have so many Ages 'scap'd Discovery, from the Ingenious Scrutinies, and nice Inspections of our later Ancestors, or the Refin'd and more Polite Inhabitants of Egypt, when converted to the Doctrine of the Christian Faith.

The Superstition of the People, the cause thereof.

BUT 'twill be nothing difficult to guess the Reason of their being still kept close, from the Establishment of Turkish Government, in that subverted Country; for as the ancient Nature of the true Egyptians, was defil'd extreamly with the Mud of Superstition, and exceeding prone to look on Omens, and all Insignificant and Idle Observations, as the sure Proclaimers of Portentous Prodigies, that senseless Vice or Humour has encreas'd of late, to double Folly, by the Curs'd Commixture of their own erroneous Principles, and the Delusive Superstitious Tenets of the fond Mahometans.

The Madness of Bigotted Zeal.

THIS Ill-contriv'd Conjunction of Ignoble Follies, kept back Inclination to the search of Knowledge, and to such amazing Height did their Resentment fly, when any Man, of whatsoever Quality he was, presum'd to offer at an Entrance of the Pyramids, that the desires, which some Bashaws of Cairo have thought fit to mention upon that account, have caus'd such Mutinies in the distracted Nation, as the Sword of Justice was too weak to Pacifie.

NOR will it be unpleasant to the Reader to inform himself of the Validity of their Traditions, by reflecting seriously upon the following notion, which till very lately, was esteem'd as Orthodox.

A pleasant Notion of the Egyptians, relating to Moses, and the Magicians.

THEY told such Travellers, as ask'd them, why the Entrances of every Pyramid but one, were clos'd so strongly, That the Sorcerer Moses, for it seems, they so distinguish'd that Illustrious Prophet, having wasted Egypt by Ten Grievous Plagues, their Great Magicians vainly strove to check the Mischiefs, he design'd and did them.

The Ten Plagues of Egypt, imprison'd in the Pyramids.

BUT at last, when tedious Practices of vain Experiments convinc'd them plainly of their want of Power, to stand unshock'd against the Miracles, the Hebrew shew'd them, they resolv'd to try another way; and finding it impossible to hurt the Person of the hated Moses, they invented strange and admirable Talismans, whereon, by fixing certain Hieroglyphic Characters, and shutting them securely up within the Pyramids, they instantly found means to free themselves from all those Plagues, superior Power had brought upon them.

AND hence, the Superstitious Natives of this Country, believing, those vast Piles, lock'd in their Miseries, prohibited the opening any of the Pyramids, least on admission of excluded Air, the Charms upon the Talismans shou'd lose their Power, and all the Plagues rush out again, and overwhelm the Nation with impetuous Violence.

A resolute Bashaw of Cairo.

HOWEVER, notwithstanding the Antiquity and Strength of this Egyptian Superstition, some Years since, when I was happily at Cairo, there arriv'd a new Bashaw from Constantinople, a Man of an uncommon Share of Courage and Ambition, eagerly desirous of encreasing Knowledge, and with pleasure snatching every Opportunity, which offer'd a Temptation to his swelling Curiosity.

THIS Man, who knew full well the Power, he was Master of, and scorn'd to fear the Insults of a poor unthinking Mob, which he was sent to Govern, fram'd a bold and sudden Resolution to inform himself immediately, by the convincing Proofs of Ocular Demonstration, of the various Wonders and surprizing Strokes of Art, which he had often heard discours'd of, on occasionally mentioning the Pyramids of Egypt.

A Journey to the Pyramids.

NO sooner was his Resolution spread abroad, than he perceiv'd a thousand Marks of Discontent and Anger in the Common People; but despising those effects of Ignorance and Folly, he prepar'd convenient Instruments of every kind, and ordering a necessary number of his Servants to attend his Person, took a Journey to these famous Pyramids, in order to observe the nature of their Buildings, and procure himself a great and lasting Satisfaction, in the wish'd for Pleasure of some new Discoveries.

NOR fell he short in his expected ends of going thither, and as the Discoveries, he made, were such, as never yet were told the World, it will not be unwelcome, since my self and five more Christian Travellers were suffer'd to accompany him, if I here particularize the gradual advances, which, with curious notice of the most minute, or great remark, then led us leisurely thro' every part of that stupendious Fabrick.

The Entrance of the greatest Pyramid.

ARRIVING at the Place, where stands the great and first nam'd Pyramid, we all ascended a steep Hill of Sand, near forty Foot in height, upon the Northern side thereof, which brought us to the Entrance, a Dark Hole, not four Foot broad, nor in its height exceeding such a Measure, so that it appear'd design'd for the reception of a Stone to close that Mouth, and so prevent the Times to come, from aiming at the Knowledge of those silent Mansions of imperious Death, whose undisturb'd and darksom Hollows kept the Bodies of departed Majesty.

A noisome narrow Passage.

WE enter'd after certain Guides, who undertook our Conduct thro' this dismal Passage, and descended, as upon the steepness of some narrow Hill, almost one hundred Foot before we reach'd the bottom, and were all that while oblig'd to stoop, or rather crawl along with Torches in our Hands, annoy'd extreamly by the suffocating heat and closeness of the Place, but more by certain black and dreadful Batts, a kind of Bird, whose Shape is frightful, and her Wings like Leather, flying up and down, and oftentimes with dangerous Violence repuls'd, by striking on the Heads or Faces of such Travellers, as entering there, must necessarily encounter them.

An open space.

THE bottom of this close and gloomy way admits us to a Place, considerably broad, and of an height, which frees us from the great uneasiness of stooping for a Passage; all the Stones about this space are broken and irregular, but yet appear to have been render'd so by force, because not answerable in Proportion, or Politeness to the universal Harmony, which crowns the other Building.

The first Gallery of the Pyramid.

FROM hence we were oblig'd to clamber up an huge and massy kind of Stone, near ten Foot high, which brought us to the entrance of the lowest Gallery, whose Pavement, of a polish'd white and shining Marble, gently rises with a smooth acclivity; the breadth thereof was near five Foot, the height a little more, the Sides and Roof were flagg'd with Stones, of an unpolish'd, rough, and softer Substance than the Marble of the Pavement; the height of this first Gallery, exceeded, rather than fell short of six score Foot of English Measure.

THIS Gallery was terminated by a very thick and solid Wall, thro' which a Hole, about the bigness of the first, by which we entred to the Pyramid, admitted us directly to another Gallery, of very fine and stately Workmanship, but in its length inferior to the former;
A very dreadful horrid Well.

hence we entred on an open space, which led us to the Brink of a most dreadful Well, a strange Descent of such forbidding horror in its black appearance, that the very apprehensions of its Depth and Danger, has for many Ages frightned the desire of Curious Men, from even aiming at a further Satisfaction, than by passing hastily along its edges, to attain the entrance of another Passage, leading to Apartments, which I shall describe hereafter: Here we stop'd, and by direction from the Grand Bashaw, who was himself amongst us with a lighted Torch, surrounded the Descent, whose Mouth was near three Yards in its Diameter.

The Bottom how discovered.

THE Light, occasion'd by so many Torches, was by far too weak to penetrate the thickness of this gloomy Place, so that finding it impossible by their Assistance, to perceive the bottom of the Well, we stood by, we contriv'd to cast in certain Balls of Oakam, dipt in Pitch or other fit bituminous Ingredients, to prepare them for the blazing Offices, they might be put to.

THESE Balls, once set on fire and thrown down, discover'd, at the bottom of the Pit, a strange disorder'd heap of Sand and Rubbish; it was near ten Yards in depth, and had no Stairs, whereby Descent had formerly been made, but certain Hollows, cut like Pidgeon-Holes, quite round the inside of the Well, directed those, who would think fit to venture down, to use promiscuously their Hands and Feet, and so enable them to satisfy their Curiosity, without great danger to their Persons.

How clear'd from Rubbish.

REVOLVING Ages of continued Time had Rob'd this Well of a considerable Depth, by filling up great part with Sand and Stones, by Accident thrown thither, but this weak Obstacle the Resolute Bashaw found present means to render void, by making several of his Men descend and Dig away, whate'er they met with (Stone excepted) which by some above, was instantly drawn up in little Baskets, and by those means a free Passage open'd to the solid Bottom of this Rocky Hollow.

A new Discovery at the Bottom of a Well.

THERE the Well grows vastly larger, and in Circular extent is dug on every side much deeper, in the same degree (to use an ordinary Comparison) as is the Body of a common Bottle to the Neck thereof; this great Additional extent of space is Grac'd, far rather than supported, by a Stately Circle of fine Pillars of Thebaic Marble, or at least a Stone, not much unlike it: And in the Center of the Circle, which those Pillars form, there stands an ancient Monument, the Tomb perhaps of that great Architect, who built the Pyramid.

A Tomb found there.

THE Tomb exceeds not much six Foot in Length; its Breadth is hardly four, appearing hewn from the Main Rock, but cover'd with a flat of Polish'd Marble, on the top whereof, as on the sides of the whole Tomb, were strangely carv'd a Thousand Hieroglyphic Images and odd Devices.

A Wooden Coffin in it.

WE found it no great labour to remove the Stone, which cover'd the Sepulchre, and were much amaz'd, when, contrary to expectation, we beheld therein a Wooden Coffin, or at least appearing to be Wood by Touch and Figure.

UPON the Coffin Lid were represented, in a kind of Inlaid gilt Work, the distinct and several Figures following.

Hieroglyphics on the Coffin Lid.

AN Eagle first appear'd upon a sort of Throne, supported by four Wing'd Faces, not unlike the notions, we conceive of Cherubims; but by their swelling Cheeks and blustering Breath, sent forth four different ways, I rather guess they were at first, design'd to represent the four great Winds of Heaven.

THE Eagle with severe and sullen aspect lookt directly at a Man, who held in his Right Hand a pair of Compasses, and had his Left extended in a form, which represented him demanding Mercy, while half sinking in an opening Gulph, which loosening likewise the Foundations of a Towring Pyramid, which stood before him; that also seem'd just Tumbling after him, kick'd downward by the Foot of an old Man, whose Right Hand held a Scyth, while with his Left he drew along a Cloud, which he appear'd designing to throw over both the Man and Pyramid, thereby to cover their appearance in a thick obscurity.

The meaning of them.

NOW among the many Hieroglyphic Images, whereby the Old Egyptians represented GOD, they often chose the Eagle in regard to the sharp Sightedness, that Bird is fam'd for, as an Emblem to express his Attribute of sure Omniscience, as the four Winds there plac'd, were meant to represent the vast extent of his unbounded Power, over every Corner of the World, the Winds can blow upon.

THE Eagle's looking so severely on the falling Man, may probably denote God's anger at the Pride and Vanity, wherewith he had indulg'd his Merits, on the Building that huge Fabrick, which appear'd before him;
The Authors Opinion, whose the Tomb was.

for I take this sinking Man to have been done, for the Great Architect of the Egyptian Pyramids.

THE tumbling of the Pyramid I guess to signify, that tho' the Builder perish'd first, yet even the strongest Master Pieces of his artful Labour must succeed him in a sure, tho' slower Downfall; and to shew that nothing, tho' of never so stupendious Strength and Grandeur, can resist the Shocks of powerful Time. Old Time himself there represented, spurning down the Building, spreads a Cloud of Darkness over it, to prove that he is not alone enabled to destroy the pompous Pageantries of Human Ostentation, but to bury even the Memory of their o'erthrown Existence in a black Obscurity.

SO that, if I may be allow'd to have guess'd right, in the Interpretation of these Hieroglyphic Figures, they'll be found to signify as much, as if in Common Characters, we should set down the following Sentences.

The Hieroglyphic Word for Sense Translated.

Almighty God, whose undisputed Power extends it self to East, North, West and South, and every Corner of the spacious Ʋniverse, Sees and despises Human Insolence, for while Men vainly think to Raise themselves beyond Mortality, by some proud Ʋndertaking, they are overthrown by time, and buried with their Labours, in a dusky Cloud of ever dark Oblivion.

FROM these perswasive Circumstances, I profess my self induc'd to think this Monument contain'd the Body, as I said before, of him, who built this wond'rous Pyramid:
The Coffin broke open.

But perhaps the Reader will be more inclinable to that Opinion, when I tell him that the Coffin, by Command of the Bashaw, was with great difficulty forcibly broke open by the Blows of Pick-Axes, and that we found therein the undiminish'd Body of a perfect Man, Embalm'd, and wrap'd about with many thousand folds of Aromatic Searcloth, like the Mummies, which I shall at large describe in the seven and thirtieth Chapter.

A Mummy found in it, with Hieroglyphics on his Breast.

THOSE Folds, wherewith his Breast was cover'd, seem'd to have been varnish'd over with a lasting kind of glewy Liquor, upon which were represented all the various sorts of Instruments, us'd of old by the Professors of encourag'd Architecture.

WHEN we had seen as much as we coul'd possibly discover, in the Tomb, the Body was again enclos'd, as it had been before; and the abovenam'd Marble Cover plac'd again upon the Sepulchre;
A further search of new Discoveries.

from whence we went about the Circle, in the midst of which we found the Monument, to try, if we could find no Passage, that might lead us on to new Discoveries of something, which we then began to form strong hopes of meeting with.

Moral Reflections.

METHOUGHTS the strange disorder'd heaps of Dust and broken Stones, o'er which we walk'd, and the uncertainty we had, of knowing, when those massy Piles were built, and to what Founder they have ow'd their Origin, then struck me deeply with a melancholy Thought, and often brought to my remembrance the Reflections of an Old Greek Poet, on the arbitrary Power, which Time's Prerogative entitles him to exercise o'er frail Mortality.

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The length of Time shocks Monuments of Stone,

Even I'm it self must Time's Dominion own;

All Things on Earth his Powerful Rule obey,

And fall before his Arm, in one appointed way.

A Stone Door.

WE walk'd sometime about the Place, and with our Torches narrowly inspected every thing, we pass'd by, till at last we spy'd a Door of Stone, so closely shut, and joyning with the Wall, that 'twas not easily distinguish'd from it; here, believing we should meet with somewhat, worth our Observation, several Men were order'd to come forward, and employ their Pick-Axes and other Instruments in forcing open this discover'd Place, which seem'd to offer us no other hopes of gaining Entrance.

Broke open.

'TWAS not without much difficulty, that the Arts, they us'd, at last prevail'd; the Door flew open with a mighty violence, and caus'd a sort of frightful Sound, as sudden as a Thunder Clap; but what was most remarkable, was, that the Hinges, upon which it turn'd, were all of Stone, the Joynts contriv'd with an amazing Ingenuity, to knit together close and admirably, held by certain strong and clumsy Iron Pins, whereby they were for ever hinder'd from all possibility of accidental loosning.

Dangerous Vapours.

I know not, how so dry a place, as this, contain'd such damp and noxious Vapours, as at the surprizing opening of the Door above-nam'd, presently extinguish'd several Torches, and struck dead, for some considerable time, two sturdy Labourers, who were foremost of the Company.

FOREWARN'D by the Example of these Men, we cautiously proceeded to inspect the entrance of a dismal Cavity, and that we might the better see the nature of the Place, cast in before us many of the Balls, I lately spoke of, which, by flaming greatly, did not only clear the Prospect of that gloomy Passage, but diffus'd an efficacious kind of Warmth,
How dissipated.

which, dissipating soon the hurtful Vapours, or unwholesome Closeness of the Place, encourag'd us to enter with our lighted Torches.

The Discovery of many subterraneous Chambers.

WE advanc'd with equal Pleasure and Amazement thro' a very lofty, broad, arch'd way, on either side whereof were hewn Elaborately from the solid Rock, great numbers of square Chambers, every one of which had small low Benches, carv'd quite round it; and in some, appear'd large Niches of an exquisite Contrivance, but convincing, or at least inducing us to think, they were design'd for other Ʋses, by their not retaining any Marks of having ever held the Burden of a Statue.

Hieroglyphic Figures.

UPON the Sides, Floor, Roof, and the above-nam'd Benches, we discover'd plainly certain ancient Hieroglyphics, most of which were unintelligible, or at least extreamly difficult to all our Apprehensions.

SOME however, I took pains to think upon, and flatter'd my Belief with the Opinion, that I could Interpret their Significations, and among the rest it may not be unpleasant, should I mention One, for the Diversion of the Reader.

First Figure.

NEAR half a Foot above the Bench, the Hieroglyphic took beginning in the figure of an Infant, sleeping in a Cradle on the lowermost Stair of Ten, which reaching to the Roof upon the uppermost supported an Old Man, extreamly feble in his Aspect, bending with the Weight of Age and Misery, and seeming ready to fall down and die immediately.

Second Figure.

A Man, who seem'd to be of Middle Age, was represented on the sixth or seventh Step, his left Hand full of certain Chains, in number equal to the Stairs, he had ascended; to the respective ends of each long Chain, were fastned many things like Globes, of different sizes; his right Hand seem'd with eagerness employ'd, in grasping many other Chains, as he ascended further.

These Figures, what design'd to represent.

THE Stairs, which, as I said before, were Ten in number, were intended (as I guess'd) to represent the Ten Great Stages of our human Life, which very rarely goes beyond one hundred Years: The Child there sleeping in a Cradle on the lowest Stair, I take to signify the ten first Years of helpless Infancy: The Weak Old Man was Lifes great Period, and the utmost Age of frail Mortality.

THE Man of Middle Age, upon the sixth or seventh Stair, was nothing, but an Emblem of our Mortal Life, 'twixt Theescore Years and Seventy: The Chains with Globes of different sizes, fastned to one end, which he endeavour'd eagerly to grasp, as he ascended, signifi'd no more than that a Man, who Travels toward Old Age, should make good use of every Moment, in collecting Knowledge, and retaining it with resolution;
How the old Egyptians in Hieroglyphics, represented Wisdom.

for the Old Egyptians represented Wisdom by the Hieroglyphic Figure of a Globe or Circle, to denote that it was boundless, and the different Magnitudes of all those Balls express'd the great variety of Worth in Arts and Sciences.

THE Application therefore of this Hieroglyphical Contrivance, seems conspicuous to my probably mistaken Judgement, which, by putting the abovenam'd Thoughts together, fram'd immediately the following Interpretation of the dubious Emblem.

The Interpretation of the Hieroglyphic.

He, who will hope to reach a good Old Age, and bear the Weaknesses and great Infirmities, 'tis always subject to, must never fail in every Stage of Life, he passes thro', to gather Wisdom and improve his Mind with Learning and Morality.

Moral Reflections.

AND excellently Good is the Advice, this admirable Hieroglyphic gives Mankind; how heavily and full of sorrow sits Old Age, on that unhappy Wretch, who in the fruitless Journey of his growing Life, has still omitted all his Opportunities of laying up the Treasure, of a serious Contemplation, or improv'd Capacity, whereby to soften the unpleasant harshness of the Burthen, Time mispent has laid upon his Shoulders.

BUT the Wiser Man, who never knew to live in vain, but daily gathers an encreasing Stock of Learning and Discretion, to enrich the dry and barren Soil, Old Age must bring him to, will never feel the Stings of Ignorance and discontented Solitude; but, when he finds himself decay'd in Strength of Body, can reflect with Solon on the Vertues of his Mind, and banish Grief in the transporting Repetition of the following Sentence.

A Saying of Solon.

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'Tis true, I grow more Old, but if I do,

As I wax Older, I wax Wiser too.

THE Reader must not blame me for presuming to Interpret the abovenam'd Hieroglyphics, since the wonderful variety of Fancy, they afford a Subject for, gives scope enough to every Man's Opinion, and the dubious Meaning, cloak'd in their Disguise, may very easily mislead our Judgment.

A Passage stop'd with Rubbish.

AFTER we had pass'd with gradual Advances, from one Chamber to another, we arriv'd at last, at what repuls'd our eager Curiosity, tho' probably it was not anciently the uttermost Extent of those strange subterraneous Hollows; there we found the Passage quite choak'd up with Stones and Rubbish, nor cou'd force an entrance any farther, tho' we zealously endeavour'd by an universal Labour to remove the Obstacle.

Several Opinions on the use, the Caverns were design'd for.

GOD only knows, how these vast heaps of Dirt and Ruins came Originally there, and what remains unseen behind them; possibly there may be found in future Times, some wonderful Conveyances for Water, as the common Notion seems inclin'd to credit, or perhaps these Chambers were design'd of old for Tombs; or probably they were the Habitations of a kind of ancient Priests, who liv'd the Life of a secluded Votary, or melancholy Hermit, in or near the doleful Monument of some Great Prince, or Man of Honour, and had all the Necessaries of their Life provided daily by the Legacies of the Deceas'd.

The Author's own Opinion.

INDEED I am the most inclinable to a Belief of this last Guess, for many Reasons; two especially, the first, because the numerous Hieroglyphics, carv'd upon the Rocks, have been such, as seem to 'em fansy'd for the Contemplation of Religious Persons, and because, had all those Places been design'd for the conveying Water from the River Nilus, Hieroglyphic had been certainly a very odd, and needless Ornament.

Its Reasons.

AND secondly, because without the Pyramids in many Places, still remain the rows of Caves, hewn deeply in the Rocks, where formerly the superstitious Priests of Egypt us'd to dwell, employ'd in several different Services in the Romantic Offices of their Religion.

WHATE'ER they be, we found the utmost of our Labour vainly spent in hopes of gaining further Knowledge, so return'd again the way, we had descended, till we came to the beforenam'd rugged Place, which brought us to the brink of the deep Well, I have been speaking of.

A Passage leading to a Square, within the Pyramid.

ASCENDED from the Well, we went directly forward, and exactly in a Line with the before-nam'd second Gallery, we entred a small Neck or Passage, scarce five Yards in length, and very narrow; this admitted us to a large Square, a little finer than the former, but in Magnitude not far exceeding it; the Stones whereof 'tis built, are so extreamly large, and yet so wonderfully closely Jointed, that the nicest Eye can scarce distinguish, where abouts they join together; and it is the mighty Size of those prodigious Stones, and the Politeness of their Workmanship, that yields such cause for Travellers Amazement, when they see the Fabrick of those towring Pyramids.

The dimensions of the Square.

WE found this Square no less than near an hundred Foot, and thence proceeded to a vaulted Chamber, sixteen Foot in height, near twenty long, and eighteen broad or thereabouts; the Stones, which flagg the angled Roof of this large Chamber, are of admirable smoothness and surprizing magnitude; but all the Walls are plaister'd over with a Limy Substance, wonderfully firm, and not inferior even to Stone it self, for its appearance or duration.

A Niche in the Wall.

JUST equidistant from the Eastern Angles of this Room, and on that side thereof, we found a kind of hollow Niche, which seem'd at first to have been made to hold some Statue, as an Ornament or Idol, but upon a nice Inspection, we imagin'd, it was possible, there might be something of a Passage into other undiscover'd Chambers of the Pyramid, whereupon the Men had Orders to endeavour by their Instruments, to find it out.

A new Descent discover'd.

BY Thrusting in their Iron Betties, where they thought the Joints a little of the Widest, they found means to force out a large Stone, which stop'd a Hole, near three Foot Square, and open'd to the view of all the Company a narrow shelving Passage, leading downwards with a dismal Gloominess.

And Enter'd.

WE Entred, and Descended, strangely struck with Grave-like Smells, and dusty odours, there was cut a Passage down, by certain Stairs, whose Winding Turns, and Labyrinth of changes led us on with wonderfull surprize, and eager curiosity, till we imagin'd, we had gone almost the Height of all the Pyramid below its Bottom. All the way was Hewn laboriously from the Rock it self, and commonly so very low and narrow, that but one cou'd possibly go down full-breasted, and that one was forc'd to stoop with incommodious Forwardness.

A Vaulted Passage, under Ground.

THE Bottom of these Stairs at last, admitted us to a low Vaulted Passage, strait but narrow, which continu'd in one form, for a considerable way together, letting in a Glimmering Light, which look'd like Day, thro certain little Holes, of almost undistinguishable size and Workmanship.

A strange Ascent.

IN all the Horrour and Amazement possible, from the surprizing oddness of the Place, we Walk'd in, we proceeded, till we found the straitness of the Passage terminated by another Winding Stair-Case, leading upwards, in as strange a manner as the other downwards.

The Passage Clos'd.

WE Ascended here, and found no difference in Form or Magnitude, between this Passage and the former, till we perceiv'd it clos'd by certain Massy Stones above our Heads, and several other, on each side the Stair-Case.

HERE we stop'd, and for a while amus'd our selves with strange Reflections on the Nature of the Place, and Thoughts, which way we might get out, without returning the same Road, we came; some Passage out, we were assur'd, there was, else cou'd not comprehend the use of all those steps, by which we had ascended.

A Moveable Stone Discover'd.

AT last, some Men, belonging to the Great Bashaw, and famous Masters of the Art of Architecture, as in Fashion in the Eastern Countries, looking earnestly about the Place, perceiv'd one Stone, much smaller than the rest, and by the Application of their Irons, after many fruitless efforts, found it stir, and by repeated Labours, so prevail'd at last, that they quite lifted it from out the Place, it stood in, and by forcible addition of a doubled strength, quite thrust it from the Hole, it stop'd.

A Storm of Sand.

BUT we had little reason to be pleas'd with this success, for in the very Moment, that the Stone was lifted out, there Showr'd down on us such Impetuous Tides of Rolling Sand, that in the space of half a Minute, we were almost Buried Quick, and wholly overwhelm'd with its amazing violence.

NO sooner was this Sandy Storm, and our surprize thereat abated, but we open'd all our Eyes; and found our selves half Swallow'd by it, yet those Men, who stood the nearest to the Hole, perceiv'd it wider at the Top than Bottom, and the Stone, which fill'd it, being likewise so, had serv'd to stop it up effectually, and till then, prevented all that Sand, which lay upon it from a possibility of Entrance.

The Author and his Company rise, without the Pyramid.

ON either side the Hole, and Rock below it, there were cut Square Nooks, wherein by thrusting Hands and Feet, a Man, without great difficulty, might ascend, and by those means we all got up, in order as we stood, and were beyond belief surpriz'd, not only to behold an open Sky, which plainly shew'd us, that we were without the Pyramid, but to perceive our selves within a Spacious Hollow on the lofty Head of that great Rock, which Pliny, and the other Writers of Antiquity, distinguish by the Name of Sphynx.

Plinys Opinion of the Sphynx.

THE Author, just abovenam'd, wou'd perswade us to believe, that 'twas the Sepulchre of Amasis King of Egypt, and of his Opinion are most Modern Writers, who have had occasion in their Books to mention it.

The Authors Dissent from it.

FOR my part I must own, my Inclination leads me to dissent from the belief, that it was ever meant for that Employment, I am rather Tempted to imagine, it was anciently an Idol, from the hollow of whose Head, the Priests deceiv'd the Common People, as they thought convenient.

And the Causes thereof.

AND, indeed, to what end else, were those strange Subterraneous Passages contriv'd, which lead from the Great Pyramid, and Caves adjoining, formerly the Habitations of a Superstitious Priesthood? Why, (but for this cause) shou'd they have Carv'd the Rock, 'tis made of, like an Aethiopian Virgin? or why else have made the Head so hollow, and the Passages thereto so very Secret?

Why call'd a Sphynx.

'TWAS call'd a Sphynx, because from the Breasts upwards, it was said to represent a Virgin, and a Lyon from the Bosom downwards; If there ever was the Lyons shape belonging to it, Hills of Sand have cover'd its Appearance, for there now remains no more above the Surface, than the Head and Neck, and something of Foundation, which those Men, who please, may take for Shoulders.

Its Situation, and Dimensions.

IT stands on the East side of the great Pyramid, but very little distant from it, its Height exceeds not Seventy Foot, and is defac'd extreamly by the violence of those Bigotted Turks, who hating Images, believe it meritorious, to abolish the Remembrance of their very Being.

How decay'd by time.

THE Arabs call it Abul-hol-hon, and express a Satisfaction in the hopes, they have conceiv'd, that it will shortly fall, by reason of the Weakness of the Neck, decay'd extreamly by the Shocks of Time, and frequent Tempests from the Neighb'ring Desarts, whence the Winds, from time to time, blow storms of Sand, and thence came that, which so unwellcomely invaded us, when first we forc'd the Passage open.

They return to the Pyramid.

WE plac'd the Stone, as we had found it, by the strength of certain Men, whom the Bashaw oblig'd to stay above on purpose, and re-enter (by the common way) the Pyramid we were returning to; we fastned in the Stone, belonging to the Niche, and going back to the abovenam'd Well, began to climb another Passage, not far from it.

A Gracefull Gallery.

THIS brought us to a Gracefull Gallery, of six and twenty Foot in height, still rising with a very smooth, but somewhat steep, and difficult Acclivity. This Gallery is almost Seven Foot broad, and Bench'd with solid Seats of Stone, near two Foot high, on either side, and Flagg'd with Stone, politely join'd, and of a Magnitude, almost surpassing Credit. 'Tis in Length one Hundred, Fifty and odd Feet, and leads, where it Terminates, to two Large round 〈◊〉 Stately Chambers, opening into one another, and indented Square and certain Nooks, which seem to have been form'd for sitting Places.

A Chamber with a Tomb in it

HENCE a square and Marble Passage, brought us to the Entrance of the middle Room, the loftiest, most amazing, and prodigious Building of the Pyramid, the Chamber, which contains the Tomb of him, who built it, thought, as I have said before, to be King Cheops, an Egyptian Monarch.

The amazing dimensions of the Chamber.

THE length of this vast Room, is five and thirty English Feet, the breadth a little more than seventeen, the height within an Inch or two of twenty, and the Sides, Roof, Floor and every Part thereof, flagg'd richly with fine glittering Tables, of Thebaick Marble, so prodigiously extensive, that the Place is roof'd by nine great Squares thereof, and all the Sides are flagg'd by six vast rows of equal Magnitude, and Beauty inexpressibly surprizing.

Description of the Tomb.

A little distant from the Western Side of this great Chamber, stands the Monument, I just now mention'd, 'tis about seven Foot in length, three deep, and thereabouts in breadth; 'tis empty and uncover'd, and consists of one entire Piece of admirable Porphyry, which being struck by any Swordhilt, Stone, or other solid Body, yields a sound, not much inferior to the Tone of some great Bell in Christian Churches.

A further Passage.

FROM hence, a Passage leads you steeply to some other Chumbers, none deserving a particular Description; and continuing to ascend, as far as possible, we search'd in vain for more Discoveries, and at last descended by the way, we came.

How the Top is to be ascended.

THE Top must be ascended from without, and is not, what it seems to be (by reason of the distance) from below, a Point; but an exact and perfect Square, of fourteen Foot, which space three single Stones contain, join'd artfully together, and all over cover'd with the Names of Travellers, of every Nation, there cut deep, and left to tell succeeding Comers, they were there before 'em.

Other Pyramids enter'd.

MANY of the other Pyramids, besides the two adjoining this, we enter'd, finding Tombs in every one, and several things, worth speaking of, but shou'd I name them all, it wou'd require a greater Space, than I can here allow my self, and having therefore largely treated of the most remarkable Discoveries, we made, let it suffice to tell the Reader, that I have some Thoughts of publishing a Treatise, of these famous Pyramids, unmix'd with any other Observations, when the World's Good-nature speaks it self deserving, or my own spare Time appears permitting it.

The uncertainty of their Number.

THE Number of the Pyramids was ever, as uncertain, as their Founders and Antiquity, nor are they all of the same Magnitude, some being far inferior to the smallest of the Three so celebrated; yet perhaps, were those away, the meanest of the little ones wou'd well deserve the Name of Wonders.

Extent of their Situation.

THEY extend themselves in great unequal Distances, for near the space of twenty Miles, and may be seen at large from the square Flat upon the highest Pyramid; but whether it proceeds from any difficulty, owing to their strange Position, or is caus'd by the unwary Negligence of those, who strive to count 'em, I am yet uncertain, but it has been found, as much impossible to do it justly, as to tell the Monuments of Stonehenge, upon Salisbury Plain: a Task, most English Writers have reported difficult.

How many little Pyramids the Author told, from the top of the great one.

I look'd as nicely, as I cou'd direct my Eyes, from the abovenam'd Place, and cou'd distinctly tell no more than five and twenty: Other Authors have reported them an hundred; many Modern Writers say, there are but eighteen, or at most, but twenty.

A probable Cause, of the different Accounts on this Subject.

WHENCE these different Accounts shou'd rise, I cannot guess, unless a kind of Foggy Weather, often known in Egypt, might obscure the Prospect, at such times as those, who lessen the just Number of the Pyramids, have chanc'd to take their Observations.

A Question, how the Stones were rais'd.

IT is a Question, not a little curious, how the Ancients cou'd contrive to carry Stones, of such amazing Bulk, to such an Altitude, whereby the Fabrick was erected; and to this I answer, that I have collected all the Notions worth Remark,
To be answer'd in another Treatise.

which, with the Draughts of several fine Machines, and admirable Engines, I design to Publish, when I find this Book so well receiv'd, that Gratitude, not Recompense may urge me to the setting forth the Treatise, I so lately spoke of.

Why the Author is not fuller on this Subject.

I hope, the Reader will not think me blameable, in that I have not dwelt much longer on the Subject, since it was so copious to afford me Matter; those, who may imagine me too short, must certainly forget, how many Things I am to treat of, equally deserving Notice, and how much I shou'd out-swell the Volume, I propos'd, shou'd I enlarge to a Prolixity on every Subject, which afforded Room enough to bear that way of Writing.

CHAP. XXXV. Of the Trade of Egypt.

The Introduction.

A Conquer'd Nation must be Subject, among other Shocks of inauspicious Fate, to deviate from her Genius, as she dwindles from her Power, and the same destructive Hand, whose unresisted Violence has crush'd the Liberty of a subverted Country, may undoubtedly be said to triumph o'er the Minds of her unhappy Natives, when it has depress'd their Courage, and enslav'd their Persons.

Egypt brought to Turkish Customs.

AS therefore Egypt, wholly Subject to the Lawless Tyranny of an insulting Monarch, knows no wish'd partiality of Freedom, nor is suffer'd to possess peculiar Tolerations, it must consequently follow, that her fix'd Dependance on the Turkish Government, must strongly bend her Biass'd People in their Modern Slavery, to an encourag'd Practice of those very Customs, Forms, and Ceremonies, which are Publickly profess'd by their Imperious Masters.

Why the Egyptians love not Traffick.

HENCE the Reader, having long since been inform'd of the prevailing Genius, which has still inclin'd the Warlike Turks to never resting search of Conquests, will be apt to guess, that their Egyptian Subjects, aping eagerly their strange Example, cannot be inclin'd, or qualify'd indeed, for the encouragement of any thing, so different from the perpetual Hurries of fatiguing War, or Martial Studies, as the softer Practice of a Trading Life, and the less dangerous Rudiments of Peaceful Traffick.

Extreamly fond of War.

AMBITIOUS Aims and swelling Hopes, which take their Beings from a love of War, have chang'd this Nation, from her ancient Searches after Arts and Sciences, to an imperious disregard of every Vertue, not exerted in a Martial manner; Arms alone are the encourag'd White, they universally direct their tow'ring Shafts at, and a different Cause has now produc'd among them all the same effect, which animated gloriously the ancient World to scorn of Danger, and the Practices of War, which how esteem'd, may plainly be discover'd, in the numerous Writings of those early Ages, handed down to late Posterity, with a deserv'd Applause and universal Admiration, particularly in the following Verses of Tyrtaeus, a Greek Poet, flourishing about the thirty fifth Olympiad.

Tyrtaeus a Greek Poet, in the 35th Olympiad.

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The Quotation English'd.

I scarce can think, a Man deserves a Name,

Or can Regard from Fellow Creatures claim,

Not, tho' in Wrestling he is grown Compleat,

And Skill'd in all the Virtues of the Feet;

Not, tho' he boasts a Cyclops Strength and Grace,

Or can outrun the Northern Winds of Thrace;

Tho, in his Form he Tithon's self excells,

And midst such endless Heaps of Riches dwells,

As not King Cynara's, or Mida's Fate

Gave, in Possession of their wealthiest State;

Not, tho' he had more Pow'rful Kingdoms won,

Than e'er bless'd Pelops, Tantalus's Son;

Not, tho' more Music on his Accents hung,

Than ever grac'd the sweet Adrastu's Tongue;

Not, tho' he was with ev'ry Talent bless'd,

And all Heav'ns Gifts, but that of War possess'd;

Nor can He truly boast a Martial Soul,

Who cannot bravely stand, where Seas of Slaughter roll;

Who does not nobly scorn repeated Blows,

And dares not wish to Fight, surrounded by his Foes;

This is true Valour, and this Grace possess'd,

Of all Rewards, we aim at, is the best;

He's well adorn'd, who has such Actions done,

And that Youth richliest Drest, who his own Trophies won;

Hence Common Good to ev'ry City slows,

And ev'ry Subject some advantage knows;

He, who, amidst the Battle, grasps at Fame,

Forgets base Fear and a retreating Shame;

Who hazards Life on a contested Plain,

And bends his Soul to a content in Pain;

Who tempts his Right Hand Man to lose his Breath,

And yield, without one groan, to an approaching Death;

This is the Man, whose Praise shall echo far,

And speak him bravely fit for the great Toils of War.

YET is not Egypt wholly destitute of such Commodities, as,
Egypt not quite destiture of Trade.

notwithstanding all these disadvantages, entice the Merchant, to advent'rous search of profitable Traffick: which their Sea-Port Town of Alexandria is, in its Situation, so extreamly fit for;
The Manufactures of Egypt.

Thither once a Year repair the Gallies of the Turkish Sultan, loading first with Wood from the Black-Sea (a scarce Commodity in Egypt) and returning back, with many rich and costly Manufactures of Grand Cairo, and the Country round it, such as Drugs of excellent and noted Virtues in Medicinal Operations, fine Perfumes, the Skins of Beasts, peculiar to this Place, vast quantities of Dates, much larger, and of better tast than any other, Sugar Canes in great abundance, and a stately kind of Carpets, made at Cairo, in appearance richer, and by far more durable, than those, they make in any other Part of the Grand Signior's Empire.

What English Ships import from Egypt.

BESIDES these Merchandizes, which our English Ships have constant Trade with Egypt for, we often are supplied at easy Rates, with many of the rich and valuable Silks, and other Products of the Indian Countries, brought to Cairo by the Monthly Caravans, and thence exported, at convenient Opportunities, to every distant Part of Trading Christendom.

What they export to it.

BY way of Barter for the Merchandizes, we receive from thence, we load our Ships with nothing more than these Commodities (the Product of our own and Foreign Manufactures) which I have largely mention'd in the Chapter, treating of the Trade, at present carried on, between our Countrymen, and those of Turkey.

How the French, Dutch, and Venetians trade with Egypt.

THE French and Dutch both carry on a Trade with Egypt, but inferior much to that, we manage in the Port of Alexandria; but the Venetians deal for a peculiar kind of Ashes, made of Lime, calcin'd with the broad Leaves of certain low and spreading Herbs, which grow on the else Barren Desarts of this Country; of which, when they have us'd some Arts at home, in the refining and new moulding it, they make the famous Chrystal, and so celebrated Glasses, which are much esteem'd, and numerously sent about to every Part of Europe.

BEFORE I close this Chapter, 'twill not be digressive from the Subject, I am treating on, to tell the Etymology, from whence we give the Name to Paper.

Whence our Writing Paper took its Name.

THERE is a very common Herb, which grows in the Egyptian Marshes, call'd of old Papyrus Nilotica, from the Appellation of the River; 'tis a kind of stringly Leaf, of Filamental Substance, which the Ancients us'd to strip in Flakes, of which 'tis almost naturally compos'd, then spreading them upon a Board, they moisten'd them with certain Waters of a stiptic Composition, and by pressing them with weighty Instruments, so well enabled them to bear the Writing on, that they were us'd by all Men for that purpose, and compos'd most part of those unnumber'd Volumes in the Library of Philadelphus.

Why the Author is so short upon this subject.

'TIS needless to enlarge on the particulars of the abovenam'd Manufactures, hence exported, since they are not only long since extant in the lists of many Writers, but are now become Familiar to the Trading part of England, who alone are those, to whom a full Account thereof might even formerly have been imagin'd welcome.

CHAP. XXXVI. Of the Revenues of Egypt, and to what Ʋses they are Applied.

AS the unbounded Power of the Turkish Sultan Authorizes his Pretensions, to an undisputed sway in the Egyptian Government, so does it thence entitle him, to the Possession of a certain Annual income or Revenue,
The Revenue how gather'd in Egypt.

which is Rais'd, Collected, and in all kinds Manag'd (as I have before Related, in the other Parts of his Dominions) till deposited at Cairo in the Hands of the Bashaw, then Governing, as Viceroy, for the Turkish Empire.

How Employed.

THENCE, Guarded by proportion'd Bodies of the Standing Forces, kept in Egypt, it is severally employ'd to certain setled uses, and from Hand to Hand deliver'd carefully, in order to be us'd for the respective purposes, to which it was decreed, since first the Arms of the Victorious Selym made him Master of this Fertile Country.

A Calculation of the whole Revenue.

THE whole Revenue, as it has been Calculated justly by some late Inquirers, into the Condition of the Turkish Treasures, is no more than Eighteen Hundred Thousand Gold Chequins, that is Nine Hundred Thousand English Pounds a Year, and such a Sum is Annually rais'd, and distributed with great exactness, in the just proportions of the Three Divisions following.

The First Third, how dispos'd of.

THREE Hundred Thousand Pounds a Year are set apart, for the Possession of the Turkish Sultan, and deliver'd to the Care of certain chosen Regiments of Horse, whose Duty 'tis, to Guard it safely to Constantinople, and receiving a Discharge from the Lord Tefterdar or Treasurer, return, when they have left it in his Custody, to be employ'd according to the Will and Pleasure of his Master, the Grand Signior; sometimes it happens, that the Turkish Fleet, with formidable strength, is ready to depart from Egypt, at the time, wherein the Guards set forward with the Money, and in that Case, 'tis Embark'd on Board the Admiral, who saves the Soldiers their expected Trouble, and acquits them from their Charge at Alexandria, tho' this but rarely happens, and is found a very dangerous way, because the Treasure undefended by a Mighty Naval Force, would probably become a Prey, to the Industrious valour of the Christian Squadrons, ever Cruising on the Coasts of Turkey.

The second third, how dispos'd of.

THREE Hundred Thousand Pounds a Year are next appropriated, to defray the Charges of the numerous Offices, dependent on the Great Bashaw, and other necessary Uses in relation to the Posts, incumbent on such Men, as are deputed by, and thence subservient to the Great, Supream, and Arbitrary Monarch of the Conquer'd Egypt.

The last third, how apply'd.

THE Third Three Hundred Thousand Pounds a Year are still employ'd, in bearing the Expences of the many thousand zealous Pilgrims, who resort each Year with a Bigotted Faith, to the great Rendezvous at Cairo, whence they all set out with wonderful Devotion, and a superstitious Ignorance, in order to compleat the necessary Pilgrimage to Mecca, their False Prophet's Birth Place.

THESE three above-nam'd Uses are the only ones, to which the Turks apply the Sums, they gain from the Egyptian Tribute, nor is it lawful by the fix'd Decrees of the Grand Signior's Empire, that the Sums thence rising, should be any ways perverted to what Use soever, devious from the ends, to which they are appointed.

Why the Revenue is so small.

'TIS true, nine hundred thousand Pounds a Year are no great Income, from the Conquest of a Country, so exceeding famous for her known Fertility; that, when the Romans conquer'd her of old, she gain'd the Name of Granary to that successful Empire. But as Wealth decreases by a long continued Series of destractive War, 'tis no great wonder, if we now find Egypt far from the Capacity, of yielding such amazing heaps of Spoil and Plenty, as in ancient Ages bless'd the Plunder of Victorious Legions.

How the Turks make up the deficiency.

HOWEVER, tho' the Sum, exacted thence by the Grand Signior, is a smaller Burden than they well might bear, yet are the Turks so dexterously skill'd, in managing Authority, to the Advantage of their Purses, and their Master's Safety, that the vanquish'd Natives are not only crush'd, beyond all hopes of growing rich, but kept below the very possibility of framing, with the smallest shadow of Success, a dangerous Rebellion.

CHAP. XXXVII. Of the Egyptian Catacombs, and the Mummys, which are found in the Ancient Sepulchres of their Dead.

BY the foregoing Descriptions of Cairo, Memphis, Babylon, and the Stupendious Workmanship of those prodigious Pyramids, whose outward Magnitude, interior Passages, and subterraneous Cavities, have so deserv'dly stil'd them the Worlds Chief Wonder; the Curious Reader may have form'd a Notion, no ways disagreable, of the valuable Antiquities, whose still remaining Splendours speak amazingly, the former Grandeur of the Egyptian Nation.

The Antiquity of some of the Mummys.

I shall now proceed to give a strange, but true Account of those vast Catacombs, wherein the Old Egyptians were Embalm'd and Buried, and whose black, horrid Wombs do yet contain a formidable Proof, how long our Humane Bodies may preserve their Substance, when defended by the help of Art, from the destructive Power of a Natural Corruption: For in the dark Recesses of those Gloomy Caverns, to this Day remain unnumber'd Thousands of those very People, who liv'd and triumph'd o'er the Subject Israelites, before the Hand of GOD deliver'd that ungrateful Nation from their long Captivity.

'TIS a Curiosity, however Dangerous, extreamly Satisfactory for an Adventurous Traveller, to behold those Lifeless Bodies, which from Age to Age have been Interr'd in these surprizing Monuments, and bidding strong Defiance to the Course of Nature, remain untouch'd by piercing Putrefaction, and have for several Thousand Years, lain undisturb'd, entire and sound in every Part, nor will undoubtedly for many Ages yet to come, be any ways subject to the smallest Diminution.

The Extent of the Catacombs.

THESE Vaults and dark Sepulchres of their Ancient Dead, extend themselves in greatest Numbers, from the Neighbourhood of Memphis to the distant Borders of the Libyan Desart, containing Thirty Miles in length, and breadth proportionable: Many have been broken up from time to time, and often enter'd by the daring Curiosity of European. Travellers; but many yet remain unopen'd; nor is it an Attempt, consistent with the Dictates of a Self-preserving Humour, to Visit frequently those Dusky Palaces of Death, known only by the sight of some large Stone, unnatural to the Place, which turn'd aside, discovers under it a narrow Descent, not much unlike the Mouth of such a Well, as we may often see in British Villages:
The manner of descending the Vaults.

The Passage down was form'd by gradual Steps, cut circularly thro' the Neck of this Descent; but Time, or accidental Ruin having now defac'd those old Conveniencies, some Rope, or other neat Contrivance is made use of, to let down those, who are desirous of enlivening their Contemplations, by such a strange and melancholy Prospect. The bottom of this steep Descent admits them instantly to one large Vault, which leads to many others, high, and dismal, built securely with a small square Stone, of Colour black and shining, not unreasonably suppos'd by some, those famous Bricks so Celebrated in the Scripture, for the Workmanship of the Poor Captiv'd Israelites, who labour'd hardly under the harsh Injunctions of an Egyptian Bondage.

THE greatest part of these dark Arches remain entirely whole, and stately, but in some few Places are defac'd and fallen, so as to render the Passage thro' them, almost impracticably difficult: Some are distinguish'd by small Pillars, oppositely plac'd in graceful Order. Others wholly unadorn'd and naked, leading like the Streets of Christian Cities one through another, and forming with a sort of venerable Majesty, a Gloomy Labyrinth of Death and Horrour:
The Order, in which the Mummys lie.

For on either side, lie rang'd in measur'd Order, at near Three Foot distance from each other, promiscuous Bodies of Men, Women and Children; some whereof (such likely as were Rich and Honourable) have flat Stones, a little elevated at the Head and Feet, plac'd neatly under them. Others lie meanlier in the Common Sand, but all Embalm'd; and wrap'd about with numerous folds of Searcloth-Linen, which, forcibly untwin'd from their defenceless Bodies, looks not much unlike the middle Rind of some decaying Oak, and leaves the Corps entirely Solid, Whole and Perfect in its full dimensions; of a blackish Red, or dusky Brown in Colour; its Substance hard, like Pitch or Rosin; their Backs and Breasts are often stain'd with Hieroglyphick Cyphers, and on their Bosoms, lie small figur'd Idols, made of Artificial Stone, Bak'd hard and durable, or sometimes folded Scroles of rough and painted Parchment, some of which Devices I shall, in the course of this Chapter, describe to the Judicious Reader, with my own Opinion of the likeliest Significations of their diverting Fancies, and Hieroglyphical Contrivances.

The Danger of too great a Curiosity.

THE Danger of Descending such of these Repositories, as are most Curious, is extreamly great, by the distance they are at, from the Cities aforemention'd, which exposes frequently the unwary Traveller, to the barbarous Violence of the Inhumane Arabs, who, watching secretly for a favourable Opportunity, will often close the Mouth of the Sepulchre, and by that means Starving the unhappy Strangers, return some few Days after, to divide the Plunder of those Miscarried Gentlemen.

A strange Accident which befel the Author in a Vault amongst the Mummys.

AN Accident occurring unexpectedly to my own Experience, may perhaps, divert the Reader, in the Relation of what I can with Pleasure now reflect on, tho' it gave me little Satisfaction, when I was liable to its Danger: About 15 Miles South-East of Memphis, lie several Famous Catacombs, but (as dangerously seen) are commonly neglected; however, a strong Desire of seeing something, that for so many Ages had continu'd shut from Mortal View, excited my Curiosity to forget the Hazard, and procure, as Guide, a Native of that Country, to conduct me with three Fellow Travellers, to the Place abovemention'd. The Fellow was a little backward, alledging, in excuse of his unwillingness, that 'twas an Inconveniency, to lie a Night abroad upon the Open Desart; but assuring him, we wou'd rather Travel all Night long, he consented to go with us. We Rode on Mules, and Travell'd with a wonderful Delight thro' a rough and sandy Country, till we arriv'd at a Place, where Stones of vast, uncommon Sizes, pointed out the Passages to what we look'd for. We were pleas'd to see the Coast so clear, that not the smallest Tract of Man or Beast appear'd to give us cause of Jealousy. We alighted from our Mules, and tying them together, went towards the largest Stone, we saw amongst them, and turning it with much ado aside, were all surpriz'd to see securely fastned, and rowl'd up on the inside, a Ladder of Ropes; but imagining it might have been left there, by some, who had descended formerly, we spar'd the trouble of making use of a Conveniency, our Guide had with him, and having unfolded what we found there ready, went backwards down, with each Man a Pistol in one Hand, and a lighted Torch in the other: A strange uncommon Smell saluted our first Entrance, with an Odour, not to be imagin'd by such, as have not known it by Experience, and the blazing Torches, striking a faint glimmering Light thro' the thickness of the Gloom, discover'd, as we walk'd along on either side, the discolour'd Faces of the Dead, with a strange and inexpressible Horrour: We had scarce pass'd three Yards within the Vault, when the foremost of our Company, stumbling accidentally on something, that lay in his way, fell headlong over it; whereupon, holding down our Torches, we perceiv'd two Men in Christian Habits, extended cross each other, and appearing newly Dead, with all the pale and frightful Marks of a Convulsive Horrour, in their contracted Joints and Faces: Between the Feet of one there lay a Pocket Book and Pencil, which taking up and opening, we read with great Difficulty and more Concern the following Lines, there Written in Italian, but in a Character, that was hardly legible; for besides the Confusion of one Letter running into another, the Lines were here and there writ upon certain others, which seem'd to have been design'd, as Memorandums for several private Businesses.

Two Gentlemen found dead in a Vault.

LORENZO and FERDINANDO BONAVOGLIA, Dear Unhappy Brothers, born at Pisa, a City of Italy, dy'd here by Grief and Hunger, barbarously shut in and lost for ever, June 18th, 1701. Good Christian, if thy dear Eyes shall read our Misery, Pray for our Souls; O Jesus, O Mary, Mother of God, hear and pity us.

IT should seem by the melancholy Contents of this small Pocket Book, that these unfortunate Gentlemen had been observ'd to enter, by some Arabian Murderers; and the sequel of this Relation will I think, incline the Reader to the same Opinion. By the Date of the above-nam'd Sentences we found, they had not long been there, for to the best of my Remembrance, 'twas on the Twenty Second of the same Month, that we came thither.

AMAZ'D, and half confounded at the miserable Objects, which we saw before us, we began to think upon the Danger, we were in; the Apprehension whereof encreas'd immediately to a double Magnitude, by the ghastly Looks and trembling Agonies, which shook the heartless Guide with fierce Convulsions: As we knew him more familiar than our selves with the Customs of his Country, so we guess'd our Danger more extraordinary by the Fright, we saw him in; and judging it a necessary Prudence, to make the best of Time and Opportunity, we retreated with the utmost hast to the Place, we came in at,
A dangerous Surprize

but to our great Surprize, perceiv'd the Stone plac'd over the Mouth of the Descent the very Moment, we came directly under it; with all the fright imaginable we began to seek the Rope, by which we had Descended, but 'twas taken up, and all the hopes of our Deliverance from that dreadful Prison, were entirely dash'd to nothing, by the unexpected turn of such a sad Catastrophe: 'Twas here we felt the fear of Death, in all its roughest Attributes; and the Guide, who shou'd have giv'n us Comfort in our deep Extremity, encreas'd the weight of our Concern, by piercing Cries and oft-repeated Curses on our rash Attempt, which had involv'd our selves, and him in one promiscuous Ruin; and would destroy in him, the chief Support and poor Subsistence of his unhappy Wife and Family. For my part, tho' expos'd in equal measure to the threatned Misery, I was so strongly mov'd by the Sighs, Groans, Tears, and wringing Hands of this complaining Wretch, that I forgot the Nature of the Place, I walk'd in, and forming strange unreasonable Hopes, that we might find some other Passage, urg'd the Company to ramble farther thro' those dismal Cavities; but considering the Horror, which in such a Place, the want of Light wou'd soon produce, and willing to keep back the evil Hour, as long as possible, we extinguish'd Four of our Five Torches, and with the sickly Light of the remaining One, walk'd on with heavy Hearts from Vault to Vault, quite thro' those dismal Mansions; till at a little distance from the Guide, who bore the Light before us, we perceiv'd with more than common Terrour, the faint Idea's of six Pale Faces, close against the Wall, that stood before us; we started at the Sight, and saw them move as if they stalk'd to come upon us undiscover'd; so that rightly guessing they design'd no good, with one consent we fir'd our Pistols; 'tis impossible to make the Reader sensible, of the prodigious loud Report and rumbling Noise this one Discharge created in the Vault, it roll'd above our Heads like some uncommon Clap of Thunder, and continued, still encreasing, a considerable time: Whether Fear, or some unlucky Accident produc'd the Cause, I cannot well determine, but the frighted Guide let fall his Torch, which presently extinguish'd, and running backwards with impetuous Fury, beat down a Gentleman of our Company, and tumbling on the Ground, lay still in a most profound and breathless Silence: When the Report was over, we expected every Moment to have heard or felt the Persons, we had seen before us; but all was strangely still, no Tread or Voice alarm'd our Fears nor could we guess, what Accident had rid us of our Danger; till thro' the Wall before us, we perceiv'd a sudden Ray of Light break briskly in; and coming to the Place, found there a Hole, dug thro' the Stone, or Brick,

AN EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, Which Represents The Strange Particulars of an Accident, that hap'ned to the Author, in The Catacombs of Egypt.

- A. THE Entrance, by which we Descended to the Catacomb, with the Mules, tied together about it.

- B. The Stone, that Cover'd the Mouth of the Descent.

- C. The Guide.

- D. The Pocket Book.

- E. The Two Italian Gentlemen, found Dead, in the first Vault.

- F. One of the English Gentlemen, who fell, by Stumbling over them.

- G. G. G. G. Mummies, in several Allies of the Catacomb.

- H. The Six Arabs, against the Wall.

- I. The Stone, that Cover'd the other Entrance of the Catacomb.

- K. Two of the Arabs, making their Escape from the Vault.

- L. L. Others of them, Riding away hastily.

- M. M. Their Companions, carrying off our Mules.

- N. The Turkish Party of Horse, appearing at a Distance.

- O. O. O. The Pyramids of Egypt.

- P. The Aethiopian Head, call'd Sphinx by Pliny, and other Writers.

To the Right Hon, ble Charles Earl of Peterborow and Monmouth ye Authors Honour'd Patron & Encourager of his Undertaking this Plate is Most humbly dedicated.

which open'd largely into another Catacomb, thro' which we saw the Passage, that had let in so much Light upon us, and heard an unintelligible Noise of Hallowing descend, as from the Mouth of that uncover'd Cavity; thro' which, we could perceive distinctly Six Tall Men, climb swiftly up, and seem'd confus'd, as if afraid of some approaching Danger:
The Author's strange Escape from the Vault.

The fear of dying in that horrid Place, had banish'd every other from our Thoughts, so that getting eagerly tho' the broken Wall, we ran immediately to the Entrance of the Vault, and hearing neither Voice, nor any other Sign of their continuing above, we ventur'd to ascend, as they had done; and certainly the Light of Heaven did never more Enliven Man, than it did our joyful Company, at such a strange Deliverance.

NO sooner were we up, but looking round, we could perceive Four Arabs, riding hastily towards the left side of the Desart, leading away our Mules, as lawful Booty, and follow'd, at some distance, by Six others: On the right of our unlucky Station, we perceiv'd a Troop of Turkish Horse-Men, whom we knew by their Appearance, to belong to the Bashaw, and to be part of those convenient Forces, kept on purpose to Patrole from Place to Place, and guard the Country, from the presumptuous Insults of these Arabian Villanies: Till then, I never met a Turkish Party with the smallest Satisfaction, but was now transported with a boundless Joy, at the welcome Prospect of their first Appearance.

WE walk'd to meet them, and informing their Commanding Officer, of what had pass'd, he strait detach'd a Number of his Men to gallop after them, who were no sooner seen advancing by the Wary Arabs, but they set our Captiv'd Mules at Liberty, and soon outran the hopes of their less-swift Pursuers: However, we were very well contented to have sped so well, and fearing we might lose our Safety, by the dangerous Absence of our new-come Champions, we agreed to give the Officer the value of Five and Twenty Shillings a piece, upon Condition, he would see us safely to the Neighbourhood of Cairo; He accepted the Proposal, and invited us to descend again, while he with several of his Men, would keep us Company, and leave the rest above to watch for our Security: His offering to accompany us, convinc'd us of his Honesty, and missing the poor Guide, who had been left below,
They descend again.

we ventur'd once again, to visit the late Scene of our Misfortune; being enter'd with three Lights, which the Captain order'd to be carried, such as I have elsewhere largely treated of, and which afford a Flame, much brighter and more powerful than our small Torches, we proceeded gradually from Place to Place,, and search'd in vain o'er all the Vaults for the poor frighted Fellow, we had left behind us, till at last, arriving at the farthest end of that first Catacomb, which we descended, we observ'd one Mummy higher than the rest, and drawing near, to view it more particularly, we could perceive it stir, at which surpriz'd, and calling for the Lights, to know its meaning, the first thing,
They find the Guide, hid under a Mummy.

we saw, was the poor Guide, who, being crowded in between the Wall and the Mummy, was creeping under it, as far as he was able, and turn'd his Eyes upon the Lights and Company, with such a dismal Languish, that it threw us into a long and violent fit of Laughter. The Honest Man's Simplicity, had perswaded him that, if he lay close, he might pass for a Mummy, and having crawl'd from Vault to Vault, he chose that Place for his Asylum from those Arabs, for whom he now mistook the Turkish Soldiers.

A joyful Transport.

HE heard us laugh, and looking earnestly about him, found with a surprizing Joy, that he had been mistaken in his Apprehensions, and the rapid Transports, thence oppressing his recover'd Spirits, made him start from his unnecessary Shelter, and embracing me, who then unluckily stood nearest him, express'd the Sense, he had of his scarce credited Delivery, with such Ungovernable signs of Satisfaction, in the Leaping up and down, that Treading frequently upon my Feet, I was oblig'd to shake him off with Roughness, unbecoming the Soft Airs of due Congratulation.

NOW had we time, without the fear of a succeeding Danger, to inspect, with all the Zeal of an unlimitted Curiosity, those gloomy Tracts of Death and Terrour, in whose dismal Paths we had before been so amazingly surpriz'd, by dangerous Interruption.

The Observations, they made in their Second Descent.

THE Observations then, which, favour'd by so fair an Opportunity, we made, were these; the Bodies of the Mummies, not exceeding in their Stature those of common Height now Living, are a certain confutation of that old mistake, which Teaches many to believe that, as the World Increases in her Age, Mankind decrease in Strength and Magnitude.

THE many Thousand Folds, which Swath'd some Bodies in the Catacomb, were Wound about the Corps, with so much smoothness, and such admirable Art and Neatness of Contrivance, that the Nicest Hand Modern Times would fall so short of equalling, that they could never Imitate the Beauties of the Practice, should they now attempt it.

WE all took Notice, that the Heads of many Mummies were divided from their Bodies, and perceiv'd that Part the Weakest, and most prejudic'd by Time, even in those Corps, which seem'd intire, and no ways Rob'd of their Original Proportion.

THE Faces of such Bodies, as appear'd the Richest, by their Ornaments and ways of Lying, we observ'd all coverd over with a very thin and Shining Aromatic Searcloath, of such admirable form and such a Skilful Preparation, that it only serv'd to keep the Head more lasting and entire (which else was found a Part most subject to decay) without obscuring the Appearance of the Countenance, or altering even the Minutest turn of any Feature.

The Painted Rolls.

THE Rolls, which lay on many of their Breasts, contain'd, as I have said before, a Thousand different kind of Hieroglyhic Figures, some done in Gold, some Red, some Blew, some Green, and others Black, in short of every Form and Colour; thence a Man may reasonably claim the Liberty to guess, he could distinguish many things, relating to the Age, Death, Quality, Life, Vertues, and Profession of the Person, to whose Breast they are Affix'd.

THUS for Example, on the Bosom of one Mummy, whole and Fair in every there, there lay a Roll, whereon in Lines of Gold and Azure, we distinguish'd plainly among many more the following Figures.

An Hieroglyphic Image, in the Catacombs.

UPON a very High and Craggy Rock, there stood a Throne, whereon in all the State of Ancient Monarchs, sat a Man in Royal Robes, and Wearing on his Head a Regal Diadem; his Right Hand highly Elevated, held a Sword with Threatning Fury, and his Left extended with a kind of a disdainful Air, appear'd to Mock the Fruitless Efforts of a Numerous Company of Men in Arms, who seem'd with eagerness to grasp the Rocks, and vainly aim'd with angry Looks, at Reaching the Defended King, who sat secure, and Triumph'd in their Disappointments.

AN EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, VVhich Represents, Exactly an Egyptian Hieroglyphic, Found upon the Bosom of a MƲMMY, in the CATACOMBS.

- A. A King, upon his Throne, or an Emblem of a Prince, who Governs Justly.

- B. An Emblem of Designing, Underhanded Treachery.

- C. An Emblematical Description of the Great Stability of Justice, and Moderation.

- D. D. D. D. An Emblematical Representation of Ungovernable, Head-Strong Treason, and its Difficulties.

To the Right Honble Cary Countess of Peterborough &c This Plate is Most Humbly Dedicated AN EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHIC

An Emblem of crafty Treason.

BƲT on the other side the Rock, behind the Monarch's Back, appear'd a brisk and fiery Youth, who, having mounted by the help of a tall Ladder, was just steping, from its topmost Round upon the Rock it self, with seeming resolution to attack and kill the King, with a long Spear, presented at him, was witheld from his Intent by means of a large Chain, descending from a Cloud above his Head, and twining suddenly about his Arms, while he himself was wounded in the Bosom by a Sword, directed by a Hand, which issued likewise from the Cloud abovenam'd.

NOW in my Imagination, 'tis a Task of no great difficulty, to unfold the Mystery, contain'd in this intelligible Hieroglyphic; perhaps I am mistaken, but as probably am not; however, right, or wrong, I'll give the Reader my Opinion, let him judge, as he thinks proper.

The meaning of the Hieroglyphic.

THE Monarch, represented in his Regal Ornaments I take, to mean a King, who Rules with State and Power: The Sword denotes the Justice of his Office: The disdainful Look implies a scorn of Treason, and its Practisers.

THE Rock, whereon he sits enthron'd, was doubtless meant, to signify his Governments Solidity; its craggy Roughness was design'd to show, what dangerous Precipices, we are led to by Ambition.

Emblem of Open Rebellion.

THE Rash, arm'd Multitude, who strive in vain, before the Face of the above-nam'd Monarch, to ascend and wound him, are as Emblems of of those daring and imprudent Rebels, who will openly presume to carry on their Hate to just Authority, and prosecute the Dictates of their Impious Wishes in the Face of Majesty.

THEIR numerous Repulses, and the fruitless Efforts of their eager Application serve to shew, how much it is impossible, by open Practices of Lawless Villany, to shock the Throne of an establish'd Government, or succeed in the Endeavours of a treacherous Inclination.

THE siery Youth, just mounting from a Ladder to the summit of the Rock behind the King, and holding up a Spear, as if with design to kill him, signifies in my Opinion, that more crafty kind of Treason, carried on by underhand Intrigues and subtle Secrecy, and powerfully assisted by prevailing Parties.

Emblem of Heaven's Justice.

THE descending Cloud, from which appears the Chain, that binds him, and the Hand, which wounds his Bosome with a Spear, was meant by the Egyptians of Antiquity to represent that Great, but unknown Power, by whose sure, tho' secret means of Justice, they perceiv'd the sacred Persons of Just Monarchs, safely guarded from designing Treachery, and very rarely knew a Villain Die unpunish'd.

NOW, if the Ingenious Reader will but put together these Interpretations of the Hieroglyphic Mystery, he will soon perceive a nice connexion of its several Parts, which we may read, as follows.

The Hieroglyphic literally Interpreted.

That Prince's Throne, who governs justly, is so strongly seated on the Rock of Power, that he can look with scorn upon the vain Attempts of those Mad Rebells, who, invading his Prerogative with open Violence, encounter such prodigious and undreamt of Difficulties, that they fall in their Endeavours wretched Victims, to the disappointment of Ambition.

But that more Crafty, Politic, and Private Traitor, who ungenerously aims at a Success in his Rebellion, from the undiscover'd Practices of close Disloyalty, tho' he may prosper for a while in undetected Villanies, is, notwithstanding his great Cautions, watch'd in every Step, he makes, by the unknown Omniscience of some Heavenly Being, who, when his Plot seems ripe for Execution, chains his Will, o'erthrows his Treason, and amazingly converts his unsuspecting Malice to his own Destruction.

The particular Application of the Hieroglyphic.

THIS general Interpretation led me to conclude, the Hieroglyphic was design'd a Monitory Lecture, to disswade Mankind from Practices of Treason, by an artful Declaration of its fatal Consequences; and the Application in particular directed me to guess, the Mummy, on whose Body it was represented, had been formerly some Youth, made wretched by the Knowledge, if not Executed for the Practice of some Treason or Rebellion.

They reascend from the Catacomb.

WHEN we had made as many Observations, as we could, we reascended by the way we enter'd at, and were conducted safely to Grand Cairo, by the faithful Captain and his Party, on the Terms beforenam'd

INQUIRING, when we were return'd, if any News had reach'd the City, of the loss of two Italian Gentlemen, and hearing nothing of it, we imagin'd it our Duties to acquaint a Person of that Country, who resided there in Public Business, with the strange Particulars of the above-nam'd Accident: He presently inform'd us, that he knew too well the Gentlemen, we spoke of, that they had been recommended to him in their Travells thither, and had been forewarn'd, how dangerous it was to visit those remote, and dismal Catacombs; that they refus'd to listen to Perswasion, and had taken a Guide, and several Servants with them, none of which had since been heard of.

What became of the dead Bodies of the two Italian Gentlemen.

IN short, the Gentleman, with melancholy Marks of Thanks, rewarded our Civility, in giving him this sorrowful Intelligence; he hir'd the Captain, who had been our Convoy, to remove the Bodies of the two unhappy Brothers from the Catacomb to Cairo, whence he afterwards Embark'd them on a Vessel, which was bound for Europe, and which brought them soon (God knows a shocking and unwelcome Cargo) to their Country and Relations.

How they were betray'd.

IT seems their Guide (since taken and Impal'd alive for his abominable Villany) had held a Correspondence with the Arabs, and betray'd his Charge, by ent'ring with them to the Catacomb, and giving them the Slip at a convenient Opportunity thro' the other Hole, set open purposely; the Servants, who remain'd above, were siez'd on, and made Prisoners by the Arabs, who return'd to Plunder their dead Masters at a time, when they unhappily found us, an unexpected Booty in the Gin, they came to.

PROBABLY, the reason of their leaving the Italian Gentlemen unplunder'd, when they shut them in, was owing to the distant Prospect of some Turkish Party, frequently Patroling, as I said before, from Place to Place about those Desarts.

AS our Escape was wonderful, so were our Praises and Thanksgiving, Great and Hearty; yet the Horror, whose unnatural Shock, when we sustain'd the Danger, startled Nature, is by time converted to a certain inexpressible Contentment in the sweet Remembrance, and Reflection on the oddness of the Accident, nor is it a new thing to change our Passions with the Change of Time, in such a manner, Seneca has left us his Authority, to prove it common in the following Words,

Sen. Trag. Herc.

—Quae fuit durum pati,

Meminisse dulce est.

Mens Mem'ries commonly delighted are,

To think on, what they once found hard to bear.

The Catacombs, nearer Cairo, not worth describing.

I could enlarge extreamly on the Subject of the Catacombs, but think it altogether needless, since the finest of them all are those, which I have here so largely treated of, and which are very seldom visited by any Travellers, nor to my Knowledge have been ever yet describ'd, in any of their Writings; all the Wells, or little Places nearer Cairo, which contain the Bodies of Egyptian Mummies, are not only so inferior to these Catacombs, as scarce to merit mention, but have been already taken notice of so frequently by other Travellers, in almost every Book of this kind, extant in our Language, that 'tis neither worth my Trouble in repeating the Particulars, or an Ingenious Readers in perusing the Relation.

CHAP. XXXVIII. Of that Part of Egypt, formerly the Land of Goshen, and of the Passage of Caravans, thro' the Libyan Desarts.

Delta, why so call'd.

AMONGST the many fertil Tracts of Land, enriching Egypt with an annual Plenty, there is one, call'd Delta by the Ancients, in regard to the Resemblance, it was thought to bear the Graecian Letter of that Name.

Two Streams of Nilus.

THE River Nilus, not above four Miles below Grand Cairo, is divided into two distinct and navigable Streams, one running Eastward, and the other towards the West; the first emits his Waters into the Mediterranean, not far distant from the Old Pelusium, now call'd Damiata; and the second loses his swift Channel in the same Sea, just below Rosetta.

THESE two abovenam'd Channels form, by their triangular Course, a very rich and spacious Island, even the fattest Soil, and most delightful Part of Fruitful Egypt, and it is this Portion of the Country, which, as I have said before, was once distinguish'd by the Name of Delta.

The Land of Goshen.

THIS, Tho' many contradict the Notion, I imagine to have been in former Times, the Land of Goshen, and am much confirm'd in my Opinion, by the Holy Scriptures undeniable Authority. As, for Example, in the tenth Verse of the forty fifth Chapter of Genesis, where Joseph tells his Father,

Gen. chap. 45. v 10

And thou shalt dwell in the Land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy Children, and thy Childrens Children, and thy Flocks, and thy Herds, and all, that thou hast.

BY the Words near unto me, in this Verse, it's evidently certain, that we cannot guess with greater probability, than in believing Delta to have been the Place, since 'tis the nearest fruitful Spot of Ground to Memphis, (then the Residence of Joseph,) in the whole Egyptian Country.

Goshen prov'd a fruitful Country.

AND, that the Land of Goshen was not only near the Capital, but preferable in a thousand other Blessings to the rest of Egypt, we may be assur'd by the Authority, I just now quoted, and some other Places.

IN the fourth, fifth, and sixth Verses of the seven and fortieth Chapter of Genesis, we find the Sons of Jacob pleading for, and Pharaoh granting them the Land of Goshen in the following Sentences.

Gen. chap. 4 v. 4, 5, 6.

They said moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the Land are we come; for thy Servants have no pasture for their Flocks, for the Famine is sore in the Land of Canaan: Now therefore we pray thee, let thy Sevants dwell in the Land of Goshen.

And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy Father and thy Brethren are come unto thee.

The Land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the Land make thy Father and Brethren to dwell, in the Land of Goshen let them dwell.

AGAIN, in the six and fortieth Chapter, Pharaoh speaks to Joseph in the following manner,

And take your Father, and your Houshold, and come unto me: And I will give you the good of the Land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the Land.

Also regard not your Stuff: For the good of all the Land of Egypt is yours.

Delta, by the Author, thought to be the Land of Goshen.

BY these abovenam'd Passages of Holy Writ, we may without absurdity conclude, that the triangular Tract of Land, call'd Delta by the Ancients, or at least some part thereof is cettainly the same, which formerly was dwelt in by the Bondag'd Israelites, and bore the Appellation of the Land of Goshen.

The common Notion of it.

BUT many are of an Opinion, opposite to this, and judge the Land of Goshen to have been that part of Egypt, situate betwixt Grand Cairo and the Libyan Desarts.
Why absurd.

Not to enter into a Dispute on that account, I only shall beg leave to make one Observation, and that is, A Country, so extreamly Barren, nor Productive of the smallest Mark of competent Encrease, much less of flowing Plenty, cannot reasonably be imagin'd reconcilable to the Idea's of Fertility, we take from the Accounts, the Scriptures give us of the Land of Goshen.

PROCEED we now from Egypt to the Holy-Land, to which the common Passage from Grand Cairo lies, thro' Part of Idumaea, and the dangerous Desarts of Arabia the Stony.

The way of Travelling in Caravans.

CARAVANS, which I have elsewhere in this Book explain'd the meaning of, pass to and fro continually, and afford Conveniencies for Christian Travellers, who either ride upon a Camel or a Dromedary, not unlike it, but a little smaller. Certain Bails of Merchandize are bound on either side the Shoulders of the Beast, and in the hollow, thence occasion'd, there is plac'd a kind of Quilt, or Cushion, whereupon we are oblig'd to ride Cross-legg'd, defended from the Sun by a large Canopy of Canvass, purposely erected.

'TIS a very toilsome and fatiguing way of Travelling, by reason of the native height of Trott, peculiar to those Creatures; who without the smallest sign of discontent, will Travel four whole Days together, destitute of Water, but upon occasion, can so far exert this Blessing of their Nature, as to live without it, near a Fortnight.

The Caravans how order'd.

THE Caravans, which pass from Palestine to Egypt, commonly consist of six, seven, eight, nine hundred, or a thousand Persons, with their Camels, and Conveniencies, which we must all provide from the Brass-Kettle, to the Frying-Pan, if we wou'd Eat or Drink with Christian Decency. An admirable Order is observ'd among them, and continual Watch kept Night and Day, to guard the Caravan from the Attacks and Robberies of the Wild Arabs, who infest the Desart, and of whom I shall more fully treat, when I am come to the Description of their Laws and Ways of Living.

Jews, who go to die at Jerusalem.

'TIS really a diverting Entertainment, for a sprightly Fancy to observe, what Multitudes of superstitious Jews swarm up and down in every Caravan; the oldest, ugliest, and most decrepit of all Mankind, who flock from every distant Corner of the spacious Ʋniverse, to die as near Jerusalem as possible, and load themselves and other Beasts of Burthen, with the musty Bones, and tatter'd Reliques of their Dead Relations.

Three Castles in the Desarts.

YOU traverse desart Sands and miserable Countries, for about a Ten-Days-Journey, then arrive at Gaza in the Holy-Land, first passing by three several Castles, strongly Garrison'd, who claim a certain Sum, by way of Toll from every Passenger, both for himself and Camels; nor is this the only Trouble, Travellers are subject to, for such is the prodigious Power and inhumane Nature of the upstart Officers. commanding in these Places, that they never fail exacting, with the utmost Insolence and Avarice, whatever Force makes easy to their Rapine:
The necessity of a Passport from the Bashaw of Cairo.

So that every Stranger, who wou'd Travel unoffended, from Grand Cairo to Jerusalem, must purchase a full Passport from the Great Bashaw, residing at the first of those two Towns, by which he may be sure of a Protection, tho' he meets with no Respect; but if, imprudently, he ventures, undefended by the Virtue of that necessary Safe-guard, ten to one, the Persecutions, he must meet with, damp his Curiosity, and he returns, deep loaden with Repentance in the room of Satisfaction.

CHAP. XXXIX. Of the Present State of the Holy-Land.

Palestine justly call'd Holy by the Christians.

AT last the Reader is arriv'd in Palestine, the Land, which anciently was chosen by the Voice of God himself, for the Possession of a People, whom he long distinguish'd by an undeserv'd Partiality of Favour and Affection: A Country, justly call'd the Holy Land by Christian Piety, because our Saviour bless'd her Cities with his Residence and Conversation, and in this selected Climate paid the Debt of an assum'd Humanity in ignominious Death and bitter Agonies.

Not else deserving of the Title.

BUT far from Holy has it ever been, if we consider the Rebellious Principles, incorrigible, strange, and unexampled Wickedness of the unhappy Jews, her Old Inhabitants: A Nation disregarding Laws, impos'd by God himself, who in their very Sight vouchsaf'd to hold a Conversation with their more Religious Leader, the neglected Moses.

The obstinacy of the Jews.

A Nation, who in midst of the Possession of those show'ring Happinesses, consequent to the encreasing favour of their Great Creator, and deliver'd by amazing Proofs of his Affection; nay defended in their greatest Perils by a thousand Miracles, and oft repeated Marks of the Almighty's Mercy; I say a Nation, who possessing these, and many more peculiar Blessings, could, amidst their Obligations, slight their Duty, and neglecting Him, from whom they boasted all their Fortune, deviate from the Rules, he set before them, to the shameful Practices of black Idolatry.

How greatly Punish'd.

BUT as the heinous Nature of these Peoples Sins, exceeded far the most enormous Crimes of other Nations, so does that surprizing Punishment, inflicted on them, full as much exceed the Misery, which even the most despis'd and wretched Outcasts of the spacious Universe are forc'd to suffer.

Strangers in their own Country.

ABHORR'D in the Society, and banish'd from the Habitations of Mankind in general, they wander miserably up and down, possess no Property, and wish no Excellence in any Art but that of Cheating, scorn'd and persecuted, wheresoe'er they come, and to so shocking a degree the Tennis-Balls of Fortune, and unpity'd Exiles of the World, that they are no where greater Strangers, than in Palestine it self, of Old the Right of their subverted Ancestors, and making them, while they possess'd her, not alone the Pride, but Terrour of the Universe.

NOT any Country of the Habitable World is known, to have been subject to so many Changes, or has felt the ill Effects of such stupendious, bloody, and successive Revolutions, as if the Just, All-Wise, and Mighty Hand of Heaven inflicted never resting Torments on the Place, for having been the Scene of our Redeemer's Sufferings, by the insolent Decrees, and obstinate Stupidity of her Inhumane Natives.

Palestine in the Turks Possession.

AMONG the many Changes, she has felt, she groans at present under the severest Weight of galling Slavery, that ever she was subject to, entirely in Possession of the Turks, and Govern'd by Bashaws, Sangiacks and other Officers in all degrees presiding, and exerting their Authority, as in the other Countries, subject to the Government of the Ʋnlimited Grand Signior.

How Inhabited at present.

HER Old Inhabitants, Eradicated wholly by successive Shocks of War and Poverty, have left the Ancient Seats of their Possession, to be Peopled by a Mixture of the Scum and Refuse of most other Eastern Nations, such as Greeks, Armenians, Moors, Egyptians and the like; for Turks, there are but very few among them, nor would those continue there, but out of a design to Plunder and exact, as much as possible, from the Unhappy Wretches, subject to their Tyranny.

The Soil itself Chang'd.

NOR is, the once sublime, and Flourishing Condition of her Ancient Government, the only thing, which time has chang'd to this Surprizing disadvantage, even the Land itself, as if a Curse from Heaven attended the detested Climate, has disrob'd her Surface of those amiable Beauties, and attracting Excellencies of Fertility and Prospect, which in former times, were wont to Crown, not only the Vallies, but the very Hills and Rocks themselves, with a Productive Gayety.

Reflections.

METHOUGHTS it griev'd me, when I trod the Paths, which, in forgotten Ages, have perhaps been trac'd by the repeated Foot-steps of the Ancient Patriarchs, and their Posterity. Methoughts I say, it griev'd me then to think, that Lands, of Old, possess'd by the Religious Patrons of GODS Holy Doctrine, should now be own'd by the Defiling outcasts of Humanity, by Swarms of Infidels.

IT Shock'd me strangely, when I cast my Eye from Hill to Hill, about the Country, and beheld almost on every Mountain, the remaning Ruins of some Chalky Fabrick, Mourning, as it were, its Founders Downfall: It shock'd me, when I saw such rugged Reliques of o'erturn'd Antiquity; and yet by what my Guides inform'd me, was oblig'd in looking on them, to reflect, there once stood Jericho in all her Grandeur, there Damascus anciently erected her aspiring Head, there stood the Fam'd Metropolis of Israel, bright Samaria, and in former Ages, yonder despicable Heap of Ruins was the Proud Jerusalem.

Moral Reflections.

OH! How can Man be led to Flatter his ambitious Passions, with the Groundless hopes of Riches Permanence, or an unshock'd Possession of the Smiles of Fortune, when that very Ground is grown a Dunghill for the Filth of Nature, which the promises of Heaven, and the GOD of Abraham confirm'd to his Posterity, with the repeated Character of a Land, that Flow'd with Milk and Honey, and the strong assurances that it should dwell with Him, and with his Seed for ever.

Bread made of Roots.

I know not, whether it proceeds from the Defect of Nature, in some wondrous Alteration of the Soils Fertility, or Universal Negligence, or want of skill in those Inhabitants, who now possess it, to improve it, as they ought to do, but this is certain, that the Land is so extreamly Barren, or Deficient in producing Corn, that for the space of many Miles about Jerusalem, the People Eat no other Bread, than what is made of Beans, or certain Roots, of an Ʋnsavory Relish, but they say, of Mighty Vertue, as to the Effects, they have on those, who Eat them.

IT is, indeed, a Dyet, only fit for those mean Slaves, whose abject Souls can stoop to Servitude with a regardless Easiness, and such alone would condescend to live among such Arbitrary Tyrants, as oppress all kinds of People by Extortion and Injustice, in this miserable Country.

Rapine encourag'd, in Turkey.

'TIS true, the Practice of unbounded Rapine is allow'd, nay even encourag'd in the mildest Scenes of Turkish Government, but here in so particular a manner, that Honour, Power, and Riches can by no means be obtain'd, but by the help of such unjust and wicked Courses, as by universal Custom are become, not only safe but fashionable:

The evil consequences of Example.

AND indeed, where not alone licentious Education tolerates an Evil, but an universal Approbation justifies its Practice, 'tis a Task, extreamly difficult for any Man to shun the common Course of Vice, he sees before him; an Evil Conversation and the ill Examples, set Mankind, deceive their Senses into an Opinion, that such Practices are just, as they see common; Hence Injustice is become so natural to the Turkish Government, and hence, we find, how useful it would be for all young Men, to study well the Precepts of Theognis in the following Verses.

The Advice of Theognis.

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Cyrnus, I'll kindly teach those Rules to Thee,

Which Good Men taught my unsiedg'd Infancy.

Be Wise, nor Pow'r, nor Wealth, nor Honour gain

From Deeds, whose foul Injustice all will stain.

Be careful next Ill Company to shun,

But to a Good Mans Converse always run;

Eat, Drink and Sit with him, and still take care,

To make your Court to such, as Pow'rful are,

From Good Mens Conversation Good will flow,

Whilst with the Ill you lose, what you already know.

PROCEED we now, to take a view of the remaining Tokens of Antiquity and Zeal, which yet adorn the Modern State of lost Jerusalem.

CHAP. XL. Of Jerusalem. The Sacred Antiquities therein contain'd, and the Entertainment of Strangers in the Christian Monastery on Mount-Calvary.

Old Jerusalem's Condition.

NOW, Reader, we are come to a description of the celebrated Queen of ancient Cities, whose aspiring Turrets rais'd her Pride beyond a Rival, whose peculiar Blessings spoke her long the Mistress of Command, and Glory of the Universe, whose impious Walls contain'd the Scene of our Redeemers Agonies, and shook with Earthquakes at his mighty Crucifixion.

How different from the Modern.

BUT now, alas! She can no longer boast those Gayeties of Nature and combining Art, which swell'd her Excellence in former Ages, all those bright and tow'ring Marks of Splendour and Authority are sunk to nothing, Rocky Barrenness, now stares a Stranger wildly in the Face, where once he might have charm'd his Senses, with a glitt'ring Prospect of refin'd Magnificence, and craggy Precipices in the very midst of this depopulated Scene of Sorrow, seem to groan out in complaining Murmurs, Mortal Glory cometh up, and is cut down like a Flower, and passeth away like a Shadow, and is no more seen.

Reflections on Jerusalem.

OH! Poor, unhappy City, Great even in the Memory of what thou once wert thought deserving of; how fully hast thou seen accomplish'd the Prophetic Sentence of thy Crucified Director; Oh! how much better had it been for thy deluded Natives, to have listen'd gratefully to the repeated Woes, denounc'd against them; Then had thy splendid Temple stood unshock'd, and not expos'd to verifie a Sentence, which, had she deserv'd no Overthrow, had never been inflicted.
Math. 24. ch. v. 2.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, there shall not be left here one Stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

HOW evident alas! are all thy Miseries; how vainly dost thou groan in an unpitied Ruin; and how stupidly inactive must be that Man's Fancy, who, beholding thee surrounded by thy present Curses, does not mournfully reflect, how much in vain our Tender Saviour pitied thy Misfortunes, when he breath'd these piercing Proofs of Heavenly Compassion mildly over thee!

Math. 24. ch. v. 37, 38.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou, that killest the Prophets, and stonest them, which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gather'd thy Children together, even as a Hen gathereth her Chickens under her Wings, and ye would not!

Behold, your House is left unto you desolate.

THE Shocking Weight of those Oppressions, thou art subject to, give lively proofs of the just cause, our Blessed Saviour had to say, Weep not for me, but for your selves O ye Daughters of Jerusalem.

New Jerusalem, how Situated.

MODERN Jerusalem has Chang'd her Situation, from the very Ground, on which the old one stood; for when she Flourish'd in her Ancient Grandeur, Mount Moriah, and Mount Sion, stood directly in the Center of the City, and the Mount call'd Calvary, the Place of Crucifixion, was without the Northern Gate, at a considerable distance, but the New Jerusalem is built so much more towards the North, that Sion is without the Wall, upon the South-side of the Modern City, and Mount Calvary now stands almost directly in the Middle.

The Castle of Jerusalem.

UPON the Right Hand of the Western Gate, there stands an Old Decay'd Castle, inconsiderately Garrison'd, and Mounted with a useless Number of Great Pieces of Artillery.

The Walls, and Gates, how Fortify'd.

THE Walls are Weak, and all the Town much stronger by her Natural Situation than the Art, wherewith she has of late been Fortify'd; the Gates are Guarded by a constant Number of Foot Soldiers, and defended by the largest of their Cannon; the Remaining Houses, (for I cannot say there is a Street now standing) are of very low and humble Fabrick, Built of Mud, and not exceeding one Poor Story, widely Straggling from each other, and without the smallest sign of Order, or an aim of Regularity.

SOME broken Remnants of old Buildings, which the Natives tell us, were the Palace of King David, Theatre of Herod, and the like, serve only to remind a Traveller, that once Jerusalem was, what she now is not:
No Jews suffer'd to Inhabit Jerusalem.

No Jews are suffer'd to Inhabit here, the Town being wholly Peopled by Zealous Christian Bigotts of promiscuous Nations, and such Turks, as Dwelling there, in hopes to use an Arbitrary Power to the best advantage, are Subservient to the Government of a Sangiack or Deputy Provincial.

SINCE then there is not any thing uncommon in the form of Government here practis'd, and abundance of our Modern Writers have describ'd the Place with Geographic Nicety, and as for the Historical Accounts thereof, they are already fully known, I'll purposely omit the Naming any thing, but what is shown most Travellers, as Reliques of Antiquity, which, I believe is, what an English Reader will receive most welcomely, at least 'tis, what I chiefly aim'd at, in this Treatise, and will consequently lead me into no Unnecessary Deviation from the Tenour of my Subject.

FIRST then, I will inform my Reader, what we see within Jerusalem, and round about it, not including the Franciscan Monastery on Mount Calvary, or near it. Secondly at large describe both that, the Sepulchre of Christ, the Temple over it, and every other thing, worth Notice, thereunto belonging.

The Father Guardian, why so call'd.

I should First inform you, that the Chief of the Franciscan Monastery, is Entitled to the Name of Father Guardian, from the Privilege, he has of granting his Protection to all Christian Travellers, whether Protestants or Roman Catholicks, who are constantly oblig'd, as long as they continue in the City, to take up with a Monastick Entertainment in the Convent; for a Stranger (not of the Mahometan Perswasion) is not suffer'd to reside in any of the Turkish Houses, or indeed in any other Corner of Jerusalem.

THe Convent at Jerusalem, how maintain'd.

THE Europaean Princes of the Romish Church contribute largely, towards the Maintenance of these Religious Fryars, who expect Rewards, of far more worth, than is the Entertainment, which they give to Travellers, and least such Gentlemen, as Curiosity has led to see Jerusalem, should possibly be ignorant, of what is still expected from their Purses, they are ever careful by repeated Declaration of their Poverty and Want of Christian Charity, on all occasions to insinuate, how welcomely they would receive a generous Gratuity.

How the Fryars live there.

THUS live they easily in flowing Plenty, using all the pampering Gifts of Liberal Nature, with an unreserv'd and gratifying Luxury, which is so fully known to the designing Turkish Governors, that they are seldom found to miss the smallest Opportunity of squeezing their Possessions to the best Advantage.

A Ceremony, us'd to Strangers.

THESE Politic Franciscans, vers'd politely in the well dissembled Practice of a great Humility, receive all Strangers with a wonderful respect, the Father Guardian always condescending, by a long continued Custom, to kneel down and Wash their Feet, while others Wipe them, many of the Order standing round, devoutly Singing certain Hymns, appointed for that purpose.

How they are treated.

AFTER this, a certain Number of the Fryars are directed by their Padre, to accompany the Strangers up and down, within the City and without, and shew them every Place, worth observation, which they constantly perform with admirable Artifice, appearing wond'rous Civil, and exciting those, they guide, to think their Curiosity a Meritorious Zeal, in hopes thereby, that others may at their return to their respective Countries, be induc'd to undertake a Journey thither, and by that means swell the Perquisites of their Dependance to additional Abundance.

A Question always ask'd at Jerusalem.

IT is a Question, always ask'd, if you design your Visit to those Holy Places, from a Motive of Religious Zeal, or Common Curiosity; If from the first, they pester you with Beads, and other superstitious Tokens of Devotion, which direct the strict Injunction of repeating two, four, six, eight, ten or twenty Pater Nosters, at such and such more Sacred, or less Holy Places; but if you assure them, that the latter Motive tempted you to Travel thither, they are complaisantly passive in the matter, and accompany you about from Place to Place, without observing your Deportment in them.

A Register kept in the Monastery.

THE Fryars of this Monastery keep a Register, wherein they enter both the Names and Country of such Travellers, as visit the renown'd Jerusalem: It is impossible to know exactly the just number of our Countrymen, who have been there, because the different Inclinations of some Men engage them to pretend themselves Italians, when they are really Spaniards, French Men, when they are Britons, and renounce their Countries for some ends, which they believe most prudent.

How many English men have been there, these hundred Years.

HOWEVER, we were suffer'd to look back upon the Books, which have been kept these hundred Years last past, and found there enter'd (to the best of my Remembrance) One Hundred and Ninety Eight, who, since that time, have in their Travels from the English Shore, had Will and Opportunity to see Jerusalem.

THE Sacred Reliques, Ancient Buildings, or whatever else deserves Remark, are these, which follow, eagerly asserted by the Priests to be the same, whose Reputation they have taken on them.

Herod's Palace.

THE glorious Palace of the haughty Herod speaks (in a Decay, not quite so bad, as Ruin) the unbounded Pride of its Imperious Founder: There still remain some Rooms entirely whole, particularly, that, wherein he us'd to sit, Enthron'd beneath a Canopy, and list'ned to the Business of his numerous Addressers; near which they show another Square, but low Roof'd Chamber, where our Saviour Christ, derided by the Scoffs of Impious Villains, was saluted on the Knee with the Ironical Address of Hail King of the Jews.

SOME stately Arches prove the Architecture to have been Magnificent and Lofty, and the Place is now so well repair'd, that 'tis the Residence of the Sangiack or Turkish Governor.

Solomon's Temple.

THEY show a Building, which they call the Temple of Solomon, but are neither suffer'd to go in themselves, or gain Admittance for a Christian Traveller, not even tho' Bribery, an almost never failing Orator among the Turks, should plead for the Permission.

Pontius Pilate's House.

THE House of Pontius Pilate still remains, and there they show the Place, where stood our Saviour, when they crown'd him with the Thorns, and bound him to a Pillar, which supported the Apartment: But, oh! shocking Thought! and strange Effect of Times vast Changes! that very Place, where Christ was Scourg'd by the Command of Pilate, is at present made a Shop, where an Old Man, of Seventy Years of Age, frys Cakes in Oyl, and sells them in the Street to Common People.

The Pool of Bethesda.

INCLINING to the East-side of the City, stands the Celebrated Pool of Bethesda, now almost dry'd up and fill'd with Rubbish, where the Angel formerly descended, and by troubling the Waters, made them efficacious in the Cure of Great Diseases.

The melancholy Way.

WITH melancholy Sighs we walk'd along the melancholy Way, thro' which our Saviour pass'd, o'erloaden with the Burthen of his Cross, in order to the Tragedy of his stupendious Crucifixion: Here we pass by an old Ruinated Place, where liv'd the Pious Veronica, who beheld, when Christ went by, that he was fainting with his Load, and brought him out a Napkin, to wipe off the Sweat from his afflicted Face, which Napkin amongst other Reliques, is retain'd and shown to Strangers in the Chappel of the Monastery.

The Houses of Simon and Lazarus.

NEXT, stand almost contiguous to each other, two old heaps of Building; in the first whereof they say liv'd Lazarus, whom Christ restor'd to Life, when he had long been buried; and the other they report, to have been formerly the Habitation of that Simon, who, perceiving Jesus faint before his Door, took up the Cross, and bore it for him to the Place of Execution.

The Virgins Chappel.

HARD by there stands a Chappel, Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, where they say, she stood, to see her Son go by, in order to be Crucifi'd, and Swoon'd, when she beheld him.

St. Peter's Prison.

THE Prison, where St. Peter was confin'd, is still remaining, and employ'd at present by the Turks for the same Purpose: Here they show a Hole, cut deeply in the Wall, to which they would ridiculously force you to believe, the Chain was fastned, which was us'd in binding the Imprison'd Saint abovenam'd; and not far distant from this Place, they show a Remnant of the Judgment Gate, thro' which our Saviour was conducted to the Sentence of his Condemnation.

The House of Annas.

THEY show the House, wherein our Saviour, visiting one Annas, then its Owner, stumbling accidentally, and almost falling down a little Precipice, in order to support himself, laid hold on the sharp Corner of a Wall, the Stones whereof, to this Day bear a Mark, which represents the Print of his four Fingers, if we may depend on the Assurances, our Fryars gave us.

A miraculous Stone.

THE House of Simon the Pharisee contains a Stone, whereon appears the Print of a Man's Foot, the Mark, they told us, which our Saviour made, when standing on it, he forgave the Sins of Mary Magdalene. It seems the Sacred Vertues of this Stone are so extraordinary, that tho' the Turks have frequently attempted to remove it from its Place, it has not only strangely baffled all their Efforts, but when once, the Governor himself, a mighty Enemy to any, who profess'd Christianity, endeavour'd it with Obstinacy, Flames of Fire broke fiercely from the Floor, and scorch'd away his Resolution.

The Room, where the Virgin Mary was born.

BENEATH the Hollow of a certain Rock, on which was built the House of Joahim and Anna, there is shown a small, low, square Apartment, where was born the Virgin Mary, as the Fathers told us.

St. Mark, and St. James.

THEY show the Ruins of a little Chappel, situated, where St Mark once liv'd, and not far from it a small Church, first founded by the Spaniards, in Commemoration of St. James, and Dedicated to him, for I think, they say, it stands upon the Ground, on which he was Beheaded.

THESE, as far as I remember, are the most remarkable of all the Places, we were shown within the City; I will now proceed to give you an Account of others, equally deserving Observation, which are found without the Walls, at several distances.

A Monastery in the Place, where Jesus met the two Disciples in the Road to Emaus.

IN the Road to Emaus, Westward of Jerusalem near Six Miles, there stands a Monastery founded by the Pious Empress Helena, directly on the Place, where Jesus met his two Disciples: Not far from hence they show a Valley, where they say was fought the famous Battle, before which the Sun and Moon stood still, at the desire of Joshua.

The Sepulchre of the Prophets.

AT five Miles distance from the North-West-Gate, are several Hollow Caves, cut deeply in the bottom of large Rocky Mountains, one whereof was formerly the Sepulchre of the Inspir'd and Celebrated Jewish Prophets.

The Burying Place of the Kings of Judah.

ALMOST directly opposite to that, remains the Burying Place of the Renown'd and Formidable Kings of Judah, which is enter'd by a square Descent, of near five Foot each way.

A narrow Passage.

THIS leads us thro' a Passage, somewhat narrower, and still descending with no little difficulty, by reason of great heaps of Rubbish, driven by Time to choak the Entrance: The Passage, fifteen Foot in length, is terminated by a broad and lofty Level, Arch'd above, and Bench'd, tho' roughly, upon either side.

A wonderful Door.

THE end of this large Place, which I may term a Gallery, admits you to a very wide and graceful Chamber, which you must descend to from the Gallery by two or three Stone-Steps, of admirable Workmanship: This Chamber has a Door belonging to it, which we found quite open, of an exquisite Contrivance, made entirely of the Rock it self, with Hinges of the same, on which it moves, tho' of prodigious Weight and Bulk, with an incredible facility.

ON either side the Chamber, into which you are admitted by the three Stone Steps abovenam'd, stand the Monuments of such, as formerly were buried there; the Number is considerable, and the Order, they are rang'd in, very regular.

Description of the Tombs.

THE Tombs are form'd alike, and of a Magnitude, exactly equal. They are smaller, otherwise they differ little from the Monument of Porphyry, I mention'd in the Chapter of the Pyramids of Egypt; some retain their Covers still upon them, others have been open'd by the eager Curiosity of Christian Travellers.

Characters, within them.

UPON the insides of them all, we found Decypher'd certain unintelligible Characters, which, could we have interpreted their meaning, might have probably inform'd us, who was buried in each Stony and Capacious Hollow. That they were the Kings of Juda, we have no great cause to disbelieve, but that among them were Interr'd King David, and his Son, the Mighty Solomon, (as the too credulous Inhabitants of Palestine are taught by their Tradition) appears too widely distant from the reach of Probability, to fix a Reputation on the groundless Notion.

The Corps, found in them.

HOWEVER it is certain, that, at breaking open any of these Tombs, we may be sure to find the Body of a Man, Embalm'd, and Ʋncorrupted, but extreamly different from the Mummies, found in the Egyptian Catacombs, for these are so incredibly diminish'd, both in Bulk and Stature, that they scarce retain the bare Resemblance of the Shape, they once were Masters of.

A melancholy Sight.

THE broken Pieces, and disjointed Bones, left carelesly about the bottom of some Tombs, afford a very odd and melancholy Prospect; and, in others, the remaining Firmness of the jointless Bodies, Light and Thin, like some dry'd Fish, which I have seen in England, gave our Thoughts a mournful Subject for the following Contemplations.

Contemplations on it.

Is this alas! our boasted Mortal State?

Is it for this, we covet to be Great?

What Happiness from envied Grandeur springs,

When these poor Reliques once were mighty Kings?

O Frail Ʋncertainty of Human Power,

While Graves can Majesty it self devour!

While Death distinguishes nor Sex, nor Birth,

And Regal Graces moulder into Earth!

Alas! how strange, how sad a Change is here,

In what a Dress does Royalty appear!

O where is now the Globe of thy Command?

Or where the Scepter, that adorn'd this Hand?

Where's now the Crown, which once these Temples bound?

Or where those trailing Robes, which swept the Ground?

Where are those brawny Guards, which aw'd thy State?

And where those cringing Crowds, which once were proud to wait?

Are those thin Jaws the same, which us'd to treat,

Thy Pamper'd Palate with such Choice of Meat?

Can narrow Limits, such as these, contain

The chang'd Extent of thy once larger Reign?

Canst Thou, at whose least Frown a Nation shook,

And dreaded Lightning from thy stormy Look?

Canst Thou alas! be passively Content,

To let Intruders search thy Monument?

Thou, who wert once too Great for Vulgar Touch,

Can thy Proud Majesty be chang'd so much?

That Common Men, unknown to Kings like you,

Thus poize you, turn you round, and wonder at the view.

Bethlehem, how Situated.

WEST from Jerusalem about six Miles, stands the Renown'd and Ancient Bethlehem, our Redeemers Birth-place; and upon the Road, which leads you to it, you are made to observe the following Reliques of Antiquity, by your Guides, the Fryars, who attend you thither.

Solomons Aquaeduct.

THE Ruins of a Great, and Noble Aquaeduct, which formerly brought Water to the Celebrated Temple of the Glorious Solomon, appear between two Rocky Mountains, every here and there, delightfully conspicuous, high above the Superficies of a Flow'ry Valley.

Bathsheba's Fountain.

THE Fountain, where Bathsheba Wash'd her self, when David spy'd her from a Neighbouring Turret, still continues extant, or at least a Spring, inheriting its Reputation by the Virtue of Tradition; and a little higher, on the Summit of the utmost Corner of Mount Sion, stand the Ruins of the Tower, whence she was discover'd by that Powerfull Monarch.

Elias's Rock.

ANOTHER Rarity, they show most Travellers, is a large Rock, whereon they zealously affirm, the Prophet Elias us'd to Sleep; and to confirm the Story, they oblige us to take Notice of some Natural Hollows, which are found upon the Rock, Created, as they say, by the Miraculous Impression, that the Prophets Body made, in his repeated Slumbers.

Jacob's House.

THE Ruins of a Church, or Monastery, point out the Ground, whereon in former Ages, stood the House of the Old Patriarch Jacob; and the Tomb of Rachel stands within Six Furlongs of this Place, not far from which the Town of Rama, where the Voice was heard of Rachel, Weeping for her Children, still continues a considerable Village.

THESE, and many other Rarities of venerable Age and Sacred Virtue, if the Priests may be believ'd upon their Verbum Sacerdotis, give a Stranger frequent Opportunities of Gazing round him, in the Road, which lies between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, to which last, however, we are now arriv'd.

A Temple, Built by Helena, at Bethlehem.

DIRECTLY in the Place, where stood the Inn, in one of whose Mean Stables, the neglected Virgin Mary was oblig'd to lie, when she so greatly Bless'd the Sinfull World, in our Dear Saviour Christ's Nativity, the Pious Helena, that Happy Mother of the Glorious Constantine, Erected, long time since, a Stately Temple, representing in its form, the Figure of a Cross, near which is Built a little Monastery, now possess'd by certain Fryars of Franciscan Order, and in all kinds of the same Fraternity with those, I mention'd in the Convent at Jerusalem.

Three dismal Grotto's.

THEY give all Strangers Torches in their Hands, and lead them thro' a Narrow Dark, and Winding Passage to three several Grotto's; one a Vault, wherein they say the Children, Murder'd by the barbarous decree of Herod, were thrown Headlong, to be Buried; and within the second, stand the Tombs of good St. Jerom, and his Scholar, fam'd Eusebius, the Confessor; The last Cave, containing nothing but a Monument, erected o'er the Grave of the Fair Convert Paula, a great Roman Lady, of the Noblest Extract, who together with her Son Eustochius, was Interr'd at Bethlehem, were she Built Four Monasteries and endow'd them Richly, which are now entirely Ruin'd.

The Birth Place and Manger of Christ.

WITHIN a little space of the abovenam'd Grotto's, you descend to a large Chappel, flagg'd with Marble, Gilt and Ornamented in the richest manner: Here they show the very Spot of Ground, whereon the Virgin was deliver'd of her Son, the Holy Jesus, with the Manger, into which she laid him, and the Place, where 'tis reported, that the Wise Men of the East, directed thither by a Star, knelt down and Worshipp'd, whilst they offer'd up their Presents.

Jacob's Meadow.

IT is at Bethlehem, that they show the Field, where Jacob sed his Flock, and where the Angels, visiting the Shepherds, ravish'd them with the transporting News of our Great Saviours bless'd Nativity: The Field to this Day bears the Name of Jacob's Meadow.

Joseph's House.

NOT a Mile without the Town, they show the House, where Joseph liv'd before he fled to Egypt, and the Cave, wherein he hid the Virgin and her Son, while he prepar'd Conveniences for his intended Journey.

Many other Places, worth Remark.

BESIDES the Places, which I have already mention'd, there are many others, equally deserving Observation; but as twou'd oblige me to an inexcusable Prolixity, should I so much as name them all, I will omit enlarging any farther, than to give you a Description of some certain things, which justly claim the Reader's Notice, who may rest assur'd, that not one memorable Place in Scripture has escap'd the Knowledge of the zealous Romans, and Bigotted Christians of some other Churches, who will boldly undertake to show you almost every thing, you possibly can ask for.

Acceldama, or the Field of Blood.

SOƲTH of Jerusalem, and not far distant from the Walls thereof, is that curs'd Piece of Ground, of Old Acceldama, the Field of Blood, a Purchase, made by the reward of Villany, return'd again by the repenting Judas: This in former Times, the Scriptures tell us, was employ'd as a Receptacle for the Dead Bodies of all kind of Strangers.

A Burying Place for Christians.

NOR has Time had Power to change the Ʋse, to which it was ordain'd so long ago: 'Tis still the common Burying Place of all those Christians, undistinguish'd by the Name of Franks, that is, all such, as are the Subjects, or at least the Tributary Slaves of the Grand Signior.

How Wall'd round.

THE Field is all enclos'd by a Stone Wall, of mighty thickness, Roof'd with Art so very closely, that there is no Passage to the Soil within it, but by certain Holes, considerably broad, which rise, like Cupola's, upon the top, and are from time to time, set open in a different Place, to let down such Dead Bodies, as have right to be Interr'd within that Compass,
Corps, that rot in a days time.

where the Earth is certainly endued with such a penetrative Virtue, that in two Days time, the Soundest Body of a Man, or Woman will be eaten to a Skeleton.

TO search the Causes, which may probably produce this odd Effect, is devious from my Subject; I will therefore only tell you, that the Stench is so offensive, that 'tis no agreable Amusement, to inspect that horrid Mansion of Corruption, yet we ventur'd to look down the Hole, which then stood open, and discover'd, as distinctly as the Places Duskiness cou'd possibly permit, the lately buried Bodies of some six or seven Persons;
A horrid Prospect.

four of which were so far Skeletons, that there appear'd the •…shless Bones in many Places, and the rest were coming on to such degree, that they appear'd half rotten, and afforded such a strange and dismal Spectacle, that we were frighted from the Thoughts of an exact Remark or curious Observation.

Ship-loads of Earth.

THE Roman Catholicks have frequently Exported whole Ship-loads of this prodigious Soil, which has been long known publickly at Rome and Paris; and at Pisa, I my self have seen a Church-Yard, cover'd four Foot deep therewith, in which they us'd to bury Persons only of an high Distinction.

Other Sepulchres.

BESIDES the Sepulchres abovenam'd, all the Rocks, for a considerable distance round this Place, are full of Caves, against the Mouth of every one of which is roll'd a Stone of ponderous Magnitude, according to the ancient Custom, mention'd in the Holy Scriptures.

IT wou'd be endless to enumerate the many venerable Places, shown a Traveller, on every side, without Jerusalem; I'll only therefore say in general, that we saw them all, but took a more than common Notice of the following Places.

Memorable Places.

THE Valley of Jehosaphat, the Old Oak Roguel, the Pool of Siloa, the Sepulchre of Zachariah, and the stately Pillar, which was built by Absalom with a design to eternize his Memory, before the Period of his black Rebellion.

Other memorable Places.

WE likewise saw Mount Olivet, the famous Gethsemane, and the Garden, where our Blessed Saviour was betray'd by Judas, with the Place, whereon he Pray'd in his amazing Agony; the Village Bethany, the Place, where the Repenting Judas was Interr'd, and a Remainder of the Tree, whereon he hang'd himself;
Bethphage.

the Place, where once stood Bethphage, a considerable Village, whence our Saviour, on an Asses Colt, came riding to Jerusalem.

LET these suffice to give the Reader an Idea of the Entertainment, Christian Travellers receive, who, led by Curiosity, or sometimes Zeal, engage the Fryars to direct their Notice to the most considerable Reliques of esteem'd Antiquity.
Helena's Temple.

Proceed we now to take a View of the beforenam'd Temple, founded on Mount Calvary, a very low, but craggy Hill, all cut and polish'd from its ancient Form, for the Conveniency of Building this Illustrious Temple, which was left by the Religious Helena, a memorable Monument of the Respect, she bore profess'd Christianity.

Its Situation.

THE Temple is Magnificent, and covers not the Hill alone, but a considerable Part of the surrounding Plain, one side whereof was that, into whose unfrequented Wildnesses the ancient Jews were us'd to throw the stripp'd Dead Bodies of their Executed Malefactors, from which common Custom it receiv'd the Name, it bore of Old, when it was call'd the Valley of Carcasses.

Its Description.

THE finest Buildings of the Temple front the South, the Roof thereof is Arch'd and stately, Ornamented in two Places by a couple of indifferently large, but somewhat ruinated Cupola's, the one to be ascended by a kind of Stair-Case on the outward side, the other open at the Top, and rising from the Chappel, which encompasses the Sepulchre of Christ.

Two Tombs.

YOU pay a certain Sum of Money to the Turkish Officers, who grant a Licence for your Entrance, which you have no sooner made, than you perceive upon your Right Hand, an Old Fashion'd Tomb, and on your Left another, which enclose the Bodies of the famous Godfrey of Bulloigne, and King Baldwin his Successor, the two first Christian Monarchs of Redeem'd Jerusalem.

UPON the Tomb of Godfrey, on the Right Hand, as I said before, is found the following Latin Epitaph.

Godfrey of Bull•…

's Epitaph.HIC JACET INCLYTUS GODEFRIDƲS DE BƲGLION,

QƲI TOT AM IST AM TERRAM

AC QƲISIVIT CƲLTƲI CHRISTIANO,

CƲJƲS ANIMA REQƲIESCAT IN PACE. AMEN.

HERE LIES THE FAMOUS GODFREY OF BULLOIGNE,

WHO CONQUER'D ALL THIS COUNTRY

TO THE CHRISTIAN WORSHIP,

O MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE! AMEN.

THE other Monument upon the Left Hand of the Entrance tells the Traveller, it is King Baldwin's by the following Inscription.

King Baldwin's Epitaph.

REX BALDWINƲS, JƲDAS ALTER MACHABEƲS,

SPES PATRIAE, VIGOR ECCLESIAE, VIRTƲS ƲTRIƲS{QUE}

QƲEM FORMIDABANT, CƲI DONA TRIBƲTA FEREBANT,

CEDAR, EGYPTI DAN, AC HOMICIDA DAMASCƲS:

PROH DOLOR! IN MODICO CLAƲDITƲR HOCTƲMƲLO.

ANOTHER JUDAS MACHABEUS, FAM'D

FOR GLORIOUS ACTS, LIKE HIS, KING BALDWIN NAM'D,

HIS COUNTRY'S HOPE, AND CHURCHE'S CHAMPION TOO,

IN WHOM UNITED BOTH THEIR HONOUR KNEW,

WHOM CEDAR, THE EGYPTIAN DAN, NAY MORE,

DAMASCUS WITH HER HOMICIDIAN STORE,

WHOM ALL THESE FEAR'D, AND TO WHOSE POW'RFUL SWAY,

THEIR WILLING DUTIES CONSTANT TRIBUTE PAY,

ALAS! IN THIS SMALL TOMB IS SHUT FROM DAY.

The Rent in the Rock.

NOT far from those two Monuments you rise upon Mount Calvary, and there are shown the Cleaving of the Rock, which split asunder at our Saviour's Crucifixion, naturally rough and plainly proving, Art could have no hand in the prodigious Rent, wherein they tell us was discover'd Adam's Head, which had been buried there, unknown to Mortals, till the Death of Jesus.

Christian Chappels.

FARTHER in the Temple there are many Chappels or Divisions, constantly Inhabited by several different Sects of Christians, who imagining it is a very meritorious Act to spend their Lives within the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre, embrace Confinement, and possess Apartments, independent each on other, never stirring, but on great Occasions, from the Altars of their Worship.

The Hole, wherein was plac'd the Cross of Christ.

THE highest of these Chappels, Chequer'd over with a various colour'd Marble, which they will not let you walk upon with Shooes, is built upon the very Spot of Ground, on which our Saviour suffer'd on the Cross; the Hollow of the Rock, wherein the Cross was plac'd, remains unbroken, richly Plated with the finest Silver gilt, and piercing thro' the midst of a large Remnant of the Cliff, which was not cut away at the Foundation of the Chappel, but continues whole, near half a Yard above the Superficies of the Marble Pavement.

The Ceremonies there perform'd by Pilgrims.

HERE it is, that Christian Pilgrims in a zealous Extacy, are seen to practise Airs and Postures, not much differing from down right Madness, rolling up and down with strange Extravagance, endeavouring to creep, as near the Hole, as possibly they can, Embracing, Kissing, and half Deluging with Tears the solid Stones, as if they knew them not to be insensible, and would extract a Sympathetic Sorrow from their Rocky Hardness.

The two Thieves Crosses.

ON either side of the abovenam'd Hole, there stands a Cross directly in the Places, where the Thieves, who suffer'd with our Saviour, hung in Crucifixion; Here, as in the other Chappels of the Temple, they adorn the Sides, and Roof, with a considerable Stock of ever burning Lamps, the melancholy Air of which Appearance helps to strike a Sacred Terrour thro' the Breasts of all, who enter.

The Place, where Christ was nail'd upon the Cross.

ANOTHER Chappel, enter'd thro' the former, brings you to the Place, where Christ was laid upon the Ground, and nail'd, as usual, upon the Cross he Died on: On the Floor, which is compos'd of many colour'd Marbles, you perceive the Figure of the Cross, directly, as the Priests assur'd us, in the Place, whereon lay that, which this is but design'd to represent the Form of; Here again, the Pilgrims of both Sexes exercise their Vigour, in those zealous kind of Motions, I describ'd so lately.

Another Sacred Place.

WITHIN a little distance from these Places, you are shown a Marble Stone, which covers, as they say, that very Spot of Ground, whereon the Virgin Mary stood, when from the Cross our Saviour recommended her and his belov'd Disciple to a mutual Love from that time forward.

The Sepulchre of Christ, how enclos'd.

YOU pass by many little Chappels thro' abundance of large Pillars, to the Sepulchre of Christ, enclos'd by a small Temple, upon which is built the open Cupola, I lately mention'd; the Wood thereof is Cedar, and the Chappel quite surrounded by a Range of Cornish'd Marble Pillars, standing close against the Wall, and thence affording something, that deserves the Name of Ornament.

Description of the Sepulchre.

DIRECTLY in the midst appears the Sepulchre of our Blessed Saviour, hewn by manual Labour in the Rock it self, near two Yards long, and one in breadth: 'Twas anciently expos'd to Publick View, Unpolish'd and in native roughness; but is now politely cover'd with a spacious Marble, to preserve it from the zealous Robberies of such Religious Pilgrims, as, imputing a Miraculous Effect to the Possession of such Holy Reliques, often us'd to break away small Pieces of the Rocky Sepulchre.

Plac'd in a narrow Space.

THE Tomb, not quite a Yard in Height, enclos'd in such a narrow space, as scarce affords sufficient room for four to Kneel, is now converted to an Altar, Ornamented brightly with a constant Number of fine Lamps, the dark Effects of whose perpetual Smoak have daub'd the Roof with an unsightly Blackness.

The Stone, which the Angel roll'd away.

NEAR the Entrance, in the Middle of the Floor, there lies a Stone, near two Foot square, whereon some say, the Angels sat, when they declar'd that Christ was risen; Others wou'd perswade us to believe, 'twas that, which had been roll'd against the Entrance of the Sepulchre, according to the Jewish Custom, tho' they show'd us in another Place, a Stone, which has with more success assum'd that Reputation.

The Pillar of Christ's Scourging.

NOT far from hence they show the remnant of a broken Pillar, which is said to be a Part of that, whereto they bound our Saviour, while they scourg'd him. 'Tis four foot long, and vein'd with dusky Clouds, but sprinkled on one side with certain Spots of reddish Colour, which they would perswade us to believe, were made by the most precious Blood of the Revil'd and Tortur'd Jesus.

The Honour paid the Relique.

THIS Relique is enclos'd within an Iron Grate, thro' which it must be touch'd by nothing, but a certain Stick, the Priests provide you with, which being thence immediately convey'd to Pilgrims Mouths, is stedfastly believ'd of never failing Power to infuse a certain balmy Virtue to the Soul of Him, who blesses his internal Faculties by kissing eagerly the holy Stick, which has been honour'd with the Touch of such a Sacred Relique.

Knights of the Sepulchre.

THERE was a Custom Instituted in the Year One Thousand and Ninety Nine, of Constituting Gentlemen, Knights of the Sepulchre, by kneeling on the Place, and taking there a certain Oath to be Eternal Champions of the Church of Christ, and lead a Life sincerely Pious, and continue Members of the Roman Catholick Religion, which, with certain other Ceremonies, such as girding on a Sword, and hanging a Gold Cross about his Neck, being perform'd by the Father Guardian of the Franciscan Monastery upon Mount Calvary, he rises, Dignify'd with that Religious Quality.

By whom Instituted.

THE Sovereigns of this once respected Order were the Kings of France, who Instituted it Originally, but when the Avarice of the Priests inclin'd them to accept of any Man, how mean soever, who desir'd the Honour of this Sacred Knighthood, cou'd he but afford to bribe them highly, it became at last so very Common, that 'twas disregarded by degrees,
Now almost disus'd.

and now is very rarely practis'd, or so much as sought for.

Christs Prison.

THEY show a little low and darksome Grotto, hewn, but roughly, in the Body of the Rock, wherein they say our Saviour was confin'd, betwixt the Hour of his Sentence, and Moment of his Crucifixion.

The Place where they cast Lots for his Garments.

HERE likewise is the Place wherein the Soldiers cast their Lotts, according to the Custom, then in Practice with the Jews, for our condemn'd Redeemer's Garments. Not far from thence, the bottom of a tedious narrow pair of Stairs, cut also from the Rock it self, admits you to a kind of Gallery, supported by four Marble Pillars of a greyish Colour, which, for ever sweating, or emitting a perpetual Moisture by the native Dampness of the subterraneous Place, wherein they stand, are shown to Strangers for a Miracle,
Weeping Pillars.

and said to Weep with Sorrow for our Saviour's Crucifixion.

The Place where they found the Cross.

UPON the Southern side of Calvary, eleven Stone Stairs admit you to a Vault, which Helena first founded on that Part of the Valley of Carcasses, wherein, among vast heaps of Rubbish, Bones of Men, and Mossy Stones, they found the Cross of Christ, and those of the two Thieves, who had been Crucified with him, after they had lain unthought of, and forgotten, full three hundred Years, or somewhat upwards.

The Conclusion.

I think that, having said thus much, it wou'd be needlessly Prolix, to tire the Reader with additional Relations, little else deserving a peculiar Observation, gives me opportunity to swell the Subject, I have dwelt so long upon, and which, when I beheld the numerous Scenes of our Redeemers Sufferings, possess'd my Bosom with an ardent Flame of Zeal for that Religion, he so dearly fix'd amongst us by his Death and Passion.

GRANT, Indulgent God of my Desires, that I may long retain a fresh Idea of those moving Scenes, which stirr'd the Passions of my melting Nature to a lively Sense of Duty and Affection, for that Compassionate and Tender Saviour, who descended from his Father, to assume the Frailties of a Weak Humanity, and Died for the Offences of an undeserving Race of stubborn Sinners.

Nothing more, worth viewing.

NOTHING, after you have seen all this, can tempt your Stay in sad Jerusalem, you therefore take your leave of the Franciscan Fryers, who pretend an humble Condescention to all kinds of People; but have often given demonstrative occasion to the Protestants, who Travel thither, to mistrust the Truth of their fair-fronted Compliments, by the Miscarriage of some Englishmen, whole Companies of whom have Died within one Week, I fear by other Motives than the Complaisant Intention of accompanying one another, to the other side Mortality.

CHAP. XLI. Of the Cities of Palestine, as they now are.

I NOW proceed, to let the Reader know, that such as is Jerusalem, just now describ'd, such also are the other Cities of this miserable Country; Once they flourish'd in a State of Glory, if not equal, yet not much inferior to their fam'd Metropolis; But now like Her subverted, and disrob'd of ancient Beauties, they exhibit to the View of every Traveller, a melancholy Cause of Contemplation on the Changes, Mortal Excellence is ever subject to, and the undoubted Truth of Seneca's asserted Maxim.

Sen. Tra. Troas.

Quicquid Sol Oriens, quicquid & Occidens

Novit; Coeruleis Oceanus fretis

Quicquid vel veniens, vel fugiens lavat,

Aetas Pegaseo corripiet gradu.

What e'er the Rising, or the Setting Sun

Knows in the daily Course, his Glories run;

What e'er the Ocean with Sky-Colour'd Waves,

Or in her Ebbings, or her Flowings laves;

Time shall with Pegasean Flight devour.

I will not, in describing the Condition of the Cities of the Holy Land, observe the nicety of Geographic Regularity, but taking first the Sea-Port Towns in order, as they lie to the South-East of Egypt, thence come back the other way, and so include a full description of as much, as now remains worth Notice, in that Tract of Land, extending, as of Old, from Dan even to Beersheba.

The Sea-Port Towns of Palestine.

THE most remarkable of such, as were of Old, or still continue Sea-Port Towns, or near the Sea, are these, which follow; Gaza, which I elsewhere mention'd, Ascalon, and Joppa, Acre, Tyrus, and the Celebrated Sidon.

The Inland Cities.

THE Inland Cities, anciently of most Repute, and now remaining most deserving of a Stranger's Observation, are no more than these, which follow: Old Damascus, Caesarea, Nazareth, Samaria, Jericho, and Hebron, and to sum up all the fam'd Beersheba.

Gaza, describ'd.

GAZA, now call'd Gazra, was in ancient Times most Famous, for the wonderful Performances of Sampson's Strength; 'tis situated on a Hill, and stands amidst the fruitful Vallies of a pleasant Country, Inhabited promiscuously by Turks and Christians, 'tis about a Mile in Circuit, all the Houses low, and meanly built of muddy Substance, yet many Reliques, both of Marble Pillars, and a polish'd kind of Porphyry Buildings, give fair Proofs of her Magnificence in former Ages.

Ruins of the Philistines Temple.

THERE yet remain upon the Hill, the splendid Ruins of a Massy, Arch'd and Lofty Piece of Architecture, which is generally said to have been anciently the Place, where Sampson, standing blind betwixt the Pillars, to make Sport for the Philistine Noblemen, pull'd down the House with sudden force, and with himself, destroy'd such mighty Numbers of that Warlike People.

Sampson's Foxes.

THEY show the Field, wherein the just nam'd Sampson ty'd the Foxes Tail to Tail, and burnt the standing Corn of the Philistines; and among the many Places, Famous in his Memory, oblige you to take notice of a very steep and craggy Hill, to which, when he had been disturb'd in Gaza, he ascended, with the City Gates upon his Brawny Shoulders.

An Old Castle.

THERE is a Castle now remaining, Founded by King Baldwin, in the Year One Thousand, One Hundred and Forty Eight, a very mean and despicable Fabrick, where the Great Sangiack of Gazra has his Residence, and Rules the City and the Country round it, with an uncontroul'd and arbitrary Tyranny.

Ascalon describ'd.

ABOUT twelve Miles South-East of Gazra, close upon the Sea, is built the City Ascalon, now call'd Schalon, Inhabited by Turks, and guarded by a kind of Fort, wherein they keep a ragged Garrison. This Place deserves Remark, in that it was of Old the City, where was built the Celebrated Temple of the Great Philistine Idol, Dagon, part of whose decay'd Foundations they pretend upon Inquiry, to point out to Travellers. 'Tis now a kind of inconsiderable Village, worth regard for nothing, but the Garrison, the Turks maintain to guard their Castle.

Joppa describ'd.

JOPPA, Famous in the Scriptures for a Sea Port Town, is ill accommodated with a dangerous Haven, open to the fury of the Northern Tempests; all her Buildings are of Mud, or an unpolish'd kind of Stone, of an-appearance, not agreeable. The Place is Peopled by promiscuous Numbers of the Turks and Christians. Certain Merchants have their Dwellings here, in order to Export such quantities of Cotton, as they can procure about the Country. Other Merchandizes they are seldom stock'd with. Annual Numbers of the Christian Pilgrims, Travelling to visit the Sepulchre of Christ, and other Sacred Reliques at Jerusalem, are landed here, and by their frequent Passages maintain, but not enrich the miserable Natives of this Worthless City, which is Famous for the boasted height of her Antiquity, reported to have been first built by Japhet, Noah's Son, or as some say, before the Deluge.

Acre describ'd.

ACRE is a Sea Port Town, directly equidistant from Jerusalem and Tripolis of Syria; 'tis built upon a Plain, its Form Triangular, two sides whereof the Sea for ever washes; Once it was a Place of Strength, Impregnable, and Fortified by all the Helps of Art and Nature, which the mighty Ruins, still remaining, like stupendious Mountains well demonstrate.

How much Blood has been shed there.

SUCCESSIVE Seas of Blood were shed between the Turks and Christians in the Holy War, each side alternately possessing, and oblig'd to quit the fatal City; It is now entirely govern'd by a Turkish Sangiack, and Inhabited by Men of pretty good Condition, on account of the Conveniency, the Sea affords them, of a Trade with Britain, Holland, France, and every other Navigating Part of Christendom.

Tyre describ'd.

TYRƲS, the Fam'd Metropolis of Old Phoenicia, Celebrated anciently for Wealth and Power, and particularly Famous for her Purple Dye, which lives so frequently in many of the Works of former Writers, is at present Subject to the Turkish Government, and Peopled by a mixture of Moors, Greeks, and other kinds of Christians and Mahometans together. It is Situated close upon the Sea, to which she opens on her Northern side, with a delightful and commodious Harbour.

Her ancient State.

ONCE she was not only gloriously Magnificent in all her Buildings, but surrounded by such Numbers of delicious Trees, and lovely Gardens, that she seem'd to form the very Paradise of Nature, and misled the Senses of her Proud Inhabitants, to all the Practices of Villany and Arrogance, which tempted them to live a Life of Luxury, and wallow in the taste of Carnal Bliss, unmindful of a Truth, the ruinated Aspect of her Modern Figure, sadly teaches every Stranger, who may chance to visit her,

Sen Trag. Thy.

Nulla sors longa est, dolor ac voluptas

Invicem cedunt, brevior voluptas.

Ima permutat brevis hora summis.

No Lot is lasting, Grief and Pleasure too

Alternately each other still persue,

But Pleasure's Reign is shortest of the two.

One short Hours Change makes Meanest Things most Great.

Sidon describ'd.

SIDON is of rather more than less Antiquity than Tyre, Built and Nam'd, as most agree, by Sidon, Canaan's Eldest Son. 'Tis Situated in a very rich and healthful Country, not far distant from the Cedar Mountains of the Famous Lebanon, and upon the other side made Pleasant and Convenient by the Sea, which washes it.

The modern Sidon.

THE Present Sidon stands on a Foundation, somewhat distant from the ancient City, and is very meanly Built and despicably Peopled, scarce worth mention, but upon account of some Antiquities, particularly an Old Tomb, which they affirm to be the Sepulchre of Zebulon: It stands among the ruinated Buildings, which appear to mark the Place, where the proud Sidon stood in former Ages.

Its Manufactures.

MANY Merchants here reside, Exporting Yearly Quantities of Cotton, Silk, and other Manufactures:
The Government of Sidon.

The Town and Country round it, are entirely subject to the Turkish Government, but in a manner somewhat different from other Places, for their Great Emir or Governour possesses an Hereditary Power, and free Exercise of a Religion, between Mahometanism and Christianity, by Virtue of a Patent, granted them on their Submission to the Turkish Yoke, when they had long defended those Possessions, left them by the Famous Godfrey of Bulloigne King of Jerusalem, who brought them from their Native Country, France, to serve as Christian Soldiers in the Holy Land, where their Posterity have in the Course of Time, degenerated both from their Religion and their Honour, to the evil Principles and mean Subjection, they profess at present.

Description of Damascus.

EASTWARD of Sidon, two Days Journey stands, Damascus, Situated on a Plain, well Water'd, and Surrounded by a graceful Ring of fruitful Mountains, now the Seat of a Bashaw, and Peopled with the Wealthiest Inland Merchants of the Turkish Empire. All her Houses are indifferently built of Stone, or Brick unbak'd, and of a small duration. Numerous Fountains, Fish Ponds, Orchards, Gardens, Avenues, and Grotto's gracefully Adorn the Celebrated City, which of Old was Famous, and in great measure still continues so, for the Invention or Improvement of Ingenious Arts, and Useful Sciences.

The Town Caesarea.

CAESAREA, once the Famous City Dan, is now extreamly chang'd to Disadvantage, by the Course of Time, and Overthrow of Governments. 'Tis notwithstanding, still a Town of great Importance, Famous for a Castle of so strong a Situation and Contrivance, that the Turkish Sultans, looking on it as a kind of Berwick upon Tweed, think fit to honour it with a perpetual mention in the Titles, they affix to every Publick Proclamation, in the following manner; I, even I, the Mighty Sultan, amongst whose numerous Places of Defence, the Impregnable Castle of Caesarea is esteem'd the least, and in regard to whose vast Power, the Macedonian Empire was a very Trifle.

Nazareth, in her present Condition.

NAZARETH, the Birth Place of the Blessed Virgin, scarce deserves a mention upon any other Consideration. 'Tis Situated in a Valley, all the Hills about it Craggy, and Unfruitful; not above an hundred Houses form the Village, built at present on the old Foundation of the Galilean Nazareth.

How Inhabited.

POOR are the People, who Inhabit here, a mix'd Conjunction of the Turks and Christians, yet the last by far the fewest. Nothing here deserves remark, but certain venerable Ruins on the Hills adjoining, and a kind of Chappel, which they say is built, upon that very Spot of Ground, whereon stood formerly the Virgin Mary's House, and Room of her Nativity.

Samaria, as at present.

SAMARIA, lying almost in the Center of the Holy Land, continues still a Formidable City, Peopled only by Mahometans, and (but in that 'tis somewhat strong) deserving no Man's Observation, as to any thing, but some fine Ruins of Antiquity, which seem to have been formerly no less than Kingly Palaces, by their remaining Marks of Faded Royalty.

The City Jericho.

AMIDST a spacious Valley, nine Miles broad, upon the Ground, where once stood Jericho, we found a miserable little Village, near the Wilderness, wherein is Situated the prodigious Mountain,
Quarantania, an Italian Etymology.

now call'd Quarantania, because 'twas from the top thereof, the Devil tempted Christ, by shewing him the Kingdoms of the Ʋniverse, and urging him without Success, to think on Sin for Forty Days together.

JERICHO was once a Place of Fame, and the surrounding Country tolerably Fertil; now the very Face of Nature is so strangely alter'd, that (the piercing Scarcity of all Lifes Necessaries, tempting the poor Arabs, who Inhabit the rough Mountains round it, to make Prey on all such Passengers, as they can overcome by downright Force, or subtle Ambuscadoes) 'tis become so dangerous an Ʋndertaking to attempt a Journey thither, and the Place it self so Barren and Unpleasant, that it gave occasion in the Holy War for the Original of an Old Proverb,
The Original of the Proverb, Wou'd you were at Jericho.

when you wou'd revenge your self on any Man, who has affronted you, to say in England, Wou'd you were at Jericho.

Hebron describ'd.

HEBRON, which was once the Residence of David, till his Conquest of the Jebusites possess'd him of Jerusalem, stands not many Miles from Gaza, nor far distant from the Celebrated Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Place is held in much esteem, and often Visited with wond'rous Veneration, by Bigotted Jews, who hold it as a meritorious Deed, to make a Pilgrimage on no account, but to perform a kind of Ceremonious Mourning o'er the Tombs of their Old Patriarchs, who here lie Buried.

A pleasant Place.

NOTHING certainly can yield a more delightful Prospect, than those lovely Vallies, fruitful Hills, large Plains, and flow'ry Meadows, which, combining the Perfections of their natural Beauty, seem to paint the Land, round Hebron with so odd a Gayety, that even the dullest Eye is sweetly ravish'd with an Object, so delightful.

Bersheba, as at present.

BERSHEBA opposite to Gaza, and the Southern Boundary of Old Judea, now distinguish'd by the Name of Geheblin, remains an inconsiderable Village, boasting neither Reliques of her own Antiquity, nor tasting the Advantages of other Cities, in her Traffick, Situation, or the Character, she bears, when put in Competition with the Places, I have treated of.

AND now I think, I have as briefly as is possible, describ'd, as largely as is necessary, all those Cities of the hapless Holy Land, which may deserve Remark, or bear regard enough in Modern Servitude, to claim a Place in the Remembrance of a Traveller.

I cannot help repeating the Concern, I had upon me, to behold this Country, once the Seat of Justice and Religion, groan in a Subjection to the Enemies of Both. 'Tis true the Jews, her Old Inhabitants, had more deserv'd a Stranger's Pity, had they less invited their Foretold Destruction, for we may be allow'd to say with Seneca,

Sen. Tra. Hip.

Quem Fata cogunt, ille cum veniâ est miser;

At siquis ultro se malis offert volens,

Se{que} ipse torquet, perdere est dignus bona

Queis nescit uti.

That Man, whose Troubles from Fates Curses flow,

Tho' Miserable, is with Pity so;

But He, who does, unforc'd, Self Torment chuse,

Deserves to lose a Good, he knows not how to use.

CHAP. XLII. Of the River Jordan, and the Dead Sea, or Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah.

I bring my Reader now to a Description of a River, worth Remark, in that it is the only noted one, the Holy Land can boast of, and a Memorable Monument of the Almighty Vengeance on a Wicked People in the Stagnate Sea of heavy Waters, which at present covers those once-lovely Plains, on whose delightful Surface stood the Cities, which by Obstinate Adherence to the Blackest Vices, drew down Show'rs of Fire and Brimstone, on their Ʋnrepenting and Supine Inhabitants.

The Etymology of Dan.

DAN, of Old the Southern Boundary of Palestine, receiv'd its Name from a large Fountain, near to which the Town was Situated; And from a kind of Lake or Well of mighty Depth and Magnitude, some Miles above that Ancient City, Flows the celebrated River Jordan, running thence thro Subterraneous Passages to the aforenam'd Fountain Dan, emitting there (and at another Fountain somewhat smaller, very near, and Anciently distinguish'd by the Name of Jor)
The Etymology of Jordan

those rising Streams, which gradually swell to a considerable Breadth, and Form by their continued Course, the River Jordan.

Description of the River.

NEITHER the Length, the Breadth, or Depth of Jordan are Extraordinary, where Broadest not exceeding half a Quarter of an English Mile, and no ways Navigable for a Bark of Burthen; Slow in motion, Smooth and Clear, in all her Channels and from North to South, dividing many Pleasant Tracts of Land, for more than half the Length of Palestine.

Its Course and Beauty.

THERE is not in the Universe a River of a more Delightful Prospect, or agreeable Contrivance, as to the Meandring Forms, and Winding Labyrinths, wherein it glides with an Ʋncommon Gentleness, along the midst of Plains and Vallies, sometimes thro' an open Country, then Inclos'd on either side by rising Ridges of fine Woody Hills, and every where adorn'd on both its Banks, with Shady Groves of Poplar, Alder-Trees, the Mournful Willow, and a Thousand other Lovely Greens, surprizingly Inchanting every Eye with sudden Wonder, at the Unassisted Gayeties of Virgin Nature.

YET does the River sometimes change its proper Form, and Wander, till tis lost a while in certain Lakes, amongst whose Number two there are, which Anciently, were Famous for their Magnitude and Depth, and still continue highly worth a Strangers Observation.

The Lake Hoolee.

THE First is Situated in the Ʋpper Galilee, and now call'd Hoolee, Spacious in the Winter, but in Summer almost Dry, and yeilding a Production of such Quantities of Reeds, that commonly Wild Beasts find Shelter there, and Dangerously lie in Ambush for the Ʋnsuspecting Traveller.

The Sea of Galilee.

THE other, formerly the Lake of Tiberias, or Genezareth, and sometimes call'd in Holy-Writ, the Sea of Galilee, is Fifteen Miles in Length, and Ten in Breadth, affording Numerous Kinds of Fish, of admirable Relish, and so Strangely Fatning all the Soil, which Borders on it, that it well deserves the Name of the most Fertil Part of all the Holy Land.

Jordan, how Swallow'd up.

THUS Glides the River Jordan with a natural Face of Pleasure, till 'tis Swallow'd up in the Dead Sea, to which it enters with a full discharge of all its Waters, but is seen no more from that time forward, nor the Sea itself observ'd to swell, by such a Tributary Affluence of Encreasing Waters, whence 'tis reasonably guess'd, that there must be some Subterraneous Channels to disgorge the Streams, receiv'd so Plentifully.

Etymology of the Dead Sea

THIS Lake is call'd the Dead Sea, from the Heavy Stagnate Nature of the Water, it contains, which neither Currents, nor the Force of Tempests have the Power to stir from its amazing stillness, and it is observable, that, tho' the River Jordan runs into it, it continues a considerable space entirely Clear, and long unmixing with those Thicker Waters.

Its Extent and Original.

THIS Sea, or Lake is Sixteen Miles in Breadth, and Seventy Long, now Drowning all that Paradise of Pleasure, that Delightful Plain, once call'd Pentapolis, amongst whose Five Aspiring Cities, Sodom and Gomorrah were the two most Wealthy, ever since their Fatal Burning by the Fire and Brimstone of Vindictive Heaven, entirely sunk beneath the Surface of this dismal Lake, which now o'erflows the Ancient Habitations of Luxurious Wickedness, and does at certain seasons of the Year (especially preceeding Rainy Weather) constantly emitt a kind of Mist or Smoaky Cloud, in Five distinct and distant Places, which the Superstitious People thereabouts, wou'd needs perswade us to believe, point out the several Situations of those Miserable Cities.

Its Nature and Description.

THE Salt or Brackishness, peculiar to the Waters of this Lake, is so extreamly great, that Heavy Bodies, thrown upon the Surface, sink not down, without much difficulty, and it is reported, that the Roman Emperor Vespasian Commanded certain Sentenc'd Malefactors to be Bound, and thrown in Head-long for a Proof of the Experiment, which was confirm'd by their strange Floating up and down, incapable of sinking thro' the Surface of the Waters, whose Sulphureous Quality prevail'd so far upon their Skin, that it Peel'd off in every Part, as if they had been Scalded, and this last effect it now produces to so Piercing a degree, that it will Flea the Fingers of a Man, who Rashly goes about to Wash his Hands, in that Untempting Monument of Horror and Iniquity.

Why call'd Asphaltites.

IT likewise bears the Name Asphaltites, from a Prodigious quantity of Pitchy or Bituminous substance, call'd Asphaltum, which is Bred in time upon the Surface of the Lake, and being cast on shore all round it, gather'd by the Country People, and employ'd in many uses; often Anciently exported into Egypt, for Embalming the Dead Bodies of the Vulgar, not capacitated to afford the Purchase of an Aromatic Composition.

Why the Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah.

AMONG the many Names, it is distinguish'd by, 'twas justly call'd the Lake of Sodom and Gomorrah, in Commemoration of the Dreadfull Punishment, inflicted by the Hand of our Almighty God, upon a Sinfull People, once Inhabiting the Cities, which had there their Situation.

A Vulgar Error concerning the Dead Sea.

IT has been commonly reported, and confirm'd by the Assertion of some Modern Travellers, that all such Birds, as dare attempt the Flying over it, are suffocated with the Vapours, rising from the Lake, and fall down dead upon its Surface: This I can assure my Reader, is a most egregious Falsehood, for I have not only seen vast quantities of Fowl fly up and down about it, but descend sometimes in search of Meat, upon such floating Reeds, or other swimming Heaps, as lie upon the top thereof. Perhaps the Story took its Rise from the Repute, which Poets gave Avernus, and some other Lakes on that Account. Thus touch'd on by Lucretius.

Luci. Lib. 6.

—Nomen id ab re

Impositum est, quia sunt avibus contraria cunctis,

E regione, ea quod loca cum advenêre volantes,

Remigii oblitae pennarum vela remittunt;

Praecipitesq cadunt molli cervice profusâ.

—That Name is justly giv'n,

Because the Killing Nature of the Place

Is still Destructive to the Feather'd Race;

Who, when they leave their Tracts of milder Air,

And hither with advent'rous Flight repair,

Forgetting how to Fly, they strangely fail,

Thro' the Infected Air on Wings to sail,

And with extended Necks fall headlong down.

One good Quality of the Dead Sea.

I shall only add one Observation more, before I end this Chapter, and that is, this Lake among its many Ill, has one Good Quality; For by the Briny Nature of its Waters, and the Soil about it, it yields such mighty Quantities of Salt, as furnish all the Holy Land with unexhausted Plenty of that necessary Product.

Lot's Wife, and the Pillar of Salt.

YET one Addition more, accosting my Remembrance, must implore the Reader's Pardon, if I stay to mention it; It is, that 'mongst a Ridge of Mountains, not far distant from the Lake, I have been treating of, they show a Hill of an indifferent Magnitude, which is, or seems to be, a kind of Rocky Salt, unfit for Ʋse, and thence unvalued upon any other reason, than the Reputation of being, what the Scriptures call the Pillar of Salt, into which Lot's Wife was Metamorphos'd, when her Female Curiosity inclin'd her to look back against the Angel's Order, and behold the Ruins of her Flaming City.

CHAP. XLIII. Of the Present State of the Christian Religion in Palestine.

A shocking Contemplation.

TWOU'D be perhaps impossible, in Travelling about the spacious Ʋniverse, to find a Scene, more strangely shocking to a Christian Zeal, than what the Holy Land affords at present: For it cannot surely be a welcome Contemplation to a Man, who owns the Faith of Christ, to see that Place have least of his Religion, which had most of his Good Wishes.

THE vilest Soil, the Earth possesses, yields Encrease, when it is Sow'd with Liberality; But this ungrateful Clime, this miserable Country, enrich'd by the inestimable Blood of Christ himself, is yet so far from an Improvement of her not alone Prodigious, but Peculiar Blessings, that the disencourag'd Practice of Repuls'd Christianity is disregarded more in Palestine, than even the most Remote and Barbarous Corners of the Turkish Territories.

The common Christian Inhabitants of Palestine.

THE scatter'd Christians, who Inhabit with the Turks, in any of those Towns, I mention'd in the former Chapter, commonly are such, as are attracted by the Summons of a Profitable Way of Living, and forgetting every Call of their Humanity, but that of Interest, give their Minds entirely up to a continued Practice of such advantageous Courses, as, engaging totally the Bent of their Desires, prevent their Souls from the neglected Execution of those Holy Duties, which wou'd better far become their Application.

Many Sects, who live in the Temple of Christ's Sepulchre.

HOWEVER, there are many different Sects of Christians here, who led by Piety, and the prevailing Love of their Religion and its Practices, abandon all the gayest Follies of the gilded World, and spend their Days within Jerusalem, nay commonly within the very Temple of our Saviour's Sepulchre, with all the Marks of a sincere Repentance, and ingenious Resignation to the Smarts of Poverty, and unalluring Rules of an unseign'd Austerity.

How Converse with Strangers.

SOME Hundreds of these zealous Families, perpetually reside within the Temple, so as never to Eat, Drink, or Sleep, in any other Place, nor find a possibility of Conversation with the People of the Town, at any other time, than when they bring Provisions thither, and by ringing one, of a great number of small Bells, by different Cords made fast within the several Apartments of the Christians there, give notice to the Persons, they desire to speak with, who immediately come out, to be acquainted with the reason of their Summons.

BUT since it may not be an unacceptable Amusement for the Reader, to be made acquainted with the different Tenets of the different Sects, residing at Jerusalem, I will enumerate the several Doctrines of such Christian Zealots, as are comprehended in the following Denominations.

The Names of Christian Sects, residing in Jerusalem.

ARMENIANS, Coptees, Abyssens and Graecians, Jacobins, Nestorians Georgians, and a kind of People, who have many Monasteries on Mount Lebanon, and are distinguish'd amongst Christians, by the Name of Maronites.

The Armenians.

THE Faith of the Armenians, who are, next the Graecians, here most numerous, has been already told you in the three and twentieth Chapter; largely treating of those Peoples Customs, and their Tenets of Religion.

The Coptees and Graecians.

I likewise, have inform'd you, that the Coptees are the Remnant of the Old Egyptians, and at large describ'd their Doctrine and Condition, in the four and twentieth Chapter of this Treatise, nor can I enlarge, without a flat Prolixity, on what I have already said concerning Greece, and the Religion of her Natives.

The Toleration given them.

LET it then suffice to say, that all the three abovenam'd Sects, administer in the respective Offices of their Religion, at Jerusalem, with as unbounded a Permission, and the same degrees of Ceremony, as they are allow'd to use, when in their several distant Countries.

THE rest I will proceed to treat of, as distinctly as I can, and first the Abyssens, more ancient than their Fellows in Conversion to the Faith and Worship of our Saviour Christ, require the Preference.

The Abyssens.

THEY are no other than the Aethiopian Race, whose Ancestors embrac'd the Christian Doctrine, from the Preaching of their Queen Candace's Eunuch, Philip's Convert, much about the Year of Christ, Four Hundred and Seventy.

The Tenets of their Religion.

THEY Circumcise their Children, Authoriz'd, as they imagine, by our Saviour's own Example, and extend the Duty of that manual Operation to both Sexes equally.

THE Man at forty Days Old, and the Woman at threescore they constantly Baptize, repeating every Year that Sacramental Ceremony, on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, in Commemoration only of the Condescention of our Lord, who stoop'd that Day to be Baptiz'd in Jordan by St. John the Baptist.

CONFESSION, Keeping Lent, and Praying for the Dead, are Points, wherein they join exactly with the Roman Catholicks, as they oppose them rigidly, in not admitting Images in Churches, or the Ʋse of Crucifixes, and permitting Priests to Marry freely.

A Jewish Inclination.

IN one odd Point they seem to favour the Opinion of the Jews, with whom they side in Abstinence from certain Meats, and keeping Saturday as Holy, as they do the Christian Sahaoth.

I need not tell the Learned Reader, that the Jacobins are call'd so from the Founder of their Heresy, a Syrian of mean Parentage and Fortune, nam'd Jacobus.

The Religion of the Jacobius.

HIS Dictates taught his Followers, and their Posterity, to make the Godhead of our Saviour Passive, and Subservient to his Manhood. They believe the Soul of Man Immortal, but with this Reserve, that it continues Slumb'ring with tho Body, till the Day of Judgment.

CONFESSION, Purgatory, and the Prayers of Roman Catholicks for the Deceas'd, they disregard, as needless Innovations. Their Priests may Marry, and Administer the Sacrament in both kinds, and unanimously join to disbelieve the Truth, and disobey the Orders of the ancient Fathers, and their Synods, for the most part.

The Nestorians.

NESTORIƲS in the Reign of Theodosius, was Bishop of Constantinople, and a Native of the Ʋpper Germany; he introduc'd an Heresy, which has prevail'd extreamly in the East, and gives the Denomination of Nestorians to its Professors.

IN the Administration of the Eucharist, this Sect deny the Real Presence, nor permit the Virgin Mary to be call'd, The Mother of God. They read the Scriptures, and pretend to practise a reserv'd Humility, but make a strange Division in our Saviour Christ, between his Divine and Humane Nature.

The Georgians.

THE Georgians, call'd so from the Country of that Name, (in ancient Days, Albania, or Iberia) are in many Ceremonies and Opinions, Imitators of the Greeks, and most distinguish'd by the following Principles, to which they long have been most strict Adherers.

THEY take a Liberty from their Religion, to indulge their Senses almost to the highest Pitch of Incest, by permitting Marriages within the Rules of Christian Prohibition. They are great Admirers of loud Instruments of Musick, in their Churches, and have seldom deviated from an honesty of Mind, which speaks 'em justly Qualified for the Respect and Care of Europaean Governments, who might with little Charge or Labour, bring them over from their in-offensive Ignorance, to a more lively and illuminated Knowledge of the Christ, they Worship.

The Maronites.

THE Maronites took Name, from Maro an Old Abbot, who won 'em over from the Jacobin Opinion to a new one of his own; or, as some say, from a large Village, call'd Marona, situated near their famous Monastery on Mount Lebanus or Lebanon.

THERE have been frequent Conferences set on Foot, between the Roman Catholicks and the abovenam'd Maronites, wherein the former have so well succeeded, that they are come wholly over to the Church of Rome, some few Reserves excepted, two of which are these: They hold it as a Superstitious Ceremony, to make use of Extreme Ʋnction, one of the Seven Romish Sacraments, and look upon all Prayers for the Deceas'd, as helpless Offices of a mistaken Zeal, or ineffectual Bigottry.

The Government, these Sects are subject to.

THESE then are all the noted Christians, now Inhabiting Jerusalem, or any other Part of Palestine, each several Order subject to the Government of their respective Bishop, Abbot, or Elected Guardian, but so much more subject to the Turkish Power, that they must miserably stand, depress'd by want of Riches or Authority, and see the Ground, which once the Good, the Holy Jesus honour'd with his Habitation, made the Property, and ruin'd by the Insolence of those audacious Infidels, who dare, upon the very Scene of his prodigious Agonies, Blaspheme his Person, and Deride his Crucifixion.

The Conclusion of the Chapter.

IN this Condition, Reader, lies the Holy-Land at present, scarce enough esteem'd by the few Turks, who live therein, to make 'em guess their Profits worth their Pains, and yet in vain desir'd with longing Wishes, by many Christian Princes, who for want of a sufficient Power, by single Efforts, to expel the Conquerors, are forc'd to see that Land more wretched now than any other, which was once declar'd by God himself, the Happiest of the Ʋniverse.

CHAP. XLIV. Of Arabia the Stony.

Arabia, not all subject to the Turk.

NOW, let us look a little into the Dominions of the Three Arabia's, many Parts whereof are subject to the Turkish Sultan, but far more, are not, yet do those Lawless and Imperious Monarchs claim the Honour of the Government of all, by adding to their Titles an Illegal Claim, to the entire Possession of the wide Arabia.

SINCE therefore, tho' not really his, he calls them so, I will as briefly as is possible, to satisfie the Reader, give a just Description of the Three Divisions of this Mighty Country, and first attempt a thorough View of that Arabia, call'd Petraea.

Arabia Petraea why so call'd.

ARABIA PETRAEA, or Arabia the Stony, either took its Name from Petra, now call'd Rat-al-allah, by the Turks, its Masters, the Metropolis of Old of all the Country; or, as some will have it, from the Rocky Mountains, which confine it, and the great Stone Quarries, at the bottom of the Sand, in every Part within it.

The Situation of the Stony Arabia.

'TIS bounded on the Northern side, by Syria, on the West by Egypt, on the East it borders on the Desarts of Arabia, and the Southern Confines touch the Northern Shores of the Red Sea, and the delightful Frontiers of Arabia Felix.

Description of the Soil.

THE Land is very desolate, and barren to a vast degree. The Ground lies wast, o'erwhelm'd a thousand times a Year, by fluctuating Waves of rolling Sand, if I may call them so, impetuously driven up and down, Hills chang'd to Valleys, and the Valleys suddenly transform'd to Mountains; nothing here can boast the certainty of one Half Hours Duration; all the Face of Fickle Nature varies in a moment, and you see no more the vanish'd Prospect, you have just been looking on.

Its Barrenness.

NO Tree here flourishes, but now and then a solitary Palm; the Ground unstable, can produce no more than two or three low kind of Herbs, the Hyssop, and another with a spreading Leaf, which wanting little depth for Root, grow here and there upon the Grass-less Surface of the Naked Sand.

Great Want of Water.

BUT what is more than all the rest intolerable, is the melancholy want of Water, Travellers are subject to, who often are oblig'd to ride till almost Dead with Thirst, before they find a Spring, sufficient to emit a Pint of Water for the Service of a Multitude.

The Misery of the Inhabitants.

EXCEPTING the Wild Arabs, whom I shall distinctly treat of by and by, those miserable Wretches, who Inhabit this untempting Country, commonly are such, as being driven from their Native Places by a barbarous Oppression, chuse to change a forc'd, for a no less, but voluntary Misery.

Reflections on the ill Effects of Poverty.

O pinching Poverty! That Men shou'd yield their noblest Virtues to be crush'd by thee! How strange are thy Effects! And to what unaccountable Attempts dost thou push on the Minds of such as feel thee! No Men had certainly ran headlong to these Desarts, to avoid the Shame, thy Power expos'd 'em to, unless thou art indeed as terrible as the Old Poet thus has represented thee.

Theognis, upon Poverty.

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Poverty, Cyrnus, •ames a Good Man more

Than Fevers, Age, and all, he felt before.

To fly the heavy Curse of being Poor,

What Ills, O Cyrnus, shou'd not Men endure?

They rather ought to meet some Briny Wave,

And 'midst th'unfathom'd Ocean find a Grave;

'Twere better far to rush against some Rock,

And dash their Brains out with the bloody Shock;

For ev'ry Man by Poverty's deprest,

Nor can he Speak, or Act, or Live at Rest;

But Tongue-tyed, Silence binds his knowing Breast.

Thence, Cyrnus, shou'd we strive by Land or Sea,

From Poor Mens Burthens to live ever free,

For 'tis far better, we shou'd Death endure,

Than bear the Weight of Life, if Life must still be Poor.

Reflections on the vanity of Pride.

YET is it, on the other Hand, as wretched a Condition, to be swell'd, beyond the Knowledge of our Selves, and the Remembrance of our Frailties, by the transitory Preference, we gain above our Fellow Mortals by the shortliv'd Honours, Wealth bestows on our deluded Wishes; sudden Changes, and undreamt-of Storms, invading our Possessions, may reduce us swiftly, even below a Level, with the meanest of our Menials, and to punish our Ambition, Ship-wreck our Good-Fortune.

A Story, of a Proud, Rich Man at Hamburgh

I very well remember, once at Hamburgh to have seen a melancholy Instance of the strange Vicissitudes to which Mortality is hourly Subject: For as I was looking on the Monuments, which grac'd a Church of the abovenam'd City, I took notice of a certain Tomb-Stone, fix'd up sideways to the Wall, on which, besides a deal of Sculpture, there were deeply cut the strange Particulars of the Relation following, in the German Language.

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FREDERIC LEOPOLD LAƲSSERBƲRG, a Person of obscure Birth, and an Illiterate Education, grew so Rich by Great Mens Favour, and a thousand unexpected Blessings of an undeserv'd Good-Fortune, that he was advanc'd to the most envied Dignities, the Magistracy of the City cou'd bestow upon him, and encreas'd in Wealth and Power to so prodigious a degree, that no six Gentlemen in all that Country, cou'd outbalance his Possessions.

A weakness of Nature.

PRIDE, the Consequence, and Common Tinger of Triumphant Beggary, quite turn'd his Senses; In this Height of Exaltation he forgot the means, by which he rose, and look'd upon the Blessings, he Possess'd, as Fram'd for his Enjoyment; Insolence and Vanity so Clouded his small share of understanding, that he us'd all People with such Ʋnbred Haughtiness, that he became the Universal hate of Town and Country.

Good advice unhappily Slighted.

PROVIDENCE endeavour'd to oblige him by a Warning, from the Mouth of a Free Speaker his Relation, who attempting to disswade him from the Odious Practice of so Scornfull a Deportment, urging that tho' now he was above the Malice of the World, a time might come, when he shou'd cease to be so, had this vain and senseless answer thrown upon him.—Alas! Poor Fool, an Ass might sooner learn to Play upon the Bagpipes, than the Curse of Poverty be Taught a Way to make me Miserable.

A Midnight alarm.

ADVICE was ineffectual, and the Gentleman forbore repeating it, the Haughty Lausserburg went soon that Night to Bed, and Wak'd about the Hour of Midnight with a wonderfull Surprize, to hear the Noise of Rustic Musick in the Street (and as he thought before his Windows) with a Hundred Exclamations, such as Lord deliver us, Protect us Heaven, and the like, from all the Windows, opposite to his, whose Casements shutt and open'd with a strange Confusion.

A wonderfull Apparition.

TEMPTED by the Noises, he got out of Bed, and Running to his Chamber Window, threw it open, and the first Remark, he cast his Eyes on, was a kind of Phantom, representing the exact resemblance of an Ass, erected on his hinder Legs, and Dancing up and down to an uncommon Tune, of his own Playing on a perfect Bagpipe, while the Frighted Neighbours, all amaz'd before, were now far more surpriz'd, to see the Apparition Vanish in the very Moment, he look'd out at Window and beheld it.

THE Startled Lausserburg, in Agonies at this Appearance, presently Reflected on the Wicked answer, he had made his Friend, and from that Hour became so Melancholy, that he never relish'd former Pleasures, but neglected strangely all his Great Concerns, and sunk almost to a downright Stupidity.

A sudden Downfall.

AMAZING Accidents by Fire and Robbers, Law-suits and Neglect, in two Years time consum'd his Wealth to so incredible a Change, that being hated by the Townsmen, they refus'd to give him the relief, he wanted; so that he, who lately Judg'd himself too Great to know an Equal, or Converse with an Inferior, was by Providence, reduc'd to Beg his Bread, from Door to Door, and hope a Charity from even the meanest of those People, whom he had before Uncharitably dealt with;
A Miserable Condition.

nay so far Ill-Fortune Tortur'd him, that, not admitted under any Roof, That very Friend, who had forewarn'd him of the possibility of Falling, coming late one Moon-light Night, along the Street, in very Cold and Rainy Weather, saw him sitting huddled on a Heap of Dirt, half Naked, Sheltred from the Rain by nothing, but a kind of Wicker'd Basket, which being close at Bottom, but as open as a Cage in every other part, he had drawn over him, to keep his Head from the Severity of Weather.

The use of the Story.

THIS Story, carv'd at large upon the Tombstone, quickens Pity and Amazement at one time, and may be usefull, as a Mirror to present the World, with an exact Idea of the rise and fall of Vanity, and the Misfortunes, drawn by Pride upon the Bubbles of Mortality.

Shells, and Shining Sand, upon the Desart.

BEFORE I close this Chapter, 'twill be proper to inform the Reader, that the Sandy Desarts of the Stony, and indeed the other two Arabia's, are cover'd thickly with a Thousand kinds of Little Shells, and Nitrous Atoms, which appear with Glistering Beauty, at a distance from you, which, with several other Proofs, are reasonable Grounds for a belief, that once these Plains, now Desart Sands, were a large Part of the Main Ocean.

CHAP. XLV. Of Arabia the Desart.

The Desarts of Arabia.

THE mighty Desarts of the Wast Arabia, South of the Foregoing, are confin'd that way, by the Arabia, well call'd Happy, from the Aromatic Blessings of its Climate: But on every other side, run wildly on towards Babylon and Media, Mesopotomia and Armenia, in such endless Tracts of Sand and Desolation, that the undiscover'd Reach of their prodigious Surface, frightens Curiosity from Thoughts of searching, for the just Extent of such a dangerous Territory.

Different from the rest of the World.

HEAVEN has here laid Wast the Work of Earth's Creation, or contriv'd these Blots of Nature, like a Mole in a fine Face, to serve as Foils, and add an Ornamental Lustre to the Brighter Parts of the more Temperate Ʋniverse.

THE Elements themselves are here at War; The Sun inflames the Sand, and the Tempestuous Sand invades the Air with Waves of Fire, whose rolling Heaps like stormy Billows of impetuous Heat, hiss dreadfully against the Breath of those prodigious Tempests, which remove them hourly, and make a Chaos of the horrid Desart.

Wild Beasts, and Serpents in the Desarts.

NOT a Shrub grows here, or any thing at all, which looks like Nature in her common Decency; the Hiss of every kind of Poys'nous Serpent aggravates the Terrour of a trembling Traveller, who, all inviron'd by the dangerous Snakes and salvage Beasts, which, scaring others, are themselves as often scar'd, by the unstable Motion of the trackless Desarts, is oblig'd to seem at Sea, upon the scorching Continent, and Travel Day and Night without the smallest Guide, but the Assistance of a Compass.

The Virtue of Fire in the Desarts.

THE raging Heat of a perpetual Sun so burns the Sands, they Travel on, that they are scorch'd, as if they walk'd thro' half-extinguish'd heaps of Ashes, yet are they still oblig'd to carry Fire, and fix it round the Places, where they rest, to fright away the Monst'rous Creatures, who wou'd else assault 'em.

The Skill of the Arabians.

THOSE Arabians, who are Knowing in the Nature of the horrid Climate, guess, by certain Motions of the Clouds, the coming of a Storm of Wind from any Quarter, and the distance, it is at, and consequently suit their Travels thro' the Desarts, to their Best Conveniency.

The Misery of Christians, Travelling without a Guide in the Desarts of Arabia.

BUT Christian Strangers, wholly Ignorant of all those Signs, nor daring to confide so far in the suspected Arabs, as to take 'em for their Guides, are sometimes miserably overtaken by the danger of a Storm, which agitates the Ground, they travel on, with all the violence of the severest Earth-quake, lifting Men and Camels from the Desart, or at least so fills the Air with Clouds of Sand, driv'n up and down by unresisted Whirlwinds, that the Wretched Traveller, quite blinded with their Fury, stands, unknowing what to do, while the Dried Dead Bodies of Men and Women, who have perish'd Ages since, in passing over, are with a surprizing Horror blown upon them, whisk'd like Paper thro' the Air, all Dreadful and Deform'd, with those suspended Carkasses, and Flocks of Serpents hurried violently thro' the Winds, with the uplifted Tracks of glowing Sand, they lately crept in.

WHO knows, but many of those dead Mens Bodies, which are blown so frightfully about the Desart, are the same, who perish'd, when the Roman Legions, under Warlike Cato, bravely pass'd this Sultry Climate in the Search of Glory, and on whose account the Poet Lucan thus describes the Nature of these Desarts.

Luc. L. 10.

Sic Orbem torquente Noto, Romana juventus

Procubuit, metuens{que} rapi, constrinxit amictus,

Inseruit{que} manus terrae; nec pondere solo,

Sed nixu jacuit, vix sic immobilis Austro,

Qui super ingentes cumulos involuit arenae,

At{que} operit tellure viros, vix tollere miles

Membra valet, multo congestu pulveris haerens;

Alligat & stantes affusae magnus arenae

Agger, & immoti terrâ surgente tenentur.

Saxa tulit penitus discussis proruta muris,

Effudit{que} procul mirandâ sorte malorum:

Qui nullas vidêre domos, vidêre ruinas,

Jam{que} iter omne latet, nec sunt discrimina terrae

Ʋlla, nisi aetheriae medio velut aequore flammae.

Sideribus novêre vias;

While thus (disturbing Earth) the South Wind blew,

The Romans on the Ground their Bodies threw,

And fearing swiftly to be blown away,

Bound fast their Cloaths, and graspt the Soil, whereon they lay;

Nor does their Weight alone secure them there,

A Clinging Strength they make the Surface bear;

Scarce can they thus the Southern Storm withstand,

Which o'er their Prostrate Heads, rolls mighty Hills of Sand;

Buried therein, the Soldiers scarce can lift

Their Limbs, the Monumental Dust to shift.

Those, who dare stand upright, unmov'd remain,

Kept strait by heaps of Sand, which over-whelm the Plain,

Prodigious Stones, rent from some broken Wall,

Fly in the Tempest, which supports them all,

And in some distant Clime, with wonder lets them fall.

They Ruins see, who can no Houses spy;

No beaten Path salutes the longing Eye,

No different Roads in this sad Place appear,

Like Mariners, by Stars, their doubtful Course they Steer.

The wretched Condition of Travellers, who are lost in the Deserts.

HORROR and Confusion overtake the Traveller, who, by a thousand little Accidents, is hourly liable to lose his Company. Imagine, Reader, what a miserable State you wou'd believe your self reduc'd to, were you left alone, amidst the wild, and unfrequented Sands of these unmeasur'd Desarts; Nothing near you, nor within the reach of the most Sanguine Hope, but dreadful Serpents, unknown Monsters, and a thousand barbarous Enemies to Nature and Humanity; No distant Prospect of a Smoaking Chimney to direct your Footsteps, nor the comfortable sight of Beaten Roads, to guide you in your Journey; Day assaulting you with scorching Heats,
Ghosts, and Apparitions, in the Desarts.

and Night confounding you with the repeated Shreicks and shrill Complaints of Ghosts, or Apparitions, which, it you believe the People of the Country, wander Nightly up and down about these Desarts.

Mischievous Hob-goblins.

THE Arabs told me fifty frightful Stories of the Mischiefs, done by these Hob-goblins, who delight, (it seems) to exercise Deceit, and make poor Travellers not only lose their way, but perish in the Desart.

HOWEVER, there was, some Years since, a Certain Better natur'd Spirit, than a Man has commonly an Opportunity to get acquainted with, and since 'tis pity she shou'd lose the Honour, due to her Civility, I will Record her, for as honest and obliging an Hob-goblin, as ever can be found in all Arabia.

A Story of an Armenian Merchant, lost in the Desarts of Arabia.

THERE was, as I was told by my Judicious Turkish Author, an Armenian Merchant, call'd Demetrio, who liv'd for many Years in Egypt, and as I remember, in the City of Grand Cairo, till, by his industrious Application to the Art, he Practis'd, he became considerably Rich, and Flourish'd mightily.

IT seems the Man was of a Grateful Temper, and remember'd that, when he had liv'd, while Young, in Babylon, in a Condition very Mean, and much depress'd by Servitude and Poverty, he had receiv'd extraordinary Civilities from a Good natur'd Turk, by whose Assistance only, he had been enabled to engage himself in that successful way of Living, which had now so happily improv'd his Former Circumstances.

The grateful Design of a dangerous Journey.

HE made a Resolution, that he wou'd go pay a Visit to his Friend in Babylon, and let him see that he remember'd gratefully the many Bounties, he had formerly receiv'd, and wou'd reward, at least acknowledge, his extensive Obligations; and accordingly, he went in Company with the Great Caravan, which cross'd the Desarts to the very Place, he had design'd a Journey to.

The Water falls short.

HE Travell'd pleasantly enough, till he was got almost half thro' the danger of his Passage, when it hapned, that the Caravan fell short of Water, which they search'd in vain for among the Sands, so that their Thirst encreasing daily, almost all their Beasts of Burthen fainted under it, and many of their Company, unable to support the Anguish, it reduc'd them to, fell Sick, and Died in Miserable Torment.

They detach Parties to seek a Spring.

PRODIGIOUS Offers there were doubtless made, for the reward of any, who shou'd then discover the glad Tydings of a Spring, which tho' they cou'd not reasonably hope to find, the Zeal of their Desires, and Sharpness of their Appetite, inclin'd them to endeavour it, by sending out Detachments every way, with Orders not to lose the Sight of one another.

They divide, and straggle from each other.

THE Wants of Nature, notwithstanding this Precaution, urg'd their Courages to a contempt of any other Danger, than the Death, they dreaded from the Want of Water, wherefore little minding the Advice, they had receiv'd, they frequently divided their small Parties, and wou'd ramble singly up and down, regarding nothing, but the Thoughts of keeping still within the hearing of each others Hollow.

A dangerous Wandering.

AMONG the rest one Moonlight-Night, Demetrio, (it seems) was gone a Water Hunting, and had straggled to considerable distance from the Party, he went out with, but imagin'd, he discover'd all about him many Companies, belonging to the Caravan, employ'd on the same Errand, he was busy in; at last he heard a Voice on his left Hand, which call'd, as from the Nearest Party, with the welcome Repetition of these Words, Ho! This way, this way, we have found out Water.

A delusive Prospect.

FULL of Joy he look'd about him, and perceiv'd (at least imagin'd he perceiv'd) the Parties of the Caravan run all one way, as if they follow'd the Transporting Summons, which invited them to Crowd that way, and tast the Water, he believ'd so happily discover'd.

IN short, he ran as fast as he was able, close upon the Heels of Certain Men, whose Faces he was very well acquainted with, and knew them to belong to the Great Caravan, he came with:
The malice of a Company of Ghosts.

Till at last, when he had follow'd them above an Hour, they turn'd upon him, shook their Heads, laugh'd loud, then disappear'd, and vanish'd like a Shadow.

NATURES Dictates may inform the Reader, what Convulsive Agonies alarm'd the Breast of the Deceiv'd Armenian, when he saw those Guides dissolve to Air, on whom he had depended, as his Safe-guards and Directors: But his Fright encreas'd to double horror, when he look'd all round him, and cou'd see no Sign of Man or Beast, but found he had been led away from all his Company by the delusive Beckons of Malicious Ghosts, and Ill-designing Apparitions.

A sad Condition.

IN vain he curs'd the hapless Motives, which inclin'd him to the Journey, and with bitter Cries bewail'd his Misery; lamenting the Misfortune of his lost Condition with a flood of Tears, which bath'd the Sands, o'er which he wand'red, void of Comfort, and instead of finding the far distant Company, he look'd for, hourly rambled farther in the Desart, while his A king Eyes saw nothing in his way but trackless Regions of unstable Sand, and both his Ears were deeply pierc'd, by frightful Hissings of the Serpents round him, and the doleful Shrieks, and horrid Yells of unseen Ghosts, and Hovering Hob-goblins.

A despairing Resolution.

TWO Days and Nights were thus pass'd over, when despairing evermore of seeing Man, and weak'ned by Fatigue, and want of Food and Water, he laid himself upon the Sands, and was resolv'd to wait his Death, with an Heroic Resignation to the Will of Providence.

HE had not lain two Hours, before he started at the Repetition of a Voice, which call'd three times, in a shrill, melancholy Accent, Demetrio, Demetrio, Demetrio.

A Wife goodnatur'd even after Death.

HE lifted up his Eyes, with great Amazement at the mention of his Name, in such a Place as that, and scarce believ'd himself awake, when he beheld his Wife at two Yards distance from him, with a Pot of Water in one Hand, and a Dry Bisket in the other.

SHE plac'd 'em by him, and made Signs, that he shou'd Eat and Drink, which an half-famish'd Appetite oblig'd him to endeavour, after he had offer'd to Embrace his Wife, who glided from him like an Airy Phantom, and forbad him touching her.

The Speech of a Ghost to a Man in the Desarts.

I am, said she, no more the Partner of your Earthly Blessings, Death has interpos'd his Obstacle betwixt our Meeting to Embrace as formerly: Thy Friend at Babylon is also Dead, and thy poor Children, Motherless at Cairo, want thy Comfort. Follow me, and I will lead thee to thy Company, and show thee Water for thy self and them, which when thou hast discover'd, and receiv'd the Great Reward, that will be given thee, go back with me, I'll lead thee safely to the Borders of the Desart, whence thou may'st return to Egypt, tho' alone, in safety.
A Check to Curiosity.

But thou must not ask me any Questions of my present Circumstances, too Mysterious for a Mortal's Comprehension.

OVERJOY'D, but wond'ring at the strangeness of the Accident, he follow'd his Obliging Wife, quite cross another Part of the Wide Desart, till she brought him to a Place, where she assur'd him if he dug, he shou'd find Water; but injoin'd him not to grieve, that she was Dead, repeating many times, that she was happier now than she had been, while Living.

A lucky Discovery.

HE cou'd from hence behold the Caravan, a third Part of whose Number had already Perish'd by the Drought, they were expos'd to. He immediatly went to them, brought 'em to the Place, and show'd 'em where to dig, till they found Water, in sufficient quantity to satisfie them all, and fill the Vessels for their Use, in the remaining part of their sad Journey.

A dead Wife, doubles her Husband's Fortune.

HIS Wife, invisible to all, but him, attended all this while, and whisper'd in his Ear, the best Directions, she cou'd give him: A Considerable Sum of Money was presented him by the Commanders of the Caravan, which almost doubled what he had before obtain'd by a successful Industry.
A happy Escape from the Desarts.

He presently exchang'd the Present, for such Jewels, Gold, and other Riches, as wou'd lie in the least Compass, and conducted by his Wifes kind Spirit, left the Company, and went in safety back to Egypt, holding a delightful Conversation all the way, and being told a thousand wond'rous Things by his Aerial Guide, who, having brought him to the Borders of the Desart, left him with a Charge, to give her Love to all her Children, and advise 'em how to live, secure of Happiness, by means, she had inform'd him of.

HE did as she directed him, and when he came to Cairo, found his Family in Mourning for the Death of his Dear Wife, who left the World, according to his Computation, just a Week, before he met her in the Desarts.

How they mark the Water Places in the Desarts.

THIS Story, Reader, told me by a Turk, who thought himself a Man of great Sincerity, and of no small Judgment, please to take as I receiv'd it; 'twill at least divert you, and may serve to give you an Idea of those horrid Desarts, on which Subject I shall add no more, than that such Travellers, as find a Spring of Water, tolerably fresh, by digging in the Sands, too well acquainted with the Misery of wanting it, endeavour to preserve the Memory of the Place, by fixing up a Pike, or sometimes two, bound fast together, to make the Mark more lasting by its length; These have a kind of Ensign at the top, but seldom stand a Month, before whole Mountains of the Sand entirely bury them, at least so cover them, that scarce three Foot of all the Pike appears above the Surface; Such a dreadful Visage bears the Desart Country of the scorch'd Arabia.

CHAP. XLVI. Of Arabia, the Happy.

Arabia Felix, justly so nam'd.

THIS Country, Aromatically Happy in the Spices, She produces, and distinguish'd from the other two by all the Blessings of Indulgent Nature, sometimes known to be a Partial Mother, well deserves the Name of Felix, not alone because most Happy in her Wealth and Products, but as she is doubly so, when plac'd in Competition with the two Arabia's, her Deform'd and Barren Neighbours.

Providences Bounty to this Country.

PROVIDENCE has here made full amends for the Deficiencies, she caus'd in both the other; and the People, who Inhabit this delightful Country, are as far superior to the rest, in their Humanity and Fair Deportment to the Strangers, they Converse with, as their Soil exceeds the other in its Beauties and Fertility.

Arabia Felix, how Govern'd.

ARABIA FELIX has a Sultan of her own, possessing Arbitrary Power, and Ruling in the Inland Countries; but the Sea-Port Towns, at least most of them, have been long Subservient to the Turkish Government, as valued most by that encroaching People, on account of the prodigious Profits, rising to their Owners, from an open Traffick with the Indian Countries, and the great Advantages, they reap by Exportation of their own rich Manufactures, and the Product of their Climate.

The Cities of that Country.

THEY have many Cities of considerable Magnitude, the Chief whereof, are Mocha, Zenan, Siam, Ermin, Surac, Demmar, Almacarhan, Nag-helsaamar, Raba-taaman, Tais, Mousar, Doffar, and the Port of Aden.

Their way of Building.

MOST of these, and many other Cities, are adorn'd with very fine and stately Buildings, of a lasting kind of Stone, well polish'd, and join'd close with admirable Mortar: Gardens, Orchards, and large Ornamental Suburbs, generally grace the Towns with Beautiful Appearances, and many of them are indifferently Fortified with Walls and Out-Works.

The Merchandizes of Arabia.

THE Merchandizes of Arabia Felix, are the Aromatic Gums and Spices, it was ever famous for, Olibanum and Frankincense, and Myrrh of many kinds, Rich Balsam, Sugar Canes, Large Coco-Nuts, and Coffee in abundance.

THEY have Grapes, and almost every kind of Fruit, in fullest Excellency; Mutton, Beef, and other Meats both Good and Plentiful, and live in the Enjoyment of the Gayest Pleasures, Nature, unassisted by the Helps of Art, can furnish their Delights with.

Plenty of Wild Beasts bred
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THE Inland Countries are extreamly Woody, and afford convenient Shelter for the numerous Herds of Lyons, Leopards, Tygers, Wolves, and other Beasts of Prey, abounding greatly, not alone in this, but all the Three Arabia's, I have treated of.

The Air very Pleasant, and Healthful.

THE Air is constantly salubrious, and notwithstanding the warm Situation of the Country, reaching from near Thirty to Eleven or Ten Degrees of Northern Latitude: The Heat is so delightfully alloy'd by frequent Breezes, which like wanton Zephyrs, fan the Air, and wast the Scent of odoriferous Spices on their gentle Breathings, that you feast upon the richest Banquet, Nature can prepare you, as you travel on the Road from Town to City; and the moderated Climate, softly mixing Vernal Mildness, with the Beams of Summer, makes all Seasons equally engaging, so that the Greek Poet, who in the following Verses, Wishes for a Constant Spring, may properly be said to have describ'd the Blessing of Arabia Felix.

Bion's Choice of Seasons.

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I love not Summer, for the Sun then Reigns,

And Scorches me on the unsheltred Plains;

I love not Autumn, for Diseases then,

Bred by her Fruits, afflict the Healthiest Men;

Pernicious Winter does sharp Snows create,

And all Cold-Weather Nature bids me hate;

Let Spring, that long-wish'd Season, then appear,

And bless me with her Presence all the Year,

For then we neither Heat nor Cold can fear;

All Things look smiling then, Nature grows Gay,

And Men divide their Hours, in equal Night and Day.

CHAP. XLVII. Of the Red-Sea.

THE Red-Sea is so fully known already, by the Geographical Descriptions of our own Country Writers, and the exquisite Performances of the Mathematic Authors of most Christian Nations, that I mean not here to Touch on those notorious Observations, which have long ago been made by others, but inform my Reader of some new Discoveries of little matters, which I made my self.

BUT first, it will be Requisite to say a Word or two, relating to the Etymology and Ports of the Red-Sea, which having done, I will proceed to mention the Remarks, I made, as they occur to my Remembrance.

Why the Red-Sea is so call'd.

RHYTHRA, in the old Egyptian Language, signifying Red, was formerly the Name of a great Monarch of that Country, who gave the Sea his own Denomination, which has been since mistaken, by affinity of Sound, and Mis-interpreted the Red-Sea, by those, who fix'd the Name upon it, which it bears at present.

A Second Opinion.

OTHERS think, especially the Jews, Inhabiting the Eastern Countries, that it was call'd the Red-Sea, from the prodigious ruin, and great overthrow of Pharaohs Army, in their Passage over it, in the pursuit of Moses, and his God-defended Israelites, but as the Blood, there Spilt, was very little, tho' such Multitudes were Drown'd, I look upon this guess, as an Improbable Opinion.

A Third, and the most probable.

ANOTHER Notion, and perhaps the truest of the Three, is, that 'tis call'd the Red-Sea, from the Redness of the Sands, o'erspreading all the Bottom, whence the Waves receive a kind of red Reflection, and the Water thence appears, as if 'twere stain'd with certain Juices, of a redish Colour; This is made more Reasonable from the Etymology of the Euxine, commonly call'd the Black-Sea, from the Blackness of the Sands, which lie at the Bottom.

THE Sea Port Towns are very numerous, and very different from each other, in Magnificence, or the conventency of Harbour, some are much expos'd to dangerous shelves, and Rocky Shallows, others both commodious, large, and stately,
Aden, the great Sea-Port Town.

but the only Place, deserving a particular Description, is the Port, call'd Aden, in Possession of the Turks, and not alone the Largest. but the Richest, and most celebrated Sea Port Town of all Arabia.

Its Description.

IT is Situated in about thirteen Degrees of Northern Latitude, direct¦ly in the Center of a kind of Amphitheatre, or Semicircular Ridge of Mountains, jetting out prodigious Promontories into the Sea, for a considerable Length, on either Horn; the Harbour is not only safe, but capable of holding at an Anchor near a Thousand Sail of Ships, by the most modest Computation.

The Town how built.

THE Town it self consists of near four thousand Houses, built of Stone, and rendred Pleasant by vast Spaces, unemploy'd to other Uses, than the Planting Orchards, Gardens, and a kind of Favorite Wildernesses, much in Practice with the Eastern People.

THE General Inhabitants of Aden are considerably Wealthy, and enjoy their Pleasures with a greater Gust, than elsewhere is permitted them;
Now much decay'd.

yet is the City much decay'd from what it has been formerly, for once the Town extended to a double Length to that, it now contains, and all the Buildings (tho' they are not despicable now) were anciently adorn'd with a far greater Beauty and Magnificence.

The Fleets of the Red-Sea.

THE Turks build Vessels in the Ports, belonging to this Sea, and constantly maintain a Fleet of Gallies, for support of their Authority, besides the Merchant Ships, which Trade about from Place to Place, and by the Customs, paid on the Commodities, they carry, bring considerable Profit to the Coffers of the Sultan.

A new Discovery of a Monument, near the Red-Sea.

UPON the Northern Shore of the Red-Sea, not far from a small Haven now call'd Pozi, stand the Ruins of a Monumental Heap of Stones, appearing very ancient, by their Forms and way of Building: By the Remnant of the Work, we may suppose it to have been Erected Pyramidically, and about one hundred Foot in height, the breadth of each square of its Basis much the same; upon the bottom Stones, and certain fallen ones, we cou'd discover unintelligible Characters, which seem'd to have been Carv'd to tell succeeding Ages, what the Monument was there Erected to perpetuate the Memory of.

'TIS pity, Ignorance has incapacitated the Inhabitants from letting Strangers into any Light of Knowledge, in relation to Antiquity, else probably they had been able to inform us, what this Heap of Ruins was Originally;
Thought to be the same, which Moses left in Memory of his Passage.

Now we can no more than guess at random for its doubtful Origin, unless we will believe the not impossible Traditional Account, the Natives give us, who wou'd fain perswade us to believe, 'twas built by Moses, when the Israelites miraculously pass'd that Sea, and left by him, a Memorandum for Posterity, to make Mankind depend on God, and not diffide in his secure Protection, tho' reduc'd to never so fatiguing, and oppressive Exigencies.

Opium made of Poppies.

THERE grows upon the Shores of the Red-Sea, a certain heavy-headed Poppy, only differing, in the bigness of its Stalk, from ours in England: At a certain Season of the Year, I think it is July or June, they gather many of these Poppies, beat 'em in a Mortar, lay them by for many Days, then take 'em out, and adding several unknown Herbs, make Opium of the Composition, but of far less Efficacy than the other sort, more frequently Exported into Foreign Countries.

Indigo, how made of an Herb.

THERE likewise grows a little Violet colour'd Herb in mighty Plenty, all about the Sea Shore, which they take care to gather in the Sun's Meridian Height, and mixing it with certain Weeds, which float like scatter'd Samphire; on the Surface of the Waters, make thereof the Die, call'd Indigo, in full Perfection.

Pearls found in the Red-Sea.

MIGHTY Rocks in many Parts of the Red-Sea, erect their Heads above the Water, and it is not seldom, that they find upon them something like a Shell-Fish, yet unlike an Oyster, which is open'd with the greatest Difficulty imaginable, and contains within it, great round Pearls, sometimes but one, and sometimes more, of equal Value with the richest of their Magnitude, from any other Part, imported into Christendom.

A wonderful Fish.

AT certain Seasons of the Year, it is a common thing to see a Fish, not much unlike an Hippotamus, or great River Horse, whose Strength and Swiftness is so very wonderful, that 'tis almost impossible to take 'em, but by some Surprize, or Cunning Stratagem.

A rich Perfume.

THESE Creatures, when they happen to be caught, are carefully Dissected; for, besides a kind of rich Perfume, beyond the scent of Ambergrease it self, which lies like Fat about their Spinal Joints, and yields a vast Advantage to the Man, who finds it,
A Carbuncle, found in the Head of a Sea-Horse.

there often is discover'd in the Head of this strange Animal, a glitt'ring Stone, which may be call'd a Carbuncle, for it is of Globe-like Form, and quite Transparent; yielding, if produc'd in a Dark Place, a Light, so striking, that a Man may see to Write by its Assistance, in the duskiest Winter's Midnight.

The Danger of attempting more Discoveries.

THESE are all the Observations I cou'd make, deserving my Remembrance; nor can any Man discover in this Sea, or upon its extensive Shores, more Rarities, or Creatures, worth Remark, than have already been communicated in the Books of Travellers, unless his Curiosity, becoming Master of his Reason, tempts him to a rash Endeavour of opposing Laws and Dangers, to Instruct himself in Matters, probably unworthy half his Labours.

CHAP. XLVIII. Of the Turks Pilgrimage to their Prophet's Birth-Place, and their Ceremonies at Mecca and Medina Telnabi.

The force of Superstition.

NEVER sure did a Bigotted Superstition lead away the Minds of Thoughtless Mortals, to so wond'rous a degree, as it has done in Turkey, where the Annual Practice of a Pilgrimage to Mecca, has prevail'd so strangely by the fix'd Injunction of their Prophet's Law, that 'tis by all believ'd the surest Passport from Mortality to Paradise.

A strange Notion.

NAY they carry it still farther, and persist in the Assertion, that unless a Turk shall once at least, before he Dies, perform that Pilgrimage, or bear the Charges of some other Man to do it for him, (if the want of Health prevents his Piety) it is impossible that he should ever reach those gross Enjoyments, they expect from the Romantic Blessings of another World, till they have Purified their Persons from the Guilt of such Omission, by a long continuance in the Tortures of the Grave, inslicted on them, by the two Black Angels, as I have at large inform'd you in the Part Foregoing.

Moral Reflections.

OH Miserable Frailty of deceiv'd Mortality, so strangely open to the strong Assaults of our mistaken Passions, and unguarded commonly against the weakest Efforts, made by Nature to delude our Senses, but by far more liable to the Perswasive Ills of Superstitious Zeal, and the Deceitful Gloss of an Illchose Religion: There our Vices sculk with undetected Art, behind the Masque of a pretended Vertue. And how easily, alas! are we misled in Execution of our Duty, when the Dictates of our Reason are themselves too often Biass'd to a Partial Sentence, and our Judgment, which should ever Rule a Wise Man's Actions, Brib'd unfortunately by Erroneous Principles.

A vulgar Error, concerning Mahomet's Tomb.

HOWEVER, e'er I enter on the Subject of the Chapter, I am now about to treat of, I will undeceive my Reader, who has probably been led astray, like many others, by a Vulgar Error, which inclines them to believe, that Mecca, as the Place, to which the Turks direct their Pilgrimage, is the Town, wherein the Great Impostor Mahomet lies Buried, when it really is no other, than his Birth-Place, and as such, made Holy by his own Injunctions that, with such and such appointed Ceremonies, all his Followers shou'd Visit that Great City, in Commemoration of his being thence produc'd amongst them.

Of Mecca and Medina.

SOME few Days Journey, North of Mecca, stands the Celebrated Tomb of Mahomet in a small Town, distinguish'd by the Name of Medina Telnabi, where he Died, and now lies Buried in the Form, I shall describe hereafter: No Believer, (as they call themselves) is by their Prophet's Law oblig'd to Visit this Place in their Pilgrimage, but as they were assur'd by the Impostor, that, if not a Meritorious, 'twou'd at least be an Acceptable Acknowledgment of Zeal for their Religion and his Memory, 'tis never known, that any Annual Pilgrimage is made to Mecca, but a certain Number of the most Bigotted of the People, turn aside, and pay their Offerings, (e're they return) to Medina Telnabi.

Another Vulgar Error.

AND here another vulgar Error challenges a Confutation, which Experience, as the surest Judge, may be allow'd to give it; 'Tis a general Belief, that Mahomet was never Buried, but is hung, suspended in the Air within an Iron Coffin, by the strange attractive Force of certain wond'rous Load-Stones, so surprizingly affix'd to the high Roof of a great Temple, that they cannot be perceiv'd by the most exquisite Inspection.

Very Groundless.

THAT this is false the Reader will discover presently; but whence it grew so common a Report, I can by no means guess, since I have ever found the Turks so far from justifying the Pretended Miracle, that they exert their utmost Wit and Raillery, to ridicule the fond Credulity of Christian Nations, led so easily to a Belief of such a Gross Absurdity.

The Place of Rendezvous.

THE Numbers, which compose the Mighty Caravan of Meccan Pilgrims, generally swell beyond Imagination; Zealous Turks of every Country, Quality, Profession or Capacity assemble at Grand Cairo, (the Great Rendezvouz, appointed for that purpose) by the first of August, or within a few Days after; for about the tenth, or fifteenth of that Month the Caravan most commonly sets forward on the Journey.

Their Publick Proclamations.

WITHIN six Days of their Departure, Notice is, by Publick Proclamation given the People, to get ready by the Time then set, and that they must be subject to the Government of such a Person, (whom they Name,) both Going and Returning, in whatever Cases may require his Arbitration.

Their Chief, how chosen.

THIS Officer is call'd Emir Hadgey, which signifies as much as Ruler of the Pilgrims: He is always chosen by the Great Bashaw of Cairo, and makes a vast Advantage of his Post, besides the settled Sum of near two thousand Pounds, which he receives from the Grand Signior's Treasury, by many Perquisites and Opportunities of Gain, like these, which follow.

The Order observ'd in Registring their Names.

AS soon as the Emir-Hadgey is Proclaim'd, all People, who accompany the Caravan, must presently resort to him, or one deputed by him, paying a considerable Sum of Money for the Regist'ring their Names, the number of their Camels, and the Names, Religion, Quality and Sects of every Passenger, they carry on them.

The Emir-Hadgey's Power.

HIS Power is so Unlimited, and so Decisive is his Sentence, while the Expedition lasts, extending even to Life and Death, and every little Matter, Criminal or Civil, that to Bribe his Favour, no rich Gifts are thought too Costly, nor that Money ill bestow'd, which recommending those, who give it, to the favourable Eye of such an Arbitrary Ruler, frequently prevents the Hand of Rapine, from Invading their most valuable Property.

His Perquisites.

ANOTHER Perquisite, and that no mean one, rises from a Law, Severe and Barbarous, by which all Christians, whatsoever, are Prohibited from coming within three Days Journey of their Prophet's Birth-Place, or his Place of Burial, while the Pilgrims are employ'd at either in the Ceremonious Practices of Zeal and Superstition:
The Turks true to Interest.

For, notwithstanding this Decree, if any Europaean Traveller, has Courage to confide in the Fidelity of Turks (and really, where their Interest binds them, they are generally very Punctual in Performance of their Articles) he may, by making a considerable Present to the Emir-Hadgey, not alone be sure of his Protection, in the Places abovemention'd, but possess an undisputed Liberty to Travel openly throughout the Journey, and select what Company he pleases, to Converse with in the Caravan, which he accompanies.

WHEN every thing is ready, all the Caravan have Publick Orders presently, to quit the Town, and Rendezvouz Fifteen Miles from it, in an open sandy Plain, along the Borders of a Pool, call'd Birquey.

The Gallantry of the Emir-Hadgey.

HITHER, two Days after, the Emir-Hadgey comes, gallantly attended by a Company of such among them, as pretend to be distinguish'd by the Name of Gentlemen, and have resolv'd that Year to make the Pilgrimage: All these have many Servants waiting on them, with a tripple Change of Camels, to prevent the Inconveniencies, they might be otherwise expos'd to, by the accidental Deaths of those, they rode on.

The Dress of his Camels.

ALL the Camels are adorn'd, as finely as is possible, with Ribbons, Spangles, Rich Caparisons, and every other Gay Contrivance, which may serve to shew the Ʋniversal Joy, with which they snatch the wish'd Occasion of so Troublesome and Dangerous, but Holy a Peregrination.

The Alcoran, how carried.

AMONG the Camels, which compose the Number, for the proper use of the Emir-Hadgey, one Venerable Old one is elected, to be richly Ornamented with Embroider'd Trappings, thick beset with Precious Stones, of admirable Lustre, on whose Back is carried a square Golden Box, which holds the Alcoran, extravagantly Bound, and all enrich'd with valuable Jewels, yearly sent by the Grand Signior, as an Offering, due to the Great Mosque of Mecca, in respect to Mahomet.

Camels, how respected at their Return from Mecca.

THIS Camel, if it happens to outlive the Journey, is for ever after free from Labour, as indeed most others are, which have return'd in Safety, if their Owners can afford it, and Interr'd, upon their Death, in Orchards, Gardens, or some other private Place, that so they may not be expos'd, like other Beasts, to Dogs and Vultures.

The Departure of the Caravan.

AS soon as the Arrival of the Emir-Hadgey has been confirm'd throughout the Camp, (for they Pitch Tents like Armies) all the Caravan make ready in an Instant, and the Women, Children, and Acquaintance of the Pilgrims, who have hitherto accompanied them, begin with Prayers, Tears, Kisses, close Embraces, and a Thousand Marks of Friendship and Affection, to take leave of all they know, and recommend them to the Smiles and Care of Providence; so that for a considerable time, there's nothing to be seen, but a confus'd Extravagance of Sorrow, and its Consequences.

Their Order in Marching.

NOW the Caravan begins to March, the Emir-Hadgey riding at their Head, or sometimes in their Center, as he thinks most proper: All the Camels are ty'd Tail to Tail, and follow one another in strait Lines of different length, some Hundreds often going in a Knot, their Riders sitting on them in the Posture, elsewhere spoke of in this Treatise, and some Thousands of the most accomplish'd Warriors, in a manner quite surrounding the whole Caravan, protect them from the Dangers, they are often subject to, in the Attacks, they meet with from the Wild Arabians, who insest the Desarts.

Their Amusements on the Road

THEY are generally very Merry, sounding all the way an Hundred aukward Instruments of Musick, and diverting one another with the tedious Repetitions of such Old Wives Tales, as commonly pass Current, in the Conversation of the Vulgar People, of the Eastern Countries.

Their Lights on the Journey.

THE Violence of Heat is so excessive in the Climates, they are bound to pass thro', that they seldom Travel much by Day, and therefore carry a prodigious Quantity of Links or Flambeaus, for the Lighting them along; and really, when the Moon denies her Influence, in directing their Advances, they supply the want, occasion'd by her Absence, with such glorious Numbers of these Flaming Torches, as afford a Prospect, so surprizingly agreeable, that 'tis not to be guess'd by such, as have not seen it.

The Dangers, they are subject to.

THE Sultry Influences of a scorching Sun, and Pestilential Blasts of an unwholesome Southern Wind, together with the want of Water, (Bitter Springs excepted) and the Scarcity of all Provisions, with a Thousand unavordable Fatigues, they meet with, in so long and disagreeable a Journey, frequently occasion such Mortality among the Caravan, that 'tis a common thing in its Return to Cairo, to have left Eight Thousand Persons Dead behind them.

Their common Numbers

AS for the Numbers, which this Annual Caravan does commonly consist of, they are so uncertain, that I cannot form a General Calculation better, than by telling you, that they are seldom known below the Full of Fifty Thousand Souls, but very often to a great degree exceed an Hundred.

Another of the Emir's Perquisites

ALL the Goods, Cloaths, Camels, and Conveniencies, belonging to such Persons, as sall Sick and Die upon the Journey, are the Property by Perquisite, of the Emir-Hadgey, who (unless a Man of admirable Principles) is consequently no great Well-wisher to the Welfare of his People.

The Distance between Grand Cairo and Mecca.

THE Distance between Mecca and Grand Cairo, is Five and Forty large Days Journey, in which Passage they are forc'd to Rest Three Days together; such is the Fatigue of Travelling upon a Desart Country, where the Sands, unstable to the Footsteps of their Beasts of Burthen, slip away, and make the Roads extreamly tiresome.

A Remark concerning Camels.

AND here we have a spacious Scene for Contemplation, on the All-directing Wisdom of the Hand of Providence, who in the Countries, naturally Stony, has provided Horses, of a hard and solid Hoof, to serve the Ʋses, they are there design'd for: But in Desart Places, such as these, I now am speaking of, has form'd the Camel, qualified by Nature with her spreading Fool, to overtread more easily the sinking Sands, which Horses Hoofs with difficulty pass thro'.

The Place, call'd Marah in the Scriptures.

TWO Days from Cairo bring the Caravan to a Place, call'd Miz-Haana, anciently that Marah, spoke of in the Scriptures, whither Moses brought the Israelites, just then deliver'd from Egyptian Bondage, and, Miraculously Aided by Almighty God's assisting Hand, converted bitter Waters into sweet, by throwing in a Tree, cut down on purpose, thence supplying all the Peoples raging Thirst, who Murmur'd loudly, that they cou'd not Drink, for the waters of Marah were Bitter.

The Stages of the Caravan.

THENCE, proceeding onwards of their Journey, they Encamp on many of those very Places, where, so many Ages since, the discontented Israelites, then wandring in the Wilderness, by God's Direction Pitch'd their Tents, and lay a while, in expectation of the Orders, Moses was to give them, whither next to bend their Progress.

Abraham's Mountain

WITHIN near Threescore Miles of Mecca, stands a Village, call'd Babble, scarce Three Furlongs distant from the Mountain of that Name, on whose high Summit, Abraham built the Altar, upon which he had design'd to Sacrifice his only Son, his much-lov'd Isaac, in Obedience to the Will of that Great God, whose least Command he knew it Sin to think of Disregarding.

Isaac's Altar.

THERE is upon the Top of this fam'd Mountain, a low kind of Turkish Mosque, or Chappel, built obscurely, of an Antique Model, in the midst whereof they show a small square Heap of Stones, join'd fast together with a lasting Mortar, not much less than three Foot high, six long, and four in breadth, which they have dignified with a strange Reputation, and are sure to show all Pilgrims, who come thither, by the Name of Isaac's Altar.

The Story, why improbable.

'TIS, I must confess, a little inconsistent with my Notion of the Rules of Reason, to imagine Abraham, as we read the Story, shou'd have taken Pains to build so strong and durable a Monument, whereon to Sacrifice his Son upon so short a Warning; and it therefore must require a Romish Faith to look upon this Altar, as a Relique of Antiquity.

The Ceremonies of the Pilgrims, on this Hill.

THE Mosque however, which is built upon this Hill, is constantly Inhabited by some Old Scheich, or Turkish Preacher, who is bound by the Conditions, upon which he claims a Salary, belonging to the Benefice, to stand upon the Hill, and make a Declanition, or a kind of Lecture to the Pilgrims, who assemble round him, (those, who happen to get nearest, telling those at greater distance, what they learn from the Perswasive Oratory of their Preachers Doctrine.

The Subject of a Sermon, there Preach'd.

THE common Subjects, which are chose on this Occasion, for Employment of the Doctor's Lungs and Faculties, are such, as an Endeavour to Ingraft a Pious Notion in the Peoples Breast, of that Important Duty, they are now performing, the Necessity there is of a Repentance after it, and the innumerable Blessings, they may certainly expect from God's Indulgence, if they never deviate from the Principles of Zealous Mussul-Men, and True-Believers of the Laws of Mahomet.

The Turkish way of quitting Sin.

THEY rest a Day, upon the Old Man's Sermon, to digest the Entertainment, he has gravely given them, and then are led by the Emir-Hadgey on Foot, without observing Rank, all one by one, to the abovenam'd Mosque upon the Mountain Rabiie, which they enter at one Door, and go out of by another, opposite thereto; first passing by the Grave Old Scheich aforesaid, who is plac'd upon a Step, near two Foot high, directly in the middle of the Mosque, and touching every Man, as he goes swiftly by, with a short Stick, repeats these Words, May Sin here leave thee.

A strange Notion.

NOW, you must understand, the Holy Wishes of this Favorite of Mahomet are so Successful, that they never fail to crown the Person Bless'd, with an entire Deliverance from all the Vices, he was ever subject to; so that, freed happily from such a weighty Burthen, they run nimbly down the Hill upon the other side, and never stop, till they have cross'd a little Stream of Bitter Water, gliding by the Bottom, and, by dipping in their Hands, and sprinkling all their Faces with some Drops thereof, from that time forward they become New-Men, as Pure, and Free from all Iniquity, as Infant Innocence, and consequently Qualified to see the City, they must next proceed to.

A stranger Punishment.

BUT you must take notice, that the Punishment of looking back, before they Cross this Purifying Stream, is full as Exemplary to these Cautious Pilgrims, as it was of Old to Lot's too Curious Wife: For tho' their Metamorphosis appears not so amazingly conspicuous, yet they'll tell you, that 'tis fully as severe; for in the very Moment, any Man among them turns his Head, before it is permitted him, the heavy Load of his own Sins, which he had just before made shift to leave behind him, does not only overtake him in an Instant, but returns, enrich'd with Interest upon Interest, by the Black Addition of two other Peoples.

Their Ceremonies, at first sight of Mecca.

CAREFUL therefore, to prevent so Burthensome a Mischief, on they march with joyful Hearts to the Remainder of their Journey, and about the middle of the third Days Progress, gain a Prospect of the Mosque at Mecca; when they all alight, as if half mad, with noisy Extasies, and prostrating themselves upon the Ground, thrice kiss the glowing Surface of the Sand, they Travel on, and thrice Proclaim with Universal Clamour, Allah-Illah-Ilallab, Muhamed Resul Allah. God is God, the only God, and Mahomet, of that sole God, the only Prophet.

How they Encamp at Mecca.

ARRIV'D at Mecca, they Encamp upon the Plains, without the City, as by far too numerous to find Conveniencies within the Walls, for a Commodious Entertainment of Themselves and Camels: But I should have told you, that they often turn aside, and pass thro' Giddah, the Port-Town to Mecca, to pay Reverence to the Grave, where Eve was Buried;
The Tomb of Eve.

for the Arabs there pretend to show all Travellers her Sepulchre, and wou'd perswade us to believe, our Father Adam had a very Formidable Consort, if we are allow'd to guess her Strength by the Proportion, which they give her; for, from the Stone, now standing at the Head, to that, which stands at the broad Bottom of the Grave, the Distance is full Five and Twenty Yards of English Measure: Sure a Man, if any now is Bless'd with such a Wife, wou'd scarce lament her want of Stature.

Description of Mecca.

MECCA is about Three Miles in Compass, Rich and Stately in a great degree, and her Inhabitants Possessors of a Rolling Plenty, still continue to encrease their Affluence, by Annual Profits, rising from the Concourse of such mighty Numbers, drawn by Zeal to Travel thither.

BUT, as I only mention it, because the Birth-Place of that Vile Impostor, whose successful Impositions drew such Numbers to profess his Doctrine, I will here enlarge no further, than is requisite to give a just Description of the Holy House of God, as they presume to call it, which is look'd upon so Sacred by the Turks, that in whatever Part of the wide Ʋniverse they are,
Why the Turks in Praying, turn their Faces to the East.

they never Pray, but with their Faces to the East, in Honour to this House, wherein they say, that Mahomet was Born, and in respect to which, they yearly undertake so dangerous a Pilgrimage.

The House of God, as they call it.

THIS House, which they distinguish by the Name of Kiabee Betulla, stands directly in the middle of the City, not surpassing Thirteen Foot in Breadth, in Length Eighteen or thereabouts, and near Ten Yards in Height, Flat-Roof'd, and quite surrounded by a stately Court, Wall'd in, and Ornamented by Three several Rows of Marble Pillars, close within the Wall, supporting Arches, of a Graceful Fabrick, upon either Square, divided into Four Apartments, kept by Priests, of the Four most noted Sects, among the Turks, who Pray continually with an incessant Fervour, for the Boundless Propagation of their own Religion, and the Downfal of Christianity.

Two Hoops of Gold.

TO strengthen, as it were, the Ancient Building, which I think, consists of Square Rough Stones, (tho' it is almost impossible to see them, being cover'd on the Inside and the Out, by such inestimable heaps of Riches) the House is Circled round, by two prodigious Hoops, of Beaten Gold, at least appearing so to be; and of that valuable Metal are the Drains and Spouts, which carry off the Water, falling on the Place in Rainy Weather.

A Silver Door, and strange Old Fashion'd Entrance.

THE only Entrance, contrary to any Buildings, now in Fashion, or indeed Remembrance, is by two large Folding Silver Doors, to which you mount upon a Ladder, five Foot high, for so much higher than the Ground about it, reaches the Foundation of this Odd and Antique Piece of Building.

Stately Hangings.

THIS Door is plac'd almost as far, as the left Corner of the House, and being enter'd, presently admits you to the only Chamber, it consists of; richly Hung with an Embroider'd Damask, Red and Green, (the last the Prophet's Favorite Colour) and supported by four Pillars, the Diameter of each above two Foot, entirely of a Piece, their Form eight Square, and made of a black kind of Wood, perfuming all the Chamber with the finest Scent imaginable, which the Turks assur'd us, were not so by Nature, but became thus Odoriferous, the very Moment, their Prophet Bless'd that Place in his Nativity.

A fine goodnatur'd moving Stone.

WITHOUT the House, they show a dusky Colour'd Stone, near two Foot Square, to which they Kneel, and pay their Adoration with a thousand Kisses; and indeed the Reputation, which this Stone has got, deserves their Complaisance for the Civility, it once was Master of:
That was very Civil to Father Abraham.

For you must know, this House was built by Abraham's own Hands, who knew by Holy Inspiration, what an Honour it was destin'd to in After Ages, and, unwilling therefore to abuse the Walls, when he had rais'd them pretty high, by making Holes to fix a Scaffold in, he modestly resolv'd to stand upon this Stone, which then lay there by chance, and build as high as he cou'd reach by its Assistance, which, it seems, was so extreamly taken with the Patriarch's Good-Nature, that it gradually rose, and lifted him about from Place to Place, till he had made an End of all the Building.

The Ceremonies here perform'd.

HITHER then the Pilgrims come, as many at a time, as the Emir-Hadgey thinks fit to send together, least they shou'd Affront the Holy Place, by over-crowding its Approaches. The only Ceremonies, here Perform'd, are, Falling Prostrate on the Earth, and Blessing God, who has permitted them to see a Sight so Sacred; then repeating certain Prayers, they pass in Order thro' the Pillars of the four Apartments of the Sects above-nam'd, and are Bless'd and Kiss'd by the respective Priests of each Opinion, after which they Walk out backwards, till they pass the utmost Limits of this Venerable Fabrick.

Hangings out in Pieces to make Reliques.

NOTHING rests, deserving our Remark, but that a black Silk Canopy, which covers all the Roof of this Fine House is chang'd, for one renew'd each Year, at the Expence of the Grand Signior, and by him sent thither with the Caravan of Pilgrims, while the Old One, by the Priests, is cut in many thousand Pieces, and distributed among the Superstitious People, by the way of Sale, with a Pretence, that those, who bear that Holy Relique still about them, shall be ever free from sudden Death, and unexpected Dangers, of what kind soever.

Medina Telnabi.

HENCE, such People, as are led by Zeal, to think, their Duty Summons them, to see their Prophet's Tomb, accompany the Caravan, which goes from Mecca to Damascus, and arrive in eight or ten Days time, at Medina Telnabi, much about the Magnitude of Mecca.

The Tombs of Mahomet, Osmin and Hali.

HERE, in an obscure, and narrow Corner of a Stately Mosque, which stands directly in the middle of the Town, are seen the Sepulchres of the Impostor Mahomet, and his two Famous Followers, Osmin and Haly.

Description of the Tombs.

THE Tombs are low and narrow, of a Lozenge Cut, and fram'd of Marble, of a very Black, or Dusky Colour, void of any kind of Ornament, or Writing whatsoever, and inclos'd within three round, and high built Marble Turrets, thro' whose Sides are cut small narrow Windows, into which the Pilgrims look, and see the Tombs of their respected Prophets, That of Mahomet's the middlemost of all the Three.

The Towers enclosing them.

THESE Turrets are adorn'd with little Galleries of Gold and Silver, which together, with the Inward and External Sides of all the Towers, are richly Ornamented with innumerable quantities of Precious Stones, of an inestimable Value, Great Half Moons of Gold and Diamonds, Chains of Pearl, and Crowns of Jewels,
Glorious Ornaments.

every here and there appearing Writ in Golden Letters, the repeated Names of God and Mahomet, between the different kinds of Treasure, which for many Ages, have been sent, as Offerings, from the Superstitious Princes, who Profess Mahometanism.

The Departure of the Pilgrims.

HERE the Pilgrims gain a second Blessing, and return, as soon as they have seen the Tombs, to reach the Caravan, which waits their coming back at Mecca, and advance towards Egypt, in the Order, they came thence with. Many, Drunk, or Mad with Zealous Folly, bore their Eyes, or hold them over burning Irons, till they lose their Sight, as thinking it a Sin, beyond excuse, to look on Groveling Earthly Vileness, after they have once been Bless'd with so Divine and Long-desir'd a Prospect.

CHAP. XLIX. Of the Arabians, their Government, and way of Living.

The Descent of the Arabs.

THE Arabs are Descended, as is commonly believ'd, from Ishmael, dwelling now, as anciently they did, in Tents, and open Places, nothing differing from what they were, when the Inspir'd Historians of the Holy Scriptures writ their Character, and handed down the Nature of those Barbarous People to the Knowledge of Posterity.

The Etymology of Saracen.

THEY are distinguish'd likewise by the Name of Saracens, from the Arabian Etymology of Saara-Saaken, which in English, signifies as much, as an Inhabitant of Desart Countries.

Description of the Arabs.

THEY are generally Men of Middle Stature, swift and daring, very Lean, and wonderfully Bony, Tawny to a strange Degree, by the perpetual Influence of an unshadow'd Sun, which burns 'em in the Desarts: They are shrill of Voice, beyond most Women, and inclin'd by Nature to the Cruel Practices of an unlimited Barbarity.

Their Pride.

THEIR Pride exceeds most other Nations, for they scorn Dependance, and reject all Notions of a Lawful Government: They boast Antiquity, and not unjustly, Glorying in that they have, in the continued Course of such a mighty Number of successive Ages, kept themselves unmix'd with other Nations, and obtain'd an undisputed Claim, to not alone the Ancientest, but Purest Titles of Nobility, now extant in the Ʋniverse, by an obstinate Contempt of all Mechanical Employments, and depending solely on their Arms and Courage, for the Means of their Subsistance.

Their way of Living.

HENCE they Ravage all, they meet with, live in Plunder, and infest the Desarts, with a Lawless Multitude of Great and Little Parties, Robbing and Destroying all they Conquer, if they presume to make Resistance; after which, they suddenly retire behind such endless Tracts of unknown Sand, that none can follow them with Force, sufficient to repel their Numbers.

Why 'tis impossible to Conquer them.

'TIS esteem'd impossible to Conquer throughly these ungovernable People; for they ride on Horses of peculiar Skill, in tracing out the Passages of the unstable Desarts, and can live on very small and poor Provisions, and by frequenting constantly those Barren Places, know the Ground so very well, that no great Number can attempt pursuing them, but they must perish by the want of Food and Water, e'er they can with Reason, hope to find the Private Lurking Corners of their Nimble Enemies, who never fail to watch the Moment of some favourable Opportunity, to fall upon 'em under Covert of the Night, with bloody Execution.

Their Arms.

THEY little understand, and less esteem the Use of Fire-Arms; all their Weapons are, a kind of Spears, not much unlike an Officer's Half-Pike in England, headed with a Cap of Steel, sharp-pointed, and of admirable Temper, which they Poize with an extended Arm, and either hurl at distance, or can use in close Fight with an Enemy, as they may see Occasion.

Their strange Dexterity.

SECONDLY, they are the surest Archers in the World, and generally Arm themselves with a Capacious Quiver of Steel-headed Arrows, some of which are always Poyson'd; These they Shoot with such a strange Dexterity, on Horseback or on Foot, That, like the Ancient Parthians, fam'd in History, they Kill more Enemies in their Retreat from a lost Battle, than they Slaughter'd all the time before, while Face to Face, they stood the Shock of Open War, and Fought for Victory.

Their Roving Life.

THEY live, as I have said before, in Tents, and Pitch their Camps from time to time, where any little Face of Pasture for their Horses, or the Prospect of the most Advantages from Robbing Caravans, invite their Stay; Removing frequently from one Place to another, carrying with them all the Cities, they pretend to dwell in, and the Families, which they are Masters of.

Their Form of Government.

THEY are divided into Tribes, or Companies, and pay a kind of Reverence to certain Princes, as they call 'em, who by long Descent of Noble Blood beyond the rest, are Honour'd by the Tribes, and constantly Preside in all their Councils, Guiding, as they please, (tho' not assuming a Commanding Power) the Business of the People, who respect 'em greatly, tho' no otherwise distinguish'd from the Common People, than by wearing Turbants of a different Form, but equal Bigness.

Their Habits and Diet, &c.

THEIR Habits differ nothing from the Vulgar Turks, their Diet is not much unlike the Tartars, and their Exercises few, because they live in a perpetual Motion. Their Religion is Mahometanism, and they look upon it, as no little Honour to their Nation, that the Prophet was their Country-Man.

Their way of disposing of the Goods, they Plunder.

WHEN they have Plunder'd a Considerable Booty, they deliver it to certain of their People, living Peaceably on every Border of the Desarts, who are suffer'd to Converse and Trade with all the Governments, about 'em, rather out of Fear than Friendship.

THESE find present Means, to sell the Plunder of one Nation to the Natives of another, and delivering the Money to the Party, whence they had the Goods, receive a certain fix'd Reward, proportionable to the Value of the Prize, while all the rest is equally divided among those, who shar'd the Danger. With this Money they will often buy fine Jewels, or whatever else their Inclinations lead 'em to.

Jewels for the Women.

SINCE I have mention'd Jewels, 'twill be necessary to inform the Reader of the Ʋses, they design 'em to, which is, to Ornament the Persons of their Women, for they have as many Wives, as they think fit, and either carry them about, as they remove themselves, or leave them, in their Expeditions, in the Towns or Camps, they have, upon the most Delightful, Habitable, and not quite Infertil Borders of Arabia.

The Arabian Women, dreadful Creatures.

I think, I need not tell the English Ladies, that the Sun is no great Friend to Beauty, and the Poor Arabian Females find it to their Sorrows; For, but that their Husbands prove them Women, and not only so, but Fruitful Women too, I shou'd not only quite mistake their Sex, by missing in their Souls and Persons, all those soft, engaging Excellencies, which combine to Crown the Graces of my Country-Women, but really Misinterpret their Humanity, by judging them some Meaner-Part of the Creation. Methinks the Painters, who, (to cover the Disgraces, which the Christian Armies frequently receiv'd, by being beaten in the Holy-War, by those Mens Ancestors) took care to represent a Saracen upon their Sign-Posts, like a Monst'rous Gyant, so so to give a terrible Idea of those People, had done better far, to Paint the Figure of a Saracen's Wife, for all the World must have believ'd, that where the Women were such frightful Creatures, All the Men must have been worse than Devils.

Another kind of Arabs.

SOME People notwithstanding, bear the Name of Arabs, and are yet of Principles, directly different from these, such, for Example, as Inhabit many Places in Arabia Felix, and some other Countries, where they live in Peace and Honesty, subservient to the Laws of Civil Government; But those, I speak of, are the Arabs, commonly distinguish'd by the Name of Wild, or Independant, and are every way, the Men, I have describ'd, abhorr'd, but dreaded, by Mankind in General, yet above the Anger of surrounding Enemies.

CHAP. L. Probable Conjectures, concerning the Ten Tribes of Israel, which were carried away Captive, by Shalmanezer, King of Assyria. 2 Kings. Chap, 17.

I Wou'd not have my Reader led to a Mistake of what I mean, or by the Title of this Chapter, be induc'd to think, I flatter my Belief with an Opinion, that I can inform the World more largely, than all other Writers, of the Present State of the Ten Captiv'd Tribes of Broken Israel.

The Aim of this Chapter.

MY only Aim, in touching on this Subject, is, to prove, that those, who guess the Race of Turks to be Descended from the Jews of the Ten Tribes abovenam'd, may at least defend their Notion, by a very probable, and natural Chain of Arguments, if not incontrovertible, and certain Demonstration.

Many various Opinions.

MANY notwithstanding, and extreamly various, are the odd Opinions, commonly receiv'd, not only in the Europaean World, but even in those Eastern Parts, which, by their Old Vicinity of Situation to that Bondag'd People, may be thought to have retain'd an eager Curiosity to know, if possible, the Present Fortunes of a Formidable Nation, which in ancient Times, they not alone Esteem'd, but held uninterrupted Correspondence with.

AMONG the several Judgments, or Conjectures, made upon this Famous Head, it may not, possibly, be thought unwelcome, shou'd I entertain the Reader with a Few of the most Celebrated Notions, prevalent in the Opinions of the Knowing Ʋniverse.

The first Notion.

ONE commonly receiv'd Opinion is, that these Ten Tribes of Captiv'd Jews went quite thro' Tartary to Green-Land, so to America, by passing by the Straight of Darien, where they fix'd themselves in the Dominions of Peru, and all those Parts, distinguish'd by the Name of Nova Hispania, or the Spanish West-Indies.

Its Proofs.

TO prove the Probability of this Assertion, its Defenders openly avouch, that there are many Ruins, extant to this Day, whose own Remains, and the Tradition of the Country, join to speak them formerly the Work of Jewish Architects; In many of these Buildings they report to have discover'd Well-Wrought Nails, of mighty Size, which kept the Timber join'd together; this was judg'd Remarkable, because those Buildings were Erected, long before the Indian Natives are suppos'd to have been made acquainted with the Ʋse of Iron.

AGAIN, they judge it very Probable, because the Spanish Indians are not, of so Brown and Beardless a Complexion, as the rest, but much inclining to the Airs, and Features of the Ancient Jews, and thence believ'd to be decended from them.

ANOTHER Reason, they produce, as a Persuasive to their Notion, is, that, when the Spaniards Conquer'd Mexico, Peru, and all those Parts of the West-Indies, they perceiv'd their Customs, as to Women, Altars, Jubilees, Divorces, and the Knowledge, they profess'd of the Creation of the World, and Ʋniversal Deluge, with a Thousand other of their Practices, and Ceremonies, so entirely moulded to the Imitation of the Jewish Customs, that they cou'd not help concluding, that great Numbers of the Indians were themselves Descended from those Jews, of the Ten Tribes aforesaid, or at least had learnt from them the Numerous Ceremonies, they so long continued to indulge the Practice of.

The Second Notion of the Ten Tribes of Israel.

ANOTHER Notion, not alone receiv'd among the Jews, but almost every Nation in the East, perswades them to believe, that many of those Tribes may now be found in certain Inland Parts of China; and, to prove the Probability of this Opinion, they produce a Thousand Instances of Roman Missionary Priests, and many other Travellers, who have discover'd mighty Numbers of those People, in the Land above-nam'd, who retain the Practice of the Ancient Jewish Ceremonies, but are altogether ignorant of either the Arrival, Doctrine, or Portentous Crucifixion of our Blessed Saviour.

The Third Notion.

'TIS no improbable Conjecture, that some Tribes (if not all) inhabit in a Country, to the South of Persia, commonly distinguish'd by the Name of Tabor; for the People there, obey one Great, and Arbitrary Monarch, and profess no other Faith than that of Judaism.

Its Proofs.

THE Natives of this Country are divided into Tribes, which still retain such Names, as are entirely Consonant with those, which anciently distinguish'd the Lost Tribes of Israel; and the Name of Tabor, which (as I have said before) their Province bears, appears not widely different from Habor, whither Salmanezer order'd them to be Transported, as we read in Holy Scripture, in the Second Book of Kings, and the Seventeenth Chapter.

2 Kings, Ch. 17. V. 5, 6.

Then the King of Assyria came up throughout all the Land, and went up to Samaria, and Besieg'd it Three Years.

In the Ninth Year of Hoshea, the King of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor by the River of Gozan, and in the Cities of the Medes.

The Fourth Notion.

THOSE are not Few, who strenuously maintain, that many Parts of Aethiopia are inhabited, by the Posterity of these Ten Jewish Tribes, particularly near the Lake, whence Nilus is supposed to take his Rise; All the Men of this Persuasion wou'd oblige us to believe, the Abyssens, Coptees, and certain other Aethiopian Christians, owe the Practice of their Circumcising Children, to some Ancient Imitation of the Custom of the Jews, who found a Refuge in their then more Hospitable Country.

The Fifth Notion.

IT is more talk'd of, than believ'd, that they may possibly inhabit those unknown, and spacious Territories, on the other side of that Prodigious River,
The Sabbatical River

which Josephus mentions to be not far distant from the Caspian Sea, and call'd Sabbatical, by reason of a wondrous Secret in the Nature of its Stream, which runs six Days with such amazing Breadth, and rapid Violence of an Impetuous Current, that by driving down the very Stones, and Sand, o'er which it rolls, it renders it impossible for Mortal Courage, Strength, or Artifice, to compass Means of passing it, but on the Sabbath Day, at which time all the Waters fall Miraculously, for the space of Four and Twenty Hours, leaving dry, and passable the Sandy Bottom.

The Sixth Opinion.

Mr. William Pen, in the Account, he gives of Pensilvania, tells us, he believes the Natives of that Place had no Original, but from the Jewish Tribes, and arms the Arguments, he uses on this Subject, with the following Observations.

Its Reasons.

THAT God cou'd point them out with ease a Passage to America, from the Eastern Parts of Asia, and that, since they were Ordain'd to be remov'd to an Ʋntill'd, even Ʋndiscover'd Country, 'tis highly probable, that the West-Indies was the Place, since that was then the only unknown Quarter of the Habitable Ʋniverse.

AND that they rather Peopled Pensilvania, than the other Parts of the West-Indies, he imagines not unlikely, since the Natives of that Country so resemble Jews, in Features and Deportment, that they seem distinguishably Mark'd by God, as the Posterity of that Unhappy Nation.

Jewish Customs in Pensilvania.

AGAIN, their Feasts, Fasts, Sacrifices, and all other Rights, and Ceremonies, with the great Affinity, their Language bears to Hebrew, and abundance more concurring Circumstances in their ways of Life, agree so evidently with the Jewish Institutions, Government, and Customs, that he judges it a very reasonable Notion, to conclude they are descended from the long Lost Race of the Subverted Israelites.

The Seventh Opinion.

BUT having mention'd the foregoing Notions, now most common in the Eastern World, I will proceed to let you see, how probable it is, that all the Turks are of the Jewish Race, and that the Ten above-nam'd Tribes, at least the greatest Remnant of them, now reside in Tartary, and are the People so Notorious for their Inhumanity, so Formidable in their Government, Unknown in their Condition, and so justly Dreaded by the oft Invaded World, who only know them by the Name of Tartars.

The Turks Descended from the Jews.

I show'd the Reader in my Entrance on the Book, that Anciently the Turks were an huge Body of Ʋngovernable Wandring Scythians, or Tartars, who forsook their Country for some unknown Cause, and over-running Turcomania, and a Boundless Tract of Fertile Land, became a People, formidably Numerous, and swell'd in time to that surprizing Pitch of Arbitrary Sway, they boast at present.

IT hence appears 'tis Universally allow'd, as an Ʋndoubted Certainty, that 'tis from Tartary the Turks first took their Origin; It only then remains to prove, that those, we now call Tartars, may be rationally thought the True Posterity of the Ten Tribes of Israel, which the Conquering Salmanecer carried with him Captive, as aforesaid, which I shall endeavour to perform, as Briefly as is possible.

The Etymology of the word Tartar.

AND first, the Reader may observe, that Tarut-Har, or Tartar, in the Syrian Language, signifies the Remnant, or Remainder of a People, which tho' alone an Argument, of no small weight, is strongly aided by the following Particulars.

A very probable Argument.

MEDIA, Situated near the Caspian Sea, is now possess'd entirely by these Tartars, and as it appears by the abovenam'd Text of Holy Writ, that the Ten Tribes of Israel were Transported to the Cities of the Medes, so 'tis observable, that those few Cities, which the Tartars have, are call'd by Names, agreeing nearly with the Ancient Towns of Israel, when She Flourish'd.

Ancient Jewish Names still retain'd.

THUS, the Capital of Tartary is call'd Samar-yan, which is very little different from Samaria, once the Great Metropolis of Israel's Monarchs, and it is observable, that many Pillars, Buildings, and vast Reliques of Antiquity are yet remaining in this Town, adorn'd in so demonstrative a manner, that they plainly speak themselves, to have been Jewish Monuments.

A River call'd Jordan.

THEY have another Town, call'd Jericho, a Mount, nam'd Sion, and another Mount, distinguish'd by the Name of Tabor, with a River Yordan, (from the Hebrew Jordan) and a thousand other Names of Places, plainly prove a Jewish Etymology.

The Tartars divided into Ten Tribes.

THEY are divided into Ten Great Tribes, or Parties, bearing Names, not much unlike the Ancient Patriarchs, from whom the Israelites receiv'd their Appellations: All these Tribes, tho' wholly Subject to one Common Government, avoid confounding Kindred by a Marriage into one anothers Families, a Nicety, which never was observ'd, but by the Jews, and now these Tartars, thence with Probability suppo'd their Off-spring.

The Language of the Tartars.

THE Language of the Tartars is so very reconcilable to Hebrew, that the Difference there is between them, may be very well accounted for, when we consider they were mix'd so long with their Rough Conquerors, the Syrians, e're they found a Possibility to make a General Revolt, and the prodigious Ignorance, and strange Barbarity a Nation, for so many Ages, void of Arts and Sciences, or the Improvements of Humanity, by Trade or Conversation with a more Polite, and Knowing People, must of Course degenerate to.

A Tradition of the Tartars.

ANOTHER Thing, which serves to prove the just Validity of this Opinion is, that all the Tartars do not only Circumcise, and Ʋse the ancient Jewish Rights, in almost every Point of Worship, but Traditionally boast themselves, to be Descended from those Israelites, who Conquering their Conquerors, became Possess'd of all the Territories by the Caspian Sea; and hence it was, that Tamerlain, or rather Tam-her-lane the Great, who led the Turkish Bajazet about his City, in an Iron Cage, wou'd often take occasion to be Vaunting of his Pedigree, affirming, he was Lineally Descended from the Tribe of Dan, in an uninterrupted Genealogy.

The two Inferences to be drawn from the foregoing Arguments.

FROM the abovenam'd Observations, it appears but rational to draw two Inferences; First, That the Great Founders of the Present Turkish Empire are Descended from the Tartar's Race, and Secondly that those, distinguish'd now by the said Name of Tartars, are the Ten Transplanted Tribes of Israel, so justly Punish'd by Almighty God, for their Offensive Obstinacy, that from the most Esteem'd, and Glorious Nation of the Ʋniverse, they are Degenerated into the most Despicable Outcasts of Unbless'd Humanity.

CHAP. LI. Instructions to the Traveller, who wou'd make a Safe, and Profitable Journey into the Eastern Countries.

The Design of this Chapter.

THE Generous Reader will, I doubt not, put a right Interpretation on my Meaning, in pretending to instruct the World, when I my self, as much as other People, want Instruction; All I aim at by the Subject, I am now about to take upon me, is to lay down Rules, which I have prov'd by oft Repeated, tho' but young Experience, to be safe and necessary, to the Practice of that Traveller, who wou'd to any Purpose,spend his Time in Foreign Countries.

Education of Youth, the Glory of a Nation.

THE Infinite Advantages, the Honour, Glory, Riches, and Prosperity, accruing to a Nation, by the careful Training up the Youth, she shines with, and the great Necessity of sowing wisely all those Seeds of Liberal Education, which they hope to see securely Flourish in a full Maturity, are so Conspicuous to Mankind, and Universally allow'd of, that I need enlarge no more, on so Incontrovertible an Argument.

The Advantages of Travel.

IF then the Care of Youth be commonly allow'd a Duty, weightily Incumbent on a Common Wealth, 'twill easily appear a certain Truth, both from the Practice of the Ancient, and the Modern Times, that sending them to Travel into Foreign Parts, has ever been esteem'd, and doubtless is the greatest Blessing, and most sure Improvement, we can lead their Minds to, since they Learn thereby to study Men, instead of Books, and by a Free and Generous Conversation with the open World, not only shake off their Domestick Dregs of Bashfulness, and Ignorance, but wholesomely digesting the Remembred Dictates of their late Minority, become Polite in the Deportment of their Persons, and Refin'd extreamly, in the Notions of their Judgment.

The Folly of neglecting it.

HENCE it follows that, as 'tis undoubtedly the greatest Policy, as well as Honour of a Prudent People, to encourage Youth to Early Travel, 'tis an unhappy Flaw in any Nations Character, to have it said, they stand Insensible of Evident Advantages, and rather stifle than promote a Practice, so Commendable.

Englishmen Remiss in its Encouragement.

I must confess I have with no small Wonder, taken notice, that my Countrymen, of all the Europaean Nations, are the most Remiss in this Affair; We see them commonly but thinly sown in Foreign Courts, Camps, Schools, or Academies, while Numbers of the Natives of all other Christian Countries, flock continually to every Land or City, Famous in the least, beyond their Neighbours.

An Observation on the North-Britons.

I ought not to omit, (since I have here so fair an Opportunity) the doing Justice to our Late-Ʋnited Gallant Brothers of NORTH-BRITAIN, who are so effectually Sensible of the Advantages, abovenam'd, that their Gentlemen are commonly the Best Bred, and most Learn'd of Christendom, and do not only Travel much, but to much Purpose also; for we seldom see a Celebrated Court of Europe, but the Civil sometimes, sometimes Military Offices thereof, are not alone Possess'd, but Ornamented greatly by the Natives of that Country.

Travelling now more in Fashion.

HOWEVER, I may spare the Pains of Searching for the Causes of so Groundless a Neglect, since there appears a Brisker Turn than Formerly, to animate the Genius of the English Nation, who within some few Years past, have seem'd to seek more earnestly than heretofore, the Benefits of Travelling.

I will therefore only wish for the Improvement of a Custom, so Praise-Worthy, and proceed to give the Hints, I promis'd, in relation to the Methods, they shou'd Ʋse in Travelling.

At what Age Young Men shou'd Travel.

I am not for the speedy sending Youth abroad, before their Judgment is Mature enough, to give them a distinguishing Idea of the Ʋse, as well as Prospect of the Things, they meet with; Eighteen Years of Age is more too Early than too Late, for a Young Man to think of leaving England: This I know by Personal Experience, having been beholding to my Latter Travels, for a Full Digestion, and Improvement of the Unripe Observations, vainly gather'd in my Former.

An Error common in the English Practice.

IT is a Fault, too Common in our Modern Practice, to send Young Men Abroad, to see the Rarities of Italy, and other Countries, before they are at all acquainted with Domestick Curiosities, and Things as well deserving Observation, in the Heart of our own Kingdom, as he possibly can meet with, in the Places, he must Travel thro'.

Its Follies.

BESIDES, it is a kind of unaccountable Simplicity, to think a Man is Qualified for Conversation in a Foreign Land, before he Understands, or has the smallest Notion of the Government, or any Part of the Whole Constitution, or Condition of his Native Country: For such an Ignorance must necessarily render him unfit for an Inquisitive, or Learn'd Society in any Place, he comes to, and consequently hinder him of all Advantages, he might have Reap'd from the Improvements of his Journey.

Another Error.

ANOTHER Error, and no small one, is that most Young Men are sent Abroad, entirely Ignorant of German, Dutch, Italian, and too often French, or any Foreign Languages: This renders them depriv'd of even a Possibility of Living, as they ought, in Friendship and Acquaintance with their Equals or Superiors, where they come; for 'tis but seldom any Tongue but French, is thought worth bringing Home, or if some Few have Souls, and Memory enough to Compass more, by that time, they have learn'd to speak them tolerably, the short Space, allotted for their Absence, is expir'd, and they must return, to put an End to their Vain Journey, just as they are grown Capacitated to improve themselves by its Advantages.

A third Error.

THERE are a kind of Gentlemen, call'd Tutors, generally sent Abroad with a Commission to Direct, and Govern their Young Travellers: These are sometimes Frenchmen, sometimes Englishmen, but always of an Age by far Superior, and an Humour, often Opposite to those, they have the Charge of.

Proper to be Reform'd.

THIS I think an Error, that shou'd be Reform'd for many Reasons; If the Tutor be a Foreigner, I need not Nominate the many Disadvantages, the Pupil must be Subject to; and if an Englishman, of such Superior Age, as commonly they are, I humbly ask my Reader's leave, to say a Word or two on that Occasion.

The Reasons for Reforming it.

YOUNG MEN are naturally Prepossess'd with a Dislike, or Timorous Apprehension of such Men, as are appointed for their Governors: They are their second Schoolmasters, and consequently look'd upon, as Objects of their Spleen; They are imagin'd Spies o'er all their Actions, and Informers of their Juvenile Extravagancies: Their Best Advice is Coldly list'ned to, for want of an Affection, and their Precepts rob'd of proper Force, because not back'd by Open Familiarity.

More Reasons.

AGAIN, 'tis natural for Young Men to reflect, What is this Man, who Curbs our Inclinations? Why a Tutor, that is, one, whose Business is to call those Pleasures Faults, which he has now, perhaps, outliv'd the Tast of; He forgets the Inclinations of his Youth, and wou'd oblige us to a Life, as Melancholy as his own, in spite of all the Disproportion, that appears betwixt our Ages. But were any of the Arguments, he us'd, made strong by both the Precept, and Example of some Wise Companion, not much Older than Himself, they wou'd undoubtedly prevail on his Belief, because he cannot look upon them the Effects of Peevish Age, or Want of Relish, but occasion'd purely, by a Wise Restraint of Headstrong Passions, and a Swing of Vanity.

AS I have Censur'd those Three Common Errors in our Practice, just aforenam'd, so I will, as Briefly as is Possible, set down the Rules, by which we may with ease avoid their Inconveniencies.

How the first Error might be mended.

AND First, I wou'd advise, that Children shou'd be put to School so early, that they may have gain'd a Competent Increase of Ʋnderstanding, in a Residence at either of the Ʋniversities, by that time, they have reach'd the Age of Eighteen Years at farthest.

THEN, it might be Proper that, in some Relation's Care, he might Reside at London, one whole Winter, there to Learn the Fashionable Gayeties, which recommend a Gentleman for Breeding and Appearance.

A necessary Improvement.

IN the Summer following, 'twou'd be a great Improvement to his Knowledge, if assisted by the Recommendatory Letters of his Friends, to their Acquaintance in the Country, he shou'd undertake a Journey, quite thro' England, Wales, and Part of, if not all, North Britain.

How to be
〈◊〉

.BUT he shou'd not only Travel thro' these Countries, but from Place to Place be Recommended to the House, and Care, of some Considerable Man, of Parts and Fortune, who shou'd not alone contrive to Entertain him Hospitably, but be sure to Introduce him to the Knowledge, and Acquaintance of the Best and Wisest Part of all his Neighbourhood, by whose Assistance, and Society, he might not only be Diverted with a Sight of every Curiosity, but Taught at large the Charters, and Antiquity of every Corporation, Privileges, Laws, and Customs of each County, Honour, and Descent of every Family, and all Things else, that might be fansy'd requisite to give him an entire Idea, of the Nature, and Condition of the Government, he is Subject to.

BY these means he is hardned, for the Accidental Dangers, and Fatigues, he probably may meet with in his longer Journey, and enabled, when he is Abroad, to give a Foreigner an Answer to a Question, full as easily, as ask one of him.

A Second Error, how Curable.

SECONDLY, in order to prevent the Inconveniencies, arising from a want of Knowledge, in the European Languages, I wou'd advise all Gentlemen, who think of Travelling, to Qualifie themselves for true Improvement, by some few Years Previous, Interwoven Application to the Study of the French, Italian, Dutch, and German Languages, which they may learn with ease at several times, by several Masters, or by one, while at their Latin School, or either Ʋniversity: Then, having made themselves indifferent Proficients, they may in their Six Months Continuance at London, afterwards improve them to a fuller Height, by keeping Company, as much as possible, with Foreign Gentlemen, who Travel Yearly into England, and wou'd be glad of their Society.

The Advantages of Language.

THUS, wou'd they go Abroad, sufficiently enabled to Converse Familiarly in Foreign Countries, as they did at Home, and thence avoiding that too common Shyness, us'd to Strangers, they wou'd soon gain Friends, and pleas'd with their Acquaintance, swell their Knowledge to as high a Pitch Abroad, as they had done at Home, by former Application.

An Observation concerning Tutors.

THIRDLY, not to Rob the Gentlemen, who in the Character of Tutors, take upon them the no little Charge of Educating Youth, of those accomplish'd Merits, some of them are Masters of, I wou'd offer to the serious Consideration of my Countrymen, whether 'twou'd not be a Method, more Conducive to the good Improvement of a Young Man's Time, to send Abroad, as his Companion, some Young Gentleman, of Unquestionable Conduct, not much Older than himself, but one, who has by Publick Business, or his Former Travels, render'd his Experience riper, than his Years might speak it.

How justify'd

HERE, Persuasion and Example wou'd undoubtedly, be far more efficacious, than the Precepts of Authority; The Arguments, which might be us'd, to win him from a Folly, wou'd appear no otherwise, than Friendly Wishes for his Welfare; The Familiar Conversation, they wou'd have together, must afford a Thousand Pretty Opportunities to Censure the Miscarriages, he may have made, with a Brisk Air of Unsuspected Gayety.

The only Bar no great one.

IN short, the only Bar to the Advantages, which must accrue from such a Practice, is the mighty Difficulty, that must certainly attend the Choice of such a Man, as may in every Point appear well Qualified, for the Discharge of such a Trust, as must be given him; And this, (how difficult soever it may seem) will prove an easier Task upon Examination, than most Men imagine it, and doubtless wou'd be easier yet, if once the Introduction of so good a Custom gave Encouragement for Men of Worth, to Qualifie themselves for that Employment.

Which Parts are best to Travel first to.

WHEN thus prepar'd for Foreign Travel, the Young Gentleman wou'd do a Prudent Action, to consider what Part of the Universe, he may with most Improvement bend his Journey to; and certainly in my Opinion, 'twou'd be best to Visit first the East, or South-East World, for there he will not only view a Scene of Nature, wholly contrary to his own Country, in Religion, Humour, Government, and every Means, and Form of Living, which he cannot well be said to meet in Europe, but will learn to Contemplate, (by frequent Views of the prodigious Changes, Time has made in Towns, and Kingdoms) on the Miserable Instability of Worldly Grandeur, which together with the Ʋnpolite and Rustic Treatment, he must doubtless meet with, from the Proud Inhabitants of those Self-Loving Countries, will depress, or curb at least, the Head-strong Sallies of Impetuous Youth, and Native Arrogance of Temper; so that afterwards returning by the way of Italy, and France, and other the Politest European Nations, he may stand secure, against the strong Temptations of those Fashionable Vanities, which- mix themselves unluckily with the respective Excellencies, every Court is judg'd most Famous for.

A Great Neglect Reprov'd.

AGAIN, I look upon it, as a mighty Error in the British Travellers, so strangely to neglect the Knowledge of Marine Affairs, unless their Education, or Pursuit of their Preferment calls them to their Practice; Nothing certainly can add a Brighter Ornament to any Englishman's Capacity, than to be fully Vers'd, at least, made tolerably Knowing, in the Mysteries of Navigation, and the many useful Sciences, and profitable Observations, which a few short Voyages will gild his Understanding with Considerable Notions of.

Travelling by Sea Recommended.

I wou'd therefore willingly advise all Gentlemen, who travel, to Embark on Board some Trading Vessel, (if in time of Peace) bound up the Straits from Port to Port, on either side; or if the speed one Vessel makes, may call him from a Place, before he has had time to make his Observations, he will constantly be sure to meet some Ship, or other, Bound directly to the Port, he has a mind to be Transported to, no matter, whether she be English, or of any other Christian Nation, for the more Variety, he meets with in his Travels, so much more Extensive will become his Experience.

The Course he shou'd Steer.

BY these Means, he may at his own leisure see the Kingdoms of Spain, Portugal, and Sicily; The Sea-Port Towns of Fez, Morocco, Tripoly, Algiers, and other Parts of Barbary, the numerous Islands of the Graecian Archipelago, with the Rich Emporiums of the Turkish Empire, Smyrna, and Constantinople.

A Further Journey.

HENCE, he may proceed, by Land, and Sea, as he imagines most Convenient, and Diverting, on to Egypt, and the Holy Land, and thence from Place to Place, with Yearly Caravans, or Monthly ones, till he has satisfied his utmost Curiosity, with a distinct, and serious View of all the several Branches of that Mighty Monarchy.

The Tour continued, and ended two several ways.

THIS done, he may return, from any Sea-Port Town of Turkey, by the way of Italy, for Ships are constantly Bound thence to Venice, or Leghorn; But as some Inconveniencies, such as Performing Quarantana, and the like, attend that Voyage, 'twou'd be more Improving, and Delightful to a Genius, Temper'd with the smallest Curiosity, to Travel over Land thro' Turkey into Italy, by the Road of Philippopolis, and so to Venice, or into Germany, by passing thro' Romania, Bulgaria, Valachia, Transilvania, and Hungary, to the City of Vienna; either of which Roads, admitting you to a considerable Part of Christendom, lies easy and convenient, to point you out a Tour, thro' all the Noted Courts of Europe, after which you will return to England, like an Indian Vessel, whose inestimable Freight makes full amends, for the Fatigues, and Dangers of a Tedious Absence.

NOW, that all these Schemes of Travel may be undertaken, and perform'd, with as much Safety, and Advantage, as is possible, I beg the Reader's Patience, while I give a word or two of Necessary Caution, which will bring me on to a Conclusion of the Chapter.

Another Great Neglect.

THERE is not a Neglect, more Common, nor of a more Fatal Consequence, now suffer'd, than the sending Gentlemen Abroad, without a further Charge of Letters, than such only, as are necessary, to procure Supplies of Money, when their Exigencies may require it.

The Use of Recommendatory Letters.

HE ought to carry Recommendatory Letters for each Noted Place, he thinks of going to; Nor are those Letters worthy of that Name, which commonly are sent by Merchants, to their Correspondents in a Foreign Part, wherein the Gentleman, who bears them, is, in Fashionable Words of Course, so Coldly Recommended, that a Formal Visit, or a Drunken Entertainment is the most, he meets with, from the Persons, he is address'd to.

The Care, to be us'd in that Point.

ALL Gentlemen, who send their Sons, or Friends Abroad, shou'd be extreamly nice in this Particular; For 'tis according to the Interests, or Inclinations of the People, to whom Travellers are Recommended, that their Journey turns to Good, or Ill Account, however Great may be their Quality, or Long their Absence.

The Inconveniencies of going Abroad, without them.

IF they are not recommended to some Gentlemen of Interest, in the Countries, they pass thro', they can do no more in any Town, they come to, than Walk up and down the Streets, see now and then a Monastery, or perhaps Peep thro' the Grates of some Close Nunnery, stare aukwardly upon the Outsides of Great Buildings, and return to England, after two or three Years Absence, just as Wise in Foreign Matters, as when they departed from it.

A Fault, peculiar to English-Men, Abroad.

AND here, I cannot help Complaining of a Fault, peculiar to the English Gentlemen, Abroad, and call'd by Foreigners, an Ʋnbred Pride, and Haughtiness of Temper, tho' 'tis rather owing to their want of Recommendatory Letters, well Directed. It is a kind of Separation, or Distinction, which they make between Themselves, and the Inhabitants of any Town, they chance to stay at, earnestly desiring English Company, and seeming, as it were, averse to any other, which entirely Robs them of the smallest Possibility, of making an Improvement by their Travels, or Expences.

The Best Recommendatory Letters.

THE only way is, to make Interest with the Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors, or Envoys, who reside at London, and have doubtless, not alone a vast Acquaintance, but considerable Power with the Best, and most Capacitated Gentlemen of their own Country, and the Tenour of their Letters shou'd require their Favour, Friendship, and Good Offices in every kind, to the Young Traveller, who carries them, but more especially Sollicit their Assistance, and Directions in the Observations, most deserving a Remark, and their Advice, what Towns or Places in the Country may be worth Regard, with the Additional Civility of Letters of Recommendation, which may urge their Friends in any Parts to do, as they have done, by the departing Traveller.

Another necessary Caution.

ANOTHER kind of Letters, they shou'd never go without, are those, directed to our own Ambassadors, or other Publick Ministers, residing in the Courts of Foreign Princes, and a due Respect shou'd constantly be paid them, on your first Arrival. These Advices, well observ'd, may (I have reason to believe) at least, I wish they might, conduce a little to my Country-Mens Advantage, who design to Travel: But as I have thoughts of Publishing hereafter, by its self, a Regular Treatise on this Subject, I will now conclude, with an Assurance to my Reader, that Experience has convinc'd me of the Truth of what I Write, or I had scarce presum'd to Recommend my Sentiments, on this Occasion.

CHAP. LII. The CONCLUSION.

AND now, I have, as well as I am able, play'd the Part of a Sincere Relater of the Observations, made in Foreign Countries, and commit my Book to the Ill-Nature of the Criticks, with a Scorn of all their little Malice, and a hearty Wish, that such, as read with a Desire to be Diverted, or Inform'd, may find therein, as full a Satisfaction, as I shou'd receive, in hearing that they did so.

The Malice of the Times.

THE Fashionable Envy of these Peevish Times, permits no Author to be over-proud of his Best Labours; And were I less Modest, than I think my self, which wou'd, I'm sure, be very far from any thing, like Vanity, The Age, I live in wou'd, no doubt, find Means to mortify all Self-esteem; and were a Book to be expos'd to Publick Censure, as deserving Praise, as those of Horace, or the Roman Ovid,
The Ill-Na¦ture of Criticks.

Soft-mouth'd Criticks wou'd be nibling at the Bait, and run the hazard of breaking out their Teeth; far rather than not strive to make some ill Impression on it, which if, after all, they fail to do, they'll drivel out their Rage, and spit upon it harmlesly, in meer Vexation.

WERE there a Modern Ovid now alive, accomplish'd like the Antient, he'd be look'd upon a very Monster of Vain-Glory, shou'd he Crown his Labours with a Self-wreath'd Gaerland, and conclude his Works as Magisterially, as once the former did, in these High-sounding Verses.

Ovid Met. Lib. ult.

Jamque opus exegi, quod nec Jovis Ira, nec Ignis,

Nec poterit Ferrum, neque Edax abolère vetustas.

And now an End to that vast Work is giv'n,

Which neither Fire, nor the Ill-will of Heav'n,

Nor the Keen Rage, which does the Sword employ,

Nor Time's devouring Rust shall e'er destroy.

The Author's Resignation.

SINCE therefore Truth, not Merit can successfully lay claim to just Applause, in this ungrateful Age, I, who can only boast the former Virtue, will proceed more humbly, and submit my Labours to the Sentence of the World, with all the Resignation of a Man, who, having nobler Ends in Writing, than to Flatter Faction, or expect Reward, has no occasion to be much solicitous, for the Success of his Endeavours.

A Word or two, concer¦ning the Probable Downfal of the Turks.

I'LL only add a Word or Two, concerning a Conspicuous Probability of the approaching Downfal of the Turkish Empire, which has grown, by gradual Acquisitions, to a most amazing Bulk, and Constitution, but at present seems so weaken'd, by the Natural Corruption, and Infirmities of Age, that Terrible Convulsions shake its Frame, as if 'twere hastning onwards, towards a sudden Period.

Expected from the Muscovites.

I have, elsewhere in this Book, occasionally taken Notice of a Prophecy, in vogue among the Turks, That They shall be destroy'd by a Long-white-hair'd Northern Nation of the Christian World, and that they look upon the Muscovites to be the Nation, hinted in the Prophecy, on which Account, they seem extreamly Apprehensive of the Motions of that People, and their Fright is aggravated greatly, by the means, the Muscovites have lately found, of sending Ships of War, thro' the Black Sea to Constantinople, and the Ʋniversal Disposition of the Greeks, to look upon that Nation, as their long-decreed Deliverers.

The Policy of the Czar, in his War with Sweden.

IF Heaven has Ordain'd it to be so, 'tis probable, it may be suddenly Effected, for the Warlike Disposition of the Present Czar, beyond his Ancestors, and the Degeneracy of the Modern, from the Antient Turks, are Weighty Circumstances. The Victorious King of Sweden has been nothing worse, than a Severe School-Master to the Muscovites, who owe an admirable Discipline to the War, they're now engag'd in, and reserve those Troops, made Soldiers by a Year or two's Fatigue, in Inland Garrisons, to Exercise their Fellows, and Improve themselves, while Raw, and New-Rais'd Men are sent each Year, to face their Enemies, till they become Good Warriors, and give way to more Fresh Comers.

The Reasons guess'd.

IN my Opinion, these Proceedings wear the Air of some Well-laid Design, and the Fatigue, the Present Monarch of the Muscovite Dominions has been at, in tedious Travels; The uncredited Improvement, he has made throughout his Country, (chiefly in Marine Affairs) The Great Encouragement, he gives all Foreign Officers; and Arts, he uses to allure them to his Service; All these seem to speak a further End, than the Repulsing a Weak Swedish Enemy.

The Possibility of his Conquering the Turks.

'TIS my Belief, he'll fall upon the Turks, as soon as the Maturity of his Designs affords him Opportunity; Nor do I question, but (by God's Assistance) with the Great Advantages, he will have over them, he may entirely Overthrow their Government, and in their Ruin, gloriously Revenge the Bloody Falls of those Brave Christian Princes, who have sunk, from Age to Age, beneath the Weight of their Oppressive Ʋsurpation. But the Nature of my Book, and little space, I have to spare, forbid me to enlarge on this Particular, which, if I have foreseen with Judgment, Heaven direct to triumph in Prosperity, for the Great Good of ƲNIVERSAL CHRISTENDOM.

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A full and just account of the present state of the Ottoman empire in all its branches: with the government, and policy, religion, customs, and way of living of the Turks, in general. ... By Aaron Hill, ...

Hill, Aaron, 1685-1750.

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http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/4891

ID [isbn10]

1106018907

ID [isbn13]

9781106018908

ID [TCP]

K085957.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3305033583

ID [ECSS]

0607601700

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— A full and just account of the present state of the Ottoman empire in all its branches: with the government, and policy, religion, customs, and way of living of the Turks, in general. ... By Aaron Hill, ..., Hill, Aaron, 1685-1750.. [8],xxvii,[9],118,[2],119-126,[2],127-146,[2],147-156,[2],157-176,[2],177-266,[2],267-268,[2],269-339,[1]p.,plates : : port. ; 2⁰. London :: printed for the author, and are to be sold, by John Mayo,. 1709.. [Each plate is accompanied by a unnumbered leaf of explanation.] [With a list of subscribers.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [Goldsmiths', 4529] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT107054.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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