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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Miscellanea Curiosa. Volume 3, by Various
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Miscellanea Curiosa. Volume 3
-       containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and
-       natural histories of countries as they have been delivered
-       in to the Royal Society
-
-Author: Various
-
-Release Date: October 16, 2015 [EBook #50229]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISCELLANEA CURIOSA. VOLUME 3 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Richard Tonsing, deaurider and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-                            _Advertisement._
-
-There is now Engraving, and will speedily be Publish'd, _A New Pair
-of_ GLOBES, sixteen Inches Diameter; the _Terrestrial_ has on it all
-the New Discoveries that have been lately made, together with an
-useful View of the General and Coasting Trade-Winds, Moonsoons, _&c._
-The _Cœlestial_ has the Stars laid down from the Correctest Tables of
-the best Astronomers of our Age, with eighteen Constellations never
-Engraven upon any Globe.
-
-All those Gentlemen that are willing to Furnish themselves with them,
-are desired speedily to inform the Undertakers _J. Senex_ and _C.
-Price_, next the _Fleece_-Tavern in _Cornhill_; They intending to fit
-up no more than what are Subscrib'd for.
-
-
-
-
-                        _Miscellanea Curiosa._
-
-                             Containing a
-
-                              COLLECTION
-
-                                  OF
-
-                           Curious Travels,
-
-                               VOYAGES,
-
-                                  AND
-
-                          _Natural Histories_
-
-                                  OF
-
-                              COUNTRIES,
-
-                 As they have been Delivered in to the
-
-                            ROYAL SOCIETY.
-
-                               VOL. III.
-
-
-                               _LONDON_:
-
-  Printed by _J. B._ for _Jeffery Wale_ at the _Angel_ in St.
-    _Paul_'s Church-yard; _J. Senex _&_ C. Price_ next the _Fleece_
-    Tavern in _Cornhill_, 1707.
-
-
-
-
-THE
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-  _A Journal of a Voyage from _England_ to
-  _Constantinople_, made in the Year, 1668.
-  by _T. Smith_, D. D. and F. R. S._      1
-
-  _Historical Observations relating to _Constantinople_.
-  By the Reverend and Learned _Tho.
-  Smith_, D. D. Fellow of _Magd. Coll. Oxon._
-  and of the _Royal Society_._      32
-
-  _An account of the City of _Prusa_ in _Bythynia_,
-  and a continuation of the Historical Observations
-  relating to _Constantinople_, by the Reverend
-  and learned _Thomas Smith_ D. D. Fellow
-  of _Magd. Coll. Oxon._ and of the _Royal Society_._      49
-
-  _A Relation of a Voyage from _Aleppo_ to _Palmyra_
-  in _Syria_; sent by the Reverend Mr.
-  _William Hallifax_ to Dr. _Edward Bernard_
-  (late) _Savilian_ Professor of Astronomy in
-  _Oxford_, and by him communicated to Dr.
-  _Thomas Smith_, _Reg. Soc. S.__      84
-
-  _An Extract of the Journals of two several Voyages
-  of the _English Merchants_ of the Factory
-  of _Aleppo_, to _Tadmor_, anciently call'd _Palmyra_._      120
-
-  _Some Account of the Ancient State of the City
-  of _Palmyra_, with short Remarks upon the Inscriptions
-  found there. By _E. Halley_._      160
-
-  _A Voyage of the Emperour of _China_ into the
-  Eastern _Tartary_, Anno. 1682._      179
-
-  _The Distances of the Places thro' which we passed
-  in the _Eastern_ Tartary._      195
-
-  _A Voyage of the Emperor of _China_, into the
-  Western _Tartary_ in the Year, 1683._      196
-
-  _An Explanation, necessary to justify the _Geography_
-  supposed in these Letters._      210
-
-  _Some Observations and Conjectures concerning
-  the _Chinese_ Characters. Made by _R. H._
-  R. S. S._      212
-
-  _A Letter from _F. A._ Esq; R. S. S. to the Publisher,
-  with a Paper of Mr. _S. Flowers_, containing
-  the Exact Draughts of several unknown
-  Characters, taken from the Ruins at _Persepolis_._      233
-
-  _A Letter from Monsieur _N. Witsen_ to Dr.
-  _Martin Lister_, with two Draughts of the Famous
-  _Persepolis_._      236
-
-  _A Description of the Diamond-mines, as it was
-  presented by the Right Honourable the Earl
-  Marshal of _England_, to the _R. Society_._      238
-
-  _A Letter from the _East Indies_, of Mr. _John
-  Marshal_ to Dr. _Coga_, giving an Account of
-  the Religion, Rites, Notions, Customs, Manners
-  of the Heathen Priests commonly called
-  _Bramines_. Communicated by the Reverend
-  Mr. _Abraham de la Pryme_._      256
-
-  _Part of two Letters to the Publisher from Mr.
-  _James Cunningham_, F. R. S. and Physician
-  to the _English_ at _Chusan_ in _China_, giving
-  an account of his Voyage thither, of the Island
-  of _Chusan_, of the several sorts of Tea, of
-  the Fishing, Agriculture of the _Chinese_, _&c._
-  with several Observations not hitherto taken notice
-  of._      269
-
-  _A Letter from Mr. _John Clayton_ Rector of
-  _Crofton_ at _Wakefield_ in _Yorkshire_, to the
-  Royal Society, _May 12 1688._ giving an account
-  of several Observables in _Virginia_, and
-  in his Voyage thither, more particularly concerning
-  the Air._      281
-
-  _Mr. _Clayton_'s second Letter, containing his
-  farther Observations on _Virginia_._      293
-
-  _A Continuation of Mr. _John Clayton_'s Account
-  of _Virginia_._      301
-
-  _Mr. _John Clayton_, Rector of _Crofton_ at
-  _Wakefield_, his Letter to the _Royal Society_,
-  giving a farther Account of the Soil, and other
-  Observables of _Virginia_._      312
-
-  _A Continuation of Mr. _Clayton_'s Account of
-  _Virginia_._      337
-
-  _Part of Two Letters from Mr. _J. Hillier_, dated
-  _Cape Corse_, _Jan. 3. 1687/8._ and _Apr. 25.
-  1688._ Wrote to the Reverend Dr. _Bathurst_,
-  President of _Trinity Colledge, Oxon_; giving
-  an Account of the Customs of the Inhabitants,
-  the Air, _&c._ of that Place, together
-  with an Account of the Weather there from
-  _Nov. 24. 1686._ to the same Day 1687._      356
-
-  _An Account of the _Moorish_ Way of Dressing
-  their Meat (with other Remarks) in _West-Barbary_,
-  from Cape _Spartel_ to Cape _de Geer_.
-  By Mr. _Jezreel Jones_._      381
-
-  _A Letter from Mr. _John Monro_ to the Publisher,
-  concerning the Catacombs of _Rome_ and
-  _Naples_._      394
-
-  _An accurate Description of the _Lake of Geneva_,
-  not long since made by a Person that had visited
-  it divers times in the pleasantest season of
-  the Year; and communicated to the Publisher
-  by one of his Parisian Correspondents: English'd
-  as followeth._      404
-
-  _Part of a Journal kept from _Scotland_ to _New
-  Caledonia_ in _Darien_, with a short Account
-  of that Country. Communicated by Dr. _Wallace_,
-  F. R. S._      413
-
-  _A Discourse tending to prove at what Time and
-  Place _Julius Cæsar_ made his first Descent
-  upon _Britain_: Read before the _Royal Society_
-  by _E. Halley_._      422
-
-                         _Miscellanea Curiosa._
-
-                               VOL. III.
-
-
-
-
-  _A Journal of a Voyage from _England_ to _Constantinople_, made in
-    the Year, 1668. by _T. Smith_, D. D. and F. R. S._
-
-
-On _Monday_ Evening _August 3, 1668._ we took Barge at _Tower-Wharf_,
-and at _Greenwich_ went on Board the _Bezant_ Yacht for the _Downs_,
-where we arrived the next day in the Afternoon, and went on Board
-the _Leopard_ Frigat, a Ship of 56 Guns mounted, Captain _O Bryen_
-Commander, appointed to carry Sir _Daniel Harvey_, his Majesty's
-Ambassador to the Port of the _Ottoman_ Emperor at _Constantinople_.
-Here, upon his first Arrival, the Ambassador was Complemented by Sir
-_Jeremy Smith_, then riding Admiral, Sir _Edward Spragg_, and several
-other Commanders of the Men of War, and afterwards Saluted with
-Fifteen Pieces of Ordinance by the Admiral, to whom we returned as
-many; then by the Vice-Admiral, and several other Ships. All which were
-answered together at the same time with 21 in the whole.
-
-Here we were forced to Ride for several days, the Winds being contrary.
-
-In the _Offing_ between the _North Foreland_ and _South Foreland_ it
-runs Tide and half Tide, that is, it is either ebbing Water or Flood
-upon the Shore, in that part of the _Downs_, three hours, which is
-grossly speaking the time of half a Tide, before it is so, off at
-Sea. (For the flux and reflux of the Sea is not made exactly twice in
-24 hours, but, as it appears by accurate observation, it requires an
-overplus of almost 50 minutes.) The reason of this diversity of Tides,
-I take to be from the meeting of the two Seas in that narrow Streight.
-
-Oftentimes when the Wind has blown hard at N. E. or at W. or W. and
-by S. there has hapn'd an alteration of the Tides in the River of
-_Thames_, which ignorant People have mistakenly lookt upon as a Prodigy.
-
-It is a most certain Observation, that where it flows Tide and half
-Tide, tho' the Tide of Flood runs aloft, yet the Tide of Ebb runs under
-foot, that is, close by the _ground_; and so at the Tide of Ebb, it
-will flow under foot, as that great and experienc'd Sea-Commander, Sir
-_H. Manwaring_, words it.
-
-_August 9._ We sailed from the _Downs_, but were soon forced back
-by distress of Weather, and came to an Anchor S. W. of the _South
-Foreland_.
-
-10. The Wind blew at S. S. W. and the Sea run very high, so that we
-were in danger of losing our Cable and Anchor; the Ground, where we
-rode, at 16 Fathom ½ water, being somewhat gruff.
-
-15. The Wind coming about at W. N. W. we sailed, and were Saluted with
-nine Guns from _Dover_ Castle, and seven from one Fort, and five from
-another. We carried a Flag upon our Maintop, after we came out of the
-_Downs_. The Wind in the Afternoon at N. E. brought us by seven of the
-Clock to the _Ness_, where we lay at Anchor during the Tide of Flood;
-during which time the Mariners caught good store of _Whitings_, baiting
-their Hooks with raw Mutton.
-
-16. We were in the morning athwart St. _Helen_'s Point in the _Isle of
-Wight_; where we discovered Sir _Thomas Allen_ with his Squadron under
-Sail, bound for the _Straits_.
-
-17. In the morning we got to the West of _Portland_, the Wind at N. by
-E. our Course lying thereupon S. S. W. but about noon, sailing over
-part of the Race of _Portland_, where we met with a tumbling Sea, we
-Anchored at the N. W. part in the Bay, over against the Point that
-looks towards _Weymouth_. We were ashore in the Island, which seems
-to be but one continued Rock; the Soil in several places not being
-above five or six Inches deep, as I found by digging a hole with my
-Knife; yet the Corn flourishing enough. The Castle consists of a double
-Fortification; we could not observe above five Guns mounted. They told
-us, that in the Island there was but 1 Church, and 4 Villages.
-
-We weighed at twelve of the Clock at night: But
-
-18. The Wind blowing fiercely at W. directly in our teeth, we made but
-little way, and could not weather the _Start_ Point that night. The
-Moon upon its first emerging above the Horizon, seemed to have a colour
-like burnt Brick, the Sky very cloudy: but some Rain falling, as she
-advanced higher and higher, she appeared more and more fiery.
-
-19. We weathered the _Start_ Point by noon, but could not make much way
-beyond it.
-
-20. We got into _Plymouth_ Sound. The Cittadel, built upon a Rock, with
-large Counterscarps and Bastions, returned our Salute with nine Guns.
-Sir _Thomas Allen_ with his Fleet stood to the Lizard, and came not to
-an Anchor.
-
-21. Misty Weather. About eleven Clock Forenoon, and about six in the
-Evening, we observed the Vapours in great quantity ascend out of the
-Sea, soon covering the tops of the Mountains. Here we staid three days,
-taking in some Provisions, ready prepared for us.
-
-On _Sunday_ the 23_d_ of _August_ we weighed out of _Plymouth_ Sound,
-and made the _Lizard_, a Promontory in _Cornwall_, before night: The
-_Manacles_, several Rocks so called, we discerned very distinctly, it
-being then low Ebb; as also the Lands end. The Wind blew fresh; and we
-observed the Waves in the Night-time, as if they had been liquid Fire,
-but palish.
-
-The _Lizard_ bearing N. of us, we changed our Course, and taking leave
-of _England_, we sailed into the Ocean. God of his Mercy send us a
-happy Voyage.
-
-24. We run this day thirty nine Leagues by a Compute from our Log-line.
-
-25. We were full open with the _Bay of Biscay_. Several _Gulls_ were
-hovering over the Surface of the Water to catch Fish, which swam by in
-vast sholes, at about 50 Leagues distance from any Land.
-
-At other times I have seen several Birds floating upon the Water,
-which being driven by some Tempest from the Coasts of _Spain_ and
-_Portugal_, have been tired in their flight, and so drowned. This
-happens frequently in the great Ocean, where they meet with no Land
-to fly to in several hundreds of Leagues; and sometimes even in the
-_Mediterranean_, in the Mid-Seas between the _Christian_ and _Barbary_
-Shores. In blowing Weather, among other Birds flying cross, we saw a
-Hawk making to our Ship, then under good and swift Sail, which perched
-upon the round-top of the Main-mast; which one of the Seamen espying,
-he presently run up the Shrouds, and brought down the Hawk, which made
-no attempt to fly away, being quite spent. But not long after, the Hawk
-recovering his Spirits by rest and meat which was given him, took wing
-and got away from the Fellow, notwithstanding all the care he took to
-secure his new Adventure, which he hoped to have made Mony of at the
-next Port that we should come to.
-
-26. A strong Levant still blowing, and the Sea very rough and
-boisterous, the Gale continuing almost right a stern, we run these 24
-hours above 70 Leagues.
-
-27. We found our selves by our observations, that we were in the
-Latitude of 42 degrees 17 minutes, and began to be very sensible of our
-nearer approach to the South, the Weather being excessive hot. In the
-Afternoon we heard the report of several Guns fired at about seven or
-eight Leagues distance, as we guessed. At eight of the Clock at night
-another Gun was fired somewhat near us, which we thought might be from
-an _Algerine_ Man of War, who gave a signal to his Consorts, and who
-answered by several flashes of Powder. Whereupon our Trumpeters sounded
-a Point of War, but no return was made. However, the Captain quartered
-his Men, and the Decks were cleared, and all things made ready in order
-to a Fight the next Morning; as soon as day appeared, we saw the Sea
-clear, no Ships being in view any way: so that we concluded that they
-were Merchant-Ships, with their Convoy, standing to the Northward.
-
-28. Dreadful Lightnings in the Clouds towards the Evening; after which
-great Dews fell: the Weather extream hot.
-
-29. We saw a Pilot-fish swim by the sides of the Ship, and several
-Bonito's and Albicores playing, as it were with their Heads above
-Water. The Wind took us short in the night, and soon after there was
-a stark Calm; and we had great reason to bless God for it: For had
-we continued our Course that night, we had either run a-ground, or
-had been cast upon the Rocks near to _Peniche_ in _Portugal_. The
-fault was mis-reckoning, and haling in too soon to make the _Southern
-Cape_: though the Seamen, to salve their Credit, and to excuse their
-Error, which had like to have proved so fatal to us, pretended that we
-were set in by a strong Current. God make us thankful for this great
-Deliverance.
-
-30. This Morning we were surprized to see our selves within four or
-five Leagues of the Shore, when we had thought that we had been above
-twenty. In the Afternoon, the Wind coming on fresh, we weathered the
-westermost Isle of the _Barlings_. On the greatest of which, being as
-we guessed, above half a Mile in length, the _Portuguese_ have built a
-Fort to hinder the _Barbary_ Pirates from careening their Ships there,
-or taking in fresh Water. The Land of it very high, and bore off us S.
-E. by E. By it lie several Rocks. The other Islands are distant about a
-League. I told five of them: the greatest of which last lie somewhere
-inward to the Shore.
-
-For two Nights together about this time (28 and 29) the Sky being
-very hazy, the Sun set in a colour as deep as Blood, which was very
-astonishing. We were then in the Latitude of 40.
-
-31. Betimes in the Morning we sailed by the Rock of _Lisbon_, at some
-distance, which was scarce discernible by reason of the cloudiness of
-the Weather. Two _Turks_ Men of War are now plying to the Windward of
-us; but dare not come up to speak with us, perceiving that we are only
-laden with Powder and Bullet.
-
-_September 1._ In the Morning we made Cape _St. Vincent_. I went on
-Shore with the Lieutenant and several others in our Pinnace, which we
-drove into one of the Coves; and were forced to climb up a Rock, the
-ascent of which was very dangerous and troublesome; and made more so by
-the Rays of the Sun, which were reflected with that vehemence, that the
-Heat was almost intolerable. Having gained the top, we were met by an
-Officer and some Soldiers, who had us into the Castle, the middlemost
-of the three, which are built along that Promontory for the Security
-of the Coasts, and entertained us with Wine, Grapes, and Marmalade.
-They told us, that a Squadron of English Men of War sailed by the day
-before. We here met with two Vessels belonging to _Dartmouth_, laden
-with Fish from _Newfoundland_, bound for _Alicant_. All along the
-Coasts, at the distance of about two or three Leagues, are several
-Watch-towers built to give notice of Pirates.
-
-Becalmed for the most part these two or three days.
-
-5. In the Morning we weathered the Point of _Cadiz_, and came to an
-Anchor in the _Bay of Bulls_, about half a League from the great
-_Porgoe_; and in the Afternoon went on shore. We were entertained by
-the _English_ Consul, and carried by him to view the Fortifications,
-which are esteemed to be as regular as any in _Christendom_; built
-in the same place where the Town had been attacked formerly by the
-_English_, under the Conduct of the Earl of _Essex_ in the Reign of
-Q. _Elizabeth_. Plays are usually here, as in other parts of _Spain_,
-acted on a _Sunday_. During the time of our stay, was represented the
-History of the Patience of _Job_, the Devil brought upon the Stage,
-tempting _Job_'s Wife in a drolling way, which caused great Laughter
-and Merriment among the Spectators. At _Malaga_, as the Merchants told
-us, the _Sunday_ before we arrived there, was acted the _Schism of
-England_ in the time of King _Henry_ the Eighth, whom the _Spaniards_
-will not yet forgive, for Divorcing himself from Q. _Catherine_, their
-Country-Woman.
-
-9. We sailed from _Cadiz_.
-
-10. This Afternoon we were forced to Anchor, not far from _Cape
-Spartel_ or _Sprat_, as the Seamen call it, not being able to weather
-the Point.
-
-11. This day we came to an Anchor in _Tangier-Bay_, with Sir _Thomas
-Allen_'s Squadron.
-
-_Tangier_ lies within the Entrance into the _Strait_ of the
-_Mediterranean_, in the Latitude of about 35°, 36´. It is situated in
-the bottom of a Bay, and is built on the side of the Hill, overlooking
-the Sea, encompassed with high Walls to the Land-ward, and commanded
-by a strong Castle. The Heats would be very troublesome but for the
-Sea-breezes which cool and fan the Air. In the Castle I met with a
-_Roman_ Monument, erected to the Honour of _P. Belius_, a great Officer
-and Souldier in _Trajan_'s time; who, among his other Titles, is
-there stiled, PPO. FIG. MAURITANIAE. TINGITANAE: which since has been
-taken away, and presented to the University of _Oxon_ by Sir _Hugh
-Cholmondley_, and now serves to adorn the _Area_ about the _Theatre_.
-
-The _English_ have two Churches here, (though they only make use of
-one, the other being reserved against all Accidents) both of them
-very neat and convenient; though not to be compared with the Church
-of the _Portuguese_, retained still, according to the Articles of
-Agreement, when the King of _Portugal_ made over the Right and Title,
-and gave the Possession of _Tangier_ to the Crown of _England_, by
-the Canons Regulars, belonging to it, which is very stately, and
-adorn'd with rich Images, and supported by Marble Pillars. Toward one
-end of the _English_ Church, just by the Vestiary, which had been
-formerly a _Turkish_ Mosch, and afterward the Chappel of a Convent of
-_Dominicans_, is a Monumental Stone-Table in _Arabick_ Characters,
-containing an account of the Houses, Lands, and other Revenues
-belonging to it, set up in the 743 year of the _Hegira_, that is,
-of Christ 1341. The Mole is in good forwardness, they having gained
-above 200 yards in the Sea, in order to the making of a good and safe
-Harbour for Ships to ride in, which lye open to Wind and Waves; the
-outward side to the Seaward somewhat sloping. The Garrison is in so
-good a posture of Defence, that they defy _Taffiletta_ and all his
-Forces. Here we met with great Civilities from Colonel _Norwood_,
-Deputy-Governour, and the Gentlemen belonging to the Garrison. Sir
-_Harry Mildmay_ and Mr. _Goodland_, two of King _Charles_ the First his
-Judges, are here; but who have the Liberty of the Town. Now, at our
-being here, come in several _Moors_ from _Arzilla_, and among the rest,
-the Father of one of _Gayland_'s Wives, to get a Passage for _Algiers_.
-
-Old _Tangier_ lyes at some little distance, where they find very
-frequently in digging several pieces of _Roman_ Coin. But for the
-above-mentioned, and the other Curiosities and Antiquities of
-_Tangier_, of which I forbear to make mention, from the imperfect and
-hasty Observations of two days, the greatest part of which being taken
-up by the Entertainment of our obliging Country-men, you may consult
-with great pleasure and satisfaction, a little Book called _The present
-State of Tangier_, written by a very ingenious Gentleman, and printed
-in the Year 1676.
-
-There is a vast _draught_ of _water_ poured continually out of the
-_Atlantick_ into the _Mediterranean_, the mouth or entrance of which
-between _Cape Spartel_ or _Sprat_, as the _sea-men_ call it, and _Cape
-Trafalgar_, may be near 7 leagues wide, the _current_ setting strong
-into it, and not losing its force till it runs as far as _Malaga_,
-which is about 20 leagues within the _Streights_. By the benefit of
-this _Current_, tho' the wind be contrary, if it does not over-blow,
-_Ships_ easily turn into the _gut_, as they term the _narrow passage_,
-which is about 20 miles in length. At the end of which are two Towns,
-_Gibraltar_ on the coast of _Spain_, which gives denomination to
-the _Streight_, and _Ceuta_ on the _Barbary_ coast: at which places
-_Hercules_ is supposed to have set up his _Pillars_. What becomes
-of this great quantity of water poured in this way, and of that,
-which runs from the _Euxine_ into the _Bosporous_ and _Propontis_,
-and is carried at last through the _Hellespont_ into the _Ægæan_ or
-_Archipelago_, is a curious _speculation_, and has exercised the wit
-and understanding of _Philosophers_ and _Navigators_. For there is no
-sensible rising of the _water_ all along the _Barbary Coast_, even down
-to _Alexandria_, the land beyond _Tripoli_, and that of _Ægypt_, lying
-very low, and easily overflowable. They observe indeed, that the water
-rises 3 feet, or 3 feet and an half, in the _gulph_ of _Venice_, and as
-much, or very near as much, all along the _Riviera_ of _Genoa_, as far
-as the river _Arno_: but this rather adds to the wonder.
-
-I here omit to speak at large of the several _Hypotheses_ which
-have been invented to solve this difficulty: such as _subterraneous
-vents_, cavities and indraughts, _exhalations_ by the _Sun-beams_, the
-running out of the water on the _African side_, as if there were a
-kind of circular motion of the water, and that it only flowed in upon
-the _Christian_ shore: which latter I look upon as a meer fancy, and
-contrary to all observation.
-
-My conjecture is, that there is an _under-Current_, whereby as great
-a quantity of water is carried out, as comes flowing in. To confirm
-which, besides what I have said above about the difference of tides
-in the _offing_, and at the _Shore_ in the _Downs_, which necessarily
-supposes an _under-Current_, I shall present you with an instance of
-the like nature in the _Baltick Sound_, as I received it from an able
-Seaman, who was at the making of the tryal.
-
-He told me, that being there in one of the _King's_ Frigats, they
-went with their _Pinnace_ into the _middle stream_, and were carried
-violently by the _Current_: that soon after they sank a _bucket_ with
-a large _Cannon_ bullet to a certain _depth_ of water, which gave
-check to the boats motion, and sinking it still lower and lower, the
-_boat_ was driven a-head to wind-ward against the upper _Current_: the
-_current_ aloft, as he added, not being above 4 or 5 _fathom_ deep, and
-that the lower the bucket was let fall, they found the _under-Current_
-the stronger. I designed to have made the _Experiment_ in the
-_Streights-Channel_; but both times I past, the Easterly wind blew
-so hard, that there was no putting out the boat with any safety; nor
-indeed at those times had we any leisure for such a _Curiosity_; which
-those, who liv'd at _Tangier_, might have tryed without any difficulty
-or danger.
-
-This conjecture, how likely or unlikely soever, will stand or fall
-according to the certainty of the _Observations_, which shall be made
-there, which I will endeavour to procure in order to the further
-establishment, or utter overthrow of it.
-
-13. We weighed out of _Tangier_ and turned into the _Strait_, though
-against the Wind. The distance between _Gibraltar_ Cape, which gives
-name to the _Straits_, and is joyned to the Continent of _Spain_ and
-_Ceuta_ a well-built and strongly fortified Town, lying under the Hill
-_Alybe_, called so by the _Greeks_, which the Seamen commonly call,
-as do some _Spanish_ Writers, _Apes-hill_, from the great number of
-Apes which used formerly to haunt there, (at which places _Hercules_ is
-feigned to have set up his Pillars) may be about six Leagues; tho' both
-Lands lying very high (for we saw the Clouds much below them) it does
-not appear in the middle of the Current, out of a tall Ship, scarce
-half so broad.
-
-14. Little Wind stirring.
-
-15. A great Mist all the Sea over, so that we could scarce see three
-lengths of the Ship, which began to vanish in the Afternoon; and than
-we descryed the _Cape of Malaga_ at about four Leagues distance; and
-came to an Anchor that Night. The City lies under a high Hill, and
-is the Seat of a Bishop, who is at this time a Natural Son of King
-_Philip_ the Fourth, of the Order of St. _Dominic_. Here the Merchants
-told us, that it had not rained for seven Months together, except a day
-or two for an Hour: and that the _Algerines_, who were then breaking
-with us, had not been able to have set a Fleet to Sea about two years
-before, if they had not been furnished with Masts from _England_; and
-that they were now in Expectation of another Ship laden with the same,
-notwithstanding the Rupture, which was as good as began. I only make a
-Query, Whether _Jews_ or _English_ Men were the Freighters?
-
-16. The next Morning the Governour immediately returned our Salute Gun
-for Gun: soon after we weighed from _Malaga_ Road, the Weather very
-hot. Some Rain fell at Night, though very moderately. In the Evening,
-after we had sailed about eighteen Leagues, we were becalm'd. The Sea
-being quiet, we saw a great number of _Tortoises_ swimming above Water,
-several _Bottle-noses_, fish of about three yards long, and very thick,
-and Hawks flying over to the _Barbary_ Coast. The Hills of _Granada_
-were seen plainly by us, though at a great distance.
-
-The Wind coming Easterly, we kept at Sea, beating and plying to and
-again for these four days, scarce gaining sixteen Leagues of our way,
-and were forc'd to come to an Anchor in the _Bay of Adera_, where there
-is a strong Cittadel, about thirty four or thirty five Leagues from
-_Malaga_.
-
-21. We passed by _Cape de Gata_: but the Levant wind still blowing,
-having continued almost in that Point for above two Months, as we
-computed from what they had told us at _Tangier_, we could make but
-little progress in our Voyage.
-
-25. Between three and four of the Clock in the Morning the Tornado's
-began to blow, and the Wind violent for the time, with such continued
-Flashes of Lightning for several hours, as that the whole Sky seemed
-to be on fire, intermixed with terrible Claps of Thunder, after which
-followed great showers of Rain.
-
-25. The Wind still contrary, we descryed _Cape St. Martin_ at about
-fifteen Leagues distance. Tacking about and standing off to Seaward,
-next Morning 27. we found that we had lost about three Leagues of our
-way.
-
-28. We were athwart _Orlando's Gap_ within two Leagues of the Shore,
-_Cape St. Martin_ bearing off us _N._ by _W._ The Wind now still; but
-a swelling Sea coming from the Westward, which is usual before a Wind,
-which drives the Water before it.
-
-On _Michaelmas-day_ we were up with the Island _Ivica_, or _Ivise_, as
-the Mariners call it, and the Wind blowing fair, we stood our Course;
-and the next day at Noon we made the _Island Majorca_, situate over
-against the Kingdom of _Valentia_, and came to an Anchor in the _Bay_
-of the City, being forced in hither for want of fresh Water. In the
-Afternoon the Boat was sent on shore; but the Vice-Roy would not give
-us Prattick, not bringing a Patent from _Malaga_.
-
-_Octob. 1._ The Secretary was sent with the King's Pass to the
-Vice-Roy to demand Prattick, who presently summoned the Officers of
-the _Sanita_. After long Debates and Delays they consented, and came
-to the _Mole_ to receive him. He went directly to the Governour to
-acquaint him, that we were ready to Salute the City with what number
-of Guns he pleased, if he would engage upon his Honour to give us as
-many. He replied, that he would give us three for five; and wondered,
-that we being but a single Ship, should make such a Demand. The
-Secretary told him, That we were to be treated as an Admiral, having
-a Flag on our Maintop; and that the Governour of _Malaga_ had done
-it. To this he said, That _Majorca_ was a Kingdom, that he was the
-King's Representative, and that by Reason of the Miscarriage of his
-Predecessor, when Monsieur _de Beaufort_, the _French_ Admiral was
-there, he had received strict Orders from _Madrid_ not to do the
-like. The Secretary replied, That we had an Ambassador on board, and
-had as strict Orders, and should answer as severely for the Breach
-of them. His last Answer was, That we might, with our Sails loose,
-keep before the Town, till we had furnished our selves with what we
-wanted. Upon receiving this Message, the Ambassador dispatched away one
-_Joseph Gabriel Cortez_, a _Spaniard_, but employed by the _English_
-Merchants trading to that Island, then on board our Ship, to acquaint
-him, That when we were ready to go away, we would loose our Sails,
-and not before. We landed within the _Mole_; the Walk upon it about
-four or five Yards broad; at the Extremity of which is a very large
-and stately Gate, which leads into the City. We went into the great
-Church, somewhat wider than _Westminster-Abbey_, but darkish within:
-the Portal very magnificent, adorned with several Marble Statues in
-Niches one over another. The High Altar very plain and unadorned: but
-others extraordinary rich and glorious. Not far from the City are
-several Mills to grind their Olives, Oyl being the great Commodity of
-the Island.
-
-2. The next Morning we weighed, without taking any kind of notice of
-the Town, sailing all along in sight of the Island, which presented
-us with a pleasing and delightful Prospect; the Valleys, lying under
-the Hills, fruitful of Wine and Corn. The whole Island is judged to be
-about sixty Leagues in Compass, and in length about fifteen: which we
-sailed from the Westermost Point, where lies the Isle _Dragovera_, at
-a very little distance to the Eastermost, where there is built a small
-Fort. To the S. S. E. lie several little Islands, called the _Cabreas_;
-between which and _Majorca_ we steered.
-
-3. We were athwart _Port Maon_ in _Minorca_; a fine level Country,
-having but one Hill in it N. W. by W. as it bore off us. In the Evening
-the Wind very scant.
-
-4. This day, as yesterday, excessive hot.
-
-5. In the Afternoon we descryed the Main Land of _Provence_.
-
-6. We were over against the Islands _Hieres_ and the Highland of
-_Thoulon_.
-
-7, 8. These two Days becalmed; and the Sea extraordinary smooth.
-
-9. We were over against the Westermost part of the _Alpes_, which we
-distinctly saw at about twenty Leagues distance, and appeared far
-higher than the Hills of _Granada_.
-
-10. We sailed by _Final_ and _Ventimiglia_.
-
-12. We came in the Morning to an Anchor over against the _Mole_, and
-not far from the Lantern in _Genoa_. Having obtained Prattick of the
-_Maestri della Sanita_, after a little demur about the Salute, the
-Senate being assembled, and some of them protesting upon their Honours,
-and ready to produce their Registers, that they never saluted the Ship
-wherein was an Ambassador of _France_ or _Spain_, as not taking any
-notice of the Person who did bear that Character, 'till they had first
-intimation, that the Ship was arrived in their Port by its saluting the
-Town. It was agreed that the Ship should Salute the Town with eleven
-Guns, which they were to answer, as they did, with an equal number:
-and after a little pause, they saluted the Ambassador with nineteen
-more, which was answered with as many. After this, the Duke and
-Senate sent the Master of the Ceremonies to wait upon the Ambassador:
-who going away, returned soon after with a Present of Calves, Fowl,
-Wine, Sweetmeats, _&c._ and acquainted his Lordship, that they had
-deputed six of their Gentlemen to Complement him, and wait upon him;
-which Civility he thought fit to refuse, desiring to be _Incognito_.
-But however, going ashore, he was welcomed by the _Illustrissimi
-Signiori_, the _Durazzo's_, two Brothers, the elder of which had been
-Ambassador for the Republick, in the Court of _England_, and the other
-at _Constantinople_, and by them carried to see the _Villas_ out of
-Town. The figure of _Genoa_ is Semicircular, beginning from the Lantern
-Westward, lying under an high Hill, upon the rising of which the
-several Houses, built of Marble, afford a very fine Prospect, and add
-much to the Beauty and Glory of the place. _Strada nuova_ perchance
-is the most stately Street in the whole World. The new Church of the
-_Annunciata_, built by the _Lomellini_, where a thousand may go up the
-stairs abreast at the same time, for curious Painting, rich Altars,
-and exactness of Architecture, incomparable. The _Duome_ also and the
-Church of the _Theatins_ very stately and curious. Other matters I
-purposely omit.
-
-14. In the Evening we set Sail from _Genoa_.
-
-Becalmed for the most part these three Days, though helped somewhat
-forward by the Breezes that blew off the shore after Sun set.
-
-18. In the Afternoon we made the Island _Gorgonia_, about nine Leagues
-from _Livorne_; a little round Island, with a Castle on the top.
-
-19. In the Morning we came to an Anchor in _Livorne_ Road, about a Mile
-from the Town: the Road large and secure, especially to the Northward.
-The Ambassador keeps on Board, the Governour refusing to Salute the
-Ship first, though he had formerly saluted the _French_; pretending
-that every Convoy might carry a Flag; and alledging that his Master,
-the Grand Duke, was as great and absolute, as the Republick of _Genoa_:
-and that they had rather throw themselves upon the King of _England_,
-than do a thing which might prove of such an ill Consequence. Sir _John
-Finch_, his Majesty's Resident, together with Sir _Thomas Baines_,
-came from _Florence_ to Complement the Ambassador, and immediately
-dispatched away a Courier to the Grand Duke about the Salute; who
-referred the whole Affair to the Governor: and he making a Protest that
-he was ready to pay all the respect which was due to the Ambassador's
-Character and Quality, upon the fore-mentioned Pretensions, six days,
-after our arrival, absolutely refused to Salute the Ship first.
-
-_Livorne_ is the great Magazine of Trade for the _Levant_, being a free
-Port: Merchants of all Countries residing here, _Armenians_ especially,
-and _Jews_; which latter enjoy great Priviledges, without wearing any
-distinct Mark in their Hats or Habits, whereby they may be known. They
-are allow'd the publick Exercise of their Religion: their Synagogue
-large and handsome. The Port inward has a _Mole_ for the Duke's Galleys
-and other small Vessels to ride in: the Entrance of which is chained
-up every Night. Hard by is the Statue of Duke _Ferdinand_ in Marble,
-raised upon an high Pedestal; under which are four Slaves in Brass,
-in different Postures, very large, and above the ordinary proportion,
-but done with exquisite and admirable Art. Two Castles to the Seaward
-well fortified: the Town Walls very high, and the four Gates strongly
-guarded: below which is a Ditch of about fifteen or twenty yards over,
-and very deep. No Stranger is allowed to view the Works, nor Souldier
-permitted to come out of the Castles. About four thousand Slaves are
-there, as the Merchants told us, who are lockt up in the _Bagno_ every
-Night. The _Piazza_, where the Merchants meet, is adorned with Marble
-Pillars, which sustain the Porticos: at the East end of which is the
-great Church whose Roof appears very glorious, having several Circles
-richly gilded and painted with curious Figures.
-
-The broad Street is paved between two and three yards on each side with
-Free-stone.
-
-27. In the Afternoon we weighed out of _Livorne_ Road, and sailed by
-the Islands _Gorgonia_ and _Capraria_, seeing _Corsica_ at a distance.
-
-28. We lay beating at Sea all this Day, the Wind being contrary.
-
-29. This Day we were forced back, the contrary Winds still continuing.
-
-30. We weighed a second time, and sailed by three small Islands,
-_Capraria_, _Planasia_, and _Monte Christi_. We saw also _Gigio_ and
-_Sanuti_, two other small Islands near the Main: but we made but little
-way, by reason of ill Weather for 4 or 5 Days.
-
-_Novemb. 5._ At Evening we saw the Eruptions of Fire from _Stromboli_,
-which lies to the N. W. of _Sicily_. Sometimes it flamed very bright
-Light as a _Beacon_, at other times there appeared only a glorious kind
-of Light, like that of an ordinary Star when the Air is thick and hazy.
-They say that it flames most in rainy Weather.
-
-6. In the Morning we were up within a League of it, and plainly
-perceived it to smoke. It is of a round figure, and, as we gathered,
-may be about three or four Miles in compass. It bore W. by S. of us.
-Not far from it lye scattered several other Islands, called by the
-Ancients _Æoliœ_ and _Vulcaniœ_: among which are _Lipara_, a long
-flattish Island, and _Vulcanello_, which smokes most. This Afternoon we
-came to an Anchor in eight Fathom Water in the _Phare_ of _Messina_,
-in the mid Stream between _Scylla_ and _Charybdis_: a violent and
-strong Current setting against us, and the Wind not high enough, so as
-to be able to stemm it. The breadth of the _Strait_ from _Messina_
-to _Rhegium_ may be about a League. The Land is very high on the
-_Calabrian_ side, where are very steep Rocks, and great depth of Water,
-above 150 Fathom, as they told us: but on the _Sicilian_ side, near
-_Charybdis_ Shole-water, and usually an Eddy. On the Sandy Banks stands
-the Phare or Watch-tower. Several Currents meeting in this narrow
-Passage, cause a great rippling of the Water: and great quantity of
-Water coming in, as the Winds drive, in great quantity meeting with the
-Shole, is broken into Waves. The Eddies here are caused by the meeting
-of the different Currents by which the Waters are sometimes carried
-N. and sometimes S. the great danger is, lest they drive the Ship on
-either side. We have had Lightning for seven or eight Nights together.
-
-7. We sail'd by _Ætna_, now called _Mongibel_, where the Sea widens ten
-or eleven Leagues over. Now we see plainly the Smoke briskly issuing
-out of the _Crater_, the _Limbus_ of which was all black. The uppermost
-part of the Mountain was covered with Snow, except some streaks of
-Ashes, as we judge, which lie as it were in a Gutter, spread here and
-there.
-
-8. We espied a _Saettia_ at about 3 Leagues distance, and making up to
-her, found her forsaken. The Captain sent several Seamen on board, and
-carried the Vessel to _Smyrna_.
-
-Scanty Wind for several Days: and the Lightning still continued.
-
-13. We were up with _Cape Modona_, the Southernmost Cape of the
-_Morea_, and sailed by _Coron_. The Land very high, the Hills of
-_Arcadia_ lying Eastward from us. The Weather excessive hot at
-this time, as it is in _England_ at _Midsummer_. We espied from
-our Maintop-mast five Sail of great Ships, which we supposed to be
-_Tripolines_, who did not think fit to come up and speak with us. But
-afterward we heard for certain, that they were part of the _Venetian_
-Fleet.
-
-14. We lay for the most part becalmed over against _Cape Matapan_: but
-in the Evening the Wind blowing fresh, we sailed between the Island of
-_Cerigo_ and the Main Land of _Greece_; it being about three Leagues
-over to _Cape Angelo_.
-
-15. We entred the Arches, and steered through the North Channel,
-leaving _Melo_ and _Antimelo_ on the Starboard-quarter, at some Leagues
-distance.
-
-16. Betimes in the Morning we were athwart _Negropont_, and sailed
-between it and _Andros_. The _Bocca_ lies S. W. and N. E.
-
-17. We sailed by _Chios_ or _Scio_, which is very mountainous toward
-the middle. It is about four Leagues distant from _Cape Caraboroun_,
-or the _Cape of the black Nose_, as the _Turkish_ word signifies,
-which the Seamen, in their usual way of corrupting Names, call _Cape
-Jobbernoule_, the _Corinœum_ of the Ancients, a Promontory of the
-famous Mountain _Mimas_, which runs along the Southern side of the _Bay
-of Smyrna_.
-
-This Day the _Smyrna_ Fleet from _England_ comes up to us very luckily,
-to our great Satisfaction and Joy.
-
-18. We are now got into the _Bay of Smyrna_, and come to an Anchor
-without the Castle, not far from St. _Jacomo's Point_, as the Seamen
-call it, or rather _Sangiac Point_. In the Afternoon the Consul, with
-several Gentlemen of the Factory, came to wait upon my Lord Ambassador,
-and desired his Lordship to defer his Entrance into _Smyrna_ till the
-Twentieth, that he might be received with greater Honour. That Evening
-we heard a great howling of _Jackalls_ upon the Hills.
-
-20. The Consul with the Nation, accompanied with his _Druggermen_ and
-_Janizaries_ in their _Habit_, together with several _French_, _Dutch_
-and _Genoese_ Merchants, residing in that famous Emporium, came to the
-Village near the Castle, who there expected us with Horses. Upon our
-going ashore, the _Leopard_ fired fifty one Guns. We made about 140
-Horse; and immediately upon our setting forth, we rode for about three
-Miles together under the Hill to the S. W. of _Smyrna_; the places
-adjoyning set thick with Olive, Fig, and Almond-trees. Afterwards
-we clambered over some rocky Ascents; but the Horses of the Country
-being sure-footed, we were in no danger of falling. Some little way
-we were forced to ride on the Sea-shore, and soon after came to the
-Jews burying place, whose Monuments lie flat upon the ground. As soon
-as we entred into the City, we found the Streets full of _Greeks_,
-_Armenians_, _Turks_, and _Jews_, whom Curiosity had drawn together to
-see and observe our Cavalcade; the _English_ Ships, which were in the
-_Bay_, firing their Guns, as we past near the Shore. And so after three
-hours riding the Ambassador was brought to the Consul's House, where
-Lodgings were provided for him. During our stay we met with not only
-kind, but very noble Entertainment from the worthy Gentlemen of the
-Factory.
-
-_Decemb. 8._ We took our leave of _Smyrna_, being accompanied by the
-Consul and Merchants on board the _London-Merchant_, Capt. _John
-Hill_ Commander, the _Leopard_ being ordered to go no further than
-_Smyrna_, it being feared in _England_, that if she had sailed up to
-_Constantinople_, the _Turks_ might have press'd her for their Service
-in _Candia_, which they were then besieging.
-
-9. This Morning we weighed betimes, and sailed between _Scio_ and
-_Mytilene_. But on the
-
-10. We were forced back near the long Island within the Bay, being
-unwilling to go to _Scio_, the _Tripolines_ and _Turkish_ Galleys lying
-there. Here we lay ten Days, expecting a fair Wind.
-
-20. The Wind coming about and favouring us, we sailed a second time
-between _Scio_ and _Mytilene_.
-
-21. We past by _Lemnos_, and were up with the Island _Tenedos_; a fine
-Champaign Country, only with one Hill toward the middle of it. The
-Castle to the N. E. part of the Isle: over against which lye three
-small Islands in a strait Line. Here we came to an Anchor. We saw the
-Ruins of _Troas_ at a distance, but did not think it safe to go ashore.
-
-22. The Wind coming about at S. we entred the _Hellespont_, which
-may be about two Leagues and a half over. The Castles built upon
-the opposite points of Land, about 11 or 12 Years before, after the
-great Defeat given the _Turkish Armata_ at the _Dardanels_ by the
-_Venetians_; _Cape Janizary_ on the _Asian_ side; which, with the
-_Philæum_, makes a tolerable good Bay for ordinary Vessels. The
-narrowest Strait of the _Hellespont_ is at the two other Castles,
-distant about six Leagues, where it may be about ¾ of a Mile wide.
-These the _Christians_ call the _Dardanelli_; at which are situate the
-Towns, _Sestus_ and _Abydus_, famous in _Greek_ Poesie. These Castles
-we saluted with our Guns and Trumpets, as we did the first: but each,
-whether out of Pride, or out of Covetousness, to save the _Grand
-Signior_'s Powder, return'd us no more than two Guns. The Wind blowing
-very fair we sailed into the _Propontis_.
-
-23. We passed by St. _Stephano's Point_, where we had a full view of
-the S. E. Angle of _Constantinople_, which being situated upon several
-Hills to a mighty advantage, what with the Cypress-Trees intermixed,
-and what with the gilded Spires of the _Moschs_, yielded us a very
-diverting glorious Prospect. Passing by the _Seraglio Point_, which we
-saluted by a discharge of several Guns, in the mid Stream between it
-and the _Tophana_, we came to an Anchor.
-
-26. On St. _Stephen_'s Day the Ambassador landed at _Galata_, (having
-before been visited by the Earl of _Winchelsea_, and the Merchants
-residing there) and was received there by the _Chiaus Basha_ and the
-_Vaivod_ of _Galata_, the _Janizaries_ and _Chiauses_ attending, and
-was waited upon by them to his Palace: and soon after the _Kaimacam_,
-or Governor of _Constantinople_, sent an Officer to Complement him upon
-his Arrival; the _Grand Signior_ being then at _Larissa_ in _Thessaly_.
-
-_January 2._ The Ambassadors, Old and New, went over to
-_Constantinople_, that Morning being assigned by the _Kaimacam_ to
-give them Audience, the _Chiaus Basha_ and other Officers attending at
-the Water-side to receive them; Horses being brought thither for them
-and their Followers to mount. This _Kaimakam Jusuph_, a little old
-Man, had formerly been a Page of the Chamber, and chief Falconer, and
-afterwards _Basha_ of _Silistria_. He entertained the Ambassadors and
-their Company with Perfumes, Coffee, and Sherbet, and distributed about
-fifteen _Koftans Orrests_ among them: after about an Hours stay they
-took their leave.
-
-Being upon the Coasts of _Greece_ about _August_ or _September_ 69. in
-the Latitude of 35°. 53´. we found by our _Azimouth_ Compass, that we
-had Westerly variation there 5°. 22´.
-
-The variety of Colours of the Sea-Water at several times chiefly
-depends upon the Wind and Weather, and the reflexion of the Light
-upon it. It's usual and most natural Colour is a deep Green: but in
-Cloudy and Rainy Weather, the Surface of the Water appears blackish.
-On the _Goodwins_ upon the Tide of Flood, the Water was white, the
-Waves by reason of the Shallows, meeting with opposition, and breaking
-into Foam, till the Flood is well advanced. Sometimes the Water is
-of a perfect Azure colour, as we observed for several Weeks in the
-_Mediterranean_. The Sun shining bright upon the Water, sometimes the
-upper part of the Waves appears Purplish, sometimes Reddish; though in
-Shallows perchance it may receive this latter Tincture also from the
-Sands which lie under it. When the Wind has freshened, and the Ship has
-been under full Sail, I have observed the Waves to the head, and at the
-sides of the Ship, to appear with a pale kind of brightness: and at
-_Malaga_, and at my return, going on board our Ship, which lay about
-half a League from the shore, at Night, the Wind then at East, the
-Boats Crew letting their Oar fall roughly into the Water, diverted us
-as it were with the sight of a continued Flame, raised by their rowing;
-which I ascribe rather to the Saline Particles of the Sea-Water, which
-were then put into a violent Agitation, than to the Spawn of Fish, as
-some of our Company imagined.
-
-Sailing toward the West of _Portland_, we saw several _Porpisces_
-playing with their Heads above Water; which I mention only, because
-the Seamen look upon them as fore-runners of a Storm; the Wind soon
-after blowing very hard at North by East. And afterwards arriving at
-_Constantinople_, the Wind blowing a stiff Gale at North, I observed
-with a pleasing kind of astonishment good part of the _Propontis_, that
-is, from the _Seraglio Point_ toward the Islands, which lye against the
-_Bay of Nicomedia_, Eastward and South-East from us, as far as we could
-see, covered as it were with _Porpisces_, which appeared every where in
-great abundance. So that I am very apt to believe that _Julius Solinus_
-in _Chap._ 12. of his _Polykister_ is to be understood of _Porpisces_,
-and not of _Dolphins_, now properly so called, though that be his Word,
-speaking of the _Bosphorus_ and _Propontis_: _Hæc profunda Delphinas
-plurimos habent_: and soon after, _ante omnia nihil velocius habent
-maria, sic ut plerunque transvolent vela navium_. I could not hear that
-any _Dolphins_ are caught in those Seas by the _Greeks_, whose Poverty,
-added to the love which their Nation has for Fish, and the advantage
-arising thence, upon the account of their solemn Fasts and Abstinences
-from all Flesh, even to a wonderful strictness and scrupulosity,
-has made them excellent Fishermen: nor did I ever see any in their
-Fish-Markets, or see one of them brought to the Ambassador's Table by
-the Proveditor for curiosity: Though otherwise it is an excellently
-well tasted Fish, especially when soused. I allow, that they will swim
-very swiftly, as do the _Porpisces_; and that they will follow a Ship
-for several Leagues together: but then they Swim somewhat deep in the
-Water, sometimes are catch'd, though not often. The Seamen have reached
-them with a Fisgig, a kind of barbed Iron, at the End of a Pole tied
-fast to a Rope, and have made good Chear with them. But this is only my
-Conjecture, with which I end my Journal.
-
-                                                   _Deo Servatori Laus._
-
-
-
-
-  _Historical Observations relating to _Constantinople_. By the
-    Reverend and Learned _Tho. Smith_, D. D. Fellow of _Magd. Coll.
-    Oxon._ and of the _Royal Society_._
-
-
-_Constantinople_, formerly _Byzantium_, was[1] by _Constantine_ the
-Great, called so after his own Name, who being mightily pleased with
-the beautiful and advantageous situation of the Place between two
-Seas, and defended by narrow Streights on both sides, removed the Seat
-of the Empire hither, and laid the foundation of its future Splendor
-and Greatness. It was also by a[2]special Edict or Law of the same
-Emperor, which he caused to be engraven on a Marble Pillar, placed
-near his own Statue on Horse-back, in one of the Piazza's of his new
-built City called _Strategium_, where the Soldiers used to Muster,
-as in the _Campus Martius_, called _second or new Rome_, in emulation
-of old _Rome_, which he designed and endeavoured this should equal in
-all things. Accordingly he endowed it with the same Priviledges and
-Immunities, and established the same number of Magistrates and Orders
-of People, and divided the whole extent of it into fourteen Precincts
-or[3]Regions, according to the division of _Rome_. And the _Greek_
-Writers were as elegant and extravagant in their commendations of
-it; but the usual Title in their ordinary Discourses and Writings,
-when they had occasion to mention it without any flourish, was ἡ
-βασιλευούσα, ἡ βασιλίς, that is, the Imperial City, to the same sense
-with that of[4]_Sidonius Apollinaris_,
-
-    _Salve sceptrorum columen, Regina orientis,
-    Orbis Roma tui._
-
-The Country about it was afterwards called _Romania_ in a limited and
-restrained sense, (for that _Romania_ was anciently the same with
-_orbis Romanus_, seems clear from[5]_Epiphanius_) and the People
-Ρωμαῖοι. But I suppose this was not done till about the middle times
-of the Empire, when it began to decline. The _Greeks_ still retain
-this Name. For if you ask any of the _Greeks_ born upon the Continent
-of _Thrace_, what Country Man he is? he answers forthwith, Ρωμαῖος
-_Romios_, for so they pronounce it. The _Turks_ in like manner call
-a _Greek_ Christian _Urum Gaour_, or the Roman Infidel, as they will
-call sometimes the Emperor of _Germany_, _Urumler Padisha_ or Emperor
-of the _Romans_. Hence it was, that the latter _Græcian_ Emperors
-stiled themselves βασιλεῖς Ρωμαίων, Kings of the Romans, that is, such
-as were Born in _Romania_ and the other Countries, which made up the
-Eastern division of the Empire. Tho' perchance by this flourishing
-Title they pretended a right to the Government of the West: Upon
-which vain presumption they assumed also the Title of Κοσμοκράτορες,
-or Emperors of the World, as if they had been the true Successors of
-_Augustus_, and the Western Emperors, Usurpers, whom they called by way
-of contempt and indignation, Ρῆγες, Reges, as[6] _Luitprandus_ informs
-us in the accompt of his Embassy to _Nicephorus Phocas_, and afforded
-the People of _Italy_ no other Title than that of[7]_Longobards_ or
-_Lombards_. The present _Greeks_ call all the Western Christians
-Λατῖνοι or φράγγοι _Latins_ or _Franks_, the _Turks_ only making use of
-the latter, when they speak civilly of us, and calling _Christendom_
-_Phrenkistan_, in the present _Greek_ φραγγία. The _Turks_ now as
-proudly call _Constantinople_ _Alem pena_, or the refuge of the World:
-Where indeed seems to be a medley of all or most Nations of three parts
-of it, and of all Religions, which are allowed to be publickly profest
-and exercised every where throughout the Empire, except the _Persian_.
-For they look upon it as a corruption of, and deviation from the Rules
-and Doctrine of _Mahomet_, their great false Prophet, and therefore
-absolutely forbid it, as repugnant to, and destructive of the Doctrine
-of Life and Salvation, as they speak. And accordingly they condemn with
-all imaginable fury the Professors of it, who pretend to follow _Ali_,
-as Sectaries and Apostates, and entertain worse Opinions of them,
-than of _Christians_, or _Jews_ or _Infidels_. The _Persians_ are not
-behind-hand with them in their hatred and disrespect, deriding them as
-gross and stupid, and looking upon them as little less than barbarous;
-Interest and Zeal for their several Tenets heightning their differences
-so much, that in time of War they destroy one anothers _Moschs_. I
-remember, that there was a great Discourse in _Constantinople_ among
-the _Turks_ concerning an impudent hot-headed _Persian_, who publickly
-in the new _Mosch_ built by the Mother of the present Emperor, asserted
-that _Ali_ was equal to _Mahomet_. But it seems he very luckily made
-his escape out of their Hands, at which the Priests and the more
-zealous _Turks_ were very much scandalized.
-
-The _Greeks_ have twenty six Churches within the Walls of the City,
-besides 6 in _Galata_, of which I have given an Account elsewhere. They
-have also two Churches at _Scutari_, one at _Kadikui_ or _Chalcedon_.
-So at _Staurosis_, _Chingilkui_, and several other Villages upon the
-Asian Shore off the Bosphorus, as at _Beshictash_, _Ortakui_, _Chorouch
-chesme_, which Church is dedicated to St. _Michal_ the Archangel,
-_Jenikui_ or _Neochorion_, _Therapia_, _Bujukdere_, and other Villages
-on the _European_ side. They have also a Church at _Haskui_, where is
-their Burying place, and another near the _Bagnio_, dedicated to St.
-_Parasceve_. And at _Tatoula_ about a Mile from _Pera_, upon a Hill,
-which from the Name of the Church is thence called by the _Greeks_
-and _Franks_, St. _Demetrius_ his Hill. Next to the holy Virgin, St.
-_Demetrius_ and St. _George_ have most Churches dedicated to them.
-
-The _Armenians_ have not, if I remember aright, above seven Churches;
-they being few in number in comparison of the _Greeks_.
-
-The _Jews_ may have in the City and places adjacent between twenty and
-thirty Synagogues, this being the greatest shelter of that accursed
-contemptible People in the Grand Signiors Dominions, next to _Caire_
-and _Saloniki_: and I believe there may be about twenty or thirty
-thousand families of them. They are of great use and service to the
-_Turks_, upon accompt of their Brocage and Merchandise, and Industry
-in several mechanical Trades. All these I look upon as Natives, or
-Slaves rather, each paying mony for his Head every year. The _Jews_
-indeed very wisely collect this Tax among themselves, and according
-to an agreement made with the _Teftardar_ or Treasurer, pay a certain
-sum in gross for their whole Nation residing there: by which piece of
-cunning they are great gainers, and spare the poor among them less able
-to pay, by a contribution of the rich to make up the sum. The _English_
-and _Dutch_ Ambassadors have their Chappels in their Palaces common to
-their respective Nations.
-
-The Churches and Chappels of the Western _Christians_ of the _Roman_
-Communion in _Galata_, are
-
-St. _Peters_, belonging to the _Dominicans_, where is the famous piece
-of _Madonna di Constantinopolis_ as the _Italians_ call it, or of the
-blessed Virgin, holding the holy Child _Jesus_ in her arms: which they
-pretend to be drawn by the hand of St. _Luke_, celebrated by some of
-the latter Ecclesiastical Writers to have been a famous Painter. Out of
-respect to this idle tradition the credulous and superstitious _Latins_
-and _Greeks_ of the _Roman_ Communion shew great veneration to it,
-which otherwise hath little in it of proportion, art, or beauty, to
-derive any reputation upon the designer, or upon his work.
-
-St. _Francis_, belonging to the _Conventuali_, Friars of the order of
-St. _Francis_; the ground of this by the wise conduct and intercession
-of _Caviliere Molino_, the Venetian _Bailo_, after the surrender of
-_Candia_, upon the Peace made by the Republick with the Grand Signior,
-was procured to be restored, and a handsome Church rebuilt with the
-large contributions of mony sent out of _Christendom_.
-
-St. _Benedict_, belonging to the _Jesuits_, where is a rich Altar
-curiously adorn'd with several figures in _Mosiack_. This Convent was
-purchased for them by their great Benefactor, _Henry_ the fourth of
-_France_.
-
-St. _Mary_, belonging to the _Observantines_ or _Zoccolanti_, a branch
-of the order of St. _Francis_, so called from their going in _Zoccoli_
-or wooden clogs.
-
-The _Capuchines_ have a little Chappel dedicated to St. _George_, hard
-by the _French_ Ambassadors Palace.
-
-St. _Ann_, a Chappel frequented by the _Perotes_.
-
-St. _Paul_ and St. _Anthony_, were both taken away some years since
-from the _Christians_, and turned into _Moschs_. The former of which
-is now known by the name of _Arab Giamesi_, or the Mosch of the
-_Arabians_. Our Interpreters mentioned also to me the Church of St.
-_John_, which the _Turks_ have seized upon for their use, St. _George_,
-which the _Jews_ are possest of, and St. _Sebastian_, which was used to
-be visited chiefly on Holy days.
-
-The North-wind blows for the most part at _Constantinople_. Which must
-be ascribed to its nearness to the _Euxine_ Sea, which bears that point
-from it. So that for want of a Southwardly wind Ships have been forced
-to lye a month or two sometimes near the mouth of the _Hellespont_.
-This was taken notice of long since by _Eunapius_ in the life of
-_Ædesius_, who ascribes the seldom blowing of the _South_ wind to the
-situation of the mountains, whereas it is checked and overpowered
-by the exuberance of the Vapours continually sent forth from the
-_black_ and _great Sea_, as the _Greeks_ call it in comparison of the
-_Mediterranean_. _Vide ad finem Codini de origin. Constantinopol. Edit.
-Paris. Pag. 80._
-
-The _Hellespont_ is about forty miles in length, and at the Castles of
-_Sestos_ and _Abydos_ the streight may be about three quarters of an
-English mile over, or less.
-
-The length of the _Propontis_ is about a hundred and fifty miles, both
-shores may be seen in the middle of it. In it are,
-
-_Cyzicus_, an Island near the _Asian_ shore, to which it is joined by
-two bridges. It still retains its ancient name Κυζικὸ, and is the seat
-of a Bishop, being inhabited by a considerable number of _Greeks_.
-
-_Proconnesus_, not far from the former; now, as for some centuries
-past, called _Marmora_, from the excellent quarries of Marble there
-found, the marmor _Cyzenicum_ also being famous in the time of _Pliny_.
-
-_Besbychus_, now called by the Greek καλόλιμνο, or the good haven, not
-far from the entrance into the bay of _Montanea_ to the North and by
-East. The _Turks_ call it _Imralme_.
-
-There are several Islands over against the bay of _Nicomedia_, formerly
-called _Sinus Astacenus_, according to _Strabo_, about six or seven
-leagues from _Constantinople_.[8]
-
-_Prote_, so called because they approach first to it, coming from
-_Constantinople_; to the South of this _Prencipe_ and _Pytis_, which
-I take to be the same with _Pyrgos_, that lyes inmost toward the bay:
-_Chalcitis_, in modern Greek, _Chalce_ or _Chalcis_. _Oxia_ and _Platy_
-to the North-west. I have expressed the _Turkish_ names of the lesser
-and uninhabited islands elsewhere, which perchance were phantastically
-imposed by some _Franks_.
-
-The _Seraglio_ is at the extreme point of the North-east Angle of
-_Constantinople_, where formerly stood old _Byzantium_, within which
-towards the Haven is a stately _Kiosk_ or summer house, from whence
-the _Grand Signior_ usually takes Barge, when he passes into _Asia_,
-or diverts himself upon the _Bosphorus_, at which time the _Bostangi
-Bashi_, who hath the principal care of the Emperors palace, and hath
-the command of the _Bosphorus_, sits at the helm and steers.
-
-The seven Towers are at the South-east extremity.
-
-The only Suburbs are to the North-west, along the Haven-side; for above
-the hill, where the three walls begin, lies an open champaign Country,
-except that here and there at considerable distances farm houses are
-scatter'd.
-
-The Haven runs in from the West, and so opens East.
-
-At the East end of _Galata_ is _Tophana_, where they cast their great
-Guns.
-
-_Pera_ and _Galata_ have about six gates to the Seaward. The whole
-tract of ground was anciently, before the times of the Emperor
-_Valentinian_, who enclosed and fortified _Galata_ with walls and
-towers, styled Περαῖα or Regio _Peræa_ being πέραν τῆς πόλεως, on the
-other side of the City to the North, which is the reason of its name,
-seated on higher hills, and whose ascent is more steep and difficult.
-
-Our modern _Geographers_, such as _Mercator_ and _Ortelius_, who
-herein follow _Ptolomy_, place _Constantinople_ in the Latitude of 43.
-degrees and 5 minutes: the _Arabian_ and _Persian Astronomers_, as
-_Abulfeda_, _Nassir Edin_, _Vlugh Beigh_, and so the πρόχειροι κανόνες,
-_Chrysococcas_ translated out of the _Persian_ tables, place it more
-Northerly in 45. But by latter and better observation it is found, that
-they have erred in assigning the Latitude of this City, as of several
-other places. To salve these differences, there is no just ground
-of pretence to say, that the _Poles_ are moveable and have changed
-their situation since their time, whereas it may better be imputed to
-their want of due care, or to their taking things upon trust, from
-the reports of _Travellers_ and _Seamen_, not having been upon the
-places themselves: which certainly is to be said for _Ptolomy_ whose
-observations, as to places more remote from _Alexandria_, are far from
-being accurate and true. The learned Mr. _John Greaves_, as I find in a
-Manuscript discourse, very worthy of being Printed, which he presented
-to the most reverend and renowned _Arch-bishop Usher_, took the height
-of the _Pole_ at _Constantinople_ with a brass sextant of above 4 feet
-_radius_, and found it to be but 41 degrees 6´. but by the observation
-we made in our Court-yard at _Pera_ with a very good _Quadrant_ we
-found it but 40 degrees and 58 minutes of North Latitude.
-
-There is no place between the _Propontis_ and the walls of the City,
-except just at the Seraglio-point, which may be two hundred paces in
-length; where they have raised on a platform a battery for Great guns;
-but from the point to the end of the Haven West, the space to the gates
-is unequal in some places about twenty paces broad, in others three or
-four times as many more.
-
-The distance between _Constantinople_ and _Chalcedon_ upon the
-opposite _Bythinian_-shore may be about three or four miles.
-
-In the Walls are engraven the Names of several Emperors, who reigned
-toward the declension of the _Græcian_ Empire, as _Theophilus_,
-_Michael_, _Basilius_, _Constantius Porphyrogenitus_, by whose care,
-and at whose expence the several breaches caused in them by the Sea or
-by Earthquakes, were repaired.
-
-_Kumkapi_ or the sand-gate lies toward the _Propontis_; this the
-_Greeks_ call in their vulgar language Κονδοσκάλι, _Contoscalium_, or
-the little scale or landing-place. Here formerly was an Arsenal for
-Gallies and other small vessels; it being a convenient passage over
-Sea. Over this Gate was anciently engraven a curious Inscription still
-preserved in that excellent collection published by[9]_Gruterus_.
-
-_Jedicula Kapi_, or the Gate of the seven Towers, so called from its
-nearness to that _Acropolis_, is that, I guess, which the _Greeks_
-formerly called χρυσῆ or the Golden Gate, and by some late _Latin_
-Writers _Chrysea_, in _Luitprandus_, _Carea_, by a mistake either of
-the Transcriber or Printer, for _Aurea_, for so certainly it must be
-mended. Over this Gate was this inscription,
-
-    _Hæc loca Theudosius decorat post fata Tyranni,
-    Aurea secla gerit, qui portam construit auro._
-
-cited by _Sirmond_ in his notes upon[10]_Sidonius_. This Gate is in
-the twelfth Region, and was also called ὡραῖα from its beautiful and
-curious structure.
-
-The Gun gate formerly called Roman gate, not because it leads towards
-the continent of _Romania_ or _Thrace_, but from[11]St. _Romanus_,
-where the last Christian Emperor was killed at the assault which the
-_Turks_ made to force their Way into the City by it.
-
-Near _Adrianople_ gate is a fair large _Mosch_ called _Ali-bassa_, upon
-a hill accounted the highest in the City.
-
-The distance between tower and tower in the upper wall to the landward
-may be about ninety of my paces; the space between that and the second
-wall about eighteen paces over.
-
-The place, where the _Lyons_, _Leopards_, and such like wild creatures
-are kept, (where I saw also several _Jackalls_) was formerly, as the
-_Greeks_ told me, a Christian Church dedicated to Παναγία or the
-Blessed Virgin, where this Verse is still legible,
-
-                 Κατὰ Σκυθῶν ἔπνευσας θερμὸν ἐν μάχαις.
-
-There is no tide or running back of the water on any side of the
-_Bosphorus_ into the black Sea, as[12]some have imagined, whose mistake
-might possibly arise hence, that the wind being at North, and blowing
-hard, the current sets more violently at such times against the several
-headlands jetting out into the channel, which admits of several
-turnings, and so the waters are forced back to some little distance:
-or else because when the South-wind freshens and grows boisterous, it
-makes a high rolling Sea in the _Propontis_ and _Bosphorous_, and being
-contrary to the current, gives a check to it, so that it becomes less
-sensible, and is easily stemmed. Where it is narrowest, the distance
-seems to the eye to be scarce a mile over from one shore to another;
-where broadest, not much above a mile and a half, unless where it runs
-into the deep Bays, which by reason of their shallowness only harbour
-Boats.
-
-The channel certainly is natural and not cut by art, as some have idly
-fansied, not considering, how the _Euxine_ Sea should discharge it self
-otherwise of those great quantities of waters, poured into it by the
-_Ister_ and _Tanais_, now called _Don_, and the other Rivers, whereby
-it becomes less salt, even very sensibly to the taste, than several
-parts of the _Mediterranean_.
-
-The Fish, by a strange kind of instinct, pass in vast shoals twice a
-year, Autumn and Spring, through the _Bosphorus_, that is, out of one
-Sea into another, of which the _Greeks_, who live several months of the
-year upon them, take great numbers, and supply the markets at easie
-rates; the Cormorants and other ravenous water-fowl, which the _Turks_
-will not suffer to be destroy'd or otherwise molested, preying upon
-them.
-
-The weather in some months is very inconstant, great heats and colds
-happening the same day upon the change of the wind.
-
-The winters at _Constantinople_ are sometimes extraordinary severe. I
-have heard it related by several old _Greeks_, as a thing most certain
-that the _Bosphorus_ was frozen over in the time of _Achmed_, and that
-a Hare was coursed over it. It hapned thus, that upon a thaw huge cakes
-of Ice came floating down the _Danube_ into the black Sea, and were
-driven by the current into the _Bosphorus_, whereupon the return of the
-frost, they were fixed so hard that it became passable. In the year
-1669 there was Ice in the Haven to the great amazement of the _Turks_;
-and some were so frighted at this unusual accident, that they lookt
-upon it as a dismal prodigy, and concluded, that the World would be at
-an end that Year. The _Aguglia_ or _Obelisk_ in the _Hippodrome_ is
-betwixt fifty and sixty Foot high.
-
-The Historical Pillar in _basso relievo_, raised in honour of the
-Emperors _Arcadius_ and _Honorius_, may be in height about an hundred
-seven and forty feet.
-
-_Alexius Comnenus_ lies buried in the Patriarchal Church against the
-wall, and his daughter _Anna Comnena_, the Historian, who lived about
-the year of Christ 1117. They pretend to shew there the reliques of St.
-_Anastasia_, who suffered Martyrdom under the Emperor _Valerianus_, and
-of St. _Euphemia_, Virgin and Martyr, who lost her life most gloriously
-for _Christ's_ holy religion at _Chalcedon_ under _Dioclesian_.
-
-In _Sancta Sophia_ there are pillars so great, that a Man can scarce
-fathom them at twice. At the end of the Gallery, that joins the
-other two, each about thirty of my paces wide, there is a piece of
-transparent Marble, two or three Inches thick. In the North gallery
-upon the Pavement is a reddish sort of a Marble Stone, brought, as the
-_Turks_ and _Christians_ relate, from _Palestine_, on which they Fable,
-that the blessed Virgin used to wash the linnen of our Saviour.
-
-I observed but one step from the Body of the Church to the _Bema_ or
-place where the Altar formerly stood.
-
-The great _Mosch_ at _Chasim-bassa_ on _Pera_ side to the West, was
-formerly a Church dedicated to St _Theodosia_.
-
-_Gianghir_, a Mosch so called, upon a hill at _Fondaclee_ near
-_Tophana_.
-
-In _Constantinople_ there are several narrow streets of Trade, closed
-up with sheds and pent-houses, which I suppose were in use before the
-_Greeks_ lost their Empire, and are the same with the σκεπαστοὶ καὶ
-φρακτοὶ δρόμοι in _Chrysaloras_ his[13]Epistle. But besides these
-places, several Trades have their distant quarters. The streets are
-raised for the most part on each side for the greater convenience.
-
-Not far from _Suleimania_ is the house of the _Aga_ or General of the
-_Janizaries_, which so often changes its Masters.
-
-_Pompey_'s pillar, as the _Franks_ erroneously call it, is of the
-_Corinthian_ order, curiously wrought, about eighteen foot in height
-and three in Diameter.
-
-_Beshiktash_, a Village within three or four miles of _Constantinople_
-towards the _Bosphorus_, where lies buried the famous Pirate _Ariadin_,
-whom the _Christian_ Writers call _Barbarossa_, who built here a
-handsome Mosch, having two rows of Pillars at the entrance. The Captain
-_Bassa_ usually, before he puts to Sea with his Armata of Gallies,
-visits the Tomb of this fortunate Robber, who had made several thousand
-_Christians_ Slaves, and makes his Prayers at the neighbouring Church
-for the good Success of his expedition.
-
-They reckon in the City above a hundred publick Baths, every street
-almost affording one. They are esteemed works of great Piety and
-Charity; there being a continual use of them, not only upon the accompt
-of Religion, but of Health and Cleanliness. For their Diet being for
-the most part hot spiced meats in the Winter, and crude fruits in
-the Summer, their Liquor Fountain Water, or Coffee, to which we may
-add their lazy kind of Life (for walking is never used by them for
-digestion, or otherwise in the way of diversion) frequent bathing
-becomes necessary.
-
-There are several receptacles of Water under Ground, and one
-particularly under the Church of _Sancta Sophia_, as I was informed;
-but I did not think it worth my curiosity to descend into it. These
-were of great use to the poor _Greeks_ in the last fatal Siege; but the
-_Turks_ are so secure, that they do not think, that they deserve either
-cost or pains to keep the Waters sweet, or the cisterns in repair.
-
-The _Aqueducts_, which answer to those glorious _Aqueducts_, near
-_Pyrgos_, and convey the water to the great cistern near Sultan
-_Selim_'s Mosch, are in that part of _Constantinople_, which lies
-between the Mosch of _Mahomet_ the Great and _Shaxade_.
-
-The _Turks_ began to besiege _Constantinople_ on the fifth of _April_,
-and took it the twenty ninth of _May_ on _Whitsun Tuesday_ morning
-1453. or as the _Turks_ reckon in the year 857. of the _Hegira_, or
-flight of _Mahomet_, the 22 day of the first _Jomad_.
-
-The Chappel, where _Ejub Sultan_ is interred, at whose Head and Feet I
-observed great wax Candles, is enclosed with latten wire Grates, for
-the better accommodation of such religious _Turks_ as come to pay their
-respect to the memory of this great _Musulman_ Saint. In the middle
-of the Area there is raised a building sustained by excellent marble
-Pillars, ascended by two several pair of stairs, where the new Emperor
-is inaugurated, and where he usually goes in _Biram_-time.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] Κατὰ τὴν ἐπώνυμον ἡμῖν πόλιν. _So the Emperor_ Constantine _in a
-Letter to_ Eusebius. de vita Constantini. _lib._ 4. _cap._ 36. & apud
-Theodoritum Histor. Eccles. _lib._ 1. _cap._ 16. _v._ etiam Socrat.
-Scholast. Hist. Eccles. _lib._ 1. _cap._ 16.
-
-[2] V. Socratem ibidem. Et Theophanem in Chronographia XXV. anno
-Constantini.
-
-[3] _The _Italian_ Word _Rione_ is a manifest corruption of the _Latin_
-Word._
-
-[4] In Panegyrico, quem Romæ dixit Anthemio Augusto, bis Consuli.
-
-[5] __Hæresi LXIX. quæ est Arianorum. Sect. 2._ where he says a sad
-dismal Fire was kindled by _Arius_; πῦρ ὀυ τὸ τυχὸν ὃ κατείληφε πᾶσαν
-τὴν Ρωμανίαν σχεδὸν, μάλιστα τῆς ἀνατολῖς τὰ μέρη, which seized almost
-upon all _Romania_, or _Universum Romanorum imperium_, as _Petavius_
-renders it, but especially the Eastern parts of it._
-
-[6] Pag. 144, 152, 153.
-
-[7] Pag. 139.
-
-[8] v. Gillium de Bosp. Thracio lib. III. cap. 12. &c.
-
-[9] Pag. 169. Num. 3.
-
-[10] Pag. 121.
-
-[11] Vid. Historiam Politicam Constantinopoleos apud Crusium in
-Turco-Græcia, pag. 9.
-
-[12] This was an old error; for thus writes Dionysius Byzantinus in his
-little Book of the Bosphorus. Τοῦ ῥεύματος τὸ μὲν πλεῖον κατιόντος ἐστὶ
-δὲ ὅτε κατ' ἐπικράτειαν ἀναστρέφοντος.
-
-[13] Pag. 119.
-
-
-
-
-  _An account of the City of _Prusa_ in _Bythynia_, and a
-    continuation of the Historical Observations relating to
-    _Constantinople_, by the Reverend and learned _Thomas Smith_ D.
-    D. fellow of _Magd. Coll. Oxon._ and of the _Royal Society_._
-
-
-_Montanea_ formerly called _Nicopolis_ according to _Bellonius_, or
-rather _Cios_, the bay hence called _Sinus Cianus_, lies in the bottom
-of a Bay about Fourscore miles from _Constantinople_, and is the Scale
-or Landing-place for _Prusa_, from which it may be about twelve miles;
-in the middle way to which is the Village _Moussanpoula_.
-
-_Prusa_, now called by the _Turks_ _Bursia_, the chief City of
-_Bythynia_, is seated at the foot partly, and partly upon the rising
-of the mount _Olympus_, which is one of the highest Hills of the
-lesser _Asia_. Its top is covered with Snow for nine or ten Months of
-the Year, several streams of Water flowing down the Hill continually,
-accounted very unwholesom from the Snow mixed with it. In the upper
-part of the City to the North-west lies the Seraglio, which is walled
-round; but the Emperors not residing here since their acquests in
-_Thrace_, or scarce making visits to this Imperial City, and none of
-their Sons living here of late, according to the former Policy of the
-_Turkish_ Emperors, who did not permit their Sons, when grown up, to
-be near them, but sent them to some Honourable Employment, accompanied
-with a Bassa and Cadi to instruct them in the Arts of War and
-Government, it lies now neglected and despoiled of all its ornaments.
-
-In this part also are the Sepulchers of _Osman_, the founder of the
-Family, which now Reigns, and his Son _Urchan_, who took the City,
-near a Mosch, formerly a _Christian_ Church dedicated to St. _John_,
-and where was formerly a Convent of Religious, built by _Constantinus
-Iconomachus_, where I saw the figure of a Cross still remaining upon
-the Wall. Here hangs up a Drum of a vast bigness, such as they carry
-upon the backs of Cammels, and I suppose is one of those which they
-used in the taking the Place.
-
-In the lower part, near the bottom of the Hill, _Morad_ the second, the
-Father of _Mahomet_ the Great, lies buried: near whereunto was formerly
-the Metropolitical Church of the _Holy Apostles_. The _Bezesten_, or
-Exchange, seems to be much better and larger than the great one at
-_Constantinople_, as are the several Caravanserais built for the use
-and accommodation of Merchants, and Travellers; in one of which, the
-Rice Chane, I took up my quarters.
-
-Without the City toward the East is the Mosch and Sepulcher of the
-Emperor _Bajazid_ the first, whom the _Turks_ call _Jilderim_ or
-lightning, and the Greek Writers λαίλαψ. Not far from hence is the
-Mosch of _Mahomet_ the first, and his Sepulcher. Toward the West upon
-the side of the Hill is the Mosch of _Morad_ the First, whom they call
-_Gazi_ or the Conqueror, near which he lies buried. There are in the
-whole about 124 Moschs, several of which were formerly _Christian_
-Churches, and between fifty and sixty Chanes. The Castles built by
-_Osman_, when he besieged the City, are slighted and altogether
-unfortified, the one to the North, the other to the South-West.
-
-At _Checkerghe_, about a mile and a half out of Town, are the hot
-Baths, much frequented both by _Christians_ and _Turks_. They are made
-very Convenient to Bath in, and are covered over, that they may be used
-in all Weathers. Among others, there is a large round _Basin_, where
-they usually divert themselves by Swimming.
-
-What opinions the _Turks_ have of our Blessed _Saviour_ and the
-_Christian_ Religion, I shall briefly shew, as they lie dispersed
-in several Chapters of the _Alcoran_, according to which they frame
-their Discourse, whensoever either Zeal or Curiosity puts them upon
-this Topick. For _Mahomet_ upon his setting up to be the Author
-of a new Religion, finding such a considerable part of the World
-professing the doctrine of _Christ_, with all the Mysteries of Faith
-therein contained, was cast upon a necessity of saying something both
-concerning Him and It. By which it will appear, how great the Power of
-Truth is above Imposture and Subtility, and that as the Devils in the
-Possessed confess'd, though against their Wills, _Christ_ to be the
-Son of _God_, so this _Dæmoniack_ in the midst of all his Forgeries
-and Lies, and Ridiculous and Childish Narratives, not being able to
-contradict the universal Belief of the _Christians_ of that, and the
-preceding Ages, founded on the History of the Gospel, hath been forced
-to give Testimony to several particulars of it.
-
-They confess then that _Christ_ was Born of a Pure Spotless Virgin, the
-Virgin _Mary_, chosen by _God_ and sanctified above all the Women in
-the World; and that the Angel _Gabriel_ was dispatched out of Heaven to
-acquaint her with the News of it. That such a kind of Miraculous and
-Supernatural Birth never hapned to any besides, and that _Christ_ was
-conceived by the _Holy Ghost_, and that he wrought mighty Miracles, for
-Instance, that he cleansed Lepers, gave Sight to the Blind, restored
-Sick Persons to their Health, and raised the Dead.
-
-That he is a great Prophet, sent by _God_ to convert Men from the
-Vanity and Error of their false Worship to the Knowledge of the
-true _God_, to Preach Righteousness, and to correct and restore the
-Imperfection and Miscarriages of Humane Nature; that he was of a most
-Holy and Exemplary Life, that he was the true Word of _God_, the
-_Apostle_ or _Ambassador_ of _God_; That his Gospel was revealed to
-him from Heaven, and that he is in Heaven standing nigh to the Throne
-of _God_. They Blaspheme indeed with a Brutishness and Stupidity only
-befitting _Turks_, the Mysteries of the _Holy Trinity_, and of the
-Divinity of our _Blessed Saviour_, and deny that he was put to Death,
-and say that another in his Shape was Crucified by the _Jews_, and that
-he himself was assumed into Heaven in his Body without dying at all,
-and consequently they will not own, that he satisfied Divine Justice
-for the Sins of the World; so great an affinity is there between the
-Heresie of _Socinus_ and profess'd _Mahometanism_.
-
-I could never yet see any _Turkish_ Translation of the _Alcoran_;
-they cry up the Elegance of the Style, which being Enthusiastick and
-High-flown, by reason also of the tinkling of the Periods, is very
-delightful to their Ears, who seem to be affected with Rhime mightily.
-Though I suppose it is upon a more Politick Account, that they are
-so averse, as to the translating it into their vulgar Language, not
-out of respect to the Sacredness of the Original only, whose full
-commanding Expressions they think cannot be translated without a great
-diminution to the Sense; but to keep it in greater Veneration among
-the People, who might be apt to Slight and Dis-esteem it, should it
-become thus common among them. It is enough, that the Priests and
-Learned Men explain the difficult Passages of it to the People, and
-write Commentaries for the use of the more Curious and Inquisitive. The
-_Persians_ on the contrary think it no disparagement to the _Arabick_,
-or Profanation of the Sense, to Translate this cursed Book into their
-own Language, and Copies are frequent among them.
-
-The _Grand Signior_'s Women are usually the choicest Beauties of the
-Christian Spoils, presented by the _Bassa's_ or _Tartars_. The present
-_Sultana_, the Mother of the young Prince _Mustapha_, is a Candiot;
-the _Valide_ or Emperor's Mother, a _Russian_, the Daughter of a poor
-Priest, who with her Relations were seized upon by the _Tartars_ in an
-Incursion, which they made into the _Muscovites_ Country. She being
-receiv'd into the _Seraglio_, by her beautiful Complexion and cunning
-Behaviour, gain'd the Heart and Affection of _Sultan Ibrahim_ (a Man
-wholly addicted to soft Pleasures, and who seldom cared to be long
-absent from the Women's Apartment, but chose to spend his time among
-them) having the good fortune to be the Mother of the Prince _Mahomet_,
-the eldest Son of his Father, who now Reigns, she had all the Honours
-that could possibly be done her, and was the beloved _Hazaki_ or chief
-Concubine. During this height of Splendor and Glory, the Court removing
-from _Constantinople_ to _Adrianople_, distant about an Hundred and
-Twenty Miles, as she was passing in great State attended with her
-Guards, through the Streets of the City, in a Coach, much like our
-Carriage-Wagons, but that they are latticed to let in the Air (for no
-one must presume to stare or scarce look upon the Women, much less must
-they themselves suffer their Faces to be seen in this jealous Country)
-she out of Curiosity looking through the holes, saw a poor _Christian_
-Slave in a Shop, where Sugar and such like Wares were Sold. Upon her
-return she sent one of her Eunuchs to enquire for the Person, and to
-ask him several Questions about his Country, Relations, Friends, and
-the time when and how long he had been a Slave: His answers were so
-particular and satisfactory, that she was soon convinc'd of the Truth
-and Certainty of her apprehensions, when she first cast her Eyes upon
-him, that he was her Brother, and accordingly it proved so. Whereupon
-acquainting the Emperor with it, she immediately redeemed him from
-his Patron, and having made the poor Wretch turn _Turk_, got him
-considerably preferred.
-
-The Bassa's for the most part are the Sons of _Christians_, taken
-into the _Seraglio_, near the Emperor's Person, and so are prefer'd
-to considerable Governments, or else they raise themselves by their
-Conduct and Valour. _Mahomet_ Bassa in the time of _Achmet_, whose
-eldest Daughter he Married, was the first natural _Turk_, that was made
-chief Vizir, having before been Captain Bassa. The chief Vizir _Mahomet
-Kupriuli_, (who settled the Empire in the Minority of this Emperor,
-when it was ready to be shaken into Pieces, and dissolved by several
-powerful Factions in the State, and by the Mutinies and Discontents
-of the _Janizaries_ and _Saphi's_, who drove different ways) was an
-_Albaneze_ by Birth, the Son of a _Greek_ Priest, whom out of the
-height of Zeal for _Mahomet_, he made turn _Turk_ in his Old Age, and
-converted the _Christian_ Church in the Village where he was Born into
-a Mosch. This Man also forbad the _Dervises_ to Dance in a Ring and
-turn round, which before was their solemn Practice at set times before
-the People, which they would do so long, till they were giddy by this
-swift circular Motion, and fell down in a Swound, and then oftentimes
-upon their recovery from such Trances, they pretended to Revelation.
-The Church-Men are not very kind to his Memory, looking upon him as a
-Man of little or no Religion; and they give out, that if he had lived,
-he would have forbid their calling to Prayers from the Spires of their
-Moschs, and hanging out Lamps; both which they look upon as Solemn and
-Essential to the exercise of Religion; but he as the effect of Bigotry
-and Superstition.
-
-They have a mighty Honour and Esteem for Physicians, for though they
-are of Opinion, that they cannot with all their Art prolong Life, the
-Period and Term of it being Fatal, and absolutely determin'd by God,
-yet they often consult them upon any violent Sickness or Pain, in order
-to make the time allotted them in this World more pleasant and easie.
-It is extraordinary rare, that a natural _Turk_ makes Physick his
-Profession and Study. They who practice it among them, when I was in
-_Turky_, were for the most part _Greeks_ and _Jews_, who know nothing
-of Chymical Medicines, but follow the usual Methods, which they learnt
-in _Italy_ and _Spain_, the former having studied in _Padua_, and the
-latter in _Salamanca_, where they pass for good _Catholicks_. And I
-remember I met with a certain _Jew_ Physician, who had been a Capuchine
-in _Portugal_. During the tedious Siege of _Candia_, the _Vizir_, what
-with the melancholy, and what with the ill Air of the Camp, finding
-himself much indispos'd, sent for a _Christian_ Physician _Signior
-Massalins_, a subject of the Republick of _Venice_, but Married to a
-_Greek_ Woman, by whom he had several Children, who was our Neighbour
-at _Pera_, an experienc'd able Man, to come speedily to him, and made
-him a Present of about a thousand Dollars, in order to fit himself for
-the Voyage and bear the expence of it. By this worthy Gentleman's Care,
-he recovered his Health, and would not permit him to depart, till after
-the surrendry of that City, which might be about seven Months after
-his Arrival there, treating him in the mean while with all imaginable
-Respect. During our short stay at _Bursia_, one of our _Janizaries_
-accidentally discoursing with a _Turk_ about us, whom they knew to
-be _Franks_, told him that there was a Physician in the Company, who
-had been lately at the Grand _Signior_'s Court at _Saloniki_ with the
-_English_ Ambassador, and was now upon his return from _Constantinople_
-to _Smyrna_, where he lived. This presently took vent, and the
-_Turks_ thought that they had got a Man among them, that could Cure
-all Diseases Infallibly; for several immediately came to find us out
-in behalf of themselves or their Sick Friends, and one of the most
-considerable Men upon the Place, desir'd the Doctor to go to his House
-to visit one of his Women Sick in Bed, who being permitted to feel her
-naked Pulse (for usually they throw a piece of fine Silk or Curl over
-their Womens Wrists at such times) soon discovered by that and other
-Symptoms and Indications of her Distemper, that opening a Vein would
-presently give her Ease and recover her: which he did accordingly; for
-which he received an embroidered Handkerchief instead of a Fee, and
-gained the Reputation of having done a mighty Cure.
-
-They have little of Ingenious or Solid Learning among them; their
-chief Study, next to the _Alcoran_, being metaphysical Niceties
-about the Attributes of _God_, or else the Maintenance of other odd
-speculative Notions and Tenets, derived down to them from some of
-their famed Masters and Holy Men, whom they pretend to follow. Their
-Knowledge of the motion of the Heavens, for which the _Arabians_ and
-the other Eastern Nations have been so deservedly famous, as their
-Astronomical Tables of the Longitude and Latitude of the fixed Stars,
-and of the appulse of the Moon to them, fully evince, is now very
-mean, and is chiefly studied for the use of Judiciary Astrology. The
-great Instrument they make use of is an Astrolabe, with which they
-make very imperfect Observations, having no such thing as a Quadrant
-or Sextant, much less a Telescope, or any mechanical Engine, to direct
-and assist them in their Calculation. Their Skill in _Geography_ is
-as inconsiderable; I remember I heard the Captain Bassa, whom they
-stile Admiral of the Black and White Seas, meaning the _Euxine_ and
-the _Mediterranean_, ask this silly Question; whether _England_ were
-out of the Streights? and at another time the _Caymican_ or Governour
-of _Constantinople_, hearing that _England_ was an Island, desired to
-know, how many Miles it was about, in order, we supposed, to make an
-estimate of our King's Greatness and Strength by the extent and compass
-of it.
-
-One of the great Astrologers of _Constantinople_, having heard that I
-had a pair of Globes in my Chamber, made me a Visit on purpose to see
-their contrivance, being introduced by a worthy Gentleman of our own
-Nation. After the first Ceremonies were over, I took my Terrestrial
-Globe, and rectified it to the position of the Place, and pointed to
-the several Circles both without and upon it, and told him in short the
-several uses of them: Then shewed him how _Constantinople_ bared from
-_Candia_ at that time Besieged, _Cair_, _Aleppo_, _Mecca_, and other
-chief Places of the Empire, with the other Parts of the World: At which
-he was mightily surprized to see the whole Earth and Sea represented
-in that Figure and in so narrow a compass, and pleased himself with
-turning the Globe round several times together. Afterwards I set before
-him the Celestial Globe, and rectified that, and shewed him how all
-the noted Constellations were exactly described, and how they moved
-regularly upon their Poles, as in the Heavens; some rising, and others
-setting, some always above the Horison, and others always under, in an
-oblique Sphere, and particularly what Stars would rise that Night with
-us at such an Hour; the Man seemed to be ravished with the Curiosity
-of it, turning this Globe also several times together with his Finger,
-and taking a mighty Pleasure in viewing the motion of it: and yet this
-silly Animal past for a Conjurer among the _Turks_, and was look'd
-upon as one that could foretel the events of Battels, the fates of
-Empires, and the end of the World.
-
-They have no Genius for Sea-Voyages, and consequently are very Raw
-and Unexperienc'd in the Art of Navigation, scarce venturing to Sail
-out of Sight of Land. I speak of the natural _Turks_, who Trade
-either into the _Black Sea_, or some part of the _Morea_, or between
-_Constantinople_ and _Alexandria_; and not of the Pyrats of _Barbary_,
-who are for the most part Renegado's, and learn'd their Skill in
-Christendom, which they exercise so much to the Terror and Damage of
-it. A _Turkish_ Compass consists but of eight Points, the four Cardinal
-and four Collateral; they being at a mighty Loss how to Sail by a side
-Wind, when by hauling their Sails sharp, they might lie their Course,
-and much more, when they are in the Winds Eye, not knowing how to make
-Tacks and Bords, but choose rather to make hast into some Neighbouring
-Port, 'till the Wind blows fair. An _English_ and _Turkish_ Vessel both
-bound for the Bay of _Saloniki_, at the time of the Grand Signior's
-being there, past together out of the _Hellespont_; but foul Weather
-happening, the _Turks_ got into _Lemnos_; while our Men kept at Sea and
-pursued their Voyage, and after three Weeks stay, returned back to us,
-observing in their way, that the _Turks_ remained in the same place
-where they left them, for want of a Fore-Wind to put to Sea in.
-
-They trouble not themselves with reading the Histories of other Nations
-or of antient times, much less with the Study of _Chronology_, without
-which, History is very lame and imperfect; which is the cause of those
-ridiculous and childish Mistakes, which pass current and uncontradicted
-among them. For instance, they make _Job_ one of _Solomon_'s Judges
-and (_Iscander_) _Alexander_ the great Captain General of his Army.
-They number _Philip_ of _Macedon_ among the Ancestors of our _Blessed
-Saviour_, and believe that _Sampson_, _Jonas_, and St. _George_
-were his Contemporaries. In this they are more excusable then their
-false Prophet _Mahomet_, who in his _Alcoran_ has perverted several
-Historical Notices in the Writings of the Old Testament, and is
-guilty of vile and absurd Pseudo-chronismes. To remedy this defect,
-of which he was very conscious, and the better to understand the
-States of _Christendom_, and the particular Kingdoms and Republicks of
-it, the late Great and Wise _Vizir_, _Achmet_, made his Interpreter
-_Panagiotti_, a Learned _Greek_, at leisure Hours, even at the Siege
-of _Candia_, as well as at other times, read several ancient Histories
-to him, and render them _Ex-tempore_ into the _Turkish_ Language,
-and particularly _Blaeus Atlas_, with which he was mightily pleased,
-and made great use of, and truly gained the Reputation of a solid
-and judicious States-man, as well as Souldier among the _Christian_
-Ministers, who in the ordinary course of their Negotiations apply'd
-themselves to him.
-
-Tho' their Year be according to the course of the Moon, and so the
-_Turkish_ Months run round the civil Year in a Circle of thirty three
-Years and a few odd Days, yet they celebrate the _Neuruz_, which
-signifies in the _Persian_ Tongue the New Year, the twenty first Day of
-_March_ (on which Day the vernal Equinox was fixed by the _Greeks_ and
-other Oriental _Christians_, in the time of the Emperor _Constantine_,
-who made no Provision for the προήγεσις ἰσημερινὴ, or Precession, which
-in process of Time the inequality between the Civil and Astronomical
-Year must necessarily produce) at which time the _Cadyes_ and other
-annual Magistrates, and Farmers of the Customs take Place, and reckon
-to that Day twelve Month again.
-
-In their civil Deportment and Behaviour one towards another, the left
-Hand is the more Worthy and Honourable Place, except among their
-Ecclesiasticks; and the Reason they alledge is, because they Write from
-the right Hand, and the Sword is worn on the left Side, and so is more
-at his disposal, who walks on that Hand. The chief _Vizir_ accordingly
-in the _Divan_ sits at the left Hand of the _Mufty_, each maintaining
-their Right of Precedence according to this way of decision.
-
-In their Moschs they sit without any distinction of degrees.
-
-Some of the more zealous _Turks_ cause to be engraven on their
-Scymitars and Bucklers a Sentence out of the sixty first _Surat_, which
-is concerning Fighting or Battle-array, and contains Incouragements to
-Fight in the _Way and Paths of God_, as the Impostor Words it; for
-which he assures them, besides assistance from Heaven to help them to
-get the Victory over their Enemies, and that _God will Pardon their
-Sins and bring them to Paradice_. Thus spirited with Zeal, a _Turk_
-lays about him with Fury, when he is a fighting, and seems ambitious of
-dying to gain the delights of Paradice, at least indifferent whether he
-dies or lives.
-
-The _Turks_ are as to their Temper serious, or rather inclining to
-morosity, seldom Laughing, which is accounted an argument of great
-Vanity and Lightness. They perform the Exercises, which they use in
-the way of Diversion, as Shooting and Hunting, with a great deal of
-gravity, as if they designed them more for Health than for Pleasure;
-and this too but seldom. The better and richer sort, who have nothing
-to do, sitting all Day at Home, lolling upon a Sofa or rais'd Place
-in their Rooms, and taking Tobacco, which their Slaves fill and
-light for them: And if they retire in the Summer or Autumn, for a
-Week or Fort-night to some convenient Fountain in a Wood with their
-Women, it is chiefly to enjoy the Refreshments of the cool Air. In
-the times of Triumph indeed for some great Success obtained against
-the _Christians_, when the Shops are open for three Nights together,
-and hung with Lights, as well as the Spires of the Moschs in curious
-Figures, they are guilty of extravagant Mirth, running up and down the
-Streets in Companies, and sometimes Singing and Dancing after their
-rude way; but this fit being over, they soon return to their former
-Melancholy. In the Coffee-Houses where they use to resort to Tipple,
-there is usually one hired by the Owners to read either an idle Book of
-Tales, which they admire as Wit, or filthy obscene Stories, with which
-they seem wonderfully affected and pleased, few of them being able to
-Read. These are the Schools, which they frequent for their Information,
-tho' in times of War, when things went ill with them, their Discourses
-would be of the ill Government; and the Grand Signior himself and his
-chief Ministers could not escape their Censures, which manifestly
-tending to Sedition, and to the heightning of their Discontents by
-their mutual Complaints, and by this free venting of their Grievances
-during the War at _Candia_, the Wise Vizir seeing the evil Consequences
-that would follow, if such Meetings and Discourses were any longer
-tolerated, Commanded, that all the publick Coffee-houses should be shut
-up in _Constantinople_ and several other great Cities of the Empire,
-where the Malcontents used to rendezvouz themselves, and find fault
-upon every ill Success and Miscarriage with the administration of
-Affairs.
-
-The custom of the _Turks_ to salute the Emperor or the _Vizir Bassa_'s
-with loud Acclamations and Wishes of Health and long Life, when they
-appear first in their Houses or any publick Place, is derived from the
-_Greeks_, who took it from the _Romans_. This was done by them in a
-kind of Singing Tone; whence _Luitprandus_ Bishop of _Cremona_ tells
-us, that in a certain Procession (προέλυσις) at which he was present,
-they Sang to the Emperor _Nicephorus_ πολλὰ ἔτη that is, many Years,
-(which _Codinus_, who lived just about the taking of _Constantinople_,
-by the _Turks_, expresses τὸ ψάλλειν τὸ πολυχρόνιον or by τὸ
-πολυχρονίζειν and the wish or salute by πολυχρόνισμα) and at Dinner
-the _Greeks_ then present wish'd with a loud Voice to the Emperor and
-_Bardas_, _Ut Deus annos multiplicet_, as he Translates the _Greek_.
-
-The _Turkish_ Coin in it self is pitiful and inconsiderable, which I
-ascribe not only to their want of Bullion, but to their little Skill in
-matters relating to the Mint. Hence it comes to pass that Zecchines and
-Hungars for Gold, and _Spanish_ Dollars and Zalotts for Silver stampt
-in _Christendom_ pass current among them, most of the great Payments
-being made in them, they not caring either through Ignorance or Sloth
-to follow the Example of the _Indian_ or _Persian_ Emperors, who
-usually melt down the _Christian_ Mony imported by the Merchants into
-their several Countries, and give it a new Stamp. The most usual pieces
-are the Sheriphi of Gold, somewhat less in value than a _Venetian_
-Zecchine, and Aspers; ten of which are equal to six Pence _English_,
-and some few three Asper Pieces. A Mangur is an ugly old Copper Piece,
-eight of which make but one Asper, and is not I think a _Turkish_ Coin,
-but rather _Greek_. They have no Arms upon their Coin, only Letters
-embossed on both sides, containing the Emperor's Name, or some short
-Sentence out of the _Alcoran_.
-
-The _Turks_ look upon Earthquakes as Ominous, as the vulgar do upon
-Eclipses, not understanding the Philosophy of them. During my stay
-in _Constantinople_, which was above 2 Years, there hapned but one,
-which was _October 26. 1669._ about six a Clock in the Morning a stark
-Calm preceeding. It lasted very near a Minute, and we at _Pera_ and
-_Galata_ were as sensible of it, as those who were on the other side
-of the Water; but praised be God nothing fell, and we were soon rid of
-the Fears in which this frightful Accident had cast us, being in our
-Beds, and not able by reason of the Surprize in so little a space to
-have past through a Gallery down a pair of Stairs into the Court, if
-we had attempted it. The _Turks_ made direful Reflexions on it, as if
-some Calamity would inevitably fall upon the Empire, quickly forgetting
-the great Triumphings and Rejoycings which they exprest but a few Days
-before for the Surrendry of _Candia_. In the Year 1668. in _August_,
-the Earth shook more or less for forty-seven Days together in the
-lesser _Asia_ at _Anguri_ (_Ancyra_), and for fifteen at _Bacbasar_, as
-we heard from a _Scotch_ Merchant, who liv'd there: And particularly,
-that at this latter Place on the second of _August_, between three and
-four of the Clock in the Afternoon it lasted for a quarter of an Hour;
-several Houses were overthrown, and some hundreds of Chimneys fell (it
-being a very populous Town) and yet there were but seven kill'd. The
-trembling being so violent, both _Turks_ and _Christians_ forsook their
-Houses, and betook themselves to the Fields, Vineyards, and Gardens,
-where they made their Abode for several Days.
-
-Their Punishments are very severe, this being judg'd the most effectual
-way to prevent all publick Disorders and Mischiefs. They use no great
-Formality in their Processes: If the Criminal be taken in the Fact,
-and the Witnesses ready and present to attest it, and sometimes if
-there be but probable circumstances, without full Conviction, condemn
-him; and soon after Sentence, sometimes an Hour, or less, hurry him
-away to Execution. For an ordinary Crime, hanging is the usual Death:
-But for Robbery and Murder, committed upon the High Way by such as Rob
-in Parties and alarm whole Provinces, or for Sacriledge, or for any
-hainous Crime against the Government, either Gaunching or Excoriation,
-or cutting off the Legs and Arms, and leaving the Trunk of the Body in
-the High Way, or Empaling, that is, thrusting an Iron Stake through the
-Body out under the Neck or at the Mouth; in which extreme Torment the
-miserable Wretch may live two or three Days, if the Guts or the Heart
-happen not to be wounded by the pointed Spike in its Passage. This
-Punishment seems to have been in use among the _Romans_, _Seneca_'s
-Epist. 14. _Cogita hoc loco carcerem, & cruces, & eculeos, & uncum, &
-adactum per medium hominem, qui per os emergat, stipitem_: and so in
-his Book _De Consolatione ad Marciam cap._ 20. _Ali capite conversos
-in terram suspendere: Alii per obscena stipitem egerunt: Alii brachia
-patibulo explicuerunt._ Murder is seldom Pardon'd, and especially if
-the Relations of the Murder'd Person demand Justice.
-
-The Circumcision, tho' it be a Sacred Right, is perform'd in their
-private Houses, and never in the Moschs.
-
-The Women colour their Eye-Brows and Lids with an ugly black Powder,
-I suppose, to set off their Beauty by such a Shadow; and their Nails
-with the Powder of _Kanna_, which gives them a Tincture of faint Red,
-like Brick (as they do the Tails and Hoofs of Horses) which they look
-upon as a great Ornament. Their great diversion is Bathing; sometimes
-thrice, if not four times a Week. They do not permit them to go to
-Church in time of Prayer, for fear they should spoil their Devotion:
-The _Turks_ being of so brutish a Temper, that their Lust is rais'd
-upon the sight of a fair Object. They are call'd oftentimes by the
-Names of Flowers and Fruits, and sometimes Phantastick Names are
-given them, such as _Sucar Birpara_, or bit of Sugar, _Dil Ferib_, or
-Ravisher of Hearts, and the like.
-
-Their Skill in Agriculture is very mean. In their Gardens they have
-several little Trenches to convey Water, where it may be most necessary
-for their Plants and Flowers. They know little or nothing of manuring
-their Grounds: Sometimes they burn their Fields and Vineyards after
-Harvest and Vintage, partly to destroy the Vermin, and partly to enrich
-the Soil. They tread out their Corn with Oxen, drawing a square Plank
-Board, about a Foot and a half or two Foot over, studded with Flints,
-and winnow it upon their threshing Floors in the open Air, the Wind
-blowing away the Chaff. They feed their Horses with Barly and chopt
-Straw; for I do not remember ever to have seen any Oats among them; and
-they make but little Hay.
-
-For Draught of great Weight in their Carts they make use of Buffalo's.
-
-Camels will endure Travel four Days together without Water, and
-will eat tops of Thistles, Shrubs, or any kind of Boughs: They are
-very sure-footed, and kneel when they are a loading, and live to a
-considerable number of Years, some even to sixty.
-
-The chief Furniture of their Houses are Carpets or Mats of _Grand
-Cairo_, neatly wrought with Straw, spread upon the Ground; they having
-no occasion of Chairs, Couches, Stools, or Tables; their postures
-within Doors, being different from ours. They have no Hangings, but
-their Walls are whited and set off with Painting, only adorn'd with a
-kind of Porcelane; no Beds clos'd with Curtains.
-
-They seal not with Wax, but Ink, at the bottom of the Paper the
-Emperor's Name being usually written with Flourishes and in perplext
-Characters: Nor have they any Coats of Arms upon their Seals, there
-being no such thing as Gentility among them.
-
-Some of them, notwithstanding their Zeal for _Mahomet_ and the Religion
-by him establish'd, retain not only a favourable and honourable Opinion
-of our Blessed _Saviour_, but even place some kind of Confidence in
-the usage of his Name, or of the Words of the Gospel, tho' it may seem
-to be wholly in the way of Superstition. Thus in their Amulets, which
-they call _Chaimaili_, being little bits of Paper of two or three
-Fingers breadth, roul'd up in pieces of Silk, containing several short
-Prayers or Sentences out of the _Alcoran_, with several Circles with
-other Figures, they usually inscribe the Holy and Venerable Name of
-_JESUS_, or the Figure of the Cross, or the first Words of St. _John_'s
-Gospel, and the like; they hang them about their Necks, or place them
-under their Arm-pits, or in their Bosom near their Hearts (being the
-same with what the _Greeks_ call ἐγκόλπια) and especially when they go
-to War, as a preservative against the Dangers of it; and indeed against
-any misfortune whatsoever. Some have them sow'd within their Caps: And
-I heard of a _Turk_, who was so superstitious herein, that he always
-pluck'd it off, and was uncover'd when he had occasion to make Water.
-Some are such Bigots in their Religion, and so furious against the
-Christians, that not only do they treat them with all imaginable Scorn
-and Contempt, but take it ill to be salam'd or saluted by them, as if
-it were the effect of Sawciness or unbecoming Familiarity. Their Malice
-against the Christians makes them envy the rich Furs they line their
-Vests with, and it is a trouble to these hypocritical Zealots to see
-the _Franks_ ride upon their fine _Arabian_ Horses.
-
-The respect which they shew the _Alcoran_ is wonderful: They dare not
-open the Leaves of it with unwashen Hands, according to the Advice or
-Command written in _Arabick_ upon the Cover, _Let no one touch this
-Book, but he that is clean_. They kiss it, and bend their Heads and
-touch their Eyes with it, both when they open it and shut it.
-
-The _Janizaries_, when they attend upon _Christian Ambassadors_ to
-their Audience, seem to appear in their Bravery, and in a Habit far
-from that of a Soldier, being without either Fire-Arms or Swords,
-(which latter are not worn but in time of Service), or when they are
-upon a March, or embodied, wearing a Cap made of Camel's Hair, with a
-broad Flap dangling behind, a gilt embroider'd Wreath running round
-it, and an oblong piece of Brass rising up from the middle of their
-Forehead near a Foot, with a great Club in their Hand, like inferior
-Officers of the Civil Government. But when they are in the Camp, they
-throw off their upper Vest, and Turbants, which they wear at all other
-usual times, as troublesome, and put on a _Fess_, or red Cap, which
-sits close to their Head, and tuck up their _Duliman_ or long Coat, to
-their Girdle, that they may be the more quick and expedite in their
-Charge.
-
-They affect finery and neatness in their Cloths and Shashes; not
-so much as a spot to be seen upon them, and in rainy or suspicious
-Weather, are very careful how they go abroad without their
-_Yamurlicks_, which is a kind of Coat they throw over their Heads at
-such times.
-
-Their Pans and Dishes are for the most part of Copper, but so handsomly
-Tinn'd over, that they look like Silver.
-
-There are thousands of Gypsies or _Zinganies_ in _Turky_, who live
-the same idle nasty kind of Life, as they do in _Christendom_, and
-pretend to the same Art of telling Fortunes; and are look'd upon as the
-Off-scouring of Mankind. It is accounted the extremest point of human
-Misery to be a Slave to any of this sort of Cattel.
-
-The _Haggi_, or Pilgrims, that have been at _Mecca_ and _Medina_,
-forbear to drink Wine most Religiously, out of a perswasion, that one
-drop would efface all the Merits of that troublesome and expensive
-Journey; and some have been possess'd with such a mad Zeal, that they
-have blinded themselves after their having been bless'd with the sight
-of _Mahomet_'s Sepulcher.
-
-After _Jatzih_, that is, an Hour and a half in the Night, throughout
-the whole Year, there is as great a silence in the Streets as at
-Midnight: The Emperor _Achmet_ in the Year 1611. having made an Order,
-that no one should presume to be out of his House after that time;
-which is to this Day most punctually observed. The _Bostangi bashi_,
-who has the Command of all the _Agiamoglans_ in the _Seraglio_, the
-_Topgibashi_ or such great Officers attended with a great Train of
-armed Men, walking the Rounds, and drubbing such as they find abroad at
-unseasonable Hours of what Nation or Quality soever, except Physicians,
-Chyrurgeons, and Apothecaries, whom they allow at all times to visit
-the Sick.
-
-The _Turkmans_, (for so they are peculiarly called, as if they were the
-true Descendents of the _Old Turks_ or _Scythians_, whose wandering
-kind of Life is described by the Poet;
-
-  Ἁμαξόβιοι { _Nulla domus, plaustris habitant, migrare per arva
-        { Mos, atq; errantes circumvectare penates._)
-
-have no fixt Residence any where, but Travel with their Families and
-Cattle from Place to Place, carrying their Wives and Children upon
-Camels; they pitch their Tents usually near Rivers and Fountains, for
-the convenience of Water, and according as their necessities require,
-make a longer or a shorter stay. Their whole Estate consists in their
-numerous Flocks and Herds, which they sell upon occasion to supply
-themselves with what they want, at the Towns they pass by. Their only
-concern is how to enjoy the Benefits and Blessings of Nature, without
-the troubles and turmoils and disquiets of Life; being contented
-and happy in one another's Company, void of all Ambition and Envy,
-Courteous and Humane to Strangers, that may want their Help and
-Assistance, kindly entertaining them with such Provision as their Folds
-afford. I have met with some Companies of these harmless Wanderers
-in my Travels. The Country lies open without any Inclosures, and the
-Propriety not being vested in any one, they Travel thro' the Plains
-unmolested, and find excellent Pasturage every where. The _Turks_
-Till no more Ground than will serve their necessities: Being supplied
-with Corn from _Ægypt_, and from _Moldavia_ and _Walachia_, by the
-way of the _Black Sea_, letting vast Tracts of Ground lie wast and
-uncultivated; so that their Sloth herein sometimes is justly punished
-with Dearths.
-
-They have nothing to shew for their Houses and Possession, but an
-_Hogiet_ or piece of Paper subscribed by the _Cadi_, if they have
-acquired them by their Mony, or that they were their Fathers before
-them.
-
-The _Dervises_ generally are Melancholy, and place the greatest part
-of their Religion in Abstinence and other Severities. Some cut their
-Flesh, others vow not to speak for six or seven Years, or all their
-Lives long, tho' never so much provoked or distressed. Their Garments
-are made of a course sort of Wool or Goat's Hair: They are tied up by
-the Vow of their Order ever from Marrying. Several of this Sect in the
-heighth of their Religious Phrenzy have attempted upon the Lives of the
-Emperors themselves, (at whose Government they have taken disgust) as
-_Mahomet_ the second, and _Achmet_, as if such desperate Attempts were
-fatal to Bigots in all Religions.
-
-They pay a mighty Veneration to any Relique of _Mahomet_, his Banner
-is still preserved in the Treasury of the _Seraglio_, and is look'd
-upon as the great Security of the Empire. They believe that it was
-sent from Heaven, and conveyed into the Hands of _Mahomet_, by the
-Angel _Gabriel_, as a Pledge and Sign of Success and Victory in
-his Battels against the _Christians_, and all other Enemies of the
-_Musulman_-Faith. It was sent to _Candia_ to encourage the Soldiers
-to endure the fatigue of that long and tedious Siege; and when it was
-brought thence after the Surrendry of that City, to be deposited
-in its usual Place, the _Vizir_ gave several _Christian_ Slaves,
-that row'd in the Galley that was fraught with this Holy Ware, their
-Liberty. They pretend to have some Rags of _Mahomet_'s Vest, to
-which they ascribe great Virtue. In confidence of which, the Emperor
-_Achmet_, in the time of a great Fire which raged at _Constantinople_,
-when all other means fail'd, dipt part of them in Water to be sprinkled
-upon the Fire to rebate the Fury of it.
-
-Next to the _Mufti_ or _Cadaleskires_ are the _Mollas_, of which these
-four are the chiefest in Dignity. The Molla of _Galata_, _Adrianople_,
-_Aleppo_, _Prusa_; and after them are reckoned these eight, _Stambol
-Ephendi_, _Larissa_, _Misir_ or _Cairo_, _Sham_ or _Damascus_,
-_Diarbekir_ or _Mesopotamia_, _Cutaia_, _Sophia_, _Philippi_.
-
-The Priests have no Habit peculiar to their Profession, whereby they
-are distinguish'd from others. If they are put from their Moschs for
-miscarriage or neglect of doing their Duty, or if they think fit to
-resign and be Priests no longer, they may betake themselves without
-any Scandal to secular Employments, their former Character and Quality
-wholly ceasing. While they remain Priests, they counterfeit a more than
-ordinary Gravity in their Discourse and Walking: and affect to wear
-Turbants swelling out, and made up with more cross folds: which was all
-the difference which I could observe by their Head Attire, which is
-various, tho' I could not find that this was constantly and strictly
-observed.
-
-In _Byram_ time, which is the great Festival of the Year, at which time
-every one looks cheerfully and merrily, among other signs of mutual
-Respect, they besprinkle one another with sweet Water. They indulge to
-several Sports: and some are mightily pleased with swinging in the open
-Air, the ordinary sort of People especially, paying only a few Aspers
-for the diversion.
-
-The Government is perfectly Arbitrary and Despotical; the Will and
-Pleasure of the Emperor having the force and power of a Law, and
-oftentimes is above it. His bare Command without any process is
-enough to take off the Head of any Person, (tho' never so Eminent in
-Dignity, tho' usually for formality and to silence the Murmurings of
-the Soldiery and People, the Sentence is confirm'd by the _Mufti_)
-sometimes _Bassa_'s who have amassed great Treasures in their
-Governments, are cut off in their own Houses in the midst of their
-Retinue, the Messengers of Death producing the Imperial Command,
-usually sent in a black Purse, and not a Sword drawn in their Defence.
-Others, if they are obnoxious to the least Umbrage or Jealousie,
-tho' dismist the _Seraglio_ with all possible demonstrations of the
-Grand _Signior_'s Favour, and with Rich Presents in order to take
-possession of Places of great Command in the Empire, before they
-have got two or three Days Journey from _Constantinople_, have been
-overtaken and strangled. In the Army Commands are given according to
-Merit, Courage and Conduct are sure to be rewarded, the way lying
-open to the meanest Soldier to raise himself to be the chief of his
-Order. But other Preferments depend upon meer Chance, and upon the
-fansie of the Emperor, whether the Person be fit or no, and they are
-as soon lost. The least ill Success or Miscarriage proves oftentimes
-fatal, and a more lucky Man is put in his Place, and he succeeded by
-a third, if unfortunate in a Design, tho' managed with never so much
-Prudence and Valour. They admit of no hereditary Honours, and have
-no respect to Descent or Blood, except the _Ottoman_ Family: He only
-is Great and Noble, whom the Emperor favours, and while his Command
-lasts. According to a tradition, that passes current among them, a
-Bassa's Son by a _Sultana_ or a Daughter or Sister of the Emperor can
-rise no higher than to be a _Sangiac-bei_ or Governor of some little
-Province, much inferior to a Bassa and under his Jurisdiction. Being
-born of Slaves for the most part, they do not pride themselves in their
-Birth, very few among them being scarce able to give any account of
-their Grandfathers. They have no Sirnames, but are distinguish'd by
-their Possessions and places of Abode, and enjoying by Law a Liberty
-of having what Women they please, they have little or no regard to
-Alliance or Kindred.
-
-Their Empire owes the continuance of its being to the severity of
-the Government, which oftentimes takes place without regard either
-to Justice or Equity, and to their frequent Wars, which prevent all
-occasions of Mutiny and Faction among the Soldiers, which happen
-frequently when unimploy'd. So that tho' Ambition may put a warlike
-Sultan upon enlarging his Territories by new Conquests, yet reason
-of State forces a weak and effeminate Prince, such as was _Ibrahim_,
-to make War for his own Security. Their Politicks are not owing to
-Books and Study and the Examples of past times, but to Experience and
-the plain Suggestions of Nature and common Sense: They have Rules of
-Government, which they firmly adhere to, holding the Reins strait,
-especially being cruel and inexorable to Criminals of State, who never
-are to expect any Mercy or Pity. Their Councils formerly were open, and
-their Designs known, and proclaimed before Hand, as if this had been
-a Bravery becoming their Greatness, and that they scorned to steal a
-Conquest. But they have learned since the Art of dissimulation, and can
-Lie and Swear for their Interest, and seem excessive in their Caresses
-to the Ministers of those Countries, which they intend to Invade. But
-their preparations for Arming are made with so much Noise, that an
-ordinary Jealousie is soon awakened by it to oppose them, in case of
-an Attack. They seldom or never care to have War at both Extremes of
-the Empire at the same time, and therefore they are mighty sollicitous
-to secure a Peace with _Christendom_, when they intend a War upon the
-_Persians_: And as much as is possible, they avoid quarrelling with two
-Christian Princes at once, being usually at League either with _Poland_
-and _Muscovy_, when they War upon _Hungary_, and so on the contrary;
-dreading nothing more than an Union of the _Christian_ Princes,
-bordering upon them, which would prove so fatal to their Empire, and
-quickly put a Period to their Greatness. For hereby they would be
-put upon a necessity of making a defensive War to their great Loss
-and Disadvantage, and at last either be forced to beg a Peace of the
-_Christians_, or run the hazard of losing all, by a further Prosecution
-of War.
-
-This they are very sensible of, and therefore as they take all occasion
-to promote Quarrels and Dissentions in _Hungary_ and _Transylvania_,
-so they greatly rejoyce, when the Princes of _Christendom_ are at War
-one with another. This is their great time of Advantage, and they know
-that it is their true Interest to pursue it, tho' they do not always,
-by reason of the ill condition of their own Affairs, make use of it.
-During the Civil Wars of _Germany_, the Bassa's and other Commanders
-of the Army were very importunate with the grand Signior, to make a
-War on that side, and to enlarge his Conquests as far as _Vienna_, no
-conjuncture having been ever so favourable to consummate such a Design,
-in which _Solyman_ so unhappily miscarried. They promised him an easie
-Victory, assuring him that the Animosities of the Princes of the Empire
-were so heightned, that there was no room left for a Reconciliation,
-that he was but to go in the Head of an Army to take Possession, and
-that _Austria_ would Surrender at the first News of his March towards
-it. The Emperor was not to be moved at that time by these Insinuations
-and plausible Discourses; being continually urged, He as often denied.
-One day when they came to Renew their advice about the _German_ War, He
-having given order before, that several Dogs should be kept for some
-Days without Meat, commanded that they should be brought out, being
-almost Starved, and Meat thrown among them, whereupon they snarled and
-bit one another: In the midst of their Noise and Fighting, he caused a
-Bear to be let loose in the same Area; the Dogs forgetting their Meat,
-and leaving off their fighting, ran all upon the Bear, ready to Prey
-upon them singly, and at last killed him. This Diversion the Emperor
-gave his Bassa's, and left them to make the application.
-
-A certain Prophecy of no small Authority runs in the Minds of all
-the People, and has gain'd great Credit and Belief among them, that
-their Empire shall be ruined by a Northern Nation, which has white and
-yellowish Hair. The Interpretation is as various as their Fansie. Some
-fix this Character on the _Muscovites_: And the poor _Greeks_ flatter
-themselves with foolish Hopes, that they are to be their Deliverers,
-and to rescue them from their Slavery, chiefly because they are of
-their Communion, and owe their Conversion to the _Christian_ Faith to
-the Piety and Zeal of the _Grecian_ Bishops formerly. Others look upon
-the _Swedes_, as the Persons describ'd in the Prophecy, whom they are
-most to fear. The Ground and Original of this fancy I suppose is owing
-to the great Opinion, which they have of the Valour and Courage of
-that Warlike Nation. The great Victories of the _Swedes_ in _Germany_
-under _Gustavus Adolphus_ were loudly proclaimed at _Constantinople_,
-as if there were no withstanding the shock and fury of their Arms: And
-their continued Successes confirmed the _Turks_ in their first belief,
-and their Fears and their Jealousies were augmented afterwards, when
-_Charles Gustave_, a Prince of as heroick a Courage, and as great
-Abilities in the Art and Management of War as the justly admired
-_Gustavus_, entred _Poland_ with his Army, and carried all before him,
-seized upon _Warsaw_ and drove _Casimire_ out of his Kingdom, and had
-almost made an entire and absolute Conquest, only a few Places holding
-out. This alarmed the Grand Signior and the Bassa's of the _Port_,
-as if the Prophecy were then about to be fulfilled, who did not care
-for the Company of such troublesome Neighbours, who might push on
-their Victories, and joyning with the _Cossacks_, advance their Arms
-further, and make their Country the seat of a War, which might draw
-after it fatal Consequences. To prevent which, Couriers are dispatch'd
-from _Constantinople_ to _Ragotski_, Prince of _Transylvania_, then in
-concert with the _Sweeds_, to Command him to retire with his Army out
-of _Poland_, as he valued the Peace and Safety of his own Country, and
-the Friendship of the Grand Signior, whose Tributary he was, and by
-whose Favour he had gain'd that Principality: And the _Crim-Tartars_,
-the Sworn Enemies of the _Poles_, who at that time lay heavy upon them,
-were wrought upon by the same Motives and Reasons of State, to clap
-up a Peace with them, that being freed from these Distractions, they
-might unite their Forces the better together, and make Head against
-the _Sweeds_.
-
-The Ambassadors of _Christian_ Princes, when they are admitted by the
-Grand Signior to an Audience, (their Presents being then of course
-made, which are look'd upon as due, not to say, as an Homage) are
-dismiss'd in few Words, and referred by him to his _Wakil_ or Deputy,
-as he usually stiles the chief _Vizir_: And a small number of their
-Retinue only permitted the Honour of kissing his Vest, and then rudely
-enough sent away.
-
-The Grand Signiors keep up the State of the old _Asiatick_ Princes:
-They do not expose themselves often to the View of the People, unless
-when they ride in Triumph, or upon some such solemn Occasion; when they
-go to the Moschs, or divert themselves in the Fields, either in Riding
-or Hunting, they do not love to be stared upon, or approached. It is
-highly Criminal to pry into their Sports, such an Insolent Curiosity
-being often punished with Death. The Story is Famous of _Morad_ the
-Third, who baiting a Bear in the old Palace with a Mastiff, and espying
-three Fellows upon the Tower of _Bajazid's_ Mosch, who had planted
-themselves to see the Sport, commanded their Heads to be struck off
-immediately, and be brought before him, which was done accordingly.
-Instances of such Capricio's are frequent in the _Turkish_ History;
-this following happened during my stay at _Constantinople_.
-
-Upon the return of Vizir _Achmet_ from _Candia_, after the Surrendry
-of that City, and a happy end put by him to that tedious and bloody
-War, he acquainting the present Emperor, then at _Adrianople_,
-with the History of that famous Siege at large, made such terrible
-Representations of their and the _Venetians_ Mining and Countermining
-one another, that the Emperor was resolved out of Curiosity to see
-the Experiment made of a thing, that seemed to him almost Incredible.
-A Work was soon raised and undermined, and above 30 Murderers and
-Robbers upon the High-Way and such like Villains were put into it, as
-it were to defend it. The Grand Signior stood upon an Eminence at some
-considerable distance, expecting the issue of it; upon a Signal given,
-the Mine was sprung, and the Fort demolished, and the poor Wretches
-torn piece-meal to his great Satisfaction and Amazement.
-
-The Moon is the auspicious Planet of the _Turks_: According to the
-course of which they celebrate their Festivals. They begin their Months
-from the first appearance of it, at which time they choose, except a
-delay brings a great Prejudice and Inconvenience with it, to begin
-their great Actions. The Crescent is the Ensign of the Empire, which
-they Paint in Banners, and place upon the Spires of their Moschs.
-Next to the Day of the appearing Moon, they pitch upon _Friday_, to
-fight upon, to begin a journey, and especially their Pilgrimage toward
-_Mecca_, or do any thing of great Consequence, as very lucky and
-fortunate.
-
-
-
-
-  A Relation of a Voyage from _Aleppo_ to _Palmyra_ in _Syria_; sent
-    by the Reverend Mr. _William Hallifax_ to Dr. _Edward Bernard_
-    (late) _Savilian_ Professor of Astronomy in _Oxford_, and by him
-    communicated to Dr. _Thomas Smith. Reg. Soc. S._
-
-
-                _D. Thomæ Smitho Edoardus Bernardus, S._
-
-_Quanquam Epistolas tuas, O cor & medulla amicitiæ nostræ, & alia
-munera grato animo in finum hunc recipere soleo; eas tamen _Notitias_,
-quas tuo dono hodie accepi, tanquam germana & famæ nunquam marcescentis
-pignora, multo chariores habeo, &, dum vivam, reverenter adservabo.
-Sic enim Asianarum Ecclesiarum Pleiada e tenebris denuo excitas: sic
-antiquissimorum Episcoporum sedes instauras, ut candelabrum ἑπτάλοφον
-cum magno Theologo & Apocalypta iterum ardens ac fulgens videre mihi
-videor. Præterea, in descriptione urbis Constantini Silentiarios,
-Codinos, Gyllios, cæteros exsuperas. Fruere diu superstes hac laude,
-quam suam esse maluit Sponius, & præter morem ingenuum aut fas sibi
-abripere._
-
-_Gaudeo tamen mihi jam novum adesse munus, quod tecum queam impertire
-volente spero, & læto. Id est Epigrapharum Sylloge, quas a columnis
-_Palmyrenis_ Charissimus amicus, _Gulielmus Hallifaxius_ pulchro
-studio descripsit. Utinam _Syriaca_ plura ipse addisset sub Græcis,
-& Epocham _Palmyrenam_ a _Seleuco_ victore, non ab _Alexandri_
-magni obitu incepisset. Historiæ vero _Augustæ_ scriptores qui
-teruntur, & _Herodianus_ Grammaticus plerasque Inscriptionum istarum
-multum illustrant. Verum isthæc vix sunt nostri otii. Attamen si
-hæc commiseris _Philosophicarum Transactionum_, ut nunc loquuntur,
-conditoribus haud injucundum πρόπομα fuerit, donec vir illustris &
-adprime doctus _D. Cuperus_ uberiora forte ediderit de urbe _Solomonis_
-ejusque reliquiis. Vale vir venerabilis._
-
-  Oxoniæ _Nonis_ Octobribus
-    _A. D._ CIↃIↃCXCV.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-  _Reverend Sir_,
-
-[Sidenote: _Tadmor_ Castle.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Valley of Salt.]
-
-Having promised you an Account of my Voyage to _Tadmor_, I cannot
-now Excuse my self from being as good as my Word, whatever Censure
-I may incur of having misspent my Mony and Time in search of such
-unprofitable Curiosities; or what I more fear, of having made such
-poor Improvements, of which a Man of larger Reading and Understanding,
-might have afforded much greater Information. We departed _Aleppo_ on
-_Michaelmas-day_, 1691. and in six easie Days Travel over a Desart
-Country, came to _Tadmor_; Journying almost continually to the South,
-with very little variation to the Eastward. As we rode into the Town,
-we took notice of a Castle about half an Hours distance from it, and
-so situated as to Command both the Pass into the Hills, by which we
-entred, and the City too. But we could easily perceive it was no Old
-Building, retaining no Footsteps of the exquisite Workmanship and
-Ingenuity of the Ancients. Upon Enquiry we were informed, that it
-was built by _Man-Ogle_, a Prince of the _Druces_, in the Reign of
-_Amurath_ the Third, _Anno D. N._ 1585. But I know not how to give much
-Credit to this Story, because I find not that either _Man-Ogle_, or
-any _Drucian_ Prince, was ever Powerful in these Parts, their strength
-lying on Mount _Libanus_, and along the Coast of _Sydon_, _Berytus_,
-_&c._ 'Tis a Work of more Labour than Art, and the very Situation
-alone is enough to render it almost Impregnable; standing on the top
-of a very high Hill, enclosed with a deep Ditch, cut out of the very
-Rock, over which there was only one sole Passage by a Draw-Bridge: This
-Bridge too is now broken down; so that there is no Entrance remaining,
-unless you will be at the Pains to clamber up the Rock, which is in
-one place feasible, but withal so difficult hazardous, that a small
-slip may endanger ones Life. Nor is there any thing within to be seen
-sufficient to recompence your Trouble of getting up to it, the Building
-being confused, and the Rooms very ill contrived. Upon the top of the
-Hill there is a Well of a prodigious depth, as certainly it must be
-a great way to come at Water from the top of such a Rock, the Ditch
-that surrounds it, not having the least appearance of moisture therein;
-which made it therefore seem more strange that a Wild Boar should rush
-out thence among our Horses, when we rode up to take a more particular
-View of the Place. This Castle stands on the North side of the Town,
-and from hence you have the best Prospect of the Country all about.
-You see _Tadmor_ under you inclosed on three sides with long Ridges
-of Mountains, which open towards the East gradually to the distance
-of about an Hours Riding; but to the South stretches a vast Plain
-beyond the reach of the Eye. In this Plain you see a large Valley of
-Salt affording great quantities thereof, and lying near about an Hours
-distance from the City. And this more probably is the Valley of Salt,
-mentioned 2 _Sam._ 8. 13. where _David_ smote the _Syrians_, and slew
-18000 Men, than another which lies but four Hours from _Aleppo_, and
-has sometimes past for it. The Air is good, but the Soil exceeding
-barren, nothing green to be seen therein, save some few Palm-Trees in
-the Gardens, and here and there about the Town. And from these Trees
-I conceive is obtained its Name, both in Hebrew (_Tadmor_) which
-signifies a Palm-Tree, and in Latin (_Palmira_;) and the whole Country
-is thence denominated _Syria Palmirena_; and sometimes _Solitudines
-Palmirenæ_: So that the Latins did not change but only Translate the
-old Name, which therefore still obtains in these Eastern Parts, and
-the more Modern is wholly unknown.
-
-[Sidenote: _Tadmor._]
-
-The City it self appears to have been of a large Extent, by the space
-now taken up by the Ruins; but there are no Footsteps of any Walls
-remaining, nor is it possible to judge of the ancient Figure of the
-Place. The present Inhabitants, as they are a Poor, Miserable, dirty
-People, so they have shut themselves up, to the Number of about Thirty
-or Forty Families, in little Huts made of Dirt, within the Walls of
-a spacious Court, which enclosed a most Magnificent Heathen Temple.
-Hereinto also we entred, the whole Power of the Village, if I may so
-call it, being gathered together at the Door, whether to stand upon
-their Defence, in case we proved Enemies, (for some of them had their
-Guns in their Hands) or out of meer Curiosity to gaze upon us, I know
-not. However our Guide, who was an _Arab_, whom _Assyne_[14] their
-present King had sent to Conduct us through the whole Voyage, being
-a Man known among them, we had an easie Admittance, and with a great
-many Welcomes in their Language were led to the _Sheck_'s House, with
-whom we were to make our Abode. And to mention here what the Place
-at first View represents. Certainly the World it self cannot afford
-the like mixture of Remains of the greatest State and Magnificence,
-together with the Extremity of Filth and Poverty. The nearest Parallel
-I can think of, is that of the Temple of _Baal_, destroyed by _Jehu_,
-and converted into a Draught-House, 2 _Kings_ 10. 27. And if, what is
-not improbable, this very Place was a Temple of _Jupiter Belus_, the
-Similitude will run upon all Four.
-
-[Sidenote: The Temple.]
-
-Being thus lodged within the Place, I shall begin with a Description
-thereof, and proceed to what I observed remarkable without. The whole
-inclosed Space is a Square of 200 Yard each side, encompass'd with a
-high and stately Wall, built of large square Stone, and adorned with
-Pilasters within and without, to the number, (as near as we could
-compute by what is standing of the Wall, which is much the greater
-part) of 62 on a side. And had not the Barbarity of the _Turks_,
-Enemies to every thing that is splendid and noble, out of a vain
-Superstition, purposely beat down those beautiful Cornishes both
-here and in other Places, we had seen the most curious and exquisite
-Carvings in Stone which perhaps the World could ever boast of; as
-here and there a small Remainder, which has escap'd their Fury, does
-abundantly evidence. The West side, wherein is the Entrance, is most of
-it broken down, and near the middle of the Square, another higher Wall
-erected out of the Ruins; which shews to have been a Castle, strong but
-rude; the old Stones and many Pillars broken or sawn asunder, being
-rolled into the Fabrick, and ill cemented. Within were to be seen the
-Foundations of another Wall, which probably might answer this Front,
-and that the _Mamalukes_, whose Workmanship it seems most likely to
-have been, built the Castle here for the Security of the Place. Before
-the whole length of this new Front, except a narrow Passage which is
-left for an Entrance, is cut a deep Ditch, the ascent whereof on the
-inner side is fac'd with Stone to the very Foot of the Wall, which
-must have render'd it very difficult to have assaulted it. The Passage
-to, and the Door it self is very narrow, not wider than to receive a
-loaded Camel, or that two Foot-men may well walk abreast. And as soon
-as you are within the first Door, you make a short turn to the Right,
-and pass on to another of the like bigness, which leads into the Court.
-But all this is but a new Building upon an old, and by this outward
-Wall is quite shrouded that Magnificent Entrance, which belonged to
-the first Fabrick; of the stateliness whereof we were enabled to judge
-by the two Stones which supported the sides of the great Gate, each
-of which is 35 Foot in length, and artificially carved with Vines and
-clusters of Grapes, exceeding bold and to the Life. They are both
-standing, and in their Places, and the distance between them, which
-gives us the wideness of the Gate 15 Foot. But all this is now walled
-up to the narrow Door before mentioned. Over the little Door there is
-an Inscription in _Greek_, and also another in another Language and
-Character, which I never saw till in _Tadmor_, nor understand what to
-make of it. From that in _Greek_ we hoped for some Information; but it
-will be evident to any one that reads it, that the Stone was brought
-from another Place and casually put in there. 'Tis thus:
-
-ΤΟ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΤΑΦΕΩΝΟΣ ΕΚΤΙΣΕΝ ΕΞ ΙΔΙΩΝ ΣΕΠΤΙΜΙΟΣ ΟΔΑΙΝΑΘΟΣ Ο
-ΛΑΜΠΡΟΤΑΤΟΣ ΣΥΝΚΛΗΤ[ΙΚΟΣ] ΑΙΡΑΝΟΥ ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΝΑΣΩΡΟΥΑΥ ΤΩΤΕ ΚΑΙ
-ΥΙΟΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΥΙΩΝΟΙΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΠΑΝΤΕΛΕΣ ΑΙΩΝΙΟΝ ΤΕΙΜΗΝ.
-
-Under this was the unknown Characters, which I shall here give you
-a Specimen of, it being as well as it could be taken, thus. _Vide
-Figuram._
-
-The Letters between these [] Marks were not Legible, but I have
-ventured to supply the defect, as also you will see in some others
-following. Neither was the Ε in ΜΝΗΜΕΙΟΝ upon the Stone, but was
-doubtless omitted by mistake; and the Inscription is nothing else but
-the Inscription of a Sepulchre, the like to which we saw several, as I
-shall have occasion to mention some of them hereafter. And as for the
-other Character, it being added almost under every _Greek_ Inscription
-we saw, and rarely found alone, I am apt to believe it the Native
-Language and Character of the Place, and the Matter it contains nothing
-else but what we have in the _Greek_.
-
-As soon as you are entred within the Court, you see the Remainders
-of two Rows of very Noble Marble Pillars 37 Foot high, with their
-Capitals of most exquisite Carved Work; as also must have been the
-Cornishes between them, before by Rude and Superstitious Hands they
-were broken down. Of these there are now no more than 58 remaining
-entire; but there must have been a great many more, for they appear to
-have gone quite round the whole Court, and to have supported a most
-spacious double Piazza or Cloyster. Of this Piazza the Walks on the
-West side, which is opposed to the Front of the Temple, seem to have
-exceeded the other in Beauty and Spaciousness; and at each end thereof
-are two Niches for Statues at their full length, with their Pedestals,
-Borders, Supporters, and Canopies, carved with the greatest Artifice
-and Curiosity. The Space within this once Beautiful Enclosure, which
-is now filled with nothing but the dirty Huts of the Inhabitants, I
-conceive to have been an open Court, in the midst whereof stands the
-Temple, encompass'd with another row of Pillars of a different Order,
-and much higher than the former, being above 50 Foot high. Of these
-remain now but 16, but there must have been about double that Number,
-which whether they enclosed an inner Court, or supported the Roof of a
-Cloyster, there being nothing now of a Roof remaining, is uncertain.
-Only one great Stone lies down, which seems to have reach'd from these
-Pillars to the Walls of the Temple. The whole Space contained within
-these Pillars we found to be 59 Yards in Length, and in Breadth near
-28. In the midst of which Space is the Temple, extending in Length
-more than 33 Yards, and in Breadth 13 or 14. It points North and South,
-having a most Magnificent Entrance on the West, exactly in the middle
-of the Building, which by the small Remains yet to be seen, seems to
-have been one of the most glorious Structures in the World. I never
-saw Vines and clusters of Grapes cut in Stone, so Bold, so Lively, and
-so Natural, in any Place: And we had doubtless seen things abundantly
-more curious, if they had not been maliciously broken to pieces. Just
-over the Door we could make a shift to discern part of the Wings of a
-large Spread-Eagle, extending the whole wideness thereof. The largeness
-whereof led me at first to imagine it might have been rather a Cherub
-over-shadowing the Entrance, there being nothing of the Body remaining
-to guide ones Judgment, and some little Angels or _Cupids_ appear still
-in the corners of the same Stone. But afterwards seeing other Eagles
-upon Stones that were fallen down, I conclude this must have been one
-likewise, only of a much larger size. Of this Temple there is nothing
-at present but the outward Walls standing, in which it is observable,
-that as the Windows were not large, so they were made narrower towards
-the top, than they were below; but all adorned with excellent Carvings.
-Within the Walls, the _Turks_, or more probably the _Mamalukes_, have
-built a Roof, which is supported by small Pillars and Arches; but a
-great deal lower, as well as in all other respects disproportionate
-and inferior to what the Ancient Covering must have been. And they
-have converted the place into a Mosque, having added to the South End
-thereof new Ornaments after their manner, with _Arabick_ Inscriptions
-and Sentences out of the _Alcoran_, wrote in Flourishes and Wreaths,
-not without Art. But at the North End of the Building, which is shut
-out of the Mosque, are Relicks of much greater Artifice and Beauty.
-Whether they were in the Nature of Canopies over some Altars placed
-there, or to what other use they served, I am not able to conjecture.
-They are beautified with the most curious Fretwork and Carvings; in the
-midst of which is a Dome or Cupola, above six Foot Diameter, which we
-found above to be of one piece; whether hewn out of a Rock entire, or
-made of some Artificial Cement or Composition, by Time hardened into
-a Lapideous Substance, seems doubtful; though I am rather inclined
-to believe the latter. It is in fine, a most exquisite Piece of
-Workmanship, and on which I could have bestowed more time to view it,
-than what was allowed us, hastening to other Sights.
-
-[Sidenote: _A Mosch._]
-
-Having taken this Survey of the Temple, we went Abroad, where our Eyes
-were presently accosted with an amazing sight of a multitude of Marble
-Pillars, standing scattered up and down, for the space of near a Mile
-of Ground, this way and that, but so disposed as to afford no solid
-Foundation to judge, what sort of Structures they formerly framed. I
-pass by the Ruins of a Mosch, which directing our Course Northward, was
-the first thing occurr'd to our View, after we came out of the Court
-of the Temple, which though of a more Artificial Frame and Composure
-than many I have seen, yet is not worthy to stop us in the way to
-things both of greater Antiquity, and every way more noble and worthy
-our Consideration. Having therefore past this, you have the Prospect
-of such Magnificent Ruins, that if it be lawful to frame a Conjecture
-of the Original Beauty of the Place, by what is still remaining, I
-question somewhat whether any City in the World could have challenged
-Precedence of this in its Glory. But it being impossible as they now
-stand to reduce them to any regular Method, I must be forced to give
-you a rude Account of them as they came in sight; and which will fall
-much short of the Greatness and Stateliness which they shew to the Eye.
-
-[Sidenote: An Obelisk.]
-
-Advancing then towards the North, you have before you a very tall and
-stately Obelisk or Pillar, consisting of seven large Stones, besides
-its Capital and a wreath'd Work above it; the Carvings here, as in
-all other Places, being extraordinary fine. The height of it is above
-50 Foot, and upon it I conceive may have stood a Statue, which the
-_Turks_, zealous Enemies of all Imagery, have thrown down, and broken
-in pieces. 'Tis in compass, just above the Pedestal, 12 Foot and a
-half. On each Hand of this, towards the East and West, you see two
-other large Pillars, each a quarter of a Mile distant from you, which
-seem to have some Correspondence one to the other. And there is a
-piece of another standing near that of the East, which would incline
-one to think there was once a continued row of them. The height of this
-to the East I took with my Quadrant, and conclude to be more than 42
-Foot high, and the Circumference proportionable. Upon the Body thereof
-is the following Inscription.
-
-Η ΒΟΥΛΗ ΚΑΙ Ο ΔΗΜΟΣ ΛΛΙΛΑΜΕΝΑ ΠΑΝΟΥ ΜΟΚΙΜΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΙΡΑΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΜΑΘΘΑ ΚΑΙ
-ΑΙΡΑΝΗΝ ΤΟΝ ΠΑΤΕΡΑ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΕΥΣΕΒΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΡΙΔΑΣ Κ(ΑΙ) ΠΑΝΤΙ ΤΡΟΠΩ
-(ΕΥ)ΣΕΙΜΩΣ ΑΡΕΣΑΝΤΑΣ ΤΗ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΙ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΤΡΙΟΙΣ ΘΕΟΙΣ ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ Ν
-Υ Λ ΜΗΝΟΣ ΞΑΝΔΙΚΟΥ.
-
-I perswade my self it would be but lost Labour to spend time in making
-Reflections upon this or the following Inscriptions; as for the
-Knowledge they may exhibit to the World, your own Conjectures will more
-happily lead you unto it, than any thing I am like to suggest. It seems
-however pretty evident they were a Free State, governed by a Senate
-and People, though perhaps under the Protection of great Empires, the
-_Parthians_, it is probable, first, and afterward the _Romans_, who
-for a long time contended for the Mastery here in the East. And this
-Government might continue among them till about the time of _Aurelian_,
-who demolished the Place, and led _Zenobia_, Wife of _Odenatus_,
-Captive to _Rome_: Who, though she be called Queen, yet I find not
-that ever her Husband had the Title of King; but was only one of the
-Chief Inhabitants, a Leading Man in the Senate (as 'tis probable this
-_Alilamanes_ and _Airanes_ were before him) who while the _Romans_
-were busied in _Europe_, made himself great here, and by his own Force
-repelled the _Parthians_; who having Master'd whatever was held by
-the _Romans_ on the other side of _Euphrates_, made an Incursion into
-_Syria_, but were by _Odenatus_ driven back beyond the River. In the
-course of these Wars _Odenatus_ was slain, but his Wife _Zenobia_,
-being a Woman of a Masculine Spirit, not only kept her Ground against
-her Enemies Abroad, but maintained her Authority at Home, keeping the
-Government in her Hands. Afterwards out of a desire to cast off the
-_Roman_ Yoke, she caused the whole Garrison, which was left there by
-_Aurelian_, to be barbarously cut off: Which bringing _Aurelian_ back
-with his Army, he quickly took the City, and destroyed it, putting the
-Inhabitants to the Sword, and carrying _Zenobia_ Captive to _Rome_;
-which was the Fatal Period of the Glory of the Place. This Custom of
-theirs of running up their Genealogies or Pedigrees to the fourth or
-fifth Generation, shews them to have borrowed some of their Fashions
-from their Neighbours the _Jews_, with whom it is not unlikely they had
-of old great Commerce; and perhaps many of them were descended from
-that People, _Zenobia_ her self being said to have been a _Jewess_; Or
-else this must have been the manner of all the Eastern Nations. Their
-_Æra_ or Account of Time they begin from the Death of _Alexander_ the
-Great, as the _Syrians_ generally do; the very Christians at this Day
-following the same usage. Yet though they mark the Date of the Year by
-_Greek_ Letters, you may observe they place them a different way from
-the _Greeks_, setting the lesser Number first, as if they were to be
-read backward, from the right Hand to the left; as Ν Υ here, denoting
-450. The third Letter Λ, I take to stand for the Day of the Month,
-_viz._ the last of _Xandicus_, which is with us _April_; this and other
-names of Months, which are found in other Inscriptions, being borrowed
-from the _Macedonians_ with very little variation. That they were
-Idolaters, is plain by the mention of their Country Gods, both here
-and in other Places: So that their Commerce with the _Jews_, did not,
-it seems, bring them to the Knowledge of the true God, or else they
-must have degenerated therefrom, and relapsed into Idolatry. The other
-Pillar towards the West in Height and Circumference answers this, and
-has upon the side the following Inscription engraved.
-
-Η ΒΟΥΛΗ ΚΑΙ Ο ΔΗΜΟΣ ΒΑΡΕΙΧΕΙΝ ΑΜΡΙΣΑΜΣΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΙΑΡΙΒΩΛΕΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΜΟΚΙΜΟΝ
-ΥΙΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΕΥΣΕΒΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΡΙΔΑΣ ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ.
-
-The Date of this is not legible, neither does one know what Judgment to
-make of the thing it self. That such a Pillar should be erected only to
-support the Inscription, and convey these Mens Names to After-Ages,
-without particularizing what they did to deserve that Honour, is
-something strange: unless we may suppose it was a prevailing Vanity in
-these Eastern Countries thus to endeavour to Eternize their Fame. An
-Instance whereof we have in Scripture, in _Absalom_'s setting him up a
-Pillar, 2 _Kings_ 18. 18. and perhaps before him, in _Saul_, 1 _Sam._
-15. 12. Otherwise it may appear no improbable Conjecture, that the
-Pillar was erected long before upon some other Occasion, and afterwards
-made use of to this end: And I look upon it as past all doubt that
-several other Inscriptions which we saw, were much more Modern than the
-Pillars, on which they were engraved.
-
-[Sidenote: The Piazza.]
-
-Proceeding forward, directly from the Obelisk, about 100 Paces, you
-come to a Magnificent Entrance, vastly large and lofty, and for the
-exquisiteness of the Workmanship not inferior to any thing before
-described. I wish I could add, that it had not suffered the same Fate
-as the rest, and then we might have seen a rare Piece of the Ancient
-Beauty of the Place. This Entrance leads you into a Noble Piazza of
-more than half a Mile long, 938 Yards according to our Measuring, and
-40 Foot in breadth, enclosed with two rows of stately Marble Pillars,
-26 Foot high, and 8 or 9 about. Of these remain standing and entire
-129, but by a moderate Calculate there could not have been less at
-first than 560. Covering there is none remaining, nor any Pavement at
-the bottom, unless it be buried under the Rubbish. But upon almost all
-the Pillars we found Inscriptions, both in _Greek_ and the Language
-unknown, of which we had time to take but very few, and those not very
-Instructive. But such as they are I'll present you them here, without
-observing any other Order, but as they happened to be transcribed.
-
-ΙΟΥΛΙΟΝ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΝ ΖΕΒΕΙΔΑΝ ΜΟΚΙΜΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΖΕΒΕΙΔΟΥ .......: ΑΣΘΩΡΟΒΑΙΔΑΟΙ
-ΣΥΝ Α(Υ)ΤΩ ΚΑΤΕΛΘΟΝΤΕΣ ΕΙΣ ΟΛΟΓΕΣΙΑΔΑ ΕΝΠΟΡΟΙΑΝ ΕΣΤΗΣΑΝ ΑΡΕΣΑΝΤΑ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ
-ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ ΞΑΝΔΙΚΩ ΤΟΥ ΗΝΦ ΕΤΟΥΣ....
-
-I give you, Sir, these Inscriptions, as those before, just as I found
-them, without any Amendments, so much as of litteral Faults, only
-where a Letter, or piece of a Word was not legible, if I could make a
-probable Conjecture what it should be, I have ventured to add it. The
-last seems to have been put up in Memory of an Embassy, performed by
-those Men that are named therein, for settling a Commerce and Traffick,
-which was to their Satisfaction accomplish'd: But with whom, till I can
-find out what Place is meant by[15]ΟΛΟΓΕΣΙΑΔΑ, I must remain Ignorant.
-I am unwilling to entertain any Thoughts of _Getia_ in _Macedonia_,
-or of _Olgassus_, a Place mentioned by _Strabo_ in _Bythinia_, which
-comes a little nearer the Name, being both so remote, and the City of
-_Tadmor_ ill contrived for a Place of Trade, being far from the Sea,
-and without the Advantage of any River. Yet the Magnificence of the
-Place shews they have not wanted Riches among them: And their Salt is
-a Commodity which still brings them in a considerable Advantage. The
-Order of the Numeral Letters you may take notice is again inverted; but
-taking them the right way, the Year 558 falls in with the last Year of
-the Reign of _Alexander Severus_, which is of our Lord 234.
-
-About the middle of the Piazza, upon another Pillar, was this following
-Inscription.
-
-Η ΒΟΥΛΗ ΚΑΙ Ο ΔΗΜΟΣ ΙΟΥΛΙΟΝ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΝ ΖΗΝΟΒΙΟΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΖΑΒΔΙΛΑΝ
-ΔΙΣΜΑΛΧΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΝΑΣΣΟΥΜΟΥ ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΗΣΑΝΤΑ ΕΝ ΕΠΙΔΗΜΙΑ ΘΕΟΥ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΚΑΙ
-ΥΠΗΡΕΤΗΣΑΝΤΑ ΠΑΡΟΥΣΙΑ ΔΙΗΝΕΚΕΙ ΡΟΥΤΙΛΛΙΟΥ ΚΡΙΣΠΕΙΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΗΓΗΣΑΜΕΝΟΥ ΚΑΙ
-ΕΠΙΔΗΜΗΣΑΣΑΙΣ ΟΥΗΞΙΛΛΑΤΙΟΣΙΝ ΑΓΟΡΑΝΟΜΗΣΑΝΤΑΤΕ ΚΑΙ ΟΥΚΟΝΙΣΩΝΑ ΦΕΙΔΗΣΑΝΤΑ
-ΧΡΗΜΑΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΛΩΣ ΠΟΛΕΙΤΕΥΣΑΜΕΝΟΝ ΩΣ ΔΙΑ ΤΑΥΤΑ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΗΘΕΝΤΑ ΥΠΟ ΘΕΟΥ
-ΙΑΡΙΒΩΛΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΥΠΟ ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ ....... ΤΟΥ ΕΞΟΧΩΤΑΤΟΥ ΕΠΑΡΧΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΙΕΡΟΥ
-ΠΡΑΙΤΩΡΙΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΣ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΡΙΝ ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΔΝΦ.
-
-This is as perfect an Inscription as any I met with, by the help of
-which we may make a Judgment of all the rest; at least thus far, that
-they were put up in Memory of some, who had behaved themselves, in
-those publick Offices they bore, either in their own Republick, or
-under the _Romans_, with Commendation; this being a Publick Place,
-where their Names and worthy Actions were Recorded and Transmitted to
-Posterity. What I further observed particularly in this, was the want
-of the Name after ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ, and took notice of the like space vacant in
-the other Language under it; and in both places it seemed to be not
-worn out with Time, but voluntarily scratch'd out. Which confirms me
-in the Opinion that they are both one, and that the unknown was the
-Vulgar, as the _Greek_ was the learned Language of the Place. Upon
-another Pillar in the same Walk was this.
-
-ΣΕΠΤΙΜΙΟΝ ΟΥΟΡΩΔΗΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΟΝ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΟΝ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ ΔΟΥΚΗΝΑΡΙΟΝ ΚΑΙ
-ΑΡΟΑΠΕΤΗΝ ΙΟΥΛΙΟΣ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΣ ΕΑΛΜΗΣ ΚΑΣΣΙΑΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ Μ(Ε)ΛΕΝΑΙΟΥ ΙΠΠΕΥΣ
-ΡΩΜΑΙΩΝ ΤΟΝ ΦΙΛΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΣΤΑΤΗΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ Η Ο Φ ... ΜΗΝΕΙ (Ξ)ΑΝΔΙΚΩ.
-
-From another Pillar in the same Piazza was Transcribed this broken
-Inscription which follows, which I have endeavoured to make up from the
-former, believing them in substance the very same, with some little
-Alteration of Names.
-
-ΣΕΠΤΙΜ(ΙΟΝ ΟΥΟΡΩΔΗΝ) ΤΟΝ ΚΡΑ(ΤΙΣΤΟΝ ΕΠΙΤΡΟ)ΠΟΝ ΣΕΒΑΣ(ΤΟΥ ΔΟΥΚ)ΗΝΑΡΙΟΝ
-ΚΑ[Ι ΑΡΟΑΠΕ]ΤΗΝ ΙΟΥΛΙΟΣ ΑΥ[ΡΗΛΙ]ΟΣ Ε[ΑΛΜΗΣ] ΠΥΙΛΣΟΣ Μ[ΕΛΕΝΑΙ]ΟΣ ΜΑΛΩΧΑ
-ΝΑΣΣΟΥΜΟ[Υ] Ο ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΟΣ ΤΟΝ [ΦΙΛΟΝ] ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΣΤΑΤΗΝ ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΕΝΕΚΕΝ
-ΕΤΟΥΣ ... [ΜΗΝΕΙ Ξ]ΑΝΔΙΚΩ.
-
-This is so like the preceeding, that I thought I might fairly take the
-Liberty to make these Additions to it. And what we may Collect from
-both, and divers others of a like Import, is, That as the State, the
-Senate, and People, did sometimes Honour those that had been in Publick
-Trust, with Inscriptions upon these Pillars: So when this was not done
-by them, private Persons had the Liberty to do the same for their
-Friends. And I shall give you an Instance by and by of one Engraven
-by a Husband in Memory of his Wife. Upon several of these Pillars are
-little Pedestals jetting out about the middle of them, sometimes one
-way only, and sometimes more, which seem to have been the Bases or
-standing Places of Statues. But none of these are remaining; neither
-is it to be expected they should, in a place which has been so long in
-the Hands of the _Turks_. On these Pedestals we saw many Inscriptions,
-sometimes when there were none upon the Body of the Pillar, and
-sometimes when there were. As for Instance this that follows upon the
-Pedestal, thus.
-
-ΣΕΠΤΙΜΙΟΝ ΑΙΡΑΝΗΝ ΟΔΑΙΝΟΘΟΥ ΤΟΝ ΛΑΜΠΡΟΤΑΤΟΝ ΣΥΝΚΛΗΤΙΚΟΝ. And upon the
-Body of the Pillar this Imperfect one; which I dare not venture to fill
-up, but shall give it you as we found it.
-
-ΕΞΑ......ΝΤΩΝ ΑΥΡΗΛΙ.....Ρ ΗΛΙΟΔΩΡ..... ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩΤΗΣ ΛΕ.......ΚΗΣ ΤΩΝ
-ΠΑΤΡΩΝ ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΙΑΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΓΞΦ.
-
-We see they esteemed it very Honourable to have their Memories
-preserved after this manner; but it is but little Knowledge of them
-we can get from hence, save now and then the Time when they lived. As
-here, 563 Years after the Death of _Alexander_ reach to the Year of our
-Lord 239. Another Inscription in the same Piazza was thus.
-
-Η ΒΟΥΛ[Η ΚΑΙ Ο ΔΗ]ΜΟΣ ΣΕΠΤΙΜΙΟΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΟΝ Ε[ΠΙΤΡΟΠΟΝ Σ]ΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ
-ΔΟΥΚΗΝ[ΑΡΙΟΝ] ....ΕΟΔΟΤΗΝ ΤΗΣ ΜΗΤ[ΡΟΚΟΛΩ]ΝΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΑΚΟΜΙΣΑ(ΝΤΑ Τ)ΑΣ
-ΣΥΝΟΔΙΑΣ ΕΞ ΙΔΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΗΘΕΝΤΑ ΥΠΟ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΧΕΜΠΟΡΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΛΑΜΠΡΩΣ
-ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΗΣΑΝΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΟΡΑΝΟΜΗΣΑΝΤΑ ΤΗΣ ΑΥΤΗΣ ΜΗΤΡΟΚΟΛΩΝΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΛΕΙΣΤΑ
-ΟΙΚΟΘΕΝ ΑΝΑΛΩΣΑΝΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΑΡΕΣΑΝΤΑ ΤΗ ΤΕ ΑΥΤΗ ΒΟΥΛΗ ΚΑΙ ΤΩ ΔΗΜΩ ΚΑΙ ΝΥΝΕΙ
-ΛΑΜΠΡΩΣ ΣΥΜΠΟΣΙΑΡΧΟΝ ΤΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΔΙΟΣ ΒΗΛΟΥ ΙΕ[Ρ]ΩΝ ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΕΝΕΚΕΝ ΕΤ.....
-ΞΑΝΔΙΚΩ.
-
-This affords a sufficient confirmation of what I before observed, that
-these were Honorary Inscriptions in Memory of those that had behaved
-themselves well in Publick Offices; of which we have several mentioned
-here, whereof some are very well known, but the others not easie to
-be met with in Books. By the Word ΜΗΤΡΟΚΟΛΩΝΕΙΑΣ, we may be assured
-that though the City was reduced by the _Romans_ into the form of a
-Colony, yet it had a peculiar mark of Honour set upon it, to signifie
-that it was the chief of their Colonies in these Oriental Parts. That
-the Authority also of their Senate and People was continued to them.
-And besides that there was a Society of Men, either Curators of the
-Temple of _Jupiter Belus_ (to whom the Temple before described perhaps
-was dedicated,) or Overseers of the Sports and Festivals that were
-celebrated in Honour of him; of which Sodality this _Septimius_ was,
-when this Inscription was made, a _Symposiarch_, perhaps their Chief
-and Governour. By this too we find they did not wait for the Deaths of
-those they thus honoured, before they provided for the Preservation of
-their Memories; but Famous Men were thus Registered for After-Ages even
-while they were alive. Upon one of these Pedestals before described,
-not far from the former, was the following Inscription; which I valued
-the more for the little remainder it has preserved of the Name of
-_Palmyra_, by which the Place was known to the _Romans_.
-
-...ΥΠΙΛΙΟΝ ΟΥΟΡΩΔΗΝ [ΣΥΝΚΛ]ΗΤΙΚΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΒΟΥΛΕΥΤΗΝ ΠΑΛΜΥΡΗΝΟΝ ΒΗΛΑ
-ΚΑΒΟΣΑΡΣΑ ΤΟΝ ΦΙ[ΛΟΝ] ΤΕΙΜΗΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ Ο Φ.
-
-[Sidenote: The Banquetting-House.]
-
-The upper end of this spacious Piazza was shut in by a row of Pillars,
-standing somewhat closer than those on each side; and perhaps there
-might have been a kind of Banquetting-House above, but now no certain
-Footsteps thereof remain. But a little farther to the left Hand, and,
-it may be, continued with the former Walk, lie the Ruins of a very
-stately Building, which I am apt to believe might have been for such
-an use. 'Tis built of better Marble, and has an Air of Delicacy and
-Exquisiteness in the Work, beyond what is discernable in the Piazza.
-The Pillars which supported it are of one entire Stone; and on one of
-them that is fallen down, but so firm and strong that it has received
-no Injury thereby, we measured, and found 22 Foot in length, and in
-compass 8 Foot and 9 Inches. Among these Ruins we found the only
-_Latin_ Inscription we saw in the Place, and that so imperfect, there
-is but little of it Intelligible.
-
-_......es Orbis & Propagatores Generis Humani D. D. N. N.
-_Diocletianus_ ............ssimi Impp. Et _Constantius_ & _Maximianus_
-Nobb. Cæs. Castra feliciter condiderunt._
-
-And upon the same Stone a little lower,
-
-_........ntes _Ossiano Hieroclete_, V. P. Præs. Provinciæ D. N. M. O.
-Eorum._ The Name of _Maximianus Hercules_, who was Partner in the
-Empire with _Dioclesian_ which should have followed in the Inscription,
-seems to have been on purpose scratch'd out, and defaced, for what
-reason I cannot guess. The rest is lost by the breaking of the Stone.
-
-[Sidenote: The Palace.]
-
-In the West side of the great Piazza are several openings for Gates
-leading into the Court of the Palace: Two whereof, one would easily
-believe when they were in their Perfection, were the most Magnificent
-and Glorious in the World, both for the Elegancy of the Work in
-general, and particularly for those stately Porphyry Pillars with which
-they were adorned. Each Gate had four, not standing in a Line with the
-others of the Wall, but placed by couples in the Front of the Gate,
-facing the Palace, two on one Hand, and two on the other. Of these
-remain two entire, and but one standing in its place. They are about
-30 Foot in length, and 9 in circumference; of a Substance so exceeding
-hard, that it was with great difficulty we broke off a few shivers to
-bring home with us for a pattern of the Stone, the Art of making which,
-I think is quite lost. We saw several other broken pieces of Porphyry,
-but neither of so accurate a Mixture and Composition, nor so large as
-the former. The hard Fate of one I could not but lament, when I saw it
-debased to support the corner of a little Hut, scarce good enough for a
-Dog-Kennel, or a Hogsty. The Palace it self is so entirely ruined, that
-no Judgment can be made what it was in its Ancient Splendor, either
-for the Figure or Workmanship thereof. There is only here and there
-a broken piece of a Wall remaining, beat into pieces by Violence, and
-consumed by Time to that degree, that without the help of Tradition we
-could hardly be well assured, that a Royal Palace did once fill that
-Space. We may guess however that it fronted the Famous Piazza before
-mentioned, and was surrounded with rows of Pillars of different Orders,
-many of which are still standing, some plain, and some wrought and
-channell'd, as those immediately encompassing the Temple. And upon
-those little Pedestals which stood out of the middle of some of them,
-I observed several Inscriptions, but could not conveniently take more
-than one, which together with the Pillar that supported it was fallen
-to the Ground. 'Twas this.
-
-ΜΑΡΘΕΙΝ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΚΑΠΑΔΗΤΟΥ ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΣΥΜΩΝΟΥ ΣΟΡΑΙΧΟΣ
-ΑΙΡΑΝΟΥ ΑΝΗΡ ΑΥΤΗΣ ΜΝΗΜΗΣ ΕΝΕΚΕΝ ΜΗΝΕΙ ΔΥΣΤΡΩ ΤΟΥ Ϟ Υ ΕΤΟΥΣ.
-
-If the rest were of a like Nature with this, we have lost no great
-matter by not taking them, this being only a Memorial, which a kind
-Husband caused to be set up in Honour of his Wife. The Month _Dystrus_,
-answers our _March_, and the Year 490 from the Death of _Alexander_ the
-Great, the Year of our Lord 166.
-
-I omitted to mention before, that under the long Walk runs a Current
-of hot Sulphureous Waters; and there is a Well and other Passages
-down to them. But whatever they may have been of old, they are not
-now so convenient as another about half a Mile Westward from hence;
-where there is a very good Descent into the Water, and it is still
-used by the People to Bath in. Near to which, upon the Pedestal of a
-broken Pillar, (or perhaps it might be an Altar) remains this following
-Inscription.
-
-ΔΙΙ ΥΨΙΣΤΩ ΜΕΓΙΣΤΩ ΚΑΙ ΕΠΗΚΟΩ ΒΩΛΑΝΟΣ ΖΗΝΟΒΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΙΡΑΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΜΟΚΙΜΟΥ
-ΤΟΥ ΜΑΘΘΑ ΕΠΙ ΜΕΛΕΤΗ ΣΟΗ ΑΙΡΕΘΕΙΣ _ΕΦΚΑΣ_ ΠΗΓΗΣ ΥΠΟ ΙΑΡΙΒΩΛΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΤΟΝ
-ΒΩ [forsan ΒΩΜΟΝ] ΕΞ ΙΔΙΩΝ ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ Δ Ο Υ ΜΗΝΟΣ YΠΕΡΒΕΡΕΤΑΙΟΥ Κ.
-
-I am pretty confident that the Word I have mark'd with a Line under
-it, is rightly taken, and therefore know not what to guess it to be,
-unless the proper Name of the Fountain. And upon that Supposition the
-Inscription is easily Intelligible, shewing that _Bolanus_, Son of
-_Zenobius_, &c. being elected Overseer or Curator of this Fountain,
-under _Jaribolus_, built this Altar to _Jupiter_, in the Year of
-_Alexander_ 474. _i. e._ of our Lord 150. and on the 20_th_ of
-_October_, if the last _Kappa_ be a Numeral, as I suppose it must. But
-who this _Jaribolus_ was, on whom they bestow, as generally upon the
-_Roman_ Emperors, whose Names occur in the Inscriptions, the Title of
-ΘΕΟΣ, is not so facile a Conjecture. They were under the _Parthians_,
-before the _Romans_ fell in amongst them; but the Date shews this to
-be after the time of _Hadrian_, and so after their coming. Nay, and in
-an Inscription before mentioned, which is of a later Date than this by
-88 Years, we have the Name of the same Person. Hot Sulphureous Baths
-are things very frequent in this Country; and thence it was that it
-obtained the Name of _Syria Salutifera_. The scent of the Waters here
-is much like those of _Bath_ in _England_, but not so strong, neither
-is the Taste so offensive. On the contrary, when they have run so far
-from the Fountain, as to become cold, they are very potable, and are
-the only Waters the Inhabitants use. But we, during our stay there,
-sent to a Fountain of very excellent Water, about an hour distant from
-the City.
-
-[Sidenote: The little Temple.]
-
-On the East side likewise of the long Piazza stands, if I may use such
-an Expression, a Wood of Marble Pillars, some perfect, and others
-deprived of their beautiful Capitals; but so scattered and confused,
-that it is not possible to reduce them into any Order, so as to
-conjecture to what they anciently served. In one place are Eleven
-together in Square after this manner
-
-  . . . .
-  .     .
-  .     .
-  . .   .
-
-paved at the bottom with broad flat Stone, but without any Roof or
-Covering. And at a little distance from that stands the Ruins of
-a small Temple, which by the remains seems to have been for the
-Workmanship very curious: But the Roof is wholly gone, and the Walls
-very much defaced and consumed with Time. Before the Entrance which
-looks to the South, is a Piazza supported by six Pillars, two on one
-Hand of the Door, and two on the other, and at each end one. And the
-Pedestals of those in the Front have been filled with Inscriptions,
-both in _Greek_ and the other Language; but they are now so obliterated
-and worn out, as not to be Intelligible. The most perfect was this that
-follows.
-
-ΜΑΛΕΝΤΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΑΝ ΙΑΡΑΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΡΑΑΙΟΥ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΑ ΓΕΝΟΜΕΝΟΝ ΤΟ
-ΔΕΥΤΕΡΟΝ ΕΠΙΔΗΜΙ[Α] ΘΕΟΥ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟΥ ΑΛΙΜΜΑ ΠΑΡΑΣΧΟΤΑ ΞΕΝΟΙΣ ΤΕ, ΚΑΙ
-ΠΟΛΕΙΤΑ[ΙΣ]...... And a little below were these straggling Letters
-visible.
-
-ΕΝΗ....Ν ΥΠΗΡΕΤΗΣΑΝΤΑ ΤΗΤ.... ΣΤΡΑΤΕΥΜΑ ΤΟΥ ... ΥΠΟ....ΗΚΑΙ.....ΤΟΝ
-ΝΑΟΝ ΤΟΝ....ΔΙΟΣ....ΝΤΩΤ......
-
-I should have imagined the ΚΑΙ to have been a Copulative, and
-the second Name _Agrippa_ distinct from the former, but that the
-Words following in the Singular Number, will not admit of such a
-Construction. The Person then in Memory of whom this Inscription was
-made, must have been named _Malentus Cæagrippa_, who bearing such
-an Office as Scribe, or the like, in the Expedition of _Adrian_ the
-Emperor, performed an Act of Publick Benificence and Generosity, both
-to Strangers and Citizens, denoted by the Word[16] ΑΛΙΜΜΑ, or ἄλειμμα,
-which signifies Unction. Perhaps he distributed amongst them Sweet
-Oyls, to be used in or after their Bathings. 'Tis pity what follows is
-so imperfect; and especially that we cannot find out the Date: For that
-might have directed us to the precise time of _Hadrian_'s Expedition
-into these Oriental Parts, where he made great Conquests, and enlarged
-the Bounds of the _Roman_ Empire.
-
-[Sidenote: The Sepulchers.]
-
-But as great a Curiosity as any were their Sepulchers, being Square
-Towers, four or five Stories high, and standing on both sides of a
-hollow way, towards the North part of the City. They stretch out in
-length the space of a Mile, and perhaps formerly might extend a great
-way further. At our first view of them, as we entred the place, we
-could not conjecture what they were; some thought them the Steeples
-of ruined Churches, and were in hopes we should have found some
-footsteps of Christianity here. Others took them to have been Bastions,
-and part of the Old Fortifications, tho' there is not so much as any
-Foundation of a Wall to be seen. But when we came a Day or two after,
-more curiously to enquire into them, we quickly found their use. They
-were all of the same Form, but of different Splendor and Greatness,
-according to the Circumstances of their Founders. The first we viewed
-was entirely Marble; but is now wholly in Ruins, and nothing but a heap
-of broken Stones, among which we found the pieces of two Statues, one
-of a Man, and another of a Woman, cut in a sitting, or rather leaning
-posture; and the Heads and part of the Arms of both being broken off,
-but their Bodies remaining pretty entire; so that we had the Advantage
-of seeing their Habits, which appeared very Noble, but more approaching
-the _European_ Fashion, than what is now in use in the East; which
-inclined me to believe they might be _Romans_. Upon broken pieces of
-Stone tumbled here and there, we found some as broken Inscriptions, but
-not affording any perfect Sense, they are not worth the Transcribing.
-
-Many other Sepulchers there were, as much gone to decay as this, which
-therefore we past by, to go to two, which stood almost opposite to
-one another, and seemed most perfect of any, though not without marks
-of the _Turkish_ Malice. They are two square Towers, rather larger
-than ordinary Steeples, and five Stories high, the outside being of
-common Stone, but the Partitions and Floors within of good Marble;
-and beautified too with very lively Carvings and Paintings, and
-Figures both of Men and Women, as far as the Breast and Shoulders; but
-miserably defac'd and broken. Under these Statues, or by their sides,
-are in the unknown Character, the Names probably of the Persons there
-buried, or by them represented; or else some other Memorials of them.
-We entred one of these by a Door on the South side, from which was a
-Walk cross the whole Building just in the middle. But the Floor was
-broke up, and so gave us a sight of a Vault below, divided after the
-same manner. The Spaces on each Hand were again sub-divided into six
-Partitions by thick Walls, each Partition being capable of receiving
-the largest Corps: And piling them one above another, as their way
-appears to have been, each of those Spaces might contain at least
-six or seven Bodies. For the lowest, second and third Stories, those
-Partitions were uniform, and altogether the same; save from the second
-Floor, which answered the main Entrance, one Partition was reserved
-for a Stair-Case. Higher than this, the Building, being something
-contracted towards the top, would not afford space for the continuation
-of the same Method: Therefore the two uppermost Rooms were not so
-parted, nor perhaps ever had any Bodies lain in them. Unless it was
-that of the Founder alone, whose Statue wrapt up in Funeral Apparel,
-and in a lying Posture, is placed in a Nich, or rather Window in the
-Front of the Monument, so as to be visible both within and without.
-Near to this Statue was the following Inscription.
-
-ΤΟ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΟΝ ΕΚΤΙΣΑΝ ΕΛΑΒΗΛΕΣ ΜΑΝΝΑΙΟΣ ΣΟΧΑΕΙΣ ΜΑΛΧΟΣ ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟΥ ΤΟΥ
-ΜΑΝΝΑΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΕΛΑΒΗΛΟΥ ΑΥΤΩ ΚΑΙ ΥΙΟΙΣ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΔΙΥ ΜΗΝΟΣ ΞΑΝΔΙΚΟΥ.
-
-'Tis a little doubtful whether ΑΥΤΩ should not rather be made ΑΥΤΟΙΣ;
-or else there must be a Fault in the Verb, and all those but the Names
-of one Person. The other Monument on the other side of the way is very
-much like this; only the Front and Entrance are towards the North, and
-'tis not altogether so Polite, nor so well Painted. But the Carvings
-are as good, and it shews altogether as Stately and Magnificent as
-the former. Besides, it has the Advantage in Age of a whole Century
-of Years: As appears from the Date of the following Inscription. 'Tis
-placed above a Nich in the Front, adorned with handsom Borders and
-Cornishes; the place, doubtless, of some Statue, and probably that of
-the Founder.
-
-ΜΝΗΜΕΙΟΝ ΑΙΩΝΙΟΝ ΓΕΡΑΣ ΩΚΟΔΟΜΗΣΕΝ ΓΙΧΟΣ ΜΟΚΙΜΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΚΑΙΛΚΙΑΛΣΙΣΟΥ ΤΟΥ
-ΜΑ......ΟΥ ΕΙΣΤΕ ΕΑΥΤΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΥΙΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΓΓΟΝΟΥΣ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΔΙΤ ΜΗΝΕΙ ΞΑΝΔΙΚΩ.
-
-This is the most Ancient Inscription I met with in _Tadmor_, the 314th.
-Year from the Death of _Alexander_ the Great, preceding the Birth of
-our Saviour about Ten Years. The other also is between Twenty and
-Thirty Years before the Reign of _Hadrian_, and consequently before the
-_Romans_ got footing here. And from these sumptuous Structures, and
-these costly _Mausolæa_, we may reasonably conclude, they were a Potent
-and Opulent People, before they became subject to the _Romans_, and
-were not obliged to them for their Greatness.
-
-And now I believe I have wearied you sufficiently by leading you up
-and down the Ancient and Famous City of _Tadmor_, and giving you so
-dry an Account of our Employment there. After 4 Days stay we returned,
-not the way that we came, but proceeding Eastward towards the River
-_Euphrates_. In our way to which, the third Day, passing though a
-Village called _Tieve_, upon a Stone set wrong End upwards, in the
-midst of the Wall of the Mosch, we met with the following Inscription.
-
-ΔΙΙ ΜΕΓΙΣΤΩ ΚΕΡΑΥΝΙΩ ΥΠΕΡ ΣΩΤΗΡΙΑΣ ΤΡΑ: ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟΥ ΣΕΒ... ΤΟΥ ΚΥΡΙΟΥ
-ΑΓΑΘΑΝΓΕΛΟΣ ΑΒΙΛΗΝΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΔΕΚΑΠΟΛΕΟΣ ΤΗΝ ΚΑΜΑΡΑΝ ΩΚΟΔΟΜΗΣΕΝ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ
-ΚΛΙΝΗ.... ΕΞ ΙΔΙΩΝ ΑΝΕΘΗΚΕΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ ΕΜΥ ΜΗΝΟΣ ΛΩΟΥ.
-
-And under this was another in the same Language and Character we had
-seen at _Tadmor_; I was surprized to find such an Inscription in this
-Place, nor can any way guess how they should come by it: And the
-mention of _Decapolis_ makes me still more in the Dark. If one might
-extend the Bounds of _Decapolis_, as some are said to have done, as
-far as _Cælosyria_, and comprize under this Name again all _Syria_,
-_Phænicia_ only excepted, then need it not be brought from elsewhere,
-but first set up in this Village. But this will not be allowed by those
-who make _Decapolis_ only a part of _Palestine_. The Matter of Fact it
-contains is only an Account of the Magnificence of this _Agathangelus
-Abilenus_, whoever he was; who for the safety of the Emperor _Hadrian_,
-erected at his own Charges, and Dedicated to _Jupiter_ the Thunderer, a
-Royal Banquetting-House, (for so I take [17]ΚΑΜΑΡΑ to signifie) and a
-Bed of State; for after ΚΛΙΝΗ there is doubtless a Letter omitted, and
-it ought to be ΚΛΙΝΗΝ. The Date 445 agrees to the Year of our Lord 123.
-which was the seventh of the Reign of _Hadrian_. And the Month ΛΩΟΣ is
-our _August_.
-
-[Sidenote: _Arsoffa._]
-
-The next Day we past by the Ruins of a large Monastery of the
-_Maronites_, as I guess it to have been by an Inscription we met with
-upon the Capitals of several Marble Pillars, which supported the middle
-Isle of a handsome Church, which was to this effect.
-
-† ΕΠΙ ΣΕΡΓΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟ. ΤΟΥ ΣΥΝΓΕΝ~ ΜΑΡΩΝΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΧΩΡΕΠΙΣΚΟ.
-
-From thence we past on, and came the same Night to _Euphrates_, and
-having travelled two Days on the Banks of that Famous River, we came to
-the Tents of the King of the _Arabs_, who had furnish'd us with a Guide
-for our Voyage. With him we remained two Nights, and in two Days Travel
-more came back safe to _Aleppo_, having been out in the whole just 18
-Days.
-
-_The Reverend and Learned Author of this Account, cannot with Justice
-be censured, if some Minute Particulars of the History of this Place,
-have escaped his Memory, being obliged to write without recourse to the
-Books proper for his purpose, which were not to be had in that Country.
-We have since procured a Curious Prospect of these Noble Ruins, taken
-on the Place; which, with some further Remarks thereon, are here
-Published._
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[14] This _Assyne_ was in the Year of our Lord 1693. Deposed by the
-_Turks_, and one _Dor_ advanced to fill his place; so that now he is
-constrained to live upon Rapine, being followed by a considerable
-Number of Men, who delight not to Labour, nor to live under any settled
-Government.
-
-[15] 'Tis not improbable that ΟΛΟΓΕΣΙΑΣ might have been the Name of a
-Person. _Vologeses_ is a known Name in History among the _Parthian_
-Kings; to which the other seems to bear a great Affinity.
-
-[16] _Plin. Secun. Ep. l._ 2. Tells us of one, who was accused of an
-Illegal Exaction of Money from a Province, _Titulo Unguentarii_; now
-what was in that case unjustly exacted, might be in this a Voluntary
-Donation, not of the Province to the Governour, but of a great Man to
-the People. Or else _Unguentarium_ may be supposed to be a Donative,
-like _Clavarium_ or _Culinarium_, used sometimes by the _Romans_.
-
-[17] This Word I find both in _Tacitus_ and _Strabo_, used for a kind
-of Ships or Boats, long, narrow, light, and capable of receiving 20, or
-at most 30 Men; but what they should do with Boats in an Inland Town,
-without either River or Lake near it, I cannot imagine. I rather adhere
-to the other signification.
-
-
-
-
-  _An Extract of the Journals of two several Voyages of the _English
-    Merchants_ of the Factory of _Aleppo_, to _Tadmor_, anciently
-    call'd _Palmyra_._
-
-
-Our Merchants of this worthy Factory, being generally Men of more than
-ordinary Birth and Education, have not been wanting (as the intervals
-of leisure from their gainful Traffick would permit) to make Voyages of
-Curiosity, to visit the celebrated Remains of Antiquity in those Parts,
-whereby the once flourishing State of the World, under the _Roman
-Empire_, is abundantly evinced. And being inform'd by the Natives,
-that the Ruins of the City of _Tadmor_ were more considerable than any
-they had yet seen, they were tempted to enterprize this hazardous and
-painful Voyage over the _Desart_; but having been, by the perfidy of
-the _Arabs_, disappointed of their Desires in their first Attempt, they
-were obliged to defer their Curiosity, till they could better provide
-for their Security: whereof being assured, from the Confidence some of
-them had in the Friendship of _Assyne_ then King of the _Arabs_, they
-adventured again, in the Year 1691, and had full liberty to visit,
-observe and transcribe what they pleased.
-
-[Illustration: _A View of the Ruines of =Palmyra= alias =Tadmor=, taken
-on the Southern Side._]
-
-What Account they there took, the Publick has already seen in our
-Last, since which, by the Favour of Mr. _Timothy Lanoy_ and Mr. _Aaron
-Goodyear_, two very Eminent Merchants, who were both in the first
-Voyage, we have received not only the Draught of the Prospect of those
-noble Ruins, taken upon the Place, (of which we here give a Copy,) but
-also the Journals of both the Voyages; which, for the Satisfaction of
-the Curious, we have thought fit to Publish.
-
-
-_The first Voyage_, Anno 1678.
-
-_July 18._ at Five in the Morning, we set out from _Aleppo_, being
-sixteen _English_; but with Servants and Mulettiers in all forty; and
-in four Hours and an half, travelling South by East, we arrived at a
-Village call'd _Cafferabite_, being at the edge of the Desart, here we
-reposed the rest of that Day.
-
-_July 19._ we rose at one in the Morning, and directed our Course S. S.
-E. over the Desart, for a Fountain call'd _Churraick_; but our Guide
-losing his Way, there being no Path, 'twas near Noon before we found
-it: which made us doubt of our Safety. This Well has no Signs near it
-to discover it by. Here we pitch'd our Tents, and refresh'd our Selves
-and Horses; and the Water being of a Purgative Quality, made us some
-Diversion. In our way, we found two _Arabs_ with two Asses, one whereof
-carried Water and a little Bread, the other they rod on by turns; they
-had one Gun, with which they they shot Antelopes, the Bullet being a
-hard Stone broken round, and cased with Lead; they had on the Palms
-of their Hands, Elbows, Knees and Feet, some Antelope-Skin tied, that
-they may be able to creep the better on the Ground, to Shoot; one of
-the Asses walking by as a Stalking-horse, and the _Arab_ imitating the
-Cry of the Gazel till he get within Shot: These _Arabs_ are called
-_Selebee_. At the Well came to us some _Arabs_ that were making Ashes
-of the ordinary sort of Weeds call'd _Chuddraife_, _Ruggot_ and
-_Cuttaff_; these they cut and dry, and putting them into a Pit, set
-Fire to them, and the Ashes cake at the bottom. The Ashes they carry to
-_Eglib_ and _Tripoli_, to make Soap of: But the best sort of Ashes are
-made of the Weed _Shinon_, which grows about _Tadmor_, _Soukny_, _Tibe_
-and _Yarecca_; it grows like Broom in _England_, and in Shape resembles
-Coral.
-
-_July 20._ we rose at four in the Morning, and Travelling two Hours E.
-S. E. we arrived at _Andrene_, where we found the Ruins of two or three
-Churches, and of a great Town lying in a large Plain; where having
-tarried about an Hour and an half, and taken some fragments of Greek
-Inscriptions, which afforded no certain Sense, but yet were evidently
-Christian, we march'd again S. by E. and in about four Hours time
-came to a pleasant Aqueduct call'd _Sheck-alal_; this Aqueduct is cut
-through the main Rock, for a great way from the Mountains; and where
-it ends, the _Arabs_ have made a Garden, which afforded us Melons,
-Cucumbers, Purslain, _&c._ In a Grotto hard by, there dwelt an _Arab_
-with his Family; he had a dozen _Buffalo's_, which they used both for
-their Milk, and to Plow the Ground, Sowing both Wheat, and Barly:
-Hither the _Arabs_ resort, when they have committed any Robbery about
-_Aleppo_, or _Hama_, and here they repose, and divide the Spoil.
-
-_July 21._ we rose at four in the Morning, and riding two Hours South,
-we came to a Ruin call'd _Briadeen_; here we found the following
-Inscription on a Stone, good part in the Ground:
-
-                   ΑΦΙΕΡΩΘΗ ΑΑΙΛΥΝΔΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΜΦ ΕΤΟΥΣ
-              ΔΙΑ ΜΑΤΕΡΝΟΥ ΚΑ(Ι Π)ΑΠΠΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΜΑΙΚΟΥ ΚΝΕΤΜΝ
-                         -------- Υ -------- Ν
-
-From hence going South-East, in four Hours more we came to a Well
-called _Costal_ (which signifies a _Spring in Arab_.) Most part of
-our way through the Desart we were troubled with _Rat-holes_ in great
-numbers, like Coneyboroughs, which by the sinking in of the Earth, very
-much incommoded our Horses and Mules. These _Rats_ have at the ends of
-their Tails a bush of Hair, and the _Arabs_ eat them all, excepting one
-part. From this Well we arose about four in the Afternoon, and began to
-ascend small Hills, covered with Trees, which, for the most part, were
-the small _Pistacho_'s which the _Arabs_ pickle with Salt; but eaten
-green, are good to quench Thirst. We travelled on three Hours up the
-Hills, where we pitch'd that Night, having no other Water but what we
-carry'd with us; and at Night we had a small Shower of Rain, a thing
-unusual in that Country at that time of the Year.
-
-_July 22._ we rose by Two in the Morning, and Travelling E. S. E.
-we came by Eleven to a Well call'd _G'hor_, where we found it very
-Hot, and saw several prints of Horses Feet, so that we suspected some
-_Arabs_ had newly past that way.
-
-_July 23._ we rose by One in the Morning, and Travelling most East,
-we came to a large Plain, where we saw before us, on a high Mountain,
-a great Castle, call'd by the _Arabs_ _Anture_. When we had travelled
-two or three Hours in this Plain, we espied an _Arab_ driving towards
-us a Camel, with his Launce, so fast, that he came on a round Gallop,
-and we supposed him sent as a Spy: being come up to us, he told us he
-was of _Tadmor_, and that his Prince, the _Emir Melkam_, had that Day
-made Friendship with _Hamet Shideed_ another Prince, and that together
-they had four hundred Men; so he kept us Company an Hour or two, and
-enquired of our _Mulettiers_ if we were not _Turks_ disguised, with
-intent to seize on _Melkam_; for we travelled with a _Bandiero_, the
-Impress being a _Hanjarr_ or _Turkish_ Dagger, and a Half-Moon. We told
-him we were _Franks_, which he could hardly believe, wondering that we
-travelled thus in the Desart, only out of Curiosity. Being come near to
-_Tadmor_, he went a little before us, and on a sudden run full speed
-towards the Ruins, we not endeavouring to hinder him. Our Guide told
-us he was gone to acquaint the _Arabs_ who we were, and that we ought
-to suspect and prepare for the worst; so we dismounted twenty of our
-Servants, each having a long Gun, and Pistols at his Girdle, and placed
-them abreast before us: we following at a little distance behind, on
-Horse-back, with Carbines and Pistols. In this order we proceeded, and
-came to a most stately _Aqueduct_, which runs under Ground in a direct
-passage five Miles, and is covered with an Arch of Bastard Marble
-all the Way, and a Path on both sides the Channel for two Persons to
-walk abreast; the Channel it self being about an _English_ Yard in
-breadth, and ¾ of a Yard in depth. At 20 Yards distance all the way
-are Ventiducts for the Air to pass, and the holes are surrounded with
-small Mounts of Earth to keep the Sand and Dust from falling down.
-We marched close by these Mounts, which might serve us for Defence,
-expecting every moment that the _Arabs_ would come to Assail us, having
-the disadvantage of Sun and Wind in our Faces: wherefore we Travelled
-hard to gain an Eminence where we might Post our selves advantageously,
-and stop and repose a little, to consider what we had to do. The
-_Arabs_ finding us to come on with this Order and Resolution, thought
-not fit to adventure on us, so we gained the Hill, from whence we might
-discern these vast and noble Ruins, having a Plain like a Sea for
-greatness to the Southwards of it. Here having refresh'd our Men, we
-fetch'd a little Compass and descended by the foot of a Mountain, on
-which stands a great Castle, but uninhabited. Here two _Arabs_ came to
-us with Lances, one being Chiah to _Melkam_, and we sent two to meet
-them; they gave the _Salam alika_, and ours returned the _Alica salam_,
-and advancing to our Company, told us the _Emir_ had understood of our
-coming, and had sent them to acquaint us that he was our Friend, and
-that all the Country was ours. We sent back with them our _Janizary_
-and a Servant to visit the Prince in his Tents, which were in a Garden.
-In the mean time we dismounted at a watering Place amidst the Ruins,
-but did not unload till our _Janizary_ and Servant returned with the
-_Emir's Tescarr_, assuring us of Friendship and Protection, a Writing
-which the _Arabs_ were never known to violate before. With them came
-also one that belonged to the _Sheck_ of the Town, for whom we had
-Letters from _Useffe Aga_ the _Emeer_ of _Aleppo_. He desired us for
-greater Security to pitch our Tents under the Town Walls, which is
-in the Ruins of a great Palace, the Wall yet standing very high, the
-Town within but small, and the Houses excepting two or three no better
-than Hog-sties. So we pitched in a deep Sandy Ground where we found it
-exceeding hot. Here we waited till three of the Clock without eating
-any thing, expecting the _Sheck_ should have presented us according to
-the usual Custom of the _Turks_ to their Friends, and have given some
-answer to the Letters we brought him; but on the contrary we found
-by the gesture of the People, that we had Reason to suspect them.
-Hereupon two of our Company believing that the want of a present to
-the _Emir_ was the cause thereof resolved to adventure to give him a
-Visit, and taking the _Janizary_ and one Servant, they carried him a
-Present of two pieces of Red Cloath, and four of Green, and several
-other things: Being come he welcomed them into his Tent, and placed the
-one on his right Hand and the other on his left. _Melkam_ was a young
-Man, not above Five and Twenty, and well Featur'd, and a most Excellent
-Horse-man; _Hamet Shideed_, the other Prince, was more elderly, as
-about forty Years of Age, and was not in the Tent, but sat under a
-_Palm-Tree_ near it. He treated them with _Coffee_, _Camel's-flesh_
-and _Dates_, and enquired of their Journey, and the Cause of their
-coming: They told him 'twas only Curiosity to see those Ruins; he said
-that formerly _Solomon Ibnel Doud_ Built a City in that Place, which
-being destroyed, was Built again by a strange People, and he believed,
-that we understanding the Writing on the Pillars, came to seek after
-Treasure, he having but six Moons before found a Pot of _Corra
-Crusses_. After this he went out of the Tent, leaving them smoaking
-Tobacco, to the _Janizary_ and Servant, and told them, that never till
-that Day any _Franks_ had been at that Place, and that now we knew the
-way through the Desert, we might inform the _Turks_ to their Ruin and
-Destruction, so that 'twould be convenient for them to destroy us all:
-But that we coming as Friends, he would only have 4000 Dollars as a
-Present, else he would hang them and the two _Franks_ up, and go fight
-the rest. This Message being brought them, they wish'd they had excus'd
-themselves from this Embassy, and answered, they could say nothing to
-that Demand, not knowing our Minds, but if he would permit them to go
-and speak with the rest, they would return an Answer. Hearing this, he
-threatened present Death, but at length gave leave to our _Janizary_
-to carry us a Letter from them, wherein they shewed the danger they
-were in, and earnestly entreated us to redeem them, the Price set on
-them being 2000 Dollars, one half in Mony, the other half in Goods, as
-Swords, Cloaths, Tents, _&c._ which the _Emir_ promised to estimate at
-their Worth.
-
-This Letter amazed us mightily, and a little before it arrived,
-we understanding a little, and fearing more ill Treatment to our
-Friends, were getting ready to free them or die with them. The Garden
-where _Melkam_ lay, was about half a Mile from the Tents, full of
-_Palm-Trees_, and had no Walls, but loose Stones piled up Breast high
-about them, so we designed to have gone suddenly and given two or three
-Volleys on them, e'er they could get to Horse; and the _Arab_ know not
-how to Fight on Foot. And though they bragg'd they had 400 Men, we
-supposed 200 might be the most, and they not all Lances. But on receipt
-of this Letter, and the Servants telling us that they would certainly
-be cut off, if we endeavoured their Rescue, we began to examin what
-Moneys we had, Cloaths and other Trade, and found we could not near
-make up that Sum. In this Confusion came two _Arabs_ to receive the
-things, and immediately Word was brought that the _Emir_ would come
-and Visit us; we sent him Word, that if he came with more than two
-followers, we would not admit him: so he came with 2 Servants only; and
-in conclusion, we made him up in Money and Goods to the Value of 1500
-Dollars. He valuing our Things as we pleased; his Design being not so
-much to compleat the Sum, as to take from us all we had. After this,
-about Sun Set, he returned us our two Friends, when the _Sheck_ of the
-Town invited us to Lodge within the Town; which we found afterwards
-was with a design to have forced something from us: But we giving him
-to understand that the Emir had taken all already, and had left us
-only our Arms and the Cloaths on our Backs; which if they would have,
-they must Fight for: That Resolution daunted them, and away they went,
-promising us Barley for our Horses in the Morning. We kept good watch
-in the Night, and when Day broke, we began to consider how to clear our
-selves; we expected the Barly till Nine in the Morning, when it came,
-and the Emir himself came and gave us the good Morrow: We feared least
-they should pretend to stop some of us in the Gate-way, so we placed
-six of our Company to secure the Passage, 'till all the rest were got
-out, under pretence of taking an Inscription that was over the Gate.
-Being all got clear, we returned by the same way we came and arrived at
-_Aleppo_ _July 29._ in the Morning. This _Melkam_ told us, That if we
-had not submitted our selves to his Demands, he was resolved to Fight
-us after this Method: Loading 50 Camels with Baggs of Sand, and making
-small holes in the Baggs for the Sand to drop out, he would drive
-these Camels abreast upon us before the Wind, that the Sand might blow
-in our Eyes, and we spending our Bullets on the Camels, might so be
-easily overthrown; we answered, that we believed he would not venture
-his Camels and Horses to such a Combat. He wondered extreamly when we
-talk'd of Shooting Birds flying, and Hares running.
-
-This and other the like Violences used by this _Arab_ Prince, made
-the _Bassa_ of _Aleppo_ resolve to destroy him; and not long after he
-cajoled him with the Hopes of being made King of the _Arabs_, and to
-draw him near the City, he vested and caressed some of his Followers:
-Which having its effect, the _Bassa_ surprized him in his Tents by
-Night, and soon after he was put to Death: This those People were
-willing to believe the effect of their so abusing the _English_, and
-might much contribute to the Security and good Usage they found, that
-went the second time on this Expedition.
-
-We had not time to view these Ruins by reason of this usage, though
-perhaps we might with safety. We only took one of the Inscriptions as
-we past by, which was thus.
-
-ΣΕΠΤΙΜΙΟΝ ΟΥΟΡΟΔΗΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΟΝ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΟΝ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ ΔΟΥΚΗΝΑΡΙΟΝ ΚΑΙ
-ΑΡ..ΑΠΗΤΗΝ ΙΟΥΛΙΟΣ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΣ ΣΑΝΜΗΣ ΜΑΣΣΙΑΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ Μ..ΛΕΝΑΙΟΥ ΙΠΠΕΥΣ
-ΡΟΥΜΑΩΝ ΤΟΝ ΦΙΛΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΡΟΣΤΑΤΗΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ Η Ο Φ ΜΗΝΕΙ ΞΑΝΔΙΚΩ.
-
-Wherein the principal difference is in the Word ἀραπήτην, which
-in the Account already Published is read ἀράπετην, which seems to
-signifie some peculiar Officer of the _Syrians_, as _Ducenarius_ of
-the _Latins_, which perhaps those skill'd in the Oriental Customs and
-Languages may be able to expound.
-
-As far as we could conclude from our Journeys, and the Position of
-the Ways taken by two good Compasses, the Distance of _Tadmor_ from
-_Aleppo_ is about a 150 English Miles, and the Course S. S. E. or
-rather somewhat more Southerly, considering the Variation of the
-Compass, which is above a half a Point Westward in these Parts.
-
-
-_The second Voyage_, Anno 1691.
-
-We set out from _Aleppo_ for _Tadmor_ on _Michaelmas-day_, being in
-all, Masters and Servants, thirty Men, well armed, having obtained
-a Promise of Security from _Assyne_, then King of the _Arabs_, and
-one of his own People for a Guide. This Day our Road pointed S. b.
-E. and in four Hours we came to a Fountain call'd _Caphir-Abiad_,
-leaving Old _Aleppo_ about an Hour distant on the right Hand: Here we
-made but a very short stay, but proceeded to a better Fountain at the
-foot of a very high Hill, cover'd with loose Stones, the Ruins of a
-Village called _Broeder_, of which there was not one House remaining;
-and dining here, we advanced in an Hour and a quarter more, in the
-Afternoon, through a fertile open Place, to a Place called _Emghir_,
-famous for the best Wheat that is brought to _Aleppo_. This we made
-our first Stage; and mounting again in the Morning about five a Clock,
-in less than an Hour, past by an uninhabited Village, call'd _Urghee_,
-our Road pointing as before, through the fruitful Plain, even and
-pleasant; but when we came to ascend the Hills, where I reckon'd we
-entred the Desart, and were to take our leave of Mankind, at least of
-an inhabited Country for some Days, we had a troublesome Passage, over
-loose great Stones, without any appearance of a Road.
-
-Our Guide had promised to conduct us through pleasant Groves and
-Forests; but no such thing appeared, unless we would bestow that Name
-upon low withered Shrubs that grew in the Way, only one Tree we saw,
-which was of good use to us, serving as a Land-mark; and when we were
-come up with it, being left at a little distance on the right Hand,
-we gain'd the Prospect of a remote ridge of Hills before us, and on
-the top of one of them an old Castle; this Castle, we were told, was
-known by the Name of _Gazar Ibn Wordan_; but what it anciently was, or
-in what Condition it is at present, I could not learn; therefore, not
-unwillingly, I turned my Eyes from it, to a little round Hill more on
-the left, by which we were to direct our Course, and about a quarter of
-an Hour from which stood a Sheck's House, call'd _Sheck Ailha_, where
-we were to bait, with a Well of Water by it, but such that we had but
-little _gusto_ to taste, though it served our Horses: All the Country
-hereabouts is stor'd with _Antelopes_, and there is a barbarous sort
-of People there, that have hardly any thing else to live upon, but what
-of these they can kill; and Necessity has taught them to be no mean
-Artists in their way, for they lie down behind the Stones, and as the
-poor harmless Creature passes, shoot them; and though their Guns be
-very ordinary, exceeding heavy and thick, with Match-Locks, yet are
-they such excellent Marks-men, that they kill many. That Morning we
-had Travelled about five Hours to reach _Sheck Ailha_'s; yet finding
-nothing to invite our stay there, (though there were four or five Tombs
-there not ill made, according to the _Turkish_ mode) about one a Clock
-we mounted again, bending to the S. E. or something more Easterly. In
-our way we had two remarkable Prospects, one on the right Hand, of the
-Ruins of an ancient City call'd _Andreen_, and sometimes _Londrine_,
-which we were told had been formerly inhabited by _Franks_, and that
-there were many Inscriptions there; but it was too far out of our way,
-and withal something too dangerous too, for us to take a view of them:
-The other, on the left Hand, was another Tree, not far from which
-our Guide assured us of good Water, where we designed to take up our
-Lodging; the hopes of the Water made us slight a Well we past by on
-the Road, at which afterwards we repented we had not stay'd; for when
-we came up with the Tree, from which we had declined a great way to
-the right, we found our Water still at a very great distance, and were
-constrained to take new Directions by a white chalky Hill, almost as
-far as we could see, and yet not much beyond the Place which was to
-be our Stage; on therefore we proceeded till Sun-set, very weary, and
-almost without hope of our coming to Water that Night, though at the
-same time near dead with Thirst; and which the more supriz'd us, our
-Guide was advanced a great way before, out of our sight, upon what
-design we knew not, but at his return, we found it was only to assure
-himself better of the way, and in an Hours time more he brought us to
-the side of a Bog, call'd by the Name of _Zerga_, where, such as it
-was, we found Water enough, but it was neither palatable nor wholsome,
-neither did the Ground seem proper to Sleep upon; yet we were forced to
-be content, there being no removing thence that Night.
-
-_October 1._ We departed from _Zerga_, about two Hours before Sun-rise,
-and as soon as it was light, had the Prospect of a very high Hill,
-which was to be the bounds of our Travel that Day. To this we made as
-directly as we could look, finding nothing in our way observable either
-to arrest our curiosity, or to slacken our Pace, except a multitude of
-Holes made in the sandy Earth, by Rats, Serpents, and other Animals,
-which render'd our Riding a little troublesome; as we had found it
-upon the same Account the Afternoon before. About two Hours short of
-our Stage, we were shewn three little round Hills lying to the right
-in a direct line, known by the Name of _Tenage_; where we were told
-there was good Water, and it's for that reason only they deserve the
-notice of those that Travel through such a thirsty Desart. The Place to
-which we directed our Course was called _Esree_, where we arrived about
-eleven a Clock, and found to our great Satisfaction, that our Guide
-had not deceived us in his Promise of excellent Water: Here we could
-discern the Foundations of a spacious City, and a piece of a thick
-Wall, built of a chalky Stone, was standing: This we judged to be the
-remainder of a Castle situated on the side of the Hill, so as both to
-defend and command the City. On the top of the Hill, above the Castle,
-stands the Ruins of a Fabrick, in appearance very Ancient, built of
-very hard Stone, yet exceedingly worn by the Weather; 'tis of an
-oblong Figure, pointing near to the N. E. and S. W. with only one Door
-on the Easterly end, which was once adorned with extraordinary good
-Carvings, of which there are still some remains, but the greatest part
-is either worn away, or purposely defaced; and those marks of ancient
-Beauty that remain are very obscure, and difficultly discernable; the
-outside of the Walls is beautified with Pilasters quite round, with
-their Pedestals and Capitals regular and handsom; but the Roof is
-all fallen down, and within appears nothing which looks either great
-or beautiful. The Situation, and placing the Door, hinders one from
-conjecturing it to have been a Christian Oratory, or Chappel, and
-therefore in probability it must have been a Heathen Temple; and if so,
-then the piece of the Castle Wall being of a softer Stone, must be much
-more modern; the goodness of the Water brings the _Arabs_ (who rove
-up and down the Desart) and the _Turk-men_ frequently hither, which
-has occasion'd a great many Graves about the Temple; and some have had
-leisure, and, (which is more difficult to be imagin'd) skill enough to
-scratch in the Walls the first Letters of their Names, and many more in
-Arabick Characters, which we could make nothing of, no more than of an
-Arabick Inscription which lay hard by, but appeared not ancient.
-
-_October_ the 2d. We departed from _Esree_, about an Hour, or an Hour
-and an half after Midnight, and in six Hours and an half arrived at
-two Wells, the Water 18 Fathom and 2 Foot deep, known by the Name of
-_Imp malcha Giub_: Through the greatest part of this Stage we had a
-broad beaten Road, and where that was not discernible, we guided our
-selves by a ridge of chalky Hills, under which the Wells lay; the
-Water we found exceeding bad, and of so noisome a Scent, that we could
-not endure it so much as at our Noses; which made our Guide laugh at
-us, who told us, the _Arabs_, and even the King himself used to drink
-freely of it; which, I am sure, our Horses would not do, though they
-were under a necessity of drinking that or none: For our selves we had
-brought from _Esree_ Water, sufficient for one Day at least. In our way
-hither we were shewn the true Plant which they burn for Soap-Ashes,
-which has no Leaves, but a soft juicy Stalk shooting into several
-Branches, and something resembling our Camphire, only it's more round
-than that; the Ashes likewise we saw, which were made not far from the
-Wells, which in burning run into Cakes, not much unlike the Cinders of
-a Forge, only they are heavier, and not so full of Pores, nor so hard
-as they are. In the Afternoon, we proceeded on our Voyage two Hours
-and an half, to a place called _Almyrrha_, passing rather between than
-over the Hills, though we had something of an ascent too; this we did
-to shorten our Stage the next Morning, for we were told before-hand we
-should find no Water upon those Mountains; so, for our Selves, we liv'd
-upon our old Stock, and our Horses were constrain'd to pass that Night
-without Water. Our Journy hitherto had been altogether Southerly, and
-but little varying to the Eastward of due South.
-
-_October_ the 3d. We mounted from _Almyrrha_ between five and six
-in the Morning, making to the point of a high ridge of Mountains,
-through an uneven Desart Way, frequently interrupted with Gutts and
-Channels, probably made by the descent of the Waters from the Hills,
-upon sudden Rains: We came to the ascent after about four Hours
-Travel, which we found not difficult; and when we were on the top,
-we had a pleasant Prospect of the Country, and what we rejoyced at
-most, we were shewn a little Hill, just behind which, we were told lay
-_Tadmor_. This Mountain was cover'd on both sides with great plenty
-of Turpentine-Trees, which was an Object very pleasing, having seen
-very few greens in our whole Journey: This Tree grows very thick and
-shady, and several of them we saw loaded with a vast abundance of
-small round Nut, the chief use whereof is to make Oil, though some eat
-them, and account them as great a Regalio as Pistaches; their outward
-Husk is green, and more Oily than that of Pistaches, and within a
-very thin Shell is contained a Kernel both in colour and relish very
-much resembling them; but those that eat them, seldom take the Pains
-to search for the Kernels, but eat Husk and Shell all together, which
-have no ungrateful Taste: From this Hill we had a tedious descent,
-and coming at the foot into a narrow Gut, winding this way and that
-between the Mountains, our Passage seemed very long, hot and tiresome;
-our want of Water however obliged us to proceed, whereof we now began
-to be in great necessity, especially for our Horses and Mules, who had
-none the Night before, nor none all that Day; with this we had hopes
-of being supplied two different ways; having had a shower of Rain the
-Night before, we hoped to have found Water standing in the hollows of
-the Rocks; but either the Rain had not reach'd so far, or not in such
-plenty as to fill those naturally hewed Cisterns: Our other expectation
-was from the Wells that were in the Road; but these our Guide advancing
-before and examining, met us with the unwelcome News, that they were
-all dried up, and the best Advice he could give us, was to pitch where
-we were, and content our selves with the remains of what we had brought
-two Days in our Vessels, till our Horses and Mules might be sent to a
-Fountain two Hours out of our way, and being watered there themselves,
-bring a fresh supply for us: This way, with some difficulty, we
-assented to, as more eligible, than weary as we were, to wander so far
-out of the Road, to have the same Ground to stage over again the next
-Morning: We resolved therefore to send our Guide, with one or two of
-our Servants, in search of the Water, and afterwards others with our
-Horses, while in the mean time we pitch'd our Tents, it being then
-about two a Clock in the Afternoon: As soon as they were gone, a small
-drizzling Rain, which we had about half an Hour, encreased to a very
-plentiful Shower, which put us upon producing all the Vessels we had
-to catch it as it fell from the Heavens, or ran down the Skirts of
-our Tents, our Horses at the same time greedily drinking it from the
-Ground; but we might have spared our Pains, for in less than half an
-Hours time, our Camp was in a manner a-float, and we were surrounded
-with Water not only sufficient for us, but for an Army of 20000 Men;
-those hollow Gutts which we passed over without the least appearance of
-moisture, were, by the Cataracts which descended from the Mountains,
-become Rivers; and our Guide with those Servants we had sent out, that
-before rode over it dry, it being swoln to such a Torrent, were put to
-some difficulty to repass it; so plentifully was God pleased to provide
-for us in our greatest streight; and which encreases both the Wonder
-and Mercy, the next Morning, all this great quantity of Water was past
-away, so that in about two Hour's Riding we could hardly perceive that
-there had been any Rain at all. This memorable Place is known by the
-Name of _Al-Wishal_.
-
-_October_ the 4th. From _Al-Wishal_ we proceeded for _Tadmor_, some
-of the Ruins of which we perswaded our selves we could see the Day
-before; perhaps it might be the Castle, which is more than half an
-Hour's distance from the City; our way lay Southward, but the Gut
-in which we travelled would not permit us to keep a direct course:
-However, in about an Hour's Walk, we past by _Antor_ Mountains (our
-Guide call'd them _Toul Antor_) through a Gut or Rent, both sides of
-which so directly answered one to the other, they would tempt a Man to
-believe they were separated by Art, for an entrance into the Country;
-but it must have been a work of prodigious Labour and Charges to have
-cut through such vast Mountains: And if any one was so hardy as to
-attempt it, he certainly grew weary of his Undertaking; for the Ground
-is levelled but a very little way, and almost as soon as we were well
-got within the open space, we were obliged to ascend another Hill, and
-so our Road continued over Hills and Valleys interchangeably all the
-way. On the left Hand, some distance from the Road, we saw a _Sheck_'s
-House on the top of a high Hill, which made a better show than usually
-those Buildings do, but being assured by our Guide it was a modern
-Structure, and eager too to come to the principal Place we aimed at,
-we would not prolong our Stage so much as to turn out of the Road, to
-see more of it: So pressing still forwards, we had hardly proceeded
-four Hours, when we came to the brow of a Rocky Mountain, separated
-from that whereon stands the Castle of _Tadmor_, but by a narrow
-Valley: In which Hill, by the Way, appeared some Quarries of fine
-Stone, which probably might afford Materials to the curious Buildings
-in the City. Our Guide here (according to his accustomed Diligence)
-advanced some few Paces before us, and having espied three or four
-Country-Fellows driving Asses towards us, he caused us to make halt, to
-give them an opportunity to come nearer to us, resolving to speak with
-them, to know whether the Coast was clear, or if any of the Mountain
-_Arabs_ were then at _Tadmor_, or not. After a little space, with our
-Arms in our Hands, we marched in as good order as the Way would permit,
-down a rocky and steep Precipice, into the Valley; and our Guide making
-greater speed than we could, gallop'd after the poor affrighted Country
-Fellows; who seeing such a Company unexpectedly descend the Hill, left
-their Asses, and fled towards the City with all possible speed: But
-they were soon overtaken, and brought back again to us; to whom they
-related the good News, that there was no Force at all in _Tadmor_, and
-that we might proceed with Courage, and see what we would there with
-all safety: Which News obtained them their Liberty to go again to their
-Asses, and we continued in our Way.
-
-Having tired our selves with roving from Ruin to Ruin, and rummaging
-among old Stones, from which little Knowledge could be obtained; and
-more especially not thinking it safe to linger too long in a Place,
-where should the Mountain _Arabs_ (who were Enemies to _Assyne Abasse_,
-our Friend) have Intelligence of us, they might either fall upon or
-endeavour to intercept us in our return; (for which reason also we had
-all along concealed our intended Course, under a pretence of proceeding
-forward to _Damascus_.) On _Thursday_, _October 8._ about half an Hour
-after four in the Morning, we departed from _Tadmor_, being very well
-satisfied with what we had seen, and glad to have escaped so dreaded
-a Place, without any Trouble or Pretences upon us; but else with some
-Regret, for having left a great many things behind, which deserved a
-more particular and curious Inspection. Our Road lay almost due East,
-or a little inclining to the North; and on the left Hand, a ridge of
-Hills stretched along for a great space, sometimes about half an Hour
-distant from the Road, and sometimes opening wider: These Hills, we
-were told, were stored with rich Veins of divers Minerals, and afforded
-all that vast quantity of Marble, the Remains whereof we had seen
-at _Tadmor_; and it was from a Fountain call'd _Abulfarras_, at the
-foot of one of them, they fetch out Water, which we drank there; the
-Inhabitants contenting themselves with that which runs from the Hot
-Springs. To the right Hand lay a vast barren Plain, perfectly bare,
-and hardly any thing green to be seen therein, except it were a few
-Gourds which our Servants found on the side of a little rising-Ground,
-where there was no shew of any thing moist to feed them. Our Way being
-plain, we had the sight of _Tadmor_, especially the Castle, for above
-half our Stage, till we came to an old _Caphar_ House. We made indeed a
-very short Days Journey, in the whole, finding a Fountain of excellent
-Water in about five Hours and a half's Riding; which, as it was a most
-welcome Refreshment to us in such a thirsty Desart, so it was the only
-good Water we met with till we came to _Euphrates_, which was not
-till the third Day from this Place. At this Fountain we pitch'd, near
-to which is a Village, but almost wholly ruined and deserted. 'Twas
-some time before any Body would be seen, for they were afraid of us;
-at length, three Men came out to our Tents, Spectacles of a miserable
-Poverty, occasion'd by their being frequently pillaged by the Mountain
-_Arabs_, and a great Duty they pay to _Assyne Abasse_ their King, for
-his Protection: Three hundred Dollars they pay him Annually, when one
-would think the whole Village was not able to make up the Sum of one
-Hundred; yet being the remotest Place that was under his Jurisdiction,
-they often suffer by the Inroads of the other. The Name of the Place
-is _Yarecca_, a Name it received (as we were inform'd) from a Victory
-obtained there by the _Turks_ over the _Mamalukes_.
-
-_October_ the 9th. From _Yarecca_ we mounted early, and Travelling
-N. E. or near that Point, in seven Hours time arrived at _Soukney_.
-The Road we found much like what we had the Day before, lying over a
-barren Plain; only we had Hills on both sides, and sometimes closing
-within half an Hours riding one of the other. The Village has its Name
-from the Hot Waters, (for so the Word imports,) which are of the same
-Nature with those of _Tadmor_; herein they Bath frequently, the same
-little dirty Hole serving both for Men and Women; only they have so
-much Modesty remaining, that they have different Hours for one and the
-other. To say the Truth, 'twas the only mark of Modesty I could observe
-among them; in other respects they seemed a Confident, or rather
-Impudent Generation of People. Before we could pitch our Tents, they
-flock'd about us in multitudes, Men, Women, and Children; and of the
-last, many of them as naked as ever they came into the World, not so
-much as a Rag about them to cover them; and so numerous they appeared,
-that if we had reason to think _Yarecca_ wanted Inhabitants, we had no
-less, to conclude _Soukney_ over-stock'd. At this Place usually resides
-an Officer of _Assyne_'s, who is their Sub-Basha, or Governor: He whom
-we found there, was call'd _Dor_, of a good Family among the _Arabs_,
-to whom we made a Present; and he civilly return'd it in Barley for
-our Horses. Afterwards he came under our Tents, and invited us to an
-Entertainment; which, considering the Circumstances of the Place, was
-very Splendid, though it was nothing but _Pilaw_ at last, a little
-diversify'd by the dressing; and, to speak truly, I judge we could not
-have less than a Bushel of Rice set before us. His Palace, indeed was
-not very stately, there being few Cottages in _England_ but might vie
-with it. To the Room wherein we were entertain'd, which, doubtless, was
-the best, if not the only one he had, we were forced to clamber, rather
-than ascend, by broken Steps made of Stone and Dirt. When we were got
-in, and commodiously seated after the _Turkish_ Mode, it seemed large
-enough for about a dozen or fourteen People: At the upper end was a
-little space separated from the rest by a ridge made up of Earth,
-within which, I suppose, he slept. The Walls were mean; but the Roof
-much worse, having no other Covering but Faggots; so that certainly it
-could not be Proof against a Shower of Rain which fell that Night, and
-forced us out of our Tents, into in old ruinous _Cane_, for shelter:
-However, it served well enough for our Afternoons Collation; and we had
-come away with a good Opinion of the Gentleman's Civility, had he not
-afterwards endeavoured to make a Pretence upon us, and so would have
-forced us to pay dear for our Rice: He pretended to a Customary Duty of
-a Chequeen a Head of all _Franks_ that past that Road; though probably
-neither he, nor his Grand-father before him, had ever seen a _Frank_
-there before. But when he understood by our Guide, that we were not so
-easily to be imposed upon; and withal, that we were _Assyne_'s Friends,
-and in our Way to his Tents; and especially our Treasurer a Person he
-very much esteemed, who therefore would be sure to acquaint him with
-any Exaction or Injury offer'd us, his Mouth was quickly stop'd, and he
-grew so sensible of his Error, that he sent to excuse it, and presented
-our Treasurer with a Fan of Black Ostrich Feathers; and not only so,
-but in the Morning came himself, and begging Pardon, desired nothing
-might be said of what had past, and so conducted us about an Hour on
-our way. This Village pays to _Assyne_ fifteen hundred Dollars _per
-Annum_.
-
-_October_ the 10th. Continuing our Voyage still to the N. E. or
-something more Easterly, we found it another pleasant and easie Stage
-to another Village call'd _Tiebe_, so called (as they say) from the
-goodness of the Water, the Word signifying _good_: But we found them
-not so over excellent; they had the Tast, and were doubtless tinctured
-with the same Mineral, with those of _Soukney_ and _Tadmor_, though not
-so strong. But the Village it self made a better Shew than usual; and
-the People appear'd of something better Fashion, and more civiliz'd,
-than those we had left. It's pleasantly situated, and makes a good
-appearance as one comes up to it; the Prospect being helped by a well
-built Steeple, to which is now adjoyned their Mosch: But I am apt to
-believe it the remains of a Christian Church, being built with more
-Art and Beauty than you shall easily find in Turkish Fabricks: And
-there are also several Ruins about it, which speak it to have been a
-more famous Place than now it is. Into the Mosch we were permitted to
-enter, without any Disturbance. This Village lies in one of the Roads
-from _Aleppo_ to _Bagdatt_, and pays to _Assyne_ an Annual Tribute of
-one thousand Dollars. From hence we mounted again in the Afternoon,
-and proceeded about two Hours and a half farther, to shorten our next
-Days Stage. Having travelled this Day, in all, about seven or eight
-Hours, the Place we pitch'd at was a Fountain, and known by the Name
-of _Alcome_; but neither Town nor House by it: neither was the Water
-fit to be Drank, being of the same nature with that of _Soukney_, and
-almost as warm.
-
-_October_ the 11th. From _Alcome_ we rose about an Hour and an half
-after Midnight, our Guide groping out the way, by the help of the
-Stars, which now bended more to the North than formerly. As soon as it
-was light enough to look about us, we found our selves in a wild open
-Desart, the Ground, in some Places covered with a sort of Heath, and
-in others quite bare. Nor had we travelled long after the Sun was up,
-before, by the help of a rising Ground, we discovered _Arsoffa_, the
-Place whither we were tending, which gave us hopes we should quickly
-be there: But having a dry tiresome Plain to traverse, and the hot Sun
-causing our Mules a little to slacken their Pace, 'twas after ten a
-Clock before we reach'd it: And which was more vexatious still, finding
-no Water any where near, we were necessitated to proceed forward for
-the River _Euphrates_, which we found four Hours distant from hence.
-_Arsoffa_, or (as the _Arabs_ call it) _Arsoffa Emir_, seems to be
-the remains of a Monastery, having no Town nor Village near it, and
-being one continued Pile of Building of an oblong Figure, stretching
-long ways East and West, and enclosing a very capacious Area: At a
-distance it makes a glittering shew, being built of _Gypsine Stone_,
-or Rock-Ising-glass, resembling Alabaster, but not so hard; several
-Quarries of which we past by in our way to it. When the Sun shines upon
-it, it reflects the Beams so strong, that they dazzle the Eyes of the
-Spectators. Art or Accuracy in the Workmanship we found none; and but
-very little Carved Work, and that mean enough; nay, the very Cement
-they made use of, is but little better than Dirt; so that it's no great
-Wonder to see it in Ruins, though it has not the appearance of any
-great Antiquity. Round about were the little Apartments or Chambers for
-the Monks, built Arch-wise, only one Story above Ground; but underneath
-are several Cells or Vaults, larger than the Chambers, which perhaps
-might serve for their Schools, or Working-houses. In the midst of the
-Area stand the Ruins of several Buildings, some of which seem to have
-been Cisterns for Water, and it may be the Bathing-Places: But the most
-remarkable was one, which probably was the Abbot's or Bishop's House,
-there having been something more Pains bestow'd upon it, than the rest:
-And another, which was the Relicks of their Church. This was formerly
-no unhandsom Structure, being built in the form of our Churches, and
-distinguish'd into three Isles, of which the middle one is supported
-by eighteen turned Marble Pillars, with Capitals upon them, not of
-Marble, but of a sort of Clay, and Cast into the shape they are in, but
-of a Colour exactly resembling the Pillar it self. That which perswades
-to believe them Cast, is a Greek Inscription to be seen on all of them;
-the Letters whereof are not made by Incision in the Stone, but seem to
-be stamped, standing out higher than the distance between them; and on
-one of them, by mistake, they are so placed, as to be read after the
-Oriental manner, from the right Hand to the left. The Words are these,
-with the Crucifix before, as follows:
-
-✠ ΕΠΙ ΣΕΡΓΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟ. ΤΟΥ ΣΥΝΓΕΝ ΜΑΡΩΝΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΧΩΡΕΠΙΣΚΟ.
-
-From hence our Guide led us to the River, by the assistance of two
-little Hills, which are known by the Name of _Aff Dieu_, our way lying
-North, and a little bending to the East. The sight of the River was a
-very pleasing Prospect; and to our great comfort, we found the Water
-very clear, happening to be there before the Rains, and after the
-Snow-Waters (which swell and disturb it in the Summer-time) were all
-past: And our Happiness seemed the greater, having had so tedious and
-thirsty a Journey of at least fourteen Hours, and neither our Selves
-nor our Horses touch'd a drop of Water all Day. We pitch'd upon a Reach
-of the River, where it was not very broad, not being above half a
-Musket-shot over.
-
-_October_ the 12th. This Morning, about Sun-rise, we proceeded on
-our Voyage, keeping along the Banks of the River, which, for the
-most part, led us West and North-West: And here we had pleasant
-Travelling, having the River on the right Hand, and Hills of Marble
-or other fine Stone, on the left; and delightful Groves of Tamarisk,
-Mulberry, and other Trees to pass through. Here every thing about us
-lookt fresh and verdant, and we met frequently Men and Women passing
-on their Occasions, a thing to which (in our former Stages) we had
-not been accustomed. We had also a pleasing Prospect of the opposite
-Shore, and could see a great way into _Mesopotamia_, but could meet
-with no Convenience to cross the River, which we were very desirous
-to have done. There are no Places of Note remaining upon the River
-either on one side or the other, only on the farther side we saw an
-old Castle call'd _Giabar_, which made a good Shew, being situated on
-the top of a Hill, and both for that and the way of Building, very
-much resembling that of _Aleppo_, only that is the larger, and in the
-midst of a City; this less, and has neither Town nor Houses about it.
-On our side we past by a _Sheck_'s House call'd _Abul-Rarra_, and the
-Ruins of a Town a little farther, where there was a square Tower built
-of a very ordinary Brick, but pretty entire. After we had left these
-Ruins, we rested to bait, under the Shadow of a Rock, wherein were many
-Apartments and Conveniences cut to lodge in, which I suppose are made
-use of in the Winter by the People, who, during the Summer, pitch
-among the Trees by the River-side. In the Afternoon we continued our
-Journey as before, keeping always at a little distance from the River,
-till a little before Sun-set; when we came to a very convenient Place
-upon the Banks, where we took up our lodging for that Night, having
-travell'd between seven or eight Hours the whole Day.
-
-_October_ the 13th. This Day we had the same Satisfaction as the Day
-before, proceeding as near the River as the Road would permit; and
-having made a Stage of about six Hours, we rested under the shade of
-the Tamarisk Trees by the River side, hoping to have found conveniency
-to have crossed it, but we could not. In our Way we saw nothing
-observable but the Ruins of a City call'd _Baulas_, where the _Turks_
-had formerly a _Sangiack_; but now there is never an Inhabitant in the
-Place, nor House standing, but the Ruins of Houses, and an Octagonal
-Tower of a considerable height, _viz._ One hundred and seven Steps, and
-beautified on the outside with Flourishes and an Arabick Inscription
-round about: It's a handsome Structure, and probably the Work of the
-_Mamalukes_, since whose time little has been done to adorn, but
-abundance to destroy and wast this Country. After Dinner, we mounted
-sooner than ordinary; because hoping to reach the Tents of _Assyne_,
-we were unwilling it should be late when we arrived: yet we made it
-near Sun-set before we got to _Fay_, a Fountain by which he lay. We
-had travell'd still on the same Point N. W. with the Prospect of
-the River the greater part of the Way; the nearest Reach thereof not
-being above an Hours Riding from the Fountain. On the Road we met with
-several _Bandera_'s of the _Emir_'s Soldiers, who knowing our Guide,
-and understanding we were going to him, gave us a very courteous
-_Salam_, who else, perhaps, might have treated us with another sort
-of Civility. The King's Tents spread over a large Plain, and took up
-so vast a Space, that though we had the advantage of a rising Ground,
-we could not see the uttermost extent of them. His own particular
-Tent was pretty near the middle of the rest, which were pitch'd about
-it, not in a circular manner, but stretching out in length as the
-Plain open'd, or for the better conveniency of a Current of Water,
-which from the Fountain ran through the midst of them. 'Twas not at
-all distinguishable from the rest, but by its bigness, and a little
-more Company about it, being all made of a sort of Hair-Cloth, which
-seemed hardly a defence against Rain or Sun: But certainly they must
-find otherwise, else their Necessity (they spending their Lives in
-such moveable Habitations) would have taught them to have contrived
-something better. It cannot well be doubted but they are descended from
-the old _Arabs Scenitæ_, they living just after the same manner, having
-no settled Abode, but remove from Fountain to Fountain, as they find
-Grass for their Sheep and Camels, and Water for them and themselves.
-They love to derive themselves from _Ismael_ the Son of _Abraham_; and
-it may be they are descended from him, but I believe they would be
-hard put to't to prove their Pedigree.
-
-As soon as we alighted, we were attended by the Officers of the _Emir_,
-and conducted to a very noble Tent built after the _Turkish_ Mode,
-and pitch'd next to his own. Hither he sent to bid us welcome, and to
-enquire how we had past in our Voyage; and presently after we had a
-Repast of several Dishes of Meat set before us, to stay our Appetites
-till a more plentiful Supper could be got ready. But before Supper the
-King himself made us a Visit in Person, bidding us Welcome to _Fay_,
-and asking what we had seen in our Travels that pleas'd us? how we
-liked _Tadmor_? and whether we had found a Treasure there? For this
-Notion sticks in the Heads of these People, That the _Franks_ go to see
-old Ruins, only because they there meet with Inscriptions which direct
-them to some hid Treasures. And therefore it's no unusual thing with
-them, when they find a Stone with an Inscription on one side, to turn
-that down to the Ground, that it might not be seen or read of any. But
-we assur'd him we went with no such Expectations, but only out of a
-desire to see the Place: Neither had we brought any thing away with us;
-but a piece of Porphyry Stone, which, upon his Request, we shew'd him.
-We let him see too, a kind of rude Draught which we had taken of the
-Place; which he seemed to like. He made his Visit the shorter, that he
-might not incommode us after our Journey; but desir'd us we would live
-after our own Pleasure and to our Satisfaction, and command freely
-whatever the Camp would afford; ordering some of his People constantly
-to attend upon us. When there was mention made of our Design to be gone
-the next Morning, he answer'd, It must not be; himself was invited the
-next Day, to a great Entertainment, by one of his _Grandees_, and we
-should accompany him: But the Day following, he would go out with us,
-and Hunt part of our Way towards _Aleppo_. When Supper was brought in,
-there was Victuals enough for three times our Number: A large Dish of
-_Pilaw_ in the middle, and twelve or fifteen Dishes of several sorts
-of Meat about it, all dress'd after their manner, but exceeding good,
-and such as one might have fed heartily upon, had he not spoil'd his
-Appetite before. After we had Eat and Drank what we pleas'd, we rose
-up, and our Servants sat down in our Places; it being the Custom of the
-_Arabs_, and _Turks_ too, from the Highest to the Meanest, all to eat
-at the same Table: The best sort sit down first, and so in order till
-all are satisfy'd, and then what remains is carry'd away. We might,
-if we had pleas'd, have lodg'd under the same Tent where we eat; but
-having Tents of our own pitch'd, some of our Company chose rather to
-retire thither, to avoid being disturbed by too many Visitants.
-
-_October_ the 14th. The next Morning, about ten a Clock, we were told
-that the King was gone to the Entertainment, and expected we should
-follow him; and that two young Camels were kill'd, to furnish this
-sumptuous Feast; which is the highest piece of Magnificence and
-Greatness to which these People, whose greatest Riches consist in
-Camels, can arrive. The Tent was about a Furlong from ours; so mounting
-our Horses, we rode to it, and found it surrounded with a numerous
-train of Guests, three hundred at least, of different Sort and Quality:
-It was very large of it self, and to be still more capacious, 'twas
-left open toward the West. The King was seated at the North-end, about
-the midst of the Tent, upon a Place raised with Cushions and Quilts,
-and Carpets before him: Neither did he sit cross-Legg'd, as all the
-rest of the Company were obliged to do, but in a leaning Posture.
-They seemed to observe an exact Order in their Places; and when any
-Person of Note enter'd, those that were near his Place, rose up and
-stood till he had seated himself. But the far greatest part could not
-come within the compass of the Ring, but stood behind the Backs of the
-rest, leaving a spacious _Area_ vacant in the middle. When we entred,
-they made room for us on the King's left Hand, which here is esteem'd
-the more Honourable; where we sat down in the same Posture with those
-about us, cross-Legg'd upon a thin Carpet. Before mid-day, a Carpet
-being spread in the middle of the Tent, our Dinner was brought in,
-being served up in large Wooden Bowls between two Men; and truly to my
-apprehension, Load enough for them. Of these great Platters there were
-about fifty or sixty in number, perhaps more, with a great many little
-ones, I mean, such as one Man was able to bring in, strewed here and
-there among them, and placed for a Border or Garnish round about the
-Table. In the middle of all was one of a larger size than all the
-rest, in which was the Camel's Bones, and a thin Broth in which they
-were boiled: The other greater ones seemed all filled with one and the
-same sort of Provision, a kind of Plumb-Broth, made of Rice, and the
-fleshy part of the Camel, with Currants and Spices, being of something
-a darker Colour than what is made in our Country. The lesser were, for
-the the most part, charged with Rice dress'd after several Modes, some
-of them having _Leben_, (a thick sour Milk) poured upon them. _Leben_
-is a thing in mighty Esteem in these Hot Countries, being very useful
-to quench Thirst: And truly we had need of it here; for I did not see a
-drop of any sort of Liquor, excepting a Dish of Coffee before Dinner,
-drank at this splendid Feast. Knives, Forks, Spoons, Trenchers, _&c._
-are silly Impertinent Things in the Esteem of the _Arabs_: However, we
-being known to make use of such things, had large Wooden Spoons laid
-before us. When the Table was thus plentifully furnish'd, the King
-arising from his Seat, went and sat down to that Dish that was directly
-before him; and so did the rest, as many as it would contain, which
-could not be much short of a hundred; and so without further Ceremony,
-they fell to thrusting their Hands into the Dishes, and Eating by
-Handfuls: Neither was there any occasion of Carving; only because
-those Dishes in the middle were too remote to be reach'd, there was
-an Officer on purpose, who stepping in among them, and standing in the
-Spaces designedly left for that end, with a long Ladle in both his
-Hands, helpt any one according to their Desire. When the King had eaten
-what he thought fit, he rose up and wash'd, and retir'd back to his
-former Seat; and we also did the like; others being ready to fill our
-Places. Nor did we continue much longer under the Tent in that numerous
-Crowd; for _Assyne_ perceiving us a little uneasie, and supposing
-we had now sufficiently satisfy'd our Curiosity, though perhaps not
-our Appetites, told us we might take our Liberty, and if we thought
-fit retire to our Tents. This Favour we gladly accepted, and without
-Ceremony returned, several of his Attendants waiting upon us back.
-Here we had another Dinner set before us; and having some of our own
-Wine and Water to Drink with it, it went down better with us than the
-famous Camel-Feast. In the Evening, the King mounted to see the flight
-of a new Hawk, and stay'd Abroad very late, his Hawk flying away: But
-she was afterwards taken up by his Falconer; otherwise he had not been
-in a good Humour all that Night, being a Man that delights very much
-in Sport. After his return from Hawking, we went to Wait upon him at
-his own Tent, to return him Thanks for his most courteous and royal
-Reception of us, and to desire leave to depart the next Morning. Here
-we found him surrounded with the chiefest of his People; and being
-placed again on his left Hand, he entertain'd us with a great deal of
-pleasant Discourse; and ask'd such Questions, as shew'd him to be a
-Man of extraordinary Capacity and Judgment. As for Learning, they have
-no such thing among them, and therefore it's not to be expected that
-he should be a Scholar: But were he not a Person of more than common
-Prudence and Understanding, he could never have managed that Wild and
-Unruly People as he has done, ever since his Advancement to the Throne;
-which must therefore have been the more difficult, because as he came
-to it by the Deposition of his Father (though not immediately) who now
-lives with him as a private Man, so has he never wanted Competitors. To
-his Father he pays a great deal of outward Respect, but is forced to
-keep a very watchful Eye over him. After about an Hours Discourse, we
-were dismiss'd.
-
-_October_ the 15th. In the Morning, _Assyne_ not being at leisure to
-go a Hunting, we proceeded on our Voyage Homewards, with a great deal
-of Alacrity; and finding nothing remarkable in our Road, in about 3
-Hours and an half arrived at _Seray_. And hence, after a short Repast,
-we continued our Journey to _Sherby_ Fountain, which took us up about
-the like space of Time. Here we accounted our selves as good as at
-Home, being at a Place with which we were well acquainted, and to which
-several times in the Year some or other of our Nation usually resort,
-either for Antelope or Hog-hunting, according to their Season; nor had
-we hence above seven or eight Hours to _Aleppo_.
-
-_October_ the 16th. Getting up pretty early in the Morning, we resolved
-to Hunt the greatest part of our Way Home, as we did; and Dining at the
-famous _Round-Hill_, whereon has been spent by the _English_ more Money
-than would purchase a noble Estate round about it, in the Afternoon we
-arrived safe at _Aleppo_.
-
-
-
-
-  _Some Account of the Ancient State of the City of _Palmyra_, with
-    short Remarks upon the Inscriptions found there. By _E. Halley_._
-
-
-The City of _Tadmor_, whose Remains in Ruins do with so much evidence
-demonstrate the once happy Condition thereof, seems very well to
-be proved to be the same City which _Solomon_ the great King of
-_Israel_ is said to have founded under that Name in the _Desart_,
-both in 1 _Kings_ 9. 18. and 2 _Chron._ 8. 16. in the Translation of
-which, the _Vulgar Latin Version_, said to be that of St. _Jerom_,
-has it, _Condidit Palmyram in Deserto_. And _Josephus_ (in _lib._
-8. _Antiq. Jud._ wherein he treats of _Solomon_ and his Acts) tell
-us, that he Built a City in the Desart, and called it _Thadamora_;
-and the _Syrians_ at this Day (says he) call it by the same Name;
-but the _Greeks_ name it _Palmyra_. The Name is therefore Greek, and
-consequently has no relation to the Latin _Palma_, and seems rather
-derived from Παλμυός or Πάλμυς, which _Hesychius_ Interprets βασιλεὺς
-πατὴρ: or perhaps from Παλμύτης, which (according to the same Author)
-was an _Egyptian_ God. Neither is the Word תרמר but תמר that in Hebrew
-signifies a _Palm-Tree_.
-
-History is silent as to the Fate and Circumstances of this City,
-during the great Revolutions in the several Empires of the East; but
-it may well be supposed, that so advanced a Garrison as this was,
-being above three hundred Miles from _Jerusalem_, continued not long
-in the Possession of the _Jews_, who immediately after _Solomon_, fell
-into Civil Dissention, and divided their Force: so that it is not to
-be doubted, but that it submitted to the _Babylonian_ and _Persian_
-Monarchies, and afterwards to the _Macedonians_ under _Alexander_ and
-the _Seleucidæ_. But when the _Romans_ got footing into these Parts,
-and the _Parthians_ seemed to put a stop to their farther Conquests
-in the _East_, then was this City of _Palmyra_, by reason of its
-Situation, being a Frontier, and in the midst of a vast Sandy _Desart_,
-where Armies could not well subsist to reduce it by Force, courted and
-caressed by the contending Princes, and permitted to continue a Free
-State, a Mart or Staple for Trade, for the Convenience of both Empires,
-as is abundantly made out from the Words of _Appian_ and _Pliny_.
-
-_Appian_ (_lib._ 5. _de Bellis Civil._) tells us, that _M. Antonius_,
-after his Victory at _Philippi_, about forty Years before _Christ_,
-sent his Horse to Plunder the City of _Palmyra_, pretending only that
-they were not sufficiently in the _Roman_ Interest. ὅτι Ρωμαίων καὶ
-Παρθυαίων ὄντες ἔφοροι ἐς ἑκατέρας ἐπιδεξίως εἶχον, and that being
-Merchants, they conveyed the _Indian_ and _Arabian_ Commodities by
-the way of _Persia_ into the _Roman_ Territories; though the true
-reason were their Riches: But the _Palmyrenes_ being informed of the
-Design, took care to prevent them, and so escaped Plunder: And this
-Attempt of _Antony_'s occasioned a Rupture between the two Empires.
-The Words of _Pliny_ (_lib._ 5. _Nat. Hist._) above an hundred Years
-after, do likewise testifie that this City then continued in the same
-Enjoyment of their Liberties. They being very much to the purpose, I
-thought fit to Copy them: _Palmyra Urbs nobilis situ, divitiis soli
-atque aquis amœnis, vasto undique ambitu arinis includit agros, ac
-velut terris exempta à rerum Natura; privata sorte inter duo imperia
-summa Romanorum Parthorumque, & prima in discordia semper utrinque
-cura_. Whereby it appears not only that it was a Common-wealth in the
-time of _Vespasian_; but the situation thereof is truly described, as
-it were an Island of fertile Land, surrounded with a Sea of barren
-Sands. Such Spots _Strabo_ tells us were frequent in _Lybia_, and by
-the _Egyptians_ were called _Abases_; whence possibly the Name of the
-_Abassyne_ Nation is derived.
-
-With these Advantages of Freedom, Neutrality and Trade, for near two
-Centuries, 'tis not strange that it acquired the State and Wealth
-answerable to the Magnificence of these noble Structures. But when
-the _Romans_ under _Trajan_ had made it appear, that there was
-no comparison between the Puissance of the _Parthians_ and them,
-(_Trajan_ having taken _Babylon_ and _Ctesiphon_ the then Seat of
-the _Parthian_ Empire,) the _Palmyreni_ were at length determined to
-Declare for the _Romans_; which they did, by submitting themselves to
-the Emperor _Adrian_, about the Year of Christ 130, when _Adrian_
-made his Progress through _Syria_ into _Egypt_. And that Magnificent
-Emperor being highly delighted with the native Strength and Situation
-of the Place, was pleased to adorn and rebuild it: When, as 'tis
-likely, he bestowed on it the Privileges of a Colony _Juris Italici_,
-which it enjoyed (as _Ulpian_ assures us.) And the Inhabitants of the
-City, in Gratitude, were willing to call themselves _Hadrianopolitæ_,
-ἐπικτισθείσης τῆς πόλεως ὑπὸ τοῦ Αὐτοκράτορος (says _Stephanus_.) Nor
-is it unlikely that many of those Marble Pillars were the Gift of that
-Emperor, and particularly those of the Long _Porticus_; for that none
-of the Inscriptions are before that Date. And it was usual for the
-_Cæsars_ to present Cities that had obliged them, with Marble Pillars
-to adorn their Publick Buildings. These here were not far to fetch, the
-Neighbouring Mountains affording _Marble-Quarries_: But the Magnitude
-of the _Porphyry_ Columns is indeed very remarkable, considering
-how far those vast Stones must have been brought by Land-carriage
-to this Place; it being not known that any other Quarries yield it,
-except those of _Egypt_, which lie about mid-way between _Cairo_ and
-_Siena_, between the _Nile_ and the _Red-Sea_: The Stone being very
-valuable for its Colour and Hardness, and so that it rises in Blocks
-of any magnitude required; _Quantislibet molibus cædendis sufficiunt
-Lapidicinæ_, (_Plin._ _lib._ 36.) And it is a great mistake of those
-who suppose it fictitious.
-
-From the time of _Adrian_ to that of _Aurelian_, for about an hundred
-and forty Years, this City continued to flourish and encrease in
-Wealth and Power, to that degree, that when the Emperor _Valerian_ was
-taken Prisoner by _Sapores_ King of _Persia_, _Odænathus_ one of the
-Lords of this Town (which Name occurs in several of these Inscriptions)
-was able (whilst _Gallienus_ neglected his Duty both to his Father
-and Country) to bring a powerful Army into the Field, and to recover
-_Mesopotamia_ from the _Persians_, and to penetrate as far as their
-Capital City _Ctesiphon_. Thereby rendring so considerable Service to
-the _Roman_ State, that _Gallienus_ thought himself obliged to give
-him a share in the Empire: Of which Action, _Trebellius Pollio_ (in
-the Life of _Gallienus_) has these Words, _Laudatur ejus (Gallieni)
-optimum factum, qui, Odenatum participato Imperio Augustum vocavit,
-ejusque monetam, qua Persas captos traheret, cudi jussit: quod &
-Senatus & Urbs & omnis ætas gratanter accepit_. The same in many
-Places speaks of this _Odænathus_ with great Respect; and mentioning
-his Death, he says, _Iratum fuisse Deum Reip. credo, qui interfecto
-Valeriano noluit Odenatum reservare_. But by a strange reverse of
-Fortune, this Honour and Respect to _Odænathus_ occasioned the sudden
-Ruin and Subversion of the City. For he and his Son _Herodes_ being
-murder'd by _Mæonius_ their Kinsman, and dying with the Title of
-_Augustus_, his Wife _Zenobia_, in Right of her Son _Waballathus_ then
-a Minor, pretended to take upon her the Government of the East, and
-did administer it to admiration: And when soon after _Gallienus_ was
-murder'd by his Soldiers, she grasped the Government of _Egypt_, and
-held it during the short Reign of the Emperor _Claudius Gothicus_. But
-_Aurelian_ coming to the Imperial Dignity, would not suffer the Title
-of _Augustus_ in this Family, tho' he was contented that they should
-hold under him as _Vice Cæsaris_; as plainly appears by the Latin
-Coins of _Aurelian_ on the one side, and _Waballathus_ (which Name is
-often found in these Inscriptions) on the other, with these Letters
-V. C. R. IM. OR., which _P. Harduin_ has most judiciously interpreted
-_Vice Cæsaris Rector Imperii Orientis_, but without the Title of
-_Cæsar_ or _Augustus_, and with a Laurel instead of a Diadem. But both
-_Waballathus_ and _Zenobia_ are stiled ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΙ in the _Greek_ Coins,
-made, 'tis probable, within their own Jurisdiction. Two of the _Latin_
-I have seen, and they are as described, excepting the Points.
-
-But nothing less than a Participation of the Empire contenting
-_Zenobia_, and _Aurelian_ persisting not to have it dismembered: He
-marched against her, and having in two Battles routed her Forces, he
-shut her up and Besieged her in _Palmyra_: And the Besieged finding
-that the great resistance they made, availed not against that resolute
-Emperor, they yielded the Town; and _Zenobia_ flying with her Son,
-was pursued and taken: With which _Aurelian_ being contented, spared
-the City, and leaving a small Garrison, march'd for _Rome_ with this
-Captive Lady: But the Inhabitants believing he would not return, set up
-again for themselves, and (as _Vopiscus_ has it) slew the Garrison he
-had left in the Place. Which _Aurelian_ understanding, tho' by this
-time he was gotten into _Europe_, with his usual fierceness, speedily
-returned; and collecting a sufficient Army by the way, he again took
-the City without any great Opposition, and put it to the Sword, with
-an uncommon Cruelty, as he himself confesses in a Letter (extant in
-_Vopiscus_), and delivered them to the Pillage of his Soldiers. And
-it is observable, that none of the Greek Inscriptions are after the
-date of this Calamity, which befell the City in or about the Year of
-_Christ_ 272, as far as may be collected, after it had been nine or ten
-Years the Seat of the Empire of the East, not without Glory.
-
-In this appears also the great utility of Coins to illustrate Matters
-of History; for by them alone 'tis made out, that there was such a
-Prince as _Waballathus_, _Vopiscus_ singly mentioning him by the Name
-of _Balbatus_. And from the same Coins it appears, that _Odænathus_ had
-the Title of _Augustus_ four Years, and _Waballathus_ six at least;
-and that the first Year of _Aurelian_ was the fourth of _Waballathus_.
-And by the Testimony of _Pollio_, _Odænathus_ was declared Emperor
-of the East, _Gallieno_ & _Saturnino Coss._ which was _Anno Christi_
-263, and died before _Gallienus_, but in the same Year, _viz._ _Anno_
-267, which, by the Coins, was the first of _Waballathus_. He therefore
-immediately succeeded _Odænathus_, and was without doubt his Eldest
-Son by _Zenobia_, and not his Grandson the Son of _Herodes_, as some
-learned Men have supposed: For if _Zenobia_ could not endure that
-_Herodes_ Son of _Odænathus_ by a former Wife, should succeed his
-Father in prejudice to her Children, and for that reason was consenting
-to his Murther (as _Pollio_ intimates in _Herodes_ and _Mæonius_,) much
-less would she endure the Title of _Augustus_ in the Son of _Herodes_,
-especially when her own Sons were, as 'tis probable, elder than such
-Grandson. So that 'tis most likely that _Herennianus_ and _Timolaus_,
-whom _Pollio_ reckons among his XXX Tyrants, might be the Younger Sons
-of _Zenobia_, on whom also, out of Motherly Affection, she might bestow
-the same Titles of Honour.
-
-But it must be observed, that in the Greek Coins, this Prince's Name
-is usually written ΑΥΤ. ΕΡΜΙΑΣ ΟΥΑΒΑΛΛΑΘΟΣ ΑΘΗΝΟΥ (as _Tristan_ says
-he found it upon several Medals,) but _Patin_ has the last Word only
-ΑΘΗ. I should be glad to peruse some of these curious Coins, especially
-if found in or near _Palmyra_: but I am inclinable to believe that his
-true Name was _Æranes Waballathus_ (as was one of his Progenitors, in
-Inscription _Pag._ 91.) though perhaps the remoter Cities of _Asia_ and
-_Ionia_ might by mistake write it _Hermias_. And 'tis probable that
-ΑΘΗΝ might be for the first Letters of the Name of ΟΔΗΝΑΘΟΣ, which in
-Syriack begun with an _Aleph_; and the Δ was with those People used
-instead of Θ, as we see the Month _Xanthicus_, written Ξανδικὸς in many
-of these Inscriptions, which doubtless was pronounced like D _blæsum_
-or the Saxon D.
-
-Though this City were at that time so roughly treated by _Aurelian_,
-yet it is certain that he did not burn it, or destroy the Buildings
-thereof: And though _Zosimus_, on this occasion, uses the Words τὴν
-πόλιν κατασκάψας, yet that seems only to relate to his demolishing the
-Walls and Defences of the Place; and that Emperors own Letter extant
-in _Vopiscus_, doth sufficiently shew that he spared the City it self,
-and that he took care to re-instate the beautiful Temple of the _Sun_
-that was there, which had been Plundered by his Soldiers. However,
-the Damage then sustained was never retrieved by the Inhabitants, and
-I do not find that ever this City made any figure in History after
-it: Yet the _Latin Inscription_, (Pag. 106.) seems to intimate, as
-if _Dioclesian_ had restored their Walls within thirty Years after.
-About the Year of Christ 400, it was the Head Quarters of the _Legio
-Prima Illyricorum_; and though _Stephanus_ gives it no better Title
-than φρούριον, yet it appears to have been an Archbishop's See,
-under the Metropolitan of _Damascus_. To say in what Age, or from
-what Hand it received its final Overthrow, which reduced it to the
-miserable Condition it now appears in, there is no light in any of our
-Historians; but it is probable it perish'd long since, in the obscure
-Ages of the World, during the Wars of the _Saracen_ Empire; and being
-burnt and desolated, it was never rebuilt; which occasions the Ruins
-to lie so entire, in a manner as they were left, neither being used to
-other Structures on the Place, nor worth carrying away, because of the
-great distance thereof from any other City.
-
-As to the Geographical Site of _Palmyra_, _Ptolemy_ places it in the
-Latitude of _Tripoly_ on the Coast of _Syria_, and four Degrees more
-Easterly, _viz._
-
-                          Παλμύρα. οα, ϛ′. λδ.
-
-and he makes it the Capital of sixteen Cities in _Syria Palmyrena_,
-whereof _Alalis_, _Danaba_ and _Evaria_ were afterwards _Bishops Sees_.
-_Pliny_ places it CCIII Miles from the nearest Coast of _Syria_, and
-CCCXXXVII from _Seleucia ad Tygrim_ near _Bagdat_, (which Numbers are
-erroneously Printed 252 and 537 in most Editions, contrary to the
-Authority of the MSS.) _Josephus_ places it one Days Journey from
-_Euphrates_, and six from _Babylon_; which must be understood of
-Horse-man's Journeys of about sixty Miles _per diem_, it being more
-than so much from this City to _Euphrates_. _Ptolemy_ also mentions a
-River running by _Palmyra_, which did not appear to our Travellers,
-unless that Gut or Channel wherein they were overflowed by the
-Rain-Waters, were the Bed thereof; which may, possibly, run with a
-constant Stream in the Winter or times of much Rain: But this (as the
-Rivers of _Aleppo_ and _Damascus_ at this Day) is made by _Ptolomy_ to
-have no _exit_; but to go off in _Vapour_, and to be imbibed by the
-thirsty Earth of these Desarts.
-
-The _Æra_ or Accompt of Years observed by the _Palmyreni_ in these
-Inscriptions, is evidently that of _Seleucus_, call'd afterwards
-_Dhilcarnian_ or _Bicornis_ by the _Arabians_, and by them kept in use
-till above 900 Years of Christ (as appears by the Observations of
-_Albatani_, published in _Numb._ 204 of the _Philosoph. Transact._) and
-not that of the Death of _Alexander_. This may be demonstrated from
-the Inscription (_Pag. 101._) wherein _Alexander Severus_ is stiled
-ΘΕΟΣ; that is, after the Death and Consecration of that Emperor, or
-after the Year of our Lord 234; and from the Name of _Julius_, who,
-when this Inscription was put up, was _Præfectus Prætorio_, (and could
-be no other than _Julius Philippus Arabs_ who might be esteemed by the
-_Palmyreni_ as their Country-man,) it follows, that it was in the last
-Year of _Gordian_ _Anno Christi_ 242 or 243: And that Emperor being
-soon after Murder'd by the Treachery of this _Philip_, who succeeded
-him: And his Treason coming afterwards to light, 'tis not strange that
-his Name was purposely effaced in this Inscription. The Date thereof,
-_Anno_ 554, shews the beginning of this Accompt 311 or 312 Years before
-Christ, co-incident with the _Æra_ of _Seleucus_, which was likewise
-observed by several other Cities in the East.
-
-I shall not undertake the part of a Critick on these Inscriptions, but
-chuse rather to leave them to the more professedly skilful in that part
-of Learning, and shall only make some few Remarks on them, such as
-occurred whilst they pass'd through my Hands.
-
-1. That the more ancient of these Inscriptions dated before the Year
-500, do no where make use of _Roman Prænomina_, which yet are very
-frequent in them that follow; particularly _Julius_, _Aurelius_ and
-_Septimius_, taken up by these People out of Respect to the Emperors
-that bore those Names; and consequently that _Septimius Odænathus_ (the
-Inscription of whose Tomb we have, _pag. 91._) was most probably the
-same who was afterwards _Augustus_. That Name growing in use in the
-Reign of _Septimius Severus_, under whom or his Son _Caracalla_ this
-_Odænathus_ was certainly Born. And this Monument being erected by
-him whilst he was yet a private Man; and he afterwards attaining the
-Imperial Dignity, it was necessary the Inscription of his Tomb (which
-perhaps was that single one that was all of Marble) should be changed:
-Upon which occasion this Stone might be brought back into the Town, and
-after its Destruction, be clapt up casually over the little Gate-way
-where now it stands.
-
-2. _Pag. 100._ ΚΑΤΕΛΘΟΝΤΕΣ ΕΙΣ ΟΛΟΓΕΣΙΑΔΑ ΕΝΠΟΡΟΙΑΝ ΕΣΤΗΣΑΝ:
-_Descendentes Vologesiada Commercium stabiliverunt, Anno_ 558, _sive
-Anno Christi_ 247. Whereby it appears, that this People having had
-their Trade interrupted by the Wars between the _Romans_ and the
-_Persians_, under _Gordian_; did now send an Embassy to the Court of
-_Sapores_ King of the _Persians_, to get it re-established; which
-succeeded according to their Desires. _Vologesias_ was a City built
-by _Vologeses_ King of the _Parthians_ in the time of _Nero_, on
-the _Euphrates_ below _Babylon_. _Ptolemy_ calls it Οὐολογεσιάς;
-_Stephanus_, Βολογεσιὰς; _Ammianus_ _Vologessia_; and _Pliny_ lib. 6.
-_Vologesocirta_.
-
-3. _Pag. 101._ ΚΑΙ ΟΥΚΟΝΙΣΩΝΑ ΦΕΙΔΗΣΑΝΤΑ ΧΡΗΜΑΤΩΝ. I submit it to the
-Judgment of the Criticks, whether this faulty Place may not be amended
-by reading it ΟΥΚ ΟΙΚΕΙΩΝ ΑΦΕΙΔΗΣΑΝΤΑ, _&c._ as likewise whether
-ΔΙΣΜΑΛΚΟΥ in the same Inscription may not be instead of ΜΑΛΛΟΥ ΤΟΥ
-ΜΑΛΚΟΥ, which is the Ingenious Conjecture of that excellent Grammarian
-Mr. _William Baxter_.
-
-4. _Pag. 102._ _Septimium Vorodem Procuratorem Ducenarium Augusti &_
-ΑΡΟΑΠΕΤΗΝ. This Word, if _Greek_, is faultily transcribed; and in
-one Copy I have seen, the Ο is very small, as I suppose it on the
-Stone, which might occasion the transcribing thereof without it in
-the former Voyage (_Pag. 130._) So that 'tis most probable that 'tis
-the remains of some other Letter almost worn out. I conjecture it to
-have been ΑΡΤΑΓΕΤΗΝ, Π being taken for Γ, and that this _Septimius_
-was _Præfectus Annonæ_, having the Care to see that the City were
-sufficiently provided with Bread; which was a most necessary Officer
-in a Place that must needs be furnish'd with Corn from Abroad. And
-this same _Septimius_, (in the Inscription, _Pag. 105._) is
-stiled .... ΕΟΔΟΤΗΝ ΤΗΣ ΜΗΤΡΟΚΟΛΩΝΕΙΑΣ. _lege_ ΚΡΕΟΔΟΤΗΝ, which should
-signifie that he was the Distributor of the Emperor's Munificence in
-Flesh to the People. These Inscriptions bear Date in _April_, _Anno
-Dom._ 267. not long before the Death of _Odænathus_, who is herein
-stiled ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΣ: and 'tis not improbable but he might institute such
-a Custom, as at the Publick Charge, to give the People a Largess in
-Flesh on particular Days, to reconcile them to the Dominion of their
-Fellow-Citizen. This is certain, that _Aurelian_ first instituted such
-a Custom of giving Flesh at _Rome_: The Words of _Vopiscus_ are, _Idem
-Aurelianus & porcinam carnem populo Romano distribuit, quæ hodieque
-dividitur_; which Custom continued till the time of _Constantine_,
-when (according to _Zosimus_) one _Lucian_, who had this Office of
-distributing Swines Flesh at _Rome_, had Interest enough among the
-People to set up _Maxentius_ for Emperor; and _Salmasius_ assures us,
-that it was not discontinued till the time of _Heraclius_. It will not
-therefore seem strange, if I suppose _Aurelian_ might find that Custom
-at _Palmyra_, and at his return from thence institute the like at
-_Rome_.
-
-I am inclined to believe, that not only those two Inscriptions, _Pag.
-102_, and the last of _Pag. 103_, but also that of _Pag. 106_, were
-in Honour of the same _Septimius Vorodes_ who seems to have been a
-great Favourite of _Odænathus_, and was without doubt respected by
-the _Romans_ on that account, whom I conclude to have effaced all the
-Memorials of _Zenobia_ and _Waballathus_, insomuch that no one appears,
-among those many taken, that was set up during the six Years they
-reigned. The Name _Vorodes_ seems the same with _Orodes_, which was
-the Name of the King of the _Parthians_ that slew _Crassus_: and the
-_Persians_ having, about forty Years before, expelled the Race of the
-_Arsacidæ_, 'tis not improbable but the Remains of that Royal Family
-might fly for Succour to _Palmyra_, and this _Vorodes_ might be one of
-them.
-
-5. In two other Copies of these Inscriptions; the first of _pag. 104._
-is read, Σεπτίμιον Αἰράνην Ὀδαινάθου, and not Ὀδαινόθου as in the
-first Copy, and perhaps ought rather to be Ὀδαίναθον, as being the
-Inscription under a Statue of the same _Odænathus_, who is here, as
-well as on his Tomb, stiled _Illustrissimus Patricius_, but without a
-Date.
-
-6. ΥΠΟ ΙΑΡΙΒΩΛΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ (_pag. 101._ & 109.) It cannot well be doubted
-but that this _Deus Jaribolus_ is the same with what _Gruter_ (_pag._
-86.) and _Spon_ (in the first of his Inscriptions) reads ΑΓΛΙΒΩΛΩ.
-By the Figure of the Idol extant in _Spon_, it appears that this God
-was made with the Moon upon his Shoulders, and consequently was the
-_Deus Lunus_ worshipped by the _Syrians_, whose Name, in the Language
-of that Country, could not be better expressed than by _Jarehbol_ ירה
-ביעל _Dominus Lunus_. Whence I am induced to believe, that _Gruter_
-mistook it ΑΓΛΙΒΩΛΩ for ΑΓΑΙΒΩΛΩ, the Ι in the beginning, and the lower
-part of the round stroke of the Ρ, being effaced, so as to pass for Γ.
-I have taken care to have the Stone purposely viewed, as also to get
-from thence the exact Figure of the _Syrian_ or _Palmyrene_ Characters
-thereon, wherein there is an irreconcilable difference between _Spon_
-and _Gruter_. By the help of these, compared with two others taken
-at _Palmyra_, which I have by me, (they being all very near the same
-Date,) I hope we may be able, one Day, to make out the _Palmyrene_
-Alphabet: But it were to be wish'd our Travellers had transcribed them
-with more Curiosity, and taken more of them.
-
-By the way, it is remarkable, that the Person who dedicated this
-Monument, in _Gruter_ and _Spon_, is stiled Λ. ΑΥΡ. ΗΛΙΟΔΩΡΟΣ: and the
-same Name occurs in a broken Inscription which Mr. _Hallifax_ omitted
-in his Letter to Dr. _Bernard_, as being too imperfect. It stood on the
-right Hand of the entrance to the little Temple described _pag. 110._
-and was thus,
-
-ΛΟΥΚΙΟΥ ΑΥΡΗ[ΛΙ]ΟΥ ..... ΗΛΙΟΔΩΡΟΥ ΤΟΥ.
-
-And after a Blank of three lines all worn out except one single Ο,
-there followed,
-
-[ΤΕΙ]ΜΗΣ ΧΑΡΙΝ ΕΤΟΥΣ....... ΜΗΝΟΣ [ΑΠ]ΕΛΛΑΙ[ΟΥ]. And that imperfect one
-in _pag. 104._ seems to have relation to the same Name.
-
-7. _Pag. 111._ ΜΑΛΕΝΤΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΑΝ _lege_ ΜΑΛΗΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΓΡΙΠΠΑΝ, it
-being written ΜΑΛΗΝΤΟΝ, with Η in the two other Copies I have seen,
-whereby the Sence is cleared.
-
-8. _Pag. 117._ ΑΓΑΘΑΝΓΕΛΟΣ ΑΒΙΛΗΝΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΔΕΚΑΠΟΛΕΟΣ, _Agathangelus
-Abilenus, Decapolitanus, Patronymice_. There were in these Parts two
-Cities known by the Name of _Abila_; to distinguish which, the one was
-called _Abila Lysaniæ_, from the Name of the Tetrarch: St. _Luke_, ch.
-3. 1. and is placed by _Ptolemy_ (in his _Cælosyria_) about mid-way
-between _Damascus_ and _Heliopolis_: The other in _Judæa_, called
-_Abila ad Jordanem_, described by _Josephus_ in many Places, to lie
-over-against _Jericho_, near the _Dead-Sea_. _Decapolis_ was so called
-from its Ten Cities, enumerated by _Pliny_ (_lib._ 5. 18.) And with
-them he reckons up, among others, the _Tetrarchy_ of _Abila_, in the
-same _Decapolis_: Which demonstrates the _Abila Decapolis_ and _Abila
-Lysaniæ_ to be the same Place. And tho' it cannot be denied, but
-that some of _Pliny_'s Ten Cities are not far distant from that near
-_Jordan_; yet it doth not appear that ever this other had the Title
-of a _Tetrarchy_. Here it is to be observed, that what _Pliny_ calls
-_Decapolis_, _Ptolemy_ makes his _Cæle Syria_; and the _Cæle Syria_
-of _Pliny_, is that part of _Syria_ about _Aleppo_, formerly call'd
-_Chalcidene_, _Cyrrhistice_, &c.
-
-What this Town of _Teibe_ was anciently call'd, is not so easily
-conjectured: But if the Numbers of _Ptolemy_ may be confided in, it is
-very near the Situation of a City he calls _Oriza_; and perhaps his
-_Adada_ may be our _Soukney_, and his _Rhæsapha_ what is now called
-_Arsoffa_.
-
-It is taken for granted, that Old _Aleppo_ was anciently the City of
-_Berrhæa_, and there wants not ancient Testimony to prove it; which
-being granted, I think I may without scruple conclude, that _Andrene_
-(_pag. 122._ and 133.) is the Ruins of the City of _Androna_; and
-_Esree_ (_pag. 135._) that of _Seriane_, both mentioned in the
-Itinerary of _Antoninus_, in the Journey _à Dolicâ Seriane_. But this
-whole Country is laid about half a Degree more Southerly than it
-ought, by _Ptolemy_, who places _Berrhæa_ in Lat. 36 _deg._ For the
-Meridian Altitude of the Tropical Sun at _Aleppo_ is found there but
-77 _deg._ whence the Latitude 36 _deg._ 30 _min._ as it was observed,
-_Anno_ 1680. by three several Quadrants, in the presence of a curious
-Gentleman, to whom I am obliged for this Communication.
-
-By the same Observation a much greater Error is amended in the
-Latitude of _Aleppo_, in the _Rudolfine_ Tables of _Kepler_, who
-supposes _Aleppo_ to have been the ancient _Antiochia ad Taurum_, and
-accordingly places it Lat. 37. _deg._ 20 _min._ wherein he is followed
-by _Bullialdus_ and others; and several Maps have copied the Mistake.
-But a much greater use of it is, that thereby we are assured, that the
-City of _Aracta_, wherein _Albatani_ made the Observations we have
-Publish'd in the _Philosoph. Transact. Numb._ 204. was, without doubt,
-the same which is now called _Racca_ on the _Euphrates_; of which Town
-an Account may be seen in _Rauwolf_'s Voyages, and which was not many
-Miles below the Place where our Travellers first came on the River:
-And if _Arecca_, in the Language of this Country, relates to Victory
-(as is said in _pag. 143._) it was, doubtless, anciently the City
-_Nicephorion_, built by _Alexander_ the Great; with which the Situation
-exactly agrees. The Latitude thereof was observed by that _Albatani_
-with great accurateness, about eight hundred Years since; and therefore
-I recommended it to all that are curious of such Matters, to endeavour
-to get some good Observation made at this Place, to determine the
-Height of the Pole there, thereby to decide the Controversie, whether
-there hath really been any Change in the Axis of the Earth, in so long
-an Interval; which some great Authors of late, have been willing to
-suppose. And if any curious Traveller, or Merchant residing there,
-would please to observe, with due care, the Phases of the Moons
-Eclipses at _Bagdat_, _Aleppo_ and _Alexandria_, thereby to determin
-their Longitudes, they could not do the Science of Astronomy a greater
-Service: For in and near these Places were made all the Observations
-whereby the middle Motions of the Sun and Moon are limited: And I could
-then pronounce in what Proportion the Moon's Motion does Accelerate;
-which that it does, I think I can demonstrate, and shall (God willing)
-one Day, make it appear to the Publick.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The _Philosophical Reader_ is desired to excuse our breaking in upon
-the Subject of these Tracts, by intermixing Historical and Philological
-Matters, as also our exceeding the Bounds of an Extract: But we hope
-the Curiosity of the Subject, joyned to the Desires of the _Royal
-Society_, may make an easie Apology suffice. There may be many other
-Instructive Remarks made thereon, which still deserve the Consideration
-of the Learned, and from such the Publick may yet expect a further
-Account.
-
-
-
-
-  _A Voyage of the Emperour of _China_ into the Eastern _Tartary_,
-    Anno. 1682._
-
-
-The Emperour of _China_ made a Voyage into Eastern _Tartary_, in the
-beginning of this Year 1682, after having appeased (by the Death of
-three Rebellious Kings) a Revolt, formed in some Provinces of the
-Empire: One of those revolted Princes, was Strangled in the Province,
-of which he had made himself Master: The second being brought to
-_Pekin_ with the Principal Heads of his Faction, was cut in Pieces
-in the sight of the whole Court: The most Considerable among the
-_Mandarines_, acting with their own hands in this sad Execution, to
-Revenge upon this Rebel the Death of their Parents, which he had caused
-to be Cruelly Murdered.
-
-The third which was the most Considerable, (and indeed the Chief of all
-the Revolt) had by a voluntary Death prevented his deserved Punishment,
-and so put an end to a War, which had lasted for Seven Years.
-
-The Peace having been settled, by the Re-establishing in the Empire and
-all the Provinces, the Peaceable Enjoyment of their Ancient Liberties:
-The Emperour departed the 23_d._ of _March_ to go into the Province of
-_Leao-tum_, the Country of his Ancestors, with a Design of visiting
-their Sepulchers, and (after having honoured them with the usual
-Ceremonies) of prosecuting his Journey into the Eastern _Tartary_: This
-Journey was was about 1100 _miles_, from _Pekin_ to the end of it.
-
-The Emperour took with him his eldest Son, a young Prince of ten
-years old, which had already been declared Heir of the Empire: The
-three principal Queens went also in this Journy, each in their
-gilded Chariot; the principal Kings also which compose this Empire,
-were accompanying with all the Grandees of the Court: And the most
-considerable _Mandarines_ of all the Orders, who having all a very
-great Train of Attendants, and very numerous Equipage, made a Court
-about the Emperour of more then 70000 Persons.
-
-It was his Will that I should accompany him in this Journey, and that
-I should be always near him, to the end I might make in his Presence,
-the Observations, necessary for knowing the disposition of the Heavens,
-the elevation of the Pole, the Magnetical Declinations of every Place,
-and for Measuring with Mathematical Instruments the height of the
-Mountains, and the distances of Places: He was well pleased also to
-be informed of what concerned Meteors, and many other Physical and
-Mathematical Matters.
-
-In so much, that he gave Order to an Officer to carry upon Horses such
-Instruments as I should have occasion to make use of, and recommended
-me to the Prince his Unkle, who is also his Father in Law, and the
-second Person of the State, he is called by a _Chinese_ Name, which
-signifies an Associate of the Empire: He gave charge to him to cause
-all things to be provided for me which were necessary for this Journey,
-which this Prince performed with a very particular goodness, causing me
-to Lodge always in his own Tent, and to eat at his Table.
-
-The Emperour ordered that they should give me Horses of his own
-Stables, to the End I might the more easily Change in Riding, and
-some of those were of them He Himself had Rid, which is a Mark of
-very extraordinary distinction. In this Journey we always went toward
-the North-east: From _Pekin_ to the Province of _Leao-tum_, the Way
-being about 300 Miles is pretty equal: In the Province it self of
-_Leao-tum_, it is about 400 Miles, but much more unequal by Reason of
-the Mountains; from the Frontier of this Province to the City of _La_,
-or the River which the _Tartars_ call _Songoro_, and the _Chinoise_
-_Sumhoa_, the way (which is about 400 Miles) is very difficult, being
-crossed sometimes by Mountains extreamly Steep, sometimes by Valleys
-of extraordinary Depth, and through Desert Plains, wherein for two or
-three Days March we met with nothing. The Mountains of this Country are
-Covered on the East side with great Oaks and old Forrests, which have
-not been cut for some Ages.
-
-All the Country which is beyond the Province of _Leao-tum_ is exceeding
-Desert where nothing is to be seen on all sides but Mountains and
-Valleys, and Dens of _Bears_, _Tigers_ and other _Devouring_ Beasts,
-you can scarce find a House, but only some _poor Reed Huts_, upon the
-sides of some Brooks and Streams. All the Cities and _Burrow-towns_
-which I have seen in the Province of _Leao-tum_, and which are in very
-great Numbers are intirely ruined: One can see nothing thro' the whole
-Country, but old ruined Walls with Rubble, Bricks and Stones. In the
-out-skirts of these Cities there have been of late some few Houses
-built, but without any order. Some of them made of Earth, others of the
-Rubbish of the old Buildings, the most part of them covered with Straw
-or Thatch, and but few with Tiles. There is now not the least Footsteps
-remaining of a great number of Towns and Villages which were here
-before the War. Because the petty King of the _Tartars_, who began to
-kindle this War having but a very small Army, caused the Inhabitants of
-those Places to take Arms, which Places he forthwith destroyed, that he
-might take from his Soldiers the hopes of ever returning again to their
-own _Homes_.
-
-The Capital City of _Leao-tum_, which is called _Xyn-Yam_, is a City
-very fair and pretty intire, it has as yet the Remains of an Antient
-_Palace_. It is (for as much as I was able to remark by divers
-Observations) of the Latitude of 41 _degrees_ 56 _minutes_; that is to
-say, two _degrees_ above _Pekin_, tho' hitherto both the _Europeans_
-and the _Chinese_ have given that City the Latitude of 41 _degrees_.
-There is in that City no declination of the Magnetick Needle, as I have
-found by many reiterated Observations. The City of _Ula_ which was
-almost the very Extream of our Journey, lies in 44 _degrees_ and 20
-_minutes_. The compass there declines from the South to the West one
-_degree_ 40 _minutes_.
-
-But to resume the Prosecution of our Journey, from _Pekin_ to this
-Extream towards the East there is made a new Way, by which the Emperour
-can commodiously March with his Horse, and the Queens in their
-Chariots. This Way is about 10 _foot_ broad, and as even and streight
-as could possibly be made; it is extended above 1000 _Miles_, it has a
-little Raising on each side of about a Foot high every where equal and
-perfectly Parallel to one another; and this Way was as neat, especially
-when the Weather was fair, as a Floor where the Husbandmen beat out
-their Corn in the Field; there were also certain Persons along this
-way, who only took care to Smooth and Cleanse it. The Christians have
-no where so great care of Sweeping their Streets and publick Places
-where the Holy Sacrament is to pass in the Processions, as these
-Infidels have of cleansing the Ways, where their Kings and their Queens
-are to pass, every time they go out of their Palaces.
-
-There was made for their Return a way like the former, they plained or
-levelled the Mountains as far as they were able, they raised Bridges
-over the Rivers, and for ornamenting them, they had extended on each
-side of them a sort of Mats upon which they had Painted divers Figures
-of Animals, which had the same effect with Tapestry Hangings, with
-which the Streets are usually hung in Procession.
-
-The Emperor did very seldom make use of this Way, being almost always
-in Hunting: And when he accompanied the Queens he only Rode by the
-side of it, to the End that the great number of Horse which were in the
-Train that followed should not spoil it: He ordinarily Marched at the
-Head of this kind of Army. The Queens followed immediately in their
-Chariots, with their Train and their Equipage; they notwithstanding
-left some space between the King and themselves: After these Marched
-the Kings, the Grandees of the Court and the _Mandarines_, every one
-according to his Rank, behind these an infinity of Attendants, and
-other People on Horse-back brought up the Rear-guard.
-
-As there was not one City upon all this Way, that could either Lodge
-so great a Multitude, or Furnish them with Provisions, and that the
-greatest Part of their Journey was through a Country very little
-Inhabited, so they were Necessitated to carry along with them all
-things that were Necessary for the journey, and even Provisions of
-Victuals for three Months.
-
-Upon this Account there were sent before by the Ways which were made
-on each side of the Emperors Way, an Infinity of Waggons, Cammels,
-Horses, and Mules for to carry the Baggage: Besides these the Emperor,
-the Kings and almost all the Grandees of the Court, had great numbers
-of Horses led, for the use of changing from time to time. I do not here
-reckon the Droves of Beefs, Sheep, and other Cattel, which they were
-obliged to have with them. And though this great Multitude of Men,
-Horses, and Droves, passed by a way at a good distance from that of
-the Emperor, yet it raised so horrible a Dust, that we always seemed to
-March in a cloud, and thence found it Difficult to distinguish those
-that Marched 15 or 20 Paces from us.
-
-The March was so well regulated, that this Army Incamped every Night
-upon the sides of some River or Brook. 'Twas for this Reason that they
-caused the Tents and the Baggage necessary for this Incamping to set
-out very early in the Morning; and the Quarter-masters upon their first
-arrival, Marked the Ground most proper for the placing of the Emperors
-Tent, of the Queens, of the Kings, of the Grandees, of the Court, of
-the _Mandarines_, each according to his Dignity, and according to the
-Dignity he had in the _Chinese_ Militia, which is divided into eight
-Orders or into eight Standards.
-
-In the space of three Months we passed about 1000 _Miles_, advancing
-towards the North-east, and about as many in our return: In fine, we
-arrived at _Kam-Hay_, which is a Fort situated between the South Sea
-and the Mountains of the North: It is there where is the beginning
-of that so much Celebrated Wall, and which separates the Province of
-_Leao-tum_ from that of _Pekely_; from whence it is extended very far
-on the side of the North over the tops of the highest Mountains. When
-we entred this Province, the Emperor, the Kings, and the Grandees of
-the Court, quitted the great Way of which we have hitherto spoken, to
-take that of the Mountains of the North, which are extended without
-Interruption towards the North-East: There some Days were passed in
-Hunting, which was performed in this manner.
-
-The Emperor chose 3000 Men of his Life-guard, Armed with Arrows and
-Javelins, and dispersed them some on this side some on that; so that
-they possest themselves of a great Circuit about the Mountains, which
-they Environed on all Parts, which made a kind of Circle whose Diameter
-was at least 3000 _Paces_; then Marching to draw nearer together with
-equal Progress and without quitting their Range, what ever Obstacles
-they found in the way (the Emperor having joyned with them several of
-the Captains, and of the Grandees of the Court, for the better keeping
-of their Order) they Reduced this great Circle to another much less,
-which had about 300 _Paces_ in the Diameter: So that all the Beasts
-which had been stayed within the first, found themselves taken in
-this last as in a Net: for that every one setting his Feet upon the
-Ground, they Locked themselves together so closely, that they left
-no meshing Place for them to make their Escape by. Then they Pursued
-them so Vigorously in this little Space, that the poor Creatures tired
-with the violence of their Coursing, came and fell down at the Feet of
-their Chasers, and suffered themselves to be taken without trouble. I
-saw taken in this Manner two or three Hundred Hares in less then one
-day, without counting an Infinite of Wolves and Foxes. I have seen
-the same thing divers times done in that part of _Tartary_, which is
-on the other side of the Province of _Leao-tum_, where I remember to
-have seen, among others, more than 1000 Deer so pent up by these sort
-of Nets, which came to cast themselves into the Hands of the Hunters,
-having found no passage to save themselves by: they kill'd also Bears,
-Boars, and more than 60 Tigers, but these are taken by other means, and
-with other Weapons.
-
-The Emperor will'd that I should be present at all these different
-Huntings, and he recommended to his Father in Law, in a most obliging
-Manner the having a particular care of me, and of giving charge that I
-should not be exposed to any danger in the Hunting of the Tigers, and
-the other fierce Beasts; I was the only Person of all the _Mandarines_
-who was without Arms, and so near to the Emperor; though I made Light
-of the Fatigue during the time we were in our Journey, I found my self
-so wearied every Evening when I got to my Tent, that I was not able to
-support my Self; and I should have dispensed with my self divers times
-from following the Emperor, if my Friends had not counsel'd me to the
-contrary, and if I had not fear'd that he would have taken it ill if he
-should have perceived it.
-
-After having passed about 400 Miles in Hunting daily after this manner,
-we arrived at last at _Xyn-Yam_, the Capital City of the Province,
-where we stayed four Days.
-
-The Inhabitants of _Coree_ came to present to the Emperor a _Sea-Calf_
-which they had taken, the Emperor caused me to see it, and asked
-whither our _European_ Books had spoken any thing of this Fish? I told
-him we had a Book in our Library at _Pekin_ which had explain'd the
-Nature of it, and dispatched presently a Courrier to our Fathers at
-_Pekin_, who brought it me in a few Days: The Emperor was pleased to
-see that what was said of this Fish in this Book, was agreeable to this
-which he had seen, and caused it to be carried back again to _Pekin_ to
-be carefully preserved.
-
-During the stay which we made in this City, the Emperor with the Queens
-went to visit the Sepulchers of his Ancestors, which are not very far
-distant, from whence he sent them back to _Xyn-Yam_, to continue his
-own Journey into the Eastern _Tartary_.
-
-After several Days of Marching and Hunting, he arrived at _Kirin_,
-which is distant from _Xyn-Yam_ 400 Miles: This City is built along
-the great River _Songoro_ which takes its source from the Mountain
-_Cham-pe_, distant 400 Miles towards the South: This Mountain so
-Famous in the East for having been the Antient Seat of our _Tartars_,
-is always covered with Snow, from whence it had its Name, because
-_Cham-pe_ signifies the white Mountain.
-
-So soon as the Emperor saw it, he alighted from his Horse and fell
-on his Knees on the Bank of the River, and bowed Himself three times
-to the Ground to Salute it: After which, he caused himself to be
-carried upon a glorious Throne of Gold, and so made his Entry into
-the City: All the People ran in a throng before him, testifying by
-their Acclamations the Joy they had to see him. This Prince took great
-Pleasure in those Testimonies of their Affection; and that he might
-give them some Marks of his being very sensible of it, he was pleased
-to suffer himself to be seen by all, and forbid his Guards to hinder
-the People from approaching him, as they used to do at _Pekin_.
-
-They make in this City Barks of a very particular manner: The
-Inhabitants keep always a great number of them ready fitted to Repulse
-the _Muscovites_, who come often into this River, to dispute the
-Fishing of Pearls. The Emperor reposed himself two Days, after which he
-Descended upon the River with some Lords, accompanied with more than
-100 Boats, till he arrived at the City of _Ula_, which is the fairest
-of all this Country, and which at other times hath been the Seat of the
-Empire of the _Tartars_.
-
-A little below this City, which is at most about 32 _Miles_ from
-_Kirin_, the River is very full of a certain Fish which resemble near
-enough the Plaice of _Europe_: and 'twas principally for the taking the
-Divertisement of Fishing, that the Emperor went to _Ula_; but the Rains
-coming on so suddainly, swelled the River so much, that all their Nets
-were broken and carried away, by the great Flood of those Land Waters:
-The Emperor notwithstanding stayed 5 or 6 Days at _Ula_; but seeing
-the Rains were not at all discontinued, he was obliged to come back to
-_Kirin_, without having enjoyed the Pleasure of Fishing: as we ascended
-the River, the Bark wherein I was with the Emperors Father in Law, was
-so indamaged by the agitation of the Waves, that we were constrained to
-go a Shore, and mount a Chariot drawn by one Ox, which carried us very
-slowly to _Kirin_, the Rains not at all ceasing during our Journy.
-
-In the Evening when the Emperor was entertained upon all these
-Adventures, he said Laughing, _the Fish have cheated us_; at length,
-after we had stayed two Days at _Kirin_, the Rains began to diminish,
-and we retook our Way towards _Leao-tum_. I cannot here express the
-Pains and Fatigues these had caused us to undergo, during the whole
-Course of this Journy, by Reason of the Ways which the Rains had
-Spoiled, and rendred almost impassable: we went without staying over
-the Mountains and over the Vallies, and we could not pass but with
-extream Danger, the Brooks and Rivers which were swelled by the Floods
-and Inundations which ran from all Parts: the Bridges were either
-overturned by the Violence of the Currents, or all covered by the great
-overflowing of the Waters. There were made in divers Places great
-Collections of Water, and of Mud, that it was almost impossible to be
-drawn out of it. The Horses, Cammels, and other Beasts of Burthen,
-which carried the Baggage could not advance, but remained sticking
-in the Mud of the Marshes, or died of tiring upon the Ways. The Men
-were not at all less incommoded, and all were enfeebled for want of
-Victuals, and of Refreshments necessary for so great a Journy: Many of
-the Horsemen were obliged, either to lead their Horses on Foot, who
-were no longer able to carry them, or to rest in the middle of the
-Fields to suffer them to take Breath: And though the Quarter-masters
-and the Harbingers, spared not their Pains, nor for Wood (which they
-cut on all sides) to fill with Faggots all the bad Passages: Yet
-notwithstanding after the Horses and Chariots, which took the Van early
-in the Morning had quite passed, it was impossible to pass after them:
-The Emperor himself, with his Son, and all the great Lords of the
-Court, were obliged more than once, to Foot it over the Mud and the
-Marshes, fearing to expose themselves to greater danger, if they should
-have passed them on Horse-back.
-
-When they came to Bridges, or those other obstructions all the Army
-stayed: And as soon as the Emperor was passed, with some of the most
-considerable Persons, all the rest came together in a Throng, and every
-one striving to pass first, many were tumbled over into the Water:
-Others taking Ways more about, found them more dangerous, falling into
-Sloughs and Bogs, out of which they could not Recover themselves. In
-fine, there were so many Inconveniencies to be met with, in all the
-Ways of Eastern _Tartary_, that the old Officers who had followed the
-Court above 30 _Years_, said they had never suffered so much in any
-Journy.
-
-It was on those Occasions, that the Emperor more than once, gave me the
-Marks of a Respect altogether particular: the first Day that we put
-our Selves in the way for returning, we were stay'd in the Evening,
-by a Torrent so great and rapid, that 'twas impossible to Ford it:
-The Emperor having by chance found a little Boat, which could not
-hold above 4 Persons at most, passed first with his Sons, and some
-of the Principal Kings followed: All the other Princes, Lords, and
-_Mandarines_, which the rest of the Army attended, (in the mean while)
-with Impatience the return of the Boat, to carry them to the other side
-of the Torrent, because the Night approached, and the Tents had long
-before passed: But the Emperor being come back to us in such another
-Boat as the former, demanded aloud where I was? and his Father in Law
-having presented me to him, he added, let him come in and Cross over
-with us: So we were the only Persons that passed with the Emperor;
-and all the rest stayed on the Bank, where they must pass the Night
-_under the open Heaven_: The same thing happened the next Day almost
-in the same manner. The Emperor at Noon meeting with a like rapid and
-swelled Torrent, gave order that the Boats should be made use of for
-Transporting the Tents, Packs, and other Baggage till the Evening;
-then willed that I should pass alone with him and some few of his
-Attendants, having left on the other side all the great Lords, who
-were necessitated to pass the Night there. The Emperor's Father in Law
-himself, having asked if he should not pass with me, since I Lodged in
-his Tent and eat at his Table? this Prince answered him, that he should
-stay, and he himself would take Order to give me what was necessary.
-
-After we had past, the Emperor sitting on the Bank-side, made me sit by
-him, with the two Sons of the two petty Western Kings, and the first
-_Colao_ of _Tartary_, whom he distinguished on all Occasions.
-
-As the Night was Fair, and the Heavens very Clear; he willed me to Name
-in the _Chinese_ and _European_ Languages, all the Constellations that
-then appeared above the Horizon, and he himself first named all those
-he already knew; then unfolding a small Map of the Heavens, which I
-had some Years since presented him, he put himself upon inquiring the
-Hour of the Night, by the Stars in the Meridian: Pleasing himself to
-shew to all the Knowledge he had acquired in these Sciences. All the
-Marks of his Favours which he so often gave me, even to the sending me
-to Eat from his own Table, these Marks I say were so Publick, and so
-Extraordinary; that the two Unkles of the Emperor, who bore the Titles
-of Associates of the Empire, being on their Return to _Pekin_, said
-that when the Emperor had some Regret or appeared somewhat Sad, he
-would Resume his ordinary Gaiety upon the sight of me.
-
-I arrived at _Pekin_ in perfect Health the 9_th_ day of _June_ very
-late, though divers were detained in the Way by Distempers, or were
-returned from their Journy, Hurt and Lamed.
-
-I say nothing of what we did for Religion in this Journy, having
-reserved that for a particular Relation, by which it will appear, that
-by the Grace of our Lord, the Favours we received at the Court of
-_China_, produced considerable Fruits for the Church, and did not take
-away the Cross from the Missionaries.
-
-I shall here add the _Tartarean_ Names, and the distance of every Place
-through which we passed in the Eastern _Tartary_, from the Capital of
-the Province of _Leao-tum_ even to _Kirin_, according to the order
-of Days which we Spent in this Progress. A _Topographic Chart_ may
-be made and inserted into the Map of the Province of _Leao-tum_, to
-be found in the Atlas of Father _Martin Martinius_, by changing only
-the _Latitudes_ according to the Heights of the _Pole_, which we have
-before Specified.
-
-I shall add one thing more which I Understood from the Inhabitants of
-_Ula_, to wit that _Nincrita_ (which is a Place much Renowned in those
-Parts) is distant from _Ula_ 700 _Chinese Stadia_ (each of which is
-360 _Geometrical Paces_) and that Embarking at _Nincrita_ upon the
-great River _Heleum_, into which the _Songoro_, and some other more
-considerable Rivers are discharged, and following the course of the
-River, which runs towards the North-East, or somewhat more to the
-North, they arrive in 40 Days Journy at the Eastern Sea, which is (as I
-believe) the Streight of _Anien_: I was told this by the General of the
-Militia which is at _Kirin_; and who had performed this Voyage himself.
-
-
-
-
-  _The Distances of the Places, thro' which we passed in the Eastern
-    _Tartary_._
-
-
-  The first Day we passed from _Xyn-Yam_,
-  the Capital of the Province of _Leao-tum_,
-  and we arrived at _Seao-Lysto_, so the Place is
-  called in the _Chinese_ Language.                         95. _stadia_.
-
-  The 2_d._ day we arrived at _Cha-cay Angha_.              85. _stadia_.
-
-  The 3_d._ day at another Torrent of the same Name.        70. _stadia_.
-
-  The 4_th._ at _Kiaghuchen_.                               50. _stadia_.
-
-  The 5_th._ at _Feyteri_.                                  80. _stadia_.
-
-  The 6_th._ at the Torrent of _Seipery_.                   60. _stadia_.
-
-  The 7_th._ at the Torrent of _Ciam_.                      60. _stadia_.
-
-  The 8_th._ at _Courou_.                                   50. _stadia_.
-
-  The 9_th._ at the Burrow of _Sape_.                       40. _stadia_.
-
-  The 10_th._ at _Quaranny Pira_.                           40. _stadia_.
-
-  The 11_th._ at _Elten eme Ambayaga_.                      70. _stadia_.
-
-  The 12_th._ at _Ypatan_.                                  58. _stadia_.
-
-  The 13_th._ at _Suayen ny Pyra_.                          60. _stadia_.
-
-  The 14_th._ at _Ylmen_.                                   70. _stadia_.
-
-  The 15_th._ at _Seuten_.                                  70. _stadia_.
-
-  The 16_th._ the City of _Kirin_.                          70. _stadia_.
-                                                         ------
-                                                          1028.
-
-All this Course being 1028 _Chinese_ Stadia, contains 369 Miles (each)
-of 1000 Geometrical Paces; the _Chinese_ Stadium containing as I
-mentioned before 360 Geometrical Paces.
-
-
-
-
-  _A Voyage of the Emperor of _China_, into the Western _Tartary_, in
-    the Year, 1683._
-
-
-The Emperor this Year, which is the 30_th._ of his Age, made a Voyage
-into the Western _Tartary_, together with the Queen his Grand-mother,
-which they call the Queen _Mother_; he departed the 16_th._ of _July_,
-in the Company of more than 60000 Men, and 100000 Horse. He positively
-resolved, that I, with one of the two Fathers that were at the Court of
-_Pekin_, the Choice of which he left to me, should follow him, I chose
-Father _Philip Grimaldi_; because he is the most known, and because he
-perfectly understood the _Mathematicks_.
-
-Several Reasons prevailed with the Emperor to Enterprize this Journy.
-The first was, that he might keep his Militia during the Peace as well
-as in the Wars, in continual Exercise; and for this Reason it was,
-that after he had Establish'd a firm Peace in all the Quarters of this
-so vast an Empire; he recalled his best Troops hither out of every
-Province, and resolved in his Council to make every Year Expeditions of
-this kind, in several Seasons, that by hunting of Deer, Boars, Bears,
-and Tigers, they might learn to overcome the Enemies of the Empire, or
-at least to prevent the cooling of their Courage, or the degenerating
-from their Pristine Valour, by the Luxury of _China_, in a too long
-Repose.
-
-In effect these kinds of Hunting had more of the shew of a Military
-Expedition, than of one for Divertisement, as I have already noted:
-The Emperor took in his Train, 100000 Horse, and above 60000 Men, all
-armed with Arrows and Cimiters, divided into Companies and Marching in
-Battle-Array after their Colours, with the sound of Drums and Trumpets:
-During their Hunting, they intirely invested the Mountains and
-Forrests, as if they had been Cities which they design'd to Beleaguer;
-following in this the manner of Hunting used by the Eastern _Tartars_,
-of which I have spoken in my last Letter. This Army had its Van-guard
-and Rear-guard, and its Main Body, its Right Wing and Left Wing, was
-commanded by so many Generals and petty Kings. There were spent more
-then Seventy Days before they were on their March, in bringing together
-all the Ammunitions of the Army upon the Waggons, upon the Camels,
-upon the Horses, and upon the Mules, by reason of the Incommodious
-Ways. For in all the Western _Tartary_ (I call it Western) not with
-Relation to _China_, which lieth in Respect of it Westward it self,
-but with respect of the Eastern _Tartary_ there is nothing to be found
-but Mountains, Rocks, and Vallies; there are neither Cities, Towns
-nor Villages, nor so much as any Houses. The Inhabitants Lodge under
-Tents, pitched on all sides in the open Fields. They are for the most
-part Graziers, and transport their Tents from one Vally to another,
-according as the Pastures are better. There they Pasture their Beefs,
-their Horses, and their Camels, they breed no Hogs, nor any of those
-other Animals, which elsewhere are fed in the Villages, as Poultry and
-Geese. But only of such as the Herbs, which an uncultivated Land doth
-Naturally produce, will serve to sustain. They pass their Life either
-in Hunting, or doing nothing. And as they neither sow nor cultivate the
-Earth, so they make no Harvest. They Live upon Milk, Cheese, and Flesh,
-and have a sort of Wine, not much unlike our Aqua-vitæ; with which they
-make their Feasts, and are often Drunk. In short they care for nought
-from Morning to Night, but to Drink and Eat; like the Beasts, and
-Droves which they Feed.
-
-They are not without their Priests, which they call _Lamas_, for whom
-they have a singular Veneration, in which they differ from the Oriental
-_Tartars_; the most part of whom have no Religion, nor do they believe
-any God. For the rest both of the one and the other are Slaves, and
-wholly depend upon the will of their Masters, whose Religion and
-Manners they blindly follow: Like in this to their Droves, who go where
-they are lead, and not where they ought to go.
-
-This part of _Tartary_, lies without the prodigious Wall of _China_
-about 1000 _Chinese Stadia_, that is to say more than 300 _European_
-Miles, and extends from the North-east towards the North.
-
-The Emperor Rides on Horse-back, in the Head of his Army through these
-Desert Places, and these Steep Mountains, and far from great Roads,
-exposed all the Day to the Scorchings of the Sun, to the Rains, and to
-all the Injuries of the Air. Many of those which had been in the last
-War, assured me, that they had not suffered so much during all that as
-during this Hunting. In so much that the Emperor, whose principal Aim
-it was to give his Forces a Breathing, performed effectually what he
-pretended.
-
-The second Reason he had of undertaking this Journy, was that he might
-keep the Western _Tartars_ in their Duty, and to prevent any pernitious
-Designs that might be formed against the States.
-
-It was for this that he entred their Country with so great an Army, and
-with so great Preparations for War. Having carried along several great
-Guns, that he might cause them to be Discharged from time to time into
-the Vallies, and by the Noise and Fire which issued out of the Mouths
-of those Dragons, which served to Ornament them, he might cast a Dread
-upon the Rout.
-
-Besides this great Retinue, he would yet be accompanied with all the
-Marks of Grander, with which he was environed at the Court at _Pekin_.
-To wit, with a Multitude of Drums, Trumpets, Timbals, and other Musical
-Instruments, which formed Consorts During his sitting at Table, when
-he entred the Palace, or when he went out. He caused all these to
-March with him, that he might by this outward Pomp Astonish these
-_Barbarous_ People, to strike them with a Fear and Respect of his
-Imperial Majesty.
-
-For the Empire of _China_ never had any Enemies more to be feared
-than these Western _Tartars_; which beginning on the East of _China_
-encompass it with an almost infinite of People, and keep it as it were
-continually beleaguered on the North and West sides thereof; and 'twas
-to make a Bulwork against their Incursions, that a _Chinese_ Emperor
-in antient Times caused this great Wall to be Built, which separates
-_China_ from their Country. I have passed it four times, and have
-considered it very attentively. And I can say without Hyperbolizing,
-that all the seven Wonders of the World put together, are not
-comparable to this Work. And all that Fame has spread concerning it
-among the _Europeans_, is far short of what I my self have seen.
-
-Two things have more especially caused my Admiration. The first is,
-that in this long extent from the East to the West, it passes in
-several places not only through vast Champains, but also above the
-tops of exceeding high Mountains, upon which it is raised by little
-and little, and fortify'd at certain Intervals with great Towers;
-not distant the one from the other more than two flight Shot. At our
-return I had the Curiosity to measure the height of it in one place
-by means of an Instrument, and I found that it was in that Place 1037
-Geometrical Feet above the Horison; in such sort that 'tis hard to
-comprehend how 'twas possible to elevate this enormous Bulwork to the
-height we saw it, in places dry and full of Mountains, whence they
-must be obliged to bring from a great distance with incredible Labour,
-the Water, Brick, Mortar, and all the Materials necessary for so great
-a Work.
-
-The second thing that surprized me was, that this Wall is not continued
-upon the same Line, but bent in divers places following the situation
-of the Mountains, in such manner, that instead of one Wall, one may say
-that there are three, which Environ all this great part of _China_.
-
-After all, The Monarch which in our Days hath re-united the _Chinese_
-and the _Tartars_, under one and the same Government, has done some
-things more for the advantage of the security of _China_, than the
-_Chinese_ Emperor that built the long Wall. For after having reduced
-the Western _Tartars_, partly by Artifice, partly by force of Arms: He
-has obliged to go and remain at 300 Miles distance from the Wall of
-_China_; and in this Place he distributes to them Land and Pastures,
-whilst he has given their Country to other _Tartars_, his Subjects
-which have their Habitation there at present: Notwithstanding which,
-these Western _Tartars_ are so powerful, that if they should agree
-together, they might make themselves Masters of all _China_, and of the
-Eastern _Tartary_, even in the Face of the Oriental _Tartars_.
-
-I have said, that the _Tartarian_ Monarch that conquered _China_,
-used an expedient for subduing the Western _Tartars_. For one of his
-first Cares was to engage to his Interest by his Royal Bounties, and
-by demonstration of a Singular Affection, the _Lamas_ (or _Priests_)
-these Men having a great Repute about all those of their Nation, easily
-perswaded them to submit to the Government of so great a Prince; and
-'tis in consideration of this Service done to the Estate, that the
-present Emperor looks upon these _Lamas_ with a favourable Eye, that
-he bestows Presents on them; and that he makes use of them to keep the
-_Tartars_ in the Obedience which they owe him: Tho' at the bottom he
-hath nothing but Dis-esteem for their Persons, and looks upon them as
-a sort of Ignorant Fellows, which have not the least Tincture of the
-Sciences or commendable Arts, in which without doubt this Prince shews
-a Wise Policy, in so disguising his true Sentiments, by these exterior
-Marks of Esteem and Good-will.
-
-He has divided this vastly extended Country into 48 Provinces, who have
-submitted and are Tributary to him. From whence it comes to pass, that
-the Emperor that Reigns at present in _China_, and in the one and the
-other _Tartary_, may justly be called the greatest and most powerful
-Monarch of _Asia_, having so many vast Estates under him, without being
-any where interrupted by the Territory of any Foreign Prince, and he
-alone being as the Soul which gives motion to all the Members of so
-vast a Body.
-
-For after he had charged himself with the Government, he did not at all
-intrust the Care to any of the _Colaos_, nor to any of the great Men of
-his Court. He has not at all suffered, that the Eunuchs of the Palace,
-or any of his Pages, or any of the young Lords that have been raised by
-him, should dispose of the least thing in his House, or should regulate
-any thing of themselves: Which appears very extraordinary; especially
-if we examin what Customs his Predecessors were wont to use.
-
-He chastises with wonderful Equity the great Ones as well as the
-Inferiors; he deprives them of their Charges, and makes them descend
-from the Rank they held, proportioning always the Penalty to the
-heinousness of their Fault. He takes Cognisance of the Affairs which
-are transacted in the Royal Counsel, and in the other Tribunals,
-even to the causing them to render to him an exact account of the
-Judgments there given. In one Word, he of himself Disposes and Orders
-all things; and 'tis by reason of the absolute Authority which he hath
-thus acquired, that the greatest Lords of the Court, and Persons of the
-highest Quality in the Empire; even the Princes of the Blood, never
-appear in his Presence, but with a profound Respect.
-
-But to what remains, the _Lamas_ or _Tartarian_ Priests, of whom we
-have spoken, are not only respected by the People, but also by the
-Lords and Princes of their Nation, who for Politick Ends testifie
-to them a great deal of Friendship: This makes us fear that the
-Christian Religion, will not find so easie an entrance into the Western
-_Tartary_. They are also very powerful upon the Mind of the Queen
-Mother, who is of their Country, and who is at present Threescore and
-Ten Years Old; they are wont to tell her, that the Sect (of which she
-makes Profession) has no more declared Enemies than us. And 'tis a
-kind of Miracle, or at least an extraordinary Protection of God, that
-notwithstanding this, the Emperor, who has very much regard and respect
-for her, has not hitherto ceased to heap on us Graces and Honours,
-considering us after another manner than the _Lamas_.
-
-During the Journey, as the Princes and the chief Officers of the Army
-went oftentimes to the Queen to attend at her Court; and that we also
-were advertised to do so likewise: We were willing first to consult a
-Person of the Court, who loved us very much, and who spake for us to
-the Emperor in our Affairs. This Lord having enter'd the Princes Tent,
-told him what had passed, and presently coming out again: _The Emperor_
-(said he to us) _has given me to understand, that 'tis not at all
-necessary for you to attend the Queen as others do_; which made us to
-apprehend enough, that this Princess did not favour us.
-
-The 3d Reason which the Emperor had for making this Journey, was for
-his Health: because he knew by his Experience long enough, that when he
-is too long at _Pekin_ without going Abroad, he cannot avoid his being
-attacked by several Distempers, which he prevents by means of these
-long Progresses. For during the whole time he never sees any Woman; and
-that which is more surprizing, there appears not any one in all this
-great Army, except those which are of the Retinue of the Queen Mother:
-'Tis yet also a Novelty that she has accompanyed the King this Year, it
-having not been practiced above once, when he took with him the three
-Queens as far as the Capital City of the Province of _Leao-tum_, to
-visit the Sepulchers of their Ancestors.
-
-The Emperor and the Queen Mother pretend moreover by this Journey, to
-avoid the excessive Heats which are in _Pekin_, in the Summer during
-the Dog-days. For in this part of _Tartary_, there reigns during the
-Months of _July_ and _August_ so cold a Wind, especially in the Night,
-that 'tis necessary to put on thick Cloths and Furs. The Reason that
-may be assigned for this so extraordinary Cold, is that this Region is
-very much elevated and full of Mountains: There is one among the rest,
-upon which we continually ascended, for the space of 5 or 6 Days March.
-The Emperor being desirous to know how much it surmounted the Plains of
-_Pekin_, distant about 300 Miles; at our return (after having measured
-the height of above a hundred Mountains that lay in our Road) we found
-that it had 3000 Geometrical Pace of Elevation, above the Sea that
-nearest approached _Pekin_.
-
-The Salt Peter also with which these Countries abound, may contribute
-to this great Cold, which is so violent, that in digging the Earth to
-three or four Foot deep, there are fetched out Clods all frozen, and
-pieces of Ice.
-
-Divers of the Petty Kings of the Western _Tartary_, came from all sides
-for 300 Miles, and some for 500 Miles, together with their Children,
-to salute the Emperor. These Princes, who for the most part know none
-but by their own natural Language, which is very different from that of
-the Eastern _Tartary_: Took regard of us, with Aspects and Gestures of
-a goodness very particular. There were some among them, who had made a
-Journey to _Pekin_ to see the Court, and who had seen our Church.
-
-One or two Days before we arrived at the Mountain which was the
-boundary of our Journey, we met a Petty King very aged, who returned
-from accompanying the Emperor, he seeing us stayed with all his
-Retinue, and enquired by his Interpreter, which of us was called
-_Nauboaij_; one of our Servants having made a sign that it was I, this
-Prince accosted me with a great deal of Civility, and told me that for
-a long time he had known my Name, and that he had desired to know me.
-He spoke also to Father _Grimaldi_, with the same marks of Affection.
-The favourable Entertainment he gave us in this Re-encounter, gave some
-Reason to hope that our Religion might find an easie Entrance to those
-Princes, particularly if care be taken to insinuate into the Minds of
-those Princes, by the means of the Mathematicks: Which if there should
-at any time be a design to penetrate into their Country, the most sure
-way for divers Reasons, (which I have not the leisure to explain here)
-will be to begin the entrance with the other _Tartars_ more remote,
-which are not all Subjects of this Empire, from whom we may pass on to
-these, advancing by little and little towards _China_.
-
-During the whole Journey, the Emperor has continued to give us singular
-Tokens of his good Will, shewing us Favours in the sight of his Army,
-which he shewed to none besides.
-
-One time meeting us in a great Valley, where we were measuring the
-height and the distance of some Mountains, he made a stay with the
-whole Court; and calling to us from a great distance, he demanded of
-us in the _Chinese_ Language, _Hao-mo?_ that is to say, are you well
-in Health? And then asked us several Questions in the _Tartarian_
-Language, concerning the heighth of these Mountains, to which I
-answered also in the same Language; after which, turning to the Lords
-that were about him, he discoursed with them concerning us in very
-obliging Expressions, as I learned the same Night from the Prince his
-Unkle, who was then by his side.
-
-He testifyed also his Affection to us, by causing often Meat to be
-carry'd to our Tents from his own Table, willing also that on some
-Occasions we should eat in his; and every time he did us this Honour,
-he had a regard to our Days of Abstinence, and of Fasting, sending us
-only such Meats as we could use.
-
-The eldest Son of the Emperor, after the Example of his Father, gave us
-marks also of his Bounty, for having been constrained to stay more than
-10 Days, by reason of a fall from his Horse, by which he was hurt in
-his right Shoulder; and one part of the Army in which we were, having
-attended, whilst the Emperor with the other, continued his Hunting,
-he was not wanting in sending to us daily, and sometimes twice a Day,
-during this space, Food from his own Table. In fine, we look'd on all
-these Favours of the Royal Family, as the effects of a particular
-Providence which watched over us, and over Christianity, for which we
-had so much the more occasion to thank God, for that the affection
-of the Emperor, was never so constantly shewn to the Grandees of the
-Empire, nor to the Princes of the Blood.
-
-As to what relates to the other particularities of our Journey, they
-are like to those which happened to us the last Year, in the Journey to
-the Eastern _Tartary_, which I have fully described in my last Letter;
-that is to say, that we made use of the Emperor's Horses, and of his
-Litters, that we lodged in the Tents, and eat at the Table of the
-Prince his Unkle, to whom he had particularly recommended us.
-
-During more than 600 Miles, which we had passed in going and returning
-(for we did not return by the same Road) he caused to be made a great
-High-way cross the Mountains and the Vallies, for the Queen Mother, who
-went in a Chariot; he caused also an infinite number of Bridges to be
-made over the Torrents, as also the Rocks to be cut, and the Points of
-the Mountains, with incredible Pains and Expences: Father _Grimaldi_
-shall describe the other particulars in his Letters.
-
-As to the benefit which the Religion may draw from our Journey, I have
-spoken elsewhere; it sufficeth to say that the Emperor, to whose Will
-we cannot make the least resistance, without exposing all this Mission
-to a manifest Danger, has order'd us to follow him. I ceased not
-however to speak twice to that Lord of the Court, who is our particular
-Friend, to excuse us for the time to come from these long Journeys, and
-especially me, _who am not of an Age fit for it_: I tried to obtain at
-least that they would be contented to take only one of us; the Letters
-of our Fathers were daily brought us during the Journey, and I had
-the convenience of writing to them, by means of the Couriers which
-continually went to and came from the Royal City: I write all this in
-haste, that I may continue to give you an account of our Affairs.
-
-
-
-
-  _An Explanation, necessary to justify the _Geography_ supposed in
-    these Letters._
-
-
-It may seem wonderful, that the Author of these Letters makes mention
-in his former, of a kind of War between the _Oriental Tartars_ and the
-_Muscovites_, notwithstanding the extream distance these People appear
-to be from one another in our Geographical Charts; but those who know
-how much the _Muscovites_ have extended the Bounds of the Empire along
-the _Tartarian_ Sea, will judge the thing less difficult, besides those
-who have seen these Countries, have made Discoveries much differing
-from those which our Geographers have informed us of hitherto. Very
-lately _Monsieur D'Arcy_, who commands one of the King's Ships, in the
-Fleet of _Monsieur Le Marescal d'Estrees_, informed us, that having
-served in _Poland_, and having been made Governor of a Place towards
-_Moscovy_, the _Moscovite_ Ambassadors in their return having pass'd by
-him, and being by him treated in such a manner as put them into a very
-good Humour; one of them shewed him a Chart of the Countries between
-_Moscovy_ and _China_: and told him, that from three Cities which he
-shewed him, whose Names were _Lopsla_, _Abasinko_, _Nerginsko_, all
-three under the Government of the great Dukes, tho' situated in the
-great _Tartary_, there was a way to _Pekin_, which was not more than
-25 or 30 Days Journey. This Map it seems must be kept very secret in
-_Moscovy_: For the next Day the _Moscovite_ was in despair, for having
-given it, saying that if it should be known, he should come to great
-Damage. The Officer being come back since into _France_, has given a
-Copy to the King, and another to _Monsieur Le Marquis de Signelay_.
-To confirm this, it may be added, what a _French_ Man has writ from
-_Moscovy_ within this two Months, that they are actually raising Troops
-to go to War with the _Chinese_.
-
-
-
-
-  _Some Observations and Conjectures concerning the _Chinese_
-    Characters. Made by _R. H._ R. S. S._
-
-
-Whether there ever were any Language natural, I dispute not: But
-that there have been, are, and may be, artificial Languages 'tis not
-difficult to prove. The _Chinese_ Court Language is said to be of
-this kind, invented and spoken by the _Literati_ and _Mandarines_
-throughout the whole Empire of _China_, differing from all the other
-Languages spoken in it, and I conjecture it to be nothing else but
-the Names of the Character by which they write and express their
-meaning, arbitrarily imposed by them, as we in _Europe_ set names to
-Arithmetical Figures, not as we pronounce Words written with a litteral
-Character. This I Judge by comparing the Characters with the Names,
-Monosyllables or Words they pronounce and read them with. Nor do they
-ascend above a Monosyllabical Name, tho' the Character be composed
-of many single Characters, each of which hath its proper Sense, and
-Monosyllabical Name, and though the meaning of each Character, be an
-ingredient in the Notion of that compounded Character.
-
-I might give an Instance also in the Artificial Language Invented by
-the Late Reverend Bishop of _Chester_ Dr. _Wilkins_, which in all the
-accomplishments of Language doth excel any one yet extant; to which is
-also annexed a real Character, Legible into that or any other Language
-Spoken. By which Language the Character and every additional Mark
-is effable, and yet the Character is not Literal but Real, which is
-more curious and useful than the _Chinese_ way. Great pity it is that
-Discourse is not published in Latin, that the Learned of _Europe_, may
-think of further Improving it, and bringing it to Use.
-
-But whatever we may judge of Language, 'tis past dispute that
-Writing was ever Artificial, how Antiently so ever it were in Use,
-and was the Invention of some thinking and Studious Men. 'Tis also
-evident that there have been various ways thought of for Expressing
-Significancy, according to the several _Genii_ of the Persons that were
-the Inventors. As may be guessed by the _Ægyptian_ Hieroglyphicks,
-the _Chinese_ Characters, the _Mexican_ Chronology, and the Literal
-Characters of several Nations, each of which seem to proceed upon
-differing methods, and from differing thoughts of Invention.
-
-Which of these ways is the most Antient, is hard to prove. The
-_Ægyptian Mummies_ and _Obelesks_ prove a great Antiquity of the
-Hieroglyphicks, but yet the _Chinese_ Chronology (if to be credited)
-outstrips the _Ægyptian_ in pretence to Antiquity. For the _Chinese_
-make _Fohi_, the first King of _China_, to be the inventer of their
-Character: And account him to have lived 2950 Years before the time
-of Christ, during all which time they pretend to have a certain
-and written Account in their Books: But their Account of the times
-preceding, they esteem more Hypothetical and Fabulous; depending
-chiefly upon Fiction and Oral Tradition: As you will easily believe,
-when you understand how many Years they make it since the Creation of
-the World to the present Year 1686. which by the Account thereof in Mr.
-_Graves_'s Translation of _Vulg. Beig._ will be found to be no less
-than eighty eight millions six hundred and forty thousand one hundred
-and two Solar Years, there having been run out since the Creation 8864
-_Ven._ of Years (every _Ven._ containing ten thousand such Years) and
-of the present _Ven._ this Year 1686. is the 102d. Which Account is
-abundantly more extravagant than the _Ægyptian_: But this need not
-invalidate their History since _Fohi_; by which it appears that their
-Character was invented before the time of _Moses_ about 1400 Years,
-and even before _Menes_ the first King of _Ægypt_ about 500 Years. So
-that the _Chinese_ Invention of Writing or Characters, seems to be the
-most ancient of that kind. And the Book _Yekim_ said to be written by
-_Fohi_, the most antient Book.
-
-These Accounts made me the more desirous to understand somewhat of
-the Reality and Truth, of what is related concerning the Knowledge of
-Literature and manual Arts, which these People of _China_ are said to
-have possessed so long a time in so great Perfection, and without
-Alteration from the primitive Institution, especially upon the Account
-of their Art of Printing, which gave a hint to the Inventors of that
-admirable and most useful of all Inventions (for the Common Wealth of
-Learning) the way of Printing here in _Europe_. For _Paulus Jovius_
-affirms that the first occasion of that Invention in _Germany_, was a
-_German_ Merchant, who returning out of _China_ into his own Country,
-related what he had observed concerning the Practice of it as used in
-that Country. And tho' the _Chinese_ way be wholly differing as to
-the method of composing, from what was invented and perfected here:
-Yet such an intimation was enough to an ingenious Artist to improve
-the first Contrivance, and make it more accomodate to the literal way
-of Writing with us: And as our way may possibly be now brought to the
-greatest Perfection for exactness and expedition, so without doubt
-must be their way of Printing any thing just as it is written, since I
-find, that they can engrave their Stamps for a Sheet, as soon as one of
-our Compositers can set and correct a Sheet of our literal Character,
-and when so done, one Man alone will print off 1500 Sheets in one Day.
-And though 'tis generally believed to be much the same with our Wooden
-Cuts for Printing, yet from some Observations I have made, I believe
-it to be much another way; of which I shall hereafter say more when I
-describe their other Arts of Pottery, Staining, Varnishing, _&c._
-
-By a _Chinese_ Manuscript, out of which I transcribed the Lord's Prayer
-in the Year 1666 (when it was lost) I found that the Pronunciations
-had no affinity with the stroaks of the Character. Whence I conceived
-it was either a numeral Character consisting of Numbers, or else a
-real Character, but not a literal, unless it were a literal Character
-of some other Language than that by which it was pronounced, whose
-pronunciation is lost though the significancy be retained, as if one
-should read what is written in _Hebrew_ בראשיהברא into the _Latin_ or
-_Roman_ Language, _In Principio Cræavit_ instead of _Brasit bra_, or
-_Beresith Bara_ according to the _Masorethæ_.
-
-Since that time I procured from _China_, a Dictionary of the Court
-Language, (as I found it written upon by the Person that sent it me
-from thence) but this whole Book (which I found was Printed) consisted
-only of the _Chinese_ Characters without any Interpretation, or
-Pronunciation; however by the help of the Pictures of that, and a
-_Chinese_ Almanack, I quickly found out their Characters for Numbers,
-and their way of Numeration, together with the Figure and Use of
-their _Abacus_ or counting Board, for performing the Operations of
-_Arithmetick_, which I find pretty near to agree with that of the
-antient _Romans_ (a Description and Picture of which is given by
-_Ursinus_, _Pignorius_ and _Velserus_) save only, that, instead of
-Pins and sliding Groves of the _Roman_, the _Chinese Abacus_ hath
-Strings or Wires and Beads, to slide upon them; and that, instead of
-four Pins for Digits or Units, the _Chinese_ hath five Beads: So that
-it may seem to argue that the _Chinese Abacus_ was designed for a
-_Duodecimal_ Progression: Whereas that of the _Romans_ was design'd for
-the _Decimal_.
-
-One thing is remarkable in the _Chinese_, that I find the _Abacus_ to
-lie Horizontal, and their first place to be that next the left Hand,
-which I judge was also the first in their old way of reading, much
-the same with ours, though their other Characters are erected (as I
-shall by and by shew) from the posture of Writing and Reading, which
-I conjecture they did at first make use of; and what does yet further
-agree with this conjecture, is remarkable in the newly mentioned
-Treatise of _Vulg. Beig._ That whereas the way of Writing and Reading
-used by the _Arabs_, was from the right to the left, the first place or
-the place of Units in their Numeration, was that next the right Hand;
-and so came first to be read: As did that of _China_, who as I conceive
-read the contrary way, from the left to the right.
-
-It appears therefore by this Remark that we received this way of
-expressing Numbers from the _Arabians_, for that we keep the same
-posture or position of places with them, tho' our progression in
-Writing and Reading be the contrary way. And though we now read them
-also in the order they are set, twenty one, twenty two, thirty six,
-forty eight, _&c._ yet we retain also the other way of Pronouncing,
-_viz._ one and twenty, two and twenty, six and thirty, eight and forty,
-_&c._
-
-Now as the _Chinese_ and _Roman Abacus_ do much agree save only that
-they proceed contrary ways, so doth their way of expressing Numbers by
-Letters or Marks, one stroke or line signifying one; two lines two;
-three lines three; a cross ten; two crosses twenty; three crosses
-thirty; and so onwards to a hundred, which they expressed by a square
-Mark, and a cross with a stroak added for a thousand, as will appear by
-the Table annexed. And though the Characters are not all the same; yet
-the order and method of one agrees very near with that of the other,
-especially if I may be allowed my supposition, that the primitive way
-of Writing and Reading with the _Chinese_ was Horizontal, and like the
-_Greek_ and _Latin_ or _European_ way. Now that these are properly
-numeral Figures, or Characters, is manifest from this, that they have
-also word Characters for every Number, and they can (in the same manner
-as the _Romans_ could) express a Number by their numeral characters
-or Marks, and by their literal or word Characters; for as one single
-stroak signifies one or the first, so does the Character (_in the Plate
-marked with E_) signify the same thing, that is one or the first.
-
-Having thus discovered their Characters for Numbers, and their way of
-Numeration, I was next desirous to understand something concerning
-their Language and Character.
-
-Upon perusing all the Accounts I could meet with in Books, I found very
-little satisfaction as to what I principally inquired after, which
-was first concerning the method of the Character, whether it consisted
-of a certain number of Marks methodically disposed like Letters in a
-literal, or like Numbers in a Numeral, or like Radicals in composite
-and decomposite Derivations? 'Tis said to be legible into a great
-many Languages considerably different one from another, but how this
-is effected is not related, only 'tis said that the Marks are of the
-nature of our Arithmetical Figures, (which are become almost Universal
-at least to us here in _Europe_,) and 2dly, concerning the number of
-these Characters? to which I found as little satisfaction; for, by
-some Relations I found that there were 120000, by others 80000, and
-by others 60000. And that a Man must be able to remember to Write and
-Read at least 8000, or 10000, before he will be able to express his
-meaning thereby, and that it is the business of a Man's whole Life to
-be throughly understanding in the whole Character; seeming to intimate
-that the Characters are immethodical, and there are as many primitive
-Characters as Words. Others tell us of various kinds of Characters
-which have been in use in several Ages. The first they say were
-_Hieroglyphical_ like the _Ægyptian_ or _Mexican_, consisting of the
-Pictures of Animals and Vegetables. But that the last are made up of
-Lines and Points, that they have no such thing as Letters or Syllables,
-but every distinct Word and Notion has a distinct Character, and that
-all are primitive or in composite, so that if _Calepines_ Dictionary
-were to be translated into the _Chinese_, 'twere necessary to have
-as many distinct radical Characters as there are Words therein to be
-found, which accounts do seem to insinuate that this Character is the
-most difficult, and the most perplexed piece of Learning in the World,
-and depends wholly upon the strength of the Memory, in retaining the
-form and signification of a perplexed scrawl. But whether they who gave
-us these Accounts did do it knowingly, is much to be doubted, my own
-Observations, at least, make me think otherwise.
-
-I have not yet been able to procure sufficient helps to inform my self
-of the whole Art of Writing and Reading the _Chinese_ Character, and I
-fear the Relations I have hitherto met with concerning it, were written
-by such as did not well understand it, however from such helps as I
-had, what I collected or do conjecture, I shall here relate. The best
-help I had, was the perusal of some Books Printed in _China_, with the
-pronunciation and signification of the Character in Latin Letters. By
-these Books then I observed, first, that every one of their Characters,
-whether consisting of more or fewer strokes or marks, were comprised
-within a certain square space, which is proportion'd according to the
-bigness of the size or manner of Writing, they design there to make
-use of, not that the whole Square is filled with every Character, but
-that no part of that Character does exceed the limits of that Square,
-so that tho' the Character have but one stroak, it takes as much room
-in the line as another that hath 20 or 30 several Marks, so that their
-Characters are most exactly ranged in Rank and File, not unlike our
-Numbers in Arithmetick.
-
-Notwithstanding which I find they do vary the bigness of the Character
-upon several Occasions, as in the Titles of Books, in the Titles of
-the Chapters or Sections, in the Comments, Explications or Notes, and
-upon several other occasions of variety, which they do at Pleasure
-with their Pencil, as we use variety of Letters in the Printing of a
-Book. The Titles of Books are generally in very large Characters, 6 or
-8 times as big as those of the Book, the explication Notes ½ of the
-bigness, the Contents usually twice as big, and the like variety on
-several other occasions. I have met with also three several kinds of
-Characters, the most usual is the fixed or set square form. The second
-sort is the running Hand, in which the orders of the Courts are written
-by their Secretaries, of which I have seen 3 or 4 kinds, in which the
-Pencil is never taken off, till the whole Character be finished, and
-sometimes two or three are all written without break. The third seems
-to be somewhat like the flourishing great Letters, used by Scriveners
-at the beginning of Deeds, and by the _Germans_ in the beginning of
-Chapters and Sections. They are compounded of the same strokes as the
-set Character, but modulated and shaped a little otherwise to make them
-appear the more beautiful and regular. A Specimen of each of these
-three are in the Plate. This third is made use of for Epitaphs, and
-other Inscriptions on Buildings or Monuments. These three sorts I may
-call the three general kinds of Writing, but there is to be found an
-almost infinite variety of forms which Men use. This will be the more
-easie to be believed, when we consider that the Printed Characters
-are exactly the same with the Written, insomuch that every variety in
-each stroke, line or point, that is or can be made with the Pencil,
-is perfectly expressed in the Impression, and the Form, Mode, or
-Hand, as we call it, of every Writer is exhibited so curiously, that
-I think it hardly possible to be performed after the way of wooden
-Cuts, as Authors affirm it is, but must be done after the method of our
-Copper Cuts, Printed by a Roll-press, which the way of expressing the
-Running or Court-Hand, does, I conceive, most evidently demonstrate,
-and from divers circumstances, I could evidently make appear from the
-Book it self, which I cannot so well express in Writing. Their Paper
-is generally very thin and fine, and very transparent, but brown, so
-that whatever is Written or Printed on it, is almost as legible on
-the back, as on the foreside, which is of great use in the cutting of
-their Stamps. And thence they never Write or Print on both sides of
-the same Leaf, but only on one, and to make the Leaf appear Printed on
-both sides, they double the Sheet with the Printed sides outwards, and
-putting the folded part forward, they Sew, Bind, or Stitch together,
-all these Sheets with the cut Edges, and upon whole Sheets instead of
-single Leaves; just in the same manner as the Plate annexed to this
-Discourse is Printed. They begin the Book on the top of the right Hand
-side of the Page that is next the right Hand, and they read downwards
-to the bottom, then begin the next Line towards the left Hand at the
-top, and so read to the bottom, and so proceed to the end of the Book.
-But this I suppose not to be the primitive or first way of Writing or
-Reading. The Title of the Book is set first upon a whole Leaf, usually
-of a thicker Paper, and some Title is likewise Written upon the folding
-or edge of every Sheet, where is set also the Number of the Book, and
-the Number of the Sheet, half of which appears on one side, and half on
-the other side of the fold.
-
-As to the Character it self, (I find by all the Books and Writings
-I have yet met with of that kind) that each of them is made up of a
-certain number of Strokes, Lines or Marks, which are very distinct
-from each other in their shape and position, and by reason that these
-are single Strokes, and as I conceive uncompounded, I think they may
-be called the Letters, Elements or Particles, out of which the more
-compounded Characters are constructed or contexed. These are the first
-kind of which there are but a very few, and I think those I have
-described in the thirteenth Line of the Plate are all.
-
-Two, three, four, or more of these joined together in a certain order
-and contexture (in the doing of which there is a great Regularity and
-Order observed, which is not varied from, and all within the regular
-square Space) I conceive do make Syllables or primitive radical
-Characters, each of which have a primitive, single or distinct Notion
-or Signification as well as Sound, which is made much use of in the
-more compounded Characters or Words. Of this kind I take the Figures
-of the Numbers to be: If at least they are not single Letters like the
-way of expressing Numbers in the _Hebrew_, _Greek_, _Arabick_, &c.
-Languages, for though there may be two or three of the single strokes
-joyned together into a compound Character, it hinders not, but that
-it may still signify a Letter, as in the _Greek_ ΛΑ.Δ.Ι.Γ.Π.Γ. In
-the Runick; where every Letter hath one upright Line and some other
-additional Marks: In the _Roman_ I.L.F.E.O.Q.V.Y: Or it may signify a
-Syllable as in the _Æthiopick_, and in the _Hanscret_, and _Sunscrit_
-Languages and Characters: The first of which being the _Brackmans_
-Character we find in _P. Kircher_'s _China Illustrata_, described by
-_P. Roth_ who studied it seven Years; and the second (being a literal
-Character used over all _India_ by the Merchants) I have seen in a
-Transcript, brought lately out of _India_ by a very Worthy Gentleman
-who lived there many Years, and had the Curiosity to cause to be
-Transcribed and Translated also into English, a Dictionary of their
-Language in their own Character: who did me the favour to let me peruse
-it.
-
-In which Characters or ways of Writing a Vowel is always join'd with a
-Consonant into one compound Character to make it effable. And then the
-single Strokes may be taken for single ineffable Letters as are the
-Consonants, and the composition of two or three (of which one at least
-may be a Vowel) will make Syllables.
-
-Of this kind, there are not so many in the whole _Chinese_ Character,
-but that it will be easie enough to assign each a proper Monosyllable
-which shall only have 1 or 2 Consonants, and one or two Vowels; that
-is, the Consonants together, and not separate, either both behind the
-Vowel or Vowels, if it be a Diphthong or both after it or them.
-
-Of this kind, I understand there are about 500, probably 8×8×8, or 512.
-I could enumerate a great many, and give you also the Name or Words
-by which they are pronounced as also their signification, but (as I
-said before) first, I conceive the present _Chinese_ Language to have
-no affinity at all with the Character, the true primitive, or first
-Language, or Pronunciation of it, having been lost. And secondly, I
-want some further help to make a full and compleat Discovery: What I
-have learn'd from the Book of _Fohi_ I shall give the next opportunity;
-which will explain the reason of the multiplication of 8. and the order
-and method of places in the Letter or Word square.
-
-The third sort of Characters, is a decompounded sort being made
-up of two, three or more of those of the second kind, diminish'd
-proportionably in their size, either as to their length, or breadth,
-or both, from what they have in the same Writing when they are single
-and fill up the whole Letter square or Words square. For there being
-several of them to be crouded together within the same square,
-according as there are more in number, so they are always more squeezed
-together. In this decompound sort, there is a regular Order observed in
-the placing of the several Characters of the 2d sort; there being some
-that are always on the left side, some always on the right, some at
-the top, some at the bottom. Of which I doubt not but that they have a
-certain regular Method, which had we Dictionaries explained, would be
-easie enough to be discovered.
-
-This method alone of crouding together all the Characters (how many
-soever go to make up the decompounded Character) into one square (which
-is of the same size for the most Simple and for the most Compound)
-seems to be the great singularity, by which the _Chinese_ Characters
-differ from those of all the rest of the World. And this I conceive has
-been the reason why all People, and possibly even the very _Chinese_
-themselves have, and do believe it to be a real and not a literal
-Character: For if the primitive Language, or pronunciation of the
-Characters be lost (as I conceive it is) and that the disposition,
-order, method, texture, or manner of placing the more simple in the
-more compound Characters be also lost, forgotten, or not understood;
-then the whole Characters becomes a real and not a literal Character:
-And an immethodical one to such as want a method, that must be learned
-by rote, and depend wholly upon the strength of the Memory to retain
-it. But I conceive it might be at first either a literal Character, and
-so the whole square Character was composed of so many distinct Letters
-or Syllables, which composed the Word signified thereby; and so there
-might be a regular Order of placing these Letters in the Character,
-that is, that the whole square being divided into so many parts, there
-was a Rule which was the first, second, third and fourth place: so
-that there being placed in those the several Letters that made up the
-Word, according to the order they had in the Word, it was easie by that
-Rule to Decipher the said Character, and thence to find the Word and
-the Signification, as regularly as if the Letters had been written one
-after another, as most other literal Characters we know are at this Day
-written.
-
-Or Secondly, it might be a real Character consisting of divers Marks
-or Letters, that expressed so many simple Notions, several of which
-joined together might make up the more compounded Characters, of
-which I have added some Examples in the Plate, which may be also made
-literal and pronounceable, tho' that consideration were not made use
-of, when they were first invented. What things I have observed in my
-_Chinese_ Books that seem to respect this Method, I will give more
-particulars of by the next opportunity, by Printing a Specimen of
-the Book _Ye-kim_ which explicated by these Notions will I conceive
-appear more intelligible, than by the Accounts we find given of it
-by the _Chinese_ Commentators, and those that have Translated them
-into _Latin_, who seem not to have understood the true design thereof:
-For both the _Chinese_ and _European_ Commentators assert it to be a
-Conjuring Book, or a Book to tell Fortunes by, and to be made use of
-by the _Chinese_ for that purpose; whereas by the small Specimen I
-have seen of it, I conceive it to contain the whole Ground, Rule or
-Grammar, of their Character, Language and Philosophy, and that by the
-understanding of it, the Foundation and Rule of their Language and
-Character may be without much difficulty Deciphered and Understood.
-
-The present use of this Character, I conceive to be differing from what
-it was at first, both as to the position of Writing and Reading it, and
-as to the Expression and Pronunciation thereof.
-
-For the way of Writing and Reading it, I conceive might at first be
-exactly the same with that of the _Greeks_, _Romans_, _English_, and
-all other _European_ Nations, and also the _Æthiopick_ and _Coptick_.
-That is, they began at the top of the Page towards the left Hand, and
-so proceeded towards the right in the _Horizontal_ Line to the end of
-it, and then began at the left end of the next Line under the first
-and proceeded with that in the same manner, and so with the next under
-that and all the remaining. Continuing to Write the Words of the Line
-towards the right Hand, and the Lines of the Page one under another
-till the whole Discourse were compleated, joyning Leaf to Leaf one
-under another, after the same manner as the Rouls are at present Writ,
-and as the _Volumina_ were of the Ancients. And to make the parts of
-the Volume to be the more easily to be come at, without the trouble of
-rolling and unrolling as the Ancient _Romans_ did, and we do with our
-Rouls, they contrived to fold them, like the folds of a Fan, forwards
-and backward: And so stitching them together, that the Written sides
-might lie outwards, and open freely one from another, and the fair
-sides might meet together, it came to make the present form of their
-Book, which being laid as we generally place our Books before us, they
-seem to begin at the top of the Page on the right Hand, and to proceed
-to the bottom, and then at the top of the next Line towards the left
-Hand, and descend as in the former; proceeding in this order with
-all the rest, which way must needs be very inconvenient for Writing,
-however they may use their Pencil differing from our Pen. Though there
-be a way of Writing from the top to the bottom of the Page, which is
-very convenient for Writing the _Syriack_, as also for Writing _Latin_,
-_English_, or _Greek_, where the Writing is to be used for cutting the
-Stamps of Wood, or graving of Copper Plates with the same Character for
-Printing, in which Cases the Letters must be written backwards.
-
-Secondly, as to the Pronunciation of this Character, by the Court
-Language, or by any other now used, I conceive it to be wholly
-differing from that of a literal Character, that is from being
-pronounced or spoken according to the Marks or Figures thereof,
-whether they be simple or compounded, and made up of simple Characters
-(though there are some Instances of affinity in Characters and Words.)
-The reason of which differing pronunciation I conceive may have
-proceeded, partly from the loss of the primitive Language, for which it
-was made, partly from a most inconvenient affection of Monosyllabical
-Words in this Court Language, to help the Poverty of which, they are
-fain to make one Syllable to signifie many differing Notions, to do
-which they have introduced a kind of Musical toning or accenting of
-each of them, and not single but compound of two or three Tones to each
-signification of every one of these Monosyllables: Partly from the
-using of this way of Writing, by divers Nations of differing Languages,
-who minding only the Figure and Signification, read it into their own
-Mother Tongues, as we in _Europe_ do Arithmetical Figures: And partly,
-also from the omission of most Grammatical Distinctions, the same
-Character serving for Substantive and Adjective, Singular and Plural,
-in all Cases, (save only they have some Characters for Particles, as
-_of_ and _to_ in English) for the Verb in all Tenses, and Numbers,
-_&c._ for the abstract and the concrete Signification, and for divers
-Metaphorical; if at least the Interpretation I have met with in the
-Books I have perused be exact: Partly, also from the _Syntaxis_ of
-them, it being necessary to consider the whole Sentence, to discover
-which part of Speech each Character is of, in that Sentence, wherein
-the Order and Positions of the Characters to one another, for which
-they have Rules, hath its signification: And lastly, from the loss of
-the very Notion of a literal Character, whence for the expressing of
-proper Names, they are fain to make use of several Characters, whose
-Sounds or Words come nearest to the Sounds of the Syllables of that
-Name, as in the Plate _tam. jo, van_, for _Adam. Jovan_.
-
-Now, though I conceive this Character is not effable properly as
-a literal Character by any of their present Languages: And though
-possibly it might be at first a real Character, that is each of them
-compounded of such Strokes or Marks as by their Figures, Positions
-and Numbers in the square, denoted the several Philosophical
-Ingredients, that made up the Notion of the whole Character, as the
-Book _Ye-Kim_ seems to shew by giving Rules as I conceive for the
-Order and Significancy of places in the Square, _&c._ Yet I think
-it not difficult to make it a Literal, or at least a Syllabical
-Character, and legible into a Language somewhat after the manner of
-the Universal Character I mentioned before. And tho' this would not
-be the primitive Language for which it was made, yet for the present
-uses of it (the chiefest of which is the assisting and refreshing the
-Memory, and helping the Imagination by proper Sounds) it might be as
-good: Wherein the single Characters might be Monosyllables and the
-compounded Dissyllables, Trissyllables, _&c._ According to the Numbers
-and Order of simple Characters in the square of the Compounded. And
-I am apt to think that the present pronunciation of Languages, as of
-_Hebrew_, _Syriack_, _Arabick_, _Greek_ and _Latin_, or any other
-Language that has been so long Written, may be as much differing from
-what it was 2000 Years since, as an Arbitrary one now invented, and
-grounded on the Letters, might possibly be. And such an arbitrary
-Pronunciation if generally agreed upon might serve _as well_ for a
-help to learn the signification of Words, or _Word Combinations_ of
-Characters, as if we now knew the exact primitive Pronunciations,
-as critically as the _Masorethæ_ are said to have done that of the
-_Hebrew_; and possibly also a _much better_, for that by such a one
-a great many irregularities and difficulties of Pronunciation (which
-are to be found in all Languages now spoken) might be omitted, and the
-whole made exactly regular and easie, as might be shewn in the _Hebrew_
-and _Greek_, and especially in the _Arabick_, whose difficulties are
-sufficiently manifested by _Alphabetum Arabicum_, Printed at _Rome_
-1592. Now as by such a Language the Character might be made effable
-without Musical Tones or difficult Aspirations, so had we Dictionaries
-of the signification of the Characters, we might as soon learn the
-_Chinese_ Characters, as we can _Latin_, or any other Language to be
-learn'd by Book, and not by speaking.
-
-                              IMPRIMATUR,
-
-                                            _John Hoskyns_ Vice P. R. S.
-                                                   _July_ 17_th._, 1686.
-
-[Illustration: _The Roman Abacus out of Marcus Velserus_
-
-_The Chinese Abacus from the Chinese Dictionary containing nine places
-or degrees_
-
-一二三四五六七八九
-
-     I    一        yĕ̇
-    II    二        th́
-   III    三        san̄
-    IV    四        sú
-     V    五        v̀
-    VI    六        lŏ̇
-   VII    七        ziĕ̇
-  VIII    八        pă̇
-    IX    九        kièn
-     X    十        xĕ̇
-    XI    十        xĕ̇
-          一        yĕ̇
-     X    十        xĕ̇
-    II    二        lh́
-     X    十        xĕ̇
-   III    三        san̄
-     X    十        xĕ̇
-     V    五        v̀
-
-    XX    廾        lh́xĕ̇
-    XX    二        lh́
-          十        xĕ̇
-   XXX    卅        san̄xĕ̇
-   XXX    三        san̄
-          十        xĕ̇
-  XXXX    四        sú
-          十        xĕ̇
-     L    五        v̀
-          十        xĕ̇
-    LX    六        lŏ̇
-          十        xĕ̇
-   LXX    七        ziĕ̇
-          十        xĕ̇
-  LXXX    八        pac
-          十        xĕ̇
-
-  100     白        pĕ̇
-  100     百        pĕ̇
-  200     二        lh́
-          白        pĕ̇
-  300     三        san̄
-          百        pĕ̇
-  400     四        sú
-          百        pĕ̇
-  1000    千        zien̄
-  2000    二        lh́
-          千        zien̄
-  3000    三        san̄
-          千        zien̄
-  10000   萬        ván
-  30000   三        san̄
-          萬        ván
-
-   CIↃ    千        zien̄
-    DC    六        lŏ̇
-          百        pĕ̇
-  LXXX    八        pă̇
-          十        xĕ̇
-    VI    六        lŏ̇
-  añus    年        nien̂
-     V    五        v̀
-  mensis  月        yuĕ
-  XIII    十        xĕ̇
-  die     三        san̄
-          日        gĕ̇
-
-          正
-          E
-
-  年       nien̂
-  五       v̀
-  人       gin̂
-  大       ta
-  先       sien̄
-  仁       gin̂
-  八       pă̇
-  之       chī̇
-
-  湯       tàm̄
-  若       jo
-  望       vàm
-  天       tìen̄
-  原       yuên
-  又       yéu
-
-                                                      _I Senex Sculpsit_]
-
-
-
-
-  _A Letter from _F. A._ Esq; R. S. S. to the Publisher, with a Paper
-    of Mr. _S. Flowers_, containing the Exact Draughts of several
-    unknown Characters, taken from the Ruins at _Persepolis_._
-
-
-  _SIR_,
-
-I here send you some Fragments of Papers put into my Hands by a very
-good Friend, relating to antique and obscure Inscriptions, which were
-retrieved after the Death of Mr. _Flower_, Agent in _Persia_ for our
-_East-India_ Company, who, while he was a Merchant at _Aleppo_, had
-taken up a Resolution to procure some Draught or Representation of
-the admired Ruins at _Chilmenar_, pursuant to the third Enquiry for
-_Persia_, mention'd in the _Philosophical Transactions_, pag. 420.
-_viz._ _Whether there being already good Descriptions in Words of the
-Excellent Pictures and _Basse Relieves_ that are about _Persepolis_
-at _Chilmenar_, yet none very particular, some may not be found
-sufficiently Skilled in those parts, that might be engaged to make a
-Draught of the Place, and the Stories there Pictur'd and Carved_. This
-Desire of the Royal Society, as I believe, it hinted at a Summary
-Delineation, which might be perform'd by a Man qualifi'd in a few Days,
-taking his own opportunity for the avoiding much Expence, (which you
-know they are never able to bear:) So I cannot but think Mr. _Flower_
-conceived it to be a Business much easier to perform than he found
-it upon the Place, where he Spent a great deal of Time and Mony, and
-dying Suddainly after, left his Draughts and Papers dispersed in
-several Hands, one part whereof you have here, the rest its hoped may
-in some Time be recovered, if Sir _John Chardin_'s exact and accurate
-Publication of the entire Work do not put a period to all further
-Curiosity, which I heartily wish.
-
-
-  _An Exact Draught or Copy of the several Characters engraven in
-    Marble at the Mountains of _Nocturestand_ and _Chahelminar_ in
-    _Persia_, as they were taken in _November 1667._ By Mr. _S.
-    Flower_._
-
-_N_ 1. _N_ 2. These two Characters are engraven on the Breast of two
-Horses cut out of the Mountain of Black Marble at _Nocturestand_,
-distant a League from _Chahelmanare_, or the Ancient _Persepolis_, one
-whereof is said to be _Alexander_'s, the other _Rustram_'s, (a Famous
-Hero supposed to have lived about the time of _Cambises_.) Mr. _Fl._
-
-_N_ 1. This Character hath some Similitude with the Ancient Hebrew,
-but the _Persians_ would have it their own, tho' they understand not a
-Letter. Mr. _F._
-
-[Illustration:
-
-    ΤΟΥΤΟΤΟ ΡΟΣUΥΟΝ ΜΑΣΛΑΣΝΟΥ
-    ΘΕΟΥΑΡΖΑ......ΣΙΑΩΣΒΑΣΙΑΕΩΝ
-      ΑΡΙΑΝΩΝ....ΣΘΣΩΝΥΙΟΥ
-      ΘΕΟΥΠΑΠΑ..ΥΒΑ..ΕΩΣ
-
-                       ΤΟΥΤΟΤΟ ΠΡΟΣΩΠΟΝ ΔΙΟΣΘΕΟΥ
-
-                                                      _I Senex Sculpsit_]
-
-_N_ 2. In these Lines the places are prickt where the Letters were
-defaced and not Perceptible. Mr. _F._
-
-_N_ 3. This is the (_Arabick_) _Persian_ Character engraven at
-_Persepolis_ not above 500. years since, and is little different from
-the Writing us'd at this day. Mr. _F._
-
-_N_ 4. These two Lines were writ entire on _Rustram_'s Horse. Mr. _F._
-
-_N_ 5. This Character, whether it be the Ancient Writing of the
-_Gaures_ or _Gabrees_, or a kind of _Telesmes_, is found only at
-_Persepolis_, being a part of what is there engraven in white Marble,
-and is by no Man in _Persia_ legible or understood at this Day.
-
-A Learned Jesuit Father, who deceased Three Years since, affirmed this
-Character to be known and used in _Ægypt_. Mr. _F._
-
-It seems written from the Left Hand to the Right, and to consist of
-Pyramids, diversly posited, but not joined together. As to the Quantity
-of the Inscriptions, _Herbert_ reckon'd in one large Table Twenty Lines
-of a Prodigious Breadth. Of this sort here are distinct Papers each of
-several Lines.
-
-_N_ 6. This Character is likewise Engraved at _Persepolis_, of the like
-Antiquity with the former. It has some Affinity with the _Syriack_
-and _Arabick_, and has been pretended to be understood by some of the
-_Padrees_. Mr. _F._
-
-
-
-
-  _A Letter from Monsieur _N. Witsen_ to Dr. _Martin Lister_, with
-    two Draughts of the Famous _Persepolis_._
-
-
-This Ingenious and Inquisitive Gentleman having already often obliged
-the World with Communications of his Discoveries, lately sent the
-following Letter with the Draughts to Dr. _Lister_, who was pleased
-to permit their Publication in these Tracts: The greatness of the
-Curiosity we hope will recommend them to the Lovers of Antiquity,
-little of those famous Remains having been yet publish'd, and those
-that have been, but ill designed or graved. Monsieur _Witsen_'s Letter,
-translated from the _French_, is as follows.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration: Tsjihil mmar]
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-  _SIR_,
-
-Since I had the Honour of receiving your last, there came to my Hands
-several curious _Shells_ from you, with a piece of _English Agate_,
-and the Transactions of the Royal Society for the Month of _June_
-last, for which Favours I return my humble Thanks. As to the Cockles
-of the _Caspian_ Sea, and from the Mouth of _Wolga_, I have advice
-from _Moscou_, that they are expected there this Winter: Mean while I
-herewith send you some _Snail-Shells_, taken out of the River _Jaute_,
-not far from the City of _Moscou_. Our Apothecaries make use of them
-powdered, and probably for the same purpose as _Crabs-Eyes_. There
-are some others likewise which are found in the Rivers of _Moscou_
-and _Neglina_, and in the _Wolga_. Since you have been pleased to
-communicate to me an Inscription found at _Persepolis_, I thought it
-would be acceptable to send you the Draughts of part of the Ruins of
-the Stone-work of that proud Palace, given me by the Person himself
-that drew them upon the place. I should be much satisfied had I any
-thing worthy of your Curiosity and the Publick, which you so often
-oblige with your Discoveries, which justly merit mine and the Thanks of
-all that esteem them as much as my self, who am the Cherisher of your
-Friendship, and desirous to shew that I am,
-
-  _SIR_,
-
-                _Your most Humble and Obedient Servant_,
-
-                                                              N. Witsen.
-
-    _Amsterdam_,
-  _Jan. 1. 1694._
-
-
-
-
-  _A Description of the Diamond-mines, as it was presented by the
-    Right Honourable the Earl Marshal of _England_, to the _R.
-    Society_._
-
-
-The parts of the World known to contain _Diamonds_, are the Island
-_Borneo_, and the Continent of _India extra & intra Gangem_: _Pegu_
-is likewise reported to have several; but the King not potent, his
-Country being but thinly inhabited, contents himself with his Mines
-of _Rubies_, _Saphires_, _Topasses_, _Emeralds_, _Gold_, _Silver_,
-_Brass_, _Tinn_ and _Lead_, and several other Commodities his Country
-affords, in great plenty, rather than to suffer new enquiries to be
-made, lest the Discovery of such an additional Treasure should invite
-some of his Neighbours, more potent to invade him. But leaving the
-description of other Places to those that know them better, I shall
-only keep my self to the Coast of _Coromandel_, with which I am
-acquainted, and having visited several of its Mines, am able to say
-something thereof Experimentally.
-
-The Diamond-Mines in these parts are generally adjacent to Rocky-hills,
-or Mountains, whereof begins a great Ledge or Range near _Cape
-Comorin_, extending in Breadth about 50 _English_ Miles, some
-conjoyning, others scatter'd: and running thence in length quite
-through _Bengula_. In, among, and near these Hills, in several places,
-are known to be (as its believed most of them have) Mines; many of
-them are possessed by petty Princes, or _Rajaes_, of the _Hundues_;
-some driven thither for shelter by the _Mores_, who have taken the
-greatest part of their Country from them; others never overcome, as the
-_Rajaes_, on the Hills in and near _Bengala_, who admit of little or no
-Commerce with their Neighbours, or passage through their Country, which
-(being Barren, in few Places affording good Water, the ways craggy and
-very toilsome, especially to an Army) the _Moors_ covet not, but let
-them enjoy it peaceably; yet to prevent danger, they forbid digging (as
-the King of _Pegu_ does) or dig some few Mines only very privately, so
-that a great part of the Mines are unsearcht and concealed. But the
-Kingdoms of _Golconda_ and _Visiapore_ contain in them scope enough
-of ground, known to have Mines sufficient to furnish all the World
-plentifully with Diamonds; but their Kings permit digging only in some
-Places appointed, lest, as it is imagined, they should become too
-common; and withal for fear of tempting the threatening greatness of
-_Aurenge Zebe_; forbidding also those Places that afford the largest
-Stones, or else keeping workmen in them for their own private uses: So
-that but a very small quantity (in Comparison of what might be) and
-those only of ordinary Size, are found.
-
-In the Kingdom of _Golconda_ (as near as I can gather from the best
-acquainted) are 23 Mines now employed, or that have been so lately,
-viz. _Quolure_, _Codawillicul_, _Malabar_, _Buttephalem_, _Ramiah_,
-_Gurem_, _Muttampellee_, _Currure_, _Ganjeeconeta_, _Luttawaar_,
-_Jonagerree_, _Pirai_, _Dugulle_, _Purwillee_, _Anuntapelle_,
-_Girrogeta_, _Maarmood_, _Wazzergerre_, _Munnemurg_, _Langumboot_,
-_Whootoor_, _Muddemurg_, and _Melwillee_ or the New Mine.
-
-_Quoloure_ was the first Mine made use of in this Kingdom. The Earth
-is something Yellowish, not unlike the Colour of our Gravel dried; but
-whiter in some Places where it abounds with smooth Pebbles, much like
-some of those that come out of our Gravel-pits in _England_. They use
-to find great quantities in the Vein, if it may properly be so called,
-the Diamonds not lying in continued Clusters as some imagine, but
-frequently so very scattering that sometimes in the space of ¼ of an
-Acre of Ground, digged between two or three fathoms Deep, there hath
-been nothing found; especially in the Mines that afford great Stones,
-lying near the superficies of the Earth, and about three Fathoms deep;
-deeper they could not dig for Water; it being in a Vale near a River.
-In other places the Earth is mixt with rugged Stones, where they seldom
-mine deeper, though in higher ground, before the Colour of the Earth
-alters, and the Vein ceases; which they give a guess at by the small
-Stones they find in the Earth, the principal Guide they have in the
-discovery of the Mines.
-
-The Diamonds found in these Mines are generally well-shaped, many of
-them pointed, and of a good lively white Water; but it also produces
-some _Yellow_ ones, some _Brown_, and of other colours. They are of
-ordinary sizes, from about six in a _Mangelin_[18] (of which they find
-but few) to five or six _Mangelins_, each; some of 10, 15, 20. they
-find but rarely. They have frequently a bright and transparent skin,
-inclining to a greenish Colour, though the heart of the Stone be purely
-white; but the Veins of these Mines are almost worn out.
-
-The Mines of _Codawillicul_, _Malabar_, and _Buttepallam_ consist of a
-reddish Earth, inclining to an Orange-colour (with which it stains the
-Cloaths of the Labourers that work in it) they dig about four Fathom
-deep. They afford Stones generally of an excellent Water and crystaline
-Skin; smaller sizes than those of _Quoloure_, _Ramiah_, _Gurem_, and
-_Muttampelleo_; have a Yellowish Earth, like _Quolure_; their Stones
-like those of the two former Mines, but mixt with many of a blue Water.
-These five Mines being under the same Government with _Melwillee_,
-where the Governour resides; He to draw the Adventurers and Merchants
-near him, that he may be better informed of the Actions and Advantages,
-and know the better how to Fleece them, the general practice of
-Governours in these parts, has very lately forbid their use; and
-commanded all to repair to his Residence, which they must obey, or fly
-into another Government.
-
-The next Mine in our way is _Currure_, the most famous of them all and
-most Ancient.
-
-It has been under Subjection of the King of _Golconda_; but about
-25 Years, taken, with the Country of _Rarnaticum_, from the
-_Hendue-Rajaes_, about that time, by the _Nabob_, _Meer Jumla_. In it
-have been found Diamonds of a _size_ weight, which is about 9 Ounces
-_Troy_ or 81½ _Pago's_ weight. It is only employed by the King for
-his own private use: The Diamonds that are found in it, are very well
-spread, large Stones (it yields few or none small,) they have generally
-a bright Skin, which inclines to a pale Greenish colour, but within are
-purely white. The Soil is Reddish as many of the others.
-
-About sixty or seventy years ago, when it was under the Government of
-the _Hundues_, and several Persons permitted to adventure in digging,
-a _Portugeez_ Gentleman went thither from _Goa_, and having spent in
-Mining a great sum of Mony to the amounts of 100000 _Pago's_, as 'tis
-reported, and converted every thing he brought with him, that would
-fetch any mony, even to what wearing Cloaths he could spare, while the
-Miners were at Work for the last Days expence, he had prepared a cup of
-Poison, resolving, if that Night he found nothing, to drink his last
-with the conclusion of his Mony; but in the Evening the Workmen brought
-him a very fair spread Stone of 20 _Pago's_ weight, in commemoration
-whereof he caused a great Stone to be erected in the place, with an
-Inscription ingraven on it, in the _Hundues_ or _Tellinga_ Tongue, to
-the following effect, which remains to be seen to this day;
-
-    _Your Wife and Children sell, sell what you have,
-    Spare not your Cloaths, nay, make your self a Slave;
-    But money get, then to _CURRURE_ make hast;
-    There search the Mines, a Prize you'll find at last._
-
-After which he immediately returned with his Stone to _Goa_.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Not far from _Currure_ are the Mines of _Lattawaar_ and _Ganjeconta_,
-which are in the same Soil as _Currure_, and afford Stones not unlike:
-But _Lattawaar_ hath many representing the great end of a Razor-blade,
-thin on one side and thick on the other, very white and of an excellent
-Water; but the best of the Mine is worn out, and _Ganjeconta_ employed
-only to the Kings private use.
-
-_Jonagerre_, _Pirai Dugulle_, _Purwillee_ and _Anuntapellee_, consist
-also of Red earth, are now employed, and afford many large Stones;
-part of them of a greenish Water, but the most absolute Mines are of
-_Wazzergerre_ and _Munnemurg_, (the other rather representing Pits
-than Mines;) for there they sink through high Rocks till they go so
-far below their basis, that they can go no further for Water, in some
-places 40 or 50 Fathom deep. The superficies of the Rocks consist of
-hard, firm, white Stone, into which they cut a Pit like a Well, of
-about 4 or 5, in some places 6 Foot deep, before they come to a crust
-of a Mineral Stone, like the Mineral of Iron; when they fill the Hole
-with Wood and keep as hot a Fire as they can there for two or three
-Days, till they think it sufficiently heated; then they pour-in Water
-till they have quencht it, which also slacks and mollifies both Stone
-and Mineral; both being cold, they dig again, take out all the crumbled
-stuff and dig up what they can besides, before they heat it anew; the
-Crust seldom is thicker than three or four Foot, which ceasing, they
-come to a Vein of Earth, that usually runs under the Rock two or three
-Furlongs; sometimes much further: This they dig all out and search, and
-if their first attempt prove successful, they go to Work again (digging
-after the same manner) as deep as they can, till they come to Water;
-for the drawing whereof, wanting the help of Engins, known in _Europe_,
-they can go no deeper, although the Vein lie lower; all lumps of the
-Mineral they break in pieces, and frequently find Diamonds enclosed
-in them. To Work on these Mines is very expensive, but the advantage
-is commonly answerable; yet in respect of the certain disburse, that
-must be before any thing be found, they are not so much frequented
-as others, where they may try their Fortunes with a smaller Stock.
-The Earth they dig out is Red: Many large Stones are found here; the
-smallest about 6 in a _Mangelleen_. They are mixt Waters, but the
-greatest part good, only of ill-favoured shapes, many cragged pieces of
-Stones, some as if they had been parts of very great ones, others with
-pieces broken off them; yet I never heard of any that ever found two
-seeming fellows, although they do those that look as if they had been
-newly Broken.
-
-In _Langumboot_ they dig as they do at _Wazzergerree_ and _Munnemurg_;
-the Rock is not altogether so solid, but the Earth and Stones it
-produces much alike.
-
-_Wootoor_ should have been placed next to _Currure_, it lying near
-it, and affording Stones of a like magnitude, shapes and waters; 'tis
-employed only to the Kings use: And singular, in that its Diamonds are
-found in black Earth.
-
-_Muddemurg_ far exceeds all the rest for Diamonds of a delicate Shape,
-Water, and bright transparent Skin, Proud, as it were, in discovering
-their inward Beauties, with which no other Mine can compare; yet it has
-also store of Veiny ones, but those likewise of so curious Shape and
-Water, that its difficult to discover them from the good, especially
-the small ones. It produces Stones of divers Magnitudes, from ten
-and twelve in a _Mangelleen_, to six or seven _Mangelleens_ each,
-and besides, some great ones. The Earth is Red, but its seated in
-the Woods, and the Water so bad, that to all (except the People Bred
-there) it presently occasions Fevers and destroys abundance, insomuch
-that most of the Adventurers have forsaken it; notwithstanding which
-it hath been more profitable than any of the rest, the Vein frequently
-lying near the superficies of the Earth, seldom running deep, and is
-better furnisht than any other yet discover'd. The River _Kishna_, of
-excellent waters, is but 9 Miles distant; but the Miners or Merchants
-are either poor that they cannot, or else over-awed by the Governour,
-pretend to be and dare not be at the charges of fetching their Water
-from thence. Divers are of the opinion, that, besides the Water, the
-Town lying in a bottom, environ'd with Hills and Morass adjoyning, the
-Air may be infected, and contribute to its unhealthfulness.
-
-_Melwillee_ or the _New Mine_, so called, because it was but lately
-found out (or at least permitted to be made use of) in the Year 1670.
-it had then a Year employed the Miners, but it was forbidden, and lay
-unoccupied till 1673, when complaint being made at _Quoleur_, that
-the Vein was worn out, the King again licensed its settlement. The
-Earth they Mine in, is very red, and many of the Stones found there,
-have of it sticking to them, as if it had clung there while they were
-of a soft glutinous Substance, and had not attained their hardness,
-maintaining its Colour on its Skin (seeming to be roughened with
-it) that it cannot be fetch'd out by grinding on a rough Stone with
-Sand, which they make use of to clean them. The Stones are generally
-well-shaped, their size from 5 or 6 in a _mangelleen_ to those of 14 or
-15 each, and some bigger; but greatest quantities of the middle sorts:
-Most of them have a thick dull Skin, incline to a yellowish Water, not
-altogether so strong and lively as of the other Mines; very few of them
-of a crystaline Water and Skin. They are reported to be apt to flaw in
-splitting, which occasions these People to esteem them something softer
-than the Product of many of the other Mines: Several that flatter by
-their seeming whiteness when rough, discover their deceitfulness
-having past the Mill, and too often a yellowish Tincture, to the
-disappointment and loss of them that have cut them; but what they
-want in goodness, is in part supplied by the plenty they find, which,
-together with their properties, make them the cheaper. This being what
-I have gathered, both by Experience of several of the places I have
-seen, and the best Informations I could meet with, of the Mines in this
-Kingdom; I shall now proceed to those in _Visiapore_.
-
-_Visiapore_ is known to contain Mines enclosing Stones as large and
-good as those of _Golconda_; but the King, for Reasons already given,
-makes use but of the meanest: Whereby, as _Golconda_ is famous for the
-largeness of those it affords, _Visiapore_ is noted for the smallest;
-whose Mines, though they seldom or never render an Adventurer a Fortune
-or Estate at once, as sometimes those of _Golconda_ do, by a great
-Stone or several found together; yet they are more Populous and better
-employed, the small Stones lying thicker in the Earth, so that the
-generality are gainers, and few but they get their Expence; whereas
-those of _Golconda_ dig away a considerable Estate and find nothing,
-others not their Charges, and where one is a gainer, divers lose.
-
-There are 15 Mines employed in the Kingdom of _Visiapore_, viz.
-_Ramulconeta_, _Banugunnapellee_, _Pendekull_, _Moodawarum_,
-_Cumerwillee_, _Paulkull_, _Workull_, _Lungeepoleur_, _Pootloor_,
-_Punchelingull_, _Shingarrampent_, _Tondarpaar_, _Gundepellee_, _Donee_
-and _Gazerpellee_.
-
-In _Ramulconeta_ Mines in red Earth, about 15 or 16 Foot deep, they
-seldom find a Diamond of a _mangelleen_ weight, but small to 20 or
-30 in a _mangelleen_. They are generally of an excellent Crystalline
-Water, have a bright clear Skin, inclining frequently to a pale
-greenish Colour, are well shaped, but few of them, pointed ones. There
-are also found among them several broken pieces of Diamonds, by the
-Country People called _Shemboes_.
-
-In _Banugunnapellee_, _Pendekull_, and _Moodawarum_, they dig as at
-_Ramulconeta_, and in the same kind of Earth; they also afford Stones
-much alike, being neighbouring Places.
-
-_Cummerwillee_, _Paulkull_, and _Workull_, are not far distant, produce
-Stones much alike out of the same coloured Earth, but very small ones
-even to a hundred in a _mangelleen_.
-
-_Lungepoleur_ Mines are of a yellowish Earth (like those of _Quoleur_,)
-its Diamonds are generally well shaped, globular, few pointed, of a
-very good Crystalline Water and bright Skins; many of them have a thick
-dark Grass-green Skin, some spotted also with Black, that they seem all
-foul, yet are not so, but within purely white and clean. Their sizes
-are from 2 or 3 _mangelleens_ downwards, but few very small.
-
-_Pootloor_ Mines are of reddish Earth, but afford Stones much like
-those of _Lungepoleur_, only smaller, under a _mangelleen_; the general
-sizes are of ½, ⅓, ¼, ⅙ of a _mangelleen_.
-
-_Punchelingull_, _Shingarrampent_, and _Tondarpaar_, are also of red
-Earth, their Diamonds not unlike those of _Quoleur_, only rarely or
-never any large ones are found there.
-
-_Gundepellee_ hath the same Earth with the former, and produces Stones
-of equal Magnitude; but frequently of a pure Crystalline Water, wherein
-they exceed the former.
-
-_Donee_ and _Gazerpellee_ dig both in red Earth likewise, and afford
-Stones alike, the greatest part whereof are of good Shapes and Waters.
-They have also many _Shemboes_, and some of bad Waters, some brown,
-which these People call soft or weak water'd, being esteemed of a
-softer and weaker Body than others, by reason they have not so much
-Life, when cut, and are subject to flaw in splitting, and on the Mill;
-their general Product is in Stones of middle Sizes: But _Gazerpellee_
-has besides many large ones, and is the only Mine noted for such in the
-Kingdom of _Visiapore_. With which concluding the description of the
-Mines, I shall give some Account how the Diamonds are found, and how
-they handle the Earth to find them; which is as followeth.
-
-The Diamonds are so scatter'd and dispersed in the Earth, and lie
-so thin, that in the most plentiful Mines it's rare to find one in
-digging, or till they have prepar'd the Stuff, and do search purposely
-for them: They are also frequently enclos'd in Clods; and some of those
-of _Melwillee_, the New Mine in the Kingdom of _Golconda_, have the
-Earth so fix'd about them, that till they grind them on a rough Stone
-with Sand, they cannot move it sufficiently, to discover they are
-Transparent; or, were it not for their Shapes, to know them from other
-Stones. At the first opening of the Mine, the unskilful Labourers,
-sometimes to try what they have found, lay them on a great Stone, and
-striking on them with another, to their costly experience discover
-they had broken a Diamond. One I knew who had an excellent Stone of 8
-_mangelleens_, served so by ignorant Miners he employed.
-
-Near the Place where they dig, they raise a Wall with such rugged
-Stones as they find at Hand (whereof all the Mines afford Plenty) of
-about two Foot high, and six Foot over, flooring it well with the
-same; for the laying of which they have no other Mortar than the Earth
-tempered with Water. To strengthen and make it tight they throw up a
-Bank against the side of it: In one whereof they leave a small vent
-about two Inches from the bottom, by which it empties it self into a
-little Pit, made in the Earth to receive small Stones, if by chance any
-should run through. The vent being stopped, they fill the Cistern they
-have made with Water, soaking therein as much as the Earth they dig
-out of the Mines, as it can conveniently receive at a time, breaking
-the Clods, picking out the great Stones and stirring it with Shovels,
-till the Water is all Muddy, the gravelly stuff falling to the bottom;
-then they open the vent, letting out the foul Water and supplying
-it with clean, till all the Earthly Substance be wasted away, and
-none but a gravelly remains at the bottom. Thus they continue Washing
-till about Ten of the Clock before Noon, when they take the gravelly
-Stuff they have washed, and spread it on a Place made plain and smooth
-(like a Bowling-Alley) for the purpose, near the Cistern, which being
-soon dried by the heat of the Sun at that time of the Day, they very
-curiously look it over, that the smallest bit of a Stone can hardly
-escape them. They never examin the Stuff they have wash'd but between
-the Hours of Ten and Three, least any Cloud by interposing, intercept
-the brisk Beams of the Sun, which they hold very necessary to assist
-them in their search; the Diamonds, not forbearing to reflect them when
-they touch therein, rendring themselves thereby the more conspicuous.
-
-Some of the expertest Labourers are employed in searching; he that
-sets them at Work usually sitting by, and overlooking; but it's
-hardly possible, especially where many are employed, to watch them
-so narrowly, but that they may steal part of what they find, as many
-times some of them do, and, selling it privately, convert to their own
-use. If they find a large Stone, they carry it not presently to their
-Employer, but keep on looking, having an Eye on him till they observe
-he takes notice of it, when with a turn of their Hand they give him a
-glimpse of it, but deliver it not till they have done Work, and then
-very privately, it being the general Endeavour to conceal what they
-find, least it should come to the Knowledge of the Governour of the
-Place, and he require a share, which in the Kingdom of _Golconda_ is
-usually practiced, without respect to any agreement made with them.
-
-The Miners, those that employ them, and the Merchants that buy the
-Stones of them, are generally _Ethnicks_; not a _Musselman_, that
-ever I heard of, followed the Employment. These Labourers and their
-Employers are _Tellinga_'s, commonly Natives of or near the Place. The
-Merchants are the _Banians_ of _Guzzarat_, who for some Generations
-have forsaken their own Country to take up the Trade, in which they
-have had such Success, that 'tis now solely engross'd by them; who
-corresponding with their Country-men in _Surrat_, _Goa_, _Golconda_,
-_Visiapore_, _Agra_ and _Dillee_, and other Places in _India_, furnish
-them all with Diamonds.
-
-The Governors of the Mines are also Idolaters: In the King of
-_Golconda_'s Dominions a _Tellinga Brammee_ Rents most of them, whose
-agreement with the Adventurer is, that, all the Stones they find under
-a[19]_Pagoda_ Weight, are to be their own; all of that Weight and
-above it to be his, for the King's Use: But although this Agreement be
-signed and sealed unto, he minds not at all the Performance thereof,
-but endeavours to engross all the Profit to himself, by Tyrannical
-squeezing both Merchants and Miners, whom he not only Taxes very high,
-but maintaining Spies among them of their own People, on the least
-Inkling that they have been any ways Fortunate, he immediately makes a
-Demand on them, and raises their Tax; else, on a false Pretence they
-have found a great Stone, drubs them till they Surrender what they
-have, to redeem their Bodies from Torment. Besides, the Excise is so
-high on all sorts of Provisions, _Beetle_, and _Tobacco_, which to
-them is as absolutely necessary as Meat, or at least in their Esteem,
-that it is thereby raised to double that Price they bear without the
-Government; and it is furnish'd only by some Licens'd Persons; if any
-other should endeavour to bring in the least quantity by stealth, he
-is Fin'd (even for one Leaf of _Tobacco_) if it be a Person of any
-Repute, or worth any thing, else very severely drubb'd for it; by which
-Course there is hardly a Man worth five Hundred Pound to be found among
-them, most of them dealing by Monies taken up at Interest of Usurers,
-who reside there purposely to furnish them, who, with the Governor eat
-up their Gains: So that one would wonder any of them should stay, and
-not betake themselves to Places where they might have better Usage;
-as there are several in other Governments, and some few that have the
-Sense to remove; but many their Debts, others hopes of a great hit,
-detains. Both Merchant and Miner go generally naked, only a poor Clout
-about their middle, and their Shash on their Heads; they dare not wear
-a Coat, lest the Governor should say they have thriven much, are Rich,
-and so enlarge his Demands on them. The Wisest, when they find a great
-Stone, conceal it till they have an opportunity, and then with Wife
-and Children run all away into the _Visiapore_ Country, where they are
-secure.
-
-The Government in the _Visiapore_ Country is better, their Agreement
-observ'd, Taxes easier, and no such Impositions on Provisions; the
-Merchants go handsomly Clad, among whom are several Persons of
-considerable Estates, which they are permitted to enjoy peaceably, by
-reason whereof their Mines are much more Populous and better employed
-than those of _Golconda_.
-
-It is observable, that notwithstanding the Agreement with the
-Adventurers of the Mines, that all Stones above a certain Weight shall
-be for the King's Use; yet in the Metropolis of either Kingdoms, as
-the Cities of _Golconda_ and _Visiapore_ are, there is no seizure, all
-Stones are free, and the late deceased King, _Abdull Cutopshaw_ of the
-former, and _Edelshaw_ of the latter, would not only give very great
-Prices for large Stones, but richly Vest, and present the Merchant that
-Sold them with Horses or something else of Value, thereby encouraging
-others to bring the like. But the present King of _Visiapore_ is a
-Child, and the King of _Golconda_'s Delights solely pleased on light
-Women-Dancers, and Trick-Showers, that he neither minds _Diamonds_, nor
-many things more necessary, committing the Government of his Kingdom to
-a _Tellinga Braminee_, which the _Musselmen_ not well resenting, does
-in some measure threaten the stability of his State.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[18] _A _Mangelin_ is 4 grains in weight, saith _Linschoten_._
-
-[19] _A _Pagoda_ weight is _9 Mangelleens_._
-
-
-
-
-  _A Letter from the _East Indies_, of Mr. _John Marshal_ to Dr.
-    _Coga_, giving an Account of the Religion, Rites, Notions,
-    Customs, Manners of the Heathen Priests commonly called
-    _Bramines_. Communicated by the Reverend Mr. _Abraham de la
-    Pryme_._
-
-
-  _Worthy Sir_,
-
-The last time that I had the happiness to be in your good Company,
-and to partake of those Favours and Blessings that your Goodness
-was pleased liberally to bestow upon me and our Companions, at our
-departure, and as it were Exile from our Native Land, does so loudly
-call out for some recompence or other at our Hands, that I cannot
-without the greatest Ingratitude imaginable, let slip this (tho'
-sudden) opportunity of Writing unto you, and presenting of you at
-this time with what I understand you more value than all the Riches
-of the East; to wit, a few Specimens of the Knowledge of those People
-whom we stile Barbarians, Heathens and Idolaters, which I have read
-in their own Books, and gather'd from the mouths of those that have
-been the greatest Speakers and Preachers among them. I have always had
-a profound Veneration for the Dictates of Nature, and the universal
-Traditions of Nations, for hereby are Infinite Things to be learned,
-for the establishing of our Glorious Religion against Atheists, and the
-more easie propagation of the same among Infidels and Heathens.
-
-Upon what account or grounds it is that some Travellers have stiled
-these People Polytheists, or Atheists, I cannot tell; or whether there
-be any such People at all in the World, except some of the base common
-sort in all Nations, I much question? It is very observable here, that
-their Priests, or _Bramines_, and Holy Men, whom they call _Jagees_,
-when they have occasion to Write any thing they always put a figure of
-one in the first place, to shew, as they say, that they acknowledge
-but one God, whom they say is _Burme_, that is, Immaterial. When they
-preach to the People, and Instruct them, which is commonly every
-Feast-day, full Moon, or the time of an Eclipse of either Luminary,
-they tell the common People much of God, Heaven and Hell, but very
-Imperfectly, Obscurely and Mystically. They say that when God thought
-of making the World, he made it in a minute.
-
-They account this World the Body of God, for all that they say he's
-Immaterial; and say that the Highest Heavens are his Head, the Fire
-his Mouth, the Air his Breath and Breast, the Water his Seed, and the
-Earth and the foundations thereof his Legs and Feet. But assert in
-general that God is the Life of every thing, yet is the thing neither
-greater nor less for him.
-
-They hold that God dwelt in a Vacuity before that he created the World,
-and that as he dwelt in that Vacuity he created several Beings out of
-himself, the first were Angels, the second Souls, the third Spirits,
-all differing in degrees of Purity, the first being more pure than the
-second, and the second than the third. The Angels, they say, neither
-act Good nor Evil, the Souls either Good or Evil, but the Spirits, or
-_Dewta's_, as they call them, act scarce any thing but Evil.
-
-They have a good Opinion of the Angels, and think their State mighty
-happy, hoping that when they dye they shall be made partakers of the
-same Bliss and Pleasure.
-
-They believe that every thing that hath Life hath a Soul, but
-especially Man; and they accordingly affirm, that as these Souls
-behaved themselves in their pre-existent State, so are their Actions
-in this World either good or bad, by a sort of fatal Necessity, which
-is very hard to conquer, or to overcome. Hence it is, say they, that
-there are so many different Humours and Dispositions of Men, for their
-Souls, before their entrance into their Bodies, being tainted with
-different Affections, causes the like differences in the Parties,
-whose Bodies are their Vehicles. So that if a Man happen to have a
-suddain or unfortunate Death, they immediately ascribe the same to
-the Party's own Wickedness, or the bad Life that his Soul led before
-that it enter'd into his Body. For, say they, the afore-acted Evil
-that his Soul did in its other Life, brought these accidents upon
-him, by getting the upper hand of him, and by being too powerful and
-strong. And those that dye thus, they believe that their Souls turn
-immediately into Devils. They maintain _Pythagoras_'s Transmigration,
-or _Metempsycosis_, but in a grosser sense than he did. For they
-believe that Mens Souls, that have not lived so well as they ought, go
-as soon as the Body dyes not only into Birds and Beasts, but even into
-the basest Reptiles, Insects and Plants, where they suffer a strong
-sort of purgation, to expiate their former Crimes: But as for the Souls
-of the _Jogees_, or _Fuche's_, that is, of Religious Men and Saints,
-they fancy that they go and inhabit with the good _Dewta_'s, or Angels,
-among the Stars.
-
-As for the Spirits, or Inferiour Angels, they believe that they are
-very evil, and have a hand in all Wickednesses, Murders, Wars, Storms,
-and Tempests; so that when they solemnize the Funerals of those that
-are dead, they always present Dishes of Meat, as Offerings unto those
-Spirits, and sometimes Sacrifice unto them, that they may not hurt the
-Souls of the Dead.
-
-As they acknowledge the being of a mighty God, so they hold that he
-created the World, and every thing therein. They believe that there
-are almost infinite number of Worlds, and that God has oftentimes
-Annihilated and Re-Created the same. But how he came first to Create
-the World and Mankind, they relate to have been thus--Once on a time
-(say they) as he was set in Eternity, it came into his mind to make
-something, and immediately no sooner had he thought the same, but that
-the same Minute was a perfect Beautiful Woman present immediately
-before him, which he called _Adea Suktee_, that is, the first Woman:
-Then this figure put into his mind the figure of a Man; which he had
-no sooner conceived in his mind, but that he also started up, and
-represented himself before him; this he called _Manapuise_, that is,
-the first Man; then upon a reflection of these things, he resolv'd
-further to create several places for them to abide in, and accordingly
-assuming a subtil body, he Breath'd in a Minute the whole Universe, and
-every thing therein, from the least to the greatest.
-
-They constantly believe that the Universe cannot possibly last longer
-than 71 _Joog's_, which is a measure of time with them, and is ...
-years. Which when it is come, God does not only annihilate the whole
-Universe, but even every thing else, as well Angels, Souls, and
-Spirits, as Inferiour Creatures; and then he remains in the same State
-that he was in before the Creation; But say, that after he has a while
-respired thus he Breaths again, and every thing is Created afresh, as
-well Angels and Souls, as all other things; but as for the Spirits,
-they are no more thought of. Yet for all this, after 71 _Joogs_ more
-all is Annihilated again. How many _Joogs_ are past since the World
-was last Created they cannot certainly tell; only 'tis observable that
-in an Almanack of theirs, written in the _Sanscript_ Language in 1670,
-they make the World then 3892771 years old from its last Creation.
-
-The _Bramines_ of _Persia_ tell certain long Stories of a great Giant
-that was led into a most delicate Garden, which upon certain conditions
-should be his own for ever. But one evening in a cool shade, one of the
-Wicked _Dewta's_, or Spirits, came to him, and tempted him with vast
-sums of Gold, and all the most precious Jewels that can be imagined;
-but he courageously withstood that temptation, as not knowing what
-value or use they were of: But at length this wicked _Dewta_ brought
-to him a fair Woman, who so charm'd him, that for her sake he most
-willingly broke all his Conditions, and thereupon was turned out.
-
-They tell a great many Stories Absurd and Ridiculous enough, of the
-first Ages of this present World, which would be too tedious here to
-take notice of; only I shall here give you out of one of their own
-Books what they tell us of a great Flood that formerly happened. They
-say, that about 21000 Years ago the Sea overwhelm'd and drowned the
-whole Earth, except one great Hill, far to the Northwards, called
-_Bindd_, and that there fled thither only one Woman and seven Men,
-the names of whom were _Dehoolah_, _Sunnuk_, _Sunnaud_, _Trilleek_,
-_Sannotah_, _Cuppyloshaw_, _Suraschah_ and _Burroopung_; these
-understanding out of their Books that such a Flood would come, and was
-then actually coming, prepared against the same, and repaired thither;
-to which place also went two of all sorts of Creatures, Herbs, Trees,
-and Grasses, and of every thing that had Life, to the number in all
-of 1800000 living Souls. This Flood (say they) lasted 120 Years, 5
-Months and 5 days: After which time all those Creatures that were thus
-preserved, descended down again and replenished the Earth: But as for
-the 7 Men and Women, only one of them came down with her, and dwelt at
-the Foot of the Mountain, the other six turned _Fuchee's_, or Holy Men,
-and spent there the remainder of their days.
-
-They hold in general the _Ptolomaic_ System of the Universe, and say
-that there are 8 or 9 Heavens, counting the Air and Earth, every one
-exceeding another in Beauty and Glory.
-
-Their Religion consists of nothing that I could ever see or learn, but
-the leading of a Pure Life, the Washing away of their Sins in the River
-_Ganges_, their muttering over of divers Prayers, and their doing of
-strange and incredible Penances.
-
-They say, that God is such a one, that whosoever seeks him, let it be
-after what manner he pleases, whether by thinking that the Sun is he,
-or the Moon, or the like, if they do it but sincerely and honestly,
-with a right affected heart, they shall be received of him.
-
-They report, that on a time a _Mussulman_ seeing a _Hindoo_, or
-Pagan Priest, in Heaven, he ask'd God how that Infidel came to have
-admittance thither, whom _Mahomet_ so often calls by the name of Bitter
-Roots? To whom God answered, What if a Bitter Root bring forth sweeter
-Fruit than any of you, why should I not receive it? Upon which the
-_Mussulman_ had no more to say.
-
-They hold, that such as suffer not their minds to wander after the
-lusts of the World are perfect _Jogees_, or Saints, and hold that God
-is always present with them in all their actions.
-
-It is to be found in many of their Books, that there was a time, a good
-while ago, in which God took upon him the shape of a Man, and spent
-many Years in reforming the world, and giving better rules to walk by
-than had been before: but at length having left them, they soon forgot
-him and his Rules, and returned to their former courses; upon which he
-told them that he would leave them to their ways, and never undertake
-any such thing again.
-
-The Religious at some certain Seasons of the Year come unto the River
-_Ganges_ (which they call the Holy River) in vast multitudes, even from
-many parts of _Tartary_, to wash away their sins, and make expiation
-for their faults.
-
-This _Ganges_ is a delicate fine River chiefly for the sake of its most
-sweet, pure and clear Waters, which have got it the greatest esteem of
-any River in the East. I have oftentimes sail'd many Miles up it, and
-have found it in some places not to be above a Mile broad, in others
-not half so much, and in one or two places not above one eighth of a
-Mile. In _April_, when the Water is at the lowest, it is almost dry in
-many places; but when it is at the highest, which is commonly about the
-middle of _September_, it is very deep, and many Miles broad.
-
-When the People are here gather'd together, they have a great many
-strange Customs and Ceremonies, and pay a kind of Divine Honour and
-Worship to the River, too long and tedious here to mention. The
-_Hindoos_ and _Bramines_ preach then every day to the people, teaching
-them their Duties, and ordering them to say such and such Prayers; but
-above all things to be Charitable to the poor and needy.
-
-It is reported, that upon the Hills by _Casmere_ there are men that
-live some hundreds of Years, and can hold their Breaths, and lye in
-Trances for several Years together, if they be but kept warm; and that
-every year some of them come down unto the People at _Ganges_, and
-do many great Cures; for whom they have such a Veneration, that they
-frequently drink the Water they wash their Sweaty Feet in.
-
-The Penances and Austerities that they undergo are almost incredible;
-most of them, through their continual Fastings, and lying upon the
-parching hot Sand in the Heat of the Sun, are so Lean, Dry'd and
-Wither'd, that they look like Skeletons or Shadows, and one can scarce
-perceive them to breath, or feel their Pulse beat.
-
-When any great Man dyes among them, but especially any of their
-_Jogees_ or Saints, they make great preparations for their Funeral;
-the Corpse is laid on its Belly, and Salt and Rice laid round about it
-at every corner of the Ground. Then the nearest Relations to the Party
-deceased carry a Pot of Water on their Shoulders several times about
-the Funeral Pile, when they burn them, then breaking it in pieces,
-spills the Water. Which Ceremony being ended, the Pile is fired, and
-then all the Relations begin to howl, and embrace one another, then
-washing themselves in some Neighbouring River, they depart every one
-to his Home; and as for the remaining Ashes, if he be Rich they gather
-them up, and cast them into the _Ganges_ or the Sea.
-
-Sometimes it happens that the Wife of the deceased Party, if she have
-no Children, and be old, or ill to live in the World, will burn her
-self with the dead Body; but this happens very seldom. It is said, that
-in such cases the _Bramines_ give the Woman a stupefying Liquor, which
-by the time that they are in the Fire makes them senseless of any Pain.
-
-To know into what Body the Soul of the deceased is transmigrated they
-do thus; they strew the Ashes of the Dead upon the Place where he
-was first laid after his Death, and handfuls of odoriferous Flowers
-about the same, and returning again in 44 Hours, they judge by some
-pretended Impression or other in the Ashes, into what Body it is gone:
-If the Foot of an Horse, or Dog, or Ox, or such like appear, then
-they certainly give out that it is gone into such like Creatures; but
-if nothing appear, then they think it is certainly gone to the Starry
-Regions.
-
-As for their Learning and Knowledge it is but little; they have indeed
-several Books writ in divers Languages, but they contain nothing but a
-great deal of Stuff and Cant about their Worship, Rites and Ceremonies.
-
-They are ignorant of all parts of the World but their own; they wonder
-much at us, that will take so much Care and Pains, and run thro' so
-many Dangers both by Sea and Land, only, as they say, to uphold and
-nourish Pride and Luxury. For, say they, every Country in the whole
-World is sufficiently endow'd by Nature with every thing that is
-necessary for the Life of Man, and that therefore it is madness to seek
-for, or desire, that which is needless and unnecessary.
-
-The last time that I was at _Modufferpore_ in _Indostan_, I had a
-great deal of talk with a _Bramine_ somewhat more Learned than any of
-the rest, his Name was _Ramnaunt_; he told me a great many Secrets in
-Physick, and told me many Traditions and Stories. He says, that if you
-bury a piece of Mony for some considerable time in the Mouth of a live
-Frog, and then dig it up again at Midnight, that this piece of Money,
-to whomsoever you give or pay it, will always return to you again.
-
-He says, that if the little Worm in the Wood _Lukerakera_ be cut in
-two, and the one part stirs and the other not, if the stirring part be
-bruised, and given with half a Beetle to a Man, the other half to a
-Woman, this Charm will keep them from ever lying absent one from the
-other.
-
-They have Books full of the like absurdities, and Cabalistick
-complication of Figures; as for Example, if you write these following
-Numbers, 28, 35, 2, 7. ---- 6, 3, 32, 31--34, 29, 8, 1, --4, 5, 30, 33.
-in the squares of a square Figure, and your Enemies Name under it, and
-wear it always about you, your Enemy shall never be able to hurt you.
-
-So if you write the following Figures in the like manner upon the
-left Hand, 2, 9, 2, 7, --6, 3, 6, 5, --8, 3, 8, 1--4, 5, 4, 7--with
-Turmerick, and wash the same off with fair Water of _Ganges_, and drink
-it, it will cure all manner of Venomous Bitings.
-
-Multitudes of such like ridiculous Fancies they have; all which they
-seem to have borrowed from the _Cabala_ of the _Saracens_, which is
-full of such like.
-
-I lately heard a _Bramine_ say, that if some of the pieces or knots
-of the Cloath (in which a Woman hath been burned with her Husband) be
-saved, and made up in the form of a Wick, and fitted for a Lamp, and
-lighted, and set in a dead Womans Skull, that it would make the dead
-Party appear. This he said he had done, but I did not believe him.
-
-When they have any mad Men among them, they take them and put them into
-a close Room, just big enough to hold them, and almost Smoke them to
-Death with Musk and cold Smells, which soon brings their Brains into
-their right temperature, and so recover them, _&c._
-
-There happen'd two things in our Voyage hither which I thought very
-observable tho' perhaps they may not be unknown to you--The first was,
-that all our Tornadoes brought much Rain with a stink; and if the
-Seamen did but lay their Cloaths by for 24 Hours, they became all full
-of little Maggots. The second is, When we came out of _Europe_ we took
-in some Water at St. _Jago_'s, and when we were almost at our Journeys
-end, our Cooper going with a Candle to open one of the Casks, he had no
-sooner done it, but the Water immediatly took Fire, and burnt his Face,
-Hands and Fingers; but he suddenly turning about quench'd the same, by
-setting his Britch on it. It stunk pretty much also at the same time,
-but afterwards came to its native Sweetness, _&c._
-
-                                                       _I am yours_, &c.
-
-                                                            Jo. Marshal.
-
-
-
-
-  _Part of two Letters to the Publisher from Mr. _James Cunningham_,
-    F.R.S. and Physician to the _English_ at _Chusan_ in _China_,
-    giving an account of his Voyage thither, of the Island of
-    _Chusan_, of the several sorts of Tea, of the Fishing,
-    Agriculture of the _Chinese_, _&c._ with several Observations not
-    hitherto taken notice of._
-
-
-  _SIR_,
-
-My last to you was from the Island of _Borneo_, in which I gave you an
-account of our arrival there the 17th of _July_, where we staid but two
-Days, the Season of the Year being so far past, and from thence made
-the best of our way through the Streights of _Banca_ with favourable
-Winds and Weather, till we came on the Coast of _China_ the 13th of
-_August_, then we had variable Winds which carried us abreast of
-_Emuy_ the 19th following, at which time the North East Winds setting
-in fresh, put us in great fears of losing our passage; whereupon we
-were forced to turn it up against Wind and Current all the Way, the
-Weather so favouring us, that we were never but by our Top-sails,
-else we should have lost more Ground in one Day, than we could have
-gain'd in eight. The last of _August_ we came to an Anchor under the
-_Crocodile_ Islands, both to shelter us from the bad Weather, (which
-is generally expected on this Coast at new and full Moon, and has been
-fatal to a great many Ships) and also to look for fresh Water, which
-was now grown scarce with us, not having recruited since we came from
-the Cape of _Good Hope_: These are three small Islands lying in the
-Latitude of 26 Degrees, about six Leagues from the River of _Hocksieu_;
-on _two_ whereof we found very good fresh Water, with a convenient
-Watering-place on the South West side of the innermost of the _three_;
-and by the assistance of a few _Chinese_ Fishermen we procured some
-fresh Provisions from the main-land, because we did not reckon it safe
-to adventure our selves thither, lest we should have been brought
-into Trouble by the Government there. While we lay here, on the fifth
-of _September_ we had a suddain short shift of the Moonsoon to S. W.
-the fury whereof others felt, in coming upon the Coast of _China_ at
-the same time. The 8th of _September_ we put to Sea again, turning to
-Windward Night and Day without all the Islands, which are very numerous
-along this Coast, to which we were altogether strangers beyond _Emuy_,
-and the Hydrography thereof is hitherto so imperfect, that there was
-no trusting to our Drafts, which made our Navigation somewhat more
-dangerous: However, on the first of _October_ we got into the Latitude
-of 30 Degrees, where we came to an Anchor near the Land, until we found
-the way by Boat to _Chusan_, about 12 Leagues within the Islands; from
-whence we had a Pilot, who carried us safely thither on the 11th of
-_October_. Upon this Island the _Chineses_ have granted us a Settlement
-and Liberty of Trade, but not to _Ning-po_, which is 6 or 8 hours sail
-to the Westward, all the way among Islands; this being the largest,
-is 8 or 9 Leagues in length from East to West, and 4 or 5 Leagues
-in breadth; about 3 Leagues from that point of the Main-Land called
-Cape _Liampo_ by the _Portugueze_, but _Khi-tu_ by the _Chinese_: At
-the West End of this Island is the Harbour very safe and convenient,
-where the Ships ride within call of the Factory, which is built close
-by the shore on a low plain Valley, with near 200 Houses about it for
-the Benefit of Trade; inhabited by Men, whose Jealousie has not as yet
-permitted them to let their Wives dwell here; for the Town where they
-are, is ¾ of a Mile further from the Shore, enviorn'd with a fine Stone
-Wall, about 3 Miles in Circumference, mounted with 22 square Bastions
-placed at irregular distances, besides 4 great Gates, on which are
-planted a few old Iron Guns, seldom or never used: The Houses within
-are very meanly built: Here the _Chumpeen_ or Governour of the Island
-lives, and betwixt three and four thousand beggarly Inhabitants, most
-part Souldiers and Fishermen; for the Trade of this place being newly
-granted, has not as yet brought any considerable Merchants hither. The
-Island in general abounds with all sorts of Provisions, such as Cows,
-Buffalo's, Goats, Deer, Hogs wild and tame, Geese, Ducks and Hens;
-Rice, Wheat, Calavances, Cole-worts, Turnips, Potatoes, Carrots, Beetes
-and Spinach; But for Merchandize there's none but what comes from
-_Ning-po_, _Hang-cheu_, _Nankin_ and the Inland Towns, some of which I
-hope to see, when I have acquir'd a little of the _Chinese_ Language.
-Here also the Tea grows in great plenty on the tops of the Hills, but
-it is not in that esteem with what grows on more Mountainous Islands.
-Altho this Island is pretty well stor'd with People, yet its far from
-what it was in _F. Martinius_'s time, when he describes _Cheuxan_:
-and this puts me in mind, that the Superstitious Pilgrimages thereto,
-mention'd by him, must be meant of the Island _Pou-to_, which lies 9
-Leagues from hence, and 3 Miles to the Eastward of this Island, whither
-(they say) the Emperour designs in the Month of _May_ next (being
-his Birth-day, and the 40th Year of his Age) to come to worship in
-an Ancient Pagoda there, famous for Sanctity; having sent one of his
-_Bonzes_ already thither to get all things in order.
-
-
-                                           _Chusan_, _Novemb. 22. 1701._
-
-  _SIR_,
-
-I formerly told you, that the Emperor design'd to have come to the
-Island of _Pou-to_ (a place of great Devotion) to worship in the Month
-of _May_ last, being the 40th Year of his Age, I should have said of
-his Reign; but all things being prepared there for his Reception, he
-was dissuaded from his purpose by some of his _Mandarines_, who made
-him believe that the terrible Thunder there was very dangerous. This
-_Pou-to_ is a small Island about 5 Leagues round at the East end of
-this Island, famous for the Superstitious Pilgrimages made thither for
-the space of eleven hundred Years: It's inhabited only by _Bonzes_,
-to the number of 3000, all of the Sect call'd _Hoshang_, or unmarried
-_Bonzes_, who live a _Pythagorean_ Life; and there they have built 400
-Pagodes, two whereof are considerable for their greatness and finery,
-being lately covered with green and yellow Tiles brought from the
-Emperor's Palace at _Nankin_, and inwardly adorn'd with stately Idols
-finely grav'd and gilded, the chief whereof is the Idol _Quon-em_. To
-these two great Pagodes belong two chief Priests, who govern all the
-rest. They have several Ways and Avenues cut through the Island, some
-whereof are pav'd with Flag-stones, and over-shaded with Trees planted
-on each side: Their dwellings are the best I have yet seen in these
-Parts. All which are maintain'd by Charitable Devotions; and the
-Junks which go from _Ning-po_ and this place to _Japan_, touch there
-both going and coming, to make their Offerings for their good Success.
-There is another Island call'd _Kim-tong_ 5 Leagues hence in the way
-to _Ning-po_, whither, they say, do retire a great many _Mandarins_
-to live a quiet Life after they have given over their Employments; on
-that Island also are said to be Silver Mines, but prohibited to be
-open'd. The rest of the circumjacent Islands are either desert, or
-meanly inhabited by a few fishing People, but all of them stor'd with
-abundance of Deer. For it is not long since this Island of _Chusan_
-began to be Peopled; it's true, in _Martini_'s Days, about 50 Years
-ago, it was very Populous for the space of three or four Years, at
-which time the fury of the _Tartarian_ Conquest was so great, that
-they left it desolate, not sparing so much as the Mulberry Trees (for
-then they made a great deal of raw Silk here) and in this condition
-it continued till about 18 Years ago, that the Walls of the Fort or
-Town, which now is, were built by the Governor of _Ting-hai_, for a
-Garrison to expel some Pyrats, who had taken shelter here. About 14
-Years ago, the Island beginning to be peopled, there was a _Chumpeen_
-or General sent to govern it for three Years, to whom succeeded the
-late _Chumpeen_ (who procur'd the opening of this Port to Strangers)
-whose Government continued till _April_ last, being translated to be
-_Chumpeen_ of _Tien-cing Wei_ near to _Pekin_, and was succeeded by the
-present _Chumpeen_, who is Son to the Old _Chunkoon_ of _Emuy_.
-
-They have got no Arts or Manufactories here, but making of lacker'd
-Ware, a particular Account whereof I cannot as yet send you. They begin
-to Plant Mulberry-Trees, to breed up Worms for the Production of raw
-Silk; and they make some Tea, but chiefly for their own use.
-
-Altho' the following Particulars contain nothing of extraordinary
-matters in them, yet such as they are, you may take, till I can procure
-you better.
-
-The three sorts of Tea commonly carry'd to _England_ are all from
-the same Plant, only the Season of the Year, and the Soil, makes the
-difference. The _Bohee_ (or _Voiii_, so call'd of some Mountains in
-the Province of _Fo-kien_, where it is chiefly made) is the very first
-bud gather'd, in the beginning of _March_, and dry'd in the Shade. The
-_Bing_ Tea is the second growth in _April_: and _Singlo_ the last in
-_May_ and _June_, both dry'd a little in _Tatches_ or Pans over the
-Fire. The Tea Shrub being an ever-green, is in Flower from _October_ to
-_January_, and the Seed is ripe in _September_ and _October_ following,
-so that one may gather both Flowers and Seed at the same time; but for
-one fresh and full Seed, there are a hundred nought; these make up the
-two sorts of _Fruit_ in _Le Compte_'s description of Tea: As for his
-other sort, which he calls slymic Pease, they were nothing but the
-young Buds of the Flowers not yet open. Its Seed-Vessels are really
-_Tricapsular_, each _Capsula_ containing one Nut or Seed, and altho'
-two or one _Capsula_ only comes to Perfection, yet the Vestiges of the
-rest may be discerned. It grows in a dry gravelly Soil, on the sides
-of Hills in several places of this Island, without any Cultivation.
-
-_Le Compte_ is mistaken in saying (_pag. 96._) that the _Chineses_ are
-wholly Strangers to the Art of Grafting, for I have seen a great many
-of his Paradoxical Tallow-Trees ingrafted here, besides some other
-Trees. When they Ingraft, they do not slit the Stock as we do, but cut
-a small slice off the outside of the Stock, to which they apply the
-Graft (being cut sloping on one side, agreeable to the slice cut from
-the Stock) bringing up the Bark of the slice upon the outside of the
-Graft, they tie altogether, covering with Straw and Mud as we do.
-
-The Commentator on _Magalhen_ seems doubtful in the length of the
-_Chinese Che_ or Cubit. Here they have two sorts, one of 13⁷⁄₁₀
-_English_ Inches, which the Merchants commonly use: The other is of
-eleven Inches, us'd by Carpenters, and also in Geographical Measures.
-
-Albeit _F. Martini_ is censur'd by _F. Magalhen_ for spelling a great
-many _Chinese_ Words with _ng_, which the _Portuguese_ and others
-have done with _m_, yet his way is more agreeable to the _English_
-Pronunciation, only in some Words the _g_ may be left out, as in
-_Pekin_, _Nankin_, &c.
-
-Having made enquiry about _Martini_'s Account of Sowing their Fields at
-_Ven-cheu_ with Oyster-shells, to make new ones grow; I was told that
-after they have taken out the Oysters, they sprinkle the Shells with
-Urine, then putting them into the Water again, there grows new Oysters
-on the foresaid Shells.
-
-_Martini_ says he could never find a _Latin_ Name for the _Fula
-Mogorin_ of the _Portuguese_, I'm sure it's the same with the _Syringa
-Arabica flore pleno albo in Parkinsone_. He says also, that the
-_Kieu-yeu_ or Tallow-tree bears a white Flower like a Cherry-tree; but
-all that I have seen here bears a spike of small yellow Flowers like
-the _julus_ of a _Salix_.
-
-The Bean, or _Mandarin_ Broth, so frequently mentioned in the _Dutch_
-Embassy and other Authors, is only an Emulsion made of the Seed of
-_Sesamum_ and hot Water.
-
-Their chief Employments here are Fishing and Agriculture.
-
-In Fishing, they use several sorts of Nets and Lines as we do; but
-because they have large Banks of Mud in some Places, the Fisherman, to
-go more easily thereon, has contriv'd a small frame about 3 or 4 Foot
-long, not much larger than a Hen-trough, elevated a little at each end,
-in which he rests upon one Knee, leaning his Arms on a cross Stick,
-rais'd so high as his Breast, and putting out the other Foot often upon
-the Mud, he pushes forward his Frame thereon, and so carries himself
-along in it.
-
-As to their Agriculture, all their Fields (where any thing is planted)
-whether high or low, are made into such Plots as may retain the Water
-on them when they please. They Plow up their Ground with one Buffalo
-or one Cow. Where they are to Sow Rice, they prepare the Fields very
-well, by clearing it of all manner of Weeds, moistening to a Pulp, and
-smoothing it with a Frame drawn across; on which they Sow the Rice very
-thick and cover it only with Water for two or three Inches high, and
-when it has grown 6 or 8 Inches long, they pull it up by the Roots, and
-transplant it (by Tufts in a straight line) to Fields overflown with
-Water; and where a Field is subject to Weeds, when the Water drys up,
-they prevent their growth in over-turning the Mud with their Hands in
-the interstices where the Rice is planted. When they Sow Wheat, Barley,
-Pulse, and other Grains, they grub up some superficial Earth, Grass and
-Roots, and with some Straw they burn all together; this Earth being
-sifted fine, they mix with the Seed, which they Sow in holes made in
-a strait Line, and so grows up in Tufts as the Rice does; the Field
-being divided into Beds and harrowed over, both before and after the
-Seed is Sown: This makes them somewhat resemble Gardens. Altho' they
-meliorate their Fields, where they Sow Rice, only by letting the Water
-on them, yet for other Grains, where Ground requires it, they make use
-of Dung, Human Excrements, Ashes, _&c._ In watering their Fields here
-they use the same Instrument mention'd by _Martini_ in the Preface to
-his Atlas, being all of Wood, and the contrivance the same with that of
-a Chain-Pump.
-
-Their method in making of Salt is this: All the Shores here being Mud,
-instead of Sand, in the Summer Season they pare off the superficial
-Earth, which has been overflown with the Salt Water, and lay it up in
-heaps for use; when they are to use it they dry it in the Sun, rubbing
-it small; then digging a Pit, they cover the bottom thereof with Straw,
-at which thro' the side of the Pit they pass a hollow Cane, that
-leads into a Jar, which stands below the level of the Pits bottom;
-they fill the Pit almost full with the foresaid Earth, and pour Salt
-Water thereon, till it be covered two or three Inches with Water, which
-drains through, into the foresaid Jar, and is afterwards boil'd into
-Salt.
-
-Had I not found the Printed News Papers last Year take notice of a
-singular Root brought from _China_ by _F. Fontaney_, I should not have
-told you, that I have seen one since I came here call'd _Hu-chu-u_
-(which I take to be the same) whereto they ascribe wonderful Properties
-of prolonging Life, and turning grey Hairs into black, by drinking its
-Infusion for some time, insomuch that they say it's to be had in value
-from 10 _Tael_ to 1000 or 2000 a single Root; for the larger it is, the
-more is its value and efficacy: Which is too much Money here to try the
-Experiment. You have it mention'd in _Cleyer_'s _Medicina Sinica_ No.
-84. under the Name of _Ho-xcu-u_, according to the _Portugal_ Spelling:
-It's likewise painted in the 27th Table of those Plants Mr. _Petiver_
-had of me. If you'll have the Story of its Discovery, which I will not
-warrant for Gospel, it runs thus. Upon a time a certain Person going
-a Simpling among the Mountains, fell by accident into such a steep
-Valley that he could by no means get out of it again; whereupon looking
-about for something to sustain his Life; in this melancholy condition,
-he espy'd this Root, of which he made Tryal; and found that in eating
-thereof, it serv'd him both for Provisions and Clothing, by keeping
-his Body in such a temperature, that the Injuries of the Weather had
-no influence upon him during his stay there, which was some hundreds
-of Years; till at last an Earthquake happen'd in that place, whereby
-the Mountains were rent, and he found a passage out to his House, from
-whence he had been so long absent: But the many alterations that came
-to pass there in such a space of time, would not permit them to give
-Credit to his Story; till consulting the Annals of their Family, which
-gave an Account of one of them lost at that time, they were confirm'd
-in the truth of his Relation. And so much for this.
-
-
-
-
-  _A Letter from Mr. _John Clayton_ Rector of _Crofton_ at
-    _Wakefield_ in _Yorkshire_, to the Royal Society, _May 12. 1688._
-    giving an Account of several Observables in _Virginia_, and in
-    his Voyage thither, more particularly concerning the Air._
-
-
-Having oftentimes been urged to give an Account of _Virginia_, by
-several of the Worthy Members of the Royal Society, I cannot but, as
-far forth as I am able, obey Commands whereby I'm so much honour'd,
-and show my Respect by my ready Compliance; tho' I am so sensible
-of my own Weakness and Incapacity to answer your Expectations, that
-before-hand I must Apologize for my self. And indeed by Sea I lost all
-my Books, Chymical Instruments, Glasses and Microscopes, which rendred
-me uncapable of making those Remarks and Observations I had designed,
-they were all cast away in Captain _Win_'s Ship, as they were to follow
-me; and _Virginia_ being a Country where one cannot furnish ones self
-again with such things, I was discourag'd from making so diligent a
-Scrutiny as otherwise I might have done, so that I took very few
-Minutes down in Writing; and therefore, since I have only my Memory
-to rely on, which too has the Disadvantage of it's own Weakness, and
-of the distance of two Years since now I left the Country, if future
-Relations shall in some small Points make out my Mistake, I thought
-this requisite to justifie my Candor; for I ever judg'd it villanous
-to impose in matters of Fact; but Descriptions of things that depend
-on Memory may be liable to Mistakes, and yet the sincerity of the
-Person that delivers them intire. But hereof I shall be as cautious
-as possible, and shall rather wave some things whereof I have some
-Doubts, and am uncapable now of satisfying my self, than in any sort
-presume too far. The method I design is, First, to give an Account of
-the Air, and all such Observations as refer thereto; then of the Water,
-the Earth and Soil; the Birds, the Beasts, the Fishes, the Plants,
-the Insects; and lastly, the present state of the Inhabitants: But at
-present I shall neither trouble you nor my self with any more than an
-Account of what refers to the Air alone, being conscious the Honourable
-Society may receive such a Glut with the Imperfection of this, as to
-excuse me from a farther Relation.
-
-But before I begin, perhaps it may not be impertinent to acquaint you
-with some things that happen'd in our Voyage. We sail'd in the Ship
-_Judith_, Captain _Trim_ Commander, 'twas Fly-boat built, about 200 or
-250 Tuns; she sprung a considerable Leak. When the Captain had made
-long and diligent Search, had tried all methods that Seamen use upon
-such occasions, or he could think of, all in vain, and that the Leak
-encreased, he came pensively to consult me. Discoursing with him about
-it, and understanding that the Ship was Cieled within, so that though
-the Leak might possibly be in the fore-part, it would fill the whole
-Cavity betwixt the Cieling and the Planks, and so run into the Hold
-at all the Crevices of the Cieling up and down: I thereupon conceive,
-that where it burst in betwixt the Cieling and the Planks, it must
-needs make some Noise. He told me, they had endeavoured to find it out
-that way, and according to custom had clapt Cans to their Ears to hear
-with; but the working of the Ship, the Tackle and the Sea made such a
-Noise, that they could discover nothing thereby. I happily bethought my
-self of the Speaking Trumpet; and having one which I had contrived for
-some other Conveniences, of a differing shape from the common sorts, I
-bid him take it and apply the broad end to the side of the Ship, the
-narrow end to his Ear, and it would encrease his Hearing as much as it
-augmented the Voice the other way, and would ward the Ear too from the
-confusion of foreign Noise. Upon the first application, accordingly
-they heard it, tho' it happened to be at a considerable distance;
-and when they removed the Trumpet nigher, they heard it as if it had
-been the Current of a mighty River, even so distinctly, as to have
-Apprehensions of the bigness and figure of the Hole that the Water came
-in at; so that cutting there the Sealing of the Ship, they immediately
-stopt the Leak.
-
-In the Sea I saw many little things which the Seamen call Carvels; they
-are like a Jelly or Starch that is made with a cast of Blue in it; they
-Swim like a small Sheep's Bladder above the Water, downwards there
-are long Fibrous Strings, some whereof I have found near half a yard
-long. This I take to be a sort of Sea-Plant, and the strings its Roots
-growing in the Sea, as Duck-weed does in Ponds. It may be reckon'd
-among the Potential Cauteries; for when we were one day becalm'd,
-getting some to make Observations thereof, the sportful People rub'd it
-on one anothers Hands and Faces, and where it touch'd it would make it
-look very Red, and make it smart worse than a Nettle. In my return for
-_England_ we struck a Hauksbill Turtle, in whose Guts I found many of
-these Carvels; so that it's manifest they feed thereon. 'Tis commonly
-asserted by the Seamen, that they can smell the Pines at _Virginia_
-several Leagues at Sea before they see Land, but I could receive no
-Satisfaction as to this Point; I could not discern any such thing when
-at a moderate distance, I fear much of this may be attributed to Fancy;
-for one Day there came three or four full scent to tell me they were
-certain they smelt the Pines; but it afterwards prov'd that we were
-at that time 200 Leagues from the Shoar, so that I was satisfied that
-was therefore meer Fancy. Indeed we thought, by the general Accounts
-of the Ship, that we had been just on the Coast, but all were deceived
-by a Current we met with, that at that time set about South-East, or
-East South-East, which when once becalmed we tried thus: We hoised out
-a Boat, and took one of the Scuttles that cover'd one of the Hatches
-of the Ship, tying thereto a great Weight, and a strong long Rope, we
-let it sink a considerable depth, and then fastening it to the Boat,
-it serv'd as an Anchor, that the Boat could not drive; then with the
-Glass and log Line we found the Current set, as I say, Eastward, at
-the rate of a Mile and a half an Hour. This Current is of mischievous
-Consequence, it does not always run one way, but as it sets sometimes
-as we proved Easterly, so does it, as they say, set at other times
-Westerly, whereby many Ships have been lost; for then the Ships being
-before their Accounts, they fall in with the Land before they are
-aware. Thus one Year many Ships were lost on Cape _Hattarasse_, and
-thereabouts.
-
-
-_Of the AIR._
-
-The Cape called _Cape Henry_, lies in 36½ of the Northern Latitude.
-The Air and Temperature of the Seasons is much govern'd by Winds in
-_Virginia_, both as to Heat and Cold, Dryness and Moisture, whose
-Variations being very notable, I the more lamented the loss of my
-Barometers and Thermometers, for considerable Observations might be
-made thereby, there being often great and suddain Changes. The Nore
-and Nore-West are very nitrous and piercing, cold and clear, or else
-stormy. The South-East and South hazy and sultry hot: Their Winter
-is a fine clear Air, and dry, which renders it very pleasant: Their
-Frosts are short, but sometimes very sharp, that it will freeze the
-Rivers over three Miles broad; nay, the Secretary of State assured me,
-it had frozen clever over _Potomack_ River, over against his House,
-where it is near nine Miles over: I have observed it freezes there the
-hardest, when from a moist South East, on a sudden the Wind passing
-by the Nore, a nitrous sharp Nore-West blows; not with high Gusts,
-but with a cutting brisk Air; and those Vails then that seem to be
-shelter'd from the Wind, and lie warm, where the Air is most stagnant
-and moist, are frozen the hardest, and seized the soonest, and there
-the Fruits are more subject to blast than where the Air has a free
-Motion. Snow falls sometimes in pretty quantity, but rarely continues
-there above a Day or two: Their Spring is about a Month earlier than in
-_England_; in _April_ they have frequent Rains, sometimes several short
-and suddain Gusts. _May_ and _June_ the Heat encreases, and it is much
-like our Summer, being mitigated with gentle Breezes that rise about
-9 of the Clock, and decrease and incline as the Sun rises and falls.
-_July_ and _August_ those Breezes cease, and the Air becomes stagnant,
-that the Heat is violent and troublesome. In _September_ the Weather
-usually breaks suddenly, and there falls generally very considerable
-Rains. When the Weather breaks many fall Sick, this being the time of
-an Endemical Sickness, for Seasonings, Cachexes, Fluxes, Scorbutical
-Dropsies, Gripes, or the like, which I have attributed to this Reason.
-That by the extraordinary Heat the ferment of the Blood being raised
-too high, and the Tone of the Stomach relaxed, when the Weather breaks
-the Blood palls, and like over-fermented Liquors is depauperated, or
-turns eager and sharp, and there's a crude Digestion, whence the named
-Distempers may be supposed to ensue. And for confirmation, I have
-observed the Carminative Seeds, such as warm, and whose Oil sheaths
-the acid Humors that ever result from crude Digestions. But Decoctions
-that retain the Tone of the Stomach, as I suppose, by making the
-little Glands in the Tunicles of the Stomach, squeeze out their Juice,
-(for what is bitter may be as well offensive to the Stomach, as to
-the Palate) and then Chalibiates that raise the decayed Ferment, are
-no bad Practice; after which, I conceive, Armoniack Spirits might be
-very beneficial. But their Doctors are so Learned, that I never met
-with any of them that understood what Armoniack Spirits were: Two or
-three of them one time ran me clear down by consent, that they were
-Vomitive, and that they never used any thing for that purpose but
-Crocus Metallorum, which indeed every House keeps; and if their Finger,
-as the Saying is, ake but, they immediatly give three or four Spoonfuls
-thereof; if this fail, they give him a second Dose, then perhaps Purge
-them with 15 or 20 Grains of the Rosin of Jalap, afterwards Sweat them
-with _Venice_ Treacle, Powder of Snake-Root, or _Gascoin_'s Powder;
-and when these fail _conclamatum est_. But to return, 'Tis wonderful
-what influence the Air has over Mens Bodies, whereof I had my self
-sad assurances; for tho' I was in a very close warm Room, where was
-a Fire constantly kept, yet there was not the least Alteration or
-Change, whereof I was not sensible when I was sick of the Gripes, of
-which Distemper I may give a farther account in its proper place. When
-a very Ingenious Gentlewoman was visited with the same Distemper, I
-had the opportunity of making very considerable Observations. I stood
-at the Window, and could view the Clouds arise: For there small black
-fleeting Clouds will arise, and be swiftly carry'd cross the whole
-Element; and as these Clouds arose, and came nigher, her Torments were
-encreased, which were grievous as a labouring Womans; there was not the
-least Cloud but lamentably affected her, and that at a considerable
-distance; but by her Shrieks it seemed more or less, according to the
-bigness and nearness of the Clouds. The Thunder there is attended often
-with fatal Circumstances: I was with my Lord _Howard_ of _Effingham_
-the Governour, when they brought Word that one Dr. _A._ was killed
-therewith, after this manner: He was Smoaking a Pipe of Tobacco, and
-looking out at his Window when he was struck dead, and immediately
-became so stiff, that he did not fall, but stood leaning in the Window,
-with the Pipe in his Mouth, in the same posture he was in when struck:
-But this I only deliver as Report, tho' I heard the same Account from
-several, without any contradicting it. These things are remarkable,
-that it generally breaks in at the Gable end of the Houses, and often
-kills Persons in, or near the Chimneys range, darting most fiercely
-down the Funnel of the Chimney, more especially if there be a Fire, (I
-speak here confusedly of Thunder and Lightning) for when they do any
-Mischief, the Crash and Lightning are at the same Instant, which must
-be from the nearness of the Cloud. One time when the Thunder split
-the Mast of a Boat at _James_ Town, I saw it break from the Cloud,
-which it divided in two, and seem'd as if it had shot them immediatly
-a Mile asunder, to the Eye: It is dangerous when it Thunders standing
-in a narrow Passage, where there's a thorough Passage, or in a Room
-betwixt two Windows; tho' several have been kill'd in the open Fields.
-'Tis incredible to tell how it will strike large Oaks, shatter and
-shiver them, sometimes twisting round a Tree, sometimes as if it struck
-the Tree backwards and forwards. I had noted a fine spreading Oak in
-_James Town_ Island, in the Morning I saw it fair and flourishing, in
-the Evening I observed all the Bark of the Body of the Tree, as if it
-had been artificially peel'd off; was orderly spread round the Tree,
-in a Ring, whose Semidiameter was four Yards, the Tree in the Center;
-all the Body of the Tree was shaken and split, but its Boughs had all
-their Bark on; few Leaves were fallen, and those on the Boughs as
-fresh as in the Morning, but gradually afterwards withered, as on a
-Tree that is fallen. I have seen several vast Oaks and other Timber
-Trees twisted, as if it had been a small Willow that a Man had twisted
-with his Hand, which I could suppose had been done by nothing but the
-Thunder. I have been told by very serious Planters, that 30 or 40
-Years since, when the Country was not so open, the Thunder was more
-fierce, and that sometimes after violent Thunder and Rain, the Roads
-would seem to have perfect casts of Brimstone; and 'tis frequent after
-much Thunder and Lightning for the Air to have a perfect Sulphurious
-Smell. Durst I offer my weak Reasons when I write to so great Masters
-thereof, I should here consider the nature of Thunder, and compare
-it with some Sulphurious Spirits which I have drawn from Coals, that
-I could no way condense, yet were inflamable; nay, would burn after
-they pass'd through Water, and that seemingly fiercer, if they were
-not over-power'd therewith. I have kept of this Spirit a considerable
-time in Bladders; and tho' it appeared as if they were only blown
-with Air, yet if I let it forth, and fired it with a Match or Candle,
-it would continue burning till all were spent. It might be worthy
-Consideration likewise, whether those frequent Thunders proceeded from
-the Air's being more stagnant, the motion of the Winds being impeded
-by the Trees, or whether the motion of the Winds being obstructed by
-them below, the motion might not be more violent aloft; and how far
-that may promote inflammability, for Stacks of Hay or Corn that ferment
-with moisture, never burn, unless when brisk Winds blow, that agitate
-and fan the little fermenting Sparks, and often kindle them into an
-actual Fire. And Observance of the Meteors there might perhaps not be
-Impertinent, as both what are more rare, and what are more frequent,
-as of _Gosimore_ in great abundance, and of those small Cob-webs in a
-Morning, which some have supposed to be Meteors. _Ignes fatui_, tho'
-there be many boggy Swamps and Marshes, are seldom, if any are seen
-there. There be frequent little sorts of Whirl-winds, whose Diameter
-may be sometimes not past two or three Yards, sometimes forty, which
-whisking round in a Circle, pass along the Earth, according to the
-motion of the Cloud, from whence they issue; and as they pass along
-with their gyrous or circular motion, they carry aloft the dry Leaves
-into the Air, which fall again often in places far remote. I have
-seen them descend in a calm Sun-shine Day, as if they had come from
-the Heavens in great Showers thereof, so that all the Elements seem'd
-filled therewith. And I could perceive them to descend from on high as
-far as I could possibly discern a Leaf. I remember a roguish Expression
-of a Seaman, otherwise silly enough, who wondering thereat, cry'd out,
-_Sure now 'tis manifest there is a World above!_ and now with them 'tis
-the Fall of the Leaf. But to proceed, I thought this made it manifest,
-whence many preternatural Showers have happen'd. I remember at Sir
-_Richard Atherton_'s in _Lancashire_, some few Years ago, there fell
-a great number of the Seeds of Ivy-berries; at first we admir'd what
-they were, for they were cover'd with a thin Skin that was red, and
-resembled the Figure of a small Wheat Corn; but afterwards they fully
-manifested what they were; for many sprouted and took Root. I suppose
-they were carry'd aloft by some such Whirl-wind, and let fall there. I
-have purposely gone into the place where I perceived this Gust, which
-is notorious enough by the Noise it makes, with rattling the Leaves as
-it carries them aloft, and have found a fine sharp Breeze of Wind.
-
-                                                            _Yours_, &c.
-
-
-
-
-  Mr. _Clayton_'s second Letter, containing his farther Observations
-    on _Virginia_.
-
-
-Being honour'd with the Thanks of the Society for my last, and
-receiving by my worthy Friend Dr. _Moulin_ their Commands to proceed,
-I have added here my Observations of the Waters, and part of the Earth
-and Soil. I shall wave both Complements and Apologies, since I have
-greater Respect and Honour for the Society than I can possibly express,
-and have no reason to suspect their Favour, whose Candidness I so
-signally proved in my last.
-
-
-_Of the WATER._
-
-'Twixt the two Capes, the Southern, call'd the _Cape Henry_, the more
-Northerly call'd _Cape Charles_, there runs up a great Bay, call'd the
-Bay of _Cheesepeak_; nine Leagues over in some places, in most Seven,
-lying much West, Nore and South, dividing _Virginia_ into two unequal
-Parts. On the East side of this Bay there lies a narrow neck of Land,
-which makes the Counties of _Northampton_ and _Accomack_. On the West
-side of the Bay there branches forth four great Rivers, _James River_,
-_York River_, _Rapahanack_ and _Potomack_, that rise from a ridge of
-Mountains, whereof more in the Sequel. These Rivers plentifully water
-all the other parts of _Virginia_, emptying themselves into the great
-Bay. The Mouth of _James River_, which is the most Southerly of them,
-the Mouth of _Potomack_, which is the most Northerly, may be a hundred
-Miles distance: But as I have been credibly inform'd that the Falls
-of _James River_ are not past thirty Miles from _Potomack_, which is
-a vast large River nine Miles over in many places. I have been told
-it was Navigable nigh two hundred Miles, much higher than any of the
-other Rivers: Whence I conclude in future times, it will be the most
-considerable for Trade when the Country comes to be inhabited further
-up into the main Land. The other Rivers are much about three Miles over
-a piece. And _James River_ is Navigable at least eighty Miles. Within
-four or five Miles of _James Town_, _James River_ and _York River_
-are not past four or five Miles asunder. Yea, Sloops of considerable
-Carriage may Sail up the Branches of the two Rivers, till they come
-within a Mile the one of the other; for I take it to be no more from
-Col. _Bollards_ to Major _Troop_'s Landing, and I believe they may come
-much what as near again as Col. _Coles_, and several other places.
-_York_ River is distant from _Rapahanack_ in some places not past
-ten or twelve Miles, _Rapahanack_ from _Potomack_ not past seven
-Miles in one place, tho' it may be sixty in others. The Heads of the
-Branches of the Rivers interfere and lock one within another, which I
-think is best expressed after the manner that an _Indian_ explained
-himself once to me, when I enquired how nigh the Rivers of _Carolina_,
-_Virginia_ and _Maryland_ arose out of the Mountains? from those that
-ran Westerly on the other side of the Mountains, he clapt the Fingers
-of one Hand 'twixt those of the other, crying, they meet thus; the
-Branches of different Rivers rising not past a hundred Paces distant
-one from another: So that no Country in the World can be more curiously
-watered. But this conveniency, that in future times may make her like
-the _Netherlands_, the richest place in all _America_, at the present
-I look on the greatest Impediment to the advance of the Country, as it
-is the greatest Obstacle to Trade and Commerce. For the great number
-of Rivers and the thinness of the Inhabitants distract and disperse a
-Trade. So that all Ships in general gather each their Loading up and
-down an hundred Miles distant; and the best of Trade that can be driven
-is only a sort of _Scotch_ Peddling; for they must carry all sort of
-Truck that trade thither, having one Commodity to pass off another.
-This (_i. e._) the number of Rivers, is one of the chief Reasons why
-they have no Towns; for every one being more sollicitous for a private
-Interest and Conveniency, than for a publick, they will either be for
-making forty Towns at once, that is, two in every Country, or none at
-all, which is the Countries Ruin. But to return, The Tides in these
-Rivers regularly ebb and flow about two Foot perpendicular at _James
-Town_; there is there, as they call it, a Tide and half Tide, that
-is, it flows near two hours along by the Shoar, after that it is ebb
-in the Channel, and again it ebbs near two Hours by the Shoar, after
-that it is Flood in the Channel. This is great advantage to the Boats
-passing up and down the River. I suppose this is caused by many Creeks
-and Branches of the Rivers, which being considerable many, tho' only
-three or four Miles long, yet as broad as the _Thames_ at _London_;
-others ten Miles long, some above twenty, that have little fresh Water
-which they carry of their own, but their Current primarily depending
-upon the Flux and Re-flux of the Sea. So that after the Tide is made
-in the Channel, it flows by the Shoar a considerable time afterwards,
-being that those Creeks are still to fill, and therefore as it were
-draws up a Source upwards by the Shoar; and likewise when the Tide
-returns in the Channel, the Creeks that could not so readily disburse
-their Water, being still to empty themselves, they make an ebbing by
-the Shoar a considerable time after that it is Flood, as I say, in
-the Channel. So far as the Salt Waters reach the Country is deemed
-less healthy. In the Freshes they more rarely are troubled with the
-Seasonings, and those Endemical Distempers about _September_ and
-_October_. This being very remarkable, I refer the Reason to the more
-piercing Genius of those most judicious Members of the Society: And
-it might perhaps be worthy the Disquisition of the most Learned to
-give an Account of the various alterations and fatal effects that the
-Air has on humane Bodies, especially when impregnated with a Marine
-Salt; more peculiarly when such an Air becomes stagnant: This might
-perhaps make several beneficial Discoveries, not only in relation to
-those Distempers in _America_, but perhaps take in your _Kentish_
-Agues, and many others remarkable enough in our own Nation. I lately
-was making some Observations of this nature, on a Lady of a delicate
-Constitution, who living in a clear Air, and removing towards the
-Sea-Coast, was lamentably afflicted therewith, which both my self and
-others attributed to this Cause, she having formerly upon her going
-to the same, been seized in the same manner. But to return: There is
-one thing more in reference to this very thing very remarkable in
-_Virginia_, generally twice in the Year, Spring and Fall, at certain
-Spring-Tides, the most of the Cattle will set on gadding, and run, tho'
-it be twenty or thirty Miles, to the River to drink the Salt Water, at
-which time there's scarce any stopping of them; which the People know
-so well, that if about those times their Herds are stray'd from their
-Plantations, without more sollicitation they go directly to the Rivers
-to fetch them home again. As for the Waters in the Springs in general,
-they are, I think, somewhat more eager than those in _England_. In
-that I have observed, they require some quantity more of Malt to make
-strong Beer than our _English_ Waters, and will not bear Soap. I have
-try'd several by infusing of Galls, and found little difference in the
-Colours, turning much what the Colour of common Sack in Taverns. I
-tried two Wells at Col. _Birds_, by the Falls of _James River_, several
-Wells near _James Town_, some Springs in the _Isle of Wight County_:
-There's a Spring in the _Isle of Wight_, or _Nanzamond County_, vents
-the greatest Source of Water I ever saw, excepting _Holy-well in
-Wales_, but I had not opportunity to make Experiments thereof. I tried
-likewise some Springs on the Banks of _York River_, in _New Kent_ and
-_Gloucester County_, but found them vary very little as to Colour. I
-could not try any thing as to their specifick Gravity, having neither
-Aquapoise, nor those other Glasses I had contrived peculiarly for
-making such Experiments, they being all lost with my other things.
-I had Glasses blown would hold about five Ounces, others about ten
-Ounces, with Necks so small, that a Drop would make a considerable
-Variation; with these I could make much more critical and satisfactory
-Observations as to the specifical Gravity of Liquors, having critical
-Scales, than by any other way yet by me tried. I used this method to
-weigh Urines, which Practice I would recommend to the Inquisitive and
-critical Physicians. I had made many Observations hereof, but all Notes
-were likewise lost with my other things. Yet I have begun afresh;
-for there are more signal Variations in the Weights of Urines than
-one would at first imagin; and when the Eye can discover little, but
-judge two Urines to be alike, they may be found to differ very much
-as to Weight. By Weight I find Observations may be made of Affections
-in the Head, which rarely make any visible Alterations in the Urine.
-I have found two Urines not much unlike differ two and twenty Grains
-in the quantity of about four or five Ounces: But let them that make
-these Essays weigh all their Urines when cold, lest they be thereby
-deceiv'd. But to return to the Spring Waters in _Virginia_. There's a
-Spring at my Lady _Berkley's_, called _Green-Spring_, whereof I have
-been often told, so very Cold, that 'tis dangerous drinking thereof in
-Summer-time, it having proved of fatal Consequence to several. I never
-tried any thing of what Nature it is of.
-
-There be many petrifying Waters; and indeed I believe few of the Waters
-but participate of a petrifying Quality, tho' there be few Pebbles or
-paving Stones to be found in all the Country. But I have found many
-Sticks with crusty Congelations round them in the Ruins of Springs,
-and Stones figured like Honey-Combs, with many little Stars as it were
-shot in the Holes. And nothing is more common than petrefy'd Shells,
-unless you would determine that they are parts of natural Rock shot
-in those Figures, which indeed I rather think; but thereof hereafter.
-Mr. Secretary _Spencer_ has told me of some Waters participating much
-of _Alome_ or _Vitriol_ towards _Potomack_. Up beyond the Falls of
-_Rapahanack_ I have heard of Poisonous Waters. But these I only mention
-as a hint to further Enquiry of some others, for I can say nothing of
-them my self.
-
-
-
-
-  _A Continuation of Mr. _John Clayton_'s Account of _Virginia_._
-
-
-_Of the Earth and Soil._
-
-When you make the Capes of _Virginia_, you may observe it low Land, so
-that at some distance the Trees appear as if they grew in the Water;
-and as you approach nigher to emerge thence. For a hundred Miles up
-into the Country, there are few Stones to be found, only in some
-places, Rocks of Iron Oar appear, which made me expect to have found
-many Waters turn Purple with Galls, but never met with any. Providence
-has supplied the common use of Stones, by making the Roads very good:
-so that they ride their Horses without shooing them; which yet are more
-rarely beaten on their Feet, than ours are in _England_, the Country
-and Clime being dry, their Hoofs are much harder; For I observed, that
-take a Horse out of the wet Marshes, and Swamps, as they there call
-them, and ride him immediatly, and he'll quickly be tender-footed. In
-some places, for several Miles together, the Earth is so intermix'd
-with Oyster-shells, that there may seem as many Shells as Earth; and
-how deep they lie thus inter-mingled, I think, is not yet known: for
-at broken Banks they discover themselves to be continued many Yards
-perpendicular. In several places these Shells are much closer, and
-being petrefied, seem to make a Vein of a Rock. I have seen in several
-places, Veins of these Rocky Shells, three or four Yards thick, at the
-foot of a Hill, whose Precipice might be twenty Yards perpendicular,
-whose Delf, I suppose, shot under the Hill, pieces of these Rocks
-broken off, lie there, which, I suppose, may weigh twenty or thirty
-Tuns a piece, and are as difficult to be broken as our Free-stone.
-Of these Rocks of Oyster-shells that are not so much petrified, they
-burn and make all their Lime; whereof they have that store, that no
-Generation will consume. Whether these were formerly Oysters, which
-left by the subsiding Seas, (as some suppose, that all that Tract of
-Land, now high Ground, was once overflowed by the Sea) were since
-petrefied, or truly Stones, _sui Generis_, I leave to the Honourable
-Society to determin. But when I consider the constant and distinct
-shooting of several Salts, Nature's Curiosity, in every thing, so
-far exceeding that of Art, that the most Ingenious, when referr'd
-thereto, seem only endued with an Apish fondness, I cannot think any
-thing too difficult or wonderful for Nature; and indeed I do not
-apprehend, why it may not be as feasible to suppose them to have been
-Rocks, at first shot into those Figures, as to conceive the Sea to
-have amass'd such a vast number of Oyster-shells one upon another, and
-afterwards subsiding, should leave them cover'd with such Mountains
-of Earth, under which they should petrify: But not to launch forth
-too far into those Disputes, since I must modestly remember to whom
-I write. Often, in the looser Banks of Shells and Earth, are found
-perfect Teeth petrefied, some whereof I have seen, could not be less
-than two or three Inches long, and above an Inch broad: Tho' they
-were not Maxillary Teeth, the part that one might suppose grew out of
-the Jaw, was polish'd, and black, almost as Jet; the part which had
-been fasten'd in the Jaw and Gums, was brown, and not so shiningly
-polish'd, or smooth; if they were, as they seemed to be, really Teeth,
-I suppose, they must have been of Fishes. The back-Bone of a Whale,
-and as I remember, they told me of some of the Ribs, were digg'd out
-of the side of a Hill, several Yards deep in the Ground, about four
-Miles distant from _James Town_, and the River. Mr. _Banister_, a
-Gentleman pretty curious in those things, shew'd me likewise the Joint
-of a Whale's back-Bone, and several Teeth, some whereof, he said, were
-found in Hills beyond the Falls of _James_ River, at least, a hundred
-and fifty Miles up into the Country. The Soil in general is Sandy:
-I had designed, and I think it might be worth a critical Remark, to
-observe, the difference of Soils seem appropriated to the several
-sorts of Tobacco: For there is not only the two distinct sorts of a
-sweet-scented, and Aranoko Tobacco, but of each of these be several
-sorts much different, the Seeds whereof are known by distinct Names,
-they having given them the Names of those Gentlemen most famed for
-such sort of Tobacco, as of _Prior_-seed, _&c._ Nay, the same sort
-of Seed in different Earths, will produce Tobacco much different,
-as to goodness. The richer the Ground, the better it is for Aranoko
-Tobacco, whose Scent is not much minded, their only aim being to have
-it specious, large, and to procure it a bright Kite's Foot colour.
-Had not my Microscopes, _&c._ Tools to grind Glasses, been cast away,
-with my other things, I had made some critical Enquiries into their
-several Natures, I would have examin'd what proportions of Salts, all
-the sorts of Earths had afforded, and how Water impregnated with their
-Salts, would have changed with infusing Galls, how with the Syrup of
-Violets, and how they would have precipitated Mercury, or the like, and
-so far forth as I had been able, examined them by the several Tryals of
-Fire. I conceive Tobacco to be a Plant abounding with Nitro-Sulphurious
-Particles; for the Planters try the goodness of their Seed, by casting
-a little thereof into the Fire; if it be good, it will sparkle after
-the manner of Gun-powder: so will the Stalks of Tobacco-leaves, and
-perhaps has something analogous to the Narcotick Sulphur of _Venus_,
-which the Chymists so industriously labour after. The World knows
-little of the efficacy of its Oyl, which has wonderful Effects in the
-curing of old inveterate Sores, and Scrophulous Swellings, and some,
-otherwise applied and qualified. The goodness of Tobacco I look on
-primarily consists in the volatility of its Nitre: And hence the
-sandy Grounds that are most impregnated therewith, and whose Nitrous
-Salt is most Volatile, for such Grounds are quickliest spent, yield
-Tobacco's that have the richest Scent, and that shortly becomes a
-pleasant Smoak; whereas, in Tobacco that grows on stiff Ground, the
-Salts seem more fix'd, and lock'd up in the Oyl, so that whilst new,
-'tis very heady and strong, and requires some time for its Salts to
-free themselves, and become Volatile; which it manifests, by its having
-an Urinous Smell. The same Reason satisfies, why Tobacco that grows
-on low Lands as far as the Salts, tho' the Plant be never overflowed
-with Salt Water, yet the Ground that feeds the Plant being impregnated
-with Salt Water, that Tobacco Smoaks not pleasantly, and will scarcely
-keep Fire, but do all that a Man can, will oft go out, and gives much
-trouble in frequent lighting the Pipe, 'till after it has been kept
-some considerable time: Which may be assign'd to the fixeder Saline
-Particles of the Marine Salt in these Plants, which require more time
-e'er they be render'd Volatile. Here it might be worthy an Enquiry
-into the Nature of Filtration of Plants, since we may hence gather,
-Particles of the Marine Salt are carried along with the _Succus
-Nutritius_ of the Plant; concerning which, if it were not too much to
-deviate from the Matter in hand, I should offer some Reflections of
-my own, which the Learned Society might perhaps improve: For I think
-thence might be made many happy Conjectures as to the Virtues of
-Plants. So where we see Plants, or Trees, of an open Pore growing low,
-we shall find their Juice has subtile Parts: So have all Vines, whether
-the Grape Vine, or Briony, or a Smilax, or the like. If a Gummous Plant
-or Tree, that grows low, and close Pored, it abounds with acid Spirits,
-as _Lignum Vitæ_, &c. if it grow tall, and be open Pored, it abounds
-with a subtile Volatile Spirit, as your Firs, and the Turpentine
-Tree. But to insist no further herein, than as this may be applicable
-to the present Discourse: For I have observed, that that which is
-called Pine-wood Land, tho' it be a sandy Soil, even the Sweet-scented
-Tobacco that grows thereon, being large and porous, agreeable to
-Aranoko Tobacco; it smoaks as coarsely as Aranoko: Wherefore 'tis,
-that I believe the Microscope might make notable Discoveries towards
-the knowledge of good Tobacco: For the closer the Composition of the
-Leaf, the better the Tobacco; and therefore the Planters and Merchants
-brag of the Substance of their Tobacco; which word, did they always
-take it in a true Sence, for the Solidness, and not mistake it for the
-Thickness, it would be more consonant to a true Observation: for as I
-said of the Pine-wood Tobacco, some of it is thick and not Solid, and
-differs from the best Tobacco, as Buff does from Tann'd Leather; so
-that if the Tobacco be sound and not Rotten, you may give a great guess
-at the goodness of Tobacco, when you weigh the Hogsheads, before you
-see them: For if an equal care be taken in the packing of them the best
-Tobacco will weigh the heaviest, and Pack the closest. Now I said,
-that the Sweet-scented Tobacco most in vogue, which was most fam'd for
-its Scent, was that that grew on sandy Land; which is true, if you
-would Smoak it whilst new, or whilst only two or three Years Old; but
-if you keep the stiff Land Tobacco, which is generally a Tobacco of
-great Substance five or six Years, it will much excel: For tho' the
-sandy Land Tobacco abound with a Volatile Nitre at first, yet the stiff
-Land Tobacco abounds with a greater quantity of Nitre, only that it is
-lock'd up in its Oyl at first, and requires more time to extricate it
-self, and become Volatile; but the Pine-wood Land having little of the
-Nitro-Sulphurious Particles, neither is, nor ever will make any thing
-of a rich Smoak. Discoursing hereof some days since, to a Gentleman
-of good Observation, that has been versed with Malting, he assured
-me, to back this my Supposition, or Hypothesis, he had observed, that
-Barly that grew on stiff Ground, requir'd more time considerably to
-Mellow, and come to perfection, than that that grew on light Land.
-Having proceeded thus far to speak of Tobacco, I shall add one or two
-things more. The Planters differ in their Judgments about the Time of
-Planting, or Pitching their Crops: Some are for Pitching their Crops
-very early, others late, without any distinction of the Nature of the
-Soils; and 'tis from the different Effects that they find, in that,
-sometimes early, sometimes the late Planting succeeds: But they have
-not the Reason to judge of the Cause, to consider the Accidents of the
-Year, and the Difference of the Soils. In sandy Grounds they need not
-strive so much for early Planting, the Looseness of the Earth, and the
-kind natur'd Soil, yielding all that it can, easily and speedily, and
-Sand retaining the Heat, makes the Plants grow faster. But in stiff
-Soils, if the Crops be not early pitch'd, so that during the Season
-of Rains it have got considerable Roots, and shot them some depth,
-if early Droughts come, it so binds the Land, that the Roots never
-spread or shoot deeper, or further than the Hill that they are planted
-in: For they plant them as we do Cabbages, raising Hills to set every
-Plant in, about the bigness of a common Mole-hill: observing this on
-the Plantation where I lived, that it was stiff Ground, I advised them
-to Plant their Crops as early as possible; and in order thereunto, I
-tried several ways to further the Plants; but not to trouble you with
-the several Experiments that I made, in reference thereto: What I found
-most advantageous was, by taking an infusion of Horse-dung, and putting
-thereon Soot, and then my Seeds; this I kept Forty eight Hours in an
-ordinary digestive heat, I had two Beds left me to Sow, in the midst of
-those the People sow'd, and the quantity of Seed that they generally
-allotted to the same quantity of Ground; when I sow'd, I mix'd Ashes
-with the Seed, having decanted the Liquor, that the Seed might sow
-the evener: The effect was, that my Plants came up much sooner, grew
-swifter, and I had five Plants for one more than any of the other Beds
-bore; I left the Country shortly after, and so no certainty of the
-final Result. There be had various Accidents and Distempers, whereunto
-Tobacco is liable, as the Worm, the Fly, Firing to Turn, as they
-call them, French-men, and the like. I propos'd several ways to kill
-the Worm and Fly, as by Sulphur and the like; but had no opportunity
-to experiment it: I shall set down that I had most hopes of, which
-perhaps may give a hint to others to try or improve. Tobacco-seed is
-very small, and by consequence so is the young Plant at first, that
-if gleamy Weather happen at that time, it breeds a small Fly, which
-consumes the Plume of the Plant; now it being early in the Year when
-they Sow the Seed, _viz._ about the fourteenth of _January_, they cover
-the Ground, to secure, as well as they can, their tender Plants, from
-the nipping Frosts, that may happen in the Nights; they cover them only
-with a few Oak-leaves, or the like; for Straw they find apt to Harbour
-and Breed this Fly: I therefore would advise them to smoak Straw
-with Brimstone, once in two or three Nights, and so they might cover
-them securely, with that which would preserve them infinitely beyond
-the Covering with Oak-boughs; indeed, I would advise them to keep
-peculiarly so much of their _Indian_ Corn-blades, which they gather
-for their Fodder, for this very purpose, being as I conceive, much the
-best, there being no Chaff to foul their Beds, and prejudice them when
-they should weed them. What they call Firing is this: When Plants are
-of small Substance, as when there has been a very Wet and Cold Season,
-and very hot Weather suddainly ensues, the Leaves turn Brown, and dry
-to dust: the cause I conceive to be hence: The Plant being feeble, and
-having a small quantity of Oyl, which makes the more solid part of the
-Plant, the Earth being suddainly heated by the Sun's fiercer Beams, the
-Roots are rather scorch'd and dried up in the Earth, than nourish'd;
-so that the Plant consisting only of watry parts, is consumed, as it
-were, by Fire: sometimes hopeful Plants, when by a sudden Gust some
-Master Veins are broken, if suddain heat ensues, they likewise Fire:
-For being not come to maturity, and being deprived of the Supports of
-Life and Vegetation, they likewise perish, are dried up, and fall to
-dust. _French-men_ they call those Plants, whose leaves do not spread
-and grow large, but rather spire upwards, and grow tall; these Plants
-they do not tend, being not worthy their Labour. Were they so Critical,
-I believe, they might have great Guess what Plants were most likely to
-turn _French-men_, by observing whether the Roots of the Plants run
-downwards, as those whose Branches are aptest to spire upwards: For
-tho' I have not made positive proof thereof, I have something more
-than bare fancy for my conjecture; I have pull'd up some of these
-_French-men_, and compar'd them with the Roots of some other Plants,
-and found them much longer than others; and 'tis observable, loose
-Soils, and sandy Ground, are more subject thereto than the stiff Land.
-The Country of it self is one entire Wood, consisting of large Timber
-Trees of several sorts, free from Thickets or under Wood, the small
-Shrubs growing only on Lands, that have been clear'd, or in Swamps; and
-thus it is for several Hundreds of Miles, even as far as has yet been
-discover'd. But that shall be reserv'd 'till another opportunity.
-
-                                                             _I am_, &c.
-
-
-
-
-  _Mr. _John Clayton_, Rector of _Crofton_ at _Wakefield_, his Letter
-    to the _Royal Society_, giving a farther Account of the Soil, and
-    other Observables of _Virginia_._
-
-
-I shall here present you with a continuation of my Remarks on the
-River, Soil, and Plants of _Virginia_. And first, as to the River
-on the other side the Mountains, said to Ebb and Flow. I have been
-assured by Col. _Bird_, who is one of the Intelligentest Gentlemen
-in all _Virginia_, and knows more of _Indian_ Affairs than any Man
-in the Country, that it was a Mistake; for that it must run into a
-Lake, now called _Lake Petite_, which is fresh Water; for since that
-time a Colony of the _French_ are come down from _Canada_, and have
-seated themselves on the back of _Virginia_, where _Fallam_ and the
-rest suppos'd there might be a Bay, but is a Lake, to which they have
-given the Name of _Lake Petite_, there being several larger Lakes
-'twixt that and _Canada_. The _French_ possessing themselves of these
-Lakes, no doubt will in short time be absolute Masters of the Beaver
-Trade, the greatest number of Beavers being catch'd there. The Colonel
-told me likewise, that the common Notion of the Lake of _Canada_, he
-was assured was a Mistake, for the River supposed to come out of it,
-had no Communication with any of the Lakes, nor the Lakes one with
-another, but were distinct. But not to ramble after hear-say, and
-other matters; but to return to the Parts of _Virginia_ inhabited by
-the _English_, which in general is a very Fertile Soil, far surpassing
-_England_, for there _English_ Wheat (as they call it, to distinguish
-it from _Maze_, commonly called _Virginia_ Wheat) yields generally
-'twixt Fifteen and Thirty fold, the Ground only once plow'd; whereas
-'tis a good Crop in _England_ that yields above Eight fold, after all
-their Toil and Labour. And yet in truth 'tis only the barrennest Parts
-that they have cultivated, Tilling and Planting only the High-Lands,
-leaving the Richer Vales unstirr'd, because they understand not any
-thing of Draining. So that the Richest Meadow-Lands, which is one third
-of the Country, is Boggy, Marsh, and Swamp, whereof they make little
-Advantage, but loose in them abundance of their Cattle, especially at
-the first of the Spring, when the Cattle are weak, and venture too far
-after young Grass. Whereas vast Improvements might be made thereof; for
-the generality of _Virginia_ is a Sandy Land with a shallow Soil. So
-that after they have cleared a fresh piece of Ground out of the Woods,
-it will not bear Tobacco past two or three Years, unless Cow-pen'd;
-for they Manure their Ground by keeping their Cattle, as in the South
-you do your Sheep, every Night confining them within Hurdles, which
-they remove when they have sufficiently dung'd one spot of Ground;
-but alas! they cannot Improve much thus, besides it produces a strong
-sort of Tobacco, in which the Smoakers say they can plainly taste the
-fulsomeness of the Dung. Therefore every three or four Years they must
-be for clearing a new piece of Ground out of Woods, which requires much
-Labour and Toil, it being so thick grown all over with Massy Timber.
-Thus their Plantations run over vast Tracts of Ground, each ambitioning
-to engross as much as they can, that they may be sure to have enough
-to Plant, and for their Stocks and Herds of Cattel to Range and Feed
-in, that Plantations of 1000, 2000, or 3000 Acres are common, whereby
-the Country is thinly inhabited; their Living solitary and unsociable;
-Trading confused and dispersed; besides other Inconveniences: Whereas
-they might Improve 200 or 300 Acres to more Advantage, and would make
-the Country much more Healthy; for those that have 3000 Acres, have
-scarce cleared 600 Acres thereof, which is peculiarly term'd the
-Plantation, being surrounded with the 2400 Acres of Woods: so that
-there can be no free or even motion of the Air, but the Air is kept
-either stagnant, or the lofty Sulphurous Particles of the Air, that
-are higher than the tops of the Trees, which are above as high again
-as the generality of the Woods in _England_, descending when they pass
-over the cleared spots of Ground, must needs in the violent heat of
-Summer, raise a preternatural Ferment, and produce bad Effects. Nor
-is it any advantage to their Stocks, or Crops; for did they but drain
-their Swamps, and Low-Lands, they have a very deep Soil, that would
-endure Planting twenty or thirty Years, and some would scarce ever
-be worn out, but be ever longer better, for they might lay them all
-Winter, or when they Pleased in Water, and the product of their Labour
-would be double or treble, whether Corn or Tobacco; and that this is no
-fond Projection, (though when I have discoursed the same to several,
-and in part shewn them how their particular Grounds might be drained
-at a very easie rate) they have either been so conceited of their old
-way, so sottish as not to apprehend, or so negligent as not to apply
-themselves thereto. But on the Plantation where I lived, I drained a
-good large Swamp, which fully answered expectation. The Gentlewoman
-where I lived, was a very Acute Ingenious Lady; who one day Discoursing
-the Overseer of her Servants, about pitching the ensuing Year's Crop.
-The Overseer was naming one place where he designed to Plant 30000
-Plants, another place for 15000, another for 10000, and so forth the
-whole Crop, designed to be about 100000 Plants: Having observed the
-Year before he had done the like, and scattered his Crop up and down
-the Plantation, at Places a Mile, or a Mile and a half asunder, which
-was very Inconvenient, and whereby they lost much time. I interposed,
-and asked, why they did not Plant all their Crop together? The Fellow
-smiled as it were at my Ignorance, and said, there was very good
-Reason for it. I replied, that was it I enquir'd after. He returned,
-the Plantation had been an old planted Plantation, and being but a
-small Plot of Ground, was almost worn out, so that they had not Ground
-altogether that would bring forth Tobacco. I told him then they had
-better Ground than ever yet they had planted, and more than their Hands
-could manage. He smil'd again, and asked me, where? I then named such a
-Swamp. He then said scornfully, he thought what a Planter I was; that
-I understood better how to make a Sermon, then managing Tobacco. I
-replied with some warmness, tho' I hoped so, that was Impertinence, and
-no Answer. He then said, that the Tobacco there would drown, and the
-Roots rot. I replied, that the whole Country would drown if the Rivers
-were stopt, but it might be laid as dry as any Land on the Plantation.
-In short, we discoursed it very warmly, till he told me, he understood
-his own Business well enough, and did not desire to learn of me. But
-the Gentlewoman attended somewhat better to my Reasoning, and got me
-one day to go and shew her how I projected the draining of the Swamp,
-and thought it so feasible, that she was resolved to have it done; and
-therefore desir'd me I would again Discourse her Overseer, which I did
-several times, but he would by no means hearken thereto, and was so
-positive, that she was forc'd to turn him away, to have her Servants
-set about the Work; and with three Men in thirteen Days I drained the
-whole Swamp, it being Sandy Land, soaks and drains admirably well, and
-what I little expected, laid a Well dry at a considerable distance.
-The Gentlewoman was in _England_ last Year, and I think Dr. _Moulin_
-was by when she asked me. Now to teach her how she might make her
-Tobacco that grew in the Swamp less, for it produced so very large,
-that it was suspected to be of the _Aranoko_ kind: I told her, though
-the complaint was rare, yet there was an Excellent Remedy for that, in
-letting every Plant bear eight or nine Leaves instead of four or five,
-and she would have more Tobacco, and less Leaves. Now you must know
-they top their Tobacco, that is, take away the little top-bud, when
-the Plant has put forth as many Leaves as they think the Richness of
-the Ground will bring to a Substance; but generally when it has shot
-forth four or six Leaves. And when the top-bud is gone, it puts forth
-no more Leaves, but Side-branches, which they call Suckers, which they
-are careful ever to take away, that they may not empoverish the Leaves.
-I have been more tedious in the Particulars, the fullier to evince how
-resolute they are and conceitedly bent to follow their old Practice
-and Custom, rather than to receive Directions from others, tho' plain,
-easie, and advantageous. There are many other Places as easie to drain
-as this, tho' of larger extent, and richer Soil, for some of which I
-have given directions, and have only had the return perhaps of a flout
-afterwards: Even in _James Town Island_, which is much what of an Oval
-Figure, there's a Swamp runs Diagonal-wise over the Island, whereby is
-lost at least 150 Acres of Land, which would be Meadow, which would
-turn to as good Account as if it were in _England_: Besides it is
-the great annoyance of the Town, and no doubt but makes it much more
-unhealthy. If therefore they but scour'd the Channel, and made a pretty
-ordinary Trench all along the middle of the Swamp, plac'd a Sluice at
-the Mouth, where it opens into the back Creek; for the Mouth of the
-Channel there is narrow, has a good hard bottom, and is not past two
-Yards deep when the Flood is out; as if Nature had designed it before
-hand: They might thus drain all the Swamp absolutely dry, or lay it
-under Water at their Pleasure. I have talked several times hereof to
-Mr. _Sherwood_, the owner of the Swamp, yet nothing is essayed in Order
-thereto. And now since we are speaking of _James Town_ give me leave to
-adjoin some Reflections as to the Situation and Fortifications of the
-Place. The Natural Situation of the place is such, as perhaps the World
-has not a more commodious Place for a Town, where all things conspire
-for Advantage thereof.
-
-_James Town Island_ is rather a _Peninsula_, being joined to the
-Continent by a small Neck of Land, not past Twenty or Thirty Yards
-over, and which at Spring-Tides is overflow'd, and is then an absolute
-Island. Now they have built a silly sort of a Fort, that is, a Brick
-Wall in the shape of a Half-Moon, at the beginning of the Swamp,
-because the Channel of the River lies very nigh the Shoar; but it is
-the same as if a Fort were built at _Chelsey_ to secure _London_ from
-being taken by Shipping. Besides Ships passing up the River are secured
-from the Guns of the Fort, till they come directly over-against the
-Fort, by reason the Fort stands in a Vale, and all the Guns directed
-down the River, that should play on the Ships, as they are coming up
-the River, will lodge their Shot within Ten, Twenty, or Forty Yards in
-the rising Bank, which is much above the Level of the Fort; so that if
-a Ship gave but a good Broad-side, just when she comes to bear upon
-the Fort, she might put the Fort into that confusion, as to have free
-Passage enough. There was indeed an old Fort of Earth in the Town,
-being a sort of _Tetragone_, with something like Bastions at the four
-Corners, as I remember; but the Channel lying further off to the middle
-of the River there, they let it be demolished, and built that new one
-spoke of, of Brick, which seems little better than a blind Wall, to
-shoot Wild Ducks or Geese.
-
-If they would build a Fort for the Security of the Town and Country, I
-conceive it should be on _Archer_'s _Hope Point_, for that would stop
-the Ships from passing up the River, before they came to the Town,
-and would secure the Town from being block'd up by Sea. The Channel
-at _Archer_'s _Hope Point_ lies close by the Shoar, and makes such an
-Angle there by reason of _Hog Island_, that going up or down the River,
-let the Wind be where it will, they must there bring the contrary Tack
-on Board, and generally when they About the Ship as they call it, they
-are so near the Shoar, that a Man may almost fling a Finger-stone on
-Board. How much this hinders the motion of a Ship, and what Confusion
-it must be to them to bring a contrary Tack on Board, whilst they
-have all the Guns of a Fort playing so nigh upon them, may readily be
-conceived. _Archer_'s _Hope_ is a Neck of Land, that runs down three
-Miles long, not much past half a Mile broad betwixt the Main River and
-_Archer_'s _Hope Creek_, which has large Marshes and Swamps; so that
-a Citadel built upon the Point, would almost be Impregnable, being it
-could be attack'd no way but one, which is so narrow a slender Neck
-of Land, that it would be difficult to take it that way: And it would
-secure _James Town_ from being block'd, being it would not be past a
-Mile by Water, to the Point of _James Town Island_. The Island is so
-surrounded with Water and Marshy Land, that the Town could never be
-Bomb'd by Land. But now to return to the Reflections of Improving, and
-Manuring of Land in _Virginia_; hitherto, as I have said, they have
-used none but that of Cow-penning; yet I suppose they might find very
-good Marle in many places, I have seen both the red and blew Marle at
-some breaks of Hills: This would be the properest Manure for their
-Sandy Land, if they spread it not too thick, theirs being, as I have
-said, a shallow, Sandy Soil, which was the Reason I never advised any
-to use Lime, tho' they have very good Lime of Oyster-shells; but
-that's the properest Manure for cold Clay Land, and not for a Sandy
-Soil. But as most Lands have one Swamp or another bordering on them,
-they may certainly get admirable Slitch, wherewith to Manure all their
-uplands. But this, say they, will not improve Ground, but clods and
-grows hard; 'tis true, it will do so for some time, a Year or two at
-the first; but did they cast it in heaps, and let it lie for two or
-three Years after a Frost or two had seized it, and it had been well
-pierced therewith, I doubt not it would turn to good Account: And for
-this too I have something more than bare conjecture; for Discoursing
-it once with a good notable Planter, we went to view a heap thereof,
-that casually he had cast up 'twixt three and four Years before, and we
-found it not very binding, but rather a fine Natural Mold, whereupon
-he did confess, he then remembred that out of a ridge of the like Mold
-he had very large Plants, which must have been of the like Slime or
-Slitch cast up before: But said, that himself and others despaired of
-this Manure, because they had taken of this Slitch fresh and moist
-out of the Swamp, and fill'd Tobacco Hills with it, and in the midst
-of it planted their Plants, which so bound the Roots of their Plants,
-that they never came to any thing. But he said, he then saw his Error,
-yet I have not heard he has remembred to Correct it. But 'tis strange
-in how many things besides they are remiss, which one would think
-_English_ Men should not be guilty of. They neither House nor Milk any
-of their Cows in Winter, having a Notion that it would kill them; yet
-I perswaded the afore-mentioned Lady where I lived, to Milk four Cows
-the last Winter that I staid in the Country, whereof she found so good
-Effect, that she assured me she would keep to my Advice for the future;
-and also as I had further urged, House them too, for which they have
-mighty Conveniencies, their Tobacco Houses being empty ever at that
-time of the Year, and may easily be fitted in two or three days time
-without any Prejudice; whereby their Cattle would be much sheltered
-from those Pinching sharp Frosts that some Nights on a sudden become
-very severe. I had another Project for the Preservation of their Cattle
-proved very successful; I urged the Lady to sow her Wheat as early as
-possibly she could, so that before Winter it might be well rooted,
-to be early and flourishing at the first of the Spring: So that she
-might turn thereon her weak Cattle, and such as should at any time be
-swamp'd, whereby they might be recruited and saved, and it would do the
-Wheat good also. I advised her likewise to save, and carefully gather
-her _Indian_ Corn-tops, and blades, and all her Straw, whatever could
-be made Fodder, for her Cattle; for they get no Hay, tho' I was urging
-her to that too, and to sow _Saintfoin_; for being a Sandy Soil, I am
-confident it would turn to very good Account. They have little or no
-Grass in Winter, so that their Cattle are pined and starved, and many
-that are brought low and weak, when the Spring begins, venture too far
-into the Swamps after the fresh Grass, where they perish; so that
-several Persons lose ten, twenty or thirty Head of Cattle in a Year: I
-observed this was much owing to their Inadvertency and Error in their
-way of Managing and Feeding them; for they get little Fodder, but as
-they think Corn being more Nourishing, feed them with their _Indian_
-Corn, which they give them Morning and Evening; they spend thus a
-great quantity of Corn, and when all's done, what signifies two or
-three Heads of Corn to a Beast in a Morning? It makes them only linger
-about the Houses for more? and after that sweet Food they are not so
-prompt to browse on the Trees, and the course Grass which the Country
-affords. So that thus their Guts shrink up, and they become Belly-shot
-as they call it. I advised therefore never to give them any thing in a
-Morning, whereby as soon as they were set forth of the Cow-pens, they
-would fall a feeding, and tho' they filled their Bellies only with such
-course stuff as had little Nourishment in it, yet it would keep out
-their Bellies, and they would have a better Digestion; and then when
-they were come home at Nights, to Fodder them, beginning with Straw and
-their coarsest Fodder, which they would learn to eat by degrees, before
-they tasted that that was more delicate, and whilst their digestion was
-strong, would yield them Nourishment to keep them still so; afterwards
-when the Winter pinched, their fine Fodder then would stand them in
-stead; and hereby they might preserve their weakest Cattle. By these
-Methods, and the help of the Wheat-patch, she, the Gentlewoman where
-I lived, saved all her Cattle, and lost not one in Two Winters after,
-that I staid there; besides she saved above Twenty Barrels of Corn, as
-I remember that she told me she used to spend upon her Stock; and a
-Barrel of Corn is commonly worth Ten Shillings. Nay further, The last
-Spring she fed Two Beasts, a Bullock and a Cow, Fat, upon her Wheat,
-with the addition only of a little boil'd Corn, and yet the Wheat was
-scarce eat down enough. But to return again to the Nature of the Earth,
-which may be pretty well gather'd from what I have already said. I
-have observed, that at Five or Six yards deep, at the breaks of some
-banks, I have found veins of Clay, admirable good to make Pots, Pipes,
-or the like of, and whereof I suppose the _Indians_ make their Pipes,
-and Pots, to boil their Meat in, which they make very handsomly, and
-will endure the Fire better than most Crucibles: I took of this Clay,
-dryed, powder'd, and sifted it; powdered and sifted Potsherds, and
-Glass; Three parts, Two parts and One part as I remember, and therewith
-made a large Crucible, which was the best I yet ever tried in my Life;
-I took it once red hot out of the Fire, and clapt it immediately into
-Water, and it started not at all. The Country abounds mightily with
-Iron Oar, that as I have been assured by some upon tryal, has been
-found very good. There are Rocks thereof appear at the precipice of
-Hills, at the foot whereof there runs a River fit for a Forge, and
-there's Wood enough to supply it with Charcoal; as I have heard there
-was formerly some Persons undertook the Work, and when they had made
-but a small quantity of Iron, which proved very good, the _Indian_
-Massacre happened, and they being higher seated than the then Inhabited
-part of the Country, were all cut off, and the Works demolished; so
-that it has frighted others I think from the like attempt; besides,
-such a work requires a greater Fund, and Bank of Mony to carry it on,
-than any there are able to lay out; and for Persons in _England_ to
-meddle therewith, is certainly to be cheated at such a distance; some
-_Indians_ brought Col. _Bird_ some Black Lead, whereof he told me
-there was great store. There's very curious Chalk towards the falls of
-_Rapahanock_ River, which they burn and make a delicate white Wash of
-it. The Secretary of State Col. _Spencer_, has assured me, there were
-Vitriolick or Alluminous Earth on the Banks of _Potomack_. And thus
-far of what my Memory supplies me, referring to the Earth; in the next
-place I shall give a short account of the Birds.
-
-
-_Of the BIRDS_
-
-I had indeed begun once whilst I was in that Country to have made a
-Collection of the Birds, but falling sick of the Griping of the Guts,
-some of them for want of care corrupted, which made them fling others
-away that I had thoroughly cured; for I was past taking care of them
-my self, there remaining but small hopes of my Life.
-
-There are Three sorts of Eagles, the largest I take to be that they
-call the Grey Eagle, being much of the colour of our Kite or Glead.
-
-The Second is the Bald Eagle, for the Body and part of the Neck being
-of a dark brown, the upper part of the Neck and Head is covered with a
-white sort of Down, whereby it looks very bald, whence it is so named.
-
-The Third is the Black Eagle, resembling most the _English_ Eagle;
-they build their Nests much after the manner that Dr. _Willoughby_
-describes, and generally at the top of some tall old Tree, naked of
-Bows and nigh the River side, and the People fall the Tree generally
-when they take the young; they are most frequently sitting on some tall
-Tree by the River side, whence they may have a prospect up and down the
-River, as I suppose to observe the Fishing Hauks; for when they see the
-Fishing Hauk has struck a Fish, immediately they take Wing, and 'tis
-sometimes very pleasant to behold the Flight, for when the Fishing Hauk
-perceives her self pursued, she will scream and make a terrible noise,
-till at length she lets fall the Fish to make her own escape, which
-the Eagle frequently catches before it reach the Earth or Water. These
-Eagles kill young Lambs, Pigs, _&c._
-
-The Fishing Hauk is an absolute Species of a Kings-fisher, but full
-as large, or larger than our Jay, much of the Colour and Shape of a
-Kings-fisher, tho' not altogether so curiously Feather'd; it has a
-large Crop, as I remember, there is a little Kings-fisher much the same
-in every respect with ours.
-
-If I much mistake not, I have seen both Goss Hauk and Falcon; besides
-there are several sorts of the lesser Kind of Stannels.
-
-There is likewise the Kite and the Ringtail.
-
-I never heard the Cuckow there to my remembrance.
-
-There's both a brown Owl and white Owl, much what as large as a Goose,
-which often kills their Hens and Poultry in the Night; the white Owl is
-a very delicate Feather'd Bird, all the Feathers upon her Breast and
-Back being Snow-white, and tipp'd with a Punctal of Jet-black: besides
-there is a Barn Owl much like ours; and a little sort of Scritch Owl.
-
-There's both the Raven, and the Carrion-Crow; I do not remember I
-ever saw any Rooks there. Dr. _Moulin_ and my self, when we made our
-Anatomies together, when I was at _London_, we shew'd to the _Royal
-Society_, that all Flat-bill'd Birds that groped for their Meat, had
-three Pair of Nerves, that came down into their Bills; whereby as we
-conceived they had that accuracy to distinguish what was proper for
-Food, and what to be rejected by their Taste when they did not see it;
-and as this was most evident in a Duck's Bill and Head, I draw'd a Cut
-thereof, and left it in your Custody: A Duck has larger Nerves that
-come into their Bills than Geese or any other Bird that I have seen
-and therefore quaffer and grope out their Meat the most: But I had then
-discover'd none of these Nerves in Round-bill'd Birds: But since in my
-Anatomies in the Country, in a Rook I first observed two Nerves came
-down betwixt the Eyes into the upper Bill, but considerably smaller
-than any or the three Pair of Nerves in the Bills of Ducks, but larger
-than the Nerves in any other Round-bill'd Birds; and 'tis remarkable
-these Birds more than any other Round-bill'd Birds seem to grope for
-their Meat in Cow-dung and the like: Since I have found in several
-Round-bill'd Birds the like Nerves coming down betwixt the Eyes, but
-so very small that had I not seen them first in a Rook I should scarce
-have made the discovery; in the lower Bill there are Nerves have much
-the same situation with the Flat-bill'd Birds, but very small, and
-scarce discernable, unless to the Cautious and Curious.
-
-The Night Raven, which some call the _Virginia_ Bat, is about the
-bigness of a Cuckow, feather'd like them but very short, and short
-Leg'd, not discernable when it flies, which is only in the Evening
-scudding like our Night Raven.
-
-There's a great sort of ravenous Bird that feeds upon Carrion, as big
-very nigh as an Eagle, which they call a Turky Bustard, its Feathers
-are of a Duskish black, it has red Gills, resembling those of a Turky,
-whence it has its Name; it is nothing of the same sort of Bird with our
-_English_ Turky Bustard, but is rather a Species of the Kites, for it
-will hover on the Wing something like them, and is carnivorous; the
-Fat thereof dissolved into an Oil, is recommended mightily against old
-Aches and Sciatica Pains.
-
-I think there are no Jackdaws, nor any Magpys; they there prize a
-Magpye as much as we do their Red Bird.
-
-The _Pica Glandaria_, or Jay, is much less than our _English_ Jay, and
-of another colour, for it is all blue where ours is brown, the Wings
-marbled as curiously as ours are, it has both the same Cry, and sudden
-jetting Motion.
-
-There are great Variety and Curiosity in the Wood-peckers, there's
-one as big as our Magpye, with blackish brown Feathers, and a large
-Scarlet Tuft on the top of the Head: There are four or five sorts of
-Wood-peckers more, variegated with Green, Yellow and Red Heads, others
-spotted black and white, most lovely to behold. There's a Tradition
-amongst them, that the Tongue of one of these Wood-peckers dryed will
-make the Teeth drop out if pick'd therewith, and cure the Tooth-ach
-(tho' I believe little of it, but look on it as ridiculous) yet I
-thought fit to hint as much that others may try; for sometimes such old
-Stories refer to some peculiar Virtues, tho' not to all that is said of
-them.
-
-There be wild Turkies extream large; they talk of Turkies that have
-been kill'd, that have weigh'd betwixt 50 and 60 Pound weight; the
-largest that ever I saw, weigh'd something better than 38 Pound; they
-have very long Legs, and will run prodigiously fast. I remember not
-that ever I saw any of them on the Wing, except it were once: Their
-Feathers are of a blackish shining Colour, that in the Sun shine like a
-Dove's Neck, very specious.
-
-Hens and Cocks are for the most part without Tails and Rumps; and as
-some have assured me our _English_ Hens after some time being kept
-there have their Rumps Rot off; which I'm the apter to believe, being
-all their Hens are certainly of _English_ breed. I'm sorry I made no
-Anatomical Observations thereof, and Remarks about the Use of the Rumps
-in Birds, which at present I take to be a couple of Glands, containing
-a sort of Juice for the Varnishing the Feathers; having observed all
-Birds have much recourse with their Bills to the Rumps when they dress
-their Plumes, whereby they scud thro' the Air more nimbly in their
-Flight.
-
-Partridges there are much smaller than ours, and resort in Covies as
-ours do; their Flesh is very white, and much excels ours in my mind,
-_Sed de gustibus non est disputandum_.
-
-Their Turtle-Doves are of a duskish blue colour, much less than our
-common Pidgeon, the whole Train is longer much than the Tails of our
-Pidgeons, the middle Feather being the longest. There's the strangest
-Story of a vast number of these Pidgeons that came in a Flock a few
-Years before I came thither; they say they came thro' _New England_,
-_New York_ and _Virginia_, and were so prodigious in number as to
-darken the Sky for several Hours in the place over which they flew, and
-brake massie Bows where they light; and many like things which I have
-had asserted to me by many Eye-witnesses of Credit, that to me it was
-without doubt, the Relaters being very sober Persons, and all agreeing
-in a Story: nothing of the like ever happen'd since, nor did I ever see
-past Ten in a Flock together that I remember. I am not fond of such
-Stories, and had suppressed the relating of it, but that I have heard
-the same from very many.
-
-The Thrush and Feldefire are much like ours, and are only seen in
-Winter there, accordingly as they are here.
-
-Their Mocking Birds may be compared to our Singing Thrushes, being much
-of the same bigness; there are two sorts, the Gray and the Red, the
-gray has Feathers much of the colour of our gray Plovers with white
-in the Wings like a Magpye; this has the much softer Note, and will
-imitate, in its singing, the Notes of all Birds that it hears, and
-is accounted much the finest Singing Bird in the World. Dr. _Moulin_
-and I made in our Anatomy many Observations of Singing Birds to this
-effect: The Ears of Birds differ much from those of Men or Beasts,
-there's almost a direct passage from one Ear to the other of Birds,
-so that prick but the small Membrane call'd the Drum on either Ear,
-and Water poured in at one Ear will run out at the other: But this
-is not all, but what is much more remarkable, they have no Coclea,
-but instead thereof there's a small Cocleous or twisting Passage that
-opens into a large Cavity, that runs betwixt two Sculls, and passes
-all round the Head, the upper Scull is supported by many hundreds of
-small Thred-like Pillars or Fibers, which as we supposed had another
-use also, to break the Sound from making any confused Echo, and to
-make it one and distinct; this passage we observed betwixt the two
-Skulls was much larger in Singing Birds than in others that do not
-sing, so very remarkable that any Person that has been but show'd
-this may easily judge by the Head what Bird is a Singing Bird, or has
-aptitude thereto, tho' he never saw the Bird before, nor knew what
-Bird it were: This has often made me reflect how much the Modification
-of Voices depends upon the accuracy of the Ear, and how deaf Persons
-become Dumb: And since I have observed that many Children that have
-an acute Wit enough that are slow of Speech, that is long before they
-speak are much longer before they can pronounce those Letters that
-are sharps, as _g._ _h._ _r._ and never have an aptitude to learn to
-sing. Hence I judge that Songs that have many Sharps in them are the
-difficultest to sing well, and discover any Persons skill upon the
-trial of Musick most. This I suppose only, having no Skill in Musick
-my self, nor having ever discoursed any Person about it. As I remember
-we show'd some of these things to the _Royal Society_, and I drew some
-Cuts thereof, and gave the Doctor upon promise that he would put these
-and many other our joint Observations in Print, but I hear he is since
-dead. I have Anatomized most sorts of Creatures, and never found any
-Four-footed Creature with an Ear like a Bird, unless a Mole; and a Mole
-has an Ear much like them, with a very thin double Scull, and great
-Cavity like a Bird, and is very acute of hearing, the Scull by reason
-of the large Cavity is very slender and easily crush'd, so that a Mole
-is quickly kill'd with a bruise on the Scull like a Lark, and upon the
-bruise the Membranes of the Scull turn black; whence _Segerus_ mistake
-_Membranæ Cerebri in superficie exteriori omnino nigræ visæ_. But when
-I have taken care not to bruise the Skull the Membranes were not black
-at all, both _Segerus_ and _Severinus_ I think had some perceptions
-of the different Structure of a Mole's Ear, but not any thing of its
-Analogy to a Bird's Ear; they speak of a Bone _Egregie pumicosum_:
-And _Segerus_ says there's a _Ductus ad ossis usque petrosi cavitatem
-protensus, plurimis fibrillis Membraneis annectabatur_. But to return,
-this Mocking Bird having its Name from _Mimicking_, all other Birds in
-singing is a wonderful mettled Bird, bold and brisk, and yet seems to
-be of a very tender Constitution, neither singing in Winter, nor in the
-midst of Summer, and with much difficulty are any of them brought to
-live in _England_.
-
-The Red Mocking is of a duskish red, or rather brown; it sings very
-well, but has not so soft a Note as the gray Mocking Bird.
-
-Of _Virginia_ Nightingale, or red Bird, there are two sorts, the Cocks
-of both sorts are of a pure Scarlet, the Hens of a Duskish red; I
-distinguish them into two sorts, for the one has a tufted Cops on the
-Head, the other is smooth-feather'd. I never saw a tufted Cock with a
-smooth-headed Hen, or on the contrary; they generally resorting a Cock
-and Hen together, and play in a Thicket of Thorns or Bryars in the
-Winter, nigh to which the Boys set their Traps, and so catch them and
-sell them to the Merchants for about Six Pence apiece; by whom they are
-brought for _England_; they are something less than a Thrush.
-
-There's a Bird very injurious to Corn, they call a Blackbird; I look
-on it a sort of Starling, for they cry something like them but do not
-sing, are much what of the same bigness, have Flesh blackish like
-theirs; they resort in great Flocks together, they are as black as
-a Crow all over their Bills and all, only some of them have scarlet
-Feathers in the Pinions of their Wings. _Quæry_, Whether a distinct
-Species?
-
-They have a Lark nothing differing from our common Lark; they have
-another Bird which they call a Lark that is much larger, as big as a
-Starling, it has a soft Note, feeds on the Ground; and as I remember
-has the Specifical Character of a long Heel, it is more inclined to
-yellow, and has a large half Moon on its Breast of yellow; if it have
-not a long Heel, _Quære_, Whether a Species of the Yellow-hammer?
-
-They have a Martin very like, only larger than ours, that builds after
-the same manner. The honourable Col. _Bacon_ has remarked for several
-Years, that they constantly come thither upon the Tenth of _March_
-one or two of them appearing before, being seen hovering in the Air
-for a Day or two then go away, and as he supposed return'd with the
-great Flock. The Colonel delighted much in this Bird, and made like
-Pidgeon-holes at the end of his House with Boards purposely for them.
-
-Their Swallow differs but little from ours.
-
-They have a Bird they call a Blue-bird, of a curious azure colour about
-the bigness of a Chaffinch.
-
-There be other sorts of Goldfinches variegated with Orange and Yellow
-Feathers, very specious and beautiful.
-
-Sparrows not much different from the _English_, but build not in the
-Eaves of Houses that ever I saw.
-
-The Snow-bird which I take to be much the same with our Hedge-Sparrow;
-this is so called because it seldom appears about Houses but against
-Snow or very cold Weather.
-
-The Humming Bird that feeds upon the Honey of Flowers: I have been told
-by some Persons, that they have kept of these Humming Birds alive, and
-fed them with Water and Sugar: they are much the smallest of all Birds,
-have long Bills and curious coloured Feathers, but differ much in
-colour.
-
-Herons three or four several sorts, one larger than the _English_,
-feather'd much like a _Spanish_ Goose.
-
-Another sort that only comes in Summer Milk white, with red Legs very
-lovely to behold.
-
-The Bittern is there less than in _England_, and does not make that
-sounding Noise that ever I heard.
-
-Curlews something less than our _English_, tho' bigger than a Wimbrel.
-
-The Sandpiper much resembling the _English_.
-
-The Snipe, two sorts, one resembling ours, the other much less.
-
-The Tewits are smaller than the _English_, and have no long Toppins,
-but just like a young one that begins to fly.
-
-There are a great number of wild Swans.
-
-Wild-geese and Brent-geese all Winter in mighty Flocks, Wild-ducks
-innumerable, Teal, Wigeon, Sheldrakes, Virginia-didapers, the
-Black-diver, _&c._
-
-In my return home for _England_, _May 1686._, off of the Banks of
-_Newfoundland_, when we were, according to account, a hundred Leagues
-from the Shoar, we saw several prodigious floating Islands of the Ice,
-no less to our Wonder than Terror, for they were very dangerous: I got
-the Master to sail one day as nigh one of them as we securely durst,
-which we judged to be full a League in length, and was higher above
-Water than the top of our Main-mast; the Snow drove to and fro upon it
-as upon a large Plane. There was a great Flock of small Black-divers,
-that were not much bigger than a Fieldfare, came to us a little before,
-but all of them then left and betook themselves to this Island of Ice.
-They dived the constantly'st, and the longest at a time of any Bird
-that I ever saw. We saw, as I remember, nigh Thirty of these Islands
-of Ice. Captain _Rider_ being some fews days later in his Passage, and
-bearing more to the _Nore_, told me, he saw many more of these Islands
-of Ice, and some much larger.
-
-There are in _Virginia_ a great many Cormorants; several sorts of
-Gulls, and in about the Bay many Bannets. Thus much for the Birds.
-
-                                                            _Yours_, &c.
-
-
-
-
-  _A Continuation of Mr. _Clayton_'s Account of _Virginia_._
-
-
-_Of the Beasts of _Virginia_._
-
-There were neither Horses, Bulls, Cows, Sheep, or Swine, in all the
-Country, before the coming of the _English_, as I have heard, and have
-much reason to believe. But now among the _English_ Inhabitants there
-are good store of Horses, though they are very negligent and careless
-about the Breed: It is true, there is a Law, that no Horse shall be
-kept stoned under a certain size, but it is not put in execution.
-Such as they are, there are good store, and as cheap or cheaper than
-in _England_, worth about Five Pounds apiece. They never Shoe them,
-nor Stable them in general; some few Gentlemen may be something more
-Curious, but it is very rare; yet they Ride pretty sharply, a Planter's
-Pace is a Proverb, which is a good sharp Hand-Gallop. The _Indians_
-have not yet learned to Ride, only the King of _Pomonkie_ had got three
-or four Horses for his own Saddle, and an Attendant, which I think
-should in no wise be indulged, for I look on the allowing them Horses
-much more dangerous than even Guns and Powder.
-
-_Wild Bulls_ and _Cows_ there are now in the uninhabited Parts, but
-such only as have been bred from some that have strayed, and become
-Wild, and have propagated their kind, and are difficult to be shot,
-having a great Acuteness of Smelling. The common rate of a Cow and
-Calf is 50_s._ sight unseen, be she big or little, they are never very
-curious to examine that Point.
-
-Their _Sheep_ are of a middling size, pretty fine fleeced in general,
-and most Persons of Estate begin to keep Flocks, which hitherto has not
-been much regarded, because of the Wolves that destroy them; so that
-a piece of Mutton is a finer Treat, than either Venison, Wild-Goose,
-Duck, Wigeon, or Teal.
-
-_Elke_, I have heard of them beyond the Inhabitants, and that there was
-one presented to Sir _William Berkley_, which he sometime kept.
-
-_Deer_, there are abundance of brave Red Deer, so that a good Woodsman,
-as they call them, will keep a House with Venison; the _Indians_, they
-say, make Artificial sorts of Heads of Boughs of Trees, which they
-Consecrate to their Gods, and these they put on to deceive the Deer
-when they go a Shooting, or Hunting, as they call it, and by mimicking
-the Feeding of the Deer, they by degrees get within Shot.
-
-_Swine_, they have now in great abundance, Shoats or Porkrels are their
-general Food; and I believe as good as any _Westphalia_, certainly far
-exceeding our _English_.
-
-_Rackoone_, I take it to be a Species of a Monkey, something less
-than a Fox gray-hair'd, its Feet formed like a Hand, and the Face too
-has likewise the resemblance of a Monkeys, besides being kept tame
-they are very Apish: They are very prejudicial to their Poultry, as I
-remember.
-
-An _Opossum_, as big, and something shaped like our Badgers, but of a
-lighter Dun colour, with a long Tail something like a Rat, but as thick
-as a Man's Thumb; the Skin of its Belly is very large, and folded so
-as to meet like a Purse, wherein they secure their Young whilst little
-and tender, which will as naturally run thither, as Chickens to a Hen;
-in these False Bellies they will carry their Young; these also feed on,
-and devour Corn.
-
-_Hares_, many will have them to be a Hedge-Rabbet, but I know not
-what they mean thereby. I take them to be a perfect Species of Hares,
-because I have seen Leverets there with the white spot in the Head
-which the Old ones have not, so it is in _England_; and the Down is
-perfectly of the colour of our Hares, they sit as our Hares do, and
-make no Holes and Burrows in the Earth; true, they are but about the
-bigness of an _English_ Rabbet, and run no faster; they generally take
-into some hollow Tree within a little space, which then the People
-catch by gathering the withered Leaves, and setting them on fire within
-the hollow of the Tree, and smoaking of them so till they fall down.
-Sometimes they take long Bryars, and twist them in the Down and Skin,
-and so pull them forth.
-
-_Squirrels_, there are three sorts. The first is the great Fox
-Squirrel, much larger than the _English_, and gray, almost as a common
-Rabbet. These are very common, I have eaten of them at the best
-Gentlemen's Tables, and they are as good as a Rabbet. The Second is
-the Flying Squirrel, of a lighter Dun colour, and much less than the
-_English_ Squirrel; the Skin on either side the Belly extended is very
-large betwixt the fore-leg and hind-leg, which helps them much in their
-skipping from one Bough to another, that they will leap farther than
-the Fox-Squirrel, though much less, yet this is still rather skipping
-than flying, though the distinction be well enough. The Third is the
-Ground-Squirrel, I never saw any of this sort, only I have been told
-of them, and have had them thus described to me, to be little bigger
-than a Mouse, finely spotted like a young Fawn; by what I further
-apprehended, they are an absolute sort of Dor-Mouse, only different in
-colour.
-
-_Musk-Rats_, in all things shaped like our Water-Rats, only something
-larger, and is an absolute Species of Water-Rats, only having a curious
-Musky scent: I kept one for a certain time in a wooden Chest; two
-days before it died it was extraordinary Odoriferous, and scented the
-Room very much; but the day that it died, and a day after the scent
-was very small, yet afterwards the Skin was very fragrant; the Stones
-also smelt very well. They build Houses as Beavers do, in the Marshes
-and Swamps (as they there call them) by the Water-sides, with two or
-three ways into them, and they are finely daubed within. I pulled one
-in pieces purposely to see the contrivance: There were three different
-Lodging-Rooms, very neat, one higher than another, as I conceive
-purposely made for Retirement, when the Water rises higher than
-ordinary; they are considerably large, having much Trash and Lumber to
-make their Houses withal; I suppose they live mostly on Fish.
-
-_Batts_, as I remember at least two sorts; one a large sort with long
-Ears, and particularly long straggling Hairs. The other much like the
-_English_, something larger I think, very common.
-
-I never heard of any _Lions_; they told me of a Creature killed whilst
-I was there, in _Glocester_ County, which I conceived to be a sort of
-Pard, or Tyger.
-
-_Bears_ there are, and yet but few in the Inhabited part of _Virginia_;
-towards _Carolina_ there are many more. There was a small Bear killed
-within three Miles of _James City_ the Year that I left the Country,
-but it was supposed to have strayed, and swam over _James River_. They
-are not very fierce, their Flesh is commended for a very rich sort of
-Pork; but the lying side of the Bear, as I remember, is but half the
-value of the other, weight for weight.
-
-There are several sorts of _Wild-Cats_ and _Poll-Cats_.
-
-_Beavers_ build their Houses in like manner as the Musk-Rats do, only
-much larger, and with pieces of Timber make Dams over Rivers; as I
-suppose either to preserve their Furs dry in their passage over the
-Rivers, otherwise to catch Fish by standing to watch them thereon, and
-jumping upon them on a sudden; they are very subtil Creatures, and
-if half the Stories be true that I have been told, they have a very
-orderly Government among them; in their Works each knows his proper
-Work and Station, and the Overseers beat those Young Ones that loiter
-in their Business, and will make them cry, and work stoutly.
-
-_Wolves_ there are great store; you may hear a Company Hunting in
-an Evening, and yelping like a pack of Beagles; but they are very
-cowardly, and dare scarce venture on any thing that faces them; yet if
-Hungry, will pull down a good large Sheep that flies from them. I never
-heard that any of them adventured to set on Man or Child.
-
-_Foxes_, they are very much like ours, only their Fur is much more
-grisled, or gray; neither do I remember ever to have seen any
-Fox-holes, but of this I am not positive.
-
-Every House keeps three or four Mungrel _Dogs_ to destroy Vermin, such
-as _Wolves_, _Foxes_, _Rackoons_, _Opossums_, &c. But they never Hunt
-with Hounds, I suppose, because there are so many Branches of Rivers,
-that they cannot follow them. Neither do they keep Grey-Hounds, because
-they say, that they are subject to break their Necks by running against
-Trees, and any Cur will serve to run their Hares into a hollow Tree,
-where after the aforesaid manner they catch them.
-
-They have great store both of Land and Water _Tortoises_, but they are
-very small, I think I never saw any in that Country to exceed a Foot in
-length; there is also another sort of Land-Tortoise, different from the
-common sort, with a higher ridged Back, and speckled with red sort of
-Spots.
-
-_Frogs_ they have of several sorts, one of a prodigious largeness,
-eight or ten times as big as any in _England_, and it makes a strange
-noise, something like the Bellowing of a Bull, or betwixt that and the
-hollow sounding noise that the English Bittern makes.
-
-Another very common sort, which they call _Toads_, because black, but
-I think differs nothing from our black Frog. They have Toads also like
-ours in _England_; and another small sort of Frog, which makes a noise
-like Pack-horse Bells all the Spring long. Another little green Frog,
-that will leap prodigiously, which they therefore call the Flying Frog.
-There is frequently heard in the Woods a shrill sort of noise, much
-like that which our Shrew-Mouse makes, but much sharper; I could never
-learn the certainty what it was that made this noise, it is generally
-in a Tree, and some have asserted to me, that it was made by the green
-Frog, yet I scarcely believe it. Mr. _Banister_ assured me it was made
-by a sort of _Scarabeus_ Beetle, that is I think full as big as the
-Humming-Bird; but neither do I believe that, and for this Reason, for I
-never saw that Beetle so low as the Salts, but always as high up in the
-Country as the Freshes, and that noise is frequent all over the Country.
-
-_Lizards_, that are gray, and very common, the Snakes feed much on
-them, for I have taken several of them out of the Bellies of Snakes.
-
-_Snakes_, about seven several sorts. The Rattle-Snake, so called from
-certain Rattles at the end of the Tail: These Rattles seem like so
-many perished Joints, being a dry Husk over certain Joints, and the
-common Opinion is, that there are as many Rattles or Joints, as the
-Snake is years old. I kill'd four or five, and they had each eleven,
-twelve, or thirteen Joints each; but the young Ones have no Rattles
-of a year or two, but they may be known notwithstanding, being very
-regularly diced or checker'd, black and gray on the backs. The Old
-shake and shiver these Rattles with wonderful nimbleness when they
-are any ways disturbed; their bite is very deadly, yet not always of
-the same force, but more or less Mortal, accordingly as the Snake is
-in force or vigour, and therefore in _June_ or _July_ much worse,
-and more Mortal, than in _March_ and _April_. This Snake is a very
-Majestick sort of Creature, and will scarce meddle with any thing
-unless provok'd, but if any thing offend it, it makes directly at
-them. I was told a pleasant Story of an Old Gentlemen, Col. _Cleyborn_
-as I remember was his Name, the same that sent the Rattle-Snakes to
-the _Royal Society_ some Years since. He had an odd Fancy of keeping
-some of these Snakes always in Barrels in the House, and one time an
-_Indian_ pretending to Charm them so as to take them by the Neck in his
-Hand without biting of him; the Old Gentleman caused a Rattle-Snake
-to be brought forth, the _Indian_ began his Charm with a little Wand,
-whisking it round and round the Rattle-Snake's Head, bringing it by
-degrees nigher and nigher, and at length flung the Switch away, and
-whisked his Hand about in like manner, bringing his Hand nigher still
-and nigher, by taking less Circles, when the old Gentleman immediately
-hit the Snake with his Crutch, and the Snake snap'd the _Indian_ by
-the Hand, and bit him very sharply betwixt the Fingers, which put
-his Charm to an end, and he roared out; but stretch'd his Arm out as
-high as he could, calling for a string, wherewith he bound his Arm as
-hard as possibly he could, and clapt a hot burning Coal thereon, and
-singed it stoutly, whereby he was cured, but looked pale a long while
-after. And I believe this truly one of the best ways in the World of
-Curing the Bite either of Viper or Mad Dog. I was with the Honourable
-Esquire _Boyle_, when he made certain Experiments of Curing the Bite
-of Vipers with certain _East-India_ Snake-stones, that were sent him
-by King _James_ the Second, the Queen, and some of the Nobility,
-purposely to have him try their Vertue and Efficacy: For that end
-he got some brisk Vipers, and made them bite the Thighs of certain
-Pullets, and the Breasts of others: He applied nothing to one of the
-Pullets, and it died within three Minutes and a half, as I remember;
-but I think they all recovered to which he applied the Snake-stones,
-tho' they turned wonderful pale, their Combs, _&c._ immediately, and
-they became extream sick, and purged within half an hour, and the next
-morning all their Flesh was turned green to a wonder, nevertheless
-they recovered by degrees. The manner of the Application was only
-by laying on the Stone, and by two cross-bits of a very sticking
-_Diaculum_ Plaister binding it on, which he let not lie on past an
-hour or two, but I think not so long, took the Stone off, and put it
-into Milk for some time; some Stones were of much stronger Vertue than
-others. I proposed a piece of unquench'd Lime-stone to be apply'd
-to see whether it might not prove as powerful, but know not whether
-ever it was tried. But here one telling Mr. _Boyle_ the Story of this
-_Indian_, he approved the method of Cure, and said, an actual Cautery
-was the most certain Cure. The Poison, both of Viper and Mad-Dog (as I
-conceive) kill by thickning of the Blood, after the manner that Runnet
-congeals Milk when they make Cheese. Vipers, and all the Viperous
-Brood, as Rattle-Snakes, _&c._ that are deadly, have I believe their
-Poisonous Teeth Fistulous, for so I have observed that Vipers Teeth
-are, and the Rattle-Snakes very remarkable, and therefore they kill so
-very speedily by injecting the Poison through those Fistulous Teeth
-into the very Mass of Blood; but the bite of Mad-Dogs is oft of long
-continuance before it get into and corrupt the Mass of Blood, being
-it sticks only to the out-sides of the Teeth, and therefore when they
-bite thro' any thickness of Cloaths, it rarely proves Mortal, the
-Cloaths wiping the Poison off before it come to the Flesh. A Girl that
-was bit about _New-Years Day_, continued well till _Whitsontide_, when
-coming to see certain Friends in our Parts, she fell very ill, and
-being a Poor Girl, they came to me; it pleased God I recovered her.
-Sometime after she returned to give me thanks for saving her Life,
-being two Persons that were bit with the same Dog, were dead, whilst
-she remained under Cure, and therefore she was the fullier convinc'd
-she owed her life to me; but of this I shall give a more particular
-Instance by and by. But the Poisons of Vipers seems to be like the
-injecting of Liquors into the Veins of Creatures; Dr. _Moulin_ and I
-made many Experiments of this Nature together, and I have made many
-more by my self. We once, I remember, injected half a Dram of Allom
-into the Jugalar-Vein of a Dog before the _Royal Society_, (the Allom
-being only dissolved in a little Water) which within something less
-than one Minutes time was so absolutely dead, as not to have the least
-Convulsive Motion; and I have done the like with many other things
-besides Allom, but with some things it is more curdled and broken, than
-with others; and will differ much both as to colour and consistence.
-Salt-Petre kills much as quickly as Allom, but then the Blood in the
-Heart looks very florid, smooth, and even. I wish some Person of
-Observation and Leisure would prosecute these sort of Experiments,
-and make Injections of the several things most used in Physick into
-the Veins of Creatures, both in quantities, and into different Veins,
-as into the Thigh-veins of some Dogs, and Jugalars of some others,
-and in much lesser quantities of such things as kill suddenly; for in
-the little time I have spent in these sort of Experiments, I easily
-perceive notable discoveries might be made thereby: One Dog that
-lived became Lame and Gouty; another with Quick-Silver died in about
-Sixteen Weeks time, Consumptive, and I discovered Quick-Silver in the
-Impostumated parts of his Lungs. _Query_, Whether some Persons that
-have been Flux'd, or used Quick-silver Oyntments, and the like, and
-afterwards become consumptive, owe not their Distemper to the abusive
-use of a most excellent Remedy? Much after the same manner, the subtile
-Quick-Silver getting into the Mass of Blood by degrees, through its
-ponderosity settles in the Lobes of the Lungs, and causes Ulcers
-there. But to return: The Poison of Vipers and Mad Dogs I suppose kill
-by thickning of the Blood, as many Malignant Fevers, also do; in all
-which Cases, I look on Volatil Salts to be the properest Physick, as
-keeping the Blood from congealing. I had a singular Instance hereof in
-a Gentleman of _Yorkshire_, bit with a Grey-Hound on the _Thursday_,
-not three Minutes before the Dog died Mad; he bit him in several places
-of the Hands, as he was giving him a Remedy: The _Monday_ following
-the Gentleman was very ill, and came to our Town to an Apothecary
-his Acquaintance, who knowing not what to do, desired my Assistance.
-When I came, the Gentleman could talk, but every two or three Minutes
-he had violent Fits, and would tell us when they were over, that his
-Brains worked like Birm in an Ale-Fat, and seemed to Froth up at every
-Fit. The Apothecary had no Volatile Salt of Vipers; so I took the
-Volatile Salt of Amber, and ordered him Ten Grains in Treacle-Water
-every half hour: He told me every Dose seemed to clear his Brain, and
-cool it as perfectly, as if a Bason of Cold Water were poured on his
-Head, but it returned by degrees again: Having then a Volatile Salt
-by me that Vomits very well, I gave him a Dose thereof, it worked
-very well, and he was very much better after it: I then ordered him
-to continue the Volatile Salt of Amber once every four hours, and at
-each two hours end, that is betwixt, _Spec. Pleres Archonticon and Rue
-pouder'd ana gr._ 15. whereby he was so well recovered, that within
-two days he would needs go home, to look after some urgent Affairs,
-and afterwards found himself so well, that he forgot to return, and
-perfect the course; and I heard no more of him for half a Year, when
-I was fetch'd one Morning to him in great hast. He had been abroad,
-play'd the Good-Fellow, and in his return home, having rode a great
-days Journey, being weary, and I suppose finding himself indisposed,
-he staid all Night in our Town, it being fortunately in his way. In
-the Morning when he should have got up, he could not stand, whereupon
-the Apothecary was sent for, and a Surgeon to Blood him, which was
-accordingly done, but he grew worse; for in this Case I look upon
-Bleeding to be very prejudicial, as well as in most Malignant Fevers,
-for thereby the Spirits are diminished, and the Blood congeal'd the
-sooner. When they had done all they could, and the Symptoms still
-increased, they at length sent for me. I never saw Man or Creature in
-that Agony in all my life, that I found him in, Senseless, and Mad,
-when at best, but every Minute the fiercest shiverings ran through him,
-his Eyes would first roll and then set, as if ready to start out of his
-Head, but above all, the Swelling and Luctation at his Breast, was as
-if he would burst, which went off with a prodigious sigh: All this I
-judge the Effects of the Heart labouring to discharge it self of the
-stagnating Blood, and the Nervous Convulsions as consequences thereof.
-And I am the more confirm'd in this, from what I saw in a Woman that
-was bit also with a Mad-Dog in the Leg, and fell ill the very day that
-she had paid the Chirurgeon for her Cure; and notwithstanding all that
-could be done, growing worse, they sent for me; I went, and found her
-with what is called a _Hydrophobia_: She would look earnestly after
-Drink or Water, and seem to desire it, but as soon as she began to
-drink, away it went, be it what it would, with the greatest Violence
-she could possibly fling it. I gave her the Vomit hereafter and also
-before mentioned, but she got but little of it down, and I had no
-more with me; nevertheless it so brought her to her self, that she
-could answer Questions, and I asked her, whether she was afraid of
-the Drink and Water, when she flung the Cups in that violent manner
-from her? She said No; but when she offered to drink, her Breast and
-Heart would not let her. I asked, whether through any Aversion or
-Fear? She said, No, she was very Thirsty; but when she offered to
-drink, it struck to her Heart, and stopped her Breath. That is, as I
-apprehend, the cold Drink passing down the Throat struck a chillness
-in the Blood, and made it readier to stagnate: Besides the very act of
-Drinking, hindering the free breathing, conduced also much thereto;
-and therefore the Heart was so suddenly oppress'd, that she could not
-forbear flinging away whatever she had in her Hand. She complained also
-of a great rigour and stiffness or straitness of the Muscles of her
-Breast, so that possibly the Spiritous Liquor that flows in the _Genus
-Nervosum_ may be congeal'd as well as the Blood; or the same Effects
-may be supposed notwithstanding to be the result of the condensed
-Blood clogging both the Heart and Lungs, so that the Breast may seem
-to be straitened therewith. The same I judge to be the cause of all
-the violent Luxations in this Gentleman, whose Fingers I looked on,
-and found the places where he had formerly been bit, turned blackish,
-and much inflamed about them, which confirmed me in my sentiment, that
-it was a relapse of his former Distemper, that is, of the Bite of the
-Mad-Dog. I told them, if any thing in the World would save his Life, I
-judged it must be the former Vomit of Volatile Salts; they could not
-tell what to do, nevertheless such is the Malignancy of the World,
-that as soon as it was given, they ran away and left me, saying, he
-was now certainly a dead Man, to have a Vomit given in that condition.
-Nevertheless it pleased God that he shortly after cried, _This Fellow
-in the Black has done me good_, and after the first Vomit, came so to
-himself, as to know us all. I vomited him every other day with this
-Vomit for three times, and made him in the Interim to take Volatile
-Salt of Amber, and the aforesaid Powders, and to wash his Hands, and
-Sores in a strong Salt Brine: to drink Posset-drink with Sage and
-Rue, and by this course, and the Blessing of God, his Life was saved,
-and he perfectly cured, for it is now four Years since, and he had
-had no Relapse. I have cured several others by the same Method. Coll.
-_Spencer_, the Secretary of State in _Virginia_, a very Serious and
-Ingenious Gentleman, told me, that his Servant brought him word once
-that a Sow having farrow'd, a Rattle-Snake was got into the Den, and
-had kill'd the Piggs. The Colonel went to see the Snake, which they
-said was still coyl'd in the Den; there followed them two or three
-Mungrel Curs, and they sat one of the Dogs at the Snake, which was
-too quick for the Dog, and snapt him by the Nose, whereupon he set a
-howling, and run immediately into the adjacent River, and died very
-shortly after. Another of the Dogs upon the like attempt was bit by the
-Snake also, and fell a howling, and frothing, and tumbling; but being
-he died not so soon as the other Dog did, they fetched some of the Herb
-which they call Dittany, as having a great Traditionary Vertue for the
-Cure of Poisons; they pounded it, and adding a little Water, express'd
-the Juice, and gave the Dog frequently thereof, nevertheless he died
-within a day or two. The howling of the Dogs he supposed gave notice
-to the Sow, and made her come furiously bristling, and run immediately
-into her Den; but being likewise bit by the Snake, she set up a
-terrible Squeak, and ran also into the River, and there died.
-
-A Gentlewoman, that was a notable Female Doctress, told me, that a
-Neighbour being bit by a Rattle-Snake, swelled excessively; some days
-afterwards she was sent for, who found him swell'd beyond what she
-thought it had been possible for the Skin to contain, and very Thirsty.
-She gave him _Oriental Bezoar_ shaved, with a strong Decoction of the
-aforesaid Dittany, whereby she recovered the Person: To the best of my
-Remembrance, it was he that told me, asking him afterwards, what he
-felt when the Snake first bit him? He said, it seemed as if a flash of
-Fire had ran through his Veins.
-
-Besides the Rattle-Snake, there is the Blowing-Snake, an absolute
-Species of a Viper, but larger than any that I have seen in _Europe_;
-it is so called, because it seems to blow, and spread its Head, and
-swell very much before it bite, which is very deadly. It is Remarkable
-there is none of their Snakes there, make any of that hissing noise
-that ours in _England_ make, but only shoot out their Tongues, shaking
-them as ours do, without any noise at all; this is a short thick
-sort of Snake. There is another sort of deadly Snake, called the
-_Red-Snake_; I once narrowly escaped treading on the back of one of
-them: They are of an ugly dark brown colour, inclining to red; their
-Bellies are of a more dusky white, with a large streak of Vermillion
-Red on either side; this too is of the Viper kind, but is not so short,
-but its Tail is more taper and small. The _Horn-Snake_ is, as they
-say, another sort of deadly Snake; I never saw any of them, unless
-once, shortly after my Arrival in that Country, which I cannot attest
-to be the Horn-Snake, for I could not distinctly view it, being in
-a Thicket of _Sumach_, it was perch'd up about two Foot high in a
-_Sumach_ Branch, its Tail twisted about the Shrub, and about a quarter
-of a Yard stood bolt forward, leaning over the forked branch thereof: I
-could not see the Horn, which they say it has in its front, wherewith
-it strikes, and if it wounds, is as deadly as the Rattle-Snake's bite.
-The Gentleman that was with me, told me it was a Horn-Snake, but being
-in hast, and on Horse-back, and the Snake in a Thicket, I could not see
-the Horn; but had I thought I should never have seen more of them, I
-should have took a little pains to have been better satisfied. This I
-think may not improperly be referr'd to the _Dart-Snakes_.
-
-The _Black-Snake_, is the largest I think of all others, but I am sure
-the most common; I have kill'd several of them full six Foot long,
-their Bite is not deemed Mortal, but it swells, and turns to a Running
-Sore; they feed upon Lizards, Mice, Rats, Frogs, and Toads, which I
-have taken out of their Bellies. I was once a Simpling in the woods,
-on a fair Sun-shine day, when I saw a Snake crawling on a Tree that
-was fallen, and licking with its forked Tongue as it moved; I stood
-still to observe it, and saw it lick up small Insects and Flies with
-wonderful nimbleness, catching them betwixt the Forks of its Tongue.
-
-The _Corn-Snake_, most like the Rattle-Snake of all others in colour,
-but the Checkers are not so regular, neither has it any Rattles: They
-are most frequent in the Corn-Fields, and thence I suppose so called;
-the Bite is not so venomous as the Black-Snakes.
-
-The _Water-Snake_, a small Snake, I never saw any of them above a Yard
-long, though I have sometimes seen Forty or Fifty at once; they are of
-an ugly dark blackish colour: They say, they are the least Venomous of
-any.
-
-
-
-
-  _Part of Two Letters from Mr. _J. Hillier_, dated _Cape Corse_,
-    _Jan. 3. 1687/8._ and _Apr. 25. 1688._ Wrote to the Reverend Dr.
-    _Bathurst_, President of _Trinity Colledge, Oxon_; giving an
-    Account of the Customs of the Inhabitants, the Air, _&c._ of that
-    Place, together with an Account of the Weather there from _Nov.
-    24. 1686._ to the same Day 1687._
-
-
-                                           _Cape Corse, Jan. 3. 1687/8._
-
-I Thought the Custom of destroying Slaves at the Death of great People
-had been abolish'd, and I was so inform'd; but we have seen that it
-is not; for _Oct. 3._ this Year, died _Ahen Penin Ashrive_, King
-of _Feton_, here at _Cape Corse_, where he had been long sick; the
-Fetishers had done all they could to save his Life, which was nothing
-at all to purpose; their Physick scarce extends to any thing but the
-Flux, and what we call the French Disease; his was a Consumption and
-an Asthma (if I mistake not the Word) of a great continuance: so they
-fled to the Aid of their Religion, and according it seems to the Rules
-of that, they made several Pellets of Clay, which they set in his
-Room, in Rank and File, all sprinkled with blood; besides the several
-Muttons which they eat to his good Health. But that was of too little
-Force; so the Man died, having delivered his Sword to the Dy, who in
-the _Interregnum_ was to be the principal Man, for the Kingdom is
-Elective, contrary to what we wrote before, and commanding him to be
-constant to the _English_, of whom himself had been a great Favourer,
-with a Threat, if he was not, of haunting him after his Death; he also
-appointed one of his Wives, whom he thought worthy of that unlucky
-Honour, to accompany him to the other World; the next Day he was
-carried to _Feton_, and buried there, _Nov. 2._ with the poor Woman we
-spoke of. Presently after, they that were considerable, or had a mind
-to seem so, sent in them that they had a mind to Murder in Honour of
-the King: how many there were 'tis hard to say, the highest Account
-gives 90, the lowest 50, the middle 70; the Blacks do not understand
-Arithmetick, so the Numbers they give in all Cases are very uncertain.
-I think there were about Eight from this Town, which will not hold
-Proportion to the highest rate; but 'tis like near _Feton_ there might
-be more. They say also, that many more will follow at half a Years
-distance from his Death. The manner of the Execution of these poor
-Creatures I have not yet learnt, only that they make them drink and
-dance, with a great deal of Bravery all the begining of the Day, and
-towards Night cut off their Heads, but whether by that they mean the
-common way of their Executions I am yet to seek.
-
-After the Kings Funeral, the next thing was to chuse a Successor; so
-the People was called together at _Feton_, (I suppose by the Authority
-of the Dy) without inquiring any thing of their Freehold; they pitched
-upon Mr. _Dy_, though he was not of the Blood-Royal; the Reason was, as
-they said, because he had Power enough to do what he pleas'd, and they
-could do nothing against him; but he refused the Honour because of the
-Charge 'twould put him to, and propos'd the Brother of the deceased
-King: So the Business stuck some time, but at last 'twas accorded, and
-he [King _Ashrive_'s Brother] declared King, _Nov. 18._ his Name is
-_Ahenaco_.
-
-'Tis Wonder how they could dispatch such a Business, with so little
-Disturbance; but I suppose there was no considerable Number that
-dissented; otherwise it would scarce have been determined without
-Blood-shed; for it would scarce have been possible for them to have
-taken any Pole.
-
-I said it was doubt whether these Sacrifices died after the rate of
-their ordinary Executions; if you would know that, thus it is, the
-Creature that is condemn'd, is made to drink abundance of Palm-Wine,
-and to dance, every Body that will, in the mean time striking or
-pushing him, when that is over, as is said, he is thrown down, his Face
-into the Sand, which whether it stifle him or not, I can't tell, then
-his Legs are cut off below the Knees, and his Arms below the Elbow,
-afterward his Thigh and his Arms below the Shoulder, lastly his Head.
-
-A Man would not expect any thing more barbarous than this; yet there
-is a Custom which has something worse; when any one has new Drums or
-Trumpets, 'tis necessary that they be consecrated with Humane Blood: I
-have known but one happen of this Kind, that was _Jan. 7. 1686/7._ when
-after the Man had been executed after the former rate, about Eight in
-the Morning; at one in the Afternoon, they drank Palm-Wine out of the
-upper part of his Skull, and this in the sight of all the Factors at
-_Cape Corse_.
-
-I remember for the Unhealthiness of the Place, you proposed to inquire
-if it were Woody, and if any good might be done to it by cutting down
-the Woods, as has happen'd in many _American_ Plantations; of that
-Matter this is what I can say.
-
-The Shore lies almost East and West, expos'd to the Sea wholly upon
-the South, the Country is Hilly, the Hills not very high, but thick,
-clustering together, the Valleys between extream narrow, the whole
-in a manner cover'd with certain Shrubs, low, but very thick; what
-the People Till, comes not to above a Tenth part of their Ground; and
-where they do Till, it hinders not that within half a Year the Ground
-is over-grown as before, for they do not root up the Shrubs, but only
-cut, or sometimes burn them somewhat close to the Earth, so they spring
-again in a very little time; this is sufficient for their planting the
-Corn, which they do by making little Holes in the Earth at a competent
-Distance, and putting Seeds into them.
-
-It may be that if those Shrubs were destroyed, the Matter might be
-mended, which yet is not to be hop'd for, but by bringing the People to
-some kind of Industry, and that will not be easie; they are so wholly
-given to Laziness, and so intirely bred up in it, that there must be
-the greatest Change imaginable, before they become any whit tolerable;
-a Man may see their Temper by this, that though their Tillage be very
-easie, and the Earth yields many Hundreds for One, yet so little is
-the use they make of it, that One scarce Year brings them to danger of
-Starving, and though there be People enough, and every Man has Power of
-choosing what he will, that is not already Till'd by some other, yet
-not the Tenth Part, as we have said, is employed: So that a Man would
-wonder what came in the French Man's Head to fancy them Industrious;
-but subtile they are, and diligent to Cheat any Man that is not
-cautious enough to avoid it.
-
-So that the Fault of the Wood is (by the Laziness of the People)
-without any Remedy. But there may be something in the Earth it self;
-the Water which they have here in Pits (Rain-Water for the most
-part, but yet strain'd through the Earth) has a kind of Taste mixt
-of Sweet and Subacid, if I understand what I say, I am told 'tis of
-Vitriol, whether that be mischievous, you know better than I do. But
-I take this for certain, since I have had it from good Hands, that at
-_Widdah_, which is one of the most unhealthy Places in _Guiney_, but
-'tis not upon the Gold-coast, he that opens the Ground, though it be
-but to dig a Grave, runs the Hazard of his Life: So mischievous are the
-Steams from thence arising. It's possible there may be some such Steams
-here, only not so violent; though in _England_ I think, a Gravel or a
-Sand (which here are always uppermost for as much as I have seen) are
-esteem'd very wholesom Soils; under them is a kind of whitish Marle
-almost like Fullers-Earth.
-
-For the Air, except what I have said before, I do not know what Fault
-it has; 'tis extream hot, 'tis also subtile and piercing, and I believe
-enters a Man's Body easier than that in _England_. It has been clearer
-than that uses to be one day with another, even this last Year, which
-has been the wettest and most cloudy which has happen'd a long time;
-I think to give you an Account of the Weather in it as soon as I have
-time to transcribe.
-
-For the Age of the Inhabitants, 'tis very uncertain, because none of
-them keep an Account of it; there are some of them very Grey, but if
-the Country be to them unhealthy, Grey Hairs may come early: I think
-there be many more Funerals here than at _Oxford_, though that be a
-much larger Place, especially in the Rain-times, which to us are always
-healthful.
-
-I think that much of the Mortality (not all) that happens among
-Strangers, is the Effect of their ill Diet, and ill Government of
-themselves; for they eat but little, having neither Stomach nor Mony
-to buy what they want; but they drink excessively, being for that more
-readily trusted, and of Liquors very hot and Spirituous; and if any
-chuse the cold rather, his Stomach is chil'd, and he is in danger of a
-Flux or an extream Looseness, and that immediately.
-
-There is another thing, Men guard themselves less from the Air than
-in any other Places trusting to the Heat of the Climate, and receive
-the cool of the Evening with only a Shirt. Now I think that the Air,
-tho' not so cold, is much more subtle and piercing here, than in our
-Country, it corrodes Iron much more, not by the Moisture, for it is not
-so moist, and besides it does it in the dry Weather too. Perhaps there
-are some other Effects to evidence the same thing; besides that, the
-Diet which most Men procure, is not extraordinary, and the passing by
-Canoes from one Place to another has a Danger in it beside that of the
-Sea.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-                                            _Cape Corse, Apr. 25. 1688._
-
-I Promised in my last to give you an Account of the Weather at _Cape
-Corse_ for the last Year, which Account I have inclosed in this; it
-is as exact as I could give; 'tis a thing which has been very little
-observed, whether it deserves to be more, I do not know. That Year has
-had the most Rain of any that can be here remember'd; yet the Mortality
-was much less than the Years before; so that perhaps Wet is not that
-which makes the Country unhealthy; though we had very many Sick,
-especially in _June_ and _July_, whose Diseases were not Mortal.
-
-If you give your self the Trouble to read the inclosed, you will find
-often mention of a Tornada, which is a violent Storm of Wind, followed
-commonly by Rain, but not always; the Wind ceases not presently upon
-the Rain, but after sometimes it does: In this Place it comes (as
-does an Hermitan) most frequently from the North, taking in the next
-Points, whether to the East or West, but chiefly the East, though I
-have seen both that and an Hermitan from other Points; so the Account
-is not without Exception; there are in it short, uncertain Blasts from
-all Quarters, which I believe reach not many Yards, but the general
-Wind (for ought that I see) is not so unconstant; Vessels that go to
-Windward are help'd by them, when they are not over strong, for they
-are opposite to the Sea Breze, and they can steer by them a regular
-Course; which sure they could not do, if they were very irregular.
-They never fail to give warning before hand, though sometimes after
-that warning they do not follow; there is a very black Cloud appears
-afar, in which if there be a kind of white Spot, the Wind will be
-moist, if not the Rain; this the Sailors say. Sometimes there is that
-Mark, sometimes not, though I doubt the Prediction from it is not very
-certain; as neither are any perhaps of that kind.
-
-
-  _An Account of the Weather at _Cape Corse_ in _Guiney_, from Nov.
-    24. 1686. to the same Day, 1687._
-
-
-Lat. N. 4_d._ 49_m._ _Nov. 1686._
-
-24. And 25. Clear and Hot.
-
-26. About 2. _a. m._ a Storm of Rain with Thunder for ½ Hour.
-
-27. At the same Hour, Rain which lasted somewhat longer.
-
-28. About 5. _a. m._ Some Rain, afterward Misty, about 10. extream hot.
-
-29. About 2. _a. m._ a great storm of Rain, slacking often but renewing
-again, it lasted about an Hour; the Day after clear.
-
-
-_December, 1686._
-
-Thence to _Dec. 7._ clear; then cloudy in the Morning; between 12. and
-1. _p. m._ a Shower lasting about ½ Hour. Thence clear and hot.
-
-10. A little Mist in the Morning, otherwise very clear and hot; so till
-15.
-
-15. And some Days after somewhat thick, especially in the Morning.
-
-19, And 20. We had a dry North, and North-Easterly Wind, call'd an
-Hermitan, and it overcame the Sea-Breeze; found very ill for the Eyes,
-and most Men complained of a Feverish Temper; it was parching, but
-rather colder than ordinary.
-
-21. It ceased; a clear Air and very hot.
-
-23. We had the Hermitan again; but the Morrow it ceased; then and
-
-25. Some Clouds, but no Rain.
-
-Thence to 29. clear and hot; 29. the Hermitan returned, but did not
-continue.
-
-Thence Clouds sometimes, but no Rain till _Jan. 2._
-
-This Month we had Three Funerals, one being Sick of the Flux laid
-violent Hands upon himself, through impatience of the Pain, the 3d Day.
-
-The Second upon the 25th died convulsively, not having been Sick above
-one Day.
-
-The Third, _Dec. 27._ died of a Dropsy, which had succeeded a tedious
-Flux.
-
-
-_January, 1686/7._
-
-2. About 5. _a. m._ Rain for ½ Hour between 7. and 9. an Hour; from ½
-Hour past 9. to 1. _p. m._ the rest cloudy.
-
-5. At 2. _a. m._ about ½ Hour.
-
-8. At 1. in the Morning about an Hour, the Days between somewhat
-cloudy. Thence to 12. extream hot.
-
-12, And 14. somewhat cloudy otherwise the Heat continued.
-
-17. At 7. _p. m._ a Tornada for above ½ Hour, and about 12. at Night
-another; but the Heat very little abated.
-
-22. Between 5. and 6. _p. m._ began a Tornada, which lasted above an
-Hour very violent, with great Claps of Thunder and Lightning. Tank
-fill'd 1 Foot.
-
-23. In the Morning a great Mist, after 8. clear and extream hot.
-
-The latter end of _January_, and the begining of _February_ commonly
-Misty in the Morning; after extream hot.
-
-I find no Funeral this Month.
-
-
-_February, 1686/7._
-
-Beginning of _February_, as before.
-
-10. Somewhat Cloudy and cool, till then we were troubled with Coughs,
-for the most part; about this time they ceased.
-
-So the 11th, toward Night, Thunder afar off, and expectation of a
-Tornada: but it fail'd.
-
-12. Extream hot.
-
-13. A stronger Wind than ordinary from Seaward.
-
-14. Something like an Hermitan, but not from its usual Quarter. Clear
-and hot till about 2. _p. m._ then cloudy but no Rain.
-
-Thence to 22. extream hot and clear.
-
-From 22. to _March 1._ some flying clouds without Rain; sultry hot and
-unwholesom.
-
-24. Some shew of a Tornada, but it past away.
-
-This Month we had two Funerals, but their Diseases I find not.
-
-
-_March, 1686/7._
-
-The beginning of _March_ as the latter end of _February_.
-
-5. From 6. _a. m._ for an Hour and ½. a violent Tornada; the Day after
-cloudy. 6. Clear.
-
-7. At Night Lightning and Clouds afar off; but nothing followed.
-
-Thence to 11. clear and hot.
-
-11. About 5. _a. m._ a violent Rain for almost ½ Hour.
-
-12, And 13. cloudy.
-
-14. About 4. _a. m._ a gentle Shower but lasted not long.
-
-15. Between 6. and 7. _a. m._ a few Drops, and likelyhood of more, but
-nothing followed; both Days cloudy.
-
-16. Extream hot.
-
-17. Somewhat cloudy.
-
-Thence to 20. extream hot.
-
-20. Cloudy; about 10. _a. m._ some few Drops.
-
-21. Very hot.
-
-22. In the Morning hot; about 12. a violent Rain for a Quarter of an
-Hour.
-
-23. Clear.
-
-24. About 2. _a. m._ Rain for about ½ Hour; the Day after clear.
-
-Thence to _April 3._ clear and extream hot.
-
-No Funeral.
-
-
-_April, 1687._
-
-3. At 3. _p. m._ a violent Tornada, but only some few Drops of Rain; at
-5. _p. m._ a little more Rain.
-
-4. Cloudy by Fits, otherwise very hot.
-
-5. Hot and clear.
-
-6. In the Morning hot, about 2. _p. m._ cloudy; about 3. some Drops of
-Rain, in the Evening the Clouds dispersed.
-
-7. Clear and hot.
-
-8. Between 12. and 1. in the Morning, a violent Rain for near an Hour;
-after 2. one somewhat longer; the Day after there appeared to have been
-much Rain; Tank fill'd Two Foot and somewhat more.
-
-9. About 7. _a. m._ some Drops; cloudy all Day.
-
-10. Cloudy about 11. _a. m._ a small Mist.
-
-11. Presently after Midnight it began to Rain and lasted till 6. _a.
-m._ a great part of the time very violently, it began with a strong
-Tornada; Tank above Three Feet. The Day after some Clouds; otherwise
-extream hot.
-
-So also 12, and 13.
-
-14. About 5. _a. m._ a Shower for ½ Hour, between 6. and 7. _p. m._
-another of the same continuance, the Day between extream hot.
-
-So 15. 16. A Shower for ½ Hour, it began with a violent Tornada, the
-Rain not much, afterward cloudy.
-
-17, And 18. Clear.
-
-19. Clear also, about 7. _p. m._ a considerable Wind and some Drops of
-Rain.
-
-20. Clear but Windy.
-
-21. Between 12. and 2. moderate Rain for near an Hour.
-
-22. About 2. _a. m._ moderate Rain almost an Hour; at 11. _p. m._ a
-short Shower and gentle; the Day between extream hot.
-
-23. Cloudy about 10. _a. m._ some Drops.
-
-24. Extream hot.
-
-25. About 1. _a. m._ Rain for near an Hour; the Morning after hot;
-Afternoon cloudy; most part of the Night, Thunder and Lightning, but no
-Rain.
-
-26. At 7. _a. m._ strong Rain for ½ Hour, after that a little Mist;
-Afternoon, from 12. to 15. it rain'd unequally, but the most part
-moderate.
-
-27. Extream hot.
-
-28. About 12. Somewhat Cloudy, at 3. _p. m._ it began to Rain, and
-lasted about an Hour and ½; after cloudy and some Drops; in the Night a
-Shower or two.
-
-29. Cloudy. Thence to _May 6._ sometimes cloudy; but for the most part
-violent hot.
-
-This Month we had Three Funerals; one the 3d of a Fever, another on the
-19th of I know not what Pains in the Guts, another 24. of the Flux.
-
-The 15. and some Days following, there settled upon the Castle Walls,
-certain Swarms of wing'd Ants, a little bigger than Bees; they would
-bite very severely, and were blown up with Powder.
-
-
-_May, 1687._
-
-Till the 6. as before.
-
-6. In the Morning cloudy, a little after Noon some Wind, followed by
-gentle Rain, which lasted till 3. _p. m._ after cloudy.
-
-7. Hot. 8. Cloudy about 10. _a. m._ a gentle Shower for ¾ Hour; about
-8. _p. m._ a very violent Storm of Wind and Rain, but it quickly grew
-moderate, and lasted in all not above ½ Hour. 9. Clear.
-
-10. About Noon a violent Shower for ¼ of an Hour; after 8. _p. m._
-another as long, but not so violent; past 9. another shorter.
-
-11. Clear. 12. Clear, past 9. _p. m._ a very Violent Tornada with Rain,
-which lasted somewhat more than 2 Hours.
-
-13. Between 12. and 1. in the Night, a short Shower; about 9. _a. m._
-some Drops; so also in the Afternoon but nothing considerable; cloudy
-all Day.
-
-14. Cloudy; at 9. _a. m._ a violent Rain for ¼; after gentle for above
-an Hour; about 3. _p. m._ some Drops.
-
-15. About 3. _a. m._ Rain for ½ Hour; between 4. and 5. another; after
-foggy and cloudy, with some few Drops; about 7. _p. m._ a violent
-Tornada with Rain for near an Hour.
-
-16. About 4. _a. m._ Rain for an Hour; after 8. for ¼ Hour; after 6.
-_p. m._ Rain and Wind, but both moderate, for ½ Hour; past 8. about as
-much.
-
-17. About 4. _a. m._ a short Shower, after clear; 18. clear.
-
-19. Cloudy, about 10. _a. m._ some Drops.
-
-20. Cloudy between 8. and 10. _a. m._ a Shower; first violent, after
-more moderate, till it ended in a kind of Mist; it lasted in all about
-1½ Hour; the Day after clear, 21, and 22. clear.
-
-23. In the Afternoon cloudy; about 6. _p. m._ some Drops; the Night
-after, a Shower, not considerable.
-
-24. Hot, about 10. _p. m._ a little Shower.
-
-25. Clear; 26. in the Night some little Rain.
-
-27. Held up; 28. at 9. _p. m._ a short Shower.
-
-29. At 5. _a. m._ Rain till near 7. a little past 7. till 9. after
-cloudy.
-
-30. Cloudy; the Night after some Rain.
-
-31. About 8. _a. m._ Rain for ½ Hour; from 9. till 12. it rained for
-the most part very violently; before 1. another Shower for ½ Hour; from
-a little after 2. till 5. with very great Thunder.
-
-One Funeral on the 25th after but Three Days Sickness, of which I can
-give no account.
-
-The beginning of this Month, we had an extraordinary Number of Toads,
-which after some time were not to be seen.
-
-The 14th we had wing'd Ants, as before.
-
-24. Was the first Corn, the Seed-time having been the middle of _March_.
-
-
-_June, 1687._
-
-1. About 4. _a. m._ Rain for an Hour; past 1. _p. m._ for ½ Hour; the
-rest cloudy and misty.
-
-2. From 2. _a. m._ till 5. continual Rain, 'tis said there was some
-before; from 9. _a. m._ till ½ Hour past 6. _p. m._ continual Rain,
-sometimes very fierce; from ½ Hour past 9 at Night, Rain till past 10.
-
-3. From 6. to a little past 7. _a. m._ a very gentle Rain, from thence
-till 1. _p. m._ most commonly very fierce; thence for a little while
-more moderate; but it rain'd hard again till 6. _p. m._ then it drop'd
-but slowly, and so continued till about 7. in the Night some little
-Rain.
-
-4. About 8. _a. m._ some Drops, thence clear.
-
-6, And 7. clear, except some few flying Clouds.
-
-8. After 3. _a. m._ gentle Rain for near an Hour; then cloudy and some
-Drops, after 10. _p. m._ a Shower.
-
-9. At 5. _a. m._ a gentle Shower, lasted till past 7. thence a very
-violent Rain till almost 9. some Drops after that; about 3. _p. m._ it
-began and rain'd till past 10. somewhat moderately.
-
-10. Clear and hot.
-
-11. Cloudy; about 8. _p. m._ a few Drops.
-
-12. From about 2. _a. m._ till near 5. Rain, but not violent; a little
-before 6. a furious Storm of Rain, but little Wind; it lasted till ½
-Hour past 7. about 3. _p. m._ a moderate Rain, till a little past 4.
-and from thence to 6. somewhat more than a Mist; the Night after it
-rained a little.
-
-13. Cloudy; in the Afternoon it drop'd a little.
-
-14. About 8. _a. m._ a few Drops.
-
-15. Somewhat cloudy.
-
-16. Extream hot; toward Night cloudy; about 5. _p. m._ a violent Shower
-for ½ Hour; from a little before 8. till past 10. it rained continually.
-
-17. From 4. _a. m._ till almost 6. gentle Rain; so from a little past
-6. till past 7. thence till past 3. _p. m._ cloudy, and now and then
-some Drops; then a violent Shower for ⅛th of an Hour; half an Hour
-after 4. it rain'd again and continued till past 10. for the most part
-very furiously; with some little Intermission it rain'd all Night.
-
-18. At 3. _a. m._ it rained very fiercely; about ½ Hour after 6. it
-held up, but cloudy still; from 8. _a. m._ till past 3. _p. m._ it
-rained, but moderately; then it held up a little, but rained after till
-past 6. all Day cloudy, and at Night a great Fog.
-
-19. About 9. _a. m._ some Drops; from 1. till past 3. _p. m._ very
-gentle Rain.
-
-Thence to the First of _July_, foggy, Morning, sometimes hot, but for
-the most cloudy, and more temperate than could be expected from the
-Climate.
-
-Two Funerals, one the 9th of an Asthma; the other 21. of a Fever.
-
-We saw some Sorts of Insects not usual here, whether monstrous or not,
-I cannot tell. The most notable, a kind of Spider, about the Bigness of
-a Beetle, the Form nearest of a Crab-fish, with an odd kind of Orifice
-visible in the Belly, whence the Web proceeded.
-
-
-_July, 1687._
-
-1. Extream hot.
-
-2. Foggy in the Morning; about 9. _a. m._ a few Drops; after clear.
-
-3. In the Morning a great Fog; about 9. _a. m._ it rained small Rain
-for near an Hour; toward night more foggy than ever before; about 6.
-_p. m._ small Rain for a little time; from 8. till past 9. somewhat
-more brisk Rain, after that it cleared up.
-
-4. From 9. _a. m._ to 3. _p. m._ small Rain, the rest foggy; between
-10. and 11. _p. m._ some Rain.
-
-5. From 2. _a. m._ till past 8. constant Rain, sometimes very fierce,
-sometimes moderate; about 10. _a. m._ some Rain; between 2. and 3. _p.
-m._ it began to Rain, but continued not long; from 8. _p. m._ to 10.
-Rain.
-
-6. From about 2. _a. m._ to 6. Rain, after fair.
-
-7. Foggy and cloudy; between 7. and 8. _a. m._ some Drops.
-
-8. Foggy in the Morning, otherwise clear and hot.
-
-9. About 1. _a. m._ a smart Shower, between 3. and 5. some more Rain,
-the time of which we know not exactly. The Day after foggy.
-
-10. Very dull and cloudy; from 3. _p. m._ till Night a very great Mist.
-
-11. Tolerably clear, and very hot, yet somewhat foggy Morning and
-Evening.
-
-12. Cloudy; thence to 15. in the Morning and Evening foggy; else very
-hot.
-
-15. Cloudy; about 10. _a. m._ some Drops; from half an Hour past 2.
-till 4. moderate Rain; about 7. some Drops.
-
-16. Cloudy, several times it drop'd a little but nothing considerable.
-
-17. A little before Day, a short Shower; after cloudy; thence to 20.
-foggy Morning and Evening, and the most part cloudy.
-
-20. Very clear all Day, and extream hot.
-
-21. Not foggy at all; yet somewhat cloudy, but about Mid-day it cleared
-up.
-
-22, And 23. very clear and extream hot.
-
-24. Cloudy in the Morning; after as the Two last.
-
-25. Cloudy but not misty nor foggy, sultry hot.
-
-26. In the Morning cloudy, after extream hot.
-
-27. Hot and clear.
-
-28. Thin Clouds, through which the Sun shone very hot.
-
-29. And 30. cloudy.
-
-31. About 3. _a. m._ Two short Storms of Rain, the Day after clear and
-hot.
-
-Two Funerals, one the 17th drowned; the other 21. of a Fever.
-
-
-_August, 1687._
-
-To 5. clear, for the most part in the Mornings cloudy; but without
-Fogs; sometimes very hot.
-
-5. About 5. _a. m._ a Shower near an Hour long, about 7. another for ½
-Hour, till 10. some small Rain; thence cloudy till 1. about 7. _p. m._
-a few Drops.
-
-6. Cloudy all Day, sometimes it drop'd a little.
-
-7. about 2. _a. m._ violent Rain, with Wind for above ½ Hour. The Day
-after cloudy.
-
-8. And 9. cloudy and foggy.
-
-10. More foggy than ordinary; about 10. _a. m._ a great Mist, or small
-Rain for most part of the Day after.
-
-11. Foggy as the former and Misty; between 8. and 9. _a. m._ a Shower
-of small Rain; after Noon clear.
-
-12. Small Rain in the Morning; after as 11.
-
-13. Clear and hot, the Land Breze very strong.
-
-14. Cloudy all Day, the Land Breze turn'd to a kind of Hermitan, but
-not troublesome, nor continued beyond this Day.
-
-15. Cloudy, several times very misty, and some small Rain.
-
-16. Cloudy, but no Mist; after Noon clear.
-
-Thence to 22. clear and hot, but the Nights colder than at other times.
-
-22. At 6. _p. m._ cloudy, a Wind Tornada but moderate, with some few
-Drops of Rain very large.
-
-23. Clear and hot.
-
-24. Cloudy and misty at first; about 10. _a. m._ clear and hot.
-
-25. Clear and hot.
-
-26. Very foggy, Morning and Evening; for the rest hot.
-
-27. From 5. to 10. _a. m._ it rain'd smartly; thence cloudy, about 2.
-_p. m._ it clear'd up for a while; about 9. _p. m._ a sharp Rain for ½
-Hour.
-
-28. Between 12. and 3. _a. m._ it rained about Two Hours; about 7. some
-few Drops, after Cloudy, in the middle of the Day, it clear'd a little,
-but quickly overcast again.
-
-29. In the Night some Rain; at 7. _a. m._ Rain for ½ Hour; till past
-12. a very thick Mist; about 3. _p. m._ clear; at Night a very thick
-Mist.
-
-To the end cloudy and Misty.
-
-Three Funerals, 6. one of a Fever, 7. another of a Consumption, 29. a
-third of a Fever.
-
-
-_September, 1687._
-
-1. And 2. as the last.
-
-3. Some few Drops.
-
-Thence to 8. cloudy also and misty.
-
-8. About 6. _p. m._ some small Rain; between 8. and 10. _p. m._ for an
-Hour pretty brisk Rain.
-
-9. In the Morning cloudy and misty.
-
-10. About 10. _p. m._ a little Rain.
-
-11. Extream hot and clear; in the Night, considerable Rain for several
-Hours.
-
-12. About 10. _a. m._ some small Rain, the Morning very foggy,
-Afternoon clear.
-
-13. Clear and hot.
-
-14. And 15. In the Morning extream cloudy, and some Drops of Rain.
-
-16. Clear and extream Hot.
-
-17. Moderate, about 7. _p. m._ some Drops; at Night also some Rain, not
-considerable.
-
-18. Cloudy; in the Morning about 12. some Drops; all this Week, Morning
-and Evening Foggy and thick.
-
-19, 20, 21. Extream hot, the Fogs ceased.
-
-22. About 1. _a. m._ some Rain, the Day after cloudy.
-
-23, 24, 25. In the Morning cloudy after very hot.
-
-26. At Night also somewhat Misty, with many Flashes of Lightning, but
-no Thunder.
-
-The like Flashes most Nights to the end of the Month, also often
-cloudy; at other times extream hot.
-
-Two Funerals, one the 19th of a Fever, the other the 26th, whose
-Disease I do not know.
-
-
-_October, 1687._
-
-1. About 3. _a. m._ a very fierce Rain for near an Hour, but milder
-toward the end; the Day after some flying Clouds.
-
-2. About 4. _a. m._ a little Rain, the Day after as before; from 8. _p.
-m._ till 10. moderate Rain.
-
-3. Cloudy; about 10. _a. m._ Rain for somewhat more than an Hour.
-
-4. Cloudy between 8, and 10. _p. m._ a very smart Rain for above an
-Hour.
-
-5. About 9. _a. m._ a little Shower.
-
-6. About 5. _a. m._ a little Shower; another past 6. the Day after, and
-7 extream hot.
-
-8. Hot in the Morning; after Noon a shew of a Tornada, with Thunder,
-and a considerable Wind, but no Rain.
-
-Thence to 16. some flying Clouds, but generally hot.
-
-16. About 4. _p. m._ a little Rain, the Sun shining then, and the whole
-Day very hot; about 8. _p. m._ a very strong Tornada, Wind and Rain for
-about ½ Hour, afterward the Rain continued, but more moderate, for near
-Two Hours.
-
-17. Clear and hot. 18. So too, except that about 3. _p. m._ there was a
-very short Shower.
-
-19. And 20. somewhat cloudy.
-
-21. About 7. _a. m._ a few Drops, after clear and extream hot, but
-quickly cloudy again; at 11. _a. m._ a violent Tornada, with very
-strong Rain and Thunder for near an Hour; thence all the time till
-Night, thick and misty; till 2. _p. m._ Rain.
-
-22. Cloudy. 23. Clear and hot.
-
-24. Somewhat cloudy; at 7. _p. m._ a little Rain.
-
-25. Cloudy; about 11. _a. m._ Expectation of a Tornada, with some
-Thunder, but it ended in a few Drops of Rain about 1. _p. m._
-
-26. About 2. _a. m._ a very violent Tornada, and after the Wind, Rain
-not very fierce, which lasted till 8. _a. m._ the Day after cloudy.
-
-27. About 10. _p. m._ a violent Wind with Rain, but it lasted not long.
-
-28. About 3. _a. m._ a strong Rain for near an Hour the Day after
-extream hot.
-
-29. And 30. hot, yet with some Clouds.
-
-30. Half an Hour after 11. _p. m._ began a very furious Tornada, the
-Wind was quickly over, but the Rain lasted with extream violence about
-Two Hours.
-
-31. In the Morning very hot; about 2. _p. m._ a violent Tornada, with
-Rain and Thunder very near; it ceased sometimes, but beginning again,
-lasted till near 4. _p. m._ afterward cloudy.
-
-Three Funerals, all upon the 6th Day, Two of Fevers, the other I know
-not.
-
-
-_November, 1687._
-
-Clear and extream hot till the 6th.
-
-6. About half an Hour past 1. in the Morning a very violent Rain for
-more than an Hour.
-
-Thence to 14. except that the 11th at Night there were some few Drops,
-very hot.
-
-14. Extream hot, about 9. _p. m._ a little Shower; the same Night about
-1. a smart Rain for an Hour and half.
-
-15. Hot; toward Night Cloudy and Foggy.
-
-Thence to 19. very hot.
-
-19. Some likelihood of a Tornada, but nothing followed.
-
-20. About 1. _p. m._ a short Shower; about a quarter past 2. another
-not much longer; till Night Cloudy.
-
-Thence to 26. no Rain, but cloudy and somewhat cooler; yet some Days
-extream hot.
-
-26. About 10. _p. m._ a short Shower.
-
-27. About 2. another; the rest clear.
-
-30. About 2. _a. m._ fierce Rain for about ½ Hour.
-
-
-
-
-  _An Account of the _Moorish_ Way of Dressing their Meat (with other
-    Remarks) in _West-Barbary_, from Cape _Spartel_ to Cape _de
-    Geer_. _By Mr._ Jezreel Jones._
-
-
-The _Mauritanian_ or _Barbarian Moor_, when he rises in the Morning,
-washes himself all over, and dresses, then goes to their _Jiama_, or
-Church, says his Prayers, and returns home, where his Wife, Concubine,
-or Slave, hath his Breakfast provided for him, which is sometimes made
-of Barly or Wheat-Gruel; for I have known both. It is made somewhat
-thicker than ours, till it be ropy; they put Origan, and other Herbs,
-powder'd, into it, which for such uses they keep dry'd all the Year;
-some will put a little Pepper, and other Spice. I have often been
-treated with warm Bread, fresh Butter, and Honey, in a Morning, which
-is not seldom used among themselves, an Hour or two after they have
-had Gruel; as also Hasty-Pudding, with Butter, and sometimes Butter
-and Honey, (as the Guests are, and according to the Ability of the
-Entertainers.) Some again give _Cuscusoo_, with Milk, others with
-Flesh, a third with Roots. It is to be observed, when any one hath
-a Guest or Guests in his House, the Neighbours bring their Dish to
-welcome him or them, on account of the Respect and Love they bear
-to their Neighbour, as well as to shew their Readiness to entertain
-the Stranger. This Practice is found constantly used throughout the
-whole Country among the _Moors_, one towards another, reciprocally.
-And I have as often found the like Civility, as I had occasion to
-take up my Lodging at any Place, where I was acquainted with any
-of the Inhabitants. The _Jews_ likewise shew great Civility to any
-_Christian_, and treat him with what they have, as stew'd or bak'd
-Hens, Capons, hard Eggs, boil'd or roasted, which they press flat with
-Pepper, and Salt, Wine, Brandy, _&c._ They have generally the best
-Bread, and every thing else of the kind that they can get. They put
-Annis, and two or three other sorts of Seeds, in their Bread; one is
-black and angled, tastes almost like Carrot-seeds, and I think I have
-seen these sometimes used in Bread in _Spain_; I know not the Names
-of the other Seeds in _English_, nor any Language but _Arabick_. They
-esteem Honey as a wholsome Breakfast, and the most delicious that which
-is in the Comb, with the young Bees in it, before they come out of
-their Cases, whilst they still look Milk-white, and resemble (being
-taken out) Gentles, such as Fishers use: These I have often eat of, but
-they seem'd insipid to my Palate, and sometimes I found they gave me
-the Heart-burn.
-
-In _Suse_ I had a Bag of Honey brought by a Friend who made a Present
-of it, as being of great Esteem, and such as they present to Men of
-greatest Note among them. This, he told me, I was to eat a little of
-every Morning, to the quantity of a Walnut; it was thick as _Venice_
-Treacle, and full of small Seeds. I used to breakfast on it for several
-Days together, taking the said quantity at a time; it always made me
-sleepy, but I found my self well, and in very good temper of Body after
-it. The Seeds were about the bigness of Mustard, and, according to the
-Description of them to me, and the Effects I found by eating the Honey
-and them, they must be a large sort of Poppy-seed. The Honey was of
-that sort they call in _Suse_, _Izucanee_, or _Origanum_, which (the
-Bees feed on) and these Seeds were mixed with.
-
-_Cuscus_, or _Cusksoo_, is the principal Dish among them, as the _Olla_
-is in _Spain_: This is made of Flower of Wheat, and when that is
-scarce, of Barley, Millet, _Indian_ Corn, _&c._ They shake some Flower
-into an earthen Pan, made on Purpose, which is not glazed, sprinkling
-a little Water on the bottom of the Pan first, and then working it
-with both their open Hands flat, turning them backwards and forwards
-to grain it, 'till they make it much resembling _Sago_, which comes
-from the _East-Indies_. They stew their Flesh keeping their Pots close
-covered, which are made of Earth, put the _Cusksoo_ into an earthen
-Cullender, which they call _Caskass_, B. _vid._ Fig. and this Cullender
-into the Mouth of the Pot, C. that so all the Steam which arises from
-the Meat may be imbibed by the _Cusksoo_, which causes it to swell, and
-make it fit to be eaten: When it is enough, for they love every thing
-thoroughly done, they put this _Cusksoo_ out into the Dish they serve
-it up in, which is somewhat like D. and the _Cusksoo_ being heaped up,
-they make (as it were) a Bed or Place for the Meat to lie in, then they
-put good store of Spice, as Ginger, Pepper, Saffron, _&c._ This Dish
-is set upon a Mat on the Ground, and four Men may easily sit about it,
-tho' I have seen six and more at one Dish; they sit with their Buttocks
-upon the Calves of their Legs, with the bottom of their Feet on the
-Ground. If there are many to eat at this Meal, there are more Dishes.
-This Dish they have in use sometimes at Breakfast, as well as Dinner
-and Supper, but it is commonly used for the two last Meals. They cover
-it with a thing made on purpose, somewhat like E. and it will keep hot
-enough two Hours. At a stately Entertainment they will have a Sheep
-roasted whole, sometimes a half, or a quarter, on a wooden Spit, or
-the most convenient thing they can find. They do not continually keep
-turning it, as we do, but leisurely let one side be almost roasted
-before they turn the other. The Fire is commonly of Wood burnt to
-clear Coal, and made so, that the Heat ascends to the Meat. They baste
-it with Oil, and a little Water and Salt incorporated. They let it
-be thoroughly roasted; then they say, _Bismiillah_, _In the Name of
-God_, after they have washed their Right Hands, and pulling the Meat
-in pieces, they fall to eating. It is to be noted, that they never use
-but their Right Hand in eating, and one holds whilst the other pulls
-it asunder, distributing the pieces to the rest, as he pulls it off.
-They seldom use a Knife, and a Fork is a strange thing among them. They
-are dextrous at this way of carving, and never flinch at the Heat or
-warmth, for that would look mean, and might occasion one more bold to
-take his Office upon him to perform. When they have done, they lick
-their Fingers, and as often as they have a hot Dish, they wash their
-Hands afresh. Then they have _Alfdoush_, or _Virmizzelli_, with some
-Meat on it, stew'd Meat, well spiced, with savoury Broth; which after
-they have eat the Meat, they dip their Bread in the Sauce, or Broth,
-and eat it. They are cleanly in their Cookery, and if a Hair be found
-it is a capital Crime, but a Fly not, because it has Wings, and may get
-in after it passes from the Cook's Charge or Management; to be well and
-strongly season'd is no great Fault; and if one should say it is too
-high of Pepper, they'll reply, it is better to be _Ah_ than _Faugh_;
-alluding to the Differences between a strong, high, or hot, and savoury
-Taste, and an insipid, watry, or unpleasant. _Cubbob_ is small pieces
-of Mutton, with the Caul of a Sheep wrapped on them. Some make good
-_Cubbob_ of the Liver, Lights, and Heart. They Pepper and Salt them,
-and put Sweet Herbs and Saffron into them, and then roast them, and
-when they dish them up, squeeze an Orange or two on them. Thus they use
-commonly in their stew'd Meats, Lemon and Orange for Roast or Fish.
-
-_Elmorosia_ is another: This is pieces of Beef, of Cow or Camel, stew'd
-with Butter, Honey, and Water; some will put _Rob_ of Wine among it;
-they add Saffron, Garlick, or Onions, a little Salt, and when 'tis
-enough, serve it up. They esteem this a delicious Dish, used mostly in
-the Winter, and say it is good against Colds, notwithstanding they say
-Beef is cooler than Mutton. They have a piece of good Housewifery for
-a ready Dish, which is likewise appropriated to the Winter Season; and
-this I will give an Account of before I have done. Then they will treat
-you with Hare stew'd, stew'd and roasted Hens and Partridges: These
-they disjoint, and let stew in Water, and Oil, or Butter, if they are
-not fat enough of themselves. When they are almost enough, they beat
-a couple of Eggs, mix them with the Liquor, with Juice of Lemon or
-Vinegar, which they usually have very good, and serve it up.
-
-Then you may have more baked and roast, and another Dish of stew'd
-Meat, which for its Goodness would be esteem'd among us: They take a
-Leg of Mutton, cut off the fleshy part, leave out the Skin and Sinews.
-This Flesh they mince very fine (with two Knives, one in each Hand)
-by holding them across, which they manage with great Dexterity; they
-also mince some Suet, Parsly, Thime, Mint, _&c._ Then they take Pepper,
-Salt, and Saffron beaten together, and some Nutmeg; all these they add
-to the rest, with about half a handful of Rice; they cut an Onion, of
-the best sort, half through, and take off the first Lay, as not so fit
-for use, unless it be thick. (They that are curious take out the inner
-Skin, saying it is not wholsome, and bad for the Eyes, it being the
-worst thing in an Onion, which otherwise would be the best of Roots.)
-This Lay they fill with forc'd Meat, then the next, and so on, which
-makes them look like so many Onions; some they put up in Vine-leaves
-of the best they can find for their purpose. Whilst this is doing, the
-Bones and Residue of the Leg of Mutton, being in moderate pieces, are
-stewing, with as much Water as will just cover them; then they put on
-their forc'd Meat-Balls a top of the Meat, and a green Bunch of Grapes
-upon them, cover it, and let it boil till thoroughly enough. This I
-think, is one of their best Dishes, which they often use in _Fess_ and
-other Cities. _Pillowe_, or _Piloe_, is a Dish very well known, made
-with Rice boil'd, with a good Hen, Mutton, and Spice, the Flesh and
-Fowl being put on the Rice in a Dish as _Cusksoo_, and so served up.
-
-A Bustard, which they roast and stew, and make an excellent Dish of its
-Guts, I eat of it once; to me it seemed very pleasant and savoury, and
-very grateful to the Stomach. This Bird is fit for their King's Table,
-as likewise the Hedgehog, of which I will give an Account anon. Then
-they have _Ragous_, made with Sparrows, Pidgeons, _&c._
-
-Their Drink is plain Water, or Milk, and sometimes _Rob_ of Wine mixed
-with Water. I was once treated with this by the Bashaw of _Suse_,
-_Abdolmeleck ben Alchotib_, and there was brought to me a great Bowl
-which held above three Quarts; he told me there was not above half a
-Pint of this _Rob_ in it, and the rest was filled up with Water. It was
-very generous and pleasant, and tho' I did not drink a quarter of it,
-yet I found the Strength in half an Hour. This they say is a Remedy
-against Cold likewise, and pretend to take it medicinally; tho' _Rob_
-of Grapes is lawful according to their[20]Law. Under this Pretext, many
-_Fessee_ Merchants, to make _Rob_, or Vinegar, press all the Grapes
-in their Vineyards, put it up in great Jars, under Ground, and keep
-it long, so that it proves excellent Wine. When four or five merry
-Companions, with every one his Mistress, appoint to be merry, they go
-out to their Vineyard or Garden, have Musick, and all or most of these
-Dishes, and there sit and carouse over a great earthen Bowl full of
-Wine, of about four or five Gallons, and so drink round in a Cup that
-will hold almost a Pint, like a large Tea Dish, till there is none
-left; it often happens that they do not part till they have made an end
-of the whole Jar, which seldom is less than a Weeks time. I have known
-some that have been nine Days successively drunk; those that are known
-to drink Wine or Piss standing, their Testimony will not be valid in
-Law.
-
-In a Morning, during this time of Merriment, they are for some savoury
-Bit, _Pickled Fish_, or _Escaveche_, or _Elcholle_. They are great
-Lovers of Fish, and have as great Variety and very good, which they
-fry in _Organ Oil_, stew, roast, and bake, with good store of Spice,
-Onions, Garlick, Cummin, Parsly, and Coriander. The _Escaveche_, or
-fry'd Fish, is cut in thin slices, and put into Vinegar, with the
-aforesaid Spices, adding Saffron, and Pepper, _&c._ It will keep above
-a Month, and this they have commonly, as also pickled Limes, Olives,
-Capers, _&c._ They eat parched _Garavancas_, parched Almonds, and
-Beans, which they parch in a Pan with Water and Salt. These, and other
-things, they have to relish their Glass of Wine, or give them a fresh
-Appetite to drink. They say, to cure the ill Effects of a drunken Bout,
-is, to take a swinging Cup of the same Liquor, which invites them to
-more, and so on.
-
-But I have left some Dishes, by this Digression, to give an Account of
-their extravagant Mirth.
-
-The Hedgehog is a princely Dish among them, and before they kill him
-rub his Back against the Ground, by holding its Feet betwixt two, as
-Men do a Saw that saws Stones, till it has done Squeaking; then they
-cut its Throat, and with a Knife cut off all its Spines and singe it.
-They take out its Guts, stuff the Body with some Rice, sweet Herbs,
-Garavancas, Spice, and Onions; they put some Butter and Garavancas
-into the Water they stew it in, and let it stew in a little Pot, close
-stopped, till it is enough, and it proves an excellent Dish. The
-_Moors_ do not care to kill Lamb, Veal, nor Kid, saying it is a Pity
-to part the Suckling from its Dam. They eat with their boil'd Meat,
-many times Carrots, Turnips of two or three sorts, Cabbage, Beans,
-and Pease, _&c._ which they have plenty, and very good. I have eat of
-Porcupine stewed, which much resembled Camels Flesh in Tast, and that
-is the nearest to Beef of any thing I know.
-
-I come now to give an Account of the _Alcholea_: It is made of Beef,
-Mutton, or Camel's Flesh, but chiefly Beef, which they cut all in long
-slices, salt it well, and let it lie twenty four Hours in the Pickle.
-Then they remove out of those Tubs, or Jars, into others with Water,
-and when it has lain a Night, they take it out, and put it on Ropes in
-the Sun and Air to dry; when it is thoroughly dri'd, and hard, they cut
-it into pieces of two or three Inches long, and throw it into a Pan,
-or Chauldron, which is ready, with boiling Oil and Suet sufficient to
-hold it, where it boils till it be very clear and red, if one cuts it,
-which, taken out, they set to drain: When all is thus done, it stands
-till cool, and Jars are prepared to pot it up in, pouring the Liquor
-they fried it in upon it, and as soon as it is thoroughly cold they
-stop it up close. It will keep two Years, it will be hard, and the
-hardest they look on to be best done. This they dish up cold, sometimes
-fry'd with Eggs and Garlick, sometimes stew'd, and Lemon squeezed on
-it. It is very good any way, either hot or cold.
-
-Before I conclude, I willingly give an Account of their
-Travelling-Provision, _viz._ Bread, Almonds, Raisons, Figs, hard Eggs,
-cold Fowl, _&c._ But what is most used by Travellers, is _Zumeet_,
-_Tumeet_, or Flower of parched Barley for _Limereece_. These are not
-_Arabian_ but _Shilha_ Names, so I believe it is of a longer standing
-than the _Mahometans_ in that Part of _Africk_. They are all three
-made of parched Barley Flower, which they carry in a Leather Satchel.
-_Zumeet_ is the Flower mixed with Honey, Butter, and Spice; _Tumeet_
-is the same Flower done up with _Organ Oil_; and _Limereece_ is only
-mixed with Water, and so drank: This quenches Thirst much better than
-Water alone, satisfies a hungry Appetite, cools and refreshes tired and
-weary'd Spirits, overcoming those ill Effects a hot Sun and fatiguing
-Journey might occasion. This among the Mountaineers of _Suse_ is used
-for their Diet as well at home as on their Journey. All things taken
-in Game, as Hawking, Hunting, and Fowling, are lawful for them to eat,
-if they take it before it be dead, so that they can have time to cut
-its Throat, and say, _Bismiillahe_; or if he is known to be an expert
-Man at the Game, and says those Words before he lets the Hawk take
-its Flight, lets slip the Grey-hound, or fires his Gun, it is lawful;
-all (I say, but Swine's Flesh, and what dies of its self) they have
-Liberty to eat, and may sell it. They tell us there is but one Part
-about the Hog or Swine that is unlawful, which they do not know, and
-are obliged to abstain from the whole; but if they knew it, they would
-let us have but little to our share. They eat Snails boil'd with Salt,
-and praise their Wholesomeness. Fish of all sorts, are lawful. In
-_Taffilet_ and _Dra_ most of their Food is Dates, there are ten or a
-dozen sorts. They have good Capons all the Country over; no Turkeys,
-Ducks, nor Geese but wild, and those they have of two sorts; Duck,
-Teal, and Mallard, Curlews, Plovers, Snipes, Ox-birds, Pipers, a sort
-of a black Crow, with a bald Pate, and long crooked Bill, is good
-Meat, and a hundred other sort of Fowl. I have eat Antelope, which we
-have kill'd in hunting, and are very good Food. They are as large as
-a Goat, of a Chestnut Colour, and white under the Belly; their Horns
-are almost quite streight from their Head up, tapering gradually, with
-Rings at a distance from one another, till within an Inch and a half of
-the top; fine large black Eyes, long and slender Neck, Feet, Legs, and
-Body, shaped somewhat like a Deer; they have two Cavities between their
-Legs, I think the Male as well as the Female. I have sent of these
-Antelopes alive to _England_. There are many in a Herd, when at the
-same time they have Scouts, or those who by running give 'em notice of
-an approaching Foe. When two lie down together, they lay themselves so,
-that their Backs are towards each other, and the Head of one towards
-the Tail of the other, that they may see every way. Their Dung is sweet
-and pleasant enough. They are taken sometimes by the Hawk, sometimes by
-the Shot; for they are too swift for a Grey-hound. Partridges in _Sus_
-commonly roost on Trees; there are so many Foxes which would otherwise
-destroy them.
-
-And here I should make mention of another Dish: The _Moors_ will eat
-Fox, if it be Fat, either stewed or roasted, but they do not care for
-it lean, which has occasioned a Proverb among them on that Account, to
-wit, _Hellel deeb, harom deeb_; alluding to the Scruple might be made
-of its lawfulness. Those Words signifie, a Fox is lawful, and a Fox is
-unlawful; _i. e._ Fat, Lawful; Lean, Unlawful.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Sidenote: Lat. 30, or thereabouts.]
-
-Fruits and Sweat-Meats they have of many kinds, as of three or four
-sorts of Pumpkins, Macaroons, Almonds prepared many ways, Raisins,
-Dates, Figs dry and green, excellent Melons of two or three sorts,
-and Water-Melons, Pomegranates of several kinds, Apples, Pears,
-Apricocks, Peaches, Mulberries white and black, Plumbs, and Damascens,
-Cherries,[21]Grapes of many kinds, and very good, and if they would
-assist Nature, they might have every thing in Perfection.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Their Salating is Lettuce, Endive, Carduus, Parsley, Apium, and other
-sweet Herbs, Onions, Cucumbers of several kinds, some about a Yard in
-length, and two or three Inches thick, and hairy, (this is esteemed
-the wholesomest) Radishes, _Fumatas_, or Apples of Love, all which
-they will cut, and put Oil, Vinegar, and Salt, with some red Pepper:
-This Salate they eat with Bread. They have a Fruit called _Baraneen_,
-in _Spain_, _Baragenas_; these they stew with their Victuals, and
-sometimes cut them in thin slices, and fry them; it makes a pretty
-Dish. When the _Moors_ have feasted, every one washes his Hands and
-Mouth, thanks God, and blesses the Hosts and Entertainers from whom
-they had it; they talk a little, or tell some Story, and then lie down
-to rest, where I shall leave them at present, and do beg your Pardon
-for so tiresome and frivolous a Discourse.
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[20] _Alcoran._
-
-[21] Grapes in _Messina_ I have known as big as a Pigeon's Egg; but
-they do not make Wine.
-
-
-
-
-  _A Letter from Mr. _John Monro_ to the Publisher, concerning the
-    Catacombs of _Rome_ and _Naples_._
-
-
-  _SIR,_
-
-The Catacombs are an obscure Argument. I have seen those of _Rome_,
-I have seen those of _Naples_, and as they say there are Catacombs
-in the Neighbourhood of all the great Towns of that part of _Italy_,
-I had been glad to have seen them where-ever they are. They are an
-obscure argument indeed; but perhaps the greatest obscurity about them
-is, that a Matter that has so much exercis'd the Pens of the Moderns,
-shou'd be totally neglected by the Ancients: Neither the name nor the
-thing is found in the latter, whereas among the former, Antiquaries
-and Travellers are full of them. All they into whose way they come,
-think they do nothing if they do not exhaust them before they leave
-them; they take all their dimensions, and measure their height, their
-breadth and their length; they survey all the little Rooms, search
-every hole and corner, Criticize nicely on the quality, and calculate
-the Age of the poor Painting and Inscriptions, and make excursions into
-other Arguments, to find out the end for which they were made. The
-Catacombs are a narrow Gallery dug and carried a vast way under Ground,
-with an infinite number of others going off it on all hands, and an
-infinite number of little Rooms going off the Principal, and them too.
-Those commonly shew'd Strangers are those of _San Sebastiano_, those of
-_San Lorenzo_, those of _San Agnese_, and the others in the Fields a
-little off of _Sant Agnese_. They take their Names from the Churches in
-their Neighbourhood, and seem to divide the circumference of the City
-without the Walls between them, extending their Galleries every where
-under, and a vast way from it, so that all the Ground under, and for
-many Miles about it, is said to be hollow. Now there are two sorts of
-Authors that run into extravagance on this subject; the one will have
-them made by the Primitive Christians, adding, that in the times of
-Persecution they liv'd, held their Assemblies, and laid up the Bodies
-of their Martyrs and Confessors in them. This is the Account that
-prevails at _Rome_, and consequent to it there are Men kept constantly
-at Work in them. As soon as these Labourers discover a Repository,
-with any of the marks of a Saint about it, Intimation is given to the
-Cardinal Treasurer, who immediately sends Men of Probity and Reputation
-to the place, where they find a Palm painted or ingraven, or the Cypher
-XP, which is commonly read _pro Christo_, or a small round projection
-in the side of the Gallery, a little below the Repository; what is
-within it is carried to the Palace. Many of these Projections we have
-seen open, with pieces of the Vials in them; the Glass indeed was
-tinctur'd, and 'tis pretended that in these Vials was conserved the
-Blood of the Martyrs, which was thus laid up nigh their Bodies, towards
-the Head, to distinguish them from those of the others that were not
-called to the Honour of laying down their Lives for the Faith of the
-Gospel. After the Labourers have survey'd a Gallery, they do up the
-entry that leads into it; thus most of them are shut; nor are more left
-open than what is necessary to keep up the Trade of shewing them to
-Strangers, which they say is done to prevent what has often happen'd,
-I mean Peoples losing themselves in these subterraneous Labyrinths; by
-this conduct depriving us of the means of knowing whither and how far
-they were carried. To this it may be justly excepted, that allowing the
-Catacombs to be proper for the end for which they are presum'd to be
-made, and that the Christians of that Age were in a capacity of making
-that convenience, for themselves to live and assemble in below Ground,
-at a time when 'twas so very unsafe to appear above it; yet to suppose
-that a work of that Vastness and Importance cou'd be carried on without
-the knowledge of the Government, is to suppose the Government asleep,
-and that that was actually done under its Nose, that must necessarily
-have alarm'd it, had it been attempted on the frontiers of the Empire.
-
-The other sort of Authors give indeed a mighty Idea of the Catacombs,
-represent them as a work of that Vastness, that the Christians in the
-persecuting times had not number enough to carry it on; but then most
-unadvisedly with the same breath they confound them with the _Puticuli
-in Festus Pompeius_, where, at the same time that the Ancient _Romans_
-us'd to burn the Bodies of their dead, the custom was, to avoid
-expence, to throw those of the Slaves to rot.
-
-This is not all, the _Roman_ Christians, say they, observing at length
-the great veneration that certain Places gain'd by the presence
-of Relicts, resolv'd to provide a stock for themselves; entring
-therefore the Catacombs, they made in some of them what Cyphers, what
-Inscriptions, what Painting they thought fit, and then shut them up;
-intending to open them again upon a Dream, or some other important
-incident. The few that were in the secret of this Artifice either
-dying, or as the Monks, who were the only Men that seem to have had
-Heads adapted to a thought of this quality, were subject to so many
-removes, being transported to other Places, the contrivance came to be
-forgot, and those Galleries continu'd shut, till Chance, the Parent
-often of great discoveries, open'd them at last. Thus they conclude,
-the Remains of the vilest part of Mankind are trump'd up in the Church
-for the Bodies of the most eminent Confessors and Martyrs.
-
-To leave the latter part of this Tale to shift for it self as well
-as it can, either the Catacombs are not that great work they are
-represented to be, nor to be found every where about the City, or
-'twas very improper in _Festus Pompeius_ to call them by the little
-name of _Puticuli_, and so confine them to one place only, that I mean
-unknown now without the _Esquilin_-Gate. Indeed the Characters of the
-Places are so very unlike, that one wou'd wonder how a common Burying
-place, where in holes Bodies were thrown together to rot, came to be
-confounded with Repositories cut in the face of a long Gallery, one
-over another, sometimes to the number of seven, in which Bodies were
-singly laid, and handsomly done up again, so that nothing cou'd offend
-the view of those that went in, especially with the little Rooms of
-the fashion of Chappels, that have all the Appearances of being the
-Sepulchers of People of distinction.
-
-The Remark, _Puticulos Antiquissimum sepulturæ genus appellatos, quod
-ibi in puteis sepirentur homines_, is that of an Etymologist, that
-would be now thought to speak against all the property of Language,
-if he apply'd the name to our Graves or Vaults, to which it may with
-more Justice and Reason be apply'd, than to the Galleries of the
-Catacombs, and the Rooms that go off them. What the particulars were
-is not difficult to define, after what we have seen so often. When the
-Persecutors spilt the Blood of so many Martyrs, they us'd to dig holes
-perpendicularly in the Ground, and to throw their Bodies promiscuously
-in them; of this the Memory is still conserv'd, Churches being built in
-the Places where the holes were made, and little Monuments erected over
-the holes themselves, to which the name of _Putei_ is continued to this
-day.
-
-This is the true notion of the _Puticuli_, holes dug perpendicularly
-in the Ground to throw Bodies indifferently and without any decency
-in; and according to the Argument this ought to be the conduct of the
-Ancient _Romans_, with Respect to their Slaves, as implying simplicity
-and the care to avoid a greater expence; but then what's all this
-to the Galleries and Chambers of the Catacombs, where decency and
-distinction of quality is nicely observ'd; and that, if they were
-look'd after, and kept in better repair, would be without dispute the
-noblest Burying-place this Day in the World? As often as they fall
-under my consideration, I cannot forbear thinking they were made for
-this end by the Ancient _Romans_, and made in consequence of these two
-Ancient opinions, that the shadows hate the light, and love to hover
-about the place where the Bodies are laid, they appear so easie and
-decent a resting-place for the one, without the least fear of being
-ever disturb'd, and at the same time there is provided a noble and a
-vast convenience full of variety for the others, to space themselves
-freely and with pleasure in.
-
-I think 'twill not be denied, that laying up the Bodies in Caves
-was the original way of disposing of the dead; this was that of the
-_Phænicians_, and as they were the Men that with their Colonies peopled
-the Western parts of the World, 'tis more than probable they carried
-it along with them whither soever they went. Afterwards, as Men grew
-great and powerful, they erected noble and magnificent Monuments
-for themselves above ground; at length others of inferior degree
-imitated them, all leaving room enough and excluding the light: But
-then interring as we do now in the open Air, or in Temples, was never
-the manner till Christianity brought it in. Of the whole we have many
-Instances, and _Il Signior Abbate Bencini_, Bibliothecary of the
-_Propaganda_, a Gentleman of good Ancient Learning, assured me in the
-conversation I had with him on this Argument, that on the great Roads
-in most parts of _Italy_ little Catacombs have been and are still
-found under ground, and that 'twas the Custom to build little Houses
-over them. This, and the testimony of the Labourers whom I consulted
-on the matter, made me abandon an opinion of which I was once fond,
-that the Catacombs are of the Nature of our Gravel-pits, as old as the
-City itself, and yet out of them was taken the _Puzzolana_, the famous
-Ingredient in the _Roman_ Mortar. The same learned Gentleman added,
-relating to the marks of a Martyr, that they don't conclude much;
-that the so fam'd Cypher XP was in use among the Ancients long before
-Christianity begun: And when I ask'd him what the meaning of it might
-be among them? return'd, that 'twas compos'd of the two _Greek_ Letters
-Χ Ρ, under which something mystical was comprehended, but that he met
-with no Author that gave account what the mystery was.
-
-Thus, after a multitude of thoughts about the Catacombs, I'm forced to
-take up with this; so natural it is, arising from the sole Theory of
-the Place, and falls in so oppositely with the Religion and Practice
-of the Ancients, among whom the _Dii Manes_ were the Tutelary Gods of
-the Country, and _D. M._ at the head of an Inscription, argues the
-Moles, the Sepulchre, the Monument, _&c._ was in the primary intention
-made for and dedicated to the Soul. Upon the same Maxims, in Foreign
-expeditions, when a Hero died or was kill'd, as the Body was liable
-to a quick corruption, and for that Reason unfit to be transported
-entire, they fell on the expedient of Burning, in order to bring home
-the Ashes, to oblige the _Manes_ to follow, that so the Country might
-not be deprived of the Benefit of its tutelage. This I humbly conceive
-was the Original of Burning, which by Degrees became more and more
-universal, till at last the Pomp and Magnificence of it reconcil'd it
-to all that were able to go to the length of the expence.
-
-As for the prejudice of the Silence of the Ancient Authors in this
-matter, 'tis easily removed, and to be regretted at the same time
-that the Authors of all Ages, too much neglect the customs of their
-own time. Writing for the satisfaction of their Cotemporaries, they
-think it impertinent to Trouble them with the Account of what they see
-Transacted every Day. By this means the Ancient Customs, with the Time,
-and Reasons of their disuse, are lost with Respect to us, and ours with
-the same Circumstances may come to be so with relation to Posterity.
-As the Authors are pleas'd to adopt them for their Children, one wou'd
-wonder greater care is not taken not to entail visible occasions of
-complaint on them; nay, one wou'd wonder more, to see these Gentlemen
-so little ambitious of a future reputation, when they may infallibly
-assure it themselves, without resigning the present, by transmitting
-the knowledge of things, the knowledge of which may in a small series
-of Years become otherwise irretrievable; they cannot but observe every
-Day what esteem is placed on those Authors, to whom we are forced to
-go, to find in them what cannot be found elsewhere, to compare with the
-others, in whom nothing is to be found, but what Men of Reason are able
-to find at home.
-
-Upon the whole, the Catacombs I humbly conceive were the Burying-places
-of the Ancient _Romans_; at length the manner of Burning, which they
-received from the _Græcians_, coming by degrees to prevail universally,
-they fell under a total neglect. This is the State in which the
-Primitive Christians must be suppos'd to have found them; 'tis not
-to be imagin'd they could have made any use of them, at a time when
-'twas the daily practice to lay up even the depositions of the Slaves
-in them; so that either the Christians made no use of them at all,
-or they never were the burying Place of the Slaves. Now as these are
-Suppositions that naturally destroy one another, one would count it
-more safe to follow the faint light of a glimmering tradition, than
-abandon ones self to the Conduct of an _Ignis fatuus_, that for ought
-a Man knows is actually misleading him, so I beg leave to call the
-Testimony of _Festus Pompeius_, that may rather be apply'd to any other
-thing than to the Galleries of the Catacombs, carry'd under ground,
-they say 20 Miles from the City in some places, and no Body knows how
-far in others, and to that vast number of Chambers that go off them.
-Thus therefore the Christians finding them in a state of neglect laid
-up the Bodies of their Dead in them; and perhaps when the Persecution
-was hot, conceal'd themselves and kept little separate Assemblies in
-their Chambers. At last the Empire turning Christians, they fell again
-in the old state of neglect, in which they continu'd till upon the
-reading of I have forgot what Author that makes mention of them, they
-came to be look'd into and search'd. What I have writ relates to the
-Catacombs of _Rome_, those of _Naples_ are a quite other thing, of
-which _per_ next. I am,
-
-  _Sir_,
-
-                      _Your most humble Servant_,
-
-  Marseilles, Aug. 22.
-          1700.
-
-                                                               J. Monro.
-
-
-
-
-  _An accurate Description of the _Lake of Geneva_, not long since
-    made by a Person that had visited it divers times in the
-    pleasantest season of the Year; and communicated to the Publisher
-    by one of his Parisian Correspondents: English'd as followeth._
-
-
-You have reason, _Sir_, to demand of me an Account of the _Lake of
-Geneva_, which, in my opinion, about this Season of the Year (in
-_June_) is one of the most pleasant Places of the World. This is the
-Third time I have visited it, and I am, if I may say so, more charmed
-with it than the first.
-
-I shall say nothing of the _Alpes_, nor of mount _Jura_, which do
-environ it, which by this Lake as by a large Ditch, are separated
-from one another: For that would not give you a sufficiently fair
-_Idea_ of the Country. Be pleased therefore to represent unto your
-self a Croissant of Water, one extremity whereof is Eighteen Leagues
-distant from the other, and the Banks of which are gently raised to
-some heights, then to collines, and at length to stupendous Mountains;
-which yet are not so linked to one another but that they leave betwixt
-them interstices of Fifteen or Twenty Leagues prospects, checkered by
-Meadows, Corn-Fields, Orchards, Vines, Forrests of Fir-Trees, Snow
-lying on the sides of the Rocks. All these Objects, which at a distance
-are confounded, and seem to make but one, have near hand their several
-Beauties: So well is the Country intersected by Rivulets, which, after
-they have served to make Iron, Paper, &c.; run into the Lake, carrying
-with them very many Fountains.
-
-But leaving these Things, I shall now content my self to entertain your
-Curiosity by giving you a candid Relation of what I have there observed
-in the space of Four Months.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Although I have told you, that this Lake hath the figure of a
-_Croissant_, yet that point, where is _Geneva_, is somewhat longer and
-more extended than the other. This Croissant where 'tis largest, which
-is from _Morges_ to _Thonon_, is about Five good Leagues over. That
-which hinders from making an exact estimate of its Largeness in other
-places, is, that the Winds by driving the Water toward the Banks have
-made certain points, which advance far into the Lake, in such sort
-that when one happens to be opposite to the other, the Lake seems to
-be narrow: As may be observed in going from _Geneva_ to _Nion_, where
-it seems as if the _Pharus_ or watch Tower of _Prangin_, which is in
-_Suisse_, did almost touch _Savoy_; whereas yet one is a League distant
-from the other. And, what is remarkable, is, that at the coming out
-of this Streight, the Lake hath there almost its greatest breadth and
-depth.
-
-The Water of this Lake is very good to drink, and ever so limpid, that
-even in the rolling of the Waves, which sometimes go high enough, the
-Water is not troubled but along the Banks. And if one do attentively
-look down from the Castle of _Chilon_ or from any of the neighbouring
-heights into the bottom of the Lake, he may see high Mountains under
-the Water. And the Water is so Deep before _Veuvay_, that the sounding
-Line at the end of four hundred Fathoms seems, because it will not
-stay, to Touch upon something slippery. 'Tis held to be 500 Fathoms
-deep before _Roole_; and 'tis affirm'd, that near this great Depth
-there may be seen a kind of _Isle_ under Water.
-
-The _Rhone_ enters at one of the Points of the Croissant into the Lake,
-and issueth out at the other; but with this Difference, that whereas
-he comes in Dirty and Miry, he ever goes out so Pure and Clear, that
-under the Bridge of _Geneva_, where the Water is deep twenty five Feet
-in Summer, you may well discern the smallest Stones at the bottom. And
-the same Water, which in this Place appears of a Saphyring Blew in the
-shade of the Houses, appears altogether Green, nor is so Transparent,
-when the Sun shines on it.
-
-There is a great diversity of Opinions as to the _Current_ of the
-_Rhone_ in the Lake; some maintaining, that it may be discerned, others
-denying it. Having heard the Sentiments of the Curious of _Lausanne_
-and _Geneva_, and the Opinions of the most knowing Fishermen that are
-there in great Number, and especially at _Coupet_, I believe with the
-latter; that, although the _Rhone_ entring into the Lake loseth its
-Violence, yet doth he still keep some sensible Motion in some places,
-and every were observable, and that no Trouts are taken any were in
-this Lake, but in this Current of the _Rhone_; which is what these
-Fishermen call, to go and Fish _sur le mont_.
-
-Others there are, that go further and say, that one may every where
-distinguish the Water of the Lake from that of the _Rhone_: But the
-Fishermen will not allow this, but assert, that there is no other Mark
-than those lately alledged, _viz._ of the Trouts, and the Current;
-and that the latter of these is alone sufficient, in calm Weather, to
-observe the Current of the _Rhone_ from the place of his entring the
-Lake unto that of his going out.
-
-The Water of this Lake commonly begins to Increase about the end of
-_January_, or the beginning of _February_, and continues to do so unto
-the twentieth of _July_, and often unto the very Month of _August_; and
-then it insensibly decreaseth, so that the Water is less high in Winter
-than Summer by twelve or fifteen Feet; the Frosts draining the Springs,
-or rather Freezing the Waters that issue out of them.
-
-About this Increase of the Water there are also different Opinions.
-'Tis true, they all believe in general, that the principal cause of
-the Increase of the Water is the melting of the Snow, and of the
-Mountainous Ice, that is in the Winter form'd of the Waters of the
-Springs and Torrents, which the Frost fixeth. This is so true, that
-when there is much Snow in Winter, the Waters are very high the ensuing
-Summer. But when great Rains chance to fall in _January_, then the
-Snow, not yet being well hardened, melteth on a sudden altogether.
-And when this melting is not so violent, all the Snow that will melt,
-melts at the end of _May_ or at the beginning of _June_; so that, there
-remaining but the stock of Ice for entertaining the Increase of the
-Water unto the Month of _August_, some have thence been induced to say,
-that this Increase, which amounts, as has been said, to 15 Feet Water
-generally all over the Lake, is caused by the Herbs, growing, as they
-pretend, at its bottom in great abundance; and that these Herbs, whilst
-growing, do force the Water upwards, and dying in Autumn make the Water
-to sink lower. Which is not satisfactory to me, because there are no
-Herbs seen upon the Lake, and very little within it, and the Banks
-being very dry.
-
-Others there are, that will have this Water rarified by the Heat of the
-Sun, and thereupon swell'd on the Borders, hot Water not being so high
-in the middle as cold.
-
-This is certain, that all the Rivers and Torrents, that fall into this
-Lake, carry with them store of Stones and Earth, which may indeed
-enlarge and raise it: But such an augmentation or rise cannot be
-sensible but from Age to Age; not to mention, that in Winter, whilst
-the Water is low, the Stones of the Lakes are carried away for building
-or fortifying at _Geneva_.
-
-At the issuing out of the Barres, that form _Geneva_, on the side of
-the Lake, are seen in the Water two or three huge Flints, standing out
-of the Water; the chief of which they call _Niton_: And the Tradition
-is, that it formerly was an Altar consecrated to _Neptune_; there being
-also a place cut out in the middle, which they take to have been the
-place for the Sacrifice. On this Flint seven or eight Persons can sit;
-and sometimes, when the Waters are very low, there are found about it
-Knives, and Needles as thick as Bodkins of tweeses, and much longer;
-both of Brass, well enough made, and esteemed to have served for the
-Sacrifices.
-
-This Lake in serene and calm Weather appears sometimes, and that even
-before Sun-rising, as if it were made of divers pieces, differently
-coloured; part of it being Browner than the rest, which seems to be
-caused by a Breath of Wind passing thorough the Water, coming either
-from the bottom of the Lake, or from above; tho' others think this
-gentle agitation to proceed from some Springs that are at the bottom,
-making the Water shiver above. But that part of the Water, that is not
-moved, appears as even and smooth as a Looking-Glass, or like Water
-traced by a Ship. And as for the Colours, they are, in my Opinion, an
-effect of the neighbouring Mountains, the different Images of which,
-being confounded in the Water, make an appearance of very pale Colours.
-
-After that the _Rhone_ is entred into the Lake, he retakes not his
-impetuous course before a quarter of a Mile's distance from its coming
-forth again, that is, above _Geneva_. And the nearer he comes to that
-Town, the more his Bed becomes narrow, and consequently his course
-more Rapid. Yet this Rapidness hath been in our times once surmounted
-by Wind, and once by Water. To understand which, you may imagine, that
-in _Geneva_ there is a streak of Land about an hundred Fathoms long,
-which divides the _Rhone_ into two parts, passing under four Bridges,
-then covered with Houses. From the Point of this Isle unto several
-ranks of Stakes on that side of the Town, there are about a Thousand
-common Paces. This whole space of Water, which makes the figure of an
-V (whereof the Isle is the Point, and the Town forms the sides, and
-the Stakes the empty place of the end) hath been once laid dry by a
-violent Wind, after this manner. One Day in the Winter of the Year
-1645. there arose in the Morning about 9 a clock so furious a Wind,
-that not only it uncovered the Houses, but also laid dry the Bed of the
-_Rhone_ above the Bridges, so that many, in the view of all the Town
-crossed quite over it dry-foot, and one of the Sons of M. _D. Aubigny_
-took up some Medals, which he found in his way. This passage was free
-during an Hours time; at the end of which the River retook its course.
-At that Season the Water being very low, and a West-Wind, to arrive at
-_Geneva_, being pressed by the high Mountains that bring it upon the
-Town as by the nose of a pair of Bellows; it came to pass, that that
-Wind did violently bear upon the Water near the said Bars keeping
-suspended the Water that was beyond, and those Waters, that were
-beneath, running away downwards by a declivity, and under the shelter
-of the Houses. Whilst I was scrupling at this Relation, they brought
-me _Gallasius_ his Commentary upon _Exodus_, Printed 1560. where 'tis
-recorded, that the like accident had fallen out at _Geneva_ at the
-time when that Minister lived there, a South West Wind having made
-the _Rhone_ to recoil into the Lake, and many People having thereupon
-passed over dry for an Hours time.
-
-Concerning the other Accident; you may remember, that the River _Arve_,
-which is a kind of Torrent falls into the _Rhone_, about a 1000 Paces
-beneath _Geneva_. In the Month of _December_ in the Year 1652. the said
-_Arve_ did so extraordinarily swell, that not only it over-run its
-Banks with impetuosity, but also interrupted the course of the _Rhone_,
-and forc'd it to re-enter into the Lake for the space of fourteen
-hours; though some do esteem, that the _Arve_ dis-gorged it self for
-that time into the Lake, by passing _over_ the Water of the _Rhone_,
-which, in their Opinion, continued his course under the Water of the
-_Arve_. However the Water was seen at _Geneva_ to re-enter into the
-Lake.
-
-But to conclude, this Lake doth very much abound in Fish; but that
-which is observable is, that those Fishes have as 'twere cantonized
-themselves, and divided the Lake among them. The _Trouts_ are not to
-be found there, but, as hath been already mentioned, in the Current of
-the _Rhone_: The _Carps_ have taken up their quarter towards _Veuvay_:
-The _Pikes_ and _Pearches_ have also their Habitations apart. But some
-other Fish, that are but Passengers, not living constantly in the Lake,
-spread themselves almost every where indifferently.
-
-The great Trouts pass out of the Lake for four Months of the Summer,
-and are taken in Autumn when they are returning thither. The Fishing
-is farmed out at _Geneva_; and there are Conservatories where many of
-those big Trouts are kept, among which there are some that weigh fifty
-pounds. Sometimes they catch Pikes there of eighty pounds weight; and a
-pound weight at _Geneva_ you know to be eighteen Ounces.
-
-In the Months of _July_ and _August_ they fish there for the Fry of
-Pearches, at a time when they are no bigger than the smallest Taggs.
-These are a very delicious Dish, there called _Mille Cantons_.
-
-I shall add no more than put you in mind of that Duke of _Savoy_, who
-renounced his Crown and the Pontificat it self, to pass deliciously the
-rest of his Days at _Ripialles_, where he made so good cheer to all
-that visited him, that to express a very merry Entertainment, they say
-still, _faire Ripialles_.
-
-
-
-
-  _Part of a Journal kept from _Scotland_ to _New Caledonia_ in
-    _Darien_, with a short Account of that Country. Communicated by
-    Dr. _Wallace_, F. R. S._
-
-
-_September 2._ we weighed at _Maderas_, and were under the Tropic of
-_Cancer_ by the 10th of the Month, at which time the usual Ceremony
-of Ducking from the Yards-arm was performed on those that could not
-pay their Tropick Bottle. All this time we had a brisk and constant
-Trade-wind, which lasted three days more, but afterwards we had it more
-variable than is usual in that place of the Sea.
-
-The 28th we made _Deseada_, a small high Island, about a league in
-length and as much in breadth; it is full of Trees, but whether it
-affords Water or not I know not. It is uninhabited. Next morning we
-were betwixt _Antego_ and _Montserat_, belonging to the _English_,
-both pretty large and mountainous. _Antego_ is Peopled with _English_
-for the most part, and _Montserat_ by a mixture of _English_ and
-_Irish_. Their Product is Sugar and Tobacco. We were in the afternoon
-close by _Redonda_, a small Rock about a mile long, inhabited only by
-Noddies and Boobies. When we were some leagues from _Redonda_, we
-saw at the same time _Antego_, _Montserat_, _Redonda_, _Nevis_, _St.
-Christophers_, and _Statia_. We sailed close by _Nevis_, it bearing
-North of us; it is a small well Peopled Island, its Product is Sugar.
-They twisted the Flag at the Harbour, and we shew'd them the Company's
-Colours. _St. Christophers_ is a large Island, ill Peopled, belongs
-half to the _English_, half to the _French_. Night parted us from
-these Islands, and next day, which was the 30th, we came in sight of
-_Santa Cruz_, belonging to the _Spaniards_. When we were within four
-leagues they held a Council. The _Unicorn_ and _Snow_ were sent to St.
-_Thomas_, a small Island belonging to the _Danes_; it is a free Port,
-and they say is well fortified. We went on to the Southward of the
-Island, and next Day, being _October 1._ we were about 12 a clock past
-the S. W. corner. It is very level towards the South. That Night we got
-a sight of _Crab Island_, and next Day
-
-_October 2._ we came into it, and sent some of our People ashore, and
-took possession of it in the Companies name. _October_ the 4th we stood
-to the Leeward, hearing there was a Harbour there; when we came we
-saw the _Danes_ Colours flying on the Shore, for the Governour of St.
-_Thomas_ had sent 14 Men and a Captain to take possession of it in the
-King of _Denmark_'s name. Our Councellors sent to know his Business
-there, and he told them this, but we found that we had taken possession
-of the Place before they came from St. _Thomas_. They gave in their
-Protest, yet seem'd to be glad enough of our Neighbourhood. We had
-notwithstanding our Flag upon the Shore all the while we stay'd, with
-100 Men, and Captain _Melean_ Governour; they stayed till we were gone,
-but would certainly March next Day, otherwise the _Spaniards_ of _Porto
-Rico_ would not miss to take them off.
-
-The 6th, Captain _Pinkerton_ and the _Snow_ came in from St. _Thomas_,
-with old Captain _Alison_ along with them for a Pilot. On the 8th we
-left this place, and on the 17th made _Nostra Signiora della Popa_,
-we lay aside there along the Coast, until the 3d Day of _November_,
-generally losing by Night what we had gain'd all Day.
-
-_Crab Island_ is about 6 Leagues long, and in some places 5 broad,
-the Soil is very good. It's all full of Trees; all the South side is
-full of Bays, very fit for anchoring in, but the best of all is to the
-Leeward, where the _Dane_ hoised his Colours. It would have been worth
-our while to possess it, had we not been a coming to a better Country.
-It has this Inconvenience, that nothing but strength of Men, or Peace
-with every Body, can render it secure. It is called _Crab Island_, from
-the multitude of Land-Crabs there.
-
-_November 3._ We anchored before _Golden Island_, and sent in our
-Pinnace to the Bay. The Natives had hoised a White Flag in sign of
-Peace, and told us a great many Stories of Captain _Swan_, Captain
-_Davies_, and others, for they took us for _English_, by reason of our
-red Fly; but we took no notice of the Men they nam'd. At last they
-ask'd us our Business? we told them we designed to settle among them,
-and to be their Friends. They told us we were very welcome, and that
-by prediction they had expected us these two Years; for they say that
-two Years ago it was foretold them that a People should come and live
-among them, that would treat them civilly, and teach them good manners.
-We conversed some time with them, and after viewing the Harbour came
-aboard.
-
-The 4th we came into the great Harbour of _Caledonia_: It is a most
-excellent one, for it is about a League in length from N. W. to S. E.
-It is about half a Mile broad at the Mouth, and in some places a Mile
-and more farther in. It is large enough to contain 500 sail of Ships.
-The greatest part of it is Land-lock'd, so that it is safe, and cannot
-be toucht by any Wind that can blow the Harbour, and the Sea makes
-the Land that lies betwixt them a Peninsula. There is a Point of the
-Peninsula at the Mouth of the Harbour, that may be fortified against
-a Navy. This Point secures the Harbour, so that no Ship can enter but
-must be within reach of their Guns. It likewise defends half of the
-Peninsula, for no Guns from the other side of the Harbour can touch it,
-and no Ship carrying Guns dare enter for the Breast-work at the Point.
-The other side of the Peninsula is either a Precipice, or defended
-against Ships by Shoals and Breaches, so that there remains only the
-narrow Neck that is not naturally fortify'd; and if 30 Leagues of a
-Wilderness will not do that, it may be artificially fortified 20 ways.
-In short, it may be made impregnable, and there is Bounds enough within
-it, if it were all cultivated, to afford 10000 Hogsheads of Sugar
-every Year. The Soil is rich, the Air good and temperate, the Water is
-sweet, and every thing contributes to make it healthful and convenient.
-The Product of this Place, I mean in the Harbour and Creeks hereabouts,
-is Turtle, Manatee, and a vast variety of very good small Fish, from
-the bigness of a Salmon to that of a Perch. The Land affords Monkeys of
-different sorts, Wild-Deer, _Indian_ Rabbit, Wild Hog, Parrots of many
-kinds, Parakites, Macaws, Pelicans, and a hundred more Birds we have
-got no name to. There are moreover Land-Crabs, Souldiers, Land-Turtle,
-Lizards, Guanha's, Cock-Lizards, and Scorpions: I had almost forgot
-Partridges, Pheasants, and a kind of Turkey. All the Birds in this
-Country are beautiful, but none of them that I could observe have any
-Notes. We have a Monkey aboard that chirms like a Lark, it will never
-be bigger than a Rat. This Place affords legions of monstrous Plants,
-enough to confound all the Methods of Botany ever hitherto thought
-upon. However, I found a shift to make some Specimens, and that is all
-I can do. I say some Specimens, because if I should gather all, 'twould
-be enough to load the St. _Andrew_, for some of their Leaves exceed
-three Ells in length, and are very broad; besides these Monsters,
-reducible to no Tribe, there are here a great many of the _European_
-kindred, (but still something odd about them) as _Lingua Cervina_ of
-different kinds, _Filix_ of different kinds, _Polypodium_, several
-of the _Plantæ Papilonaceæ_, _Musci_, _Fungi_, _Convolvuli_, and a
-great many more I cannot now remember. Now come we to their People.
-The Men are generally very Civil and Sagacious, have all of them good
-Faces, are of low stature, but very well built; they are of a Copper
-Colour, and have black Hair; they us'd to go naked, but are now as well
-Cloath'd as our selves; they wear a Plate of Gold in their Nose, and a
-great many rows of Beads about their Neck and Wrists. They cover their
-Yard with a piece of Bark, or sometimes Silver, of the very shape and
-bigness of that Paper-case we use to put a dose of Pills in; they seem
-to be very ill furnish'd, for I never saw any of them have it half an
-Inch long, yet no doubt it's longer, but I fancy they sheath it up,
-as Dogs and Horses do. The Women are generally the most pitiful like
-things that ever Man saw; their Habit differs from the Men, for they
-ordinarily wear a Ring in their Nose; they have Petticoats and a Veil
-over their Face. They are under no formal Government, but every Captain
-commands his own River, Bay or Island, where he lives; the greatest
-of them all is one Captain _Ambrosio_, he commands particularly the
-Country about the _Samballoes_ Point, but when he pleases he can Levy
-all the Men betwixt that and the Gulf about 20 Leagues. There is
-another Captain _Pedro_, that lives in the House with _Ambrosio_, and
-is his Nephew and Son in Law; there is a 3d Captain _Andreas_ that
-commands the River _Das armas_; a 4th Captain _Brandy_, that commands
-about the _Golden Island_; a 5th Captain _Andreas_, that commands the
-Country adjoining to our Settlement; and a 6th Captain _Pedro_ his
-Consort; a 7th Captain _Pacigo_, who commands at _Carret Bay_, and
-Captain _Diego_ that commands the Gulph. _Ambrosio_ seems to be the
-greatest, and _Diego_ next, both old Men; they are all very much our
-Friends, and fond of us. All have been frequently here except Captain
-_Diego_ who is Goutish. Some of these Captains wear the _Scots_ Flag in
-their Canoa's. There is no such thing as a King or Emperor of _Darien_,
-nor, so far as we can gather from all the chief Men hereabout, has
-been these 40 or 50 Years: The old Men remember such a Man, they say
-he was a Tyrant, would take as many Wives as he pleased, and allow
-them but one, and therefore they cut him off. This derogates much from
-the reputation of the _History of the Buccaneers_. If there were such
-a Man, he has been an _Indian_ made Emperor by themselves, I mean by
-the _Buccaneers_. This Country certainly affords Gold enough, for
-besides that the Natives constantly assure us, that they know several
-Gold Mines on this side; besides that, I say, the Plates they wear in
-their Noses, and the quantity of Gold that is among them, is enough
-to perswade any Man of the truth of it. There was one Night aboard
-here some _Indians_ that had a hundred Ounces of Gold about them.
-We are certainly much bound to Providence in this affair; for as we
-were searching for the place we were directed to, we found this, and
-though the Privateers had been so often at _Golden Island_, and though
-_English_, _Dutch_ and _French_ had been all over this Coast, from
-_Portobelo_ to _Cartegena_, yet never one of them made the discovery;
-even the _Spaniards_ themselves never knew of this place. Besides,
-for as great a secret as we thought the Project, it was known all the
-_West Indies_ over, and yet it was not in their power to crush it. At
-_Madera_ they seem'd to know it, at St. _Thomas_ I'm sure they knew
-it; at _Portobelo_ their Intelligence was so good, that they knew the
-names of all our Councellors and Captains of Ships before we landed,
-and had that particular observation, that there were four _Roberts_
-among them. Our circumstances are in some Respects very good, for we
-have advice by the way of _Portobelo_, that there is a great Rebellion
-in _Mexico_, and Captain _Diego_ and all the _Indians_ about him are
-at present at War with the _Spaniards_. Captain _Ambrosio_ is going
-to his assistance, and that will divert them on that side; but which
-is better than all, that we are now in a posture of defence against
-all the _Spanish_ force in _America_. I have seen already _Dutch_,
-_French_, and _English_ all at the same time in our Harbour, and all
-of them wonder what the rest of the World have been thinking on, when
-we came hither to the best Harbour of _America_, in the best place of
-it. Captain _Long_ came in eight days after, and I believe we were a
-great Eye-sore to him, tho' he said nothing. He commanded the _Rupert
-Prize_, a small _English_ Man of War, fitted out by the King, upon
-what design we know not, but he pretends it was to search for a Silver
-Wreck; he was on this coast a Month before sounding it; and conversing
-with the Natives, he put ashore Men in some places, to take possession
-for the King of _Great Britain_, but none of them within 15 Leagues
-of us. Hearing by the Natives that we were here, he came in with his
-Long-Boat, as he said to see us, but I believe it was only to know the
-certainty of what he feared was too true. He had told all the _Indian_
-Captains that he came only to try their inclinations, and that there
-was a great Fleet coming with a great many People to settle among them,
-and defend them against their enemies, he meant _English_ that were
-to come by his direction; but our Fleet coming within a Month after,
-they all lookt upon us to be the People he spoke of; so that whatever
-Presents he made them before that time, was as much for our Advantage
-as if our selves had given them. He pretends to be a Conjurer, and to
-foretel things; but that was the truest Prophecy ever he spoke, though
-he knew not whom he spoke of.
-
-
-
-
-  _A DISCOURSE tending to prove at what _Time_ and _Place_, _Julius
-    Cesar_ made his first Descent upon _Britain_: Read before the
-    _Royal Society_ by _E. Halley_._
-
-
-Though _Chronological_ and _Historical_ Matters, may not seem so
-properly the Subject of these Tracts, yet there having, in one of
-the late Meetings of the _Royal Society_, been some Discourse about
-the Place where _Julius Cesar_ Landed in _Britain_, and it having
-been required of me to shew the Reason why I concluded it to have
-been in the _Downs_; in doing thereof, I have had the good Fortune
-so far to please those worthy Patrons of Learning I have the Honour
-to serve, that they thought fit to command it to be inserted in the
-_Philosophical Transactions_, as an instance of the great Use of
-_Astronomical Computation_ for fixing and ascertaining the Times of
-memorable Actions, when omitted or not duly delivered by the Historian.
-
-1. The Authors that mention this Expedition with any Circumstances,
-are _Cæsar_ in his _Commentaries_ _lib._ 4, and _Dion Cassius_ in
-_lib._ 39; _Livy_'s account being lost, in whose 105_th._ Book might
-possibly have been found the Story more at large. It is certain that
-this Expedition of _Cæsars_, was in the Year of the _Consulate_ of
-_Pompey_ and _Crassus_, which was in the Year of _Rome_ 699. or the
-55_th_ before the usual Æra of Christ: And as to the time of the Year,
-_Cæsar_ says that _Exigua parte æstatis reliqua_, he came over only
-with two Legions, _viz._ the 7_th_ and 10_th_ and all Foot, in about 80
-Sail of Merchant Ships, 18 Sail that were ordered to carry the Horse
-not being able to get out at the same time from another Port, where
-they lay Wind-bound. He says that he arrived about the 4th hour of
-the Day, _viz._ between Nine and Ten in the Morning, on the Coast of
-_Britain_, where he found the Enemy drawn up on the _Cliffs_ ready to
-repel him, which place he thus describes. _Loci hæc erat natura, adeo
-montibus augustis mare continebatur ut ex locis superioribus in littus
-telum adjicit possit_, by which the _Cliffs_ of _Dover_ and the _South
-Foreland_ are justly described, and could be no other Land, being he
-says in the 5_th_ Book of his Commentaries, _in Britanniam trajectum
-esse cognoverit circitur millium passum triginta à continenti_, the
-_Cliffs_ of the _North-Foreland_ being at a much greater distance.
-Here he says he came to an Anchor, and staid till the 9_th_ hour, or
-till about between Three and Four in the Afternoon, expecting till his
-whole Fleet was come up; and in the mean time called a Council of War,
-and advertised his Officers, after what manner they were to make their
-Descent, particularly in relation to the Stuff of the Sea, whose motion
-he calls _celerem atq. instabilem_, quick and uneven. Then, _viz._
-about Three in the Afternoon he weighed Anchor, and having gotten the
-_Wind_ and _Tide_ with him, he Sail'd about Eight Miles from the first
-place, and Anchor'd against an open and plain Shore.
-
-2. Here he made his Descent, and having told us the opposition that
-was made, and the means he used to get on Shore, he comes to say, that
-after he had been _Four Days_ in _Britain_, the 18 Ships with his Horse
-put to Sea, and were come in sight of his Camp, when a suddain Tempest
-arose, with contrary Wind, so that some of the Ships put back again,
-others were driven to the Westwards, not without great danger, and
-coming to Anchor, they found they could not ride it out: so when Night
-came on, they put off to Sea and returned from whence they came. _That
-same Night_ it was _Full-Moon_, which makes the greatest Tides in the
-Ocean, and they being ignorant thereof, their Gallies, which were drawn
-on Shore, were filled by the Tide, _&c._
-
-3. Then he says that the Day of the Autumnal Equinox being at hand,
-after some Days stay, wherein there passed no Action because he kept
-close in his Camp by the shore; and not thinking it proper to stay till
-the Winter came on, he returned into _Gallia_: The next Year he made a
-further Expedition with 5 Legions and a good Body of Horse, but there
-is but little in the History thereof serving to our purpose, excepting
-that he says he set Sail from the _Portus Icius_ about Sun Set, with a
-gentle S. W. Wind, _leni Africo profectus_; that about Midnight it fell
-Calm, and being carried away with the Tide, by the time it was Day, he
-found he had left _Britain_ on the left hand; but then the Tide turning
-they fell to their Oars, and by Noon reached that part of the Island
-where he Landed before, and came on Shore without opposition: and then
-March'd up into the Country, leaving his Ships at Anchor _in littora
-molli & aperto_.
-
-4. This is all in _Cæsar_ that is any thing pertinent, and I find no
-where else any thing to guide us farther, except one passage in _Dion
-Cassius_, who speaking of the first Landing of _Cæsar_, says οὐ μέντοι
-καὶ ᾗ ἔδει προσέσχεν, that is, as I Translate it. But he Landed not
-where he intended, for that the _Britains_ hearing of his coming,
-had possest all usual Places of Landing Ἄκραν οὖν τινὰ προέχουσαν
-περιπλεύσας ἑτέρωσε παρεκομίσθη. Κἀνταῦθα τοὺς προσμίξαντάς οἱ ἐς τὰ
-τενάγη ἀποβαίνοντι νικήσας, ἔφθη τῆς γῆς κρατήσας, in my English.
-Wherefore doubling a certain head Land, he made to the Shore on the
-other side, where he overcame those that Skirmished with him at the
-Waters edg, and so got well on Land. Here I make bold to translate the
-Words ἐς τὰ τενάγη, _at the water edge_, which in _H. Stephens_ Edition
-is interpreted _in paludibus_, but I have the Authority of _Suidas_,
-who says τέναγος, πελαγία ἰλὺς, or the Sea Mud, and is therefore
-properly the Ouse on the Sea Shore, and by an easie Figure may be put
-for the Shore it self, where such Ouse commonly is found.
-
-5. From these _data_, That it was in the Year of the _Consulate_ of
-_Pompey_, and _Crassus_; That it was _Exigua parte æstatis reliqua_,
-and Four Days before a Full-Moon, which fell out in the Night time.
-The time of this Invasion will be determined to a Day: For by the
-Eclipse of the Moon, whereof _Drusus_ made so good use to quiet
-a Mutiny in the _Pannonian_ Army, upon the News of the Death of
-_Augustus_, it follows that _Augustus_ Died _Anno Christi_ 14. which
-was reckoned _Anno Vrbis conditæ_ 767. and that this Action was 68
-Years before, _viz._ in the 55_th_ Year before Christ Current. In which
-Year the Full Moon fell out _August 30._ after Midnight, or 31 in the
-Morning before Day; and the preceeding Full-Moon, was _August 1._ soon
-after Noon; so that this could not be the Full-Moon mentioned, as
-falling in the Day time: nor that in the beginning of _July_, it being
-not 10 Days after the Summer solstice, when it would not have been said
-_exigua parte æstatis reliqua_. It follows therefore that the Full-Moon
-spoken of, was on _August 30._ at Night, and that the Landing on
-_Britain_ was _August 26._ in the Afternoon, about a Month before the
-Autumnal equinox; which agrees to all the Circumstances of the Story in
-point of Time.
-
-6. As to the Place, the high Land and Cliffs described, could be no
-other than those of _Dover_, and are allowed to have been so by all, it
-remains only to examine whether the Descent was made to the Northward
-or Southward of the place where he first Anchored. The _data_ to
-determine this are first that it was Four Days before the Full-Moon.
-2. That that Day by Three of the Clock in the Afternoon the Tide ran
-the same way he Sail'd. 3_dly._ That a S. by E. Moon makes High-Water
-on all that Coast, the Flood coming from the Southward: hence it will
-follow, that that Day it was High-Water there about Eight in the
-Morning, and consequently Low-Water about Two, wherefore by Three the
-Tide of Flood was well made up, and it is plain that _Cæsar_ went with
-it, and the Flood setting to the Northward shews that the open plain
-Shore where he Landed was to the Northward of the Cliffs, and must be
-in the _Downs_; and this I take to be little less than Demonstration.
-A second Argument is drawn from the Wind wherewith he set out on his
-second Expedition, _viz._ S. W. as appears by the Words _leni Africo
-profectus_, with which the Navigation of those times would hardly
-permit a Ship to Sail nearer the Wind than Eight Points, or a N. W.
-Course; which would serve indeed to go into the _Downs_, but would by
-no means fetch the Low-land towards _Dengyness_, which is much about
-West from _Calais_, and not more than W. N. W. from _Boulogne_, if it
-shall be said that that was the _Portus Icius_ from which _Cæsar_ set
-out. Whence I take it to be evident that if _Cæsar_ was not bound more
-Northerly than the _South-Foreland_, he could not have thought the
-_Africus_ or S. W. Wind proper for his passage, which was then intended
-for the place where he first Landed the year before.
-
-7. Justly to determine which the _Portus Icius_ was I find no
-where sufficient grounds; only _Ptolemy_ calls the Promontory of
-_Calais-Cliffs_ by the name of Ἴκιον ἄκρον, whence there is reason to
-conjecture, that the _Portus Icius_ was very near thereto, and that
-it was either _Ambletuse_ on one side, or _Calais_ on the other. The
-same _Ptolemy_ places Γισοῤῥίακον ἐπίνειον in the same Latitude with
-the ἴκιον ἄκρον, but something more to the East, which seems to refute
-those that have supposed the Ancient Port of _Gessoriacum_ to have
-been _Boulogne_, whereas by _Ptolemy_'s position, it must be either
-_Dunkirk_ or _Graveling_, but the former most likely, both by the
-distance from the Ἴκιον ἄκρον, being about 20 Miles or half a degree
-of Longitude to the East, or ⅔ of the whole Coast of _Flanders_,
-which he makes but a degree and quarter from the _Acron Icion_ to the
-mouth of the _Scheld_ which he calls _Ostia Tabudæ_: As also for that
-_Pliny_ l. 4. c. 16. speaking of _Gessoriacum_, says the _Proximus
-Trajectus_ into _Britain_ from thence is 50 Miles, which is too much
-unless _Gessoriacum_ were something more Easterly than _Calais_. _Dion
-Cassius_ makes the distance between _France_ and _Britain_ 450 _stadia_
-or 56 Miles, and says likewise 'tis the nearest, τὸ Συντομώτατον. But
-this is in part amended by the explication given in the _Itinerary_
-of _Antoninus_, where the space between _Gessacorum_ and _Rutupium_
-is said to be 450 _stadia_ (for this was the ordinary passage of
-the _Romans_ into _Britain_,) _Rutupium_ being more Northerly and
-_Gessoriacum_ more Easterly than the _termini_ of _Cæsars_ Voyage,
-and consequently the distance greater than 30 Miles which _Cæsar_ had
-observ'd; and now lately an accurate Survey has proved the distance
-between Land and Land to be 26 _English Miles_ or 28½ _Roman Miles_,
-which shews how near _Cæsars_ estimate was to the Truth.
-
-A farther Argument (but not of equal force with the former because
-of the modernness of the Author, who writ above 250 Years after)
-may be drawn from the words of _Dion Cassius_, where he says ἄκραν
-τινὰ προέχουσαν περιπλεύσας ἑτέρωσε παρεκομίσθη, that after his
-first Anchoring he Sail'd about a Promontory to the place where he
-Landed: Now there are no other Promontories on all that Coast but the
-_South-Foreland_ and _Dengyness_; the latter of which it could not be,
-because _Cæsar_ says he Sail'd but 8 Miles, and the _Ness_ it self is
-about 10 Miles from the South and nearest end of the _Chalk-Cliffs_
-by the Town of _Hith_; and to have gone round that Point to the
-other side, the distance must have been much greater. So that the
-Promontory spoken of by _Dion_, must needs be the _South-Foreland_,
-and _Cæsar_ must Anchor near over against _Dover_, from whence Sailing
-8 Miles, he would double a Head-land and come to the _Downs_; which
-is such a Coast as he describes in one place by _apertum ac planum
-littus_, and in his 5_th_ Book by _molle ac apertum littus_. As to
-_Dions_ word εἰς τὰ τενάγη, what I have already said about it seems
-sufficient to prove that he means no more than the Waters edg; and the
-_Etymologists_ derive it from τέγγω _madefacio_, because the wash and
-breach of the Sea does always keep it wet. And this word τὰ τενάγη is
-used by _Polybius_ for the Sea Ouse; and in another place he speaks of
-the difficulty of Landing at the mouth of a River, Διὰ τὴν τεναγώδη
-πάροδον, _ob limosum accessum_, so that it is not to be doubted that it
-ought to be rendred in this place, _ad vadum maris_ rather than _in
-paludibus_. And so this objection against the assertion that _Cæsar_
-Landed in the _Downs_, which is known to be a firm Champain Country
-without Fenns and Morasses, will be removed; and the whole Argument
-will 'tis hoped be admitted by the Curious.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-                                _FINIS._
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-    epsilon Ɛ (in the plate facing p. 235), and two reversed lunate
-    epsilons ϶ (both probable misprints) have been replaced by
-    ordinary epsilon Ε.
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-    Lunate sigma Ϲ (the usual form in the inscriptions) and
-    rectangular sigma ⊏ (in the inscription on pp. 118 and 149) have
-    been replaced by Σ.
-
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-    replaced by Ω.
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-    Inverted mu ꟽ (throughout the inscription on p. 130) has been
-    replaced by upright mu Μ.
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-    replaced by ΟΥ.
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