Busbequius’s Travels INTO TURKEY.

SIR,

As I promised you, at parting, to give you a full Account of my Journey to Constantinople, so, I shall now make good my Word; and I hope, with Advantage too. For, I shall also acquaint you with my Adventures in my Travel to Amasia, as well as That to Constantinople, the former being less used, and consequently far less known, than the latter. My Design herein, is, to allow you a Part of the Solace, of what happened pleasurable to me; for so the ancient Friendship betwixt us obliges me, to appropriate no Joy to myself, without communicating the same to you; but, as for what happened incommodious to me, (as, in so long and tedious a Journey, some Things must needs do) those I take to my self; neither would I have you concerned in them at all; for, the Danger being now past, the more grievous they were to suffer, the more pleasant will they be, even to myself, to remember and commit to Writing.

Upon the Receipt of his Letter, Ferdinand was at a stand; he did not fully believe, nor yet altogether disbelieve him; he was inclined to suspect, that the Memory of his former Sufferings, and the Fear of future ones, did deter him from that Employment, rather than the Danger of his Disease; and yet, on the other side, he did not think it creditable for himself to employ a Man that had so well deserved of him and of the Commonwealth, in any Service against his Will. But the Death of Malvezius, which followed a few Months after, did sufficiently convince him, that his Disease was not pretended, to decline the Employment, but was really a Mortal one.

Upon this, I was substituted in the Place of Malvezius: But, being unexperienced (as I said before) in the Affairs and Manners of the Turks, King Ferdinand thought it adviseable for me to bestow a Visit upon Malvezius in his Sickness, that so, by his Directions and Advice, I might be better cautioned and armed against any Impositions of the captious Turks. Two Days I staid with him, which was as much as the straitness of my Time would permit; and I husbanded them so well, as to be informed by him, what I was to act, and what to avoid, in my daily Convention with the Turks.

Whereupon, I posted back to Vienna, and began, with great Application and Diligence, to prepare Necessaries for my Journey. But such was the Flush of Business, and so little the Time allowed to dispatch it, that, when the Day fixt for my Departure came, though the King did earnestly press me forward, and I had been extremely Busy all the Day in equipping myself, and in causing Bag and Baggage to be pack’d up, even from the fourth Watch; yet it was the first Watch of the following Night, before I could be quite ready; but then the Gates of Vienna, which at that time of Night us’d always to be shut, were opened on purpose for me. The Emperor went abroad a Hunting that Day, but he told his Followers, That he did not doubt but that I would be upon my Way, before he returned from his Sport in the Evening, and it fell out accordingly; yet so, that I was but just gone before he came Home.

At eleven o’Clock at Night, we came to Ficiminum, a Town in Hungary, four Miles from Vienna; there we Supp’d, for our haste was so great that we came Supperless out of Town; from thence we travelled towards Comora. The Emperor, among the rest of his Commands, had enjoin’d me to take along with me to Buda, one Paul Palinai from Comora, a Man well acquainted with the Rapins and Depredations of the Turks, and so was best able to assist me in my Expostulations with the Bashaw of Buda, and in my Demands for satisfaction of Injuries received. But he, not in the least suspecting that my departure would have been so punctual at the Day appointed, had not yet stirred from his own House, and there was no Body could tell when he would come; which uncertainty troubled me very much. I acquainted King Ferdinand therewith by Letter, and all the next Day stayed at Comora expecting his coming.

But the third Day, I passed over the River Vaga, and prosecuted my Journey towards Gran, the first Garrison of the Turks I came to in Hungary. Col. John Pax, Governor of Comora had sent sixteen Horse with me (of those that the Hungarians call Hussars) to be my Guard; and he had given them a Charge not to leave me, till they came in sight of the Turkish Convoy; for the Governor of Gran had signified to me, that his Soldiers should meet me half way. We travelled about three Hours through a vast Plain, when, behold! there appeared afar off four Turkish Horse; and yet, notwithstanding, my Hungarian Guard accompanied me still, till I desired them to retire; for I was afraid that if they should come up to the Turks, some troublesome Bickering would have intervened betwixt them.

As soon as the Turks saw me to draw near, they rode up to me, and saluted me by my Coach side: thus we passed on a while together, discoursing interchangeably one with another, (for I had a little Youth for my Interpreter.) I expected no other Convoy, but when we descended into a low Valley, I saw my self on a sudden, surrounded with a Party of about a hundred and fifty Horse. It was a very pleasant Spectacle to a Man, unaccustomed to see such Sights, for their Bucklers and Spears were curiously Painted, their Sword-handles bedeck’d with Jewels, their Plumes of Feathers party-coloured, and the Coverings of their Heads were twisted with round Windings as white as Snow; their Apparel was Purple-coloured, or at least a dark Blue; they rode upon stately Praunsers, adorn’d with most beautiful Trappings. Their Commanders came up to me, and after friendly Salutation they bid me Welcome; and asked me, How I had fared on my Journey? I answer’d them as I thought fit; and thus they led me to Gran, for so the Castle is called, situate on an Hill, whose Foot is washed by the Danow, with a Town adjoining, built in a Plain. I retired into the Town, the Arch-bishop whereof is Primate of Hungary, and for Dignity, Authority and Opulency, is inferior to no Nobleman of that Kingdom.

Here I was entertained, not after a Courtly, but after a Military manner; for instead of Beds, they spread abroad course shaggy Rugs of Tapestry upon hard Boards; there were no Bed-ticks nor Sheets: Here my Family had the first taste of Turkish Delights (forsooth;) as for my self, I fared better, for my Bed was carried along with me wheresoever I went.

The Day after my Arrival, the Sanziac of the Place (for so the Turks call a Governor, because a Sanziac (i. e.) a gilded brass Ball, is carried before him on the top of a Spear, as a Cornet to a Troop of Horse) was very earnest to speak with me; and tho’ I had no Letter, nor any other Command to deliver to him, yet such was his importunity, that go I must. And when I came, I found he had no Business with me, but only to see and salute me, and to ask me something of my Errand; and thus, exhorting me to promote a Peace, he wish’d me a happy Journey. In my Passage, I admir’d to hear the croaking of Frogs in such a cold Season of the Year as the Month of December; the cause was, the Waters stagnant in those Places are made warm by sulphureous Exhalations.

Leaving Gran, I went towards Buda; but to be sure, I took my Breakfast before-hand, which was likely to be my Dinner also; for there was no Place to bait at before I came to Buda. The Sanziac, or Governor of the Place, with all his Family, together with the Horse which he Commanded, came out of the Town with me, to bring me on my Way: I could by no means persuade him to omit this Office of Respect. The Horse, as soon as they came out of the Gates, began to shew me some sport, curvetting and discharging one against another; they threw their Bonnets on the Ground, and Galloping their Horses with full speed, by them, they took them up by the Points of their Spears; and many such Ludicrous Pranks did they perform. Amongst the rest of them, there was a Tartar, who had thick Bushy Hair hanging down over his Shoulders; they told me, that he always went bare Headed, and would never have any other Fence for his Head, either against the Violence of the Weather, or the Hazard of a Battle, but his own Hair. The Sanziac, after he had accompanied me as far as he pleased, returned Home, but not before we had taken our Leaves of one another, and he had left some Guides for my Journey, in my Retinue.

When I drew near to Buda, a few Turkish Chiaux’s met me on the Way, (they are in the Nature of Pursuivants, or Serjeants at Arms, to carry about the Commands of the Grand Seignior, or his Bashaw’s, and are Officers of great Esteem in that Nation) by them, I was brought to lodge in the House of a Citizen, who was an Hungarian, where my Baggage, Coach and Horses, was better provided for, than myself; for the Turks take special Care that Horses, with their Equipage, be well accommodated; as for the Men, if they have but an House over their Heads to shelter them from the Weather, they think they may shift well enough for themselves. The Bashaw of Buda sent one to visit me, and bid me welcome, his Name was Tuigon, (which in Turkish, signifies a Stork) by him he excused himself to me, that he could not admit me into his Presence for some Days, because of a grievous Disease he laboured under; but as soon as ever he recovered a little Strength, he said, he would wait upon me. This Delay was the Occasion, that the aforementioned Absence of Palinai was less prejudicial to me, than otherwise it would have been, (to say no more) for he used great Diligence to Post after, lest he might come too late, and accordingly he overtook me a little while after.

I was detained at Buda a long Time, by reason of the Sickness of the Bashaw; ’twas thought his Disease was Grief, which he had conceived for the Loss of a great Sum of Money, which was stolen from the Place in which he had hid it, for he was commonly reported to be a Penurious and Sordid-spirited Man. When he heard, that I had brought the Heer William Quacquelben with me, a great Philosopher, and an excellent Physician too, he earnestly intreated me, that he might give him a Visit to administer some Physick to him, in order to his Cure. I easily granted his Request, but soon after, was almost ready to repent of my Facility: For the Bashaw grew worse and worse, and, ’twas thought, he would not have recovered; so that I was afraid, if he had died, the Turks would say, my Physician had kill’d him, and by that means, the good Man might have run a great Hazard, and I myself also might have born Part of the Infamy, as being accessary thereunto; but it pleased God to free me from this Anxiety, by restoring the Bashaw to his Health.

’Twas at Buda I got the first Sight of the Janizaries, so the Turks call the Prætorian Foot; their Number, when it is fullest, is twelve Thousand, and their Prince disperses them all over his Dominions, either to Garrison his Forts against an Enemy, or to be a Safeguard to Christians and Jews, against the injurious Rage of the Multitude; for there is no well Inhabited Village, Town, or City, wherein there are not some or other of these Janizarias, to protect Christians, Jews, and other helpless Persons, from the Fury of the Rabble. The Castle of Buda is always Garrison’d by them; their Habit is a long Garment down to their Ankles, upon their Heads they wear the Sleeve of a Coat, or Cloak (for from thence, as they say, the Pattern was drawn) their Head is put into part of it, and part of it hangs down behind, flapping upon their Shoulders; in the Front, or Fore-part of it, there ariseth a Silver-Cone, somewhat long, gilt over with Gold, and wrought with Jewels, but they were of an ordinary Sort. These Janizaries usually came to me by Couples; when they were admitted into my Dining-Room, they bowed down their Heads and made Obeisance, and presently they ran hastily to me, and touched either my Garment, or my Hand, as if they would have kissed it; and then forced upon me a Bundle, or Nosegay of Hyacinths or Narcissus’s, and presently they retired backward, with equal Speed, to the Door, that so they might not turn their Backs upon me, (for that is accounted undecent, by the Rules of their Order) when they came to the Door, there they stood, with a great deal of Modesty and Silence, with their Hands upon their Breasts, and fixing their Eyes upon the Ground, so that they seemed more like our Monks, than their Soldiers. But when I had given them some Cash (which was the only Thing they aimed at) they bowed their Heads again, and giving me Thanks with a loud Voice, they wished me all happiness, and departed. The Truth is, unless I had been told before, they were Janizaries, I should have thought them to have been a kind of Turkish Monks, or Fellows of some College or other amongst them. Yet these are the Janizaries that carry such a Terror with them wheresoever they come.

Some Turks supp’d with me often at Buda, and were mightily taken with the delicious sweetness of my Wine: It is a Liquor that they have but little of in Turkey, and therefore, they more greedily desire it, and drink it more profusely, when once they come where it is. They continued Carousing till late at Night, but afterwards I grew weary of the Sport, and therefore rose from Table, and went to my Chamber; but as for Them, they went away sad, because they had not their full Swing at the Goblet, but were able to stand upon their Feet. As soon as I was gone, they sent a Youth after me, desiring me to let them have their Fill of Wine, and that I would lend them my Silver Cups to drink it in; for they were willing, by my Leave, to sit at it all Night in some Corner or other of the House. I granted their Request, and ordered so much Wine to be given them, as they desired, with Bowls to drink it in. Being thus accommodated, they tippled it out so long, till they were even Dead-drunk, and tumbling down, lay fast asleep upon the Ground. You must know, that it is a great Crime in Turkey to drink Wine, especially for those who are well stricken in Years; as for the Younger Sort, they think the Offence to be more Venial, and therefore more excusable in them. But seeing they expect no less Punishment, after Death, for drinking a little Wine, than if they drank ever so much, when once they have tasted of that Liquor, they go on to drink more and more; for having once incurr’d the Penalty of their Law, now, they think, they may Sin gratis, and account Drunkenness as a Matter of Gain. This Opinion, and others more absurd than This, do the Turks hold concerning Wine, of which, I will give you a remarkable Instance: I saw an Old Man at Constantinople, who, after he had taken a Cup of Wine in his Hand to Drink, us’d first to make a hideous Noise; I asked his Friends, Why he did so? They answered me, that, by this Outcry, he did, as it were, warn his Soul to retire into some secret Corner of his Body, or else, wholly to Emigrate, and pass out of it, that she might not be guilty of that Sin which he was about to commit, nor be defiled with the Wine that he was to guzzle down.

But to return to Buda.

’Twould be too tedious for me to give you a large Description of this Place, and it were a Task fitter for one that writes a Book, than a Letter; yet not to be wholly silent, Buda lies in a pleasant Place, and in a very fruitful Country, it is extended all along the Brow of an Hill, so that on one Side it borders on a rising Ground, abounding with choice Vineyards, and on the other Side, it is water’d by the River Danow, running by it, and beyond the Danow, there is the Town of Pest, and a large Campain adjoining, both which Prospects are in View of Buda, so that this Place seems naturally designed for the Metropolis of Hungary. It was antiently adorned with many stately Palaces, belonging to the Nobles of Hungary; but those goodly Piles are now either quite fallen to the Ground, or else have many Props to support them from tumbling down; they are Inhabited mostly by the Turkish Soldiers, whose daily Pay being but enough to support them, they have no over-plus to lay out in Tyling, or Repairing, such large Structures; and therefore they do not much regard, whether it Rains through the Roof, or whether the Walls be full of Clefts, provided they have a dry Place to set their Horses, and their own Beds in; the upper Part they think concerns them not, so that they make a great Part of the upper Stories to be Inhabited by Weazels and Mice.

Besides, ’tis a Piece of Religion in Turkey, not to covet magnificent Buildings; for (say they) ’tis a Sign of a Proud, Lofty, and aspiring Mind, to covet Sumptuous Houses, as if so frail a Creature as Man, did promise a kind of Immortality, and an everlasting Habitation to himself in this Life; when alas! we are but Pilgrims here, and therefore, ought to use our Dwellings, as Travellers do their Inns, wherein if they are secured from Thieves, Cold, Heat, and Rain, they seek not for any other Conveniences. So that all over Turkey you will hardly find a stately House, tho’ the Owner of it be never so Great, or Rich a Man; the Commonalty of them live in Huts and Cottages; the Nobles are for handsome Orchards, Gardens and Baths; but as for their Houses, tho’ the numerousness of their Families require large Ones, yet they have no handsome Gate-houses, or Porches belonging to them; nor Court-yards, nor any thing else Magnificent, or worthy of any Admiration. Herein they resemble the Hungarians, for except Buda, and (perhaps) Presburgh, there is scarce any City in Hungary, that you can call well Built. This Custom I suppose, they derived from their Ancestors, for they being a People given to Camp-discipline and therein trained, did not care a rush for Building great Houses, but looked upon their Towns only as temporary Habitations, which they were about to leave.

Moreover, whilst I was at Buda, I was very much taken with the sight of a strange kind of Fountain that is without the Gate of the Town, in the way leading to Constantinople, the Water whereof at top was boiling hot, and yet in the bottom there were Fishes playing up and down; so that you would think, they must needs be throughly boiled, before you could take them out.

’Twas the 7th, of December, before the Bashaw was so well recovered as to admit me to his Presence; and then, after I had sweetned him with some Presents, I made my Complaint to him of the Insolency and Ravagings of the Turkish Soldiers; and demanded Restitution of what they had wrongfully taken away, contrary to the express of the Truce made, and which he himself, in his Letter to Ferdinand, had promised him satisfaction for, if he pleased to send an Envoy to Buda. But he, like a cunning Gamester, made as many Complaints of the Injuries and Losses They had sustained by Our Soldiers: And as for his Promise to restore the Places they had wrongfully seized and taken away from the Emperor; he eluded it, by sheltring himself under this Dilemma: Either I made a Promise, or I did not; if I made no Promise, then you can demand nothing of me: If I did make a Promise, I know Sir, you are a Person of that Understanding as not to conceive, that I can, or will perform it; for I am sent hither by my Master to Enlarge, not to diminish the Bounds of his Empire; so that I must by no means make his Condition worse than it was: ’tis my Master’s Business (Sir) not Mine; what you have to say on this Head, pray propound it to him when you come to Constantinople. To be short Sir, you know I am but newly Recovered, and therefore am not in a Condition to maintain any further Discourse. When this course Compliment was put upon me, I thought ’twas time to be gone, neither could I get any thing else from him, only a Truce, till the Grand Seignior’s Mind was known.

I observed, that when I was introduced to the Bashaw, they observed the old Roman Custom of crying aloud, Welcome, Welcome: and so wishing an happy Issue to my Negotiation. I observed also, that the Turks count the left Hand to be most Honourable in some particular Cases; the Reason they give is, because the Sword is worn on that side, and he that is on the right Hand has, as it were, the Command of the Sword of him that is at his Left, whereas his Own is free.

Matters being thus composed at Buda, as well as we could, my Companion Paliani returned to the Emperor; but I for my part, shipp’d my Horses, Coaches, and all my Family on some Vessels, prepared for me on the Danow, and so passed down the Stream to Belgrade; this was a shorter cut, and also more secure; for my Journey by Land to Belgrade, would at that Time have cost me at least twelve Days, especially, having such a deal of heavy Baggage with me; and besides, we had been in danger to be Robb’d by the Heyduc’s, so the Hungarians call a sort of plundering Thieves and Robbers; but upon the Water there was no fear at all of them; and besides, we compassed our Journey in five Days. The Vessel in which I was, was drawn along by a lesser Pinnace, in which there were twenty-four Oars; the other Vessels had but two large Oars a-piece. The Mariners rowed Night and Day without any Intermission, excepting only a few Hours that the poor Souls borrow’d to Sleep and Eat in. In my Passage down the River, I could not but observe the venturousness, not to say temerity of the Turks, who were not afraid to Sail on in the mistiest Weather and darkest Night, and when the Wind blew very hard too; and besides, there were many Water-mills, with several Trunks and Boughs of Trees hanging over the Banks, which made our Passage very Dangerous; so that some times our Vessel, by the boisterousness of the Wind, was driven to the Bank, and there dash’d against old stumps of Trees hanging over, so that it was like to split; this is certain, that she lost some Planks out of her Hulk, which made a terrible crack and noise when they were loosed therefrom. This noise awak’d me; leaping out of my Bed, I advis’d the Mariners to be more cautious: they lift up their Voices, and gave me no other Answer than Alaure, i. e. God will help, and so I might go to Bed again, if I would.

Tho’ we speed pretty well, yet I am apt to believe, that at one Time or other, such Dangerous Sailing will be fatal to some Passengers. In our Passage, I saw Tolna, a handsome Town in Hungary; I cannot forbear to mention it, because there we had very good White-wine, and, besides the Inhabitants were very Courteous to us. Moreover, we passed in sight of the Castle of Walpot, seated on an Hill, and of other Castles and Towns besides; we saw also, where the River Drave, on the one side, and the Tibiscus, or Taise, on the other, made their Influx into the Danow. As for Belgrade itself, it is seated at the confluence of the Save and the Danow; the old City is built in the extreme Angel of the Promontory, the Building is old, it is fortified with many Towers, and a double Wall: Two parts of it are wash’d by the Save, and the Danow, but on that part where it is joined to the Land, it hath a very strong Castle on high Ground, consisting of many loftly Turrets made of square Stone; before you come into the City, there is a vast Number of Buildings, and very large Suburbs, wherein several Nations inhabit, viz. Turks, Greeks, Jews, Hungarians, Dalmatians, and many others. For you must know that ordinarily over all the Turkish Dominions, the Suburbs are larger than the Towns, but take them both together, they give the resemblance of large Cities: ’Twas at this Town, that I first met with some ancient Coins, wherein, as you know, I take a great delight, and my Physician aforesaid, Dr. Quackquelben, fitted me to an Hair, as we say, for he was as much addicted to those Studies as myself. I found a great many Pieces, which on one side represented a Roman Soldier, placed between a Bull and a Horse, (for ’tis known, that the Legions of upper Mæsia did anciently encamp hereabouts) with this Inscription, Taurunum. This City, in the memory of our Grandfathers, was twice violently assaulted by the Turks, first, under Almurath; next under Mahomet, who took Constantinople; but the Hungarians, under the Banner of the Cross, made such a vigorous Defence, that the Barbarians were beaten off with a great deal of Loss. But at last, in the Year 1520. Solomon, in the beginning of his Reign, came before it with a vast Army, and finding it, either by the neglect of young King Ludovicus, or by the Discords of the factious Hungarian Nobles, destitute of a Garrison able to defend it, he took that opportunity to assault it, and so easily became Master thereof. And that Door being once opened, an Iliad of Miseries broke in upon poor Hungary, of which she is sadly Sensible to this Day; for this Pass being gained, there followed the Slaughter of King Lewis Ludovicus, the taking of Buda, the inslaving of Transilvania, and a flourishing Kingdom, hereby brought under the Yoke, not without a Terror struck into the Neighbouring Nations, least they also should partake of the same Calamities; by which Example, Christian Princes may take warning, never to think their Frontier Towns and Castles to be strong enough, nor sufficiently provided against so potent an Enemy as the Turk. For the Truth is, the Ottomans are herein not unlike to great Rivers, whose Swelling Waves, if they break down any part of the Bank or Jitty, that keeps them in, spread far and near, and do abundance of Mischief; so the Turks, but far more perniciously, having once broke through the Obstacles that stopt them, make a vast spoil where-ever they come. But to return to Belgrade, that I may prosecute the rest of my Journey to Constantinople.

After I had provided myself in that City of all Things necessary for a Land Journey, I left Semandria, heretofore a Town or Castle, of the despots of Servia, on the left side of the Danow; from whence we Journied towards Nissa. In our way thither, the Turks shewed us, from the higher Grounds, the Mountains of Transilvania, with Snowey Tops, but at a great Distance from us, and moreover, they pointed with their Fingers, were the Ruins of Trajans Bridge were: After we had past the River called Morava, we came to a Town of the Servians, named Jagodna; there I observed the Funeral Rites of that Country, which differ very much from ours, as you may find by this Relation following.

The dead Body was placed in a Temple, with the Face uncovered; near it were laid Victuals, as Bread, Flesh, and a Flagon of Wine: The Wife and Daughter of the Deceased stood by, in their best Apparel; the Daughter’s Hat was made of Peacocks Feathers. The last Boon that the Wife bestowed on her dead Husband, was a Purple Bonnet, such as noble Virgins us’d to wear in that Country. Then we heard their Funeral Plaints, Mourning and Lamentations, wherein, they asked the dead Corps, How they came to deserve so ill at his Hands? Wherein had they been wanting in their Duty and Observance, that he had left them in such a lonesome and disconsolate Condition? And such like Stuff. The Priests that ministred in this Service, were of the Greek Church. In the Church-Yard, there were erected on Poles, or long Staves, several Pictures of Stags, Hinds, and such Kind of Creatures, cut in Wood; when I asked them the Reason of this strange Custom, they told us, That their Husbands, or Fathers, did thereby signify the Celerity and Diligence of their Wives or Daughters, in managing their Houshold Affairs. Moreover, by some Sepulchres, there hung Bushes of Hair, which Women, or Maidens, had placed in Testimony of their Grief for the Loss of their Relations. We were also informed, that it was the Custom of that Country, after Friends on both Sides had accorded about the Marriage of a young Couple, for the Bridegroom to snatch away his Bride, as it were by Force; for they do not think it handsome, that a Maid should consent to her own Devirgination, or first Nights Lodging with her Husband.

At a small Distance from Jagodna, we met with a little River which the Neighbouring Inhabitants called Nissus, and we kept it on our right Hand almost all the Way till we came to Nissa; yea, and beyond the Town, upon the Bank thereof (were there were some Remains of an old Roman Way) we saw a small Marble Pillar, yet standing, wherein there were some Latin Letters inscribed; but they were so defaced, that they could not be read: As for the Town of Nissa, for that Country, it is a decent one, and full of Inhabitants.

’Tis Time now to acquaint you with the Entertainment we met with at our Inns, for I believe you long to know. When I came to Nissa, I lodged in a public Inn; the Turks call them Caravarsarai, of which there are a great many in that Country; the Form of them is thus, it is a large Edifice, that has more of Length than Breadth; in the midst of it, there is a kind of Yard for the placing of Carriages, Camels, Mules and Waggons. This Yard is compassed about with a Wall about three Foot high, which joins, and is, as it were, built in the outward Wall that incloses the whole Building; the Top of this inner Wall is plain and level, and is about four Foot broad. Here the Turks lodge, here they sup, and here is all the Kitchen which they have (for in the ambient Wall before spoken of, there are ever and anon some Hearths built) and here are no Partitions between Camels, Horses, with other Cattel, and Men, but the Space of that inner Wall; and yet at the Foot of that Wall, they so tye their Horses, that their Heads and Necks are above it, or at least may lean over it; and thus, when their Masters are warming themselves at the Fire, or else are at Supper, they stand near them as Servants us’d to do; and sometimes they will take a Piece of Bread or Apple, or whatsoever else is offered them, out of their Masters Hand. Upon the same Wall, the Turks make their Beds, after this Manner, first of all they spread a broad Piece of Tapestry, which is fitted as a Saddle-cloth by Day, for their Horses; upon that they put their Cloaks, their Saddles serve for a Pillow, and with the long Vests they wear at Day, they cover themselves at Night. And thus they take their rest, never provoking Sleep by any other Allurement. There is nothing done in secret, there all is open, and every Body may see what another does, unless the Darkness of the Night hinder him. For my Part, I greatly abhored this Sort of Lodging, because the Eyes of all the Turks were continually upon us, staring and wondering at our Carriage, according to the Customs of our Country. And therefore, I always endeavoured to lodge at the mean House of some poor Christian! but alas! their Cottages were so small, that many Times I had not room enough in them for placing my Bed; so that sometimes I slept in my Tent, sometimes in my Coach, and sometimes again I turned into the Turkish Hospitals; which, to give them their due, are very convenient, and not unhandsomely built, for they have several distinct Apartments for Lodgings in them. There is no Man forbid the Use of them, either Christian or Jew, Rich or Poor, they are open equally to all. Even the Bashaw’s and Sanziacs, when they travel, make use of them. In these I thought myself lodg’d as well as in the Palace of a Prince.

The Custom of these Inns, like Hospitals, is this: They allow Victuals to every particular Man, that comes in as a Guest: So that when Supper-time came, there was a Servant that brought in a great wooden Dish almost as big as a Table; in the middle of it was a Platter full of Barley boiled to a Jelley, with a little Piece of Flesh, and about the Platter were some small Loaves, and here and there a Piece of an Honey-comb. When I saw this, at first, out of Modesty, I refused it, saying, that my Servants were preparing my own Supper for me, and therefore, advised them to give it to the Poor: He took it amiss, and prest it upon me, and alledging, that I should not scorn their slender Provision, that the Bashaw’s themselves us’d to eat it; it was the Custom of their Country so to do; they had enough left to give to the Poor, and if I would not eat it my self, I should give it my Servants; hereupon, I was enforced to take it, that I might not be counted uncivil by them; and after I had tasted a little of it, I gave him Thanks. The Relish of it pleased me well, for that kind of Gruel, as it is commended by Galen, so it is very wholesome, and not unpleasing to the Taste. Travellers may be entertained with that kind of Diet for three Days; but when that Time is expired, they must pack up and be gone. Here (as I told you) I was well entertained; but I met not always with such good Quarters. Sometimes, when I could not light upon an House, I lodged in a Stable; my People enquired after a large and capacious one, in one part whereof was an Hearth and a Chimney, and the other part was design’d for the Herds of Cattle; for that is the Make of the Turkish Stables, that the Herd and the Herdsman lodge under the same Roof. I divided that part where the Fire was from the rest, by the sides of my Tent, and then I put my Table and my Bed by the Fire-side, and liv’d like an Emperor: As for my Family, they wallowed in a great deal of clean Straw, in the other part of the Stable: But some of them fell a Sleep by the Fire-side in the adjoining Orchard or Meadow where a Supper was preparing; the heat of the Fire was their guard against the coldness of the Night, and they had as great a care not to let it go out, as the Vestal Virgins had of old at Rome.

I suppose, you will ask me, how my Family relieved themselves against the inconvenience of their bad Lodging; especially seeing they could have little Wine in the middle of Turkey, which might have been some Remedy for their ill Lodging at Night. For the truth is, there is little Wine to be had in several of their Villages, especially, if no Christians dwell among them: For I must tell you, that the Christians being wearied out with the Pride and Insolency of the Turks, do many times withdraw themselves from the common Road into desert Places; which tho’ they are less fruitful, yet are more secure; and so leave their better Possessions to the domineering Turks. And whenever we drew near to any such Places, where there was no Wine, the Turks would very fairly tell us of it before-hand; so that I sent my Steward the Day before, with a Turk to guide him, to procure some from the next Villages of the Christians. And by this means it was, that the Distresses of my Family were something alleviated; ’tis true, I could not get any soft Feather-beds or Pillows for them, or other Blandishments for Sleep; the Wine was instead of all: As for myself, I had some Flagons of choice Wine in my Chariot, so that I wanted none; thus I and my Family were provided for, as to Wine.

But, there was one Inconvenience, which troubled us more than the Scarcity of Wine, and that was, our Sleep was miserably interrupted; for we being to rise betimes in the Morning, and sometimes before Day, that we might come the sooner to our Inns at Night; our Turkish Guides being deceived by the Light of the Moon, would sometimes call us up at, or about Midnight, with a great deal of Noise and Clamour. For the Turks have no Clocks to distinguish Hours, nor Miles to shew the Distance of Places: Only they have a sort of Ecclesiasticks, which they call Talismans; this sort of People use a kind of Admeasurement by Water, and when they perceive thereby, that ’tis Morning, then they cry aloud from an high Tower, built on purpose, exhorting them to arise and worship God. They make the same Noise in the middle between Sun-rise and Noon, and likewise, between Noon and Sun-set; and, last of all, when the Sun is set, they cry out with a very shrill Voice, which hath no unpleasant Modulation, and which is heard farther than any Body would think. Thus the Turks divide the Day into four Spaces, longer or shorter, according to the Season of the Year: But for the Night-time, they have no certain Rule at all.

So our Turkish Guides being deceived by the exceeding Brightness of the Night they called us up before Sun-rising, and we started out of our Beds in great Haste, that so they might not impute any unlucky Accident, upon the Way, to our Slothfulness; in the Morning, we pack’d up our Baggage, and put my Bed and Tent in our Waggons, harnessed our Horses, and were ready for our Journey, only expected the Word of Command. But our Turks, when they found their Mistake, fairly went into their Nests again, and after we had waited for them a great while, I sent to them, to tell them, we were all ready; and now the Delay was on their Side, my Messengers brought me Word, from them, that the Moon-light had deceived them, and therefore, they were gone to sleep again, for it would be a great while before it would be Time to go; and they persuaded us to try to sleep again too. And thus, we must either unpack all our Things again, to our no small Trouble, or else, we must endure a great Part of the Coldness of the Night in the open Air.

To prevent this Inconvenience for the future, I charged the Turks not to be so troublesome any more, as to rouze me out of my Sleep, for if they would but tell me over Night, at what Time they would rise in the Morning, I would be sure to be ready at the Time appointed; for I had Watches by me, that I intended to make Use of, which would not fail to acquaint me with the precise Hour of the Morning; and if they over-slept themselves, they should lay it to my Charge, so that they need not scruple to trust me with the Hour of their rising. They seemed to be somewhat satisfied herewith, and yet did not lay aside all their Solicitude neither; for in the Morning betimes, they awakened my Valet de Chambre, desiring him to go to me, and to see how the Index of my Watches did pointed; he so, and returned Answer to them, as well as he could, That ’twas very near Sun-rising, according as he found it. When they had thus tried him once or twice, and found that he hit the Time right, they trusted me for the future, and admired the Structure of our Watches, that could so faithfully declare the Time; so that ever after, we slept out our Sleep, without any Disturbances from them.

From Nissa we came to S. Sophia; the Journey thither, and the Weather, for that Time of the Year, was very tolerable. Sophia is a Town big enough, and well inhabited both by Citizens and Strangers: It was heretofore the Royal Seat of the King of Bulgaria; and afterwards, if I mistake not, of the Despots of Servia, whilst that House stood, before it was overthrown by the Turkish Arms.

Afterwards, we continued our Journey, for many Days, through the pleasant, and not unfruitful, Valley of Bulgaria; all the Time we were in that Country, we had little other Bread, but only Cakes bak’d under Ashes upon the Hearth, which they call Togatch. The Women and Maids sell them, for they have no Bakers in those Parts; and when they perceive any Guests a-coming, that are likely to pay for what they have, presently they knead a little Dough, with Water, without any Leaven, and lay it upon Tiles, under the Ashes, and so bring it out piping hot, and sell them for a very small Matter; other Victuals is also very cheap there, a good Weather-sheep may be bought for thirty-five Aspers; a Chicken and a Hen for an Asper, a sort of Coin with them, of which fifty make but a Crown.

I must not omit to acquaint you with the Habit of these Bulgarian Women. They commonly wear nothing but a Smock or Shift, made of no finer Linnen-thread, than that we make Sacks of. And yet, these course Garments are wrought by them, with several sorts of strip’d Needle-work, after a homely Fashion: With this lose party-coloured Habit they mightily pleased themselves, so that when they saw our Shifts, made of the finest Linnen, yet they wondered at our Modesty, that we could be contented to wear them without various Works of divers Colours wrought in them.

But that which I most of all admired in them, was the Tower, which they wore on their Heads, for such was the Form of their Hats. They were made of Straw, braided with Webs over them. The Figure of them differs from the Hats Women wear in our Country, for ours hang down on the Shoulders, and the lowest Part of it is the broadest, and so it rises as it were into a Pyramid at top; but theirs is narrowest below, and so rises up like a top, almost nine Inches above the Head; but that Part of it that looks upwards, towards the Sky, is both very capacious, and also very open, so that it seems made to take in Rain, as ours are to shelter us against them; but in that Space, interjacent between their upper and lower Part, their hang Pieces of Coin, little Pictures or Images, small Parcels of painted Glass, or whatever is resplendent, though never so mean, which are accounted very ornamental among them.

Those kind of Hats makes them look taller, and also more Matron-like, though they are easily blown off their Heads, by a blast of Wind, or by any light Motion they fall off themselves.

When they appeared to us in this Dress, I thought they resembled Clytemnestra, or some Hecuba or other, in the flourishing Time of Troy, coming upon the Stage. This Sight suggested to me some pious Meditations, viz. How frail and mutable a Thing that which is called Nobleness of Birth, is; for when I asked of some of these Lasses, they that seemed to be the handsomest among them, concerning their Stock and Lineage, they told me, They were descended from the Chief Nobles of that Country; and some of them were of a Royal Progeny, though now it was their Fate, to marry Herdsmen or Shepherds: For Nobility is very little esteemed in the Turkish Dominions. For, I my self did afterwards see at Constantinople, and other Places, some Descendants from the Imperial Families of the Catacuzeni, and the Palæologi, living more contemptuously among the Turks, than ever Dionysius did of old at Corinth; nay, the Turks esteem no Men for their Birth, but only for their own perform’d Accomplishments, excepting only the Ottoman Family; for that they have a high Veneration, upon Account of its Original.

It is thought that these Bulgarians had their Original from Seythia, near the River Volga, and that they changed their Habitations and came into these Parts, when other Nations, either compelled by Force, or prompted by Choice, changed theirs; and that they were called Bulgarians, i. e. Volgarians, from the River Volga, aforesaid. Upon this Transmigration, they fix’d their Habitation upon those Parts of Mount Hæmus, that lie between Sophia and Philippopolis, which are Places naturally strong; where they, for a long Time, baffled all the Power of the Grecian Emperors, and killed Baldwin the Elder, Earl of Flanders, then Emperor of Constantinople, after they had taken him in an hot Skirmish. Yet, for all this, they were not able to resist the Power of the Turks, but were overcome and miserably enslaved by them. They use the Illyrian, or Slavonian Tongue, as the Servians and Rascians also do.

Before a Man descends into that Plain that lies over against Philippopolis, he must go through a Forest and a craggy Mountain, which the Turks call Carpi Dervent, i. e. The Gate of the strait or narrow Passage; but in the Plain before-mentioned, we met with the River Hebrus, having its Original from the adjoining Mountain Rhodope. Before we could pass the said Straits, we saw the Top of Mount Rhodope all cover’d over with deep Snow. The Inhabitants, as I remember, call it Rulla. From hence flows the River Hebrus, as Pliny says, and Ovid also affirms the same in this Distick.

In which Verses, the Poet seems to intimate the Shallowness of that River for want of Water. For though it is a great and famous River, yet, in most Places it is fordable: For, I remember, in my return from Constantinople, we forded over it near Philippopolis, to an Island on the other Side, where we lay in Tents all Night; but it happened, that the Waters swelled that Night by reason of Rain, that next Morning we could not repass the River, to come into the Road, without a great deal of Trouble.

The City of Philippopolis is situate on one of the three little Hills, disjoyned, and, as it were, rent from the rest of the Mountains, and is, as the Grace of those little Hillocks. While we were at Philippopolis, we saw Rice growing like Wheat, in the watry and marshy Grounds. The whole Plain, about the Town, is full of little round Hills of Earth, which the Turks say, were raised on Purpose, as Monuments of the frequent Battles fought in those Fields, and the Graves such as were slain there. From hence, leaving the River Hebrus something on the Right, and Mount Hæmus, which runs forth into Pontus, on the left, at last we passed over the Hebrus on a famous Bridge, made by Mustapha, and so came to Hadrianople, which the Turks call Endrene.

This City was formerly called Orestia, before the Emperor Hadrian inlarged it, and called it by his own Name. It is seated at the confluence of the River Mariza or Hebrus, and the two small Currents of Thinsa and Harda, which there meeting in a joint Stream run into the Egean Sea. This City is not very large within the Walls; but, if you take in the Suburbs, and the Buildings which the Turks have added without, it is very capacious.

We staid but one Day at Hadrianople, and then went forward on the last Stage of our Journey towards Constantinople. In my Way thither there grew abundance of Narcissus’s Hyacinth’s, and (as the Turks call them) Tulips, which we beheld, not without Admiration, that in the midst of Winter, which is not favourable to such Flowers in other Countries, the Ground should be so garnished by them. As for Narcissus’s, and Hyacinths, all Greece abound with them; and they are so odoriferous, that, by reason of their Multitude, they are offensive to those Heads that are unaccustomed to such Kind of Smells. But the Tulip, hath little or no Smell, but its gaudiness and party-colouredness is its greatest Commendation. The Turks are great Admirers of Flowers, so that, though they are Parsimonious enough in other Cases, yet for a stately Flower, they will not scruple to give some Aspers. And the Truth is, these kind of Flowers, though they were presented to me as a Gift, yet they cost me a great deal of Money; for some Aspers were always expelled in requital. Neither is there any other way of treating with a Turk, but by opening the Purse-strings, as soon as any Christian comes among them; neither must he think to shut them again, till he go out of their Country: While he is there, he must scatter his Coin, and if he get no other Advantage by it, yet it makes them more tractable. For the Turks are so ill-natured, and such under-valuers of all Nations but their own, that without this Open-handedness, there were no more living among them, for Strangers, than in the most desolate and uninhabited Places, by reason of the excessiveness either of Cold or Heat; but with the Bait of Liberality, you may catch a Turk at any Time.

About the mid-way between Hadrianople and Constantinople, there is a little Town, called Chiurli, memorable for the Overthrow which Selimus received in a Battle against his Father Bajazet, out of which he escaped by the Swiftness of his Horse, called Carabonluch, i. e. a Black Cloud, and so fled to the Cham, or the Precopeian Tartar, who was his Father-in-Law.

Before we came to Selimbria, which is a Town standing on the Sea-side in our Way, we saw the Ruins of an old Wall and Ditch, which were made by the later Emperors of Greece, which reached from that Sea to the Danow, to secure all that was contained within that Fortification to the Constantinopolitans, against the Incursions of the Barbarians; and there goes a Story, that when that Wall was a Building, a certain old Man delivered his Opinion to his Wife, viz. That that Wall would not so much secure what was within it, from the Hands of the Infidels, as it would expose and subject it to their Rage and Fury, in regard it would add Courage to the Barbarians to assault it, and weaken the Courage of the Grecians to defend it.

At Selimbria we had a most pleasant Prospect of a calm Sea; and ’twas very pleasant to us to behold the smooth Water, and to gather Cockles on the Shore; yea, to behold Sholes of Dolphins sporting in the Water, which, with the Warmness of the Air, was exceeding delightful. It can hardly be imagined, how mild the Weather was in those Parts, though sometimes it be a little more boisterous at Chiurli; but here there is, as I may call it, a Thracian Gale, and an incredible Sweetness of Air.

When we came near to Constantinople, we passed over two pleasant Arms of the Sea, upon a Bridge built over them. I may safely say, That if those Places were cultivated by Art, as they are naturally pleasant, the Sun never shone on a better Country; but, alas! they seem to mourn for the Neglect put upon them by the insulting Barbarian. Here we had our Fill of choice Sea-fishes, which were even taken in our Sight.

When I lodged in those Inns the Turks call Imaret, I usually observed, that the Cracks of the Walls were all full of Pieces of Paper; and thinking something was the Matter, but not knowing what, I took out some of them, and finding nothing writ therein of any Consequence, I was more earnest to know of the Turks the Reason of their so doing; especially as I had observed the same Thing in other Places of Turkey before. At first they scrupled to tell me, as thinking perhaps that I would not believe them; or else, not being willing to impart so great a Mystery of Things to such an Alien as myself. This made me the more inquisitive, till at last some of them, with whom I became more familiar, told me, That the Turks gave a great deal of Difference to Paper, because the Name of God may be written in it: And, therefore, they will not suffer the least Bit of Paper to lie upon the Ground, but presently they take it up, and thrust it into some Chink or Hole or other, that so it may not be trampled under Foot; and hitherto, perhaps, their Superstition may be tollerable, but mark what follows.

In the Day of Judgment, say they, when Mahomet shall call up his Followers from their Purgatory, (to which they were condemned for their Sins) to Heaven, to be there made Partakers of Eternal Blessedness; there will no Way be left for them to come to their Prophet, but over an huge red-hot Iron Grate, which they must run over bare-foot, (how painfully, you may guess, when you imagine a Cock to skip thro’ hot-burning Coals.) But at that Instant, (believe it if you can!) all those Bundles of Papers, which they have preserved from being trod upon, will immediately appear, and put themselves under their Feet; by which Means they will pass the red-hot Iron-Grate with less Damage; so necessary do they count the Work of saving a little Paper. And, to add to the Story, I remember that my Turkish Guides were once very angry with my Servants, for making use of Paper to cleanse their Posteriors, and thereupon made a grievous Complaint to me of their horrid Offence therein: I had no Way to put them off, but by telling them, ’twas no Wonder my Servants did such strange Things, seeing they also used to eat Swines Flesh, which the Turks abhor. Thus I have given you a Taste of the Turkish Superstition; I shall add, That they account it a damnable Sin, if any of their own People chance (though unwillingly) to sit upon the Alcoran, (which is a Book containing the Rites of their Religion) and, if a Christian do it, ’tis Death by their Law. Moreover, they will not suffer Rose-Leaves to lie upon the Ground, because, as the Ancients did fable, the Roses spring out of the Blood of Venus; so the Turks hold, That it had its Rise from the Sweat of Mahomet.

I came to Constantinople on the 20th Day of January, and there found my Collegues above-mentioned, Anthony Wrantzius and Francis Zay; as for the Grand Seignior himself, he was, at that Time, at the Head of his Army in Asia, and had only left at Constantinople, Ebrahim Bashaw, an Eunuch, as Governor of the City, and Rustan, but deprived of his Vizier-ship; however I gave him a Visit and made him Presents, as being mindful of his former Dignity, and of the fair Prospect there was of his speedy Restitution thereunto.

It may, perhaps, divert you, and besides it is not wholly foreign to my Design, to acquaint you how this Rustan came to be strip’d of all his former Honours. Know then, That Solyman had a Son, called Mustapha, on a Concubine of his, born by the Bosphorus, (if I mistake not.) This Youth was in the prime of his Age, and in great Favour among the Soldiers. But the same Solyman had several other Children by Roxolana, whom he doated on so much, that he made her his Wife, by appointing her a Dowry; for that’s the Way of making and confirming a Marriage among the Turks. This Solyman did, contrary to the Custom of former Emperors, none of which had ever married a Wife, since the Days of Bajazet the Elder; the Reason was, because the said Bajazet, being overthrown by Tamerlane, was, with his Wife, taken Prisoner by him, where he suffered many Indignities, but none affected him more, than the Uncivilities and Reproaches which he saw offered to his Sultaness, before his Face. The Memory of which Affronts made such a deep Impression on all those that succeeded Bajazet in the Empire, that, to this very Day, none of them will marry a Wife, that so, whatever Chance should happen, they might never fall into the like Indignity; so that, ever since, they beget Children on Women of a servile Condition, in whose Misfortunes they may be less concerned, than if they were their lawful Wives. And yet the Children begot on such Concubines, are as much esteemed by the Turks, as if they were born in lawful Wedlock, and they have as much right to their Fathers Estates.

So then, Mustapha, being of a promising Ingenuity, and in the Flower of his Age; and besides, being the Darling of the Soldiers, and the common People too, having so many favourable Circumstances attending him, he, after his Father’s Death, was by the Votes of all designed for his Successor in the Empire.

On the other Side, his Stepmother, Roxalana, with Might and Main, laboured to prevent it, and to secure the Empire for the Children begotten on her own Body, and thereupon presuming on her Marriage-Relation, she ceased not to disparage Mustapha, and to prefer a younger Son of her own before him. In this Design Rustan was both her Counsellor, and Assistant; they drew both in one Yoke, for Rustan having married a Daughter of Solyman’s, by Roxalana, their Interests thereupon were reciprocal.

This Rustan was the Chief of the Bashaw’s, and Solyman’s Prime Vizier, having the chief Power and Authority with him: He was a Man of a sharp and very capacious Wit, and a great Grace to Solyman’s Government. As for his Original, he was the Son but of a Shepherd, and yet he seemed worthy of that Dignity to which he was advanced, if his sordid Avarice had not been a Blot in his Escutcheon. And to speak truly, Solyman himself observed this Vice in him, though upon all other Accounts, he was his choice and only Favourite: And yet this Crime of his turned to his Master’s Advantage; for being appointed by Solyman to preside over his Treasury, or Exchequer, which sometimes was very low, he was so thrifty in the Management of that Office, that he did not spare to raise Money, even by the meanest and most contemptible Ways. For he laid a Tax on Herbs, Roses, and Violets, which grew in great Men’s Gardens; he caused the Armour, Coats of Mail, Warrior’s Horses, of such as were taken Prisoners in War, to be sold, and by such Ways as those he got together such a Mass of Money, that Solyman was very secure on that Part; upon this Occasion, I remember, that a great Man among the Turks, who are usually vindictive enough, that was a great Enemy to Rustan, yet (to my Surprize) told me, That he would do Rustan no hurt, tho’ it were never so much in his Power, because his Care and Industry had advanced his Master’s Treasury to so prodigious a Sum. There is a Chamber in the Seraglio, at Constantinople, over which there is this Inscription, Here is the Cash obtained by the Diligence of Rustan.

When Rustan was Grand Vizier, and had the intire Administration of all Things in his Hands, he was able to turn his Master’s Mind, as he pleased, so that ’twas commonly reported among the Turks, That partly by the Accusation of Rustan, and partly by the Witchcraft of his Wife Roxolana, (for she was accounted little better than a Sorceress) Solyman was so alienated from his Son Mustapha, that he took Counsel to put him to Death. As to what some alledge, that Mustapha being sensible of the Designs of Rustan and his Step-Mother Roxolana, against his Life, did labour to preserve them, by taking off his Father, and so seizing the Empire by force; very few do believe that Story, but look upon it as a Fiction.

On this Occasion, let me tell you, that the Sons of the Turkish Emperors are the miserablest Creatures in the World; for if any one of them succeed his father in the Empire, the rest are inevitably put to Death by him. For the Turks cannot endure any Corrival in Government; and besides they are egged on to this severity by their Prætorian Bands, (Janizaries and Spahies) who, as long as there is any one of the Grand Seigniors Brothers alive, never cease craving of Largesses and Boons, and if the present Emperor refuses to grant them, they presently cry out, God save your Brother, God send your Brother a long Life; by which Words, they more than intimate their Wishes, that he were on the Throne. So that the Turkish Emperors are in a manner compelled to put their Brethren to Death, and so begin their Reign with Blood. But Mustapha was afraid of such a fatal end; or else Roxolana was willing to translate the said Destiny from her own Children upon Mustapha: Upon one or other of these Grounds, it was, that Solymon entertain’d the thought of putting his Son Mustapha to Death. And the occasion fell out opportunely, for he had War at that Time, with Sagthama King of the Persians, thither Rustan was sent with a vast Army. When he drew near to the Borders of Persia, upon a sudden he made a stop, and wrote back fearful Missives to Solyman, telling him, That the whole Empire was in great hazard, there was nothing but Treason studied in the Army, they all cry’d out A Mustapha! A Mustapha! yea, the Disease was grown to such a height, that ’twas past his skill to cure it; and therefore the Emperor himself must come immediately, if he would have the Crown sit safe on his Head.

Solyman was mightily disturb’d at the News, and therefore posted away for the Army, and sends Letters to Mustapha to come to him, to purge himself from those Crimes, whereof he was formerly suspected, but now openly accused; if he could do it, he told him, he need not fear to approach his Presence. Upon the Receipt of this Letter, Mustapha was in a great Streight, if he should go to his Father, in such an angry Mood, he ran upon his Death; if he refused, that would be interpreted, as a plain Confession of the objected Crimes. Under this Dilemma, he resolved upon that course, which as it had more of Resolution in it, so it was fullest of Danger. Away goes he from Amasia, of which he was Governor, to his Father’s Camp, which was pitch’d not far from the place. This he did either out of confidence of his own Innocency, or else presuming on the Assistance of the Army, if any Severity were meditated against him; whatever was the Motive of his Journey, this is certain, that he run unavoidably upon his own Destruction; For Solyman ever since he was at Constantinople, had resolved to put his Son to Death; and to make the Matter more plausable, he consulted the Mufty, (so the Turks call the chief of their Priests, as Romanists call theirs the Pope,) and that he might not speak to him in favour of Mustapha, he propounded to him a feign’d Case, thus, ‘There was a Wealthy Merchant at Constantinople, who having occasion to Travel a long Journey from Home, left the care of his Family, his Wife and Children, and all his Affairs to a Slave of his, in whose Fidelity he put a great deal of Confidence; now this Slave, immediately after his departure, designed to destroy his Masters Wife and Children, committed to his Care, and Embezil his Estate, and to work against his Masters own Life, in case he should ever get him into his Power; What may be Lawfully done, said he, to the Mufty, with such a Slave.’ He deserves says the Mufty to be Rack’d to Death. Whether he spoke really as he thought, or whither he did not do it to curry favour with Rustan and Roxolana; This is certain, that the Resolution of the Grand Seignior was greatly confirmed thereby to put his Son to Death, for he was of Opinion, Mustapha’s Offence against him, was as great, as that supposed Slaves against his Master. However it were, Mustapha came into his Fathers Camp, the whole Army being very sollicitous about the event of their Congress.

Soon after he was brought into his Fathers Tent, where all things were hush; not a Soldier of the Guards to be seen, no Serjeant, no Executioner in view, nor nothing of Treachery that was visible; but when he was come into an inner Tent, Lo! upon a sudden, there started up four Mutes, strong and lusty Fellows to be his Executioners; they set upon him with all their strength and might, and endeavoured to cast a Cord about his Neck; he defended himself stoutly for a while, (for he was a Robust young Man,) as if he had contended not only for Life, but for the Empire. For without Question, if he had escaped that danger, and had come in among the Janizaries, they either out of Affection to him, whom they dearly Loved; or else moved with the Indignity of the Thing, would not only have saved his Life, but have gone near to have Proclaimed him Emperor: And that was the very thing, which Solyman fear’d of all things in the World; and therefore perceiving, as he stood behind a Linnen Vail in the Tent to behold the Tragedy, that unexpected stop was put to his Bloody Design; he peep’d out his Head, and gave the Mutes such a sour and minacious Look, in reproach of their remisness; thereupon they assaulted him with renew’d Force, and then threw poor Mustapha down on the Ground, and Strangled him; and after they had done, they carried his Corps out of the Tent, and laid it on a piece of Tapestry, that so the Janizaries might behold their design’d Emperor.

As soon as the Matter was divulged, Commiseration and Grief seized on the whole Camp, and there was scarce a Man of any Consideration in the whole Army, that did not approach to behold so sad a Spectacle, especially the Janizaries, whose Confirmation and Rage was such, that they would have ventured to attempt any Manner of Mischief whatsoever, if they had had a Leader. As for him whom they hoped to be their Conductor, he lay dead on the Ground, and therefore now there was no Way but one, to take that patiently which was past all Remedy.

Thus they silently departed with blubber’d Eyes, and sad Hearts, to their Tents, where they both lamented and pitied the woful Fate of unhappy Mustapha, sometimes inveighing against the Madness and Rage of his old doating Father, at other Times exclaiming at the Fraud and Cruelty of his Step-Mother, and anon cursing the Wickedness of Rustan, with direful Imprecations for extinguishing so great a Light of the Ottoman Family, so that all that Day was a Fasting-day to them, they did not sip so much as a drop of Water; yea, some of them continued their Abstinence for many Days after. In short, there was such a Face of Mourning over the whole Army, which was not like to cease in many Days, that Solyman in Policy, and in a seeming Compliance with the Sentiments of his People, deprived Rustan of his Office (it being thought by his own Consent) and Banished him, as a private Person to Constantinople, substituting Achmat Bashaw to the Grand-Vizier-ship in his Room, a Man of more Courage than Conduct.

Upon this Alteration, the public Grief was somewhat abated, and the Soldiers Rage pacified; for the Commonalty was made to believe, That Solyman at last had found out the Wickedness of Rustan, and the Inchantments of his Wife; and that now he repented, though it were late, first of his Cruelty to Mustapha. and thereupon had banished Rustan from his Presence, and that he would not spare his Wife neither, as soon as he came to Constantinople. As for Rustan, he pretended great Sorrow, and departed to Constantinople, without seeming to have the least hope, ever to be restored to his former Dignity.

But alas! Roxolana was not content with the Destruction of Mustapha, as long as he had an only Son, who was yet in his Minority, alive; for she did not think her own, or her Childrens Security, to be sufficiently provided for, as long as any of Mustapha’s Race were alive; but she wanted a fair pretence to accomplish her Design, nor was it long before she found One. She represented to Solyman, that as often as his Grand-child, Mustapha’s Son went abroad at Prusa, where he was brought up, the Youth of that City were wont to flock about him, to wish him all Happiness, and particularly to pray, That he might long survive his Father. And whither (said she) can this tend, but to prompt him to mount the Throne, and revenge his Father’s Death? And to be sure, the Janizaries will take his Part, (added She;) and thus the Death of Mustapha alone, will add little Security to the public Peace and Tranquility. Religion (proceeded she) is to be preferred before even the Lives of our own Children; and seeing that of the Musselmans, (for so they call their Religion, as counting it the best) stands and falls with the Ottoman Family; if that House fail, farewel Religion also. And how can that House stand, if Domestic Discord undermine it? And therefore Sir, if you prevent the Ruin of your House, your Empire and your Religion, you must use all manner of means; nay, you must not stick at Parricide itself; if homebred Disagreement and Feud may be thereby prevented; for the safety of Religion will over-ballance the Loss, even of a Man’s own Children. As for Mustapha’s Son, you have the less Reason to spare him, because his Father’s Crime hath already infected him, and there is do doubt, but, if he be suffered to Live, he will soon endeavour to Head a Party, to revenge his Father’s Death.

By these Reasons Solyman was induced to yield to the Murder of his Grandchild, and thereupon sent Ebrahim Bashaw to Prusa, to destroy the innocent Youth. As soon as the Bashaw came thither, he made it his great Business to conceal his intended Design from the Child’s Mother; for, he thought, it would be look’d upon as an inhuman Thing in him, to cut off a Youth, with the Privity of his Mother, and, as it were, before her Eyes. And, besides, he was afraid the People would rise in Arms upon the Perpetration of so cruel a Fact; and therefore at first, Fox like, he sets his Wits at work to deceive the Mother. He pretended that he was sent by Solyman, out of Respect to her and her Son, to visit them; that his Master saw his Error in putting his Son to Death, which he now, too late repented of; but that the crueller he had been to the Father, the more indulgent he would be to his Son; and many such colloguing Words he used, whereby he imposed upon the too credulous Mother, who was the rather induced to believe him, because of Rustan’s Disgrace and Fall; and to crown his Flattery, he presented them with many Gifts. This past on for a Day or two, and then some Discourse was administred concerning their going abroad, out of the City, to enjoy the fresh Air. And the Bashaw, being an Eunuch, persuaded her the next Day to take a Turn in the Suburbs, she in her Coach, and himself, with her Son, would ride afore on Horseback. The Matter seemed not to afford any Suspicion, and therefore she consented, and a Chariot is prepared for her; but (mark the Fraud!) the Axle-Tree of the Coach was so made, on Purpose, that it must needs break, when it came to be jogged in any rough Way. Thus she, in an unlucky Time, began her Journey out of the City. The Eunuch and the Child rode a pretty Way before, as if they had Occasion for some private Discourse, and the Mother speeded after as fast as she was able; but when the Coach came to the designed craggy Place, the Wheel violently hit against the Rocks, and so the Axle-Tree broke. This the Mother looked upon as an unlucky Omen, and therefore, in a great Fright, she could not long be restrained from leaving her Coach, and with a few of her Maids, from following her Son on Foot. But, alas! ’twas too late; for the Eunuch being come to the House designed for the Slaughter, without any more ado, shewed the Child the Emperor’s Mandate for his Death. He answered, according to the Principles of their Religion, That he looked upon that Command as proceeding not from the Emperor, but from God, which must necessarily be obeyed, and so he yielded his Neck to the Bow-String.

Thus died this innocent and hopeful Youth. When the Eunuch had perpetrated this wicked Fact, he stole out at a Back-door, and fled as fast as he could. The Mother, soon after, beginning to smell out the Fraud, knocks at the Door; when they thought fit they opened it, and there she saw her Son sprawling on the Ground, his Breath being yet hardly out of his Body. Here let me draw a Vail; for a Mother’s Affection to a Son in such a lamentable Juncture, may be better conceived than expressed. Upon this dismal Sight she was hurried back to Prusa, where she tore her Hair, rent her Garments, filled the whole Town with Howlings, Moans, &c. The Prusian Ladies, with their Daughters and Waiting-Maids, came in Multitudes to her, and were stark Mad to hear of so great a Butchery; and running in that raving Manner out of the Gates, all the Cry was, Where’s the Eunuch? Where’s the Eunuch? Let’s have him to tear him to pieces: But he foreseeing what would happen, and fearing, like another Orpheus, to be torn Peace-meal by those raging Furies, had cunningly withdrawn himself.

But to return to my Purpose. As soon as I came to Constantinople, Letters were sent to Solyman, then at Amasia, to acquaint him with my Arrival; and, till his Answer was return’d, I had Leisure to take a View of the City of Constantinople; and first, I had a Mind to visit the Temple of St. Sophia, which I was not admitted to do, but by special Favour; for the Turks think that their Temples are prophaned, if a Christian do but put his Foot within them.

That Church is a magnificent Pile, and a worthy Structure to behold. It hath a great Arch or Hemisphere in the Middle, which hath no Light but only from the Sky: All the Turkish Mosks are built after the Form of this. Some say, that heretofore it was much larger, and contained many Apartments, which were all destroyed by the Turks, and only the Quire and Nave, in the Middle of it, standing.

As for the Situation of the City itself, it seemed to me, to be naturally placed as fit to be the Mistress of the World; it stands in Europe, and hath Asia in view, and on its right, hath Egypt and Africa; which, though Countries not adjacent to it, yet by reason of frequent Intercourse and Naval Commerce, they seem as it were, contiguous. On its left Hand is the Euxin Sea, and the Palus Mætis, whose Banks are inhabited round about by many Nations, and so many navigable Rivers have their Influx into them, that there is nothing grows in any of the Countries thereabout, fit for Man’s Use; but there is a great Conveniency of transporting it by Sea to Constantinople.

On the one Side, it is wash’d with the Propontis; on the other, the River makes an Haven, which Strabo calls, The Golden Horn, from the Similitude it hath to an Horn; on the other Side, it is joined to the rest of the Continent, so that it almost resembles a Peninsule; and with the continued back of a Promontory, it runs out into the Sea and a Bay, which is made there by the River and the Sea. So that from the middle of Constantinople, there is a most pleasant Prospect into the Sea, and even to the Mount Olympus, in Asia, which bears a snowy Head all the Year long. The Sea there, is wonderful full of Fish, which sometimes swim down from the Mæotis and the Euxine, through the Bosphorus and Propontis, into the Ægæan and Mediterranean Seas, and sometimes they swim from thence into the Euxin, according to the Nature of the Fish; and that in Shoals so thick and numerous, that you may catch them with your Hands. So that here is excellent fishing for Mackrel, Tunny, Cod, Porpois and Sword-Fish. But the Greeks fish more than the Turks, though these latter love Fish well enough; provided, they be of the Number of those, which they count clean; as for others, they had rather eat Poison than taste them, for a Turk had rather his Tongue or his Teeth were pluck’d out of his Head, than taste of any Thing they think to be unclean, as a Frog, a Snail, or a Tortoise. And herein, the Greeks are every jot as Superstitious as they; of which I will give you the Instance following.

I entertain’d in my Family, a Youth of the Greek Religion; I employed him as my Steward. The rest of my Servants could never persuade him to eat any Periwinkles or Cockles; but at last, they put a Trick upon him; they caused them to be so high-season’d and disguis’d, that he, mistaking them for another sort of Fish, fed upon them most heartily. Whereupon, my People set up a Laughter, and threw down the Shells before him, where by he perceiv’d himself to be cozen’d: Whereupon, ’tis incredible to relate how much he was troubled. He went presently to his Chamber, and there fell a Vomiting, Weeping, and Afflicting himself most grievously, without any Intermission; insomuch, that two Months Sallary was not sufficient to expiate this Offence; for that’s the Guise of Greek Priests, according to the kind and greatness of the Offence, they lay a pecuniary Mulct upon those who come to Confess, and they never Absolve them till they pay it down to a Penny.

In the furthest Point of that Promontory which I mentioned before, stands the Palace, or Seraglio, of the Turkish Emperors: To me, it did not seem very magnificent, either for Work or Workmanship (for you must know, that as yet, I had not made an Entrance into it.) Under the Palace, in a low Ground, and as it were, upon the Sea-shore, are the Gardens of the Grand Seignior, where the greatest Part of Old Bysantium is thought to have stood.

I hope you do not expect to be informed by me, why the Chalcedonians, who built a City over-against Byzantium (the Ruins whereof are yet to be seen) were Sirnam’d The Blind; nor shall I tell you the Nature of that Sea, which always runs downward with a vast Stream, but never recoils with any Tide; nor will I spend Time to speak of those Hautgis which were brought to Constantinople from the Palus Mæotis, such as the Italians call Moronella’s Botargues and Caviare; the Description of all these Particulars would swell my Epistle to too great a Bulk, and besides, it would be needless; for both the Antients, and also Modern Writers, have given Information of those Particulars at large.

To return then to the Site of Constantinople. There is no Place in the World more pleasantly seated to the Eye, nor more convenient for Trade. But, let me tell you, the Buildings therein (as in all other Turkish Cities) are not magnificent, nor are their Streets stately or large; nay, in Constantinople, they are so narrow, that they much eclipse the Beauty of the Place. Yet there are in it some valuable Relicks of old Monuments to be seen; but not so many as a Man would imagine, considering how many Constantine brought thither from Rome. It is not my Purpose to insist upon each of these Particulars; yet, a Word or two of the principal ones.

In the Area of the old Hippodrome, there are two Serpents cut in Brass; as also, a mighty Obelisk. Moreover, Constantinople doth gratifie us with the Sight of two memorable Pillars; One over-against the Caravaserai, where I lodged, and the Other in the Forum, called by the Turks, Aurat-basar, i. e. The Womens Court, wherein, from Bottom to Top, is engraven the History of a certain Expedition of one Arcadius, who built it, and whose Statue, for a long time, stood on the Top of it. And yet it may rather be called a Stair-Case, than a Pillar, because it goes winding up like a Pair of Stairs. I caused the Shape of this Pillar to be drawn, which I have by me. But the other Pillar, over-against the House the German Ambassadors used to lodge in, the whole Structure, besides the Basis and the Chapiter, consists of eight solid Marble or Red Porphyry Stones, so curiously joined together, that they seem but one continued Stone. For, where the Stones are jointed one into another, upon that Commissure, there is wrought a circular Garland of Lawrels round about the Pillar, which hides the jointing, so that they which look upon it from the Ground, perceive no jointing at all. That Pillar hath been so often shaken by Earthquakes, and so battered by Fires happening near it, that it is cleft in many Places, and they are forced to bind it about with Iron Hoops, that it may not fall to pieces.

They say, That the Statue of Apollo once stood upon that Pillar, and that afterwards the Statues of Constantine, and of Theodosius the Elder, were erected there; but they are all thrown down, either by the Force of the Winds, or by Earthquakes.

The Greeks tell this Story concerning the Obelisk, in the Hippodrome, which I mentioned before, viz.

That it fell from its Basis, and lay for many Ages upon the Ground; but in the Time of the later Emperors, there was an Architect found, who undertook to raise it up to its Place; but he demanded a vast Reward for his Pains. After the Price was agreed on, he prepared abundance of Ropes, Pullies, and other Instruments, and by those means, he lifted up that vast Stone, within one Inch of the Place where it was to stand; but his present Apparatus being able to raise it no higher, the People, who in great Numbers were his Spectators, were of Opinion, that all his former Cost and Pains were lost, and he must begin anew to try to do the Feat some other way, to his vast Expence and Charge. The Artist himself was not discouraged; but being skilful in Mechanick Philosophy, he caused abundance of Water to be brought up to him, which, for many Hours, he cast upon the Ropes, to which the Obelisk hung; and those Ropes, being often wet and dry, shrunk a little, and by that means, lifted up the Weight to its designed Station, to the great Admiration and Applause of the Vulgar.

At Constantinople I saw several Sorts of wild Beasts, such as Lynxes, Cat-a-Mountains, Panthers, Leopards, and Lyons; but they were so gentle and tame, that I saw one of the Keepers pull a Sheep out of a Lyon’s Mouth, so that he only moistened his Jaws with the Blood, without devouring it. I saw also a young Elephant, so wanton, that he would dance, and play at Ball. Sure you cannot chuse but laugh, when I tell you of an Elephant’s dancing and playing at Ball; but if I should say no more, why may you not believe me as well as Seneca, who tells us of one that could dance upon the Rope? Or as Pliny, who speaks of another that understood Greek? But that you may not think me an egregious Forger, give me leave to explain myself: When this Elephant was bid to dance, he did so caper or quaver with his whole Body, and interchangeably move his Feet, that he seemed to represent a kind of a Jig; and as for playing at Ball, he very prettily took up the Ball in his Trunk, and sent it packing therewith, as we do with the Palm of the Hand.

Among those wild Beasts, there had been a Camelopardalis, but she died a little before I came to Constantinople; however, I caused her Bones, which had been buried in the Earth, to be digged up, that I might inspect the Make of this Creature. It is an Animal a great deal taller in the Forepart than in the Hinder; and, for that Reason, it is unfit to carry a Man, or any other Burden. It hath an Head and a Neck like a Camel, but a spotted Skin like a Leopard, and therefore it is called by a Name derived from both, (i. e.) Camelopardalis.

It might have been imputed as a Piece of great Neglect in me, not to have visited the Euxine, especially as I had an Opportunity of sailing thither; seeing the Ancients used to account it as great a Piece of Curiosity to see Pontus, as to visit Corinth. Thither, therefore, I sailed with a prosperous Gale, and had the Privilege to be admitted into some of the Pleasure-Houses of the Grand Seignior.

In the Valves of one of them, I beheld the famous Fight of Selimus with Ishmael King of the Persians, excellently described in Checker-Work. I had also the View of many of the Orchards and Groves of the Turkish Emperor, which were seated in most pleasant Vallies. This I may say of them, That they ow’d little to Art, but almost all to Nature; so that I could not chuse but entertain such Epiphonema’s as these in my Thoughts, O most pleasant Houses for Nymphs! O choise Seats for the Muses! O Retirements fit for the Learned! To deal plainly with you (as I told you before) they seemed to me, as it were, sensibly to bewail their present Posture, and to cry aloud to Christians for their better Cultivation; and not they only, but much more Constantinople itself, yea, and all Greece too; which being, heretofore, the most flourishing Country in the World, is now wofully enslaved by Barbarians. Formerly it was the Mother and Nurse of all good Arts and liberal Sciences, but now, alas! it seems to call for that Culture and Humanity which once it delivered down to us; and, by Way of Requital, claims the Redemption of our common Religion from that Scythian Barbarism under which it groans; and call it may long enough, for (with Grief may we speak it) Christian Princes, now a-days, are otherwise employed; so that the Turks do not more domineer over the poor Greeks, than Vices, such as Luxury, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Pride, &c. do over Christians, which so clog, enervate, and depress our Minds, that we can hardly look Heaven-ward, or aspire to any Thing that is truly Great and Excellent.

Methinks, Duty and Piety should have been sufficient Motives to us to help our afflicted Brethren; but if we had been proof against those Incentives, so that neither brave nor praise-worthy Actions could unthaw our frozen Courage; yet Profit and Advantage, which are now the great Bias of the World, might have stirred us up to recover such opulent and commodious Countries from Infidels, and to possess them ourselves: But, on the contrary, we plow the Ocean, even as far as the Indies, and the very Antipodes, because there we get rich Prey and Spoil at a cheap Rate, even without Bloodshed, by imposing on the simple and uncrafty Indians. ’Tis true, we pretend the Conversion of the Heathens, but, if we go to the Root of the Matter, (to our Shame be it spoken) ’tis their Gold, not their Godliness, is the Gain we seek for. Our Ancestors carried it at quite another Rate, who did not, like trading Merchants, seek after those Places where there was most Wealth, but where there was greater Opportunity for noble and virtuous Atchievements; so that it was not Profit, but Honour, which put them upon hazardous and remote Expeditions: And when they came home, they were more laden with Glory than with Plunder. I speak this in your Ear; for others, perhaps, may think it a peculiar thing in me, to detract from the Manners of the present Age. But, let them think what they will, I see that the Arrow is drawn to the Head to destroy us; and I am afraid, that we, who would not fight for Glory, shall be forced to do it to save our Lives. But to return to Pontus.

The Turks call the Euxine, Caradenis, (i. e.) The Black Sea. It falls down thro’ narrow Streights into the Thracian Bosphorus, where its Waters are tossed up and down by many Vortices, Turnings, and Windings, occasioned by several Promontories jutting out into it; and thus, in one Day’s Passage, it descends to Constantinople, and from thence, almost by the like strait Passage, it breaks out into the Propontis. In the Middle of the Bay, where it makes its Influx into the Bosphorus, there is a Rock with an erected Pillar, in the Basis whereof is writ the Name of a certain Roman, called Octavian, (if my Memory fail not) in Latin Letters.

On the European Shore there is a Tower, called Pharos, where they hang out Lights in the Night, to guide Sailors by. Not far from this Place, a River falls into the Sea, in the Channel whereof there are found Stones, little inferior to Onyxes or Sardonyxes, and, if they be polished, are as shining as they. A few Miles from that Bay, which I lately spoke of, we may see those Streights over which Darius wasted his Army against the European Scythians: And about the Middle, between the two Mouths of the Bosphorus, there are two Castles, one of which is in Europe, and the other on the opposite Shore, in Asia. This latter was possessed by the Turks long before Mahomet took Constantinople. The other was built by him some few Years after he became Master of that City. The Turks make use of it, at this Day, as a Prison for the nobler Sort of their Captives. Lazarus, a Commander, or Prince of the Epitots not long ago was taken Prisoner by the Turks, together with some Spaniards at Castlenovo, and committed to this Tower; from whence making his Escape, and being retaken, he was impal’d, (i. e.) put to a most cruel Death, by having a Pole thrust thro’ his Body, from his Fundament to his very Neck; yet he indured it with incredible Patience.

Perhaps you expect that I should here give you an Account of those floating Islands, called Cyaneæ or Symplegades. But, to deal freely with you, those few Hours that I spent on the Pontus, I saw no such Islands at all; whether they had been carried to any other Place, I know not: If you desire to have a more particular Information concerning them, you may consult Peter Gyllius, who was an exact Enquirer into such Curiosities; for my Part, I shall record only what I saw, or know to be true. Yet I think it is not fit for me to conceal a Mistake that Polybius is guilty of; for he proposes many Arguments, to prove that, in Tract of Time, the Euxine will be choaked up with Sand and other Trash, brought in by the Danow, the Borysthenes, and other great Rivers falling into it, that it would be made unfit for Navigation; whereas, the contrary appeared to me; for that Sea is every jot as navigable, at this Day, as it was of old in the Days of Polybius. And though he seemed to have some Grounds for his Opinion, that to him were irrefragable, yet Time hath shewed them to be weak. The like Observation holds in other Cases; for, of old, who would not believe the Ancients, who affirmed, upon seemingly imaginable Grounds, That the Torrid Zone was inhabitable? whereas, later Discoveries have fully convinced us, That those hot Countries are as well inhabited as any other Part of the Terrestial Globe; nay, when the Sun is at the highest with them, and darts down its Rays perpendicularly upon them; even at that very Time the Ardency of the Heat is so tempered and cooled by continued Rains, that those Countries are rendered very fit for human Habitations. But to return.