Grand Visier assembled his Army at Belgrade and the Duke of Lorrain assembled the Emperor's near Comora and Raab He was joined by the Polish Troops in the Emperor's Pay commanded by the Chevalier Prince Lubomirski who had treated with them for three Regiments The Duke advanced afterwards to the other side of the Danube where he formed the Siege of Newhausel an important Place the furthest advanced of any belonging to the Turks about 8 Hungarian Leagues from Presburg that is to say 12 Hours March at least situated in a vast Plain Part of which is Marshy and Part of it full of Ditches and hollow Ways but all of it open and cultivated It is bounded on one side by an Arm of the Danube to which another great River joins called Waag and on the other it has a pleasant Edge of little Hills and altogether form a charming Lantskip with considerable Towns frequent Villages and generally a fruitful Soil The Town is small formerly built of Brick with with large Streets pav'd in the Hungarian Manner that is to say with Borders raised like a Casway with 6 Foot of Earth It had stately Churches very Lofty Monastries and Considerable Pallaces amongst others that of the Bishop of Nitra Spiritual Lord of Neuhausel upon which are still to be seen the Arms of the Bishops that built or repaired it At present all those Houses are in Ruines where the Turks have formed ' emselves Habitations without restoring the Buildings to which they have added other Houses made of Earth and Wood according to the Custom of that Nation who never repair any thing that they acquire They have turned the Churches into Mosques the Palaces into Lodgings for their Bassas and others of the first Rank The Convents were given to the Soldiers of the Garison the rest is inhabited by Merchants and Tradesmen of their own Nation and Way for after Ahmet Kuproli the Son took it not so much as one Christian staid in the Town but all of them retired elsewhere The Town is regularly fortified with 6 Royal Bastions according to the Modern Way faced with Brick well terrassed with a great Parapet of Turf betwixt which and the Wall there is a very large Way The Top of the Platform is also very large Each Bastion hath a spacious Cavalier capable of containing 500 Men the Streets of the Place end at the Avenues and the whole Circumference is very Easy and Commodious for giving Mutual Assistance to one another It hath only two Gates they are well vaulted but have neither Ravelin nor Half-Moon this being only the Body of a Fortification which the Turks never suffered to be compleated Nay the Ditches are not all throwly dug and beyond 'em there is the Draught of a Counterscarp which shews the Ingineers design so that all the Out-works remain about the Height of a Man and the Place hath no other Defence but an Inundation which fills the Ground designed for Ditches and leaves a little Space at the Foot of the Walls in form of a Fausse Braye This City had a little Suburb going to the Gate that looks towards Comorra beyond the little River Nitra with a sorry wooden Bridge after the Polish Manner which is not Unuseful to cover this Front tho' it be the easiest Part of the Town to attack by drawing the Water from the Ditches and conveying it away by the River As for the rest the City is encompassed with marshy Medows through which there lie Cause-ways shaded with Trees and admirable Gardens from whence as also from the River Nitra the Turks had great Relief there being no Water in the Place It was furnished with Cannon Arms Powder and Provisions for 2000 Foot and 800 Horse the usual Garison and defended by two Pachas the one being Governour called Aly and the other his Deputy called Mustapha The former was about 60 Years of Age of a good Aspect with a venerable large grey Beard and of more than a middling Stature of a melancholy Air lean Face of a Carriage genteel enough but Ignorant to a Progidy a great Hater of the Christians and full of the foolish Vanity of the Turks who have a mighty Conceit of their own Nation and Power The other on the contrary was a young Man of a good Countenanco fair Complexion pleasant Look full Face of a cold but easie Access a Noble Mien and about 40 Years of Age. The Turks call this City Oiiy-War a Hungarian Word for Bishops-Castle After 't was taken by the Grand Visier Kuproli it was agreed that the Christians might build another City in lieu of it in the same Country whereupon they erected Leopoldstat within 6 Leagues of it fortified much in the same Manner The Duke of Lorrain had scarce begun his Approaches before Newhausel till he heard of the March of the Infidels But the Court of Vienna whom he informed of it being prepossessed with contrary News ordered him to continue the Siege since the Grand Visier was still at Belgrade He obeyed and very narrowly escaped being swallowed up by the Ottoman Army having had much difficulty to retire his own and to throw them speedily into the Isle of Comorra commonly so call'd from the famous Fortress at the oint of it but properly called the Grand Schit or Schut by which he sav'd the Empire That we may the better understand the Importance of this Step I must inform you that the Isle of Schit is one of the finest in any River of Europe begins near Presburg and lies along for the space of 10 Hungarian Leagues On the Point opposite to the Turkish Couutry as you go down the River there 's a little City formerly walled and still a good Town called Comorra covered with a Cittadel that is looked upon as Impregnable and a Master-Piece of the Art Military both in regard of its Scituation betwixt two large Arms of the Danube which wash its Flanks and join together at the Point of its Bastions and in regard of its Fortifications and Works It hath one called Couronné in Mathematical Terms whose Extent Regularity and Outworks are certainly comparable to the finest of that kind as is also the Esplanade which separates it from the City but the Body of the Place is nothing answerable 'T is an Irregular Pentagon because in order to possess all the Ground of the Point they were forced to contract the Fortification towards the end where there are little Bastions and narrow Curtains but that Part is well enough defended by the two Arms of the Danube and the height of the Ramparts But towards the City the Works have their full Extent the Ditches Half Moon space betwixt the Glacis and the Crowned Work answer very well to the rest but those who are versed in Fortifications think the Defences too near the Walls too high and the Flanks ill defended I observed one Irregularity here which is a great eye-sore viz. That the Gate opens in the Corner of the Curtain almost touching
thence on the Glory and Success of the Reigning Prince who is either preferr'd before or set below his Ancestors according to the Event of these Matches Herein I have made no Additions and speak of no more than I my self was an Eye-witness of The City of Niklitsbourg therefore is the first City of Austria on that Side of it that lies towards Moravia It is situated on a Rising commanded by a very high Prominence where is seen a great Pile of Buildings very Magnificent even in their Irregularity 'T is the Castle belonging to the Lords of the Place which looks more like a Prince's Palace The City is but small but neat and encompass'd with Suburbs in one of which the Jews are permitted to settle a rare thing in those parts It is adorned with Fountains set off with a chain of little Hills that do as it were embrace it and by a pleasant Vale which lies below it From this Place to Vienna they reckon nine Leagues and by Stages ten which are very large ones The King of Poland turn'd off to the Right that he might be Master of the Dauube above over against Toulm marching to Mederich to Orkendorf to Ollebrun but the common Road is through Tastorf Volkestorf and other Villages for upon the strait Road there are no Walled Towns from Niklitsbourg to Vienna The Country is very incommodious by its Eminences and by the low Bottoms in the nature of Valleys 't is fat and fertile mix'd with Vineyards with several covert Places There are a great many Villages along those Valleys as well as in the Hilly Country and every where a variety of Prospects The largest Town on this Road is Volkestorf the last Stage from whence they reckon two more to Vienna tho' 't is only three Leagues taking in the Passage of the Danube from the first great Bridge across the two Islands The Road Volkestorf to Vienna is a vast Plain without Hedge or Bush at least for two Leagues together On the Right it is bounded with small Hills where are Villages in the midst of the Vineyard and on the Left one may see to the opening of the Mountains made on purpose they say for an Entrance into the Kingdom of Hungary and for the Passage of the Danube above seven Leagues distant from Volkestorf 'T is likewise the direct Road from Presbourg which on the same Line is no more than ten Leagues from that Village without any other Defile than the River of Moravia which is fordable in Summer and at all times supply'd with a Ferry-Boat These Countries as I have already observ'd from that River to Volkestorf were the Seat of War the Duke of Lorrain being always encamp'd therein ever since Vienna began to be besieg'd and having render'd them Famous by the Bloody Battles that he fought with the Turks and Hungarians The Reader may be the better inform'd of the Importance of this by perusing this last Description of the Road where he will meet with no Rivers nor Fortified Places nor Forests nor Defiles for that Ridge of Mountains between Moravia and Silesia is a Road good and easie enough since the Stage is perform'd in a Chariot and the Ways are broad commodious without any steep Rocks or frightful Precipices Nor are the Cities I have mention'd any Obstruction by their Situation since 't is not necessary to go through them and Travellers leave them on the Right or Left when they have nothing to do there There are no Fortified Places nor deep Rivers to pass over nor any narrow Ways to march through So that all was open from the Danube to Vistula or at least to Oder which is a large and deep River but such as the Tartars might have swam over or pass'd by the Bridge of Ratibor which was left unguarded Such an Incursion would have been a fatal Blow to the Emperor's Affairs by ravaging three of his best Provinces at least Austria and Moravia may be reckon'd such as well for the Richness of their Soil which surpasses Silesia by the large Vineyards that are in both as also for the number of their Cities more considerable and better built than those of that Dutchy The Wines of Austria and Moravia are not indeed very rich they are of an Orange colour and have a Flavour neither perceptible by the Eye nor the Palate yet they are sold very much in those Provinces and at Vienna they drink none else From Niklitsbourg to Keysselstorf two Leagues one Stage From Keysselstorf to Canschtorf two Leagues one Stage From Canschtorf to Volkestorf two Leagues one Stage From Volkestorf to Vienna three Leagues two Stages These are all very large Villages and built either of Stone or Mud or Brick The first Stage is very long the next three Hours Riding at least but the last are common ones There is also a Stage set up from Vienna to Presbourg but in time of Peace there is no need of going through Vienna but leaving it on the Left you may travel in a strait Line from Volkerstorf across the Plains to the River of Moravia and thence to Presbourg By this means one saves four Leagues of the Way and avoids the double Passage over the Danube once over the Bridges of Vienna and again in a Ferry-Boat over against Presbourg But because that Road was not safe during the first Year of the War by reason of the Inroads which the Hungarians made into Moravia I always went by Vienna in the two Journeys I made from the Army to Cracow viz. from Vienna to Fichau call'd by the Germans Wischo four Leagues two Stages which are very short through a pleasant Champian Country wherein formerly there were three Villages like those about Paris which the Tartars levell'd with the Ground From Fichau to Mutschultembourg four Leagues two Stages From Mutschultembourg to Presbourg two Leagues one Stage In leaving the first of these Places one meets with a Barrier of high Hills on the Right which shut up the Passage and make a very narrow Defile between the Mountains and the Danube A League farther you pass through another straiter than the former and that is the Gate or Opening which is descry'd from Volkestorf compos'd of two steep Rocks which on both sides situate one over against the other straiten the current of the Danube In the midway of this Passage is a large Town enclos'd with Stone Walls with a lofty Gate through which one enters into the Defile there being no other Entrance for the Danube flows along on the Left and the Wall reaches on the Right along the Mountain to a Tower that is seated on the Top the which is very high and steep This Place is call'd Hamburgh and might formerly have been a well-built City at present 't is all in Ruines as well as the rest From thence one enters into a pleasant and fertile Plain bounded on one side by the River and on the other side by those Green Hills which opening wider and wider gives a
large and boundless View of the finest Country that can be imagin'd At the City of Presbourg situate on the Left across the Danube you have the most charming Prospect and Landskip that any Painter can possibly invent or draw One passes the River on a Magnificent Floating-Bridge large enough for above ten Coaches During the first Campagne it was taken away and a Ferry-Boat only clap'd in its room The next Year it was set on the River again and is certainly the best contriv'd Machine and admirably well built being surrounded with Ballisters or Rails on the Four Sides 'T is so contriv'd that one may walk upon it as upon plain Ground and is guided by the Stream without Oars or Helm only with a Pully whose Cable is fastened to a train of small Boats that lye across the River at an equal distance from each other The Reader will still perceive the Retreat of the Grand Visier to be the more surprizing when he here considers the Defiles through which he was to march before he could so much as reach his Bridges which lay at Raab and he will be able to judge Whether Miogensky that Brave Commander that Leader of the Famous Brigade did not pursue them highly in being able to come up with the Rear of the Enemy I shall shut up this Chapter with a Latin Epigram made by the Bishop of Puy Brother of the Marquis of Bethune who had married the Queen of Poland's Eldest Sister Those who are skill'd in Latin Poetry say 't is smart and has something of the Attick Poignancy in it 'T is only a Distich and runs thus Dignior Imperio numne Austrius anne Polonus Odrysias acies hic fugat ille fugit CHAP. IV. The sequel of the Campagne in Hungary with a particular Account of the Battles of Barcan and the Taking of Grana or Strigonium THE precipitate Retreat of the Grand Visier from before Vienna could not be pursued for the Reasons assign'd in the former Chapter So that he had Leisure enough to pass his Bridges at Raab and to get to Buda with the Remains of his Army He made a stand at that place as being out of Danger and the Letters which he there receiv'd from the Sultan with new Marks of his Favour and fresh Standards comforted him a little in his Misfortune But being order'd to cover the Frontiers which his Defeat might have laid open to the Poles and Imperialists he rally'd his Forces gave some Subsistence to the Soldiers rous'd up the Courage of the Commanders that they might be in a posture of opposing the Christians in case they were minded to prosecute their Victory and to lay Siege to any place within the Grand Signior's Dominions Tho' the Army was not well satisfied with the Grand Visier who did not duly pay them and whose Pay was found in good Ducats in his Chest that were left to be rifl'd by the King of Poland yet they rallied without any more ado being animated with a Spirit of Mahometism which serves that Nation instead of true Glory The New Cham of Tartary cross'd the Danube over the Bridge of Buda and took possession of the City of Pest with the Country round about it to serve as a cover from thence to the Mountains where Count Teckley was advanc'd in the Bottoms He reinforc'd the Garrisons of Newhausel and Strigonium and sent a Body of Horse to the latter of these Places there to pass the Bridge and to guard that Pass where was a Fort of Earth staked and pallissadoed call'd Barcan For the better comprehending of those Motions by the Knowledge of the Country you are to take Notice That the Danube joyning its Streams at the Foot of the Citadel of Comorne and at the Extremity of the Isle of Schut forms one single and large Channel between great and open Plains on the Left and a narrow Mountainous and covert Country on the Right as far as Buda being about twelve Leagues distant from that Isle That these Plains are full of Villages large Towns and small Cities whose Inhabitans manure the Land under the Cannon of Newhausel to which they contribute and whither they carry their Commodities to sell The City is situated in the Centre of those Champian Countries and is the most advanc'd Place which the Turks have on that side of Lower Hungary The Country on the Right beyond the Danube is less fertile and manur'd Mountainous and Woody yet Populous having several strong Cities or Castles which makes the Visiriat of Buda The nighest of those Places towards Germany is Strigonium seated at the foot of a Hill almost on the Banks of the Danube and 't is there where the Turks have their first Bridge to pass over to the Plains of Newhausel and by this communication to guard the Conquer'd Country On the same side with Strigonium lies the City of Buda of the same situation of the former but a great deal more considerable with such another Bridge to pass to Vpper Hungary and relieve the Places that are on that side at the foot of the Mountains The Passes of those two Bridges are defended on the Left side of the River the first by a very great Fort where are abundance of Houses fortified with high Pallisadoes with two Gates but uncover'd and liable to be attack'd on all Sides This Fort is call'd Barcan The second Bridge is defended by a large fortified City call'd Pest. But whereas the Turks had been settled for above 140 Years in all this Country which Solyman II. sirnam'd The Great had in part conquer'd those Places were look'd upon as the ancient Patrimony of the Sultan The Turks never dream'd of any change either in Religion or Government Buda was the Capital City of Turkish Hungary and by the Forts with which it was either cover'd or surrounded within six Leagues of Comorne it might pass for the Centre of the Ottoman Empire Upon this account it was that the Visier there made a stand and Rendevouz'd his new Army He took up his Quarters there with the best part of the Army thereby to cover the Frontiers of that Visiriat and sent the rest cross the Danube to guard the Passes of the two Bridges that they might be in a Readiness to hinder the Christians from advancing in the Plains of Newhausel or towards the Neighbouring Mountains This is the Ichnography of the Country in General let us descend to that of the Places contain'd in it in Particular STRIGONIUM Strigonium call'd by the Germans Gran by the Italians Grana by the Inhabitants Estregon from whence the Turks have nam'd it Ostrogon is a City whose Houses are built with Wood. It is situated at the foot of a large Mountain which the Danube washes inclos'd with Stone Walls pretty well built having Turrets and Batteries on them but without a Trench or any other kind of Defence On the Top is a Fortress call'd the Upper Town where the Governour and his Garrison are quartered This Fortress has no
Great Men here whose Reputation is generally known that I might give the Reader an Idea of the Polish Bravery of which those Gentlemen are the Model as well as the Honour of that Nation I don't pretend to rank the King of Poland with his Generals because he is beyond Comparison and above all Encomiums and Titles but we may without flattery adventure to call him the Hero of the North. The Republic hath two separate Armies under two different Generals who are not subordinate nor dependant on one another They encamp separately and act in the same manner as Troops of different Countries When they are obliged to join in Day of Battle each General issues his Orders according to the Measures agreed on in Council the one receiving none from the other neither as to Command nor yet as to the Word given to the Troops The 1st of those Armies is that of the Crown or more properly that of the Kingdom of Poland The 2d is that of the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania being an Auxilliary State and Allie to the other and not a subjected Province like those who compose the Kingdom That of the Crown is to consist of 36000 Men and that of Lithuania of 12000. Nor have they in our Days raised any greater Army on any Expedition whatever But as that Number is never compleat the Army is sometimes greater sometimes lesser according to the Efforts the Republick thinks fit to make as the Case requires without ever amounting to that Number of 48000 fixed by the State of the War which the Poles call Kompout or Komport Each Army hath a Great and Little General the former is call'd General by way of Eminence or General of the Crown the latter is called Little General or General of the Campagne They encamp the one on the Right and the other on the Left of the Line They have both the same Badge of Command viz. a Great Lance adorned at the end either with Feathers or Knots of Ribbons or some other sort of Plume under a great Ball of some rich Stuff This the Poles call Bontchouk or Bunczuk It is carried by a Man on Horseback before the two Generals and by its height discovers their Posts at a great distance either on a March or in Battle The King hath one of the same sort with a Plume either of Herons or Eagles Feathers or Knots of Ribbons But when he is at the Head of the Army his is only carried aloft and those of the Generals along by the Horses Neck in token of their Submission The Generals have likewise a Batoon of Command which is given them by the King together with their Office as is done to the Mareschals of France It is a Mace of Arms very short having a great Ball at one end either of Silver or Vermillion gilt sometimes adorned with Jewels This Batoon is called Boulaf or Bulawa is seldom carried but only represented in their Pictures to denote their Charge as is done in the Pictures of the Mareschals of France They are not Senators by their Office their Prerogative reaching no further than the Command of the Armies but as they are usually very Considerable by their Birth and Merit the King makes them always Palatins or Castellans by Vertue of which they take Place in the Senate according to the Rank of their Province without any particular Preheminence In the Army their Power is without Restriction their Authority Sovereign and their Tribunal or Council of War Independent on the King A Great General has power of Life and Death puts in and puts out as he pleases settles Winter Quarters regulates Marches assembles the Army and appoints the Time and Place of Rendevouz as he thinks fit without receiving Orders from or being accountable to any other than the Republick met in a General Diet. He appoints what Provinces shall pay the Troops and changes them at pleasure 'T is true that in the Council held by the King with the Senators and Generals before the opening of the Campagne the Expeditions and Designs are concerted but the executive Power is in the Hands of the Great General who acts according to his own Mind and Interest and as the Conjunctures require The Grand General hath an Allowance of 60000 Francs at 10 Sous per Franc the Polish Money being less in value than that of France by one half and the Little General hath 40000 Francs Those Salleries are raised upon the Starosties the Royal Demesnes and the Lands of the Church the Cash of which is carried to Leopold about Michaelmass that being supposed to be the end of the Campagne The Grand General presides at this Assembly where he distributes Rewards and Gratifications to the Army according to Merit and the Necessity of the Officers and Gens d'Arms The Marches and Quarters of Assemblies in Poland do equally ruine the Country and enrich the Officer and are ordered by the Grand General according to pleasure And as there is neither Inn nor Road specified the Commander of a Troop leads it where he pleases and lives upon the Peasant at Discretion so that he provides himself for the Campagn as he marches and needs nothing but Carriages and a Purse As for Example an Officer on his way from Warsaw to Leopold that is to say about 50 Leagues f he go on straight will go on the Left and the Right to all the Villages out of the Road make the Tour of the whole Kingdom if he pleases and will spend two or three Months squeezing and eating up the Peasants at discretion by Vertue of a meer Order from the General to go to such a Place And provided indeed he come at the time appointed there 's no enquiry made what way he takes or how much time he spends in his Journey Thus the Officer enriches himself in his March or more properly speaking pillages at Discretion I have known those who in a Journey have gathered together 5 or 6000 Francs without reckoning Provisions 'T is true indeed there 's no quartering upon Gentlemens Lands or if they do they must be forced to pay for it otherwise the Gentry would make a terrible Noise at the Diet so that it 's only thro' the King's Lands and those of the Church that the Troops can march that is to say thro' the Villages of the Starosties Abbies Bishopricks and such like which they force to contribute also to the other Charges of the War on which I cannot but take Notice of the odness of the Humour of the Poles who extend their Devotion even to Hypocrisie and yet dont exempt the Lands of the Church from Military Exactions but on the contrary expose them the most of any to the fury of the Soldiers and the rigour of Taxes Formerly those Marches were more vexatious than at present being more frequently allowed to Friends and Officers of the Grand General by way of Gratification but now they are never granted except in case of necessity and the Grand General
give at least a Pension of 6000 Francs to bear their charge because those Officers are oblig'd to keep a Table in the Army The Captain Lieutenant of the King's Hussars called Polanoski was one of the Candidates for the Crown when Casimir abdicated by which the Reader may understand that those Places are fill'd with Persons of Merit and Quality The King hath a Company of those Gens d' Arms Prince James and Prince Alexander have likewise each of them one the Chief Senators the Bishops and Ministers of State who will be at the expence of it have the same They cost the Captain above 25000 Francs besides the Pay of the Commonwealth The King makes them a compensation for this Expence by giving them Regiments of Foot or Dragoons in the Foreign Army which cost them little and bring in a great deal as I shall shew afterwards The Standard of those Companies is very high and almost as large as that of a Company of Foot The Lance has a gilt wooden Ball upon the upper end like that on the Stern of a Ship The Drums and Trumpets are plac'd round the Standard in March as well as in Battle For other things the Order is much the same as ours only their Trumpets never found any Charge or point of War but always a Fanfare even when on a March They have this peculiar in their way of Encampment that the Officers are always at the Head of the Company not far from the Standard and all the Baggage in the Streets or Intervals which is the same in all the other Troops of the Kingdom The second sort of Gens d' Arms is the Pancernes who are somewhat inferior to the Hussars but much higher than all the rest of the Cavalry They are called so from their Armour which is a Coat of Mail in the Polish Tongue Pancernick with an Iron Cap encompassed with a Net-work of the same which covers all to their Shoulders and shewing only half the Visage makes them look like Satyrs because of the great Mustaches ordinarily worn by the Poles Those Pancernes are arm'd with Falchons and Musquetoons like Light Horse as well mounted as the Hussars but not so richly equipped They are upon all Guards that require fatigue are form'd into Squadrons as the others with a Standard of the same form their Drums are also the same but in lieu of a Trumpet they have a certain little Instrument of Copper not much bigger than a Flagelet crooked and hollow like a Cornet which makes the shrillest and most Savage Noise imaginable It is supposed to be the Ltuus of the Ancients Those Companies have less Pay than the Hussars but are on the same footing as to their Servants who make up the two last Ranks and are also called Pacolets They pass however for Light Horse that is to say Lightly Armed for in other respects they are true Gens d' Arms by their dignity and commanded by Lords the King himself and the Princes having each of 'em a Company in the two Armies Besides these two sorts there 's a third in the Great Dutchy of Lithuania armed like the Pancernes and having Lances as the Hussars but not quite so long nor are their Streamers so large and from this difference they have different Names Those of the Hussars are called Kopies from the Latine word Copia Forces and those of the other are call'd Gides which is a Word in use in that Country and also amongst the Turks as is likewise that sort of Lance. I saw only four Companies of them in the Lithuanian Army that of the Crown having almost none of 'em but there 's nothing finer than those I saw in that Dutchy the Hussars not being more magnificent in either of the Armies At present they have left off their Gides and are upon the same footing with the Pancernes they are call'd Peteores and are likewise honoured with the Quality of Touariches The rest of the Polish Army consists of Companies of Valachians Cossacks and Poles armed like our Light Horse with Musquetoons and Falchons but not so uniform either in Horse or Habit. Their Standards March Drums and way of drawing up agree with the ordinary Custom of the Country It is this sort that go out on Parties guard the Camp and are made use of for Guards and Convoys I have seen Companies of Tartars amongst these and formerly the Republic had abundance of that Nation in Pay in their Wars against the Muscovites The King of Poland before he went to the Relief of Vienna had a mind to try the Pulse of the Officers of those who continued still in his Service and all of them promised him an in violable Fidelity not only in fighting against the Turks but also against the Tartars offering to leave in Poland one half of their Number as Hostages for the Loyalty of the other who should follow his Majesty for he had offer'd to give all of them their discharge which they would not accept of but served in that Expedition with extraordinary fidelity That which they call the Foreign Army hath quite another sort of Discipline they are Regiments of Foot and Dragoons Cloth'd and Arm'd as those of France and Germany with this difference that the Dragoons are mounted on sorry Jades miserably equipped almost naked and all of them in different Colours The Infantry is of all things the most pitiful and more tatter'd than any Spaniards or Italians that ever we heard of some of them have Caps others Hats some have Cloaks others none They are all without Swords but carry long Battle-Axes fashioned like those that were carried before the Roman Consuls Those I always took to be of admirable use The Poles carry them fastened to their shoulders by a Leathern Thong they serve them instead of Rests for their Musquets and there 's nothing in the World comparable to them for covering a Battalion and defending them against Horse Those miserable Fellows all in Rags as I have said and more like Scullions than Soldiers some of them with Cloaks and others of them with a sort of Gowns of a scandalous diversity are nevertheless incredibly stout which in reasonable Men I should call Bravery They resist all sorts of Inconveniencies Nakedness Hunger and Blows with an Heroic constancy bear all the burden of the War and undergo all the dangers of it insomuch that I have seen this Infantry form the Arreir-guard in a Plain in dangerous Retreats when the Tartars pursued the Camp close to cover the Polish Gens d' Arms who retir'd before them without any scruple I have seen those Soldiers dying with Hunger and quite tir'd out lie upon the ground charging their Musquets which they were scarce able to carry and yet would keep firing continually This Infantry don't indeed pride themselves in their Misery which is so disproportionable to the splendor of the Gens d' Arms but it 's they that do the service and are the safety of the Army whereof the others are
the Bastion on the Right and looks more like a Postern than the Gate of a Cittadel It 's also very strait within and the Lodgings crowded too near together which would be hurtful to the Garrison if it were bombarded but three Days in the French Manner but as for the rest every thing there is very Magnificent and well covered so that the Place being well entertained might pass for one of the best of the kind The Emperor has always two Governours in this Place the one a German and the other an Hungarian according to the Priviledges of that Kingdom as at Raab and other principal Places The Isle of Schit hath some other Towns that were formerly considerable and well peopled but at present little frequented There 's abundance of large Villages in it and the whole is extraordinary fruitful It is one of the best Parts of the Kingdom of Hungary and a Canton of an enchanted Country both in respect of its Beauty and Fertilty 'T is above 20 Leagues in Circumference and in some Places above 8 in Breadth so that I look upon it to be larger than Malta Beyond the Danube on both sides there is such a Country as cannot be expressed boundless Plains watered with other great Rivers that come to enlarge this on the Right and Left such is the Raab upon which is settled the Town of that Name call'd otherwise Javarin near which there 's another Island called Little Schit by the side of the great one and the Nitra which passes by Newhausel and about 6 Leagues higher washes a Town called by its Name besides some others no less Considerable 'T was into this Island the Duke of Lorrain threw his Army on the approach of that of the Turks to secure this fine Country and the Cittadel and to cover his Troops from the Enemy without which prudent Foresight that prevented the Grand Visier the Infidels had certainly seized it on their arrival They marched up the Danube upon the Bank on the Right having left on the other side a great Body of Troops under three Pachas to augment the Hungarian Army whose General had Order to possess himself of Presburg that they might be Masters of both sides the River to hinder the Conjunction of the Germans and Poles and block up the Way of the latter to Vienna It is also said that Count Teckley when he had seised Presburg was to have made himself be crowned King of Hungary there with the same Ensigns of Royalty that their former Kings used to be crowned with but this is only a Conjecture without Foundation Whilst this Army marches towards the Country assigned them the Grand Visier advances towards Raab with a Design to build Bridges over the River of that Name that he might pass to Vienna He held as the Pachas of Newhausel informed me a General Council upon this Great Affair and against the Opinion of all those who assisted at it would undertake the Siege of that Capital City without amusing himself with little Expeditions The Visir of Buda represented to him vigorously the Difficulties of that Enterprize foretold him his bad Success and laid him under a Necessity of taking the Event of the thing upon himself which did so much vex the Ottoman General that after his Misfortune he threw the Blame upon the said Visier of Buda and the Tartar Han made the Head of the former to be cut off and the latter to be degraded Upon which those Pachas bewailing the Misfortune of their Nation sighed for the loss of the Great Kuproli and blessed his Memory remembring with what docibility he asked the Opinion of old Captains on the least Occasion Whereas Kara Mustapha his Successor believed there was none better than his own He advanced in fine as far the Town of Raab which he made as if he would besiege and took his Posts round it the better to amuse the Duke of Lorrain and that he might with more ease surprize the Place which he had only in his view Raab Yavarin or Javarin is one of the best Towns of that Country built in the same Form and of the same Size with Newhausel as to the Town but of a prodigous Extent as to the Fortifications heaped one above another all good Pieces of Turf and the Outworks admirable but not fac'd 'T is scituated near that Branch of the Danube which forms the little Isle of Schit and hath before its Walls the River of Raab which falls there into the Danube so that it may be represented as in the Point of a Pennisula betwixt those two Canals It hath two Governours as the Cittadel of Comorra and a very considerable Bishoprick possessed by the Cardinal de Kolonitz The Grand Visier encamped round it as if he would have besieged it and continued there seven whole Days during which he made three Bridges to be laid over the River Raab on the other side of the City about a quarter of a League above without Cannon shot of the Town which he hid from the besieged by seising himself of the Posts on the Neighbouring Hills that surround it so that he missed very little of surprizing Vienna unprovided the Duke of Lorrain not having perceived that Design tâ—â— very late and the Emperor who continued there without any manner of Suspicion had scarce so much time left as to go out of it Nay further the Tartars who were commanded to go and and invest it found the People quietly reaping their Harvest in the Fields within three or four Miles of Vienna and Gentlemen and Women travelling thro' the Country as if the Turks had been still at Belgrade Of those unhappy People surprized on the Roads I have seen a great Number and amongst others Col Rosemberg's Lady who was carried to Boudziac and ransomed two Years after from whom I knew this Circumstance in Poland whither she was conducted The Grand Visier passed the Raab unexpectedly as soon as his Bridges were finished and marched with great Diligence The Duke of Lorrain got before him however with the same Celerity across the Isle of Comorra and threw all his Infantry commanded by Count Staremberg into the Island of Leopoldstadt opposite to Vienna and in fine marched them opportunely into the Town with the General by the favour of those Islands through which he conducted them so that the Turks could never cut off their March He continued with the Cavalry some Days in Leopoldstat but fearing to be shut up there if Count Teckley advanced on the other side of the River and entred Austria by the River Morave He thought best to retire from that Place where he might be starved or taken without striking one Blow being locked up betwixt two Rivers and two Armies Thus he secured Vienna by his first March and by his next March he sav'd the Remainder of the Army marching out of the Island by the great Bridge to which he set Fire as soon as he passed it His foresight herein was admirable
The King lay at the first of these Places the fourth Day of his March Moravia is doubtless the Best of the Hereditary Provinces and the Richest Country of Germany It is fat fertil plentiful populous set off with Neat Cities and adorn'd with all that Nature can afford to make it Beautiful having variety of Plains Green Forests Vales and Meadows which represent very pleasing Prospects to the Eye On the one side it borders on the Kingdom of Hungary It is separated from Silesia by a Ridge of Mountains On the Front it has the Plains of Austria terminated by the Danube and on the Right the Kingdom of Bohemia whose Language is very like to the Moravian being both a Dialect deriv'd from the Sclavonian The Capital City of Moravia is Olmutz call'd in Latin Olomucium It is well built and set off with a large Square a great many Churches Stately Houses wide and clear Streets strong Walls which last are flanked with Turrets cover'd with a Mote and other Modern Works It is adorn'd without with Sumptuous Seats fine shady Walks and very advantagious for its Scituation being at the end of a Plain two Leagues long bounded on the Left with a Ridge of Hills of different Prospects such as Meadows Ponds Thickets and the like of which the City is the Point of Sight It is seated on a small Rising over-looking a spacious Meadow which surrounds three Sides of it with a River that runs in a winding Stream thro' the midst Olmutz is a Bishoprick whose Bishop is a Prince of the Empire and has a Right of Coyning Money and I have seen several fine Ducats of his Coyn. He has a new Palace suitable to his Dignity yet the Garrison and the Governor are plac'd by the Emperor in the City and their Discipline is Exact and Great The King leaving Hauff din'd at Sternberg and took up his Quarters at Olmutz the fifth Day of his March being August 26. From Sternberg to Olmutz two Leagues one Stage From Olmutz to Prostnitz two Leagues one Stage The Country between is very uneven wholy Champian and of an extraordinary Soil Prostnitz is scituated in a Plain and is less considerable than Olmutz but yet neat enough being built with Brick as are all the Towns of this Marquisate its Houses are lofty and its Streets large The King din'd here and the same Day encamp'd at Viska a Village upon the Road. From Prostnitz to Bitchau two Leagues one Stage It takes up in good Weather near four Hours Time to travel this Stage and in Winter 't is near a Day 's Journey by reason of the fat Mountains and dirty Soil The Fields are all open stretching out towards the Left and plow'd into large Furrows As for Bitchau it is one of the Best Cities of the Country and its Land is the Granary of all those Parts From Bitchau to Brinn four Leagues two Stages This last City is more considerable than the former not only for its Grandeur fine Houses and the Nobility with which 't is fill'd but also for its Citadel one of the Best I ever saw in those Parts It takes in the compass of the whole Platform of an high and inaccessible Mountain whose Extremity at the Top has a Mantling or Counterscarp much like that of Montmidy in Luxemburgh Besides this Brinn has its fortified Walls tho' irregular all cover'd with a sort of Bastions without any Outside or loose Works It is situated on a small Prominence at the foot of which round about it has some Houses in the Nature of Suburbs It s Governor is a Noble Lord very highly esteem'd by the Elector of Bavaria who came to refresh himself at his House after the Siege of Vienna was rais'd The King came thither in three Days time from Olmutz From Brinn to Pourlits four Leagues two Stages This is a Village in a very fat Soil and a Plain diversify'd with Meadows Plow'd Lands and Thickets where there are some others more considerable From Pourlits to Niklitsbourg the Germans pronounce it Niklitspourg two Leagues one Stage of three Hours Riding Moravia terminates at the end of one League at a certain Lake over which we pass'd on a sorry Wooden Bridge Beyond the Lake Austria begins and presents us a new kind of Prospect no less pleasant for its Variety than Rich and Plentiful in its vast Extent On the Left you see nothing but Vineyards like those about Lions on the Right boundless Plains garnish'd with Villages manur'd all over and of a fat and fertile Soil The Arch-Dutchy of AUSTRIA Austria from whence that Illustrious Family whose two Branches have sway'd the Imperial Scepter from the Year 1437. to this Time took its Name was formerly no more than a Marquisate which the Emperor rais'd first to a Dutchy and afterwards to an Arch-Dutchy The Danube runs cross it and it is separated from Hungary on the one Side by the River of Moravia and on the other by that of Raab both which throw themselves into the Danube by opposite currents Austria is bounded by Moravia Bohemia Bavaria Styria and Hungary It is full Cities considerable not only in themselves but also for the Epochas of History which will perpetuate their Names Among others we may reckon Passà w Lints and Vienna its Capital City This last is become the Metropolis of the whole Empire ever since Fourteen Emperors of the House of Austria have reign'd successively the last of which have Establish'd their Court there and have made a Splendid City of it Besides Austria is a Country abounding with variety of Plains Vineyards Hills and large Forests which afford ample Diversions to the Emperors by that prodigious quantity of Stags and other large Beasts with which they are stock'd 'T is certain that no Country abounds so much with the former as this Province does You may see them in whole Herds like so many Beeves round about Vienna and 't is to be wondred what a great number of them the Emperor takes every Year whereof with the weight of each an exact Register is kept This Register is lock'd up in the Archives of the Court and has been lodg'd there time out of Mind These Hunting-Matches are three Months in the Year The Emperor misses not one of 'em having stated and fix'd days for this Exercise as he has for Audiences His Courtiers make a Business of State of it and at the place of Rendez-vous take each of 'em a Nosegay of Greens provided by the Huntsmen who present the Emperor with a Crown and a kind of Sceptre made of the same The Scales are carry'd along with 'em to weigh each Beast they kill and the Register to take an exact Account thereof and the Emperor himself opens the Belly cross-ways with a large Knife before any dare touch it When the Hunting-Matches are over they cast up the Number and the Weight as set down in the Register and by comparing them to former Years and to other Emperors they pass a Judgment from
other Fortifications beside very thick Walls well built and Rampier'd defended with Towers Angles and other ancient Flankers by which the Walls of the Lower Town are joyn'd to those of the Upper That side which faces the Danube is very pleasant and the Communication of the Lower City with the Fortress very easie by paths than run along the Descent to a small Gate But the side which looks towards the Champian Country is very steep on the Top where is a Rocky Crest that surrounds the Fort and its Walls at the foot of which is a Pallisade in the nature of a Counterscarp to keep off the Enemy For as soon one has gain'd the foot of those Walls he is cover'd from all the Attempts of those that are upon them Over against this side is just such another Mountain parallel to the former and call'd in German Thomasberg where formerly was a sort of Fortress of which nothing is now remaining but the Foundations and from whence one might cannonade that of Strigonium The Lower City had several Houses in the out-parts upon the Plain a Mosque upon the Bank of the Danube near the Bridge to which they went through a small Gate open'd in the Wall over against it This Bridge was one of the longest that ever was seen the middle built on Boats the two ends on Piles The River is of an extraordinary Breadth its Banks pleasant its Current running in a strait line the passage all about of wonderful variety It was formerly a considerable Arch-Bishoprick whose Title is still bestow'd on Prelates of high Dignity And of late Years we have met in the Learned World with an Archbishop of Strigonium whose Writings have furnish'd matter of Dispute to the most Famous Universities of Europe and have establish'd a lasting Reputation to their Author This City is still the Metropolis of a Country of a large Extent which made up one of the best parts of the ancient Kingdom of Hungary BUDA Buda was the Capital thereof and the Residence of the King who had there a Magnificent Palace It lies below Strigonium six large Leagues and on the same side divided into the Upper and Lower Town the latter seated on the Declivity and at the Foot of a large Mountain the former stretch'd out on the Top of it where it stands being very narrow about the middle but very long and the two Extremities widened out like Places-d ' Armes Neither of these Towns have any Fortifications The Lower Town is inclos'd only with Walls the Upper flank'd with round Towers with a good Trench a double Circumvallation in several parts of the Ancient Mode and with those Pallaces of King Matthias at the end which enters into the very Substance of the Walls and make a principal part of them The whole is built with Brick and well rampier'd yet of easie Access the Declivity of the Mountain not being very rough and the Top being almost all of it commanded by other Risings proper to mount Cannon on The River runs behind that Hill on which the City stands so that one cannot get betwixt them and to cut off their Supplies one must either seise upon Pest which is on the other side at the Head of the Bridge or stop up the Danube below Buda towards the Isle of Saint Andrews which is not far from thence The Turks call the Place Boudim and have made it the Title of a Visier I likewise look upon it as one of the Chief Visiriats by the Extent of its Government and the Importance of the Province which is one of the richest and largest of the Ottoman Empire which comprehends the whole course of the Drave a very considerable River upon which or its Marshes on each side is the Famous Bridge of Esseck of near two hundred Leagues Length and which opens a Passage into Servia Bulgaria Bosnia and other Ancient Provinces of the Turkish Dominions The Province of Buda made a great part of Lower Hungary and one of the Ancient Pannonienses stretching it self from the Danube towards Sclavonia and across that River as far as the Mountains of Vpper Hungary and the River Theysse taking in the City of Agria with its Dependencies At present 't is the most considerable Province of the Ottoman Empire which reaches to the Borders of Austria on one side and to the Frontiers of Poland on the other HUNGARY But for the clearer Apprehending the course of this Country we ought here to say something in general of the Kingdom of Hungary one of the largest richest most fertile pleasantest and most populous Countries of all Europe Tho' it is in a great measure rob'd of those rare Qualifications and has been the Seat of War Revolts and Bloody Catastrophes for two hundred Years together still it is the best of all the Estates that belong to the House of Austria It wants nothing and what it has is altogether Admirable Its Mountains furnish you with Golden Mines its Coasts with the richest Wines in the World for the Best comes not near those of Hungary made in certain Parts and of certain rich Grapes dry'd in the Sun call'd Vvae siccae Vvae passae The Fruits of the Country are likewise Extraordinary You there meet with a kind of black Plums of a delicate Taste and so suitable to the Constitution of an Humane Body that the Physicians say proverbially That they will do you no harm eat as many as you will of ' em unless you swallow down Tree and all The other Fruits so much boasted of in hot Countries grow here in great plenty Water Melons and others on dry Land without meeting with so much as one of 'em naught And there are three or four sorts of them or of different colours being white green red within Hungary abounds no less in all other things requisite for the Pleasure or Necessities of Life so that it needs not to borrow any thing from its Neighbors but on the contrary can lend to them of its own stores This has render'd it very populous and enrich'd it with great Cities large Towns and stately Castles Most of the first owe their Original to the Ancient Romans who planted Colonies in this Country the Names of which are still retain'd in that general corruption of Languages Such are Poson Sabine and Tyrnau which are Famous Cities of this Kingdom founded formerly by Piso Sabinus and Tyrnavius The Inhabitants of those Places still retain the purity of the Language of their ancient Masters 'T is certain that no place of Europe speaks so good so Proper Elegant and Fluent Latin as Hungary Even the Language of Augustus's Time is not degenerated neither in the Stile nor the Pronunciation 'T is still cultivated with Care in the Universities of this Kingdom of which the Colleges of Tyrnau and Cassovia are the most Famous and noted as the Best Universities of France and the Ancient Conimbrian and Complutensian Academies of Spain The Post-Masters are not admitted into that Office unless they
can speak Latin as well as Hungarian and in short the Generality of the Inhabitants speak it very Naturally There is scarce any Kingdom that has so many considerable Nobility Rich Lords and Powerful Families which appears from those frequent Rebellions that have happen'd in that Country and in our Days from that Rebellion rais'd by the Counts Nadasti Fragipani and Serin whose punishment contrary to the Edict of Amnesties and Impunities has fomented it again in the Person of Count Teckley who inherits the Hatred which his Ancestors bore to the Tyranny and Cruelty of the Ministers of Vienna Religion was the unhappy cause of it the Jesuites the Instruments and the Turks have made the finishing Stroke having ruin'd this vast Territory partly on their own Head and partly to relieve the Rebels From hence ensu'd the Incursion of Mahomet IV. made in the Year 1683. Afterwards the Conquests of Count Teckley in Vpper Hungary where he took Filek Cassovia Tokay Eperiez and other Places a little before Kara Mustapha a Bassa fell into Austria Not only the Genius of the Hungarians who are Naturally Treacherous and inclin'd to rebel not only the Riches of the Lords and the Fiery and Haughty Temper of the Nation but withall the Arrogance of the German Governours contributed very much to those Revolts All the World knows what great Generals and Commanders this Country has bred up who were for a long time the strongest Bulwark Christianity had against the Infidels Histories are full of the Noble Actions Memorable Battels and Sieges which have rais'd the Reputation of this Kingdom to a great Height by the Valour of its Kings or Generals both Ancient and Modern So that their Bravery has been perpetuated in all Ages and even nourish'd by the War of the Turks who could never have advanc'd their Conquest so far had not Rebellion and Intestine Divisions open'd a way to them Those of Flanders have met with a Famous Historian Strada by whose Help they have merited the Admiration of all Ages But the Wars of Hungary which are longer and more bloody would have been more memorable if a faihtful and well-inform'd Historian had wrote the Particulars of them This Kingdom formerly contain'd ten Provinces whose Standards were set up as at present at the Coronation of the Kings Sclavonia Servia Bosnia Croatia and other Countries of the Ancient Illyricum were dependent upon it Vienna still pretends That the Principality of Transylvania was one of its Provinces but this last is at present a particular Soveraignty of it self and the Turks have added the rest to the Empire of Constantinople So that we are to look upon the Kingdom in its present State as 't is bounded by Poland Transylvania Talachia Servia Croatia and Austria containing in this vast Circumference two different Countries which the Danube cuts asunder and wholly separates the One call'd Vpper Hungary which consists of Mountains Hills and Valleys the other Lower Hungary stretching it self along vast fertile and pleasant Plains from the Right side of the River taking in those great Isles which it forms from Presbourg Both these Countries are wash'd with great Rivers enrich'd with considerable Cities and fortified with Forts and Castles But the best Canton is Vpper Hungary as the Lower is the most pleasant The Ancient Romans had possession of the former a long time and refus'd not to pay their Obedience to the Emperors of that Warlike Nation which costs them no less than the Gauls It was Pannonia a Province of the Roman Empire where those Lords of the Universe settled themselves planted Colonies and kept up Armies being very well satisfied with the fruitfulness of the Soil the goodness of the Climate and the considerableness of its Situation There are still to be found a vast number of Medals the old Ruines are full of 'em the Foundations of the Cities were the Treasuries of 'em where the People doubtless did hide them either in time of War or out of Covetousness as in other Parts Those who would write a History by those Ancient Coyns or Medals cannot meet any where else with so many and so fine pieces so well stamp'd and preserv'd as are to be met with in this Kingdom and in Transylvania In the Year 1685. I brought to his Polish Majesty above two thuosand Pieces of Gold or Silver gather'd in that Country at the Instance of the Marquis of Bethune by the care of several Lords of his Acquaintance and among the rest of those of Teckley's Party And when the Germans fortify'd Nyssa in the 1619 Count Veterani collected an infinite number of very Curious Medals in digging up the Foundations of the Walls Besides this general Division of Hungary there is another particular one with respect to its Sovereingty as 't is divided between the Turks and the King 's the Successors of those who first founded this Monarchy The Turks have curtailed Vpper as well as Lower Hungary Of Lower-Hungary they have conquered all the Country from the Save to the Drave and from the Drave running along the Danube as far almost as the Isle of Schut or Komorne This Conquest reaches on the Left towards Croatia and Styria on the Right within Seven Leagues of Presbourg along the Mountains and the River Theysse which is generally comprized under one Province Governed by a Visier called from the Capital City of it the Visier of Buda In Vpper-Hungary they carried on their Conquests beyond the Theysse skirting on Transylvania and piercing into the very heart of the Kingdom where they took Possession of Temeswar Peterwaradin and other Parts of which they made a second Province under the Title of the first of those Cities The rest towards Poland and Moravia remained to the Emperor or the King of Hungary but very much curtailed by the Rebels and the strong places which the Grandees held out So that when the Turks came to Vienna only Zatmar towards Poland and some other inconsiderable Cities which that Fortress likewise covered were under the Obedience of the Emperor The State of War indeed changed the Disposition afterwards as we shall see but thus it was in this year I now speak of after the Raising of the Siege of Vienna Whilst the Grand Visier rallied the broken Forces of his Army at Buda the King of Poland marched victoriously with his towards Lower-Hungary on the Right of the River Danube on which they caused the Bridge of Toulm to fall down and to be placed below Presbourg to pass over into the Isle of Schut This Isle they traversed from one end to the other in several distinct Camps as hath been already said to the City of Komorne which is at the point of that Isle Over against which and on the left Branch of the Danube the same Bridge was brought down to pass over into the plains of Newhausel which they had a design to besiege A League lower another Bridge was cast over on Presbourg side to maintain a Communication between this City
with a modesty that is hardly conceiveable in Persons so addicted to Lascivious Embraces Their privities are cover'd very carefully by a pair of Drawers reaching down to their feet and Shirts over them reaching down to their heels So that a Modest Woman is not more cautious as to this Point then these Lustful Satyrs are As often as they go into their Wardrobe to dress themselves they always carry along with them a bason of Water with which they wash themselves very carefully besides making use of the Bagnio's to which they go almost once a Week The Bagnios of Newhausel in which I was five or six times have a large Room set out with Couches whereon to undress one's self a Wooden machine in the midst on which there hung linnen towels to dry ones self Before you put off your shift a boy belonging to the Bagnio gives you one of these towels to cover your Nudities which is not to be taken off till you put on your shirt again He supplies you with wooden Slippers and in this posture you go through two or three small Vaulted Rooms and enter into another where are benches on the four sides upon which you are placed Over your head is a Cistern with two Cocks the one of cold and the other of hot Water The Man who belongs to the Bagnio makes use of a certain liquid Sope perfum'd with musk and a rubbing cloath of course stuff which scours to admiration At the close of all he throws on a great deal of Water but so cautiously as not to touch the Privities which he leaves for the person to wash himself if he pleases The Women are under as strict a Confinement as they are in Italy Those who walk in the streets are cloath'd in a great Gown with large Sleeves and a Veil over their Faces so that they can only see their way thro' the Veil which is commonly very transparent The Bassa had thirty Women Slaves shut up in an upper Room whither two old Eunuchs carry'd them Provision twice a day and the Bassa gave them Visits between whiles but the Bastile it self has not a Stronger Guard upon it than this Seraglio out of which they go once a month attended with two Matrons to the Bagnio I only mention such particulars as are not so well known to the World and pass by those that every body is acquainted with and which are to be met with in several Histories especially in the Account of an English Gentleman Sir Paul Ricaut who has describ'd the Customs and Government of the Turks better than any other Writer All I shall add here is that Coffee is as all men know their constant Liquor Pots of it standing always by the Fire in Gentlemen's houses Tobacco is as much esteem'd among them being very good in Turky by being duly prepar'd and taken in long Pipes which the Smokers find to be very pleasant As for Opium said to be so much used by the Turks I am apt to believe that in some parts they may like it in such quantities as is related but yet at Newhausel I never saw any person take it nor ever heard the least mention made of it I took as much notice as possible of their way of Living their Customs their private Transactions and their Family and I so often shifted my lodgings and my Master that I could not but have known something of this Circumstance if there had been any thing in it The Turks are very industrious and know how to turn their hands to every thing that is most necessary for human life They mend the furniture of their horses themselves and brighten them they mend their own Cloths having always about them in a leathern Case a Needle Thread and other materials proper for the business Among such industrious People as these are a French Gentleman is a mere Ignoramus and they look'd upon me as a very dull Soul because I could not tell so much as how to light a fire which among them is an insupportable Fault in their Slaves They perpetually upbraided me for this my Insufficiency and they could not imagine how any Man below a Bassa or great Person of Quality should be so shiftless as to stand in need of another's Assistance even in the minutest matters They take a special care of their Horses which they wash even with Sope. The finest which are of the Arabian Breed are never ty'd any otherwise than by the Leg to a Tether without a Halter Rack or Manger for they give 'em their Oats or Barley in a sort of Bags call'd Tourba When they alight off their Backs tho' they be a hundred in Company they will not let 'em be rub'd down but are walk'd softly for half an hour in the Street before they are carry'd to the Stable This was our Business when the Bassa came off a Journey the Slaves took his Men's Horses and walk'd 'em about the Streets They Discipline them so as to turn about every way that so they may manage the Sabre or cast the Dart at which Exercise the Turks are very expert nor are they put to much trouble in it since their Horses are neatly built light swift of a sound Wind and admirably well mouth'd being no skittish resty or founder'd Jades The Turks also manage them extraordinary well and are fix'd upon the Stirrups which are much like those of our Women's Saddles and ty'd up very short but yet they sit up very upright and steady which makes their Cavalry so good and so vigorous in the Charge The most considerable Cavalry is that of the Spahi call'd in their Language Spaha which is compos'd of Gentlemen that serve at their own Expences in consideration of some Village or Demesne which they hold of the Grand Signior during Life They are dispers'd over the whole Ottoman Empire and are reckon'd to be 80000 who have those Estates that are call'd Timars and 32000 Mercenaries The other Cavalry is much like the French consisting either of conquer'd Countries or of Allies or of Mercenaries of their own Nation having Colonels or Commanders nam'd Allay-Bey without reckoning the Militia of the several Provinces which are rais'd upon extraordinary Expeditions Those last are call'd Sangiacs or Companies of the Arriere-Ban no less vigorous than the Regular Troops They have likewise a sort of Dragoons arm'd with Musquets like those of the Infantry which are also call'd Yancharz from the Name of Yancharz or Janizaries who bestow this Title on the Arms which they make use of There are two sorts of Infantry The Janizaries who are properly the Grand Signior's Guards and are a Formidable Body of Men as well for their Number as their Courage They like the Spaha are dispers'd over all the Provinces and enjoy certain Privileges which make them to be considerable This Body of Foot have a Commander in Chief of great Authority in the Empire call'd Yanchar-Aga or Aga of the Janizaries who marches in Constantinople with a
Passes Cities and Rivers lay between He enquir'd likewise very much about the King of Poland and his Family In a word all that could be of any Service to him he made the subject of our Conferences which were held almost every Night after Supper in the presence of two or three of the Principal Officers of the Cavalry and the Curate of the Mosque whom he very highly esteem'd inviting him every Night to Supper The more I advanc'd in the Knowledge of the Turkish Language the more he lik'd my Company and the greater was his care of me He ask'd Whether I had Bread enough allow'd me by his Steward and upon my Reply order'd me two Loaves a Day But the Valet de Chambre whose Business it was to distribute the Bread to the rest kept back the Moiety for his own use and his Knavery being found out by the Bassa he commanded an hundred Blows to be given him upon the Soles of his Feet The Turks have several sorts of Coyn beginning with the Ducats or Turkish Sequins call'd Altom The Crowns of every Country are of the common Value In the Levant they are call'd Piastres in Hungary Rixdollars and of these they make up the Purses which contain 500 each This is their peculiar way of reckoning considerable Sums as they do by Aspres in the ordinary course of Trade Besides the Crowns they have Lion-dollars of a less value call'd simply Cara-groch made almost like the Dutch Crowns with a great Lion on one side There are a great many of these Pieces in the Frontiers of Russia because all the Commerce of Valachia and Constantinople through those Provinces that ly between the Niester and the Danube is carry'd on by Lion-dollars At Newhausel they have small Silver Pieces of the Emperor's Coyn worth 5 German Groats or 10 French Sous stamp'd with the Arms of the King of Hungary on one side and on the reverse with a Nostre-dame encircl'd with Rays The Tinfes of Poland of the same Value are likewise currant here And the smallest Coyn us'd in Domestick Affairs were the Para and the Atché The first of these are very thin and of very fine Silver about the bigness of a French Denier having several Arabic Characters on them 48 or 50 of them go for a Crown and 40 for a Lion-dollar The Atché is the smallest Coyn the Turks have which yet is worth about 4 French Deuiers and with these Pieces they pay off the Troops and go to Market it sounding big to hear them prize such or such a Commodity at 4 or 500 Atchés or Aspres In the mean time Prince Lubomirski having receiv'd our Answers dispatch'd them away to the King of Poland who sent him back an Order to take out of the Prisons of Transchyn the 28 Turks which had been sent thither by way of Reprisal This spun out a long time by reason of the great Distance there was betwixt Buda and the Niester where the King of Poland then was it was further protracted by the Knavery of a Secretary belonging to the Prince Lubomirski who instead of going to fetch the Slaves stay'd at Niklitsbourg where he consum'd the Money that had been given him and a thousand Crowns that he had borrow'd in his Master's Name So that after two Months waiting for News from him they were forc'd to send another Messenger who brought the Turks at last about the beginning of November to Komorne At their Arrival two of the Chief of them came to Newhausel to cast themselves at the Bassa's Feet and to beg for my Liberty and their own This Man affected with their Misfortune and desiring to render a considerable Service to the Grand Signior in delivering such Brave Soldiers was at first for frightning them by telling them That they must make him amends for the Ransom he was like to lose for me These unfortunate Creatures represented to him That they could give him but little satisfaction at present being so long prisoners but assur'd him that they would make him an ample Return as soon as they should get into their own Country The Bassa smil'd and commanding their Fetters immediately to be knock'd off which they had always wore to this time told them very freely that he did not pretend to exact an Aspre of them thinking himself sufficiently happy in being able to do that piece of Service to his Countrymen and the Sultan I was afterwards call'd into his Chamber He told me That indeed the Turks retain'd at Transchyn were arriv'd but that there were still wanting two more that were propos'd for my personal Exchange I reply'd That they could not as yet be brought from Poland or that they might be deliver'd without sending them so far into Hungary by the Bassa of Caminiec Upon this Overture the Bassa of Newhausel reflecting upon the Distance of the Country and willing besides to demonstrate his Generosity and Confidence told me that he would trust to my Word without waiting for any farther News and would remit me upon the Promise which I made him of immediately delivering the two Spahi of his acquaintance specify'd in our Letters I gave him a Note under my Hand for it writ in Latin to which for want of a Seal I clapp'd my Five Fingers And here 't is to be noted That all the Turks wear a Ring engrav'd with Arabic Characters which they make their Seal making the Impression of it in a Letter or a Deed by the side of the Superscription to attest the Truth and Validity of the Contents Besides this Note the Bassa made me swear to the same thing upon my Prayer-Book and these Assurances I ratify'd to him by an honourable Promise of Returning back to Newhausel in case these two Men were not set at Liberty In pursuance to this the Bassa order'd my Fetters to be knock'd off for you must take Notice That the Bey the Kiayia of his deceas'd Father who had taken them off at first by his own Authority put them upon me again two Months after the Bassa's Death in order to oblige me to be more urgent for my Ransom There was nothing now more to do than to appoint a day with the Governour of Komorne and the Officer who had brought the Turks from Transchyn to make our Exchange in the open Field They sent on each side Pasports and they agree'd to have 30 Men of a Side and the Place they fix'd on was to be not far from the Danube near the Village of SanPetré But the Execution of it was put off to the 14th of November through two Scruples of Interest that were as Unintelligible as Unreasonable The Officer of Prince Lubomirski to whom several Polish Slaves had writ during the Goings and the Comings of the Express from Komorne to Newhausel thought of delivering two or three others with my eight and twenty Turks pretending that this Number was too extravagant for a single Man It was to no purpose for me to write that his Polish Majesty