Plunder I speak this in your Ear for others perhaps may think it a piaculiar 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 forc'd to do it to save our Lives But to return to Pontus The Turks call the Euxin Caradenis i. e. The Black Sea it falls down through narrow Straits into the Thracian Bosphorus where its Waters are toss'd up and down by many Vortices Turnings and Windings occasion'd by several Promontories jutting out into it and thus in one days Passage it descends to Constantinople and from thence almost by the like straight Passage it breaks out into the Pâ—opontis 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 Sailers by Not far from this place a River falls into the Sea in the Chanel whereof there are found Stones little inferior to Onyxes or Sardonyxes and if they be polish'd are as shining as they A few Miles from that Bay which I lately spake of we may see those Straits over which Darius waft'd his Army against the European Scythians And about the middle between the two Mouths of the Bosphorus there are two Castles whereof one's in Europe and the other on the opposite Shore in Asia This later was possess'd 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 indur'd it with incredible Patience Perhaps you expect that I should here give you an Account of those Floating Islands called Cyaneae 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 Inquirer 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 propounds many Arguments to prove That in tract of time the Euxin will be choakt up with Sand and other Trash which by the Danow the Borysthenes and other great Rivers falling into it that it would be made unfit for Navigation whereas the contrary appear'd to me for that Sea is every jot as navigable at this day as it was of old in the days of Polybius And tho' he seem'd 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 rendred very fit for Human Habitations But to return After the Grand Seignior was informed by Letters of my Arrival as I said before he sent to the Governor of Constantinople intimating his Pleasure that he should send us to him into Asia as far as the City of Amasia or as 't is writ in ancient Coins Amazeia where he then was Upon this Advice we prepared all things for our Journy and with our Guides on the 9 th of March we were wafted over into Natolia for so the Turks call Asia at this day That day we went no further than Scutari a Town on the Asiatick Shore opposite to Old Byzantium where or very little above it the noble City of Chalcedon was formerly thought to stand The Turks were of Opinion That when our Horses Coaches Baggage and Train together with our selves were all got over the Hellespont 't was enough for one days Journy especially considering that if we had forgot any of the necessary Accoutrements for our Journy or had left them behind at Constantinople as it sometimes happened we might bethink our selves before we went any further and fetch them over The next day we continu'd our Journy from Scutari over Fragrant Fields full of odoriferous Plants and especially Stoechas's a sweet smelling Spike There we saw a vast number of Tortoises stalking over all the Field without any fear at all we had certainly seized upon a great many of them as a Prey grateful to our Palates had it not been for our Turkish Guides whom we were afraid to disoblige for if they had seen any of them brought to our Table much more if they had touched them they would have thought themselves so deâ—â—led that I know not how many Washings would not have cleansed their imagined Pollution For as I told you before the Turks and the Greeks too are so superstitious that they abhor ever to touch of that Animal so that it being no hurtful Creature and no Body endeavouring to catch them the whole Country abounds with Tortoises I kept one of them by me a great while which had two Heads and it would have lived much longer if I had been as careful of it as I might That days Journy brought us to a Village called Cartaly which I mention because I shall for the future gratify you with the knowledge of the several Stages of this Voyage For tho' the Journy from Vienna to Constantinople hath been performed by many yet this from Constantinople to Amasia hath as yet been undergone by no Christian that I know of From Cartaly we came to Gebise a Town of Bitheynia which some think was anciently called Lybissa and is famous for the Sepulchre of Hannibal who was there interred From thence there is a most pleasant Prospect into the Sea and into the Bay of Nicomedia here also grow Cyprus Trees of a wonderful Bulk and Tallness Ourâ— 4 th days Journy from Constantinople brought us to Nicomedia a City anciently of great Note but
Sea-Horses Prodigious Cockles a round yellow Fish like an Orange no ordinary Fish there but Thornback and a certain Fork-Fish with a terrible Prickle I remember we took one of them who making at us run her self through When tempestuous Weather hindered me to see the Sea then I delighted my self to find out strange and unusual Plants at Land I would sometimes go afoot all over the Island having a young Franciscan Monk in my Company a Jolly Fellow but very Fat and not used to travel on Foot I took him out of a Monastry of Pera to be my Partner in my Walks he was so corpulent and pursy that when I went on pace to catch my self an Heat he would follow me at a distance panting and blowing with these Words in his Mouth What need all this haste Whom do we run from or whom do we pursue What are we Carriers or Posts that must make speed to deliver some important Letters Thus he mutter'd till the very Sweat pierced through all his Cloaths In fine when we came back to our Lodging he threw himself upon his Bed wofully complaining and crying out he was undone What Injury have I done said he that you thus go about to destroy me And in this fretting Posture we had much ado to perswade him to eat a bit for his Dinner Now and then some Friends visited me from Constantinople and from Pera yea and some Germans also of Haly's own Family of whom when I asked whether the Plague was abated Mightily said they How many then die in a day Almost Five Hundred said they Good God quoth I call you that to abate when then doth it rage They replied when about a Thousand or Twelve Hundred die in a Day The Turks entertain this Opinion concerning the Pestilence that every Man's Destiny is writ by God in his Forehead so that 't is a foolish thing in them to think to decline or avoid it This Opinion makes them fearless of the Plague but not secure from it So that as soon as ever any Man dies of the Pestilence they will take off his Cloaths yet sweaty and Linnen and rub their Faces with them If it be the Will of God say they that I shall dye this way it will most certainly come to pass if not it will not hurt me Thus a large Field is open for Infection so that whole Families are sometimes swept away by that Disease Whilst I abode in these Islands I got acquaintance with one Metrophanes a Metropolitan who presided over a Monastry in Chalcis one of those Islands he was a Learned and a Vertuous Man very desirous of agreement between the Latine and the Greek Churches so that he differed from the Humour of the rest of the Grecians who esteem the Latins as Men of an impure and profane Sect so much doth every Man abound in his own Sense When I had lived about two Months in those Islands some of the Bassa's began to suspect my long Absence and told Haly that perhaps I might make my escape for I had Ships ready at my command and other Conveniencies might easily be procured and therefore it was more advisable I should return into the City He answered them He had that Confidence in my Word that he believed I designed no such thing Nevertheless he sent a Chiaux to me to advertise me thereof The Chiaux very cunningly pried about to see if he could discover the least Preparation for an Escape but finding none after I had presented him he returned to his Master with his Message from me That he might rest secure for I never intended to break my Word Thus I continued three Months in my Retirement and returned of my own accord into the City without any Compulsion Form that time forward I had a great Familiarity with Haly and our Discourse was still of Peace He is a Dalmatian by Birth and the only Courteous Man I found in that Barbarous Country His Nature Mild and Gentle his Person of easie Access he is of a deep Understanding capable of managing the greatest Affairs having much Skill in Military as well as Political Matters for he is an old Man and hath passed through the greatest Offices of that Common-wealth His Stature is Tall and his Countenance filled with a lovely Gravity He hath a mighty Love for his Master and consults by all means imaginable his Repose in his Old and Sickly Age. What Rustan thought to do by Austerity Severeness and Minatory Expressions that Haly endeavours to compass by Mildness Moderation and Friendship Rustan was always Severe Fierce Self-will'd his Word must pass for a Law 'T is true he knew well enough his own Circumstances and what the Times did exact of him and what the Old Age of his Prince required but he was afraid that if he carried himself complyingly either in Word or Deed the Vogue would be he did it out of Covetousness of which he was vulgarly suspected And therefore though he was desirous of a Peace yet he would abate nothing of his wonted Stiffness but if Propositions were offered to him not pleasing to his Fancy he would almost thrust a Man out of Doors so that I scarce ever parted from him but in an angry Mood One time when I was treating with him of Peace if I had nothing else to say he bid me â—e gone I presently rose up and went my way only telling him That I could propose no other Conditions than what my Master allowed me to do Which words I pronouncing with more Fervour and Passion than I was wont to do he called back my Interpreter and asked him Whether I were Angry He answered No. What said he if I should obtain what he desires of the Sultan dost thou think he will perform his Word to me in presenting me with the Sum he promised me No question said the Drugger-man but he will be as good as his Word to a Tittle Then says Rustan go home and ask him I had then 5000 Ducats which make 6000 Crowns lying by me for any sudden Emergency I loaded my Interpreter with them and bid him carry that to Rustan and tell him That this Sum was but the Earnest of what I had promised him but the rest would follow if my Negotiation were brought to an Happy Issue for by no means would I be worse than my Word He seem'd to be pleased with the sight of the Mony but returned it again to me bidding my Drugger-man to tell me That he no ways doubted of my Faithfulness but the Matter of the Peace stood yet on Ambiguous Terms neither could he certainly promise a good Issue for he did not fully know his Master's Mind But let the Embassador said he keep it for me as my Treasurer till he sees the Event Thus was the Mony brought me back again and Rustan died a while after Here give me leave to acquaint you with the Bounty of my Master the best of Emperors for that Mony lying dead by
Hunger was their best Sauce Their Prince is served in Siver his first and last Dish being a Horses Head as Butter uses to be served up first and last with us He repeated many German Words amongst others which were unintelligible to us perhaps his Memory fail'd him so that he mix'd home-bred and Forreign Words together to every word he added the Article Tho or The. The Words which were ours little different from them were these Broe Bread Plut Blood Stul a Stool or Seat Hus a House Wingart a Vine Reghen Rain Bruder Brother Schwester Sister Alt Old Man Wintch Wind. Silvir Silver Goltz Gold Kor Wheat Salt Salt Fisct Eish Hoef the Head Thurn a Gate Stern a Star Sune the Sun Mine the Moon Tag a Day Oeghene the Eyes Bars a Beard Handa the Hands Boga a Bow Miera an Ant. Rinck or Ringo a Ring Brunna a Fountain Waghen a Waggon or Coach Apel an Apple Schieten to shoot an Arrow Schlipen to Sleep Kommen to come Singhen to Sing Lachen to Laugh Criten to Weep Geen to go Breen to roast Schwalch Death Knauen Tag was Good-day with him Knauen was Good and several such words he used not well agreeing with ours as Jel Life or Health Jeltsch alive or well Jel uburt let it be well Marzus Marriage Schuos a Spouse Baar a Stone Ael a Stone Menus Flesh. Rintsch a Mountain Fers a Man Statz the Earth Ada an Egg. Ano an Hen. Telich a Fool. Stap a Goat Gadeltha Beautiful Atochta Evil. Wichtgata White Mycha a Sword Lista a little Schedit Light Borrotsch the Will Cadariou a Soldier Kilemschkop drink up your Cup. Tzo Warthata as thou hast done Jes Varthata he did it Ich malthata I say When he was desired to number he said thus Ita tua tria fyder fyuf seis sevene just as we Flemmings for you Brabantars who speak German-like do highly value your selves and undervalue us as if we pronounced Seven more coursly He went on reckoning A the nyne thiine thiinita thiinetua thiinetria c. Twenty he called Stega Thirty Treithyen Forty Furdeithien an Hundren Sada a Thousand Hazer He also sung us a Song in that Language which began thus Wara war a ingdolou Seu te gira Galizu Hoemisclep dorbiza ea Whether these People be Goths or Saxons I cannot tell If Saxons then I suppose they were transplanted thither in the time of Charles the Great who dispersed that Nation into many remote Countries as appears by the Cities of Transilvania which to this day are inhabited by Saxons and possibly he might transplant the rest of the Nation as far as Taurick Chersoness where they still retain the Christian Religion though surrounded with the Enemies thereof But if they are Goths then I judge they chose their Inhabitants there next to the Getis and perhaps most of that Tract of Land between the Gothick Isle and Procopia as now 't is called was heretofore inhabited by Goths Hence we read of the Names of sundry Goths as West-Goths and East or Ostro-Goths who over-run the World with their Victory and were the great Seminary of Multitudes of Barbarians This is all I could hear of these Procopensians concerning the Taurick Chersonese Let me now tell you something of the City and Country Cathay which I learned of a certain Turkish Pilgrim who use to Travel over the World on account of Religion and to worship God on high Mountains and desert places He had travelled over a great part of the east-East-Country where he was acquainted with the Portuguese but having a desire to visit Cathay also he joyned himself to some Merchants who in great Numbers used to Travel to this Country 'T is a Journy that not many will undertake it being so dangerous and the way thither so full of strange Nations who use to plunder Travellers in their passage When he left Persia behind him he came to Samarehand to Borchar and to Taschan and other Towns inhabited by the Successors of Tamerlain When he had passed by these places there were mighty Deserts and some Countries inhabited by Wild and others by a more civilized People yet the Country was generally Poor so that they were forced to carry their Victuals along with them on a Drove of Camels This Company they call Caravans After some Months travel they came to the Streights entring into Cathay for you must know that a great part of that Country is Mediterranean and encompassed by such huge Mountains and Rocks that it is accessible but in a very few Passages where their King hath his Guards and Garrisons When the Merchants come thither they are asked What they bring Whence they come and How many they are When the Guard is informed of the Truth they make a Smoak by day or else kindle a Beacon by night which gives warning to the next Beacon and so from one to another till they come to Cathay This Advice cost them but some Hours which otherwise would take up many Days the way is so long When News is brought to the King he sends backward by the same way of Conveyance what his Pleasure is whether they shall all be admitted to enter or only some the rest being either excluded or made to stay longer When they are admitted they are guarded all along to their several Inns or Lodging-places where they may have all things for their Mony till they come to the King himself Here every one brings forth his respective Ware and presents the King whose Privilege it is to buy what Ware he pleaseth in the first place and then they sell the rest to the best Chapman This they must do within certain limits of time within which they must return for the Catharians cannot endure that Strangers should live long amongst them for fear they should infect their Country Manners Thus is the Caravan dismissed very friendly and returns by the same Stages they went This Traveller told me That they were a very Wise People and lived in good Order and Government having a distinct Religion of their own differing from the Christian Iewish or Mahometans but nearest to the Iewish except their Ceremonies Printing hath been in use among them for many Ages as appears by their several Printed Books For Paper they use the Cases of Silk-worms it is so thin that it will bear Printing on one side only the other is blank In this City he said there were a great many Shops full of Musk which was the fresh Foame of a certain Beast as big as a Kid. A Lyon is highly prized amongst them there are none of them in that Country and therefore they value it at a great Rate and they will give most for it This is what I could learn of this Wanderer concerning Cathay believe it as you please I asked him farther Whether he had brought back any rare Root Fruit or Stone out of that Country He told me he had brought nothing but a little Root for his own use which he would
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 sayâ— That heretofore it was much larger and contained many Apartments which were all destroy'd by the Turks and only the Quire and Nave in the middle of it standing As for the situation of the City it self 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 had Egypt and Africa which though Countries not adjacent to it yet by reason of frequent Entercourse and naval Commerce they seem as it were contiguous On its left Hand is the Euxin Sea and the Palus Maeotis 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 thereabouts fit for Mans 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 third side it is joyned to the rest of the Continent so that it almost resembles a Peninsule and with the continu'd 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 Maeotis and the Euxine through the Bosphorus and Propontis into the Aegean 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 later love Fish well enough provided they be of the number of those which they count clean as for others they had rather eat Poyson than taste them for let me tell you by the by 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 Tortois 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 employ'd 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 caus'd 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 whereby he perceiv'd himself to be cozen'd Whereupon 't is 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 So much for my Greek 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-shoar are the Gardens of the Grand Seignior where the greatest part of Old Byzantium 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 of the Place 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 Hautgos which were brought to Constantinople from the Palus Moeotis 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 which I think is big enough already and besides it would be needless for both the Ancients 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 Trades But let me tell you that the Building 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 imagin considering how many Constantin 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 Auâ—at basar id est The Womans 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 a top thereof 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 Embassadors use to lodge in the whole Structure besides the Basis and the Chapiter consists of 8 solid Marble or Red Porphyry Stones so curiously joyned together that they seem as the Vulgar believes them to be 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
we saw nothing remarkable in it but the Ruins and Rubbish of old Walls with some broken pieces of Pillars with their Chapiters which were all the remainders of its ancient Splendor except one Castle on an Hill which was somewhat more intire A little before we came to this Place some Workmen that were digging under Ground discovered a long Wall made with Marble which it may be was part of the ancient Palace of the Kings of Bythynia From Nicomedia we passed over a Cliff or Ridge of Mount Olympiu and came to a Village called Kasockly and from thence to Nice but 't was so late before we came thither that the first Watch was set Not far from that Place I heard a mighty noise as if it had been of Men that jeer'd and mock'd us I asked what was the Matter Whether any of the Mariners rowing on the Lake Ascanius which was not far off did deride us for Travelling at that unusual time of Night I was answered No but it was only the howling of certain Beasts which the Turks call Ciacals or Iacals They are a sort of Wolves somewhat bigger than Foxes but less than common Wolves but as greedy and devourous as the most ravenous Wolves or Foxes of all They go in Flocks and seldom or never hurt either Man or Beast but get their Food by Craft and Stealth more than by open Force Thence it is that the Turks call subtle and crafty Persons especially the Asiaticks by the Metaphorical Name of Ciacals Their manner is to enter into the Tents or Houses of the Turks in the Night-time and what they can catch that is eatable that they eat and if they find nothing else to devour then they fall a gnawing of all kinds of Leather things as Shooes Boots Girdles Scabbards of Swords and the like and they are as cunning as they are thievish but in this they are very ridiculous that they discover themselves by the noise they make For whilst they are most busie in an House devouring their Prey if any one of their Herd that stays without doors chance to howl they all set up a howling likewise and thus forgetting where they are they raise up the People of the House who leap out of their Beds and cudgel them soundly All the next day we staid at Nice I believe my Lodging was in the same House where the Council of Nice was heretofore celebrated As for the Town it self it is seated on the Bank of the Lake Ascanius The Walls of it are almost intire so are the Gates which are but four and may all be seen from the middle of the Market-place in each of them there were old Inscriptions in Latin which shew That the Town was repaired by Antoninus which of them I do not well remember but sure it must be by Antoninus the Emperor There are also some remainders of his Baths and whilst the Turks were digging out Stones from thence to build Houses at Constantinople they found the Statue of a Soldier in his Armour curiously wrought and almost intire but they quickly batter'd it with their Hammers even in our view and when we shew'd our selves displeased at their rude Violence they paid us with a jeer What said the Labourers will you bow down to worship this Statue as you Christians use to do to yours From Nice we continued our Journy to a place called Ienysar From Ienysar to Ackbyuck from Ackbyuck to Bazargyck from Bazargyck to Bosowick otherwise called Cassumbassa seated in the narrowest Straits of Mount Olympus for almost all our way from Nice thither lay through the Cliff of that Mountain At Nice we lodged in a Turkish Inn or Hospital and just against it was a Rock standing on high Ground wherein there was a square deep Trench cut and from the bottom thereof there issued out a Canal that reached to the High-way That Trench or Ditch the ancient Inhabitants of that Place used in the Winter time to fill with Snow that so the melted Snow-water gentlydropping down into the Road by the fore-mentioned Canal might quench the Thirst of parched Travellers Such Works as these the Turks count Eleemosynary ones because they are for the publick Benefit and Advantage of Mankind Not far from this Place on the right Hand we saw a Town called Otmanlick borrowing its Name as I conceive from Ottoman the Founder of the Ottoman Family who lived there From those Straits we descended into an open Campaign and when we came thither we lay the first Night in our Tents whereby the Heat did not so much incommode us as otherwise it would have done the Place was called Chiausada The most remarkable things we saw here was a Subterraneous House that had no Light but only what stole in at the Roof We saw also that sort of Goats of whose Hair or Fleece if you had rather call it so they make the Shagreen or watred Stuff called Camlet if you would know the nature of that Creature I shall not entertain you with a Flam but give you the true description thereof The Hair of this Creature is very fine and extreamly white and it hangs down from their Bodies to the Ground The Goat-Herds do not Sheer but Kemb it off and 't is almost as fine as Silk These Goats are often wash'd in the Neighbouring Rivers and feed upon the Grass growing there which is very tender and dry and that certainly contributes much to the fineness of their Wool for if they are remov'd to another Place their Fleece changes with their Pasture and their Kids do so degenerate that one would hardly think them of the same Breed The Thread that is spun of that Hair or Wool is carry'd by the Women of that Country to Ancyra a City of Galatia where it is woven into Cloth and dyed as I shall tell you anon Moreover the Sheep of those Countries have very fat and weighty Tails their Sheep-Flocks consist hardly of any other the Tail of any one of them weighs sometimes three or four Pound and sometimes eight or ten yea they grow so big in some old Sheep that they are forc'd to lay them upon a Plank running on two little Wheels that so they may draw them after them not being otherwise able to trail them along Perhaps you will think I tell you a Romance but take it on my word it is a certain Truth I grant such bulky Tails may be of some advantage because they are full of Fat but the Flesh of the Sheep seem'd more harsh and rank to me than our own Mutton The Shepherds that tend them lye Day and Night in the Fields and carry their Wives and Children about with them in Wagons which serve them instead of Houses only sometimes they erect small Tents to lie under They wander far and near sometimes in the open Campaign sometimes over Hills sometimes over Dales as the Season of the Year and the necessity of Pasturage doth require I saw also in those Countries some sort
King Thus filial Piety and the Groans of his Father's Danger made him able to speak whom Nature had made Speechless till that very time The like Providence though on a different Occasion hath happened to me whom Love to my Country will not suffer me to be any longer mute no though I am but a rude and unskilful Orator and who never yet offered any thing to Publick Cry But the extream Hazard of my Country compels me now to roar and cry out not that I think that I can thereby daunt the Enemy from cutting our Throats For his Savageness is such that he will not be frightned hereby but that I may warn Christian Princes to take heed to themselves and that I may warn my Country-men that whilst Time lasts they would Aid one another and consult their Safety For O Heavens what mischievous Unhappiness is this and what a Womb of Miseries that barbarous Enemy the Turk having Conquered Nations almost without number by the Ruine and Destruction of so many Kings and Kingdoms hath opened his way to us also and points his Sword at the very Throat of our Country yet truly we are not concern'd nor stir not at all to Aid distressed Christendom If Fire break out in the City where we live every body leaves the Care of his private affairs and useth endeavours to quench it But we alas that would be accounted Lovers of our Country yet in this her Jeopardy we do shew our selves only Idle and Sluggish Spectators her beauteous Love which the Enemy will soon spoil our Worship and Religion which he will soon make us to abjure and the silent Supplication of our Wives and Children that we would not suffer them to be hauled into the basest of Slaveries do no way affect us The sloathfullest of all Animals when they find their Young to be in danger will not be restrained by any force but will run through Fire and Water to help them And shall we on the contrary though valiant Men betray our Posterity and expose them to the Injuries and Abuses of such cruel Enemies for want of our Assistance to Relieve them For pray tell me what other Hopes can you have whatâ— Defence what Safeguards Can you place any Hope in the Goodness and Clemency of that Enemy who since he publickly shewed himself upon the Stage of the World hath caused Rivers of Humane Blood continually to flow Or can you put any Confidence in his Equity and Moderation Alas he values not Peace nor Leagues not a Straw no Common Laws of other Nations are a jot regarded by him no Modesty nor no Consideration of that which is Honest does keep him within his Bounds He will violate his Faith his Oath made to any man that is a Christian when it is for his own Advantage he thinks it so far from being a Sin that he counts it a pious and a sacred Thing Beside his profane Religion stirs him up against us the Emulation of his Ancestors and the desire of inlarging his Empire puts Arms into his Hands and that cursed and insatiable Thirst after all our Estates hurries him on upon us For we are quite beside the Cushion if we imagine that either our Conscience or our Forgetfulness of Injury received will contribute at all to our Security no the modester we are and the more observant of Peace and of Leagues and of that which is just and right we shew our selves to be by so much the more we shall provoke the Insolency of this Enemy aginst us for we owe not these things to our Valour or Goodness but to our Fear Sluggishness and despair of our own Affairs And the truth is we have no reason to put any Trust in our Enemy if we have none in our selves and in this case what remains but we do as Men that have received the Sentence of Death quietly to prepare our selves for our last Stroke with blinded Eyes to receive the Blow And if you should imagine that either his Force or his Fortune should fail him we may answer our selves by considering that from an obscure Original his Victories obtained both by Land and Sea and that in a very short space of Time have made him Famous all the World over The Fire began by him from such beginnings he hath almost consumed the greatest part of the World The Eastern People being wearied by him do dread his Arms as the Assyrians Barbarians and Americans the Edge of whose Sword even the Sythians themselves now also have often felt and the Ethiopians too in another part of the World who were formerly secured by the Heat of the Country I need say nothing of Europe for we have seen Belgrade taken Vienna Besieged and Preys driven even from the Gates of Lintz Such towards our Destruction hath Solyman alone been able to make besides his other Victories But alas 't is the Guise of our Christian Kings to continue Peace among themselves from Generation to Generation though it be but for a Spot of Land whereas every single Emperor of the Ottomans I speak it with as much Grief as Truth have heaped up KINGDOMS upon KINGDOMS by their Victorious Success So that as many Countries as those once flourishing Nations the Assyrians the Persians the Macedonians and the Romans so Comprehended within the Bounds of their Empires the Turks alone now seem to possess And will not all this make us to see our Danger What Sea is there what Mountains what Desarts What remnant of People between them and us from whom we can expect any Relief against their Injuries No all is lost and spoiled Alas their Swords are at our very Throats who should have struck a Terrour to us at a far greater distance so that now the very Blood of our Country and our own last Breath is like a Sanguinary Quinsie and we have not this crum of Comfort left us which is oftentimes found even in the greatest Calamities that we can have any solid ground of hope that these our Miseries be not long lived Other Barbarous Nations have oftentimes brought grievous Calamities on many Christian Provinces by sudden Tempest thus the Goths Vandals Huns and Tartars have over-run many Countries and brought great Havock upon them which Miseries seemed the more tolerable because there was hopes that they would not be perpetual And therefore after the Storm was over those Places which were Weather-beaten and almost destroy'd did again recover their former Splendor But this Enemy is so watchful and observes that strict Discipline and Course in preserving the Places that he hath gotten that when he Rules and Reigns and hath once set his Foot he suffers not himself to be removed from thence So that to speak by way of Allusion That Corn can never ripen again whom once his Horses heels hath trodden to the Ground So that it is hard to discern whether he be more happy in acquiring or more resolute in maintaining his Conquests Seeing then we are surrounded with so
the wide World Lord of the White and Black Sea and of the Holy City Mecha Shining with the Splendor of God and of the City Medina and of the Holy and Chast City of Jerusalem King of the Noble Kingdom of Egypt Lord of Jonia and of the Cities of Athens Senate of the Holy Temple of God Zabilon and Bassio Retham and Magodin the Seat and Throne of the great King Nashin Reta and Lord of the Island of Algeus and Prince of the Kingdoms of Tartary Mesopotamia and of the Medes Georgians and all Greece of Moria and Anatoria of Asia Armenia Valakia Moldavia and Emperor of all Hungary With many other Kingdoms and Dominions the Thrice Great Emperor Sultan Solyman the son of the Great Emperor Selin Who hath Power from God to bridle all People and Ability to open the Bars and Gates of all Cities and Forts All the ends of the Earth none excepted are put into my Powerful Hands The Lord of the East from the Land of Tsin unto the Borders of Africa whom God hath made strong by the Edge of the Sword Amongst whose Powerful Kingdoms Cesars inexpugnable Castle is accounted one of the ieast and the Empire of Alexander the Great was but small in respect of my Hereditary Dominions the Valour of the whole World and the Vertue of the Firmament is with me Seeing King Ferdinand who art the Powerful Lord of all Christianity and the Elect Vessel of the Powerful Christian Faith Created and Chosen Emperor of the Romans and of Bohemia of the Vandals Croats and many other Countries King and Ruler Seeing I say that awhile since you sent your Chosen Counsellor and Ambassador Augerius a Busbeck to our Court the Refuge of Princes and the Throne of Grace to them that desired it with Letters of Friendship to renew the Ancient Peace and Contract of Amity between us Which Letters were Dated in the Year from the Prophet Jesus upon whom and upon our Prophet Mahomet be the Light and Peace of God 1562. the First Day of June Desiring of us to grant the Truce for Eight Years during which Time no Cities Countries or Forts of his should be Molested by our Arms but his People should live in secure Tranquility c. To which Request we answer That such a Truce firm Concord and Friendship shall be continued between Vs for Eight Years on these Conditions First That Urinis should send Yearly to our Court as a Pledge of the Truce 30000 Hungarian Duckats together with the Remainder due for Two Years pastâ— and for that we Promise that we will not Interpose in any Offices either of Friendship or of Enmity as to the Hereditary Dominions of the Son of King John whether Situate in Upper Hungary or in the further Part of the Teise all of which belong to Vs by Right of War Moreover the Son of the said King John during this Eight Years Truce shall be Oblig'd to be Obedient to Vs not to undertake any War against You or to Mâ—lest your Subjects with Fire and Swordâ— not to exact any Money or drive any Prey from Them And we likewise do Promise That we will take no Occasion to destroy your People by Fire or Sword but will devoutly observe this Eight Years Peace and Concord Moreover Balaski Michael and Nicholas Bathol and some Others shall be included in the same Conditions of Peace and shall be subject to you and the Son of King John And if any of yours or if his Subjects have taken away any Goods or Lordships in time of War from whence new Dissentions may arise Our Will and Pleasure be That such Matters shall be put off undetermin'd until the Time of this Truce shall be Expir'd And if perhaps new Controversies shall hereafter arise between us upon the account of our Mutual Jurisdiction which cannot be compos'd Let each of us keep their own without any Contention or Strife Moreover some Towns Situate on the Daâ—ow and Tatta may remain as they now do so that the Soldiers in the Garrison of Tatta shall have no Right to Infest the Villages upon the Danow Moreover If from this time of Peace any of your Nobles have some of my Subject Prisoners they shall set them free without Ransom that so this Peace and Concord shall be more firmly kept All and every of these we will and faithfully Promise that they shall be duly Observ'd till the end of the Eight Years aforesaid And for that purpose we have caus'd these Letters of Confederation to be Publish'd from the Court of Our Magnificence and have also taken Care that a Copy of these Letters together with my Edict thereupon should be sent to all the Commanders and Officers of all my Forces both by Land and Sea to be faithfully observed by them The Condition of this Truce shall Comprehend our true Vayvords of Valachia and Moldavia and that none of your Hungarians Croats Sclavonians or others should be molested or troubled by any of Mine on any pretence whatsoever But if some of yours making Inrodes from your Castles shall Plunder some of ours they shall be â—ound to make Restitution and if any Fugitives of ours shall carry away their Master's Gold or other Goods and seek shelter from you the Goods are to be restor'd and the Fugitives punish'd in Terrorem for the Goods of Fugitives belong to their Masters The like is to â—e done if your Fugitives fly to us Moreover It shall be lawful for your Commander to Fortifie Towns and Castles upon the Borders of Hungary and to Import Victuals and Arms but not beyond their own Bounds None of your Subjects in Hungary or elsewhere shall be carried away Prisoners during this Truce if they be they shall be presently Releas'd Besides if any Ambassadors and Christian Princes shall Reside at our Court for the dispatch of Business they shall have free Leave to walk up and down to go and come And moreover shall be handsomly Assisted by Interpreters to declare their Errands and if by reason of the Coâ—sâ—â—eâ— of each other Countries some Differences do arise between our Subjects those Disputes shall be Determin'd by discreet Persons chosen on both Sides that the Causers of those Disputes shall be punished as Truce-Breakers Moreover We forbid Duels on the Borders of both our Countries And we desire that this Truce and every Article hereof may be publickly Read in your Dominions and Command given that they be Obediently kept We have Promis'd the same before and your Ambassador lately sent desir'd it in your Name and humbly besought us that this Peace may be firm and establish'd by Imperial Oaths and by these Letters of Credence as if we Our Selves had been present And therefore I send these Letters of Peace to you that your Commanders and Soldiers may be bound to Observe them as long as they shall not Act contrary thereunto so long these Articles of Peace be Confirm'd between us In Testimony whereof I Swear by the True and Living