as Foe found out this Remedy delivering a Graver to their Masters with an Hammer ordered them to strike it with their main strength on the Juncture where their Head was fastned to their Neck if they were unruly whereby the great Bulk fell to the Ground Magister fabrile scalprum cum malleo inter aures positum ipsâ in compage quâ jungitur capiti cervix quanto maximo poterat ictu adigebat But afterwards they learned by striking on the Vertebra's of the Neck to rule them which Custom I see here maintained After these came a Dozen Leopards on State Hackeries with their Keepers who train them up to hunting At convenient distances the Trumpets sounded and Camels of War with Patereroes on their Saddles marched with a Pace laborious to the Guiders giving them a Disease not much different from a Gonorrhea Here nothing was seen but Banners and Streamers nor heard but Kettle-Drums and Trumpets after which followed the Governor in the middle of a Troop of Soldiers all in Coats-of Mail and Headpieces armed at all Points both themselves and Horses himself mounted on a little She-Elephant with all the Trappings and Accoutrements of State Et ad morem antiquum quo puberes filii jam in virili togâ comitabantur triumphantem patrem quod etiam ex Livio appareat de Paulo loquente Two or three Striplings his own Children rode smiling with him who were very White respectively the Governor himself being a Mogul which is as much as Suffet in Arabic from whence the Persian Emperor is called Suffee and this Mogul as being derived from the same Parent as also are all those descended from them In this State he rode to a Place set apart for this Day 's Solemnity out of the Walls to the Queen's Garden-Gate before which it stands where after Prayers he receives the Compliments of the Grandees and returns to Feast At this time the Walls of the City and Towers of the Castle wanted not their Adornments being bestuck with bloody Ensigns and smoking with Guns of Jubilee as well as tooting with their Trumpets and beating with their Drums as the Jews on their Sabbaths or their solemn Feast days were wont The New Moon before the New Year which commences at the Vernal Equinox is the Moors Aede The Moors Aede when the Governor in no less Pomp than before goes to sacrifice a Ram or He-Goat in remembrance of that offered for Isaac by them called Ishauh the like does every one in his own House that is able to purchase one and sprinkle their Blood on the sides of their Doors About this time the Moors solemnize the Exequies of Hosseen Gosseen The Mourning for Hosseen Gosseen a time of ten days Mourning for two Unfortunate Champions of theirs who perished by Thirst in the Deserts fighting against the Christians Wherefore every Corner of the Street is supplied with Jars of Water and they run up and down like Furies in quest of these two Brethren laying about with Swords Clubs and Staves crying with that earnestness upon their Names and dancing in such Antick Dances as resemble the Pyrrhical Saltation Haec Celebratio non omnino dissimilis ei generi exerceri solita à juvenibus armatis Lacedemoniae cum Patris Achillis rogum celebraret that a sober Man could make no other judgment on them than that they were distracted This is done through the Streets where if two Companies encounter they seldom part without bloody Noses which Occasion being given like Esau's Intentions on the Day of his Father's Lamentation to revenge himself on his Brother Jacob has been the Cause why the Mogul has restrained it for the prevention of Outrages but yet his Mandate is not so valid to make them forsake it here After Sun-set they eat and fall to singing the Psalms of Doud or David in the most consonant Tone I have heard The last Day they prepare a couple of Coffins and have a Man or two on Horseback all bestuck like our Man in the Almanack with Arrows these ride reeling and ready to drop off their Horses for Faintness till they come to the River where they put the Coffins afloat with a loud Cry and then returning repeat with great Veneration their Names and after this trim their Beards wash and shift their Cloaths all this while worn negligently as Mourners and return to their more beastly Vomit of Luxury than this of more than Manly Fury This Religious Bigot of an Emperor Auren Zeeb The Emperor a great Zealot for his Religion seeks not to suppress it utterly but to reduce the Celebration to preserve their Memories by a pious Respect suitable to the Gravity of the Moors For says he hereby Opportunity is offered to the Cophers Unbelievers to think Musslemen favour the Lewd Worship of the Heathens which is not only a Scandal to the Mahometan Religion but an Encouragement to the Enemies thereof to persist in their own whilst such Licentiousness is connived at in that which should be set as a Pattern for them to imitate For even at this instant he is on a Project to bring them all over to his Faith and has already begun by two several Taxes or Polls very severe ones especially upon the Brachmins making them pay a Gold Rupee an Head and the inferior Tribes proportionable which has made some Rajahs revolt and here they begin to fly to the Portugal Countries and Bombaim though should they make a joint Resistance they are a thousand to one more than the Moguls can with an unanimous Contrivance fairly muster On an Eclipse of the Sun or Moon How they behave themselves in Eclipses the Moors are in a lamentable Plight making a great Noise with Pots and Pans and other noisy Instruments not omitting their Prayers fancying them prevalent to deliver them from their Travel When the Heathens instructed by their Brachmins by a better Philosophy declare to them the Day before the two great Luminaries are obscured by the Interposition of the Moon 's or Earth's Globe that they may Fast Wash and Purify themselves for Twenty four Hours before the Eclipse happens and all the time of its lasting after which is past they feast and bestow their Benevolence freely on the Brachmins holding them for this their profound Knowledge in mighty Admiration And though the Jollity and Pomp of the Heathens is much allayed by the Puritanism and unlimited Power of the Moors insomuch that they are wholly forbidden to Burn their Wives with the Husbands yet must not the Indians be totally denied their Feasts and chiefly that of their publick Nuptials which comes in twice a Year as the Atticks in their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in January and October so these in the Months Fulgannau and Puxu in January and March to enjoy which times of Festivity the Governor expects large Gratuities which they collect as every one can afford All which times they make Processions and appear especially the Children and young
grievous to Mankind I am J. F. The 25th Jan. our Ships setting sail then from Swally-Hole 1680-81 Yours LETTER VIII CHAP. I. Concludes with my Return to ENGLAND SIR LEaving the Affairs of India in the posture I have acquainted you Let. VIII I begin to think of returning to my Native Soil the Fleet here being ready to set Sail for England The Success Captain Cooly Commander Massenberg Captain Gladock Josiah Captain Owen At the same time Mr. Set Sall for England Rolt the late President took his Passage in the Josiah The Second of India Mr. Chamberlane in the Success as I took mine in the Massenberg Mr. John Child being removed from the Government of Bombaim to the Presidency which was the 19th of January in the Year 1681-82 Till the Twelfth of February we directed a Southern Course when about Two in the Morning the Moon suffered an Eclipse and in half an hours time was almost totally hid which endured till Four in the Morning In Four or Five days after about the Seventh Degree of North Latitude we met the Sun coming towards the North and passed him to the Southward when he often raised Vapours from the Sea to thicken the Air and obscure his Face which were as often poured down upon us we having here uncertain Weather sometime wet sometime calm though most an end according to Varenius's Position the Winds hold Easterly from the First of January till the End of July as far as Ascension and then turn Westerly We met hereabouts with a Tree bestuck with Sea-Shells which made us lie by a-nights for fear of the Chango's And now dreadful Thunders cause the Sea to tremble A Young Man lost Over-Board and Lightnings fly through the Heavens in frightful Flashes by reason of these alterations we went but slowly being but Ten Degrees Southward of the Sun on the First of March when a Southâ—East Wind favoured us with which sailing fortunately enoughâ—â— we were damped by a Mischance on one of our Young mâ—â— who going up the Shrowds to loose the Top-Gallons by the uâ— advised letting go of some Bowling was hoisted into the Main aâ—d perished the Ship having fresh Way and the Boats lying on Board they threw over several Planks and Vessels but he made no sign of contending with the Waves or Motion to save himself Wherefore it was judged he had his bane against the Ships side or some Gun in his Fall before ever he came at the Water and in this hurry we were presently carried out of sight so that he was left for desperate and given over as lost Before the Tenth of this Month We Sail on the Backside of S. Lawrence St. Brandon an Island on the East and Diego Rais to the South were passed by as also St. Maurice kept lately by the Dutch for no other end but to prevent others setling there as Mascarenas not far from it by the French for the same reason The day after the Sun was possessed of the Aequinoâ— we made the Tropick of Capricorn from whence the Platonists feign the Souls descend upon the Earth but more truly it declared that we drew near the Coasts of Africa for having hitherto measured a Southern Way almost directly we now incline towards the West having not more Meridional distance from Joanna than Nine Degrees but now we begin to bend our Course Westward which we should do in a strait Line were it not for St. Lawrence the outside whereof our Navigators always pass by homeward bound it lying Twelve Degrees South to Six and Twenty and an half which we suppose to be Three hundred Leagues West of us though here being a strong Current to the West itmakes our Judgment very unsteady however to make the Cape it is necessary to elevate our Longitude more than our Latitude which we did till we had made Fourteen Degrees West from our supposed Meridian of Joanna whereby we reckon our selves clear of the Island Madagascar or as the Portugals call it St. Lawrence when the East Wind failed us and the West blew hard upon us contrary to the assertion of the forementioned Author the Winds as we formerly Noted beyond the Tropicks being unaccountable for that they observe no Rule and hereupon it happened we were so long beating about the Cape and had been much longer had we not made for the Shore which we did about the middle of April when it is high Winter in these parts wherein we tried all Weathers the worst of which were Calms according to our English saying Worse is a Winters Calm By far than Summers Storm Which we suffered till we got under the Shore We Weather the Cape of Good Hope whence we were assisted with fine Briezes we falling first in with Cape d' Aguthas the low Land being bare and naked the high Land a Ridge of Mountains only gaping in one place from which the Portugals gave it the name d' Agutha or of the Needles Fifteen Miles Northward of it lies the Promontory called Cape Falso which we weathered in the Morning and afore Night did the like to the Cape of Good Hope which in respect of the Heavenly Position is 34 Degrees and a half South Latitude Longitude 47 in a strait Line from Joanna 1800 Leagues The Marks of this Promontory are agreeable to Sellier's Atlas It is inhabited by a Barbarous People called Hottentots As Nature designed their Looks deformed so they are untractable in Manners and harsh in their Voice these wind the Guts of Beasts Excrements all about their Necks both for Food and Ornament consenting to what Job Ludolphus Author of the Ethiopick Lexicon relates of the Abassinians under which Government if any they have this Region must be comprehended who says they prefer the Meat digested in the Maws of Beasts before the best Sallads supposing those Animals better at distinguishing the good Plants from bad than Men. Here in Soldania Bay the Dutch have a strong Fort for the same purpose we keep St. Helena to refresh and water our Fleet on their return home but these touch here both going and coming whereas ours put in at Joanna in their Voyage to India In these Seas are the Sea-Calves and Sun-Fishes the Nights are very cold and the Days are shortned near Two hours The end of April we lost sight of the high Tops of these Hills Land on St. Helena and in thirty and two Degrees South met with the stated South-east Winds when we left the Cape-Birds behind us daily depressing our Southern Latitude directing our Course full North-west being too often retarded by frequent Calms and sometimes contrary Winds a thing not known between the Tropicks till at last we made seventeen Degrees South when we altered our North Course to the West only for fear of out-sailing St. Helena which is a thing full of hazard and difficulty since the Season proved Cloudy though not Rainy yet often so Dewy that it wetted to the skin the supputation of
of the Fidalgoes who gives Laws to all Seculars though he cannot execute them on the Fidalgoes in Capital Crimes the King reserving the Definitive Sentence in such Cases to himself they are therefore sent home to be tried in Europe by the established Courts of their Kingdom The Archbishop is Supreme in Spirituals or ought to be so The City is a Rome in India both for Absoluteness and Fabricks the chiefest consisting of Churches and Convents or Religious Houses though the Laity have sumptuous ones all of Stone their Streets are paved and cleaner than the tops of their Houses where they do all occasions leaving their Excrements there They live with a splendid Outside vaunting in their number of Slaves walking under a Street of their own Umbrelloes bare-headed to avoid giving Distaste in not removing their Hats They being jealous of their Honour pardon no Affront wherefore to ogle a Lady in a Balcony if a Person of Quality it is revenged with a Bocca Mortis or to pass by a Fidalgo without due Reverence is severely chastised they are carried mostly in Palenkeens and sometimes on Horseback The Clergy affect little of outward State The Clergy how respected going out only Frater cum Socio in Couples they salute a Father by first kissing the Hem of his Garment then begging a Benediction The Mass of the People are Canorein though Portuguezed in Speech and Manners paying great Observance to a White Man whom when they meet they must give him the Way with a Cringe and Civil Salute for fear of a Stochado The Women The Women and Children both White and Black are kept recluse vailed abroad within doors the Richer of any Quality are hung with Jewels and Rosaries of Gold and Silver many times double Moneloes of Gold about their Arms Necklaces of Pearl about their Necks Lockets of Diamonds in their Bodkins for their Hair Pendants in their Ears a thin Lungy or Half-smock reaching to their Waste shewing their Skin through it over that abroad a close Doublet over their Lower Parts a Pitticoat or Lungy their Feet and Legs without Stockins but very Rich Slippers Amongst them some are extraordinarily featur'd and compleatly shap'd though not of that coruscant Beauty our English Ladies are and for Mien far beneath them being nurtured up in a lowly Bashfulness whereby they are render'd unfit for Conversation applying themselves wholly to Devotion and the Care of the House They sing and play on the Lute make Confections pickle Achars the best Mongo Achars coming from them and dress Meat exquisitely not to put the Stomach to much trouble but such as shall digest presently Supoes Pottages and varieties of Stews in little China Dishes or Plates which they shift before you are cloy'd and at a common Entertainment alter half a dozen Modes Their Relishing Bits have not the Fieriness of ours yet all the pleasure you can desire and to speak truly I prefer their ordinary way of ordering Victuals before any others If a Stranger dine with the Husband and he consent to have the Wife come in and sit at Table as our Women do there is no means of persuading her but she will be much offended if you taste not of every thing they cook The little Children run up and down the House naked till they begin to be old enough to be ashamed The finest Manchet it may be in the World is made here The finest Manchet c. and the purest Virgins Wax for Tapers At Nerule is made the best Arach or Nepa de Goa with which the English on this Coast make that enervating Liquor called Paunch which is Indostan for Five from Five Ingredients as the Physicians name their Composition Diapente or from Four things Diatesseron The way they give Notice from the Outguards of what Ships are seen off at Sea How the Out-guards inform the City is after they have spread the King's Standard to elevate so many Baskets on Poles which Sign the next appointed Watch receives and so successively till it arrive at the City On New-Year's Day Return'd to Carwar Stilo Veteri with Captain Gary in his Baloon of Ten Rowers and Six Servants we set sail for Carwar and had brought half Salset behind us when the Moon being two Hours high we discovered a Light and immediately Three Sail making after us and by the Shore another small Sail intercepting us Our Men that before would not handle an Oar fell to it tightly and two more pursuing us out at Sea we ran fairly into Cola or Salset a Fishing Town where lay several Boats to carry off Mountains of Fish salted on the Beach the Scent whereof was very noysom under a miserable Shed we took for our Lodging The next Morning we came early to the River Sal where we found Eight Boats scared in for Protection against the Malabars where we had this Advice That Five were roving in sight and had vowed Revenge for the Injury we did them at Vingula killing their Captain and three or four of their Chief Men besides as many more Soldiers all which they buried at Anjediva We staid here therefore this Night and lay in the open Air by the River's side being sufficiently soaked by the Dew Captain Gary therefore the next Morn not willing to hazard himself on a Voyage undertaken only for Pleasure procured a Pilot Boat to go before us and make Signs by a White Flag if the Coasts were clear at every Point and so we got safe to Carwar River's Mouth when the Chief having notice of our coming came on Horseback to welcome us and accompanied us in the Baloon to the House This Captain Gary is he that was the last Governor for the King on the Island Bombaim He is a Person of a Mercurial Brain a better Merchant than Soldier is skill'd in most of the Languages of the Country and is now writing a Piece in Arabick which he dedicates to the Viceroy with whom he is in great Esteem He lived at Achein and was created a Noble by that Queen was born a Venetian but of English Parents by which means he understands Italian Portugueze and Latin perfectly and is an accomplished Courtier CHAP. III. A Pilgrimage to Gocurn where was a great Gentile Solemnity A cursory Discourse of the Bordering Princes AS much to the Southward as Goa is to the North lies Gocurn whither I took a Pilgrimage with one other of the Factors Four Peons and Two Biggereens or Porters only we set out all on Foot the Second of February at the beginning of the Heats at Ten in the Morning and with wonderful toil clambered up Anchola Hill a woody Mountain of an extraordinary height where resting a little while we made for the bottom at which lies an Horse of an Havaldar's Interred under an huge square Stone and his Effigies Dormant upon it Escuthceon or Diamond-wise not much farther the Wood being on Fire we were in danger not only of being Smothered but Roasted
Temperate Zone by reason of the indeterminate Horizon every where occasioned by the interfering Mountains The Crows here are like our Royston Crows Grey on their Backs and Wings Crows of several Colours at Jerom their Beaks and Feet are as Red as Vermilion where also at our appearance Barley is ripe and new Barley sow'd and as we travelled we now and then let fly an Hawk at Hoberaes a Bird larger and of the same Colour with our Kites at first being brought to the Ground by the Hawk it parries and makes some false Shew of Defence brisking up its Plumes about the Neck as a Cock does when going to engage but the Controversy is soon decided after the Hawk seizes it with his direful Talons and instead of denouncing farther War it resigns its self an humble Victim to the Conqueror The inward Coats of the Gizzard are stuffed with Wormseed of which it smells strong which dried and beaten to Powder and given with Sugar is a Panacaea for an Asthma or difficulty of breathing and the whole Body is delicate Meat On the right hand of the King's Highway between Siras and Gerom at Derab on the side of a Mountain issues the Pissasphaltum of Diascorides or Natural Mummy into a large Stone Tank or Storehouse sealed with the King's Seal and that of the Calentures and all the Noblemen of that City and kept with a constant Watch till at a stated Time of the Year they all repair thither to open it for the King's Use to prevent its being stole Which notwithstanding though it be Death if discovered yet many Shepherds following their Flocks on these Mountains by chance light on great Portions of the same Balsam and offer it to Passengers to Sale and sometimes play the Cheat in adulterating it The First of November entring upon the Plains of Dedumbah we found it all frosted with Salt for the Waters from the Mountains mixing with the Superficies of the Earth together with the Sun and drying Winds incrustate nor have I met with sharper Colds than here for that the invironing Hills as well as Dales are full of Salt and the Sun rising with horrid Winds presses the Ambient Air from the high Tops by its Circular Motion so that it hurricanes us with such dismal chilling Gusts that had we not been active here in coursing Hares and Wild Goats we might sooner have frozen than kept our Innate Heat entire the Sun being constantly attended all the Day with blustering Weather leaving a quiet Calm at setting From this Plain to Lhor both in the Highways and on the high Mountains Monuments of Robbers were frequent Monuments of Thieves immured in Terror of others who might commit the like Offence they having literally a Stone-Doublet whereas we say metaphorically when any is in Prison He has a Stone Doublet on for these are plastered up all but their Heads in a round Stone Tomb which are left out not out of Kindness but to expose them to the Injury of the Weather and Assaults of the Birds of Prey who wreak their Rapin with as little Remorse as they did devour their Fellow-Subjects Beyond Lhor The Air as well as the Food the Cause of Birds keeping one place Water-Fowl that make not their Abode on the Sea are seldom seen for want of Fresh-Water nor do Hoberaes fly on the other side so far as Siras whether for the sake of its beloved Food or by reason the Subtilty of the Air may fail them in their due Poise making them delight more in one place than another I know not as it is evident in the Nature of Fishes to p 〈…〉 one Water before another as being better fitted for their freer Respiration We set out of Spahaun the first day of their great Fast The Old and New Moon visible in twelve hours time which was the 8th of October all which time it was grievous to the Moors to Travel because they might not eat nor swallow their Spittle in the Day-time it being denied the Muliteers and those accustomed to Labour but the Hodges and those who lead a delicate Life are permitted to eat for which they plead their being unaccustomed to Labour which exempts them from an Imposition they lay on the more hardy not touching such heavy Burthens with the least of their Fingers Wherefore the poor Mule-men made hard shift to get to Lhor the Morning before the Evening the New Moon appeared on viz. the 4th of November when I saw the Old Moon go out on the Hills at Lhor and the Night following the Horns reversed the whole Body or Circumference having only as it were a dark Veil or Curtain of Air drawn over it that part alone which was Crescent being illuminated But it was some Damp to their designed Mirth when by too much haste to come to this Capital City they perceived they had lost a Mule with its Lading by driving in the Dark all Night whereupon I was employ'd to inform the Caun who immediately dispatched the Rhadary in quest and before Night restored the Lading which was Shagreen Leather such as they make their best Boots of but the Mule was found dead under its Burthen strayed a little way out of the Road such Care is there taken to satisfy Merchants This Night passed with great Rejoicing among the Musselmen and retarded us three Days before we could make our Muliteers settle to their Gears again Here the doubtful Autumn inclines towards Winter resigning the Dates Citrons Oranges and Lemons to the expecting Planter Here grows the Emblem of Peace the Olive-Tree and though the Leafs are fallen yet here is an uninterrupted Spring all things keeping a perpetual Green though they observe the appointed Times of bringing forth their Increase And now we begin to enjoy Temperate and Shorter Nights In Hot Countries to the North the Year centers in our Winter in exchange of Cold and Longer and although the Goat is not yet ascended with his Constellation yet I pronounce it Winter since all Terrestrial Things move with a Pace as if they were just almost at the Centre of the Year but after the Sun carried by the rapid Course of the Heavenly Impulse in order with the other Glorious Stars has reached its utmost Southern Bounds then a new Face of things returns and the alternate Accretion and Diminution render an Everlasting Constancy which with the admirable Frame and manifold Courses of the Celestial Spheres witness and declare That the Praise of so great and wonderful Works are not to be attributed to Chance and Fortune but to an All-wise Creator who constituted the Universe from the Beginning and will govern and preserve the same to all Eternity who also brought us safe to Gombroon the 13th of November To whom be Honour now and for ever CHAP. X. A Voyage to Congo for Pearl a Discourse of their Generation Departure from Persia and Return to India TWO days after our Arrival at Gombroon I went to Congo leaving only
their Church Their Funerals The Burial of Self-murderers Their Antiquity The Georgians of a different Temper from the Armenians The way of Salute Nunneries at Jelfa CHAP. VII Gives us a Sight of the Palace and Rarities there Our Entertainment by the French Artizans in the Emperor's Service The Diversions of the Place and its Product And the Close of the Year with its Seasons THE greaâ— Garden at the end of the Charbaâ—g Wild Beasts for the Emperor's Diversion The Rhinoceros not the Indian Onager The Abassin Ass mistaken for the Sabean The Flower of Ispahaun meet a-nights in the Walk belonging to the Palace The French Artizans divert us River-Fishes The Hedghog Water-Fowl Muscovia-Hawks Greyhounds No Woods or Forests about Spahaun An Eclypse of the Sun The Suburbs A Third Bridge We were two days in compassing Spahaun Change of Weather Catalogue of Plants growing at Spahaun Sharp Winters here Use of Stoves in Persia A pure Air without Soil The Death of the President The Agent succeeds at Surat Artifices of the Dutch CHAP. VIII Brings us to Gombroon in the midst of Winter The Caun's Pranks there The Hot Baths at Genoe The Aequinox and Seasons attending Some Parallel betwixt this Coast and the Indian A New Agent arrives VAllies filled with Snow We defend our selves with Furs At Chuldâ—star a Camel mad with Lust Obedah a Town of Vinyards Conacaraw and Dehid Conacurgu and Mushat The cold Weather makes our Indian Servants useless We begin to lose the Winter The Air grows thick Our English Mastiffs master their Lions We returned to Gombroon The English President affronted by the Caun The Banyans fly his Tyranny Going to Asseen we visit the Hot Baths of Genoe Their Virtues Two Hospitals built at the Charge of two Banyans All Waters partake of the Conditions of the Earth through which they pass Mineral Waters Their differences The Medical Benefits of these Baths Noe-Rose The Air moist Indian Plants grow here The Portugal Fleet and our new Agent arrive CHAP. IX We go up in the Spring with our New Agent to Ispahaun Two Irish Greyhounds sent as a Present to the Emperor We leave the Agent there and return in the Fall THE hasty Removal of the Agent the Cause of his Sickness and his Followers A notable Robbery Diary Fevers Colocynthis The Tarantula Pains in the Joints and putrid Fevers occasion'd as well by the Water as Air. Drinking in Ice a destructive Custom The Agent leaves Siras I fall sick On my Recovery I set forward for Spahaun Polygore and Aubgurrum Imaum Zadah Want of Rain Heste Behest Paradise upon Earth Murmuring against the Government The King's Steward restored to Favour The Physician hanged Irish Greyhounds a Present for the Emperor Colums the Forerunner of the Winter Crows of several Colours Monuments of Robbers The Air as well as Food the Cause of Birds keeping one place The Old and New Moon visible in twelve hours time in hot Countries to the North. The Years centre in our Winter CHAP. X. A Voyage to Congo for Pearl A Discourse of their Generation Departure from Persia and Return to India WE come to Congo A Dearth in the Water as well as on Land We come again to Bunder Abassee The Pearl The Adulteration Its Names The kinds of Pearl Cheripo or Seed-Pearl Chanquo or Mother of Pearl Scallop Its Properties It s Dignity and Value The Prices and Sizes We undergo difficulties in our passage back to India through Negligence of the Pilots The Present State of PERSIA CHAP. XI Gives the various Names Situation c. ITS Names Situation and Bounds Temper of the Air. High Mountains Their Four-footed Beasts Wild-Fowl Fishes The Valleys made fruitful by the Snow from the Hills Plants Tobacco Manufactories Persian Pearls the best Gombroon Earthen Ware the best next to the China Lapis Lazuli Tutiae Manatae Bole. Marble Naptha Minerals Rivers Springs Little Rain Showers of Sand. Dew turn'd to Manna Cities Houses Spahaun proposed as a Patern of their Politicks Shaw Abas well advised in the choice of it for the Imperial City The Cauns Etimundoulet or Chancellor A Janiseen Deputy Caun The Droger The Calenture The Cadi or Cazy Spahaun the chief Empory The Citizens humbled Courtiers and Soldiers great Their Caravans No Priority at Church Bath or Caravan The Gelabdars not so esteemed in Persia as the Caphala Bashee in Turâ—y Their Temples Colleges Hummums or Balneo's The Coffee-houses CHAP. XII Of the present Inhabitants c. THE present Persians Scythians Jews here ever since the Captivity On the Death of the Emperor the new one causes his Brothers and near Relations Eyes to be put out Nobles by Birth among the Persians The Government Hierarchical Whereon is grounded the Emperor's Security His Wealth His Course of Life His Name and Genealogy The Suffees introduced from whom Spahaun is called Suffahaun Oppositions made by the Turkish Sect. The English sack Ormus by Surprize Articles of Agreement between the English and the Persians Vengeance pursues the Enterprizers Shaw Abas kills his Son Mirza The present Emperor given up to Debauchery The way of receiving Ambassadors The Procession of the Seraglio or Haram The Cruelty of the Black Eunuchs The Cavalry Their Arms and manner of fighting The Suffees Church-Militants Their Order created to check the Saieds Their Habit and the Persians Standard White and Red. Their Privileges Other Knights The Watchmen The Navy CHAP. XIII Of their Book-men and Books Of their Religion and Religious Worship Of their Notions in Philosophy Of Heaven and Hell Their Astronomers Physicians and Lawyers A Learned Clerk rare The School-Language Their Books written with a Pen not printed Pens made of Reeds Education of Youth Preposterous way of learning Emulation in gaining Disciples Logick Their Physicks Metaphysicks Books in esteem Mahomet's Revelations Assisted by Sergius the Monk His blasphemous Opinions Friday his Sabbath Polygamy The Mufti His Revenue His Authority The Talman or Mullah Their Funerals more pompous than the Turkish Sects are Their Tribes clarified by Pilgrimage Their Names given by the Parents No Garb to distinguish their Clerks How they are maintained Their Limners Historians Alchymy Mathematicks Necromancy Astrologers Astronomy A Pithonissa Several sorts of Daemons Longitude and Latitude Dialling Musick Medicks Anatomy rejected The Suffees Death required of his Physician Their Prescripts What Purges approved What Authors in esteem They are unskilful in Chyrurgery Endemial Diseases Large quantities of Opium eaten at a time Their Lawyers The Cadi A Corrupt Judge Lex Talionis Drubbing on the Soles of the Feet They buy their Wives Are often divorced All Contracts made before the Cadi Usury forbid by Mahomet Yet his Disciples are cruel Extortioners The Cheik The Codre Guilty of Bribery and Injustice Their Paradise Their Hell The Progress of their Religion The Souls of Men superior to Brutes Cannot embrace a Carnal Religion but an Holy Pure and Spiritual which is no where to be found but in Christianity Success no Argument CHAP. XIV The
's meer depression of Air should be ascribed to her Monthly Revolutions And here one thing may be worthy our Curiosity That after the Seasons of the Heats and Rains the Rivers Indus and Ganges are said to swell their Banks and thereby abundantly to encrease the Bordering Countries where these Rains are less frequent Whence it may be some insight may be had for the Overflows of Egypt which has set so many Wits on the Tenterhooks where it is reported it never rains But in the Countreys near the supposed Sourse of Nile it does to Excess But you who have greater Reading and Leisure to digest these Metaphysical Notions will mightily oblige me to furnish me with your solider Arguments Among which I would intreat you to consider the Variety of the Loadstone in the common Chart For what the incomparably Ingenuous Des Cartes has wrote on that Subject acquiesces only in modest Hypotheticks not any ways informing the Understanding to a clear Apprehension but after he has brought it through the Maze of Probabilities he parts with it at the same Predicament it entred Not to deviate any longer The Tail of the Elephant we are now winding about the South-West part of Ceilon where we have the Tail of the Elephant full in our mouths a Constellation by the Portugals called Rabo del Elephanto known for the breaking up of the Munsoons which is the last Flory this Season makes generally concluding with September which goes out with dismal Storms Yet so good is Providence Water-Snakes as to warn us here when all is obscured by Water-Snakes of our too near approach to the Land which are as sure Presages on the Indian Coasts as the Cape-Birds are there Here the Mountains running East and West The difference on the Malabar Coast the Winds are to the East of the South and to the West of the North else quadrating with those on Coromandel only here in April and May the Winds are variable and then they hasten to leave these Coasts for Persia the Red-Sea and South-Seas or those make in that are to return hither otherwise they run an hazard of losing their Voyage when the South to the South-East Wind is fixed which continues to the latter end of September or beginning of October Then from the North to the North-West sets in again and this Course is observed mostly on all the Indian Shores only some few days different in the beginning and ending which happen to the South and in Lands commonly earlier than to the North and break up later when they are more severe but the Intervals are milder the middle Months clearing up in the day time but from the first setting to the going out towards the North the Sun hardly shews his Face unless a Fortnight after the Full Moon in May and a Fortnight before the Elephanto On the Coast of Surat from Gemini to Libra A Rejoinder of the Seasons This happens in the Sun 's Ecliptick Road. On the Coast of Coromandel from Taurus to Scorpio And thus much may be said in general only the Land and Sea-Breezes in particular on this Coast of Surat and Malabar when the Rains are over keep exactly Land-Breezes from Midnight to Mid-day and Sea-Breezes from the Noon of Day to the Noon of Night Making Land we beheld it all a Flame they burning their Stubble for Soilage Small Birds drove to Sea the Forerunner of the ensuing Rain notwithstanding a King fisher flew aboard us with the flattering Coaks's of Halcyon days but like an unskilful Augur was deservedly reproached with the Ignorance of her own Destiny to dye in Captivity which fatal Necessity made her elect rather than suffer with whole Flocks of little Birds blown from the Main who not able to stem the boisterousness of the Winds were hurried thence to perish in the Sea And now we were begirt with Land the Maldivae Islands lying South Cape Comerin North and by West the Malabar Islands West whose Inhabitants have no relation with those on the Coast whence is brought great quantities of Ambergreece Ceilon c. The Land our Master took for a Malabar Island proved a mistake Land-lock'd betwixt Ceilon and the Cape for by a strong Current we were lock'd in between the Island Ceilon and the North East side of the Cape within that desperate Canal we before described Our Error was first corrected by some Fishermen busy at their Nets Strange colour'd Fishes who brought aboard plenty of Fishes all new to us who never had seen such coloured ones some gilded like Gold others with Vermilion varied by several Intermixtures Whilst we were lost in admiration our Mates found themselves no less at a loss in their accounts when they understood they were drove 30 Leagues to Leeward of the Cape by the broken Portugueze spoken by these Men and that we could not sail much farther than Tutticaree a Portugal Town in time of Yore where they had a Citadel and two famous Churches and before us which was the Lure a Ketch of the Dutch's which we chased for hopes of Prize was sailing to that Port and presently after anchored We were then in seven Fathom Water This is the place where they drag Pearl All along here the Top of Gates is seen above the Clouds The Mountain Gates the Ground beneath it Fair Low and Sandy Tutticaree is now in the hands of the Dutch Tutticarce our danger here running the same Risco with Columbo over-against which it lies we being now in the very Jaws of our Enemies might have here concluded our Voyage had their Fleet been nigh us The next day we were becalmed and thereby carried into the midst of the Stream and although in the Afternoon we had an humming Frisco it ran with such Violence that we lost more than we gained This Mistake cost us a Fortnights time before we could compass the Cape besides Fears and Jealousies both of our falling into the Torrent and our Enemies hands The Cape lanches into the Sea with Three Points running into a Campaign several Miles together till it grows big with Mountains procreating their prodigious Race 400 Leagues severing the Coast of Coromandel and Malabar East and West Latitude 8 deg 50 min. North Longit. 96 deg Eost Cape Comeri The Taprobanum of Pliny over-against the Prâ—montorium Celliacum Cape Comeri CHAP. VI. Views the Malabar and Canatick Coasts up to Bombaim TO prevent the mischief of ingulphing again by the Current A dark Night enlighten'd by Fish we anchored a-nights when a Pitchy Blackness was interposed betwixt us and the Skies and not a Star to be seen The Plebs Squammosa beneath the Surface of the Salt Ocean gathering their little Fry which proved to be Pilchards either by the Repercussion of the Saline Bodies of the Waves which is frequent or by the more apt Position of their Glittering Scales through that Medium to refract the hovering Light benighted in the Atmosphere
Boughs seeming almost naked because its Leafs are small and come out at its Joints sometimes singly it is most like a Privet very quick of Growth and each of them make good Fences The Goats despise it not feeding though very cautiously on the Leafs and Branches of the latter when the Heats have parched up the Grass and other Plants Before we leave the pleasant Fields for the dusty stinking Town Sugar-Canes and Tobacco Sugar-Canes and Tobacco would deserve our Remark which are both plentifully thriving here had not these been already the Subject of other Pens The next diverting Prospect must be that of the River it glides by the Town in swift Tides The River commodious for their Ships and at Spring-Tides which it would always do were they industrious to keep it in its Banks it bears Ships of 1000 Tun Burthen up to Surat Walls but they unlade first because of the Sands occasioned by their Sloth They lye very thick a Mile together and scattering down to the River's Mouth reckoning more than an Hundred Sail of good Ships besides small Vessels For all which they were beholden to the Poverty of some English Shipwrights the first of whom received the deserved Reward of his Officiousness being Scutica dignus from the Moors who apprehending him stealing Customs Chawbucked him handsomly The Dutch never permit the Natives to be taught any Eminent Art whereby they may become their Competitors The Dutch teach the Natives nothing Nor is it I think better Policy to instruct them in any beneficial Science as that of Navigation no more than one would an Adversary how to use his Weapons which these had they equal Courage to their other Advantages of Strength and Nature might easily thereby turn the Points of their Weapons upon us But for all these great Preparations Their Navy as yet they dare not venture out without Europe Passes or Pilots though some of their Ships carry 30 or 40 Pieces of Cannon more for Shew than Service Besides these Merchant-Men here are Three or Four Men of War as big as Third Rate Ships The other are Frigats fit to Row or Sail made with Prows instead of Beaks more useful in Rivers and Creeks than in the Main The Emperor also has four great Ships in Pay always to carry Pilgrims to Mâ—echa on free Cost and bring them back from Hodge where they prove a Crew of sanctified Varlets The Heir of Bantam is now here to take his Passage thither in one of them The young King of Bantam with his Retinue which are some of the Pengrims or Lords of the Country his Unkle and others which were about Twenty with their Wives He was first at Bombaim where he was entertained like a Prince for the Obligation the Company have to their Trade there he having been disobedient to the King his Father and has not yet-shewed any kindness to the English siding rather with the Dutch Interest to undermine the Old King and settle them in the Pepper-trade which afterwards will not be in his Power to redeem out of their hands Here little notice is taken of him they all being in miserable poor Habits and he of little Credit being a Giddyhead were it not for the English Captain that brought him a Confident of the Old King 's who furnishes him with Money but sparingly he being indiscreet in his Expences He is of the Java Extraction short of Stature broad-fac'd little Eyes and less Beard a mere Boy the rest wear their Beards like the Chineses which is comparatively like a Cat 's their Heads shaved covered only with Skull-Caps of Knit-Work their Upper-Garments loose like a Frock When they appear before him they prostrate themselves along then rising up with Respect sit crouching on their Heels Their Women were covered with dark Blue Sheets The Old King had retired from the Cares of Government His Story and committed all to this his Son but the Pengrims soon tired with his exorbitant Sway made Intercession for the Old King 's reassuming his Authority whereupon this Voyage was framed as an Expedient to settle his Mad Temper Chap. III. being intrusted to the sober Conduct of the King's Brother These Vessels that are for this Voyage are huge unshapen things Their Junks and and bear both the Name and Model of their old Junks They return usually very Rich and are at their Arrival adorned most abundantly with Streamers Their way of Salutes are with Even as ours with Odd Guns The Seamen and Soldiers differ only in a Vowel Seamen the one being pronounced with an u the other with an a as Luscar is a Soldier Lascar a Seaman The Captain is called Nucquedah the Boatswain Tindal CHAP. III. Of their Solemnities Sports and Pastimes their Marriages of the Parseys their Strength by Land and Sea their abundant Wealth and Fitness for Trade AND now having entertained you thus far I shall continue to you the Circumstantial or Accidental Shews together with their Sports and Exercises The first depends on the New Moon Their New Moons when all Malice apart the Moors embrace one another and at the sight thereof make a Jubilee by firing of Guns blowing of Trumpets Feasting and Praying very devoutly The next is the Day of the Week observed for the Great Mogul's Advancement to the Throne which is not so generally kept only by the Soldiers and Officers But that which affects them all Ramazan oâ— Lent is at the end of their Ramazan or Lent which is always the first New Moon in November which as it is observed with the greatest Strictness not swallowing their Spittle all the Day of its Continuance so is it celebrated when it concludes with the highest Expression of Joy and Solemnity The Governor goes in Procession Grandeur of their Governor and Great Men. and bestows his Largess in his Passage to the Chief Place of Devotion liberally scattering Rupees as Kings do Medals at their Coronations waited on by all the Gallants of the Town His Son first leading a Body of Horse of the Cavalry of the City himself beginning the first File on the Left-hand the place of highest Honour it was as deep as the Street would admit observing no Rank After whom followed the Cazy with Green Banners with a Band of Foot of 100 Men then the Customer with his Men and Colours both carried in Palenkeens whom followed the Mullahs and Merchants without any distinction some in Coaches others in Palenkeens with their large Troops of Servâ—tors Then five Elephants in Armour with Banners supported by those that were in their Seats capable of a dozen Sitters they manage them by one Rider sitting near his Neck with an Iron Instrument a Cubit in length the Point bended downwards as long as a Finger ascribed by Livy to the Invention of that famous Leader's Brother Asdrubal who seeing these Creatures of great Terror to the Enemy but if taking an heedless Course were as liable to damage Friend
Folks in rich Dresses of Gold and Silver Mitres on their Heads and weighty Sashes about their Middles bedawbed and stained all over with Saffron Colour the Married Folks riding on Horseback Palenkeens and Coaches splendidly adorned drawn by Oxen Goats and Elks Painted over with Saffron their Horns tipped with Silver Musick Streamers and Banners going before them the Women Singing Epithalamiums the Men following and a great Attendance with Pageants Mirchals and Kitsols giving Pawn and Coco-Nuts frankly as they pass The Ceremonies after Washing and Cleansing Ceremonies in Marriage conclude by their Sitting Two Hours Tied by the Neck while the Priest Prays the Woman being then Manacled with Gold or Silver Shackles about her Wrists and Ankles a white Sheet being held over them Unvailed a Coco Nut exchanged to confirm the Bargain and Corn scattered upon them all Emblems of the Matrimonial Bands Chastity and a firm resolution to comply with one anothers Fortunes and then dismisses them by sprinkling Water on the Married Couple that they may Increase and Multiply The Women are never Married more than once the Men are under no such Obligation The first New Moon in October Dually of the Heathen is the Banyans Dually a great Day of Celebration to their Pagan Deities when they are very kind-hearted presenting their Masters with Gifts as knowing they shall be no Losers and Entertain one another with mutual Mirth and Banquetting The next Moon their Women flock to the Sacred Wells The Women have a time of Freedom where they say it is not difficult to persuade them to be kind supposing their Pollutions not to remain after their Washing in these Holy Waters March begins with a Licentious Week of Sports and Rejoycing Feast of Flies wherein they are not wanting for Lascivious Discourse nor are they to be offended at any Jest or Waggery And to shew their Beneficence at the beginning of the Rains they Treat the Ants and Flies with Sweatmeats and Wafers studiously setting Hony Syrups or any thing that may entice them to their own death out of their way allowing them Sugar or any other dried Confects for their Repast instead of them They are constant Benefactors to the Dogs Hospitable to Dogs which are many the Bitches littering in the Streets but avoid touching them as they would an Holencore whom if their Garments chance to brush they hie them home Shift and Wash The Wrestlers Anoint with Oil Wrestling and are Naked only a Belt about their Wastes in which they weary one another only by pure Strength and Luctation not by Skill or Circumvention these two last use Opium to make them perform things beyond their strength and it is incredible to think how far these will Travel before the virtue of it be worked off Hunting of Tigers is sometimes a Pastime Hunting at others a Tragy-Comedy for besetting a Wood where Tigers lurk with Men and Horses and putting a Set of their loud Musick to strike up in the middle of it they rouze at the unaccustomed Noize and rushing forth seize the first in their way if not Shot or Launced to prevent them Wild Bulls and Buffola's are as dangerous nor is the Boar less fierce than any of them Antilopes are set upon by Leopards on this wise they carry the Leopards on Hackeries both for less suspicion and to give them the advantage of their Spring which if they lose they follow not their Prey being for a surprize wherefore the Hackeries wheel about at a distance till they come near enough to apprehend them they feeding fearless of the Hackeries then with three or four Leaps after a small Chace seize them and easily become their Masters The Great Men have Persian Greyhounds which they Cloathe in Cold Weather and some few Hawks a Colum may be Hunted with a Greyhound as we do Bustards being a great Fowl and long in Rising Buffola's animated by their Keepers Buffola's and Rams set to Fight fight with great fury their Horns being reversed are useless but they knock Foreheads with a force adequate to such great Engines till they are all of a gore and follow their blow with such vigour that the strength of their Backs exert themselves into their Natural Parts which they brandish as if stimulated to Venery the stronger will hardly permit the weaker to go back to return with his force but pressing on him endeavours to bear him down thus foiling one another they are a long time before they will yield Persian Rams set together in this manner are not parted without a bloody Catastrophe which are kept on purpose for the sport of their Great Men as likewise are Elephants who engage at the Will of their Masters Here are no Gladiators but at Cudgels they will play as at Back-sword till they warm one another The chief Pleasure of the Gentiles The Master-piece of the Banyans or Banyans is to Cheat one another conceiving therein the highest Felicity though it be Cuckolding which they are expert at They will play at Chess or Tables but their utmost Fewds are determined by the dint of the Tongue to scold lustily and to pull one anothers Puckeries or Turbats off being proverbially termed a Banyan Fight Nevertheless they are implacable till a secret and sure Revenge fall upon their Adversary either by maliciously plotting against their Life by clancular Dealings or Estate by unlawful and unjust Extortions Then you shall have them with this Prayer in their Mouths Pulchra Laverna Da mihi fallere da justum sanctumque videri Noctem peccatis fraudibus adjice nubem Example is more than Precept Education of Youth and the Youth have no other Education besides their Parents more than some mean Pedagogue's who teaches the Children first their Letters or Cyphers on the Ground by writing on the Dust with their Fingers which is their Primer where when they are perfect they are allowed a Board plastered over which with Cotton they wipe out when full as we do from Slates or Table-Books when they arrive to Paper they are presumed to be their Crafts-masters and to earn it The Moors The sloth of the Moors a whet to the Banyans who are by Nature slothful will not take pains being proud scorn to be taught and jealous of the Baseness of Mankind dare not trust their Children under tuition for fear of Sodomy whereby few of their Great Men or Merchants can read but keep a Scrivan of the Gentues On which account it is the Banyans make all Bargains and transact all Money-business and though you hear see and understand them yet you shall be choused they looking you in the face for as a piece of Superstition they must put their Hands under a Ramerin or Mantle when by their Fingers they instruct one another and by that slight often contradict their Tongues Such a subtile Generation is this and so fitly squared a Place is Surat to exercise their Genius in In February the Bussorah
which I had caused the Portugueze to Mount which he took in such dudging seeing himself on Foot and him on Horseback that he turned Tail and went back again to his Vomit without bidding adieu And now our mighty Task began to try our Feet A troublesome passage over the Gaot as well as weary our Eyes I not caring to hazard my self longer in my Palenkeen alighted and though I thought it a work impossible to conquer I put the best face on it I could tarrying till they were all together the better to chear them The Coolies providing themselves with Staves distrusted not only their own Legs but the Ground they went on it having forsaken many a tall Tree around us some holding by the mouldring Earth with half their Roots bare others half buried in Pits they never grew in lay expecting their quondam Neighbours downfal The busy Apes The Monkies afrighted the Forlorn hope of these declining Woods deeming no place safe where they beheld us made strange Levaltoes with their hanging Brats from one Bough to another Chattering an Invasion but these saw us presently exalted beyond their Bowers and feared us from above as much as we to salute them below Thus far was passable enough when the Sun levelled himself unto our Steps and we looked for Day beneath us Here I made a second pause and promised them Nectar in the Skies this proved but a faint Cordial to the Frasses who failed afore they got a quarter up for whom after I had provided the Moon assisting us with a less parching Light I found my Hands as necessary to Clamber as my Feet Travelling on all Four the Stones were laid step by step but in little order and now so steep that it differed little from Perpendicular only by the winding of the Mountain and so Narrow that Two Men could not pass abreast where chiefly were laid Trees and Timber to make work for the Army should they attempt this Way which sorely increased our trouble being the first Adventurers beside the danger we incurred of being Assaulted from above they not yet knowing who we were To look down made my Brains turn round over my Head pendulous Rocks threatned to Entomb me We had not gone long thus Flurries from the Hills carry Men and Oxen down the Precipice before the Cry came the Ox was fallen 't was well he chose not the place where I was in for the least lapse had irrecoverably whirled him to the bottom Arguments were too weak to persuade the Coolies to go back to him to help him I therefore proceeded to Threats which made Two of them return to his Aid I confess the sense of their hard Labour urged me to pity the Anguish of which extorted Tears from some unseasonable at this time to take notice of to them we had only this Comfort the Even was Calm and Serene and we were mounted beyond the humble Mists which we could discern fluctuating against the impenetrable Promontories which may be the reason sometimes they say Men and Oxen are hurled down the Precipice by sudden Gusts when they are exalted to the Clouds and they break with too great an Impetuosity For all this Light we seemed Obscured the splendour of the Moon being shaded by the sides of the Mountains which appeared here all Marble The Horse being a Turky one made the best shift of all and was more forward than convenient pelting us with great Stones his Hoofs had removed which caused us to retard his haste and leave him to come last About Nine a Clock at Night the Moon shone over our Heads more joyful at her presence than her feignedly beloved Endimion An hour after we came tired to the Brow through a narrow Cavern cut out of the main Rock here being no Guard the noise of the Army being over I was the second Man Trampled on the Top half an hour after the Palenkeen came and all the rest within two hours more Here I was as good as my word and distributed Arack among them which made them for all their tedious Tug run amain to the next Town Oppagaot where early in the Morning I crowded under an Old Shed This Gur or Hill is reckoned four Course up every Course being a Mile and half The heighth of the Mountain From whence is beheld the World beneath all furled with Clouds the Caerulean Ocean terminating the Horizon the adjacent Islands bordering on the Main the Mountains fenced with horrible Gulphs till strange Vertigoes prejudicate Fancy not daring longer to be made a Spectator The bandying Eccho still persecutes with terrible repeated Sounds meeting fresh Objects to reundulate it though at the greater distance being yet enclosed with Mountains which they maintain as Fortresses and I can give no reason why they do not this Entry also unless because it is so contrived that Ten Men may keep down Ten thousand Here is a sensible alteration of the Air Alteration of Air on the Hills The Dawn of the Morning and latter part of the Night 't was sharp cold and piercing so that all I gathered about me would scarce keep me warm and all the Day there were fine cool Briezes though below we were almost choaked with soultry Heats The Reason whereof I judge to be because the High Mountains reverberate the flowing Particles of the Atmosphere as we see the Rocks do Water more strongly by how much more force the Waves assail them so here the Air which is thicker below driven against these Hills breaks off in Flurries which seeking to retire into their own Ocean mitigate the violence of the Heat in their passage by fanning as it were the Air by which means and the Sun 's rarifying the Misty Vapours they are left pure and fall at Night in more limpid Dews to cool and refresh the Earth To which Sense sings Lucan Fulminibus proprior terrae succenditur aër Imaque telluris ventos tractusque coruscos Flammarum accipiunt Nubes excedit Olympus Moreover Bogs and Fens are rarely found to soil the Air or pen in the Heat for want of ventilation This is a sad Starvling Town Oppagaot a starveling Town to it belongs a Subidar or Customer who blown up with the confidence of half a dozen Bill-men thought to have compell'd me to stay till the Governor of the Castle should examine my Cocket which he had sent him by the Havaldar I ordered him to send it with one of the Gulean Peons but he made Answer the Governor having been up all Night was not then at leisure While we were talking a Drove of Combies Hinds passed with Provisions on their Heads for the Castle and I having staid till Three in the Afternoon not getting any other Answer I commanded the Coolies to march though the Subidar prohibited and kept them from following them with my Men and Arms as Carbines and Blunderbusses and the Governor not coming as he told my Peons they would by Four I dismissed the Gulean Peons
them out of Doors for their fiery Spirits like Water cast on Sea-Coal by the Society of such Nymphs would render their Heat more intense by intemperate Jealousies After the Armenians had treated us The French Artisans divert us the French Artisans thought themselves concerned to do the like that they might not be thought to live here in Slavery but in a Condition to Entertain not only their Friends but to equal the highest Flights the Armenians could pretend to and for the Honour of their King and Nation we were called on St. Lewis his Day which they Solemnized with fresh Devices of Fireworks Illuminations Interludes and Farces besides the Extravagances of Banquetting and Carowsing Drinking the Sophi's Health and their Master's after all the European Monarchs The next day River Fishes with the Noise of loud Musick we were Invited by them into the Country to a Fish Dinner by the River side as of Mullets Crey Fish Pickeril and the like for it is not for every one to feed on Lampry Turbat Goldney or Sturgion formerly held as dainty Bits by the Rich Roman Gluttons as Apicius Vitellus and Lucullus However here are Salmon from the Caspian Sea and the Urchin though not that admired one of the Ocean for its delicious Taste this being not for Food but Diversion under the Hedges and Trees of an Orchard by the Bank of the River The sly Nature and cunning Thefts of which Creature The Hedge-Hog though they are made famous by many of the Learnedst Philosophers yet none more Graphically expresses them than these Facetious Verses Ergo ubi lapsa jacent sua quisque sub arbore poma Accedunt Laeti seque in sua terga volutant Denec fixa rubis haerentia mala supremis Exportent implentque penum liventibus uvis Quorum acinis quoties sentes onerantur acutae Perjucunda sui praebent spectacula nobis Quippe humeros tecti sic ingrediuntur ut ipsâ Ire putes totos avulsos vite racemos Ah! tibi ne cupidos sensus tam tangat habendi Tantus amor furem ut tentes arcere jocosum Atque oculos durus jucundo avertere Ludo Eripere natis dulcem expectantibus escam Under the Trees where Apples lye They come apace full fraught with Joy And rowling on their Backs they six The tender Apples to their Pricks Which carrying off they come again And with ripe Grapes their Store maintain Whose Thorny Bristles fully stuck A pleasant Sight it is to look And see them march lac'd o're with Fruit As if they 'd stole the Vine to boot Ah! let not Covetous Intent The Waggish Thief at all prevent Or Surly drive him from his Prey Who bears them thus to 's Young away It is called by the Latins Echinus from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it contracts its self being touched by some Erinaceus of which there are two sorts and in our Tongue are called Hedge-hogs the one with a Snout like an Hog's and the other a Nose like a Dog 's both which are beset with sharp Thorns or Prickles on their Backs and when they fear any harm towards them gather themselves into a round Fuz ball In some few places where the Water was purposely pent in Water-Fowl we saw some Flocks of Water Fowl which the Persians are skill'd by their long Case-harden'd Guns to shoot flying The best Hawks of Muscovia are purchased here at great Rates nor undeservedly for they will strike down those Colum that are as big as Wild Turkies and visit India in the Cold Season eleven or a dozen one after another as they fly in Trains like Wild Geese and come down with the last themselves Some of these we saw tried which was pleasant Sport They have some Hawks of their own but they are of a Cowardly Breed to these they teaching the Crows of the Country to be too hard for them whereby it is familiar to give an Hundred Thomands for a right Muscovia Hawk of which they are so great Lovers that they seldom appear abroad without one of them on their Hand Some of them in their Swoops are so couragious as to seize the Heads of Deer or Antelopes and seating themselves with their Talons between their Horns pick out their Eyes or doze them with their Beaks or stupify them with their Strokes so that no Hunting in the World is like it to see them soaring in a wide Plain where Herds of these are especially if there be these Water-pits for the Courses under Ground at once to observe them guarding their Fronts scampering with their Heads to the Earth to avoid the tow'ring Enemy aloft sometimes unawares to fall Captives into these Wells not suspecting the Danger under foot so much as avoiding that which threatens them over head whereby they run into Thickets or against Shrubs and Stumps of Trees tumbling and leaping unadvisedly so that Greyhounds being set upon them easily overtake them Not by this Stratagem to derogate from their Greyhounds Greyhounds which are as good as most of that kind well-shap'd and swift but shagged with long Hair yet for all that are kept cloathed as their Horses in Winter and all the Year besides rubbed dressed and covered with lighter Cloaths The other Dogs are but Curs they are Strangers to our Bloodhounds but have many English Mastiffs in good Repute which breed and are very serviceable to keep their Houses striking Terror into the Assailants more than a Guard of Watchmen Here are no Parks No Woods or Forests about Spahaun Forests or Chaces for Sport nor Meres or Decoys for Game nor indeed Medows yielding Hay for their Cattel their Fodder being chopped Straw and Barley their Provender all over the Empire nor are here any Woods more than inclosed in Gardens which is unfit for Building or Firing yet of the tall Maple or Sycamore they have slit Boards for their Chests for Wine and Fruit neither is there any Turf or Coal so that Firing is more worth than Food being forced to send Camels to fetch it many days Journy hence as has been said at our first coming hither In our Return we observed several Tombs of the Ancient Gabers after the same manner as the Parsies in India and at top of the Mountains such Monuments as are on the sides of the Plain of Persepolis and one more eminent in Honour of their great Champion Rustam but who this Rustam was both their Annals and Tradition give an unsatisfactory Account On the 19th of August an Eclypse of the Sun made us take notice of the Alteration of the Weather An Eclypse of the Sun which was stormy and tempestuous as well as the lamentable plight all the Mahometans were in they supposing that Orb to be in Labour and therefore by Prayers and Incantations concerned at its Delivery all the time beating Pots of Brass making a Noise as dreadful as the Day of Doom The Eclypse being over the Weather
no Value or not worth our discourse Goats-wool becomes a thing of serious Controversy therefore it was God's Mercy we were not try'd with Stormy Weather hitherto But now we were dilemma'd not knowing what to wish when the Divine Providence sent us a West North West Gale which after we had measured the whole Coast from Persia round the Bay of Cambaia to Sinda we were drove to Diu where sounding we had Eighteen Fathom Water and bending to the South we were directed a-nights by the Light-houses and at last out-stretching the Flats we fell in with the High-lands of St. John's in India The Head-land of Diu is the highest Land there in view the rest of the Ground being low nor is Gates to be seen there it lies in North Latitude 21 deg 10 min. but St. John's in 10 deg being a notable high Peak on the Gaot On the first day of the Year 1978-79 and the last of the Moon the Gusts blowing horribly from Shore we were again drove to Sea till Night and anchored very uneasily while Two the next Morning when the Tide horsed us towards the Shore we not being able otherwise to prevail against the Wind with our Sails but anchoring another whole Night and Day Tollimur in Caelum curvato gurgite idem Subducta ad manes imos descendimus unda By th' rising Waves we 're lifted up on high Descending down we in the deep do lye Where we had remained had we offer'd to unfurl our Sails for the aforementioned Reasons But from our Want there sprang this Commodity our Water being well nigh all spent the Ship was better able to live her Burthen sinking aloft and thereby gave occasion to bear a steadier Poise below while we expected the abating of the Tempest in order to our happy Deliverance which at last permitted us to come more under the Land where struggling every Tide though the Water continued still troubled with foaming Billows yet observing when to gain we passed Surat River's Mouth where rode thirteen Moor Merchant-men and two great Belgians and so came to our desired Haven in Swally-hole on Twelfth-day where I remain Your Humble Servant J. F. Sending you with this the General Account of Persia which I had time to write during almost Forty Days floating upon these Waters which had like to prove as fatal to Us as the great Deluge did once to the Old World in that space of time THE Present State OF PERSIA CHAP. XI Of the various Names Situation and Bounds the Temper of the Air of the Seasons and Winds of the High and Stupendious Mountains their Advantage and Conveniency of the Fruitfulness of the Valleys occasioned by Snow upon the Hills Of the Vegetables Plants and Minerals of their Fowl Four-footed Beasts and Fishes Their Caravans Mosques Hummums Buzzars Houses and Bridges The City Suffahaun proposed as a Patern of their Government PERSIA by Classick Authors is fabled to have its Name from King Perseus Its Names Son of Andromeda it was anciently called Elam by the Hebrews and now by the Inhabitants Phursistan It is sited in the Temperate Zone Situation and Bounds under the Third Fourth Fifth and Sixth Climates In time of Yore the Monarchy of the whole World devolved upon it and which is miraculous is not quite extinguished to this day although the Bounds of the Empire were straitned or enlarged according to the ebbing or flowing of Fortune In its Infancy it was mighty for Nimrod was a Powerful Hunter that is a great Prince and as it grew up it increased in Strength but from the Grand Cyrus to Darius the Mede it seemed to be in the Flower of its Age when it was Mistress of all the Earth which the vast Ocean washes on this side and the Hellespont on the other After the Death of Alexander the Great it was miserably divided by the Contentions of his Captains and long since by the Incursions of the Saracens it has been declining unless where it has healed its self towards those Parts bordering on India by which means it has not lost much of its Modern Greatness though the Turks within this Century have forced the Low Countries of Babylon and Mesopotamia which the Persians were as willing to resign as they to take they being a continual Charge to defend and no Advantage to the Persians but rather an unnecessary Trouble On which Reflections there is nothing forbids but that with the Judicious Boterus we may state its Limits between the Caspian Sea the Persian Gulph the Lake Stoke with the Rivers Oxus and Tigris and the Bay and Kingdom of Cambaia which Tract contains in it from East to West more than Twenty Degrees and from North to South above Eighteen whereby the Days are prolonged or shortned three Hours Under this Account is to be reckoned the greater part of Georgia with the Islands in either Seas It is distinguished into Provinces the exact Number whereof as divided at present they as often changing Names as Governors I have not been certainly informed Quintus Curtius erred something when he said Temperance of the Air. Regio non alia in tota Asiâ salubrior habetur temperatum Coelum hinc perpetuum jugum opacum et umbrosum quod Aestas laevat illinc Mare adjunctum quod modico tepore terras fovet There is not a Region in all Asia esteemed healthier the Air being temperate on this hand the Heaven is shaded and the Vales defended by the Tops of Mountains which qualifies the Heat on the other surrounded with Seas and Rivers which by a friendly Warmth cherish the Land for that Places near the Tropicks make some Exceptions where in the Summer they endure great Heat not only from the nearness of the Sun because we often observe strange differences to happen in the same Climate but from the Sands and Sulphurous Exhalations steaming from the Mountains which are impregnated herewith whenas Reason persuades the Time must be hotter than in other Seasons of the Year As also in the Midland Country the Cause holds good for its intense Coldness in Winter and almost through every Quarter at Nights the Penury of Vapours where the Earth is Rocky and Mountainous the Rivers are scarce and small the Snows lye undissolved nor are there any Woods of that Bigness to hinder the freedom of the Blasts descending pure upon the Vales On which account immoderate Driness invades the Mediterranean Parts the Air is Serene and Volatile which as it is highly serviceable to the Respiration of all Living Creatures so it mightily contributes to their Preservation as well as Generation Moreover from this Rarity of the Air follows an undeniable Argument of its Frigidity and thence a farther concomitant of its Siccity from all which results a Dry Constitution for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Siccitas humores facit qualitate sicciores Driness of the Air makes the Humours drier which the Inland of Persia enjoys from a Concatenation of Causes both of Heat