sorts of Land and Water Animals of Circles Triangles and Squares he goes to work and at the same time puts into a Goblet three Pieces of Copper whereon are engraven several Characters onely upon one side After he has shaken the Pieces in the Cup he throws them upon the ground as at Cross and Pile if all the Characters lie undermost he looks no further in his Book but looks upon it as an unfortunate sign but if one or two Characters come up he looks in his Book and makes the person believe what he pleases But if all the Characters happen to turn uppermost then the Magician cries out that the Party is the most fortunate in the world The second Magician is called Thay-Phou-Thouy to whom they have recourse in all their Sicknesses When any sick person comes to him he takes a Book full of Figures like the former onely the Form of the Book is different for this is not above an inch thick and about four fingers long with eight Panes full of Cyphers If after several Apish tricks which he acts before the sick person to amuse him he affirms that the Distemper comes from the Devil he himself together with the sick party and they that brought him do Homage to the evil spirit this Homage consists of several Sacrifices and the Friends of the sick party present to the Devil or rather to the Magician a Table furnish'd with Rice and other Viands But if after all these Offerings the sick party do not recover his health all the Friends and Kindred of the sick party with as many Souldiers as they can get surround the sick persons House and shoot off their Musquets three times to drive away the Devil Sometimes the Magician makes the sick party and his Friends believe that the God of the Waters is the cause of the Distemper especially if the sick person belongs to the Water as being a Mariner Boatman or Fisherman And to the end he may be cur'd and that the appeas'd God may return to his watry Habitation he orders that all the way from the sick parties House to the next River may be spread with all the Pieces of Stuff which all the Kindred have and that they set up Huts at such and such distances and keep in every one a several Table furnish'd with all sorts of Viands for 3 days And all this to oblige the Deity to retire and to entertain him till he gets home But the better to know the rise of the Disease Thay-Phou-Thouy makes them believe that they must go and consult Thay-Bou who is the chief Magician and if he answer that the Souls of the dead have caused the Distemper the Magician imploys all his tricks and devices to draw to him those mischievous Souls and when he has got into his Clutches as he pretends the Soul that is the Author of the Disease he shuts him up in a Bottle full of Water till the party be cured and then breaking the Bottle he sets the Soul at liberty to go about his business When the party recovers he makes him and his Friends believe that if the Bottle had not been well stopp'd to keep in the Soul their Kinsman would have died infallibly The Magicianess which the Tunquineses also consult is called Bacoti and she keeps a great Correspondence with the Devil to whom if she has a Daughter she offers her as soon as she is born the more to oblige him If any Mother bewail the death of her Child and be desirous to know in what condition the Soul of the Child is in in the other world she goes to Bacoti who to satisfie the Mother presently falls a beating her Drum to summon the Soul to come to her who presently appears as she pretends and tells her its Condition whether good or bad But most commonly she makes the silly Mothers believe that the Soul is happy and bids them be of good cheer The Superstitions of these people are very numerous but the most remarkable are these The studious sort of people are very diligent to learn how by looking in a Mirrour to foretell things to come There are some that present Aqua Vitae to the dead and sprinkle their Ashes with it but this onely upon the Ashes of their Ancestors from whom at the same time they beg for Health Honour and Riches Others there are that upon the first day of their year take a piece of Chalk and make several Figures round square and triangular upon the Threshold and Steps of their Doors They say those Figures fright away the evil spirits Some there are that make great Observations upon the Feet of their Hens and draw strange Conclusions of bad or ill fortune from thence Others travelling into the Countrey if they sneeze but once by the way return to the place from whence they parted in the morning saying That had they gone on some mischief would have certainly befallen them but if they sneeze twice they pursue their Journey never fearing any danger for that day There are some so superstitious that going out of their Houses if they meet a Woman they return home again for two or three hours but if they meet a Man 't is a good Omen The first Fruit which they gather at the beginning of the year is that which the Araguer bears spoken of in the third Chapter And this is the first which they eat with great Ceremony during the first Quarter of their second Moneth To which purpose they are so possess'd with the Devil that they poyson one of these Fruits and give it to a Child to eat believing that by taking away the life of the poor innocent Child they shall thrive the better all the year after When the Moon is eclipsed they say there is a certain Dragon that assails her and endeavours with all his might to overcome her with an intention to devour her Then to assist the Moon and to put the Dragon to flight they discharge their Musquets ring their Bells beat up their Drums and make a hideous noise till the Eclipse be over and then they believe that they have rescued the Moon for which they make as great a rejoycing as if they had obtain'd some eminent Victory over their Enemies They are also very superstitious in reference to the hours of the day They divide the natural day into twelve hours and to every one they give the name of some Beast as of a Tiger a Lion a Bear a Horse a Dragon an Ape c. The Moneths also and Days have their particular Names and when a Child is born presently the Father and Kindred go to see the name of the Beast by which the Hour was call'd wherein the Child was born believing that Animal will prove fatal to it At the time that my Brother was at the Court at Tunquin the King then reigning being born in the hour of the Horse would never give Audience nor ever stir out of his Palace at that hour for
the Queens of Tunquin when they go abroad out of the Palace A. Six Elephants go in the Front drawing a kind of a Sedan close shut up with Grate-like Windows B. Fifteen Captains or Officers walk next Armed with Fire-locks C. The Sedan wherein the Queen is D. Six of the Queens Gentlemen do carry Parasols for to guard the Queens Chair from the Scorching of the Sun E. Six Ladies of Honour of the Queens go next The first hath the Command of the Queens Eunuchs these Eunuchs though throughly Spaded yet are never admitted into the Queens Apartment the Kings of Tunquin being in that particular more jealous than other Kings and Mahometan Princes who allow this sort of Eunuchs to serve their Queens within the Palace The next in Office of these Ladies presents the Queen with Sweet Meats when she is about to drink for they usually eat some before they drink they alleaging that this keeps them from having the Cholic to which they are very subject in Tunquin The third in rank carries a Box of Perfumes and Betel The others usher the Queen when she gets into the Sedan or alights G. Here is a Chariot drawn by Eight Maids of Quality when she gets out of the Sedan but before she appears all the Men and Eunuchs do withdraw into such places whence they cannot have the sight of her it being a Crime to look upon her then the Ladies help her out of the Sedan and the Maids draw her along to whatever place she has a mind to go in unto Place this next to The King of Tunquin setting out for the War saw in the year 1649 when the King was preparing to make War against the King of Cochinchina for certain Ships which the Cochinchineses had taken from the Tunquineses though the Quarrel was taken up by certain Embassadors which the King of Cochinchina sent to the King of Tunquin to whom the former made satisfaction The Army that was then prepar'd to march upon this Expedition was compos'd of 8000 Horse 94 thousand Foot and 722 Elephants 130 for the War and the rest to carry the Tents and Baggage of the King and the Nobility and 318 Galleys and Barks very long and narrow with Oars and Sails and this was that which my Brother saw The Condition of the Souldiery is very toilsom and laborious and of little advantage in the Kingdom of Tunquin For they are all their life time so ti'd and engag'd to the Service of the Wars that though they are capable of other Labours for the support of their Families they are not permitted to undertake it Those days that they are not upon the Guard they are oblig'd to attend their Captains where-ever they go and two days in a week they are compell'd to Exercise with their Bows and Arrows in their presence Their Companies consist of a hundred or a hundred and thirty Men and they of each Company that have made the best shot have one of them two Months Wages the other one which is paid them in Rice He that makes the worst shot next time he mounts the Guard is oblig'd to stand Centinel double his time All the Captains look upon it as a great piece of glory to have their Souldiers Arms and Weapons neat and bright If they find any rust upon them they sconce them eight days Wages for the first fault and for the second they are very severely chastis'd As for those that serve in the Galleys they are entertain'd and listed proportionably And sometimes the Captains send their Souldiers aboard for some days that they may learn to row For it is one of the chiefest Pastimes of the Kings of Tunquin to see the Mock-fights of the Galleys When he has a mind to delight himself with this Divertisment the King with some part of his Court removes to one of his fair Palaces that stands upon one of the largest Rivers in his Country and it is a great Honour for any of the Captains whose Souldiers carry the Victory Now as the Victory is only got by the force of the Oars it happens sometimes that there are some Souldiers who strain themselves so hard that they fall down dead with the Oar in their hands for the King is the only Judge of the Combat Wherein the pleasure that he takes is such that he sends an Elephant to the Captain that obtains the Victory and gives him three Months Wages besides If any Souldier chance to die in this Exercise his Widow or his Heirs have two years Pay But notwithstanding all their pain and labour their Wages are so small that they are not able to maintain their Wives and Children But in regard they Marry very young in this Country the Wives as well of the Souldiers as of all the meaner sort of people take care to learn some Trade besides that they may be able to maintain their Families The Captains also have their work prepar'd for them For they are oblig'd to look after the King's Elephants and to manage them for the Wars and so to breed them that they may not be afraid of Wild-fire or any other Artificial Fires as also to build places all along the Rivers for the Galleys to ride shelter'd in when they can no longer live out at Sea All these Officers and Captains and Lords of the Court which are generally call'd Mandarins have but four days in a Month to divert themselves two at the first change of the Moon and two at the full CHAP. VI. Of the Manners and Customs of the People of the Kingdom of Tunquin THe People of Tunquin are naturally mild and peaceful submitting easily to reason and condemning the Transports of Choler They esteem the Manufactures of strange Countries far beyond those of their own though they are not very curious of seeing any other Countries but those where they were born and where as they say they always desire to live to honour the Memory of their Ancestors They have a tone in speaking naturally soft and pleasing happy memories and in their Language which is very florid they use several apposite Comparisons They have good Poets among them and People that love Learning in which respect they are no way inferiour to the Chineses their Neighbours The Tunquineses as well Men as Women are for the most part well proportion'd of an Olive Complexion very much admiring the whiteness of the Europeans Their Noses and Faces are not so flat as those of the Chineses as being generally better made Their Hair is very black which they usually wear as long as it will grow being very careful in combing it The Common People plait it in tresses and tie it like a great Roll upon the top of their Heads But the Nobility Men of Law and Souldiers tie their Locks about their Necks that they may not flutter in their Faces They do not believe their Teeth to be handsom till they have made them as black as jet and they suffer their Nails to grow the
eat not Rice only but Bread and there they ask in civility how much Rice they boil'd and how much Meal they bak'd for Bread for the more he eats the better in health they think a man is Among all the Pastimes of the Tunquineses there are none wherein they take so much delight as in Comedies which are only Acted in the Night-time but those which are presented the day that they first behold the new Moon are the best They last from Sun-setting to Sun-rising and they are set out with beautiful Decorations and Machines very pleasing to behold They are excellently well skill'd in representing the Sea and Rivers and making a shew of Sea-fights and Combats between Galleys and Barks though they have seldom more then eight Actors Men and Women The places appointed for these sights are great Halls the third part whereof the Theater takes up the rest being fill'd with Benches for the Spectators Upon each side of the Theater is a Box very sumptuously set out reserv'd for the King when he pleases to come The Actors and Actresses are very magnificently clad The dress for the Womens heads being a kind of Miter or Diadem which exceedingly becomes them from the hinder part whereof two Ribonds three fingers broad hang down below their wasts Both the one and the other Act their parts very perfectly and according to their manner observe an exact time in their Dancing At one of the corners of the Hall sit the two Judges of the Comedy one of whom beats time upon a Brass Drum Their other ordinary Pastimes especially for the Lords and Mandarins are Fishing and Hunting though they take more pleasure in the former by reason of the plenty of Fish which their Rivers afford them But as I said before they follow these sports only upon the days that are permitted them as being better husbands of their time then we not sparing any part of it from business So that they who at the beginning of that little knowledge which we had of these People wrote that their Manners and Customs were wild and barbarous were misinform'd For as there is no reason to doubt of the truth of what I affirm and what others have confirm'd by other Relations we may well conculde from what I have said That all the Duties of Civil Society and Politeness are not confin'd within our Europe but that the Kingdom of Tunquin anciently a part of China still retains the good Government and Civility of the Chineses themselves CHAP. IX Of the Learned Men in the Kingdom of Tunquin CErtain it is that the Tunquineses have a very great inclination for Learning and that they apply themselves to their Studies with diligence and success for that they cannot be advanc'd without it to the Offices and Dignities in the Kingdom I do not here by Learning mean the understanding of the Languages of our Learned Men of Europe which are altogether unknown to the Eastern People and much less the Philosophy of Aristotle of which they never so much as heard But we mean the knowledge of the Laws of their Country by means whereof they obtain the charges of Judicature the Mathematicks and particularly Astronomy to which all the Orientals have a great inclination as being great observers of the Stars by whose assistance they flatter themselves to be able to foretel things to come The Tunquineses are also passionate lovers of Music and Poetry as being great admirers of Comedy and Tragedy of which those two Sciences are the main Composition so that the Musicians and Actors of Tunquin are accounted the best in the whole Eastern part of the World That you may acquire Nobility by Learning in your Youth you must pass through three degrees of the Synde the Doucan and the Tansi from which degree you may ascend to that of the Nobility To attain the first degree it behoves the Youth of Tunquin to apply themselves for eight years together to their Studies and that very close to enable themselves for the Office of a Notary Proctor and Advocate to which there is nothing more conducing then to speak Eloquently in public At the end of eight years they are examin'd concerning the duty of those Employments and if any one fail to give an Answer to the Questions propounded he is sent back again as incapable to obtain any Employment for the future or to study any longer For those that acquit themselves well of their Examination which is very rigorous their Names are set down in a Register and presented to the King who first grants them the liberty to take upon them the Title of Synde and then if it be their aim to enjoy the Quality of Doucan they are commanded by the Tansi's to study Music Astrology and Poesie not only to be able to be judge of it but also to perform themselves upon occasion For to be good judges of Comedy which is a great Honour among them it behoves them to be both good Comedians and Musicians Nor indeed is there any Pastime more frequent then that of the Theater in this Country for there is never any solemn Festival among them which is not accompany'd and set forth with Artificial Fire-works in making whereof these People are exquisite after which they have their Comedies with Machines and change of Scenes in every Act. Besides this their Actors have a prodigious memory so that let the part be never so long they never make use of Prompters to assist them as we do in Europe They that will learn the Mathematicks must make their own Instruments themselves and spend five years in this study They are examin'd every year and if they fail to answer such Questions as are ask'd them for the first four they are pardon'd but at the end of the five years if upon the grand Examination they fail to answer the Questions demanded them by the Tansis they are utterly degraded whereas if they satisfie their Examinors they are permitted the Name and Dignity of Doucan After thirteen years thus spent before they can arrive to the degree of a Tansi they must spend four years more in learning to write and read the Chinese Character to such a certain number of Words For the life of a Man would not suffice to learn to write and read the Chinese quite through The reason is because that as to this particular it is not in China as in other Nations where one Word is compos'd of several Letters The Chineses for every Word have a different Figure all which Figures are very numerous as you may easily conjecture By the by let me tell you that these Figures are made with small Pencils and that the Chineses make use of a certain Ink which is made up into a Paste and so moisten'd in Water as you make use of it They have also another sort of Colour for certain Words But they cannot make use of Pens as our Europeans which are made of Quils nor of those of other Eastern People