precise in relating the Transactions of the Twelve Tribes which descended from them even down to the Present Age. I do not insist on this to teach thee something whereof thou art Ignorant but to put thee in Mind of the Benefit and Advantage besides the vast Delight which accrues to a Nation by thus preserving the Memoirs of their Ancestors In which my Countrymen have exceeded the Fidelity and Care of all other People Had it not been for the Industry of Arabian Writers the History of the whole Saracen Empire the Succession of the Caliphs with their Wars and Conquests would have been either quite lost to this Age or at least much deprav'd and falsify'd by the Malice of Christian and Persian Authors both Equally Enemies to the Truth By which it is Evident that every Nation ought to Register their own Transactions What therefore I chiefly aim at is That the Glorious Osmans who have by their Valour enter'd into the Possessions and Territories of many Ancient Nations might also be acquainted with the Histories of those People whose Lands they Enjoy But above all I wish that after they have found a way to so much Wealth and Honour they would not lose themselves and their own Original I speak of the Turks properly so call'd the Descendants of the Scythians who by some were esteem'd the most Ancient Nation on Earth a People form'd by Nature for the Empire of the World were never Conquer'd themselves yet spread their Victories over all Asia They routed Zopyrio a General of Alexander the Great and drove back a huffing King of Egypt with Shame and Loss to his own Country In fine they were a People Naturally Just Temperate Hardy and Endu'd with all the Excellent Qualities which the Philosophy of the Greeks and Romans cou'd never Inspire into their Subjects though they aim'd at it These were the People O Oracle of Believers from whom the present Turks descend And is it not a Shame that they can give no other Account of their Ancestors but what they borrow from the Christians who in the mean Time reproach the Mussulmans with Ignorance and Barbarism 'T is for this Reason I renew the same Request to thee which I often made to thy Predecessor that Learning may be encourag'd Let all the Ancient Records and Histories of the Greeks and Romans be sought out and Translated by Men skillful in Languages into the Familiar Speech of the Ottomans Some I know are already Common among the Grandees as Herodotus Plutarch and others but let not any Credible Writer be wanting In doing this thou wilt put a Check to the Scoffs of Infidels augment the Honour and Interest of the Moselmans and leave an Immortal Name behind thee on Earth Which will make thy Joys in Paradise more sweet to an Infinity of Ages Paris 19th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XIII To the Kaimacham ALL Europe except the French and Suedes hangs down the Head for the Death of the German Emperour He went to the Immortals on the 2d Day of this Moon after a long Fit of Sickness and Forty Nine Years Life on Earth Nathan Ben Saddi the Agent of the Port at Vienna informs me That on the same Day whereon the Emperour died the Imperial Palace took Fire on a sudden and with such Impetuosity that a great Part of it was presently consum'd and the King of Hungary and Bohemia the Emperour's Son narrowly escap'd with his Life This is esteem'd a bad Omen to the Empire And without being Superstitious I can assure thee That Germany is in a very bad Condition at this Juncture The Electors are so divided on the Score of Religion and their Secular Interests and Allyances That in all Probability they will not with Ease decide the Succession The Duke of Brandenburgh having United himself to the Suedes will not consent to the Installing Leopoldus Ignatius Josephus the Emperour's Son because that Prince supports the Cause of the Poles and Danes The Palatine of Heydelberg and Duke of Bavaria are at odds about their Private Pretensions The Duke of Saxony wou'd fain be Emperour himself or have one at least of the Lutheran Religion And the Rest are so incens'd against the House of Austria that it is thought none but the Ecclesiastick Princes will vote for the King of Hungary and Bohemia So that there being no King of the Romans to claim the Succession by the Laws of the Empire the Throne is like to be Vacant yet a while Cardinal Mazarini who watches all Opportunities to Aggrandize his Master has dispatch'd away several Couriers into Germany to negotiate privately with the Electors and concert those Measures which will be most for the Interest of France And I tell thee this Minister has no small Influence on the Elector of Colen and Prince Palaetine of the Rhine Besides thou wilt say he goes the Right Way to Work when thou shalt know that he makes Use of the French Gold to compass his Designs No sooner did the News of the Emperour's Death arrive at this Court but it was observ'd the Cardinal took up a Hundred Thousand Pistoles of the Publick Banquiers in this City And every Body guess'd how 't wou'd be dispos'd The Portugueze Embassador at this Court has caus'd Extraordinary Fire-works to be play'd on the River Seyne before the Palace of the King in Honour of his Master's Coronation the Young King of Portugal But the Spaniards are preparing more destructive Fire-works on the Frontiers of that Kingdom being ready to enter it with an Army of Sixteen Thousand Men to recover the Portugueze Crown In sending thee these Intelligences Sage Minister I am not concern'd for the Infidels Who dies or who lives who rises or who falls is all one to Mahmut provided the Grand Signior's Health Life and Happiness be augmented And this I speak as an Arabian and True Believer Paris 30th of the 4th Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XIV To Raba Mahomet General of the Ottoman Forces at his Camp near Adrianople THE Sacred Empire of True Believers is beset at this Time with Infidels Rebels and Hereticks Here are many Rumours spread abroad concerning the Persians and the Interest they have in the Bassa and Citizens of Babylon They talk also that some Male-contents design Things which ought not to be nam'd God has given me Two Ears and I hear these Discourses with both but I entertain them with one Unchangeable Judgment That they are only the Whispers of Fame which has a Thousand Double Tongues If it be true that the Four Chiauses who were dispatch'd to Babylon from the Grand Signior to confirm the Inhabitants of that City in their Allegiance and assure them of speedy Succours were Murder'd by the disloyal Citizens I doubt not but 't is as true That the Plague has consum'd the Greatest Part of the Red-heads in their Camp at Aransacat What tho' these Babylonian Mungrels cry Long Live the King of Persia The rest of the Empire
Triumphs onely in the midst of horrid Massacres and Funerals 'T is true these Principles and Actions are allowable in Men of the Sword when they fight the Battels of their King and Country in Heat of Blood But Clemency and Compassion are Vertues becoming the Greatest Prince or most Valiant General when their Enemies are reduc'd by the Fortune of War to kiss the Dust of their Feet and beg for Mercy Or when in Time of Peace their Subjects fall into a Crime which may admit of Indulgence Certainly these Western Infidels have wrong Notions of Humanity in asserting That Cruelty is either a Sign of a Noble Nature or a Step to true Happiness Since the most hard-hearted Tyrant one Time or other will have Need of Compassion himself especially in Sickness and the Agonies of Death which perhaps prove more tormenting to him than to the Merciful and Generous It is recorded of Al Hejai Eb'n Hesha'm a Famous Abrabian Captain that when in a Malignant Fever he call'd for Water to drink and it was deny'd him by the Physicians who had Care of his Health It is enough said he Rueno'ddaula once my Lieutenant to whom I forgave Three Treasons and who died a Natural Death has refreshed me at this Minute with a Liquor unknown Sure 't is the Wine of Paradise And from that Moment he began to recover his Health after which he liv'd many Years often rehearsing this Passage among his Familar Friends to his Last Day But the Infidels are either Ignorant of these Examples or if they know 'em Pride will not suffer 'em to learn Morality and Justice They are destin'd the greatest Part to be Incredulous to the Day of Judgment How many Prophets has God sent into all Nations to teach them the Right Way and not the Way of such with whom he is displeas'd yet they will not be Converted They look on the Apostles and Messengers of the Eternal with the Eyes of Swine They grunt under the Burden of their Sensuality and like those Filthy Animals return to their Mire again Yet that Superlatively Merciful winks at their Frailties and visits them with his Graces every Morning But they put their Fingers in their Ears and turn away in Disdain as from a Beggar They reject the King of All Things as a Fugitive and Vagabond on Earth From that Delectable Essence the Odour of whose Sweetness is diffus'd through the Elements and refreshes the Minds of the True Faithful let us by continual Devotion and Vertue attract Divine Tinctures till our Hearts be all tranform'd into Incense and in this Aromatick Pile our Souls expire like the Phoenix to revive again in the Joys of Paradise in Amours which know no End Paris 8th of the 5th Moon of the Year 1655. LETTER III. To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew at Vienna I Wonder at Nothing Much less at the Extravagant Caprices of Tyrants Methinks there appears no Novelty in Modern Transactions They are but a Repetition of Ancient Practices under New Forms Of all the Events in this Age not one has come to my Knowledge which gives me a Surprize Yet I must confess there is Something very Singular in the Punishment the Duke of Saxony inflicted as thy Letter tells me on the poor Deer-Stealer And if it be just to put a Man to Death on such an Account as the Indians hold the Duke seems very Ingenious and Accurate in the Choice he made of an Executioner The Ancient Romans had a Law which they call'd Lex Talionis Which in all Criminal Cases appointed the Punishment to be in some Circumstances Adequate to the Fault And thou know'st Moses your Law-giver left much the same Statutes Requiring the Loss of the Eye of him who had put another Man 's out a Tooth for a Tooth an Arm for an Arm and so proportionably of other Injuries But this Prince seems to have made a Supplement where these Laws appear'd short and has shew'd a most Exquisite Niceness of Revenge in the Destiny of the Unfortunate Huntsman to cause a Stag to be in so peculiar a Manner the Instrument of his Death who had villainously murder'd one of the same Species Doubtless it was a Princely Freak of Justice And had it been done purely to avenge the Blood of the slaughter'd Beast and not in Vindication of his own Right I cou'd not forbear to pronounce it a Frolick worthy of a Hero But he himself is frequently guilty of the same Kind of Murder as are most of the Great Men in Europe whose Tables are no other than the Altars of Gluttony smoaking with Flesh and Blood whilst Hecatombs of Animals are there sacrific'd to Voracious Appetites the Idols of these Western People Methinks therefore it had been more Generous and becoming a Prince to pardon the Poor Fellow a Theft which perhaps was the onely Method he had to preserve himself and his Family from starving And for ought I know he had as much Right according to the Law of Nature to kill a Stag as the Owner has But there is no Talk to be made of Right or Wrong where Power over-rules all India is at Present the onely Publick Theatre of Justice toward all Living Creatures There it is a Capital Crime to shed the Blood of any Animal and punish'd with Death no Iess than the Murder of a Man The Princes and Nobles indeed enclose Deer and other Innocent Creatures in Parks not with a Design to prey upon them at their Pleasure but to defend 'em from the Violence of others whilst those happy Animals range and feed where they please within those Pales free from Peril and never fearing any other Death save what they pay to Nature when they have spun out the accustom'd Term of their Life They also build Hospitals for a like Purpose And are at a great Charge every Year to redeem a certain Number of Oxen and Cows from Slaughter For they esteem it a Barbarous and Inhuman Cruelty to murder those Creatures which are the Nurses of our Life The Law of Moses if I mistake not obliges all of thy Nation to certain Specifick Tendernesses towards the Dumb Animals And Eesa the Prophet a Man of no Obscure Extract but of a Noted Race among the Hebrews says He that killeth an Ox is as if he slew a Man and he that sacrificeth a Lamb as if he beheaded a Dog And in another Place the same Prophet says in the Person of God To what Purpose is the Multitude of your Sacrifices to me I am offended with the Smoak of your Burnt-Offerings and nauseated with the Smell of broiled Fat I take no Delight in the Blood of Bulls Lambs or Goats Who hath required these Things at your Hands Bring no more vain Oblations which my Soul hateth By these Expressions one wou'd think the Prophet brings in God denying that ever he commanded any such Sacrifices or shedding of Blood and protesting against it as an Abomination Where then is the Reputation of those Writings which
Trusty Friend and Unchangeable where he once places his Affection He had a particular Kindness for thee From him I receiv'd the News of thy Escape for that is the proper Name of thy Banishment Pour forth devout Oraisons for his Health and Happiness Since thou art in a Land where the Prayers of Mussulmans are as effectually heard at some Particular Places as if they were utter'd at the Tomb of the Prophet I counsel thee to visit the Prison of Joseph which is in the Dungeon of the Castle of Caire This is a Place of great Devotion among the Faithful and has been so in all Ages since the Death of that Patriarch Moses the Prophet of whom it is said that he died in the Embraces of God made his Prayers in this Place and so did Aaron his Brother when they perform'd those Miracles in Egypt Jesus the Son of Mary visited this Place both he and his Mother on whom are center'd the Smiles of the Creator They there perform'd their Devotions when they fled from the Persecution of Herod So did the Prophets and Apostles as many as were in Egypt with all True Believers Nay some of the Infidels themselves having heard of the Renown of this Sanctuary made their Addresses to Heaven there in Time of great Distress For here Prayers are infallibly heard especially if they be said after the Sun has travers'd the Meridian when the Wicked Daemons are asleep who walk abroad till Noon doing all the Mischief they can My Friend when I think of the Region where thou art I can hardly forbear envying thee 'T is a Land of Prodigies and Miracles It is the Support of Men and the Granary of the World Those who Inhabit it are full of Complacency and Joy and those who abandon it burn with a perpetual Desire to return Its Rivers are Clear and the Waters Sweet and Rich as Wine The Eye of God is upon it who causes the Nile to flow at his accustom'd Season whence the Land is made fertile beyond all the Provinces on Earth This Nile is one of the Rivers which God caused to descend from the Springs of Paradise on the Wings of Gabriel and has hid the Place of its Descent among the Inaccessible Heights of Mountains There are many strange Things related of the Land of Alphiom and how it was First Manur'd by Joseph being before his Time but a Fen or Marsh The Story also of Hagar the Mother of all the Ismaelites is not Unpleasant Thou wilt find it in the Chronicles of Egypt For she was an Egyptian of the Family of the Coptites and was bestow'd on Sarah the Wife of our Father Ibrahim by Charoba the King of Egypt's Daughter After she was dismiss'd from her Lady she travell'd to Mecca from whence she sent a Dispatch to the King of Egypt to acquaint him with her Affairs and with the Birth of her Son Ismael imploring his Assistance in Regard she was in a Land barren of all Things Then the King of Egypt caus'd a Canal to be cut from the Nile at the Foot of the Eastern Mountains of Egypt to the Red Sea and sent Vessels laden with Corn Fruits and all Manner of Necessary Provisions to Hagar If thou addressest to the Feet of the Doctors the Venerable Prelates of Caire they will inform thee of more strange Things than these It is a Noble Exercise to Contemplate the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth to search into their Wonders and Prodigies to trace the Foot-Steps of Ancient Nations and the Traditions which know no Origine Mehemet I am an Exile as well as thou Let us continue our former Friendship in this State and do one another all the Good Offices we can As for the Misfortunes of Human Life let us bear them with an Equal Mind For they will soon have an End as well as we our selves May God who in the Time of Gog and Magog took up from the Earth the Great Alcoran and the Sheets of Science the Black Stone and the Shrine of Moses with the Five Rivers have thee in his Holy Protection and Custody at the Hour of Evil and at all Times Paris 26th of the 1st Moon of the Year 1655. LETTER XIII To Kerker Hassan Bassa THou may'st report it to the Divan for a certain Truth That the Chief Mufti of the Christians is dead Which puts all the Courts in Europe upon new Strains of Policy He was call'd Innocent X. after his Assumption to the Papacy For his true Name was Pamphylio But some say it has been a Custom for the Popes to change their Names ever since a certain Priest was lifted to that Dignity who was call'd Bocca de Porco or Hogs-Face He asham'd of this Ignominious Name as soon as he sate in the Chair of Peter assum'd the Name of Sergius Yet all his Successors have not observ'd that Rule These Popes have an Authority greater than our Principal Mufti For they are obey'd by Kings and Emperors And being esteem'd little less than Gods on Earth they are solemnly Ador'd on the Day of their Coronation by all the Cardinals Princes Prelates and Foreign Embassadors at that Time in Rome And for that End they are seated on the Altar which the Nazarenes call The Tabernacle and Habitation of their God If I mistake not in my Observations these Roman Caliphs aspire at a Sovereignty over all Kings and Princes They wou'd make that which they call the Hierarchy a Superlative Independent Monarchy to which all the Governments in the World should pay Homage and be Subject This puts me in Mind of a certain Preacher at Naples who some Years ago when Adonai the Jew was in that City and happen'd to be present in the Church having made a very Elaborate Speech to persuade the People That the Priests were Superiour to Kings at length he broke out into this Passionate Exclamation O ye Princes of Christendom ye are Pharaohs and we Priests are your Gods O ye Pharaohs obey your Gods Ye can only command the Creature but we make the Creator himself come down on the Altars at our Pleasure This Relation I had from the Jew in his Travels through Italy And it is asserted by some of their Doctors That the Pope has not only Power to Excommunicate the Greatest Prince on Earth but also to pull a Saint out of Paradise and send him to Hell If they cou'd persuade the Nazarene Princes and People to believe they have such an Exorbitant Power perhaps in Time they might reduce 'em to as blind a Superstition as the Ancient Kings of Egypt were Guilty of who were so besotted to their Priests that when he whom they call'd the Cater or Master of the Celestial Influences commanded the King to Kill himself for that it was the Will of Heaven the poor bigotted Monarch durst not dispute the Orders he had receiv'd but in simple Obedience became his own Murderer Those Egyptian Priests indeed were Masters of great Science profound Astrologers
Adalla Ebno'l Hejai the Poet being there also reach'd forth his Hand to Thabet desiring him to feel his Pulse To whom the Physician forthwith reply'd Thou hast us'd a Gross Diet and been Intemperate in eating sowr Milk with Veal The other answering That it was true and all the Company admiring Abu'l Abbas the Astrologer also reach'd forth his Hand But when Thabet had felt his Pulse Thou said he hast committed an Excess in taking too much of Cold Things for as I judge thou hast eat about Eleven Pomegranates Immediately Abu'l Abbas cry'd out This is a Prophet certainly and more than a Physician for he speaks the Truth to a Tittle Every Body was astonish'd at his Wondrous Knowledge and I more than all the Rest Wherefore when I had him alone I said My dear Thabet The Study of Physick is Common to us both therefore hide nothing from me but discover freely by what Art you were able to tell That the Poet eat sowr Milk with Veal and not as well with Beef or Mutton and that the Astrologer eat no more nor less than Eleven Pomegranates He answer'd My Mind suggested this to me and prompted my Tongue to utter it Then I desir'd him to shew me the Scheme of his Nativity Which he did at his own House And considering it attentively I observ'd That the Planet Jupiter was Lord of the Horoscope Then I said to him 'T is this speaks my Dear Friend not you so often as you make these Fortunate Conjectures Thus far Abul Pharai God knows whether the Stars have any such Influence on Men in their Birth or no. I am not very Credulous in this Point Nor can the Authority of the Ancients or the Character of the Persian and Chaldaean Magi captivate my Mind in an Implicit Faith of Things so liable to Doubt Who knows what the Stars are made of or for what Ends they are Created Yet I must own that some Men seem to be born with Inherent Faculties which others can never acquire with all the Art and Industry in the World One Man is of a Poetick Constitution Another is Genially inclin'd to Physick a Third excels in Mechanicks Every Man has his Peculiar Gift And yet perhaps all this while the Stars have Nothing to do in the Matter However if there be any Truth in Astrology the Persians Chaldaeans Arabians and Indians seem to be the only Men of all Nations Constellated to understand this Science perfectly One knows not what to think amidst so many Appearances of Truth and Falshood Nor can our Thoughts be of any great Import be it how it will in these Speculative Matters At the Day of Judgment we shall not be ask'd What Proficiency we have made in Logick Metaphysicks Astronomy or any other Science but Whether we have liv'd according to our Nature as Men endu'd with Morality and Reason In that Hour it will more avail us That we have thrown a Handful of Flower in Charity to a Nest of contemptible Pismires than that we cou'd muster all the Hoasts of Heaven and call every Star by its proper Name For then the Constellations themselves shall disappear the Sun and Moon shall give no more Light and all the Frame of Nature shall vanish But our Good and Bad Works shall remain for ever Recorded in the Archives of Eternity If from this Manner of Writing thou shalt conjecture I am Melancholy and wilt also reveal the Causes and Remedy of this Distemper thou shalt be more to me than a Thousand Avicen's Helal's Thabet's or all the Physicians and Astrologers of the East For these Kind of Thoughts are Mournful as the Shadow of Death Paris 23d of the 4th Moon of the Year 1655. LETTER II. To Afis Bassa I Know not whether thou wilt praise or condemn the Sentence which the Elector of Saxony pronounc'd not long ago on a Poor Fellow for killing a Deer Yet because there is something very Singular in it I will relate the whole Passage as I receiv'd it from Nathan Ben Saddi the Jew at Vienna In the Moon of Cheuval a certain Citizen of Wittemberg was accus'd before the Elector for hunting in his Forest and killing one of his Deer The Duke in a Rage commanded him to be set upon a Stag his Hands chain'd to the Horns and his Feet under the Belly of the Beast ordering that the Stag with this Burden shou'd be let loose to run whither he wou'd The poor frighten'd Stag not being accustom'd to such a Load and terrified with the rattling of the Chain ran away full speed over Hills and Dales through Thickets of Briars and Thorns never stopping till it had measur'd above Three and Thirty German Leagues and then tyr'd with so vast a Race he fell down At which Instant a Caravan was coming by that Place out of Silesia The poor Wretch on the Back of the Stag almost dead with the Pains he had undergone in so continued and violent a Motion being also sorely bruis'd and his Flesh torn and mangl'd by the Boughs of Trees as the Stag rush'd through thick Woods cry'd aloud to the Caravan begging that some of them wou'd in Mercy dispatch him out of his Torments But they either for fear of the Duke's Displeasure or for other Reasons refus'd him this Kindness So that after the Stag had rested a-while and recovered new Spirits he began a fresh Career and never ceas'd running till he arriv'd at a certain Monastery or Convent of Religious where he beat against the Gate with his Horns till some of the Dervises open'd it and let him in They astonish'd to see a Man thus pinion'd to a Stag his Face Arms Legs and all his Body cover'd with Blood and himself ready to expire immediately brought him Cordials and other Refreshments whilst some were employ'd in loosing his Chains But being inform'd by his own Mouth how he came into this Condition they began to think of turning him loose again for Fear of the Duke's Anger However suffering themselves to be overcome by the Importunity of the Miserable Man and relying on their Ecclesiastick Privileges for here in the West the Convents are generally allow'd Sanctuaries for all Sorts of Offenders they took him into their Protection But he expir'd that Night It is hard to determine whether the Duke or these Derviches were in the Right or Wrong The French who of late have by a Fashion learn'd to grow Obdurate justifie the Proceedings of this Prince saying That Pity is a Passion fit onely for Women Children and Fools They esteem it a Mark of a Great Spirit a Mind capable of Empire not to be mov'd with the Sighs or Tears of the Miserable but to frown or laugh at the Misfortunes of others This they say is the onely Method to harden Men for War Conquests and Plunder Where the Victors are to cut their Way to Honour and Riches through the Hearts of the Vanquish'd to quench the ardent Thirst of Glory with Humane Blood and to celebrate their
tell me have I guess'd right at the Cause of so tedious a Reservedness or no Hast thou been forc'd all this while to speak with thy Hands Feet Nose and the Emphatick Motions of thy Head and Eyes If it were so I phansie thou wert excellent Company among thy Grave Flegmatick Brethren and in a fair Way to understand the Language of the Beasts who by curvetting creeping leaping frisking their Tails and other Postures express their various Passions Desires and Necessities as Intelligibly to those who are us'd to them as we can do by the most Elegant Addresses in Words But to be serious If for the Sake of Vertue this Penance be impos'd on thee by him who Presides over thy Convent or thou hast Voluntarily undertaken so difficult a Part of Self-Denyal on the Score of Philosophy or Religion thou hast approv'd thy self wise and brave in not flinching A Coward in Religious Matters is as despicable as in the Engagements of the World 'T is Honourable to face Temptations and come off with Victory As for what thou desirest to know concerning the Sepulcher of King Childeric It is esteem'd a Piece of great Antiquity In Regard he was the Fourth Monarch of France He Reign'd over the Gauls or Franks in the Year 458. Severus being Emperour of Rome Severinus and Dagalaiphus Consuls Yet in little more than Three Years he was depos'd and banish'd by his Subjects whilst one Aegidius a Roman was Crown'd in his Stead Neither did this Man please the People so well but that after some Experience of his Oppression Avarice and other Vices they expell'd him also and recall'd their Lawful Sovereign For Aegidius had vex'd them with Unreasonable Taxes fleecing them of many Millions which he privately sent out of the Kingdom disposing of this vast Treasure at Rome and among his Friends in other Parts as a Support against Future Contingencies For he look'd for some Back-Blows of Fate Childeric therefore being restor'd to his Crown enjoy'd it till his Death which was in the Year 484. After whom succeeded in the Kingdom Clodovaeus the Great who was the First French King that embrac'd Christianity The Time when Childeric's Tomb was first discover'd was about Two Years ago when the Cathedral of Tournay wanted Reparation For as the Labourers were digging up the Old Charnel-House they encounter'd a Long Stone which giving 'em some Fatigue they broke in Pieces and found under it the Entire Skeleton of a Man lying at Length with Abundance of Greek Medals of Gold and some other Curiosities of the same Metal among which was a Ring with this Motto SIGILLVM CHILDERICI REGIS All these Reliques were at first possess'd by the Canons of that Church where they were found Of whom they were begg'd by the Arch-Duke of Austria who has them in his Custody Therefore those who told thee they are in the King of France's Hands were misinform'd themselves or design'd to abuse thee For this cannot be suppos'd during the present Wars between France and Spain When they are more ready on both Sides to plunder one another than to grant Civilities of this Obliging Nature I perceive thou art grown a great Antiquary and therefore in Token of my Esteem I have sent thee a Cabinet of such Old Things as I have scrap'd together in my Travels and during my Residence in this City The Agates which thou wilt find in the Vppermost Drawer may easily be dated by their Figures which are all after the Fashion of Gentile Rome As for the Shells in the Second I leave 'em to thy own Judgment onely this I will say That they are not Common The Third contains a Miscellany of several Antiques The Knives were us'd by the Ancient Roman Priests in their Sacrifices The Weights are at least Twelve Hundred Years Old by the Parallels which I have seen in the King's Library The Rings also are of the Parthian Make And the Arrow to which they are fasten'd retains its Oriental Venom to this Hour as thou wilt find by trying it on any Animal that deserves it But after all the Lowermost Drawer contains Nothing but Counterfeits For those Medals are the Work of Parmezan the Finest Graver in the World If thou know'st not his Character I 'll tell thee in a Word He was Famous for Imitating so Exactly the most Ancient Medals that the Transcripts cou'd not be discern'd even by the most Skillful Artists from the Originals Accept these with the same good Will as I did when they were presented to me and tell me wherein else I can gratify thy Wishes You Monasticks are infinitely Happy in the Advantages of Retirement and Tranquility You are free from the Cares which molest other Mortals The Bell rings you to Prayers and to your Repast You have Nothing else to regard but your Contemplations and Studies Many Great Lights have sprung from your Various Orders And I tell thee Father William the World will be disappointed if thou should'st prove a Dark-Lanthorn and onely be Wise for thy Self Paris 25th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1655. LETTER VI. To the most Illustrious and Invincible Vizir Azem at the Port. BY the Sound which the Sun makes at his going down I swear I was not mistaken in the Idea I had of thy Generosity And the Dispatch with which thou hast honour'd the Slave Mahmut confirms me in a perfect Security of thy Favour and Protection I shall with exquisite Diligence obey thy Orders But it cannot be attempted without vast Sums of Money And if I may be thought worthy to give Advice to my Superiours the most Effectual Way to accomplish this will be by sending one of the Principal Ministers to this Court with a splendid Embassy For this Young King expects very Honourable Addresses from all that seek his more Intimate Friendship Therefore a Chiaus wou'd be slighted on such an Occasion and marr all the Design I wou'd counsel That some-body be sent who perfectly understands the Genius of the French and the particular Aims of Cardinal Mazarini Under the Protection of such a one I shou'd be able without Hazard of a Discovery to act all that is necessary to carry on this Design with good Success Here are Abundance of needy Courtiers on whom Gold will have a powerful Influence But neither I in Person nor any one whom I shall depute can make such Tenders unless there were here some known Publick Embassador from the Grand Signior to countenance the Business For otherwise it will presently be whisper'd That some Private Agent lurks here Incognito They will start a Thousand Chimaera's of Jealousie and so I may run the Hazard of a Second Imprisonment when the Cardinal shall call to mind the Occasion of my First All that I can then say of my being a Moldavian will find no Credit and 't will be no less than a Miracle if they do not expose me to a Scrutiny for the Mark of Circumcision Which if it be found all 's betray'd and ruin'd
Courage and brave Actions of Ajax deserv'd all due Honour and Acknowledgment yet the Surprize of Troy and ending the War was onely owing to his Wit and Contrivance who deluded the Trojans with a Wooden Horse in the Belly of which lay a Detachment of Armed Men and these after the Horse was admitted into the City came out of their Nest in the Dead of the Night and set Fire to the Houses opening the Gates also to the Grecian Army If the Venetians cou'd invent some such Stratagem perhaps there wou'd be Danger of their taking Constantinople But till then Illu strious Bassa there 's no Reason to fear these Infidels Besides it will be very easy to dispossess 'em of that Ominous Island and so dissipate the Charm which has bewitch'd the Seditious Rabble But I wou'd counsel that it be attempted in Time before the Venetians are got into the Hellespont with their Navy For there 's no Success against these Infidels by Sea That Element it seems is the Wife of the Duke of Venice being Espous'd with a Ring and other Solemn Ceremonies on a certain Festival of the Nazarenes One wou'd think also that the English had made successful Love to the Sea For their Navies are always prosperous We have fresh News come in of an Encounter between them and the Spanish West-India Fleet near the Island of Teneriff wherein there were Seventeen of the Spanish Ships sunk and burnt and among them were Five great Galleons They took from them an Immense Treasure of Gold and Silver with other costly Merchandise The French Court rejoyces mightily at this Exploit not in any Real Love to the English but in Hatred of the Spaniards For between these Two Nations there seems to be an Irreconcilable Antipathy Besides the French have Reason of State for their Joy being in League with the English Common-wealth That which renders this Victory the more Remarkable is that it was obtain'd in a Spanish Harbour the Port of Santa Cruz in Teneriff Every one extols the English Commander for a very brave Person His Name is Blake I am the more Particular in this Relation because thou art expert in Marine Affairs having had the Command of the Invincible Ottoman Armado There is a Post newly come in from Germany who informs us that the King of Sueden and Prince Ragotski have taken the strong Fort of Brzeski Litenski from the King of Poland The Portuguese Embassador at this Court presses the King with much Earnestness to send Aids to his Master in Regard the Spaniards are actually enter'd into Portugal and have taken Olivenza a City of that Kingdom I formerly acquainted the Ministers of the Divan that the King of Spain had caus'd all the People of his Kingdom to be Numbred Now I tell thee farther That in Order to carry on the War effectually against Portugal this Monarch has commanded the 5th Man in every Family to take up Arms and follow the Campagne At which Rate they say he will have a Hundred Thousand Men in the Field In the mean time all the Discourse here at present is concerning the Siege of Montmedi a very strong Place in Flanders It was Invested by the French Army on the 11th of this Moon under the Command of Mareschal de la Ferte Seneterre Fâ—ance has sent a great many Brave Generals inâ—o the Field this Summer and I perceâ—vâ— the Bassas of the Ottoman Empire are not like to tarry at home God inspire thee and thy Equals with a Resolution which knows no Medium between Victory and a Glorious Death Paris 26th of the 6th Moon of the Year 1657. LETTER XVII To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew at Vienna THE Beginning of thy Letter surpriz'd me with wonder when I Read that a Chiaus from the Grand Signior the Sovereign of Sovereigns Lord of Three Empires and Five and Twenty Kingdoms shou'd have the Dishonour not to find Admittance within the Walls of Vienna and that in a Time when the Germans have no Reason to provoke a Foreign War being sufficiently embarrass'd with Domestick Troubles But when I read farther and perceiv'd That no Embassador not even of the Christian Princes has any more Privilege at this Juncture and that it is an Establish'd Law of the Empire thus to reverence the Majesty of their deceas'd Sovereign and consult the Safety of the next Election I ceas'd to resent this any longer as an Indignity to our Great Master and only concluded it to be some Mystery of the Austrian State It is an Argument of profound Respect to the Imperial Ghost That the Churches are all hung with Mourning throughout the Hereditary Dominions and that no Musick is permitted either in the Temples or elsewhere no Jollity or Mirth till the Funeral Obsequies are perform'd and the Body of Caesar is consign'd to the Place of its Everlasting Repose As to the Quarrel between the Duke of Bavaria and Prince Palatine about the Vicariate there 's much to be said on both Sides And it ought to be a Thing Indifferent to thee and me which of those Two gets the Victory Yet for the Sake of Truth I will tell thee in Short what I have collected out of the Journal of Carcoa thy Predecessor and out of other Memoirs as they came to my Hands It appears then that by the Golden Bull of Charles V. this Dignity was declar'd Inherent in the Palatinate Family in Right of their Possession of that Principality and that it had been so for many Ages even before there were any Electors Establish'd in the Empire 'T is upon this Ground the present Elector Palatinate claims it But on the other Side it is as manifest that when Maximilian the Father of the Present Duke of Bavaria was Invested with the Electoral Dignity it was Inserted in the Imperial Bull that the Vicegerency of the Empire during an Interregnum shou'd henceforth belong to that Family Yet this Grant was again disannull'd by the late Pacification at Munster And so the Business is left in Dispute between these Two Families He of Bavaria trusts to his Strength and Riches being also back'd by the Ecclesiastick Princes whilst the other only confides in the Justice of his Cause the Right of Unquestionable Inheritance Leaving therefore these Grandees to prosecute their several Claims I 'll tell thee what makes the freshest Noise in this City is an Attempt which the Prince of Conde made lately on the Town of Calais a Sea-Port of this Kingdom He had receiv'd certain Intelligence that the Governour had sent out the best Part of the Garrison to fortify Ardres a Place not far from Calais and suppos'd to be in greater Danger Upon this News the Prince march'd with great Expedition designing to surprize Calais by Night But he was discover'd before he came near them and the Inhabitants taking up Arms appeared on the Walls and Ramparts to welcome him so that he was forc'd to retire again with the Loss of near a Thousand Men. Here are Two Men