never sent any of his own to them again Nevertheless it is affirm'd that several Lords of these Islands newly converted to the Faith in the year 1585 sent their Children to Rome to render their acknowledgments to Gregory the Thirteenth and that being return'd back in the year 1587 to Goa they were afterwards receiv'd and welcom'd again into their own Country with great marks of joy The little inclination which they have to Navigation and Traffick proceeds in part from the great abundance of all things necessary for Human support which their own Country produces and then in the next place from the jealousies of the Emperour who is afraid of the alterations which new Religions may make in his Government for they are very fickle and easily seduc'd after Novelties which has been the occasion of many Revolts and Civil Wars till Quabacondon wrested the Empire out of the hands of the Dairy and reunited all the Provinces They are so fiery and revengeful that upon the least affront given them if they cannot have an opportunity of a present revenge they will rip up their own Bellies and kill themselves I was told a Story to confirm this Two young Lords that serv'd the Emperour met in the Palace and jostl'd one the other by accident the most furious of the two was immediately for drawing his Sword The other told him the place was not convenient that he was going to wait but that if he would stay for him in such a place he would give him satisfaction Accordingly the party that thought himself affronted went and stay'd but his impatience was such that after he had stay'd a while not finding the other to come he ripp'd up his own Bowels for very vexation Upon which the people crowding about him ask'd him the reason of his killing himself to which they could draw no other answer but this A cowardly Raskal has affronted me By and by the other comes makes way through the throng and surpriz'd with what he beheld Poor Creature said he thou need'st not have doubted my being as good as my word this Dagger shall assure thee of it And so saying he kill'd himself upon the place and fell by the others side There is no Nation under Heaven that fears Death less than this or that is more enclin'd to cruelty If any Prince or great Lord makes a Feast for his Friends at the end of the Feast he calls his principal Officers and asks 'em if there be any that has so much love for him as to kill himself before the Guests for his sake Presently there arises a dispute among them who shall have the Honour and who ever the Prince is pleas'd to name rips up his Belly with a Cric which is a kind of Dagger the poynt whereof is Poyson'd This custom is also practis'd upon the Death of their Masters or when they lay the Foundations of any Palace for they are so superstitious as to believe that these Victims are necessary to render both the Owners of the Building and the Habitation fortunate They punish all manner of Theft with Death 'T is also a capital Crime among them to play for Money Adultery is only punish'd in the Women But Coynage of false Money setting Houses on Fire Deflowring and Ravishing of Virgins are not only punish'd in the persons of the Criminals but also of those who are next of kin to them The Women live retir'd and are very faithful to their Husbands The Emperour having put to Death one of the Lords of his Court out of hopes to enjoy his Wife she fearing violence besought the Emperour to give her time to consider which was granted for some few days At the end whereof she shut her self up in a Room with her Children and after she had delivered a Paper to one of her Servants to carry to the Emperour she set the Chamber a Fire and burnt both her self and her Children The Emperour met with nothing else in the Paper but reproaches of his Tyranny and attestations of joy from the Lady that she had the opportunity to Sacrifice her self to the memory of her Husband Several other stories I have heard which make me believe that this Nation is not uncapable of doing actions worthy a Roman Vertue The Portugals were the first people of Europe that discover'd the Islands of Japon They were thrown upon the Coast by a violent Storm in the year 1542 and understanding that there was great store of Gold and Silver in the Country they return'd with a resolution to settle themselves The first place where they thought to fix was neer Surunga a City which stands about four Leagues from the Sea But because there is but one Road and that not very secure neither for Shipping they remain'd there not above five years At length they took possession of a little forsaken Island call'd Kisma which they peopl'd afterward's but since the last Persecution of the Christians the Portugals were forc'd to abandon it having no more Commerce with the Japonners How the Hollanders came to erect their Factories there I shall tell the Reader in another part of this Relation Seven years after the first coming of the Portugals to Japon St. Francis Xavier made a Voyage thither to Preach the Gospel The first place where he Landed was the Island of Niphon where he stay'd two years and some Months and travel'd several parts of these Islands but his principal design being to go to China he took shipping accordingly The Vessel was no sooner out at Sea but St. Francis fell sick so that the Captain put him ashore again in the Island of Sechen by others call'd Haynan belonging to China where in a few days after he dy'd and never was in China as some have reported and believ'd After his death the Christian Religion spread it self very much in China the people being very docible and apprehensive of the instructions which were given them but the behaviour of the Portugals displeasing the Principal Governours and those who had most Power at Court they did them ill Offices to the Emperour and the Bonzes misliking the new Religion and jealous of the effects thereof were the fomenters of continual persecutions against the new Converts pretending they favour'd the designs of the Portugueses Nevertheless the Christian Religion daily got footing and perhaps the whole Nation would have embrac'd it if the covetousness and wickedness of the Christians themselves had not been the chief impediment of their conversion The Hollanders did all they could to lay the fault upon the Portugals but the truth will easily appear by the Letter written to one Leonard Campen a Hollander wherein it is said that when the Hollanders were ask'd by the Natives what Religion they were of they made this answer We are no Christians we are Hollanders I do not go about to blemish a whole Nation for the fault of a few but only to shew what a dangerous thing it is to make an ill choice of Officers
such Fathers who have perform'd any important Service for the good of his Kingdom He gives them Pains of Gold every one worth six hundred Livres and Bars of Silver amounting each to forty six Livres The same day he also releases all Prisoners both Criminal and Debtors provided the crime do not deserve death and that the debt do not exceed two Bars of Silver Also every year the three last days of the last Month the 40 Mandarins who are the chief Councellors of State take the Oaths of all the Lords and Officers of the Court and of their Wives causing them to swear to be faithful to the King and if they know of any thing that concerns the King's person or his Kingdom to discover it All Governours of Provinces give the same Oaths to the Lords and Gentlemen under their Jurisdictions and the Governours of Cities to the Citizens and other Inhabitants They that discover any Treason never fail of any reward only with this distinction in reference to the quality of the Persons that reveal it For as for the Mandarins and Gentlemen the King rewards them according to his own pleasure But as for the meaner sort whether Men or Women they are ennobl'd and gratifi'd with a reward of 50 Pains of Gold and 500 Bars of Silver which in all amounts to 53000 Livres But they esteem their Nobility far beyond their Money At certain times of the year there is a Muster of the Youth of the several Provinces and all those who are found not to be either of the Nobility or not to have learnt any Trade are presently enroll'd for the Service of the King who every five years make choice of such as he intends for his Guard and sends them to the Frontier Garrisons There are some who endeavour to get off by Money but if they be discover'd both the Officers and the Soldier are punish'd without redemption For they hang a little Bell about his Neck Fetter his Arms and in that posture send him to the Constable who presently orders his Head to be struck off But in regard the Tunquineses are very averse from seeing any Blood shed the Kindred or Friends of the condemn'd Person intercede that he may be hang'd believing that death to be most honourable which is not defil'd with Blood-shed wherein they seem to be of the Opinion of the Turks CHAP. XIII Of the Ceremonies observ'd when the Kings of Tunquin are advanc'd to the Throne BEfore we speak of the Enthroning the Kings of Tunquin and of the Ceremonies that attend it it behoves us to relate the manner of their setting out of the Palace when they go at any time to take their pleasure The King is seated upon a most magnificent Palanquin carry'd by eight Men where he may be beheld by all the People the Lords and Officers of the Court attending him on foot provided he do not go out of the City for when he goes into the Country he rides upon an Elephant and the Lords follow him on Horse-back When the Queen Mother or his first Wife go abroad they are likewise carry'd upon a close Palanquin with Lattice-Windows to the end they may see and not be seen and behind the Palanquin follow the Maids of Honour on foot The Mandarins and great Princes solemnize their Birth-days every year with great Feasting Pastimes Comedies and Fire-works and all their Friends and Kindred fail not to attend them to honour the Solemnities In the year 1645 the eldest Son of the King who was by his Father appointed for his Successor upon one of his Birth-days shew'd the Court all the divertizements he could imagin and the King who had a great affection for him sent him a thousand Pains of Gold and five hundred Bars of Silver to the value of 120000 Livres At which time large Alms are distributed especially to poor Widows and Prisoners When the King dies and leaves several Sons they set up him whom when alive he chose for his Successor The third day after the Decease of the King the Constable with all the Military Mandarins the Lords of the Council and all the Governours of Provinces repair to the Prince's Appartment where they present him with a Chinese Habit after which having mounted him upon an Elephant they bring him into one of the great Courts of his Palace which is all covered with Cloth of Gold and Silver as with a Tent. There it is that being placed upon a Throne magnificently enrich'd all the Mandarins prostrate themselves upon the Earth with their Heads downward in which posture having lain for some time they rise and closing their Hands together with their Arms and Eyes lifted up to Heaven they swear to the new King to be faithful to him till death This first Ceremony being over the new King to shew himself liberal upon his first coming to the Crown causes four Panes of Gold and six Bars of Silver to be given to every one But to distinguish the Constable from the rest he gives him twenty Panes of Gold and forty Bars of Silver and to the President of the Council or Chancellour ten of Gold and twenty of Silver These Presents being thus made several Pieces of Artillery are fired round the Palace accompanied with several Volleys of small Shot there being then in Arms above 30000 Horse and Foot and then the King is set upon a magnificent Palanquin and the Constable and chief of the Council ride before upon lovely Horses Sixteen of the principal Officers of the Court carry the King viz. eight Military Mandarins and eight of the Council And in this manner they set forward to the Apartment of the deceased King from whence all the Lords retire for two hours except the Eunuchs and then it is that the Princesses Ladies of the Court and chief Wives of the Mandarins come to kiss the King's Hand and congratulate his Advancement to the Throne Which done all the Lords return again to a noble Feast after the manner of the Countrey ready prepar'd Their Viands are not so delicate nor so deliciously dress'd as ours neither have they so much variety 'T is true they have those Birds-nests already mention'd which they mix in the most part of their Dishes which gives the Meat a tast of almost all sorts of Spices Of all the Meats which they eat Colts Flesh is in most esteem and Dogs Flesh neither of which agree with our Palates The Festival is concluded with Comedies and Fireworks which la allst the night The next day the 30000 Men that gave their Volleys of small Shot the day before are drawn up in good order in a Field next and all the principal Officers of War Colonels Captains and Lieutenants leave the Frontiers to be at the same place Then the King mounted upon his Palanquin and carried by sixteen of his principal Officers the Constable and grand Squire riding before and attended by several other Commanders on foot with several Mummers that play and dance before the
longest being accounted the fairest Their Habit is grave and modest being a long Robe that reaches down to their heels much like that of the Japonneses without any distinction of Sex This Habit is bound about at the wast with a Girdle of Silk interwoven with Gold and Silver the Workmanship whereof is alike on both sides As for the Souldiers their upper Garments reach no farther then their Knees only their Breeches reach down to the mid Leg without either Hose or Shoes The vulger sort of People are altogether slaves for one part of the year For unless they be the Citizens of the Capital City where the King keeps his Court all the other Handicrafts of what Trade soever as Joyners Carpenters Locksmiths Masons and the like are oblig'd every year to work three Months at the King's Palace and two Months or Moons more For the Tunquineses reckon their Months by the Moon for the Mandarins or great Lords The rest of the year is for themselves all which time they have liberty to work for the support of their own Family This Service in their Language is callâ—d Viecquan or the Condition of a Slave But they are liable to other drudgeries worse then those before mention'd as to lop Trees with which they chiefly feed their Elephants This is a severe days work to which they were condemn'd by the great Grandfather of the King that now reigns after he had put an end to the Civil Wars that turmoil'd his Kingdom and that he had brought his rebellious Subjects to submit themselves They had occasion'd him a great deal of trouble and in regard he could not subdue them without a great hazard of his Army his Council advis'd him to famish them but he rather chose to give them their Lives and to condemn them and their Posterity to this laborious Service of which he might in time reap the benefit I have told you elsewhere that the Tunquineses take great delight to live upon the Rivers which are there free from Crocodiles and all other dangerous Animals which haunt the Waters of Nile and Ganges Where we are to observe that these Rivers overflow their Banks every year after the Rains are fall'n with that terrible violence that many times they carry away whole Towns and Villages at what time a good part of the Kingdom looks like a Sea resembling the lower Egypt under Water upon the Inundation of Nile CHAP. VII Of the Marriages of the Tunquineses and their severity toward Adulteresses THE Tunquineses cannot Marry without the consent of the Father and Mother or if they be dead without the allowance of their nearest Kindred They must also have the permission of the Judge or Governour of the place where the Marriage is to be made for the obtaining of which they must give him some Present But in regard they were wont to exact upon the poor people more then they were able to give them so that many Marriages were disappointed to the great damage of the Public the King who reign'd in the year 1639 being inform'd of these Extortions and their ill Consequences set forth a Law to regulate those Abuses and to curb the Authority of the Governours He order'd that the young Man who was desirous to Marry should pay no more then such a Sum according to the proportion of his Estate amounting to one or two fourths per Cent. and that they were not worth above a hundred Crowns should pay nothing Now in regard the Common People both Men and Women are naturally laborious all that the Maids can get they preserve for their Portions and to buy them two or three handsom Garments with a Neck-lace of Coral or yellow Amber and a certain number of Beads to garnish their Locks which they suffer to hang down upon their Backs accounting the beauty of their Hair to consist in the length There is no Wedding kept without a great Feast and they must be very poor when the Feast lasts not above three days for sometimes they junket for nine days together The next day after the Wedding the Bridgroom calls the Bride his Sister and she calls the Bridegroom Brother The Law of the Land permits the Man to divorce his wife when he pleases which they do many times for very slight causes But the Woman has not the same Priviledge or at least if she desire a separation it is much more difficult to obtain and the occasion must be very notorious The Tunquineses say that this Law was made to keep the Women in subjection and to oblige them to be respectful to their Husbands When the Husband desires this separation the Ceremony is this You must know that many of the Eastern People never touch their Victuals with their hands but make use of two little sticks about six inches long gilt and varnish'd which serve them instead of Forks The Husband then when he goes about to repudiate his Wife takes one of his own sticks and one of his Wife 's and having broken them they take each one half and sow it up in a piece of Silk in which they keep it Then the Man is bound to restore the Woman what she brought with her and to keep the Children which they had between them But these Divorces are not half so frequent as formerly The Laws are also very rigorous against Adulteresses So that if a woman accus'd of this crime be convicted thereof she is cast to an Elephant bred up to this purpose who presently throws her up into the Air with his Trunk and when she comes to the ground tramples her under his feet till he can perceive no life in her While my Brother was at the Court at Tunquin he was a witness of the severe Punishment to which a Princess was condemn'd for being taken in the Act with a certain Prince It is the Custom in the East when a Prince dies to shut up in the most private and retir'd part of all his Palace all the women which he made use of in his life time There they are allow'd two Maids to attend them they eat alone and see no person living any more to the very day of their deaths I cannot tell by what means one of the Princes of the blood had got a view of one of the deceased King his Uncle's wives but being desirous to see her again and to overcome all difficulties that oppos'd him and to deceive the Guards that watch'd the Dores he made use of a slight not easily discover'd For you must know that in the Kingdom Tunquin as in all the Kingdoms of Asia in the Houses of the Kings and other great Lords the Kitchin is usually separated from the House and that the Garden is between them so that for the better carrying the Meat from one place to another the Servants make use of a kind of Flasket or rather Iron Chest And to keep the Meat warm the Dishes are supported by little sticks laid athwart about an inch distant one from another
under which is an Iron Plate with holes pierc'd quite through about half a foot above another which makes the bottom of the Chest between which Plates they put lighted Coals to keep the Meat warm These Chests being to be carri'd by two men the Tunquinese Prince plaid his game so well that he was put into one of these Chests wherein the Princesses Meat was wont to be carri'd up into her Apartment But he was not there many days before the thing was discover'd He was presently brought before the King who caus'd him to have several weighty Chains to be put about his Neck and Wast and upon his Hands and Leggs and thus chain'd and manacled he order'd him to be led about for five Months together to be seen by the People After that he was shut up in a close Prison where he remain'd seven years till the death of the King whose Son coming to the Throne set him at liberty upon condition he should serve as a private Souldier upon the Frontiers of the Kingdom As for the Princess she was shut up in a little Chamber upon the top of a Tow'r where she remain'd twelve days without having any thing given her to eat or drink after that the Chamber was all uncover'd at the top that the sun might come at her and scorch her to death and so she di'd in three days The two Maids that serv'd her had a little more favour for they were thrown to the Elephants who presently trod them to death The two Porters of the Chest or Flasket were ti'd to four small Galleys by the two Hands and two Leggs and as they Row'd several ways were presently dismembred Being at Daca in the Kingdom of Bengala I saw the same Justice done to a Bramerè who would have betraid Cha-Est-Can to the King of Arachan CHAP. VIII Of the Visits Feasts and Pastimes of the Tunquineses AMong all the Eastern People the Tunquineses are the most sociable and most frequently visit one another Generally they make their Visits about Noon in the hottest time of the day and then every one walks with a Train suitable to his Condition The Princes and Mandarines ride upon their Elephants or else they are carri'd in a kind of Litter where they may either sit or lie Six Men carry it and behind them follow six more to ease them by times Their Train consists generally of fifty or sixty Persons neither are they permitted to exceed that number As for the ordinary Gentry and Officers of the Court they ride a Horse-back not being allow'd above seven or eight Servants to attend them They chew Betlè continually as all the other Asiaticks do in such places where it is to be had And when any one comes to visit another it would be taken for a great affront if at his taking leave he should not be presented with a Box of Betlè to take what he pleas'd The richer that Box is the more Honour is given to the Person to whom the Betlè is presented Insomuch that when a Prince is about to be marri'd he usually sends three of these Boxes to his Spouse of which I have seen some at the Apartments of some of the Princes that came to the Court of the Great Mogul which were worth above 4 or 500000 Livres One shall be cover'd with Diamonds another with Rubies and Pearls another with Emraulds and Pearls or else with other Jewels The Tunquineses take it for a great dishonour to have their Heads bare which is only for Criminals whom they cause to be shav'd so soon as they are taken So that it is a difficult thing for a Criminal to escape the hands of Justice for wherever they go when they find that a man has no Hair he is taken and carri'd to the Governour who causes him to be nail'd to a Cross immediately They sit cross legg'd after the manner of the Asiatic People At great mens Houses in the Halls where they receive their Visits there is as it were an Alcove with a kind of a Bedsted rais'd about a foot from the ground It is cover'd with a very fine Mat made of little Reeds bound together as it were with fine thread For it is not the Custom to spread Carpets upon the Floors as in other Countries of Asia Not that the deerness hinders them from making use of them for these Mats cost them more then a fine Persian or Indian Carpet would do but because they are cooler to sit upon and because the Punies do not get so easily into them Being at Bantam I bought one of these Mats of a Tunquinese which was admir'd for its fineness It was nine Ells square and as even and as soft as Velvet With these Mats they cover the Beds or Couches upon which the Mandarins or Princes and the Nobilty which accompany them seat themselves round the Chamber every one having one Cushion under him and another at his Back As for their Diet the Tunquineses are not very curious The Common People are contented with Rice boil'd in water and dri'd Fish or salted Eggs. For as for Flesh they eat none but at their Festivals The great Lords are serv'd every day with Flesh and Fish but their Cooks know not what belongs to bak'd Meats Otherwise they are more neat in their Kitchins and Chambers then we only they make no use either of Napkins or Table-cloaths Whatever is set before them to eat is serv'd in little Plates not so big as our Trenchers being made of wood lacker'd with all sorts of Flow'rs like the Cabinets which are brought from Japan All these Plates are brought up rang'd in order in a large Voyder lacker'd like the Plates Usually the Voyder holds ten or twelve Plates and the Meat is cut in little pieces about the bigness of a Hazle Nut. They make use neither of Spoons nor Knives nor Forks but only of those little Sticks of which I have made mention in the foregoing Chapter never touching their Meat with their fingers When there are several sitting at the Table either at their ordinary Meals or upon some Festival they account it a great piece of Manners to be silent or if they have a desire to Discourse they alway allow the Eldest the honour of beginning bearing a great respect to them that are aged But the Youngest at the Table is never permitted to begin the Discourse They wash their Hands their Mouths and Faces before they sit down but never after Meals And when they desire to know whether every one has had his fill they ask him whether he have eaten his Rice according to the Custom of the Ancient Fathers in Scripture who by Bread meant the whole Repast Neither is it a Custom among them to ask one another how they do but how many Measures of Rice he eat for his Dinner and whether he eat with an Appetite This is a general Custom among all the Idolatrous Indians unless in the Dominions of the Great Mogul where they
being an excellent Remedy against the Headach for the Gravel and for those that are subject to the Griping of the Guts but then they order a little Ginger to be put into the Water when it boyls At Goa Batavia and in all the Indian Factories there are none of the Europeans who do not spend above four or five Leaves a day and they are careful to preserve the boyl'd Leaf for an Evening Sallad with Sugar Vinegar and Oyl That is accounted the best Tea which colours the Water greenest but that which makes the Water look Red is little accounted of In Japan The King and great Lords who drink Tea drink only the Flower which is much more wholsom and of a tast much more pleasing But the Price is much different for one of our ordinary Beer Glasses is there worth a French Crown The most dangeroug Distempers that befall the Tunquineses most usually happen when the bad Air surprizes the People for of a sudden it deprives them of their Speech and then Death suddenly follows without a speedy Remedy The best Remedy for this sudden Distemper is to mix some Counterpoison with Aqua Vitae instead of Wine and to let the Patient drink it as hot as he can The Patient also must at the same time be rub'd with a Cloth dip'd in Aqua Vitae where Ginger has been boyl'd This takes away the pains caus'd by cold Winds and unwholsom Airs Though some for the more speedy cure of these pains lay the Patient upon a Bed made only of Girts four Fingers distant one from the other and then setting a Chasing-dish underneath cause the sick Person to sweat in a Cloud of Frankincense till the pain is gone repeating the same thing Morning and Evening As for Blood-letting it is by no means us'd in that Country They make use of Fire especially for the Purple-Feaver a Disease so dangerous in France For the cure of this the Physitians of Tunquin take the Pith of a Reed which they dry very well dip it in Oyl and set it on Fire and then apply to every Purple Spot one of these lighted Wicks The Spot will give a whif like a small Squib and that 's an infallible sign that the Venom is gone out of the body This Remedy is seldom apply'd but in the night time because the Spot does not appear so well in the day time And the Physician must be very careful that when this Venom flies out of the Patient's Body it does not find a way into his own for then there is no Remedy but Death There are some Physicians that will prick the Purple Spot with a Needle and let out the Pestilential Blood after which they burn the part so prick'd and then rub it with Ginger not permitting their Patient to take the Air in 20 days after they are cur'd While they are under cure they drink nothing but Water with Citron-peel boyl'd in it and abstain from Flesh and Butter They give them to eat Rice boyl'd in Water and salt Fish but the more they abstain from eating and drinking the sooner they are cur'd And indeed it is a wonderful thing to see the excellent effects of their Remedies in so short a time for they have no lingring Distempers to hold them years together as they do among us CHAP. XI Of the Original Government and Policy of the Kingdom of Tunquin IT is not above six hundred years since Tunquin was first govern'd by particular Kings in regard it was anciently a part of the Dominion of the Chineses What is reported of the first Tunquineses That they were without Governours and without Kings is altogether fabulous like to that which is related of a certain Infant of three years of Age who appearing before a great Assembly of the People exhorted them to free themselves from the power of the Chineses who were their Oppressors Upon which a lovely Horse miraculously appearing to the said infant he mounted the Horse and immediately setting forward with those that were gather'd after him as also others that appear'd as wonderfully to assist him he set upon the Chineses and defeated them in such manner that they never durst venture after that to return any more to reconquer what they had lost But the most certain truth of Tunquin History assures us That for these six Centuries last past it has been govern'd by six various Families The first that assum'd the Title of King was a famous Robber whose Name was Din who having gather'd together a great Number of Malecontents and Vagabonds became so powerful and formidable through his own Valour that after several bloody Battels gain'd it was no difficult thing for him to seize upon the Throne But he did not reign long in peace for the most part of the People rebell'd against him and in the first Battel that he fought he lost his Life However his own Party won the day and having left two Sons his eldest reigned three years after whose death the younger Brother rul'd in his stead but dy'd soon after neither of the Brothers leaving any issue behind them After that the Kingdom was miserably distracted by several Civil Wars till the weaker Party calling in the Chineses to their Assistance became the most puissant Then it was that a certain Mandarin of the Family of Lelequel was advanc'd to the Throne who being a valiant and prudent Prince restor'd tranquillity to the whole Kingdom Who when he saw himself Establish'd in peace built that large Palace which they who have seen it admire as well for it's Circuit as for its magnificent Structure being all of Marble of divers Colours both within and without This King had but one Daughter who soon after her Father's death the better to secure her self marry'd one of the most powerful Mandarins in the Country of the House of Tran. But soon after one of her Subjects rebelling against her gave her battel took her Prisoner and put her to death Having thus got the Power into his hands the Rebel usurp'd the Throne but nine years after he was also slain in Battel by his own Subjects who had call'd the Chineses to their Assistance They being thus Masters of the Kingdom held it for twenty years and set Governours over every Province But at length the Mandarins grew weary of their Oppression because of the heavy Tributes which they laid upon the Tunquineses so that a valiant Captain of the House of Le having assembled a numerous Power together gave the Chineses three Battels and in every one overcame them The Chineses thus expell'd out of Tunquin the Conquerour seiz'd the Crown and in his Family the Regal Government continu'd for above fourscore years After which time a great Lord of the Family of Marr which had formerly enjoy'd the Scepter to Revenge himself of an affront which the King had put upon him at Court found a way to escape his hands and being assisted by a great Number of discontented Persons of which the best
regulated Kingdoms are always full and the Chineses who always sought an opportunity to regain what they had lost after a bloody Battel he possess'd himself of the Kingdom it being never known what became of his Predecessor But this new King enjoy'd the Fruits of his Victory but a small while For two years afterwards a Mandarin of the House of Trin having espous'd the Daughter of another great Lord openly declar'd War against his Soveraign with a design utterly to extirpate the House of Marr. Unhappily for him death put a stop to his designs though he left two Sons behind him able enough to have pursu'd his undertakings But the eldest naturally timorous and fearing to engage himself in a dangerous War voluntarily submitted himself to the King who gave him the Government of a Province and marry'd him to one of his Sister's Daughters The younger Brother being a valiant Prince and having his deceased Father's Army at his Devotion though the King propos'd him great advantages would give ear to nothing but out of his ambition to Reign himself continu'd and successfully accomplish'd what his Father had begun In the second Battel which he gave the King who was there in person he took him Prisoner together with his Brother who had submitted to him and some few days after he put them both publicly to death at the head of his Army the one as an unjust usurper of the Throne the ether as a desertor who had abandon'd his Father's Army and so ill follow'd his intentions Now though as Victor he might easily have ascended the Throne and tak'n upon him the Name and Title of King yet he would not accept of any higher Title then that of General of the Army and the better to Establish himself in his Authority and to gain the affection of the People he caus'd Proclamation to be made through all the Provinces of the Kingdom that if there were any Prince of the House of Le yet remaining alive he should shew himself with full assurance that upon his appearing he should be put into possession of the Kingdom There was but one to be found who had been so closely pursu'd by the House or Marr while it rul'd that to save his Life he was forc'd to abscond himself in the Frontiers of the Kingdom under the Habit of a private Soldier The General was overjoy'd to find that there was yet a lawful Heir of the House of Le to be found that he might place him upon the Throne So that so soon as he was known to be of the Legitimate Race all the Equipage and Attendance of a King was sent to him with Order to all the Provinces as he pass'd along to receive him as if he were already crown'd The whole Army march'd two days march to meet the King and brought him to Checo the capital City of the Kingdom where he was plac'd in the Throne of his Father and with great Pomp proclaim'd King of Tunquin But General Trin who car'd not so much for the Royal Title as the Royal Power so order'd his business that leaving to Le all the outward shew and Pomp of Royal Authority he reserv'd to himself the whole command of the Army and the greatest part of the Revenues of the Kingdom absolutely to dispose of at his own pleasure So that from that time to this hour we may affirm that there has been and still are two Kings of Tunquin of which the first has only the Name and Title of King and is call'd Boüa and the second Choüa who has all the Authority disposing of all things at his pleasure while the other remains shut up in his Palace like a Slave not permitted to stir abroad but upon certain days and then he is carry'd through the Streets of Checo like an Image though with a magnificent Train and Royal Equipage He has generally 2000 Soldiers for his Guard and sometimes 20000 which are quarter'd upon the Frontiers chiefly toward Cochinchina He also has ready upon the Frontiers 50 Elephants for War And upon the Rivers of the Kingdom where the Enemy can come to damage him he usually keeps 100 great Galleys with a vast company of small Galliots to which the Soldiers and Rowers that belong have more pay then the others at Land And these that they may row with more strength row standing with their Faces toward the Prow quite contrary to our Rowers who turn their backs The King gives public Audience almost every day but he makes no Edict or public Decree that is of any effect if it be not also Sign'd by the Choüa At these Audiences he has with him thirty two Councellors of State and besides these a hundred others to judge of all Appeals of the Kingdom The Eunuchs have a very great Power at Court as in all other Courts of Asia and the King as to his most important affairs confides more in them then in his own Children The eldest Children do not always succeed their Father for the Choüa or General with all the Councellors which are generally his Creatures thought it convenient that when the King should have more Sons then one he should make choice of whom he pleas'd to succeed him So that so soon as he has nam'd him the Choüa attended by the principal Officers of the Army Councellors of State and Eunuchs come to congratulate him and to give him their Oaths to set him upon the Throne after the death of his Father and for the other Brothers they are always shut up in the Palace as in a Prison without medling with any affairs of State They never stir out of the Palace but four times a year and they never stay abroad above six days at a time the Officers that attend them being put upon them by the Choüa who is as it were Lord high Constable of the Kingdom The first of these six days of liberty they go to visit the Temples and the Priests to whom they give large Alms the two next days they take their pleasure in hunting and the three last days they spend their time upon the Rivers in Galleys sumptuously trimm'd and adorn'd The Kingdom of Tunquin is divided into eight large Provinces every one of which has its Governour and its Magistrates from whose sentence there lies an Appeal to the Court We should wrong this Country to say that there were no Nobility therein as indeed there are none in most Kingdoms of Asia But they must all attain to this degree their merit some by the Warrs and some by their Learning They who attain their Nobility by Arms have wherewithall to live handsomly at home and they begin to learn their Exercises betimes at farthest by eleven or twelve years of Age. The first thing they are to understand is how to handle their Swords the Blades of which are streight long and broad like those of the Switzers having but one Edge They are also taught to aim with their Bows and to fire a Musket with Matches
which they throw about as well upon the Land as upon the Water For my Brother who has been present at all these Shews has told me that for these seven days together you would think the Air and Water all on fire Being at Bantam I once saw one of these artificial Firework-Shews which the Tunquineses that were there plaid off before the King and I must confess it was quite another thing from what we make in Europe The seven days being past the King returns to the City in the same order and with the same pomp as he went forth and being come to his Palace he goes directly to the Apartment of his Princesses where none but his Eunuchs accompany him where he stays all the rest of the moneth Every Evening he diverts himself with new Fire-works which are plaid off before the Womens Lodgings where also the Eunuchs together with the Comedians and Mummers contribute to divertise the Ladies CHAP. XIV Of the Funeral Pomp of the Kings of Tunquin and of their manner of Burying their Dead WHen the King of Tunquin dies he is presently Embalm'd and laid in a Bed of State where for sixty five days the People have liberty to come and see him All that time he is serv'd as he was when he was alive and when the Meat is taken from before the Body one half is given to the Bonzes and the other half to the Poor So soon as the King hath breath'd his last gasp the Constable gives notice thereof to the Governours of Provinces and orders them how long they shall Mourn All the Military Mandarins and Judges wear Mourning generally three years the King's Houshold nine moneths the Nobility six and the meaner sort three moneths During these three years there is a Cessation from all Divertisements except those that attend the Ceremony of the King's Advance or Elevation to the Throne All the Viands which are serv'd up to the King are vernish'd with Black The King cuts his Hair and covers his Head with a Bonnet of Straw as do likewise all the Princes and Counsellors of State neither do they leave off that Habit till the King's Body be in the Galley which is to carry him to his Enterment Three Bells which hang in one of the Towers of the Palace never leave tolling from the King's expiring till the Corps be put into the Galley The third day after his Decease all the Mandarins repair to Court to testifie their sorrow which they have for the Death of the deceased King and ten days after that the People are allowed to see the Body lie in State till it be put into the Galley During the sixty five days that the Body is thus expos'd the Constable is busie in preparing for the Funeral Pomp. From the Palace to the place where the Galleys wait for the Body it is about two days Journey and all the way The Order observ'd in the March of the Funeral Pomp at the Interment of the Kings of Tunquin 1. Two Messengers of the Chamber proclaim the deceased King's Name each of them bears a Mace the Head whereof is full of combustible stuff for Artificial Fire or Fusées 2. Next proceed Twelve Elephants on each of the four foremost is one bearing the King's Standard Then follow four other Elephants with Wooden Turrets on their Backs and in every one of these are Six Men some being armed with Musquets others with Fire Lances The four last Elephants do severally carry a kind of Cage some of which are on all sides shut up with Glass Windows the other with a sort of Grates the first being of a Square the other having six sides and facing 3. Then rides the Master of the Horse attended with two Pages on Horse-back 4. Twelve Horses are led by the Bridle two and two by as many Captains of the Guard The Harness of the first Six Horses is very rich the Bit and all the Furniture of the Bridle and Saddle are of pure Gold the Saddles are embroydered likewise with Gold But the Six other Horses Harness is all cover'd over with Gold Plates 5. The Chariot which bears the Mausolee wherein is the King's Corps is dragged by Eight Stags trained to this Service Each of these Stags is led by a Captain of the Life Guard 6. Then follows the new King afoot clad in White Satten with a Straw Cap on his Head If he hath any Brothers they attend on him in the like Attire and they are surrounded with Musicians and Players on the Hoboys and other Instruments 7. There proceeds afterwards Six Princesses in White Satten who carry Meat and Drink for the deceased King These are attended by two Ladies of Honour in Purple Garments and about these Ladies are several Musicians 8. Eight Princes of the Royal Bloud go in Purple Garments with Straw Hats 9. Four Governours of the four chief Provinces of the Kingdom each bearing a Stick on his Shoulder on which hangs a Bag full of Gold and several Perfumes and these Bags contain the Presents which the several Provinces make unto the deceased King for to be buried with his Corps that he may make use of the same in the other World 10. Two Chariots go next each drawn by Eight Horses and every Couple being led by Two Men. In each Chariot is a Coffer or Trunk full of Bars of Gold and other Riches for the deceased King's use in the Life to come 11. A great Crowd of the King's Officers and of the Nobility do follow this Funeral Pomp some afoot and some on horse-back according to their Offices and Qualities Place this Page 46. Representation of the Waggons and Boates which in forme of a Convoy carry the Beasts and provision necessarry for the sustenance of those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—â—…end the Funeral Pompe at the interrment of y e Kings of Iuquin from Choco to Bodlego where the body is put in a Galley to be conveyd to y e Sepulâ—… A Continuation of the Order observed at the Funeral Pomp of the Kings of Tunquin setting out from the City of Bodlego The King's Body is put into a Galley which is drawn up the River This River is increased by several Brooks that come down from the Mountains and it runs through barren and Desart Countries In some of these places they are wont to bury the Corps very privately for six onely of the chief Eunuchs of the Court are to know where the King hath been buried An Oath is tendered to them never to reveal the place And this is done perhaps on some Religious Motive and likewise through Fear that the Treasures which are buried by him should be digged up These Riches are ordinarily some Massy Bars of Gold and Silver as likewise some Pieces of Cloth of Gold and Silver and such kinds of other rich Furnitures which he is to make use of as they say when he hath need of them in the other World Many Lords and Ladies of the Court will needs be buried Alive with him
or two after the Captain renewed his Charge but then in a Majestic Fury she utterly forbid him the Fort. He taking little notice of her rage goes to the General and after some Discourse makes the same Proposal and receives the same Answer But then the Captain gave the Husband such a Bone to pick that he would not give the Wife Sir said he twice already have I demanded your Niece in Marriage this is now the third time that I make the same demand if you refuse me you shall ask me four times before I accept of her and so saying briskly left him The General reflecting upon the Captain 's words went to his Wife and told her the Story who guessing at the effects of a long Voyage Familiarity call'd Madam Niece into examination She not being us'd to Dissimulation confess'd the whole matter and without any more to do was married to the Captain to the great wonder of the whole City till the birth of a Boy at the end of six moneths unfolded the Riddle But this lying in was her ruin for about five or six days after the Mother and the Nurse being ill the chief Chirurgeon of the Fort order'd them to take a little Cremor Tartar and to that purpose sent a young man to the Master Chirurgeon of the Town to send him two quantities of Cremor Tartar in two Papers He being drinking with his Friends sends a young Barber newly come from Holland to put up the two quantities according to direction But the Barber mistook the Glass and put up Sublimate instead of Cremor Tartar So the two Women taking their Doses dissolved in two Silver Cups of fair Water died in 24 hours after CHAP. IV. Of General Vanderbroug and of the Original of the City of Batavia GEneral Vanderbroug was of Anverse and having studied in the Jesuits College retained some tincture of Learning which he endeavoured to improve as much as his business would give him leave While he was General he caus'd the Alcoran to be translated out of Arabic into Dutch He was also a man of courage and several times expos'd himself to great hazards for the Service of the Company as you shall see by the following Relation After the Hollanders had taken several Prizes from the Portuguezes by Sea they wanted a place of Retreat where they might repair their endamaged Ships and repose after the toils of the Sea At first they cast their eyes upon the Island of Java in that place where the English had built a small Convenience for their Trade There is a Road in that part where Vessels ride securely all the year into which a River discharges it self that will receive Shallops of good burthen for above a thousand Paces The Water of this River is most excellent for being carried never so far to Sea it never stinks nor engenders Worms which can only be said of the Thames and Ganges besides The Hollanders therefore came and lay upon the point of a River over against the place where the English had their small House They had with them then the greatest part of the Ships which they had in the Indies laden with those great Bales of Cloth which come from Bengale and the Coast of Surat so big that a dozen men can hardly manage them These Bales they landed and of them made a kind of Fortification planting a good number of great Guns between them For they never wanted great Guns ever since they traded alone to Japon the onely Kingdom of the World abounding in Copper from whence they brought prodigious quantities to Macao and Goa where they cast their Artillery Thus the Hollanders thought that by Sea no body could endamage their small Fortification made of Bales of cloth which was defended by their Vessels which they had in the Road But by Land they were afraid that the King of the Island viz. either of Materan or Bantam might disturb them Observing therefore the Situation of the Island which on that side was all covered with Woods which reached on that side within a League of the Sea and that where they ended to the Shoar there was no other way but a Bank which separated the Marsh from the River So that the Hollanders the better to secure themselves against the two Kings resolved to raise a Tower upon the Bank In this Tower they planted several Culverins and small Pieces cramm'd with artificial Wildfire and every evening relieved their Guards The King of Materan perceiving this and believing that the Hollanders would not stop here advanced a powerful Army to pull down the Tower To which purpose he brought with him great Chains of Iron and Cables made of the Coco Flax believing that by the favour of the Night having got his Chains and Ropes about the Tower by the strength of his Men and Elephants he might easily pull it down But having fail'd in his Enterprize and for that the Hollanders Artillery kill'd him abundance of Men he retreated with his Army But it was not long before he return'd again with a more powerful Force by Land and also a great Fleet of small Vessels to assist him by Sea With these Forces he gave a furious Onset a second time which the Hollanders with no less vigour sustained and beat him off But nothing discouraged with his loss he resolved to give a third Onset onely he staid some few days in expectation of more Forces In the mean while one of the most considerable Captains of his Army was accus'd to the King not to have done his Duty though seasonably advertiz'd that the King was resolv'd to seize upon his person and cut him to pieces For you must know that among the Javans when any person has merited Death they tie the Offender all along upon a great piece of Timber and the next Lord or great person that has a mind to try the goodness of his Scimitar comes and cuts the Body into four pieces the first stroak being made upon the Brest the second upon the Pit of the Stomach the third upon the lower part of the Belly The four pieces if they be Men are burnt if Women thrown to the Dogs which they keep for that purpose For the Javans never burn any person This Javanese Lord therefore knowing what he was to trust to made his escape to the Hollanders and was kindly received by Vanderbroug To ingratiate himself he told the Dutch General all the King's Designs in reference to the carrying the place where he would make his Onset and what number of men he had This however did not sufficiently chear up the General who knew his own weakness So that the Javanese perceiving him still pensive I find said he that thou art afraid of the King's strength and reason thou hast but be rul'd by me Thou art not ignorant that the Javanners are rigid Observers of the Law of Mahomet and that if any Uncleanness from a Christian hand falls upon their Clothes they fling them away and
his Men to retreat by degrees 'till they had drawn the Chineses into the Ambuscade at what time the Tartars encompassing them on every side kill'd 80000 upon the place Coxinga with his Navy not being able to relieve them During this War the Hollanders took their opportunity and made themselves Masters of the Island of Fishers between Formosa and the Coast of Fockien In a short while after Coxinga dy'd and Savia his Uncle the richest Merchant of China who out of his own revenue had disburs'd the expences of the last War grew weary of the charge and was desirous to make Peace with the Tartars Of which one of the Sons of Coxinga being advertiz'd seiz'd upon his Uncles person and shut him up in a close Prison where he kill'd himself for madness The Hollanders overjoy'd at the Dath of Savia who had always hinder'd them from the Trade of the Province of Fockien sent a Navy against his Nephew in favour of the Tartars who made War against him all along the Sea-Coast Several Combats happen'd between the Juncks of the Islanders and the Holland Vessels in view of the Tartars who satisfi'd themselves with being only Spectators But all the benefit which the Hollanders reap'd from the advantages which they obtain'd over the Islanders was only to put into the Hands of the Tartars the Cities of Bemos aed Quesmoy and all the places thereabouts which Coxinga's Party possess'd before For notwithstanding all their kindness the Tartars would not assist them to retake Tayovan so that they only were content to build certain small Forts in the small Islands adjoyning to Formosa and since my return from the Indies I never could inform my self of the truth of the issue of that Enterprize But the Hollanders were not content with their settlement at Firmando which was an Island both desert and barren seated upon a Streight which separates the Point of the Land of Corea from Japon a place no way commodious for their Designs of Engrossing the Trade of China as being too remote from Nangisaqui Besides that the North and South Winds are so violent at their Seasons in this Streight between the two Coasts that it is impossible to come near the shoar when they blow The President therefore having such good luck in the Expulsion of the Portugals out of Japon doubted not but that he might obtain the small Island of Kisma an Island that had been wholly deserted ever since the Habitations of the people had been destroy'd At first he only desir'd leave to build a small Tenement for the conveniency of the Factors Now between this Island and Nangisaqui there is only a narrow Frith not above a Musquet Shot over Here the President desir'd the Governour that he might make a Bridge of Boats for a more easie intercourse between the City and the Port. The Governour gain'd by Presents gave him leave to build the Bridge but seeing that the Hollanders made an ill use of it and that they came too frequently and numerously into the City he built two Forts at both ends of the Bridge and furnish'd them with Souldiers who were to take notice who pass'd to and fro He also publish'd an Order That such Hollanders as came by day into the Town should return to their Lodgings before night upon pain of Death This Order and the little conveniency which they had for Lodging in their own Quarters very much troubl'd them so that the President made new Applications at Court and obtain'd leave to build a Factory and Warehouses for their Goods The Governour thereupon sent a Surveyor to the Hollanders to mark out the Ground which the Emperour had given them to build upon This person being largely rewarded made them good measure and yet they were not contented so that in the Night-time they had enlarg'd their Quarters by removing the first marks The Governour being advertiz'd thereof began to be very angry but they found means to appease him with their Presents so that he easily condescended to the slight reasons which they gave him for what they had done Thus in a short time they finish'd their work which was without encompass'd with a Wall much like a Garden Wall but within contain'd a real Fort flanck'd and lin'd according to all the Rules of Art and which the outward Wall being beaten down not only defended their Bridge but commanded the entry into the Haven of Nangisaqui They took great care not to admit any but Hollanders for fear their Design should be discover'd So that when the whole was finish'd the President gave advice to the General at Batavia what he had done desiring him to send him eight Brass Guns so broken as to be easily put together in the places where they were broken He adviz'd him also to put them up in Hogsheads pack'd up like other Goods and instead of Mariners to send a good number of Souldiers habited like Mariners for the security of the Factory But this Stratagem had not that success which he expected for about that time the Emperour had sent a new Governour to Nangisaqui So that when the Ships arriv'd at Batavia the new chang'd Officers being more vigilant then the former coming to weigh the Bales as they were put ashore and finding certain Hogsheads at the bottom of the hold which they could not remove by reason of their weight they presently brake them up and perceiving there the broken pieces of Canons carry'd some of them to the Governour who immediately sent intelligence thereof to Yeddo of which the President had as suddain notice by his Pensioners He having his invention at command repairs forthwith to the Emperour's Court and there tells the Emperour That he had receiv'd Orders from his Superiours to present him with certain Peeces of Canon made according to the newest Invention of his Country the use whereof was so convenient that they were with little difficulty and trouble to be drawn up and made use of where others could not possibly be brought to play and that he thought no Present could be more acceptable or serviceable to him to render him Victorious over his Enemies Upon this the Emperour was very well satisfi'd and sent to the Governour of Nangisaqui to send him those Guns and withall not to molest the Hollanders either in their Factory or in vending their Wares Having so fortunately disengag'd himself out of these Briers he lays another design and sends to the General at Batavia a person of a turbulent and unquiet Spirit like himself to set out two Vessels to make a discovery of all the Coasts of Japon and particularly of those Coasts which were next the Gold Mines and to see if they could find any safe Harbour for Ships to ride in in those tempestuous Seas or any places proper to fortifie that they might no longer depend upon the uncertain humour of the Court of Japon which was as inconstant as their Seas The General provided two Ships and furnish'd them with excellent Pilots good