their Mother's Breasts Toil and Recreation with them are one and the same thing since they know no other Pleasure but what consists in Riding Fighting and Conquering or else in Death which they believe translates them to new Joys and those more poignant than they knew before Therefore they bravely court it at the Point of a Sword or the Mouth of a Cannon Nothing being more scandalous or hateful than a Coward among them I protest the very Idea of Palus Maeotis and Taurica Chersonesus with the Rest of those Horrible Fens and Marshes on the North of the Black Sea which encompass the Dominions of the Tartars affects me with a Passion or rather such a Medly of Passions as I know not how to name Those ample Desarts those untrack'd Solitudes appear to my Imagination like the Limits of this old Habitable World and the Frontiers of some new strange and unknown Region some Terra Incognita where an Universal Desolation and Silence keep their Seat for ever Where no Voices are heard but those of uncouth Satyrs Fauns and other Exotick Tenants of the Woods and Moors No other Sound but the whistling and roaring of the Winds No Prospect but that of Trees which have appear'd from the Infancy of Time and where those are wanting the Eye is wearied in a long endless Waste which nothing seems to bound but the declining Arch of distant Skies or low black melancholy Clouds skirted with Mists and Fogs Eternal Mantles of the Northern Climes This is the Figure of those solitary Tracts where I wou'd chuse to live rather than in a City which stifles me with too much Plenty of every Thing but fresh Air and honest People Isouf the Contrarieties which we find in Earthly Things give a Gust to each other And the most Magnificent Palace wou'd seem a Prison were a Man always confin'd to live in it Cousin I wish thee perpetual Liberty and Happiness Paris 7th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1665. LETTER XXI To Hamet Reis Effendi Principal Secretary of the Ottoman Empire AMidst the Variety of Obligations which I have to discharge I forget not to obey thy Commands I have already in my former Dispatches acquainted thee with the Characters and some Remarkable Passages of Henry IV. Lewis XIII Lewis XIV Cardinal Richlieu Cardinal Mazarini and the Prince of Conde Now I will say something of the Famous Mareschal de Turenne whose Fame reaches wheresoever the French Wars have been talk'd of for these Forty Years The Name of this great General is Henry de la Tour d' Auvergne Son to the Duke of Bouillon When his Father was near his Death he call'd for both his Sons whereof this was the youngest And among other Exhortations he recommended in a special Manner Three Things to their Practice Never to renounce or change their Religion Never to take up Arms against their Sovereign Nor to provoke the First Minister As to the First the Mareschal de Turenne has hitherto kept it inviolably but he has faulter'd in both the other having revolt-from his Master's Service during his Minority and oppos'd the Interest of Cardinal Mazarini when the Parliament persecuted that Minister However this hinders not but that he is a Great Souldier and besides he is since reconcil'd to the King He seems to be born for Martial Affairs And they relate of him That when he was but Ten Years Old and his Governour missing him had sought up and down every where for him he at length found him fast asleep on a Cannon which he seem'd to embrace with his little Arms as far as they wou'd reach And when he ask'd why he chose such a Couch to lie on he made Answer That he design'd to have slept there all Night to convince his Father that he was hardy enough to undergo the Fatigues of War though the Old Duke had often perswaded himself to the Contrary And to speak the Truth no Man was more Careless of his Body than this Prince At Fourteen Years of Age he was sent into Holland to serve in the Army under the Prince of Orange who was his Uncle There he apply'd himself to all the Discipline of War doing the Duty of a Private Soldier Which is the common Way that Cadets or Younger Brothers take to rise to the most Eminent Offices He was equally forward in Labours and Perils never shunning any Fatigue or Hazard which might bring him Glory yet he was not rash the Common Vice of Youth but temper'd all his Actions with an extraordinary Prudence and Solidity of Judgment beyond what was expected from him at those Years Yet on the other Side his Counsels were not slow and Flegmatick being of a very ready Forecast and he seldom fail'd in his Contrivances He was soon promoted to a Place of Command And the Exactness of his Conduct rais'd him a vast Reputation so that by Degrees he at last arriv'd to that Height of Power and Honour he now possess He appears Indefatigable in his Body and of an Invincible Resolution He hates Flatterers that think to gain his Friendship by praising him And is equally averse from making Use of such fawning Insinuations to others though the Greatest Princes of the Blood or the First Minister himself He has also a certain Stedfastnese of Spirit which cannot be warp'd by any Artificial Addresses though made to his own apparent Advantage if they propose to him any Thing that has the least Semblance of what is base and dishonourable Thus he wou'd never consent that the Honour of taking Dunkirk some Years ago should be ascrib'd to Cardinal Mazarini tho' that Minister privately courted him to it offering him the Greatest Commands in the Kingdom if he would do him that Service and the Mareschal knew it might prove his Ruin if he did not Yet such was his Integrity and Love to the Truth that by no means would he be brought to condescend to this Meaness of Spirit Yet perhaps it might only proceed from the Aversion which in those Days he had for the Cardinal Many times it is evident That a Natural Passion is made to pass for a Moral Vertue Besides perhaps he was unwilling to be depriv'd of the Glory due to him for that Important Service He is a Man of few words and so secret in all his Counsels that no-body knows any thing of his Designs till he puts them in Execution Every Man esteems him the most Liberal Prince of this Age having no other Regard for Money than as it serves the Necessities of his Family and enables him to oblige his Friends In a Word whatever Vices he may have he is yet endu'd with so many Good Qualities and Vertues that he is belov'd by all the Nation and in Particular Favour with his Sovereign who treats him not as a Subject but as one of his most intimate Friends May God who has rais'd up this Great Genius to aggrandize the French Monarchy continually supply the Grand Signior with Valiant and
the King as the fittest Man to succeed him in the Management of the Publick He was after the Death of Lewis XIII at first opposed by several Grandees but the Queen's Authority and that of the Prince of Conde supported him Whence arose a Common Proverb in those Days The Queen permits All the Cardinal Commands All and the Prince puts All in Execution For this last had then the Office of General This Minister was not esteem'd so Covetous as his Predecessor yet he heap'd up Vast Treasures Part of which he bestow'd in Magnificent Buildings and Furniture the Rest he sent into Italy to his Father who astonish'd at the Prodigious Quantities of Gold he receiv'd us'd to say Sure it rains Money in France However he made himself Odious to the Subjects of this Nation by his Continual Oppressions and they are glad he is gone 'T is a By-Word at Rome when any Pope dies to say Now the Dog is dead all his Malice is buried with him But I doubt it will not prove true in the Court of France at this Juncture For the King will either find a Minister Equal in Subtlety to the Deceas'd Cardinal who shall supply his Place or he will take the Administration of Affairs into his own Hands Be it which Way it will we are like to see the same Maxims pursu'd so long as Cardinal Richlieu's Memoirs are in Being who first taught this Crown to understand its own Strength Paris 14th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1661. LETTER II. To the Vizir Azem at the Port. I Have sent a Dispatch to the Mufti acquainting him with the Death of the Cardinal Mazarini First Minister of State and the Greatest Favourite that ever liv'd Now I will inform thee of some Passages which I omitted in my Letter to that Venerable Prelate It is Necessary for me thus to distribute my Intelligence with a due respect to the different Quality of my Superiours Thou I suppose wilt require some Account of his Disposition and Morals with such a Character as may render this Great Genius familiar to thy Knowledge He seemed to place his chief Happiness in aggrandizing his Master whom he serv'd with a Zeal so pure and disinteress'd a Loyalty so Incorruptible and by such regular Methods of Prudence and Policy as if in his Days nothing were to be counted Vertue or Vice but what either favour'd or oppos'd the King of France's Interest He was of a Happy Constitution for a Courtier being by Nature Debonair Complaisant Affable and of a Sweet Deportment Yet Experience and Art taught him to improve these Advantages to the Height of Dissimulation You should see Courtesie and extraordinary Goodness flowing into every Feature of his Face You should hear Words breathing from his Mouth like the soft Benedictions of an Angel Yet at the same Time his Heart gave the Lye to Both. He meant nothing less than that a Man should find him as good as his Word He was ever ready to promise any Thing that was demanded of him But in Performance slow and full of Excuses Frugal of his Prince's Money and Liberal of his own Magnificent in his Buildings and the Furniture belonging to them Aiming in all Things to exceed other Men his Equals and in some to surpass even Mighty Princes his Superiours In a Word he was accomplish'd with all Qualifications requisite in a Fortunate Courtier and a good Statesman Yet after all this Sublime Genius yielded to Death But not like Common Mortals He died altogether like himself without so much as changing that settled Gravity and Serene Air of his Face as had been Remarkable during his Life He made the King Heir of his Estate and bequeathed abundance of Legacies To say all in Brief If he was Great in his Life he was much more so in his Death mingling his last Breath with the Sighs and Tears of the King who lamented his Departure with the Mourning of a Son for a Father Paris 26th of the 3d. Moon of the Year 1661. LETTER III. To Pesteli Hali his Brother Master of the Customs at Constantinople YEsterday a Dispatch came to my Hand from a very Remote Part of the Earth Our Cousin Isouf sent it from Astracan a Famous City for Traffick formerly belonging to the Crim Tartars but now in the Possession of the Moscovites He has been there a Considerable Time finding Profit by Merchandise For there is a vast Resort to that City from China Indostan Persia Moscovy and other Provinces of Europe and Asia The Roads to it are daily covered with the Caravans of Trading People And the River Volga can hardly sustain the Innumerable Multitude of Vessels that Transport Passengers with their Goods backwards and forwards between Astracan and the Regions round about the Caspian Sea into which that Mighty River discharges it self Isouf is Ingenious and has pitch'd upon some Advantageous Way of enriching himself which tempts him to take up his Abode in that City and there end his Travels or at least he will repose himself there till Fortune presents him with a fairer Opportunity of encreasing his Wealth In the mean Time I perceive by his Letter that he gets Money apace lives very happily and has the Wit to keep himself free from the Yoke of Marriage which embarass'd him so much formerly He soon put that troublesome Wife out of his Mind after he had Divorc'd her and he never fail'd to gratify himself with new Amours where-ever he came in his Travels He writes very Comically and I can't forbear smiling when he tells me He has had as many Concubines as the Grand Signior By which thou wilt perceive That Isouf is much addicted to Gallantry He frankly confesses That he first learned this Mode of loving at large in Persia especially at Ispahan where he says 't is a Mark of Honour for a Man to be good at Intriguing with the Ladies And he is call'd a Turk by way of Disgrace who frequents not every Evening the Gardens and Houses of Pleasure in the Suburbs But he adds that in India the Liberty of courting Women is much greater And that the very Nature of that Climate disposes a Man to this soft Passion In a word our Amorous Kinsman retains the same Humour still Yet this does not hinder him from prosecuting his necessary Affairs with Diligence and Alacrity He dispatch'd a Business for me at Archangel in Russia and another at Mosco very dexterously Which convinces me that he is not less Sedulous and Careful in Things which concern himself He says the Moscovites are the greatest Drunkards in the World Their Chief and most beloved Liquor is what the French call The Water of Life 'T is a Chymical Drink extracted from the Lees of Wine or other Strong Beverages such as thou know'st is common among the Greeks Armenians and Franks in the Levant When the Moscovites are once got into a House where this Nectar is Sold and are a little warm'd and elevated with it they will not
to keep Company with all Sorts of People Hence I indifferently associate my self with Statesmen Souldiers Courtiers Priests Fidlers Mechanicks Seamen or Persons of any Profession from whom I can hope for any Improvement For there is hardly so despicable a Fellow in the World who may not teach an Inquisitive Mind something to which it was a Stranger before Sometimes I converse with Painters whom I generally find to be Men of Wit and Sense but very lewd and dissolute However they serve to divert my Melancholy to which thou knowest I am much inclin'd For they are the merriest Sparks in the World abounding with smart Repartees Jests and Comical Stories besides a Hundred Mimical Tricks of good Buffoonry to make one laugh that it is almost Impossible to be sad in their Company They are most of them bred in the Academy or in Colleges and Schools where the Sciences are profess'd It being in a Manner necessary That Men of this Trade should have a Smack of all Sorts of Learning and especially that they should be indifferent good Historians they being many Times desir'd to represent Pieces of Antique and Modern History without a Pattern They have a very Facetious Way also of telling a Story to the Life as well as of drawing it so in Picture They would dissolve the most stiff and morose Hadgi into Laughter and Jollity to hear how gracefully they will ridicule the most serious Matters and turn every Thing into Burlesque For they are Admirable Satyrists by Nature Yet these are not all alike but differ in their Tempers like other Men. Some of them are Proud and Stately others Fawning and Abject And all of them great Humorists It was an odd Whim of Martin Heemskirk a Famous Painter that was born at a Village of the same Name He died in the Year of the Christians Hegira 1574. This Man had amass'd together in his Life Time a Vast Quantity of Money and having no Wife or Children nor other Relations of his own to leave it to he was resolv'd to do something for which he might be talk'd of after his Death I have heard of many dying Men that have had one Caprice or other in making their last Will and Testament But thou wilt say this of Martin's was Singular For on his Death-bed he bequeath'd all his Wealth to be distributed into Equal Dowries or Portions wherewith to marry a certain Number of Maids of Heemskirk his Birth-place Yearly on this Condition That the New-married Couple with all the Wedding-Guests shou'd dance on his Grave It is necessary for thee to know that since his Death there has been a great Alteration of Religion in those Parts The Inhabitants which in his Time were Roman Catholicks are now all Protestants And at the Time of this Change or Reformation as they call it it was the General Practice of the Protestants to demolish all Images and Crosses where-ever they found ' em Now it was the Custom of the Roman Catholicks to set up a Cross at the End of every Sepulchre of the Dead Yet so great a Veneration have the Heemskirkers for the Memory of this Painter that whereas there is not a Cross to be seen standing in all the Country besides yet his being of Brass remains untouch'd as the only Title their Daughters can shew to his Legacy 'T was a more Cruel and Inhumane Caprice of an Italian Painter I think his Name was Giotto who designing to draw a Crucifix to the Life wheadl'd a poor Man to suffer himself to be bound to a Cross for an Hour at the End of which he shou'd be releas'd again and receive a Considerable Gratuity for his Pains But instead of this as soon as he had him fast on the Cross he stabb'd him Dead and then fell to drawing He was esteem'd the Greatest Master in all Italy at that Time And having this Advantage of a Dead Man hanging on a Cross before him there 's no Question but he made a Matchless Piece of Work on 't As soon as he had finish'd his Picture he carried it to the Pope who was astonish'd as at a Prodigy of Art highly extolling the Exquisiteness of the Features and Limbs the Languishing Pale Deadness of the Face the Unaffected Sinking of the Head In a Word he had drawn to the Life not only that Privation of Sense and Motion which we call Death but also the very Want of the least Vital Symptom This is better understood than express'd Every Body knows that it is a Master-piece to represent a Passion or a Thought well and naturally Much greater is it to describe the total Absence of these Interiour Faculties so as to distinguish the Figure of a Dead Man from one that is only asleep Yet all this and much more cou'd the Pope discern in the Admirable Draught which Giotto presented him And he lik'd it so well that he resolved to place it over the Altar of his own Chappel For thou know'st this is the Practice of the Nazarenes to Adore Pictures and Images Giotto told him Since he lik'd the Copy so well he wou'd shew him the Original if he pleas'd What dost thou mean by the Original said the Pope wilt thou shew me Christ Jesus on the Cross in his own Person No repli'd Giotto but I 'll shew your Holiness the Original from whence I drew this if you will absolve me from all Punishment The good old Father suspecting something extraordinary by the Painters thus Capitularing with him promis'd on his Word to pardon him Which Giotto believing immediately told him where it was And attending him to the Place as soon as they were enter'd he drew a Curtain back which hung before the Dead Man on the Cross and told the Pope what he had done The Holy Father extremely troubl'd at so Inhumane and Barbarous an Action repeal'd his Promise and told the Painter he should surely be put to an Exemplary Death Giotto seeming resigned to the Sentence pronounc'd upon him only begg'd leave to finish the Picture before he dy'd which was granted him In the mean while a Guard was set upon him to prevent his Escape As soon as the Pope had caus'd the Picture to be deliver'd into his Hands he takes a Brush and dipping it in a Sort of Stuff he had ready for that Purpose daubs the Picture all over with it so that nothing cou'd now be seen of the Crucifix But it was quite effac'd in all outward Appearance This made the Pope stark mad He stamp'd foam'd and rav'd like one in a Phren'sy He swore the Painter should suffer the most Cruel Death that cou'd be invented unless he drew another full as good as the former For if but the least Grace was missing he wou'd not pardon him But if he cou'd produce an exact Parallel he wou'd not only give him his Life but an Ample Reward in Money The Painter as he had Reason desir'd this under the Pope's Signet that he might not be in Danger of a
the Eâ—… of Asia and Letters with them are as significant as Words with the Europeans They shew'd him Globes and Maps of the World done by several Hands and in various Languages with particular Charts of all the Maritine Regions on Earth But to no other Purpose than to excite his Devotion afresh to the Moon whose Resemblance he saw on some of those Papers He wou'd smile at that Sight kiss his Fore-finger and with a Religious Complaisance touch the Figure of that Planet Then seeming to be in a wonderful good Humour he wou'd turn round and fall a dancing with his Arms stretch'd and turn'd in the same Posture as those who use Castanets or Cymbals Singing all the while a Sort of inarticulate Sounds but surprizingly Musical and Sweet So that No-body knew what to make of him He appear'd very temperate modest and resign'd refusing no Meats or Drinks that were offer'd him yet neither eat nor drank to Excess Neither was he discontented at his Lodging or any other Usage though they tried to vex him several Ways that they might see how he would vent his Passion But he smiled at all and submitted patiently to every Thing they impos'd on him One thing was observable That where-ever he saw any Water he wou'd run to it immediately and wash himself as well as he cou'd in those Circumstances never forgetting to sprinkle some toward that Part of the Heaven where the Moon was visible And when they led him into the Fields or Gardens he wou'd crop the Grass and Flowers and with a compos'd Look wou'd throw them up in the Air adding such Reliious Gestures as convinc'd every one That he did it in Honour of some Power above Various were the Conjectures of Men about him some were of one Opinion and others of a quite different No-Body cou'd positively conclude any Thing Neither is it possible as I 'm inform'd for the Wisest Men in those Parts to find out this Mystery Perhaps he 's such another as Imaum Rapibabet a Persian Writer mentions who in the Year of the Hegira 502. was taken up by a Merchant-Ship of India in the Streights of Babel-Mandel pretending to be dumb but capable of Hearing Writing and expressing himself several other Ways if any Body cou'd have understood his Language At last he was found to be an Ethiopian Slave run away from his Master an Ingenious Fellow and one that spoke all the Languages of those Parts and therefore that he might be admir'd wou'd be sure to write in a Character of his own Invention which the greatest Sages cou'd not read Mighty Bassa thou encounterest on that Element with strange Monsters and Creatures under no Name or Predicament that is known yet none so terrible and dangerous as Cheats and Impostors From which I pray Heaven defend thee and me For they infest both the Sea and Land Paris 17th of the 2d Moon of the Year 1663. LETTER XXI To Nathan Ben Saddi a Jew 〈◊〉 Vienna THE Term of our long mutual Silence enjoyn'd us by our Superiours is now happily expir'd and we have with good Success manag'd our separate Parts without holding any Cerrespondence together This was only a Tryal of our Fidelity Conduct and Obedience Or perhaps 't was no more than a Caprice of Policy or a vain Whim of State For 't is usual with great Men thus to practise Experiments on those whom they design to employ in the most important Affairs Whatever it be we have acquitted our selves like Trusty Slaves and that 's enough for us This comes to thy Hand by an Armenian Merchant One in whom I confide Here are Abundance of that Nation in Paris and other Parts of France They travel up and down from one Country and City to another under the Pretext of Trading but are really Spies sent from the Princes of the East to observe the Counsels of these Western Courts the Designs of Nazarene Monarchs and to take an exact Estimate of the Strength and Riches of these Infidels For though they outwardly profess themselves to be Followers of Jesus yet in their Hearts they believe the Alcoran and Honour Mahmut our Holy-Lawgiver There is a Kind of Magick in Truth which forcibly carries the Mind along with it Men readily embrace the Dictates of sincere Reason Yet those of thy Nation are obstinate and shut their Eyes wilfully against the very Light of Nature You over-value your selves and your Lineage because you are the Posterity of Isaac the Son of Sarah the Free-Woman and Wife of Ibrahim reproaching us that we are the Off-spring of Ismael the Son of Hagar a Concubine and Slave You consider not that Ismael was the Eldest Son of that Glorious Patriarch and that by the Law of Moses it is enacted That the First-born Son shall inherit his Fathers Patrimony though he were the Son of a base abject Slave or hated Concubine Did Moses make a Law contrary to that of his Fathers Or cou'd Ibrahim the Beloved of God do any thing contrary to the Divine Will How then cou'd he be guilty of disinheriting Ismael his Eldest Son the Flower of his Strength and First-Fruit of his Vigor Doubtless the Majesty and Light of God which pass'd from Adam to Seth Enoch Noah and Ibrahim rested also on Ismael Heir Apparent of the Divine Promises Father of many Princes and Noble Nations Let those therefore of thy Nation cease to boast of their Pedigree and exalt themselves above the Victorious and Triumphant Ismaelites Children of a high Stock a Race wherein shines forth the Lustre of the Ancient Renown and the Right of Primogeniture A Lineage of Illustrious Honour multiply'd as the Leaves of the Trees numerous as the Stars of Heaven prosperous in all Things by the Special Benediction of God Whereas thou knowest the Israelites never made any great Figure on Earth and are now reputed no better than Vagabonds throughout the World Your Rabbi's reply to this by owning that our Father Ismael was indeed a Great Prince but that he was withal a Wild and Salvage Man who supported his Nobility and Grandeur by Rapine and Blood dwelling altogether in Desarts and unfrequented Places robbing the Caravans of Merchants and Travellers oppressing the Poor and murdering the Innocent In Fine they give this Character of him That his Hand was against every Man and every Man's Hand against him To this Accusation they also add another That the Princes of the East who descend from Ismael have all along even to this Day established their Thrones in Cruelty Massacres and Patricides Fathers bereaving their Children of the Lives they gave 'em and Children putting their Parents to Death Brothers murdering Brothers and sacrificing their nearest Relations to the Maxims of a Barbarous Policy the Restless Suspicions of State And that all this is more especially manifest in the Sublime House of the invincible Ottomans These are the Charges of Hebrew Spight the Slanders which your Doctors cast on the Progeny of Ibrahim even on Ismael and his Children
effect which is to whet our Inventions encrease our Diligence and confirm us in our Zeal all shall go well The Soul of Man never displays her Faculties and Perfections with greater Lustre than when she is environ'd with Perils These are the Tryals of Fortitude Prudence Justice and 〈◊〉 the Vertues He that sinks under Mâ—…nes and Cross Events has either no Sâ—… or â—…s asleep Courage then Fellow-Slave and let thy Heart beat a continual Alarm Be not dismay'd at any Thing nor let Self-Love bereave thee of thy Honour But go on in thy Duty and trust thy Soul to God Thou livest in a City where Vertue and Vice are in Emulation still striving to surpass each other There are not more wicked People in the World than Venice affords nor yet more Pious and Good Follow thou the best Patterns and be happy But do nothing by bare Imitation For that 's the right Way to become a Hypocrite Let all thy Actions proceed from Vital Principles of Reason and Generosity in thy self And when thou seest rare Examples let 'em serve only to awaken and rowze thy Innate Vertue Send me no Letters till thou hast receiv'd fresh Orders from the Port. They will furnish thee with all Necessary Instructions After that let me hear from thee as often as thou wilt Thy Dispatches will be always welcome Let them contain Matter of Intelligence chiefly and that of the freshest Date Penetrate into the Counsels of the Republick where thou residest Insinuate thy self with the Senators and Grandees Dive into their Hearts and unlock their Secrets Communicate Nothing but the Truth to the Ministers of the Port or to me If thou canst Discover their Inclinations to a Peace or their Absolute Need of it thou wilt do an Acceptable Service to the Grand Signior and to the whole Empire of the Faithful For then we can bring 'em to our own Terms Zeidi to God I recommend thee desiring him to preserve thee from Wine Women and Cards which are the Three Capital Temptations of Venice Paris 1st of the 6th Moon of the Year 1664. LETTER X. To Murat Bessa I Cannot easily divine the Reasons why I am so much neglected by the Ministers of the Port. Above Four Years have pass'd away wherein many Notable Events have happened yet no-body thought it worth his Labour to inform Mahmut of any Thing So that all the Notices I could gain of Remote Transactions are owing either to the Publick News of Europe or at best to some particular Letters of Merchants residing in this City with whom I conserve an Intimacy for the sake of Intelligence and for other Causes Thus I should have been in Ignorance to this Day what Issue the Bassa of Aleppo's Rebellion had were it not for an Accidental Interview I lately had of some French Travellers who came from Constantinople These inform'd me of the sudden Fate of that Bassa when he was at the Height of all his Grandeur within a few Days March of the Imperial City at the Head of a Potent Army and just upon the Point of Accommodation with the Grand Signior They much extol his Bravery and Resolution For the French are Naturally Lovers of such as dare boldly oppose their Sovereign They equally condemn the sly Perfidiousness of Mortaza Bassa to whose safe Conduct the Generous Rebel trusted his Life and by that Easiness lost it Yet they applaud Mortaza's Loyalty Courage and Wisdom with the Eminent Services he afterwards did the Empire in leading the Army against Ragotski Prince of Transylvania which at length lifted him to the Government of Babylon All these Things had been hid from me were not the Nazarenes my Intelligencers Nor should I have known how the Rebellion was carried on after his Death by his Revengeful Nephew by the Son of Cheusaien Bassa by a Bey of Egypt and other Malecontents Yet such Passages are fit for a Man in my Post to be acquainted with that he may have a clear Idea of his Master's Circumstances and so apply himself more effectually to serve him It had not been amiss if I had receiv'd timely Intelligence of the Death of Prince Ragotski in Regard there was always a private Correspondence between him and this Court. Which ceasing by his Death it had been worth my Pains to observe whether it would be continued by his Successor or what other Measures they would take 'T is true I was acquainted with this but not by the Ministers of the Port. I heard also of all the following Commotions in Transylvania occasion'd by the different Factions of Michael Apafi and Kemini Janos the Two Rival Princes I was not sorry for this News knowing that the Divisions of the Nazarenes strengthen the Unity and Force of the Mussulman Empire I was likewise inform'd of the Fate of Mortaza Bassa of Babylon who fell a Victim to the Grand Vizier's Jealousy with many other Passages But neither from the Port nor from any other Hands could I learn the least Intelligence of the Venetian War and what Progress our Arms have made in Candia Dalmatia and the other Dominions of the Republick Which makes me conclude that either the Grand Signor's Residence at Adrianople abated his Inclinations to Martial Affairs which is also the Common Opinion of the Christians here in the West or that the War in Hungary for a while superseded all other Designs However it be 't is certain the Successes of the Ottoman Arms in taking Newhausel Leventz Novigrod and other Places of Strength with the terrible Incursions of the Tartars through Moravia and Austria put the whole German Empire into a great Consternation Embassadors are sent from the Imperial Court to all the Christian Princes imploring their Assistance in this General Danger of Europe Here is one arriv'd at this Court whom they call Count Strozzi a Person of good Address and Master of much Eloquence He has prevail'd on the French King to maintain at his own Charges Six Thousand Horse and Foot to serve against the Victorious Osmans A great many Persons of Quality have listed themselves as Voluntiers and the meaner Sort talk of nothing but marching to Constantinople and driving the Turks back to Scythia from whence they first came Courteous Bassa thou wilt laugh at the Vanity of these Infidels who consider not that by the Grace of God and Miracles of his Prophet our Emperour is the King of all the Kings on the Earth the Mightiest of the Mighty ones the Phoenix of Honour Power and Unparallell'd Majesty Brother and Companion of the Sun Moon and Stars a Prince of a Mysterious and Sublime Lineage in whom are center'd all Glory and Excellency the Shadow of God on Earth The Breath of Fame goes before the Van-Couriers of his Armies purifying all Places and filling them with Veneration and Terror The Dust that is rais'd by his Heroick Cavalry passing through the Air causes Trembling and Astonishment in the Hearts of the Christians The Infidels fall before the Fatal Cymetars of
Company of Harlots till those Countries grew weary of him and threatn'd to chastise his Wickedness Then he pass'd over into Syria and Palestine beginning to set up for a Reformer of your Law and at Jerusalem openly professing himself to be the Messias whereby he drew a Rabble of Lunaticks and Frantick People after him But as for the Seniors and Governours they have rejected him as an Impostor Consider Nathan the Fate that befel Ben Cochab as he call'd himself that is the Son of a Star who pretended to be the Messias in the Days of Adrian Emperour of the Romans Reflect on the Calamities which overwhelm'd him and his Followers to the Number of Four Hundred Thousand Jews who all fell with their False Prophet Sacrifices to the just Revenge and Fury of that Incens'd Monarch For they had impudently boasted that by such a prefix'd time he should be taken Captive and depos'd from his Throne by the Messias who should assume the Imperial Dignity and all the World should obey him But when those who surviv'd the Slaughter of their Brethren reflected on the Author of so Tragical a Catastrophe they chang'd his Name in Contempt and Hatred calling him no longer Ben Cochab the Son of a Star but Bar Cuziba the Son of a Lye a False Prophet and Seducer of the Brethren Thou hast all the Reason in the World to have no better Opinion of Sabbati Sevi since he is rejected by the Wiser Sort of Jews and has not perform'd one Miracle in Confirmation of his pretended Messias-ship Neither has any uncommon or preternatural Appearance happen'd before or since he assum'd this Dignity Whereas all your Rabbi's teach that no less than Ten Eminent and Remarkable Prodigies shall precede the Coming of your Messias And I remember thou thy self about Ten Years ago sentest me a Letter much to the same Effect telling me that certain Monstrous Sorts of Men should come from the Ends of the Earth whose Eyes shall be as Venomous as Basilisks with a great many other Stories of like Nature Hast thou forgot this Nathan or art thou so far infatuated with the bold Impostures of this Impudent Deceiver as for his sake to deny thy former Faith reverse thy own Sentiments and disannul the Traditions of thy Doctors For shame rowze up thy Intellectual Faculties and suffer not thy Reason to be lull'd asleep by the Prestigious Umbrages and Charms of a lewd Vagrant a Wizard a Cheat. Have but Patience at least till thou see those Signs accomplish'd whâ—ch are to usher in your Messias before thou give up thy self to so dangerous a Credulity Let the Sun first emit those Pestilential Vapours which shall kill a Million of the Koprim or Infidels every Day as your Traditions threaten Let that Luminary be also totally eclips'd for the space of Thirty Days In a word let all the other Prodigies come to pass which thou thy self didst once so passionately believe And then I promise thee on the Word of a Mussulman that I will be thy Proselyte and embrace thy Law and adore thy Messias on condition that otherwise thou wilt be my Convert believe the Alcoran and obey the Messenger of God the Last and Seal of the Prophets Paris 11th of the 9th Moon of the Year 1666. LETTER XII To the Kaimacham I Am afraid the Divan will be oblig'd to send another Agent to Vienna to supply the Place of Nathan Ben Saddi who is running mad after the New Messias of the Jews There is no doubt but thou and the other Happy Ministers residing at the August Port have heard of a certain Impostor at Smyrna by Name Sabbati Sevi of Hebrew Race who calls himself the Only begotten Son of God Messias and Redeemer of Israel and what Multitudes of doting Credulous Jews he draws after him So that there is a Schism broke out between them and they are divided into Two contrary Factions both in Smyrna and all over the Levant It is impossible that these things should be concealed from the Resplendent Seat of Fame since they have reach'd even our Ears who dwell at this Distance Nay there is hardly a Province or City in all the West which has not receiv'd Intelligence of so Remarkable a Novelty I have receiv'd a Dispatch from Zeidi Alamanzi at Venice wherein he informs me that all the Jews of Italy are preparing to visit the Holy Land and to see the Face of their long expected Messias who they now believe is really come on Earth and is that Sabbati Sevi at Smyrna They are settling their Affairs as fast as they can acquitting themselves from all Worldly Engagements and those who are devout give themselves up to Prayer and Mortifications whilst others spend their time in Feasting Dancing and all manner of Mirth He says some of them will sit or stand up to the Nose in Water for Four and Twenty Hours together And this they do in Imitation of Adam's Penance according to their Tradition For they are taught that the First Father of Mortals after he was banish'd from Paradise as a Punishment for his Sin stood a Hundred and Thirty Years together in Water thus reaching to his Nostrils Others of these Superstitious People will sit naked many Hours together on a Heap of Pismires till they 're almost stung to Death A third Sort dig their own Graves and going down into them cause themselves to be covered all over with Earth except only their Faces and in this Condition they will lie till they are almost famish'd In the mean while they send Circular Letters from all Parts congratulating each others approaching Happiness and Deliverance from the Oppression of the Gentiles For so they term all that are not of their own Nation And in these mutual Addresses they fail not to Prophesy That their Messias shall in such a Moon go to the Great Tyrant King of the Ismaelites and Lord of all the Children of Moab and Edom So they blaspheme our Glorious Sultan That he shall depose him from his Throne and lead him away Captive after which he shall have the Dominions of the whole Earth laid at his Feet With such kind of wild Stuff do these deluded People flatter one another and themselves as if in a little time they were to be Lords of all Things So that no Trading or Commerce goes forward among them An Universal Stop is put to all Business it being esteem'd an Inexpiable Sin to follow their Trades in the Days of the Messias who is to enrich them with the Wealth of all Nations Strange Rumours are spread abroad of the Return of the Ten Tribes over the River Sabbation who were carried away Captives by Salmanassar King of Assyria and never were heard of since till they now discourse of their being encamp'd in the Desart of Mount Sinai in their March to the Holy Land 'T is reported also that a Mighty Fleet of Ships were seen at Sea whose Sails were of Satin and their Streamers bore the Figure