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hand_n	left_a	order_n	rank_n	7,128	5	11.6759	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64809	The history of the Sevarites or Sevarambi, a nation inhabiting part of the third continent commonly called Terræ australes incognitæ with an account of their admirable government, religion, customs, and language / written by one Captain Siden, a worthy person, who, together with many others, was cast upon those coasts, and lived many years in that country.; Histoire des Sevarambes. English	Allais, Denis Vairasse d', ca. 1630-1672.; Roberts, A., 17th cent.	1675 (1675)	Wing V20; ESTC R13659	118,902	302

inner part of it to be like Cloysters vvith large Galleries on all sides and a large Green in the middle From thence vve vvere brought into a great Hall vvhere stood several Tables and Seats There the grave men in black stood round me and asked me several questions much like unto those Carshidà had asked me at the first to vvhich I ansvvered in the same manner A vvhile after they carried us to another Hall next unto that vvhere vve found several Tables full of meat much after our European fashion Then Sermodas for that is the name of the grave man vvho is novv in the Generals Hut asked me vvhether vve had any stomach to our Supper To vvhom I made ansvver That it vvas so long since we had seen such a Supper that I did not think any of us vvould vvant a stomach to eat it He smiled and taking me by the hand brought me to the chiefest Table and made me sit next to him then all the other grave men sate vvith us and Carshidà with Benoscar took all my men to another Table We had a very noble Supper after vvhich we were carried up into a great Room where we saw several Beds upon Iron Bedsteads There my men were ordered to lye two and two and I was carried to a Room by my self where Sermodas and his company wished me good night and so went away A while after Carshidà came in and told me that I and my men must prepare to appear the next day before Albicormas Governour of Sporundè and said he would give us directions how to behave our selves and so he bid me good night The next day about six of the clock in the morning we heard a great Bell ring and an hour after Carshidà and Benoscar came into my Chamber and asked me how I had taken my rest and if I wanted any thing I would have risen presently but he told me I must not till such time as I had new Cloaths to put on which would be brought immediately Upon that Benoscar went out and came a while after with some attendance who brought new Cloaths both Linnen and Woollen made after the manner of the Country Then came in others with a Tub which they filled with warm water and then Carshidà told me it was to wash my body in before I put on my new Cloaths and so went out with all the Company leaving only a Servant to wait upon me According to his directions I vvashed and then put on a fine Cotten Shirt and Dravvers vvith Stockings of the same I had also a nevv black Hat nevv Shooes a Govvn of several colours and a black Shash to put about my middle As soon as I vvas ready the Servant taking my old Cloaths vvith him vvent out and then came in again Carshidà and his company vvho told me that I and all my men vvere to attend Albicormas and his Council and gave me directions hovv to behave my self We vvent dovvn into the Yard vvhere I found all my men in nevv Apparel much like unto mine but not altogether so good and vvearing Caps on their heads instead of Hats Benoscar vvas vvith them and vvas giving them directions hovv to behave themselves before the Council We stood there a vvhile looking one upon another till Sermodas and his company came in He very kindly asked us all hovv vve did and then directing his speech to me he asked me vvhether I vvas ready to vvait upon the Council I ansvvered vve vvere all ready to obey his Commands vvhich said he took me by the hand and made me march on his left side into the Street Carshidà put himself at the head of my men vvhich vvere disposed tvvo and tvvo and marched in Rank and File like Souldiers Benoscar bringing up the Rear In that order vve marched through some Streets till we came to a great place in the middle of the City and in the Center of this place stood a large and magnificent Palace of a square Figure and built with white Freestone and black Marble all so clean and so well polished that we thought it was new though we heard afterwards it had been built a good while In the middle stood a great and stately Gate adorned with several brazen Statues and on each side thereof two long Files of Musquetteers all in blew Gowns We marched through them into the first Court where we found another Lane of men in red Gowns with Halberts in their hands As soon as we were come in we heard a great sound of many Trumpets and several other Instruments of War very sweet and pleasant which sounded all the time we stood in that Yard for a quarter of an hour From thence we proceeded into the next Court all built with well polished black Marble with Nitches round about and delicate Statues in them In the middle of the Yard stood about a hundred men in black most of them of riper years than those we had seen in the other Courts We stood a little in that place till two grave men such as stood in the Court with only this difference that they wore a piece of Gold coloured Silk hanging loose upon their left shoulder came down and bid Sermodas bring us all up We went up in the same order as we came upon a stately Stair-case gilt and painted very richly to a great Hall gilt and painted in the same manner and there we stood a while From that they brought us into another Hall richer than the first and then into a third far beyond either of them At the end of this Hall we saw a pretty high Throne and a little lower long Seats on each side of it Upon the Throne sate a grave Majestick Personage and upon the other Seats several venerable men on his right and left He that sate uppermost in the midst of them wore a Purple Gown and the others were habited like the two men who led us into the place who were Members of the Council We were told that he in the Purple Gown was Albicormas and the others the chiefest Officers of the City who together with him govern the whole Country of Sporumbè At our first coming into the Hall we made an inclination of our bodies then being come to the middle of it we bowed a little more but when we came to a Balister or Rail near to the Throne we bowed down to the very ground according to the directions given us before Then stood up all the Counsellors and made a small inclination of their bodies but Albicormas nodded only with his head Then did Sermodas take me by the hand and brought me as near the Rail as we could go and bowing down very profoundly spake to Albicormas and gave him partly an account of us in his own Language as we imagined and as we were told afterwards Methoughts their Speech sounded much like the Greek or Latine as I have sometimes heard it spoken in Holland and ran very smooth and

Van de Nuits Over-seer General of all the Goods and Provisions we had or should hereafter have Swart Captain of the Artillery Arms and Ammunitions of War Maurice an expert and active Seaman Admiral of our Fleet which was to consist of a Long-boat a little Boat and another Pinnace we were a making out of the pieces of our broken Ship Morton an English man who had been a Serjeant in the Low Countries I made Captain of the Eldest Company De Haes a sober and vigilant fellow was made second Captain one Van Sluis third Captain one de Bosch fourth Captain and one Brown Major General I gave all these men leave to chuse their inferiour Officers with my approbation which they did accordingly I had two Servants with me the one called Devese who had been my Serjeant in Catalonia a stout and understanding fellow sober and trusty who had served me ever since I left the Wars and followed my fortune every where him I made my Lieutenant General and the other named Tursi my Secretary Our Officers being all chosen we numbred our People and found we were three hundred and seven Men three Boys and seventy four Women all in good health for although there were many of them sick when they first landed they were all well again in less than a Weeks time which was no small argument of the healthiness of the Country I distributed all these into four parts and gave Maurice six and twenty of the best Seamen and the three Boys to man his Navy Swart had thirty for his Artillery I disposed two hundred men into four Companies and Van de Nuits had all the rest to attend him and take Orders of him in the Camp or out of the Camp We had two Trumpetters which used to say Prayers in the Ship besides their Office of Trumpetting I took one of them and gave Van de Nuits the other and they both were confirmed in both their imployments after the Dutch fashion All our Affairs being so ordered and setled in the Evening I called our Superiour Officers together and told them that before our Provisions were all spent we should go about by Sea and Land to discover the Country and endeavour to get some fresh Provision as likewise to discover some fitter place for a Camp than that we were in where in a short time all things would grow scarce and where we had not so much as good water That my opinion was we should send several Parties of men well Armed to make new discoveries and go farther into the Country than we had gone yet They readily assented to my Proposals and told me they were ready to obey my Orders Whereupon I commanded Maurice to man his two Boats and to send them all along the Coasts as far as they could conveniently go the one on the right side of the Camp and the other on the left I ordered Morton to take twenty men out of his Company and to go all along the shore on the left hand De Haes was commanded to take thirty out of his and to go through the middle of the Country and I my self drew forty men out of the two other Companies and left my Lieutenant to command in the Camp in my absence We all took three days Provision and good store of Powder and Bullets with Swords and half Pikes and I commanded all my men to be ready early in the Morning and to wait for further Orders which they did accordingly The next day which was the twentieth since the first day of our Landing and from which we shall hereafter reckon as our principal Epoche all my men were ready by break of day and came to receive my Commands which were the same I had given the night before with this Addition only That if they should meet with any thing considerable they should presently send advice thereof to the Camp I likewise gave Orders to Morton to keep with the Boat as near as he could and to come every night to the shore to joyn with the Boats-Crew before Sun setting I my self intending to keep the same Method with Maurice As soon as these Orders were given we went our several ways all full of hopes and alacrity I marched my men in Rank and File and I divided them into three Parties the first that had the Van was composed of six Musketteers and a Corporal the second of twelve and a Serjeant I my self brought up the Rear We marched within Musket shot distance one from another in that manner as near the shore as we could that we might be within sight of our Boat The Sea was very calm and the Weather very still though something hot At noon the Boat came to us at a place where we stood near the shore and there we took some rest and refreshment for the space of two hours All the Country we came upon for ten or twelve Miles was much like to that about our Camp and we did not so much as find a Brook or a Spring in all our way all being dry Sands and nothing growing upon them but Bushes and Thorns After we had taken some rest we marched five Miles beyond the place where we had halted and there the ground began to grow more unequal and to rise here and there into small Hills Two Miles farther we found a Brook of sweet water which gave us no small occasion of joy chiefly when we saw that a little farther up in the Country there was some small plots of green Trees upon the Banks of the Brook there we halted again and made Signs to our Boat to come to us which they did immediately coming into the Brook with the Tide and finding it was a very good Harbour for such a Vessel as theirs they rowed up a Mile into the Land till they came to a plot of green trees where we pitched our Camp for that night Maurice brought us some Fish he had taken in the Sea and some Oysters and other Shell fish We strook fire went to Supper an hour before night and then to sleep keeping a good Guard about us and hiding our fire with green Boughs we fixed in the ground round about it lest it should be seen at a distance The next day early in the morning I sent three of my men back again to the Camp to give them notice of the Brook and the Trees we had found and to tell them we intended to proceed farther But before we removed from that place I sent five men up the Brook to discover more of the Country They came back two hours after and told us that the Country above was a little more Hilly than below but dry and barren and like that which lay towards our Camp Our Boat fell down towards the Sea after these men were come with this account and had carried us over the Brook which was deep and not fordable unless we went two or three Miles higher When we had got over we marched on along

wicked Spirit who hath been so bold as to send in such troublesom creatures into their Land For this purpose I saw upon four corners of the great Church a great Giant of black Marble holding in his right hand a pair of Rams horns as they appeared to me but in truth it was nothing but a Talisman to keep off the Devils and evil Spirits from their Meeting-place and holy Assembles In his left hand he held a Book open of white Marble in which some Characters were graven as I was told which the Devils cannot endure to see and therefore keep at a distance from such places Besides these Learned in Talismanical Figures have the Art to make those Talismans as have an influence not only upon bodies corporeal but also upon the subtle Spirits of the Air and will bind them to a good Behaviour or drive them with vengeance off from the place or else so benum their senses that they can neither stir nor move but are as so many mazed creatures without life or motion when they come within such a compass For that purpose I saw upon the top of the Temple a great Eagle of Gold standing with its wings abroad on the highest Pinacle of the Temple which Ziribabdas told me was nothing but a Talisman made to drive away all subtle Spirits of the Air or to hinder their malicious intents in that Sacred place and amongst the people of the City He told me that they have some persons so well acquainted with that Art that they can work wonders and do any Miracle by their Talismans kill and make alive cure distempers benum the minds and senses of men draw together thousands of creatures and birds and make them perform any action that may be named I intreated Ziribabdas to let me see some of the skill of these Learned men in this Art I importuned him so much that he went into one of the Closets from the Gallery and fetched to us a grave Signior about an hundred years of age with a long beard reaching down to his knees and a pair of large whiskers each near a foot long He saluted me very gravely and led me into a private Closet which belonged to him out of it there was a way and a door into a stone-Balcony of a red transparent stone with several Bosses or Apples of Gold He had several curious Inventions Talismans and other things of a wonderful Art One thing he took in hand about the bigness of a Bushel having several handles to it the substance as I thought was of Crystal it had several large holes in the midst I could see many birds all without motion till the grave Philosopher whose name was Zidi Mufti pulled a string and set them all in a motion then did we hear the chirping of all manner of birds so pleasantly that we stood in a maze and wondered but much more when we saw all the birds of the Air that can be named flying a pace towards us into the Philosophers Closet there were Eagles Cormorants Magpies Crows Vulturs Jack-daws Kites Sparrows Falcons c. I numbered above a thousand which in less than a quarter of an hour came into the Closet and perched upon the Balcony and upon the Gallery When Zidi Mufti saw them all come he played another tune and all these Birds began to dance two and two and chirp according to their kind very pleasantly This sport lasted about an hour with such a variety of action that we could have wished it might have lasted longer At the conclusion the Philosopher dismissed them neither at that time did any of them injure one another but were as quiet and harmless as if there had been no enmity between them When they were gone he took the Image of a man made in Wax but shewing all his privy parts backwards and with it he marched to the Balcony where he sate up and spoke two or three hard words to the best of my remembrance they were these Bomralok Kostraborab Abrolakar Bourakabou Branbastrokobar Abrovora Birikabu and immediately there came a company of men and women of the Sevarites that danced all naked before us in a beautiful Green whiles he held the Image in that place they were not able to depart from thence but continued playing and dancing and sporting with one another above an hour shewing such antick tricks as I never saw the like for all this they were not dishonest but immediately as soon as the Image disappeared every one of them departed and run away but whiles the Image stood still they were neither ashamed nor could they stir from the place so great a power these Talismans have upon the minds of men as well as the bodies of beasts and birds 'T is an Art which can give as much delight as profit to those that understand it well for they can perform those things in Nature that are most wonderful and advantageous to the life of man In the first Ages of the World this Art was generally known amongst the Learned and when I saw how perfect the Sevarites were in it I wished with all my heart that we had but some insight into the same Art and skill for the good of our Country but our ignorance would slander such knowledges and think it to be Magick if we did not understand the depth of it nor the causes that such men set a work for many wonderful effects are to be produced by the inferiour causes which are secret and hid to the most part of men for such is our natural unskilfulness that we know not the hundredth part of those things that we may easily attain to This Learned Philosopher gave me another diversion he fetched his Instrument for that purpose and caused such musical Sounds and Voices to be in the Air round about us at a distance that we began to hang between fear and pleasure When Ziribabdas saw a change in our countenance he desired us to be contented and assured us that we should receive no harm The noise and voices continued half an hour not in the Instrument but at a distance and with such a variety of Sounds that I could never imagine what it was For whiles he stayed upon the Balcony he turned the Instrument round with a little wheel which was in the inside but this had the power by the Talismanical Art to cause in the Air such shrieks crys hollowings and sometimes such curious and melodious voices that we were ravished and struck into admiration We desired to know what it was that made that noise in the Air the Philosopher told us that they were airy Spirits which this Talisman had the power to attract and to oblige to break out into those shrieks and crys This caused us to wonder the more that this corporeal Instrument which seemed to have nothing but material should draw together on a sudden such powerful Spirits and oblige them to give sport to men I concluded from these Examples that he that