in that employment to the satisfaction of all men He apply'd himself particularly to the searching out of Mines for there had a report ran among the people for many years that if certain mountaines nine or ten miles from Ispahan toward the West were well digg'd into their might be found store of Gold Silver and Copper To which purpose he made use of a Norman whose name was La Chapelle de Han who vanted at that time to have great skill in Chymistry Mines and Minerals for which reason he was recommended by the Governor of Ispahan to the Athemadoulet then at Casbin with the King who presently sent him back again to the Governour to furnish him with all things necessary for his Expences and for the work which he undertook in the Mountains Thither went La Chapelle and after fifteen days toyl return'd to Ispahan with two or three hunder'd weight of earth and set up furnaces to draw out the metal The Athemadoulet was so wise as to give order to the Governour of Ispahan and three or four more persons of Quality to overview the Norman to see that he play'd no foul play But though there was not so much as a half peny worth of silver in all the earth from the bottom to the top though the Persians watch'd him so narrowly as they did he made a shift to shuffle in an Abassi among the earth as it was in the furnace without being perceiv'd Nevertheless the Athemadoulet to whom it was carry'd presently found out the cheat though he took no notice of it hoping to make better use of the Norman in other things only he forbad him to dig any more in that place in regard the expence would exceed the profit La Chapelle who was very skilful at putting off his merchandize and one who knew to make the best use of the least smackering that he might perhaps have in Mechanicks and the power of Motion had the cunning to amuse the Athemadoulet for ten years together being a passionate Lover of new Inventions and the better to insinuate himself into the Kings favour assum'd to himself the Invention of several Rarities which he shew'd the King who thereupon allow'd him a very handsome pension Thus encourag'd he undertook to cast Canons bring the water to the top of the Kings house and several other things yet when all his designs fail'd for want of Art and that he found he could do no more good in Persia resolving for India he dy'd at Ormus The Athemadoulet missing of Gold and Silver Mines apply'd himself to the discovery of Copper Mines wherein he was more fortunate for in those Mines he also found veins of Azure of which there is a great quantity consum'd in painting the Grotesco Flourishes upon the Ceilings and Arches of their Houses He also found out a Mine of Lead near Yerde and being still upon new discoveries he found out a Mine of Talk Stone Allum and Coles but of neither so good as in other Countries He was so obstinate in the searth of Metals that if any person had an occasion to speak with him let him be never so busie upon never so important affairs it was enough to bring him some stones of a supposed Mine or something rare either for Colour Figure or Weight He also gave full power to them that brought him any tidings of a Mine to go to the place and to press the Countrymen from their labour to dig in the Mountains and break up rocks and if they found nothing he cast the fault upon the ignorance of the Labourers He also apply'd himself to the study of Mechanic Motions He would have found an Invention whereby the half Vail that hangs in the Kings Megeler or Council Chamber and is drawn to and fro by certain Officers in the Summer to gather the cool Air should have bin made by Engine-work Then he took a fancy for water Engines the most necessary thing in the world for Persia to relieve the drowth of the Country but wanting necessaries as Beams Rafters Wheel-work Cordage and Iron he could not begin those Engines the figures whereof La Chapelle had left him in a Book But as Mahomet Beg was studious in these things so was he Ambitious and Revengeful to that height that he could not observe a moderation in his resentment against those that had given him any distaste In his height of Passion he caus'd several Kans to be depriv'd of their Provinces and by confiscating their Estates reduc'd them to utmost necessity The Kan of Erivan had a Son who was a lovely and a well proportion'd Gentleman and always attended at the Kings Elbow One day that the King was drinking with some Lords he commanded the Kan of Erivans Son to carry a Gold Cup full of Wine to the Athemadoulet who perceiving that he had enough already made a sign with his eye to the young Lord to return it back The young Lord passing by the King told him ingeniously that the Athemadoulet had no desire to drink whereupon the King commanded him to go and powre the Wine into his bosome As the one vvas oblig'd to obey the Athemadoulet vvas forc'd to suffer and to permit the young man to open his bosome and povvre dovvn the Wine for not daring to shevv his Anger he vvas forc'd to dissemble the best he could for that time But having resolv'd to revenge the affront upon the Kan of Erivan Father of the young Lord vvho had only done vvhat the King commanded him he resolv'd to lay hold upon the opportunity that presented it self knovving that there vvere several complains come against him from the Armenians of Erivan Thereupon the Athemadoulet sends for the Kelonter encourages him in his suit and gives him instructions hovv to proceed To this end Mahomet Beg appoints him to meet him such an hour at the Kings Stables whither the King presently coming the Kelonter threw himself at the Kings feet and besought him for Justice against the Kan of Erivans oppressions while Mahomet Beg fail'd not to heap up aggravations against the Governour and the King though he had heard but one side as easily condemn'd him upon the Accusation of the Kelonter and his Prime Minister Thereupon an Officer of the Kings call'd Negef-Couli-Beg a man of a quick and active spirit was commanded to go in all haste and seize upon the Person of the Kan Who being come to Erivan found him upon his seat of Justice confiscating and condemning to fine and Corporal punishment a near Kinsman of the Kelonters The Messenger boldly enter'd into the Megeler or Council Chamber goes directly to the Kan told him he was the Kings prisner and gave him a blow with his fist upon the neck about which he was to wear the Triangle of great thick pieces of wood already describ'd into which the neck is enclos'd while the Arms and Hands of the Prisner are put through another piece of wood that crosses the Triangle which is a great
Foot square the Bars whereof are round and knob'd in those places where they cross each other it is lighted by several Lamps of Gold and Silver which altogether is very pleasing to the Eye The inside of the Mosquee to the elevation of the Angles that support the Duomo is compos'd of square Tiles varnish'd over with divers Colours and the Cupola of the Duomo as also the Vault of the Portico of the Mosquee is a Moresco piece of Painting in Or and Azure Upon each side of the Mosquee and near the side where the Tomb of Sidi-Fatima stands appears a great Hall where the Royal Alms are distributed to the Poor which consist of Pilaw and other diet very well drest From this Tomb you turn to the left hand toward an Ascent distant five and twenty or thirty Paces and at the top of this Ascent is a Door over which there an is Inscription in Honour of Sha-Abas the Second The Door being open'd shews you the place where the Body of that King reposes and through another Door with a Grate in it you may discover under a small Duomo the Tomb of Sha-Sefi his Father which is cover'd with a Carpet of Cloth of Gold They were continually at work upon the Tomb of Sha-Abas which they said they would make very famous I had not been two hours in Kom but a multitude of People ran by the Inn Gate all in extraordinary hast Asking what the matter was they answer'd me that it had been a day long design'd for the two Prophets to fight Thereupon I went to the Piazza which was so crowded that I had much ado to get to see In the first place a sufficient number of Tumblers and Puppet-players divided into two Bands kept the middle of the Piazza and made a sufficient Ring for the Combat Each Band held a Bull by the Horns one of which they call'd Mahomet and the other Haly and whether it were by accident or by the cunning of the Bull-Masters after an obstinate Combat wherein the Beasts foam'd again with heat and rage Mahomet at length quit the Field and yielded Haly the Victory Then all the People shouted for joy and all the Piazza was fill'd with the noise of Flutes and Hautboys and every one coming as if it were to adore Haly cry'd out Behold the Works of God that Haly has made At length they bring the Bull Haly under a Gate with his Head turn'd toward the People where after they have rub'd him to refresh him after a Combat so courageously maintain'd every one sends him Presents which are all the Tumblers profit The Kan or Governour of Kom who was present with a hundred Horses richly trap'd to behold the Sight sent the Bull a Present of 50 Tomans or 750 Crowns They who accompany'd him and the chief Inhabitants of Kom gave him some a Garment others a Girdle Neither did the meanest of the People spare to send or carry him Fruits or other things according to their abilities The Kan was a Lord who was very civil and there was no Stranger that did not commend his behaviour in regard he was so obliging So soon as I came to the place whether it was that he perceiv'd me with a Dutchman that I had brought along from Constantinople or whether any one had inform'd him that there were Strangers near him he sent for us and after he had ask'd us some Questions concerning the occasion of our Travelling he sent for a Seat and caus'd us to sit down Then he ask'd us whence we came and what we did at Ispahan to which when we had answer'd him that we went to wait upon the King he approv'd our Intention complaining that we had not given him advice of our Arrival In the Evening he sent us several Delicacies among the rest six fair Melons and four Bottles of excellent Wine He appear'd to me so brave and generous a Person that I was very much troubled afterwards for his being in dis-favour with the King and his death which ensu'd For this Kan finding the Walls of the City which were only of Earth and the Bridge over the River to be out of repair without writing to the King of his own head laid a slight Imposition upon every Basket of Fruit that was brought into the City Now there are in all the Cities of Persia persons who are hir'd to take an account every Week what the Commodities may be worth and to take care that no more than such a Toll be laid upon any thing which they tax among themselves and when they have set the Rate they cause it to be cry'd at the beginning of every Week Sha-Sefi then reign'd it being the year 1632. The King being inform'd by these people of the Impost which the Kan had set upon Fruit without his knowledge was so enrag'd against him that he caus'd him to be brought in Chains to Ispahan where he us'd him with a strange severity For at that time the Son of the Kan stood at the King's Elbow it being his Office to give him his Pipe and his Tobacco which is a very honourable Employment in Persia. When the Kan came the King caus'd him to be carry'd to the Gate of the Palace in the presence of all the People and then commanded his Son to pull the Hair of his Father's Mustaches by the roots from his Skin After that he commanded him to cut off his Nose and his Ears after that to put out his Eyes and lastly to cut off his Head When he had done the Execution according to the King's pleasure he commanded him to go and take possession of his Father's Government and allowing him an experienc'd Old Man for his Lieutenant he sent him to Kom with these words If thou govern'st no better than this dead Dog has done I will put thee to a more cruel death than this Leaving Kom for four hours you travel over a fair Champain Country after which you come to a fair Village with five or six Inns in it Beyond that is nothing but Sand till you come to a place call'd Abschirim or Fresh-water where there are three Inns at a distance from any Villages From Abschirim to Cachan is six hours journey through a Corn Country and stor'd with great Villages Cachan is a large City well peopl'd and furnish'd with all things necessary for humane subsistance There is an old Wall about it which is faln down in many places so that there is no need of seeking for Gates to get into the City On that side which looks toward Ispahan the Soil is good and produces great store of Fruit and Wine which the Jews take care to make It is reckon'd that there are in Cachan a thousand Families of Jews in Ispahan about six hundred but in Kom there are not above nine or ten Not but that there are many Jews in Persia but those that live in Ispahan Cachan and Kom boast themselves particularly of the Tribe of Judah
gave him fifteen days Thereupon the King did go to the Treasury next morning according to Mahomet's desire and found all things in good order having heard before what became of the Scimitar From thence he went to Mahomet's House who made the King a mean Present For it is the custom that he whom the King honours with a Visit must make a Present to his Majesty After the King had receiv'd it he walk'd up and down and view'd the Chambers Halls Parlours and Rooms of State and wonder'd to see them so ill set out with plain Felts and course Carpets whereas in other Lords Houses a man could not set his Foot upon any thing but Cloth of Gold and Silk For the King as they had set the Nazar out expected to have found other things which made him admire at so great a Moderation in so high a degree of Honour Now at the end of a Gallery there was a Door lockt with three great Padlocks Of this the King took no notice whereupon the Meter who is the White Eunuch and chief of his Chamber as he came back shew'd the King the Door that was so strongly Padlock'd which made the King curious to have it open'd withal asking Mahomet what he had got there lock'd up with so much care Oh Sir said he it behoves me to keep that lockt for there is all the Estate I have in the World All that your Majesty has seen in this House is yours but all that is in that Chamber is mine and I dare assure my self your Majesty will be so gracious as never to take it from me Those words inflam'd the King's curiosity so that he commanded the Door to be open'd But he was strangely surpriz'd when he saw nothing more within than Mahomet's Sheep-hook that lay upon two Nails his Scrip wherein he us'd to put his Victuals his Bottle for his Water his Pipe and his Shepherd's Weeds all hanging against the Wall The Nazar beholding the King's astonishment at such a Sight Sir said he when the King Sha-Abas found me in the Mountain keeping Goats then that was all I had and he took nothing from me I beseech your Majesty that you would not deprive me of these things neither but rather if you please let me resume them again and fall to my old Calling The King touch'd at so high a piece of Virtuo caus'd himself to be disapparel'd and gave his Habit to the Nazar which is the greatest Honour that the King of Persia can bestow upon a Subject Thus Mahomet continu'd and dy'd honourably in his Employment This brave Person was the Protector of all the Franks in Persia and if any one had done them wrong upon complaint he did them Justice immediately One day as I was shooting Ducks upon the River of Ispahan near the Nazar's Gardens with two Servants some of the Nazar's people that did not know me set upon me and would have taken away my Gun which I would not let go till I had broke the Stock about the Shoulders of the one and flung the Barrel at the other 's Head Thereupon I took some of the Franks along with me and complain'd to the Nazar He testifi'd his sorrow for what had happen'd and gave us evident Proofs thereof by the blows which he caus'd to be laid upon those that had done me the injury Another time Sha-Sefi being upon his return from Guilan his Tents were set up near Zulfa in Armenia where the King staid to hunt two or three days Now among the rest of the Courtizans that follow'd the Court to divertise the King with Dancing and Mummery there was one who was perfectly handsom to whom the King had already sent Presents which could not be unknown to any Lord i' the Court. But the Nazar's Son for all that being in the heat of Youth got this Courtizan to his Tent and there lay with her which came to his Father's Ears next day The Nazar whether out of his zeal to the Ring or whether it were an effect of his prudence to prevent the King's anger which would have certainly been the death of his Son caus'd him to be drub'd after the manner of the Country and bastinado'd all over till the Nails of his Toes dropt off and that his Body was almost a perfect Gelly Which when the King understood together with the Young Man's Crime he said no more but that the Nazar had done wisely by punishing his Son himself to prevent his Justice But to return to the Road from Kerman to Ispahan The first day that I set out from Kerman at my Stage in the Evening I met with a rich Moullah who seeing I had Wine civilly offer'd me some of his Ice to cool it In retaliation I gave him some of my Bottle He invited me to his House which was well built with a handsom Garden with Water in it He entertain'd me with Spoon-meat according to the mode of the Country and when I took my leave he fill'd my Boracho with very good Wine The following days I saw nothing worthy observation the Country being as I have already describ'd it Yezd lyes in the Road almost in the mid-way between Kerman and Ispahan in 93 Deg. 15 Min. of Longitude and 13 Deg. 45 Min. of Latitude It is a great Town in the middle of the Sands that extend themselves for two Leagues round it so that when you leave Yezd you must take a Guide for upon the least Wind the Sand covers the Highway whereby a man may be apt to fall into Holes which seem to have been either old Cisterns or the Ruines of ancient Buildings Between the Town and the Sands there is a little good Soil which produces excellent Fruits but above all Melons of several sorts the Pulp of some is green of others yellow and vermilion and some there are the meat whereof is as hard as a Renneting There are also very good Grapes and good Wine but the Governour will not permit the Inhabitants to make Wine Some therefore they dry and of the rest they make a kind of Confection to cat with Bread There are also abundance of Figs which are large and well tasted They distil vast quantities of Rose-water and another sort of Water with which they dye their Hands and Nails red which they squeeze out of a certain Root call'd Hina There are three Inns i' th' City and several Bazars or Market-places cover'd and vaulted which are full of Merchants and Workmens Ware-houses They also make at Yezd several Stuffs of Silk intermix'd with Gold and Silver which they call Zerbaste and another sort of Stuff of all pure Silk call'd Daraï like our smooth strip'd Taffata's Other Stuffs they make half Silk half Cotton others all of Cotton like our Fustians They make also Serges of a particular Wool which is so fine and delicate that it looks handsomer and is much better than Silk Though I had nothing to do I staid in Yezd three days because I met with
are a great number of Boys and Servants to guide the Ships of the Sun and Moon Besides they have the Picture of a Barque which they say belong'd to the Angel Becan whom God sends to visit the Sun and Moon to see whither they move right or no and keep close to their duty In reference to the other World and life to come they believe there is no other World but where Angels and Devils the Souls of good and bad reside That in that World there are Cities Houses and Churches and that the Evil Spirits have also Churches where they pray singing and rejoycing upon Instruments and Feasting as in this World That when any one lies at the point of death three hundred and sixty Demons come and carry his Soul to a place full of Serpents Dogs Lyons Tygres and Devils who if it be the Soul of a wicked man tear it in pieces but being the Soul of a just man it creeps under the bellies of those Creatures into the presence of God who sits in his seat of Majesty to judge the World That there are Angels also that weigh the Souls of Men in a Ballance who being thought worthy are admitted immediately into Glory That the Angels and Devils are Male and Female and beget Children That the Angel Gabriel is the Son of God engender'd upon Light and that he has a Daughter call'd Souret who has two Sons That the Angel Gabriel has several Legions of Demons under him who are instead of Souldiers and others that are his Officers of justice whom he sends from Town to Town and from City to City to punish the wicked In reference to Saints they hold that Christ left twelve Apostles to Preach to the Nations That the Virgin Mary is not dead but that she lives somewhere in the World though there be no person that can tell where she is That next to her St. John is the chiefest Saint in Heaven and next to them Zacharias and Elizabeth of whom they recompt several miracles and Apocryphal tales For they believe that they two begat St. John only by embracing that when he came to be of age they Marry'd him and that he had four Sons which he begat upon the waters of Jordan That when St. John desir'd a Son he pray'd to God who drew him one out of the water so that St. John had no more to do with his Wife but only to give her the Child to bring up That he dy'd a natural death but that he commanded his Disciples to Crucifie him after his death that he might be like Christ. Lastly that he dy'd in the City of Fuster and that he was bury'd in a Chrystal Tomb brought by miracle to the City and that this Sepulchre was in a certain House near the River Jordan They highly honour the Cross and sign themselves with it but they are very careful of letting the Turks observe them and during their Ceremonies they set a Watch at their Church doors for fear the Turks should enter and lay some unjust Fine upon them When they have ador'd the Cross they take it in two pieces which they never put together again 'till their Service rebegins The reason why they so adore the Cross is drawn out of a Book which they have Entitul'd The Divan Where it is written that every day early in the Morning the Angels take the Cross and put it in the middle of the Sun which receives his light from it as the Moon also doth hers They add that in the same Book are Pictur'd two Ships one of which is nam'd the Sun the other the Moon and thaâ— in every one of these Ships there is a Cross full of Bells And moreover that if there were not a Cross in those two Ships the Sun and Moon would be depriv'd of Light and the Ships would suffer Shipwrack Their chief Festivals are three The one in Winter that lasts three days in memory of our first Parent and the Creation of the World The other in the Month of August that also lasts three days which is call'd the Feast of St. John The third which lasts five days in June during which time they are all re-baptiz'd They observe Sunday doing no work upon that day They neither Fast nor do any penance They have no Canonical Books but a great number of others that treat of nothing but Witchcraft in which they believe their Priests to be very crafty and that the Devils are at their beck They hold all Women to be unclean and that it is not at all available for them to come to the Church They have one Ceremony which they call the Ceremony of the Hen of which they make great Accompt which is not lawful for any to perform but a Priest Born of a Virgin at the time of her Marriage When a hen is to be kill'd the Priest puts off his ordinary habit and puts on a Linnen Cloth girding his waste with a second and throwing a third about his shoulders like a Stole Then he takes the Fowl and plunges it in the water to make it clean after which he turns toward the East and cuts off the head holding the Body in his hand 'till it has bled out all the blood While the Hen bleeds with his Eyes lifted up to Heaven as if he were in an extasie he repeats in his own Language these words following In the name of God may this flesh be profitable to all that eat of it They observe the same ceremony when they kill Sheep For first they cleanse the place very carefully where the Sheep is to be kill'd washing it with water and strewing it with boughs nor is the number of people small that assists at this Ceremony as if it were at some solemn Sacrifice If you ask them why it is not lawful for the Laity to kill Fowls They answer that it is no more lawful for them to kill than to consecrate them and that is all the reason which they bring They eat of nothing drest by the Turks and if a Turk ask them for drink so soon as he has drank they break the Cup. And to make the Turks more hateful they Picture Mahomet like a great Gyant shut up in Prison in Hell with four more of his Parents and they say that all the Turks are carry'd into the same place full of wild Beasts to be there devour'd They pretend all to Salvation For say they after the Angel Gabriel had fram'd the World by the command of God he thus discours'd him Lord God said he behold I have built the World as thou didst command me It has put me to a great deal of trouble and my Brethren also to raise such high Mountains that seem to sustain Heaven And who indeed was able to make way for Rivers through Mountains without vast labour and to give every thing its proper place Moreover great God by the aid of thy powerfull Arm we have brought the World to so much perfection that
their is neither Fortress nor City and as for their Villages they are all built after the same Model round with a Piazza in the middle according to the Figure THE PLATFORME OF ONE OF THE VILLAGES OF THE COMOUâ— CHAP. XII Of the Ceremonies and Customs of the People of Comania and Circassia THe Principal of all the Feasts which the Comouchs and Sherkes or Cirkassians make is that which they make at the end of Autumn after this manner Three of the ancientest of the Village are appointed to manage it and to discharge themselves of a Duty impos'd upon them in the company of all the people These three old men take a Sheep or a Goat and having mutter'd certain Prayers over the Beast they cut the throat of it after they have drest it very clean they boil it whole all but the Gathers and them they roast The Sheep being boil'd they set it upon a Table and carry it into a large Barn where the People are appointed to meet There the three old men stand upright before a Table and all the People Men Women and Children behind them When the Table upon which the Meat stands is brought in two of the three old men cut off the Legs and the roasted Gathers and hold them up above their heads and the third holds up a great Cup of Bosa in the same manner to the end the people behind may see them When the people see the Meat and Bosa so lifted up they prostrate themselves upon the ground and so continue till all the rest of the Meat be set upon the lesser Table and that the old men have said some few word Then the two old men that held up the Meat cut off two little pieces and give each of them a piece to him that holds the Cup which being done they take each of them a piece for themselves When they have all three eaten of the meat the old man that holds the Cup drinks first then gives the two old men to drink first to him upon the right hand next to him upon the left never letting go the Cup all the while This first Ceremony being thus accomplish'd the two old men turn toward the Assembly and go and present both of the Meat and the Drink first to their Chief or Lord then to all the people who equally eat their share both men and women That which remains of the four feet is carry'd back to the Table and the three old men eat it This done they go and place themselves at the Table where the Mutton is set where the oldest of the three taking the Head eats a little Morsel after him the second and next to him the third does the same Then the first old man commands the rest to be carry'd to the Lord who receives it with a great deal of respect and after he has giv'n it to his next a-kin or the Friend whom he loves best the Head is giv'n from one to another till it be eat'n up This being done the three old men begin to eat of the Mutton a bit or two and the Lord of the Village is call'd who comes with his Bonnet in his hand in a trembling posture to whom one of the old men presenting a Knife he cuts off a piece of Mutton and eats and having drank a Cup of Bosa he returns to his Seat After him all the people according to their turns in quality do as much and then for the Bones the Children go together by the ears among themselves They have another Feast before they begin to Mow their Meadows at which time all the people of the Village that have wherewithal take every one a Goat for in their Ceremonies they esteem Goats better than Sheep and for the poor they join eight or ten together for a Goat Let them be Goats Sheep or Lambs when they are all brought together they cut their Throats and then flea off the skin leaving the four feet and the Head in it Then they stretch the Skin with sticks that cross from one foot to the other aud set it up on a Pole fix'd in the Earth the top whereof enters into the head of the Beast as is to be seen in the Figure of the Village and as many Beasts as there are kill'd so many Poles are planted in the midst of the Village with every one a particular Skin upon it to which every one that passes by maks a profound obeysance Ev'ry one having boil'd his Goat brings it into the void place in the middle of the Village and sets it upon a great Table with the rest There is the Lord of the Village with his Servants and sometimes the Lord of some other Village is invited Now all this Victuals being upon the Table three of the oldest men of the Village sit down and eat a Bit or two Then they call the Lord of the Town and if there be any other Lord they come both together with some other of the Seniors of the Parish who being set down eat up one of the Beasts which the old men had set apart for them the rest is divided among the people sitting upon the ground There are some Villages where you shall have fifty Goats and Sheep or Lambs and Kids kill'd together at one time As for their Bosa there are some that bring above 200 Pints others more or less according to their quality All the day long they eat and drink and sing and dance to their Flutes a dozen together which are in some measure harmonious as consisting of several parts and decreasing proportionably from the Treble to the Base When the old men have solac'd themselves with eating and drinking they go home and leave the young people Men and Women Boys and Girls to be merry by themselves They stay as long as there is any Drink and the next day they go early to Mowing They have other Ceremonies particular only to their Families Once a year in every House they make a Cross after the Form of a Mallet about five Foot high the two Sticks that compose the Cross being as big as a man's Arm. This the Master of the House sets in the Evening near the Door in his Chamber and calling all his Family together gives them every one a lighted Wax-Candle Then first he fixes his own to the Cross next his Wife sticks hers and so all the Children and Servants If the Children be so young that they cannot do it themselves the Father and Mother do it for them If one of the Candles burn out before it be put out ' tisa Prognostick that he or she that fix'd it there shall not live out their year If the Candle falls then he whose Candle it was shall be robb'd or be forc't to fly for his Life If it thunders all the people run out of the Village and the young people of both Sexes set themselves to singing and dancing in the presence of their Elders And if any one be Thunder-struck they
bury that person honourably believing him to be a Saint Besides that they send over all the Countrey for a white Goat which they breed up and keep in the Village where it happen'd to thunder having it in great veneration till thundring in another place the people send for it thither also If the Thunder fall upon any of their Houses though it kill neither Man Woman Child nor Beast all that Family shall be kept upon the publick stock all that year without being ty'd to any Labour but of Singing and Dancing These people during that time go from Village to Village Dancing and Singing at peoples Doors but never going into their Houses for which the Inhabitants are bound to bring them out something to eat There is a day in the Spring when all that have been struck'n with Thunder meet together in the Village where the white Goat is kept who has always a Cheese hanging about his Neck as big as a Parma-Cheese This Goat they take and carry to the Village of the chief Lord of the Countrey They never go in but the Lord with all the rest of the Village coming out they all together prostrate themselves before the Goat Having said some Prayers they take away his Cheese and immediately put another in its place The Cheese which was taken away is at the same time cut into little pieces and distributed among the people After that they give the Strangers to eat and bestow their Alms upon them so that by this wandring from Village to Village they get good store of Money They have among them but only one Book and it is as big as one of our largest Folio's and it lies in the hands of an old man who has only the priviledge to touch it When that old man is dead they choose another old man to keep the Book whose Duty it is to go from Village to Village where he hears of any sick people He carries the Book with him and after he has lighted up a Wax-Candle and put the people out of the Room he lays the Book upon the Stomach of the sick person opens it and reads in it then blows over it sev'ral times so that the Breath passes toward the mouth of the Party Then he causes the party diseas'd to kiss the Book several times and as often lays it upon his head which is a Ceremony of half an hour When the old man goes away one gives him a Beef or a Heifer another gives him a Goat every one according to their Quality and Estate They have also Old Women that take upon them to cure the Sick These Women feel the body of the sick party all over but more particularly they handle and grope that part where the distemper lies during which time they let go several belches out of their mouthes and the more sick the party is the louder and thicker they fetch their belches The standers by hearing them belch in that manner and fetch such vilanous sighs from their stomacks believe their friend to be dangerously ill and that the louder the Women belch the more ease and comfort they receive but whether they do or no the women are well payd for their pains When any one feels a pain in the Head they send for the Barber who gives two cutts upon the Head across with the rasor and then poures Oyl into the wound For they believe the Head-ache proceeds only from a wind beeween the flesh and the bone for which the Incision opens a paslage to let it out At their Funerals they that are the near Relations or Friends of the dead some cut their faces and other parts of their Bodies with sharp flints others prostrate themselves upon the ground and tear their hair so that when they return from the Burial they are all of a gore blood However notwithstanding all this affliction they never pray for the Dead As to their Marriages When a young man has seen a Virgin which he has a liking to he sends one of his friends to agree with her Parents or her Tutor what he will give for her Commonly the guist consists in Horses Cows or some other sort of Cattel When the agreement is made the Parents and Kindred of the party thereby contracted together with the Lord of the place go to the House where the Virgin lives and bring her to the Bridegrooms House where there is a Feast ready prepar'd and after they have made merry and sung and danc'd for a while the Bridegroom and Bride go and lye together without any other Ceremony If the Man and Maid are of two Parishes the Lord of the Village where the Man lives accompany him and his Kindred to the next Village altogether to fetch the Bride from thence If a Man and the Wife have no Children he is permitted to take several Wives one after another till he have Issue If a marri'd Woman have a Gallant and that the Husband should come and find his Wise a bed with him he goes away again without saying a word and never takes any further notice of it The Woman also in the same case does the like by the man Nay the more Gallants a Woman has the more she is respected And it is a common custom when they fall out to taunt one another that if they were not ugly or ill natur'd or diseas'd they would have more Admirers than they have The People are of an excellent Complexion especially the Women who are extreamly fair and finely shap'd and keep their beauty till five and forty or fifty years They are very laborious and work themselves in the Iron Mines which they melt afterwards and forge into several Tooles and Implements They make abundance of Embroidery of Gold and Silver for their Saddles their Quivers and their Pumps as also upon the Calicut of which they make their Handkerchiefs If the man and the woman happen to quarrel often together so that they cannot be reconcil'd the Husband complaining first to the Lord of the Place He sends for the Woman and having giv'n order to sell her gives the Man another But if the Woman complain first the Man is serv'd the same sawce If a Man or Woman be a disturber of their Neighbours if the Neighbours complain to the Lord he presently causes the party to be apprehended and sold to the Merchants that buy Slaves for they are resolv'd they will live in quiet They that take upon them the quality of Gentlemen sit still do nothing and speak very little In an evening they ride out and meet some twenty or thirty together to go a stealing Nor do they rob only their Enemies but their Neighbours from whom the chief prey which they take are Cattle and Slaves All the Country-people are Slaves to the Lord of the Village where they live whom he imploys to till his Land and cut Wood for him upon occasion of which they spend vast quantities For not being very warm clad they keep fire all night
that Ispahan seems rather a Forrest than a City The Plain being fertile is well inhabited but there are no Villages in it only three or four Houses in a place together The Walls of Ispahan are of Earth to which do belong some pittiful Towers without Battlements or Platforms Bastions or Redoubts or any other Fortification The Moats also are as bad neither broad nor deep but always dry In some places also the people have beaten down great gaps in the Wall to get the nearest way into the City yet they reckon ten Gates which are but of Earth however and of no defence the chief of which are Der-Vasalsehab not far from the King's Palace Der-Tokshi Der-Mark Der-Vasal-Lembon Der-Nasan-Abad Der-Sha and Der-Dekt The Gates are made of Planks rudely joyn'd together and cover'd with plates of Iron four fingers broad and as thick as a Crown fasten'd with flat-headed Nails The Keys are never carry'd to the Governour but left with a silly Porter that op'ns and shuts the Gates as he pleases himself for indeed there is no necessity of shutting the Gates when there are so many other ways into the City The City of Ispahan is ill laid out for the Streets are narrow and unequal and for the most part dark because of the Arches that go from one House to another so that a man is forc'd sometimes to feel his way for two hundred paces Moreover the Streets are many times annoy'd with Loads of Ordure and the Carcasses of dead Beasts which cause a most filthy stench and would be very infectious certainly but for the wholesomness of the Air. In the most part of the Streets are Wells which are stop'd up in Summer and open'd in the Winter to carry away the Rain and the Snow into the Arch'd Channels which run under Ground through the middle of the Street There are also before every Door certain Troughs to receive the filth and ordure of every Family which the Country-men come and carry away to Dung their Grounds Every morning the Country-man comes with his Ass to lade Dung and it is observable that he is more diligent to carry away the Dung of the Armenians Franks and Jews that drink Wine than of the Persians that drink none And this is the profit of the Servants of the House that sell an Asses Load of Dung for five and sometimes for ten or twelve Kasbeshé The Streets of Ispahan as of all the rest of the Cities of Persia are not pav'd which makes them very incommodious both Summer and Winter For in the Summer the dust puts out your Eyes unless it be in the Streets where the great Merchants live and about the Meydan where there are people hir'd to water the Streets Morning Noon and Night Those people go about the Streets also with a Boracho full of Water and a Glass with Ice in a Bag to give them drink that desire it Nor do they take any money being paid out of the Legacies left by persons deceased for that purpose In the Winter this dust turns to mire half the leg deep though it be very true that there are very few people to be seen then in the Street for in regard of the vaulted Channels that run through every Street should the soak'd Earth chance to fail under the Horse it might endanger a Limb. Besides the Persians are so superstitious that they will hardly receive a man within their doors with a spot of Dirt upon his Cloathes for fear of being defil'd by him You shall also meet with little Holes against the Walls of the Houses in the op'n Street where the Persians are not asham'd to squat and Piss in the face of all the World If there be any running Water in the Street they take a little in their Hands and wash their Member with it or if there be no Water they rub it against a Stone or the Wall which they take for a great piece of gentility and modesty That which farther contributes to the nastiness of the Streets of Ispahan is that the Butchers throw the Blood and Excrements of the Beasts which they kill into the Streets If a Horse or a Mule a Camel or an Ass dye they presently throw him into the Street True it is that there are people who come presently to buy it of the Owner who make Harissé which they sell to the poor Work-men This Harissé is thus prepar'd they boyl the flesh of the dead Beast with Corn and after it is well boyl'd they mash it together 'till it becomes like a Pottage They also make Harissé of good Mutton both which sorts they sell in the Market-place or great Meydan of the City Though the City of Ispahan be dirty yet there is a way for persons of ability to avoid it for they never stir but on Horse-back with two or three Lackeys call'd Chatres that run before to make room For the Men are all upon the false Gallop in the Streets without any fear of hurting the Children by reason that the Children are not suffer'd to play in the Streets like ours but as soon as ever they come from School they sit down by their Parents to be instructed by them in their Profession These Valets or Foot-men make a Trade of Running of which the King and the Lords have several in their service it being a piece of grandeur to keep a great many They serve from Father to Son undergoing an Apprentiship in Running From six to seven years of age they only set themselves to walk slowly The next year they run a League at a time upon a handsom trot the next year after they run two or three Leagues and so proportionably for the rest At eighteen years of age they are allow'd a Scrip of Flowr with a flat piece of Copper to bake their Bread upon and a Bottle of Water all which they carry about them when they run For these people when they are sent Post never take the Caravan-Road but the shortest cuts through the Deserts and must therefore accustom themselves to carry their Provision The King and the Lords have no Chatres but what are Masters which degree they are not to arrive at without some Ceremony and performing a Race like our Jemmy and the Butcher of Croyden If he be a Lord that owns the Chater who desires to be a Master he sends for all his Friends sets up a Scaffold in the Meydan provides a Collation and sends for the Curtisans to divert the Company Now there is not one of these Guests that does not bring something to give this Chater after the Race is run either a Bonnet or a Girdle or some other thing part of which the Chater gives to his fellows Then the Chater appears with his Legs greas'd his Thighs bare only a slight short pair of loose Breeches and a Girdle with three little Bells hanging upon his Belly Thus accouter'd he starts from Ali-Capi and between Sun-rising and Sun-setting he runs backward and forward to a
is very little among them If you receive one false Roupie in a Bagg from any particular person 't is better to cut it to pieces and lose it than to speak of it for if it should come to be known there might be danger in it For you are commanded by the King's Law to return the Bagg where you received it and to return it from one to another till you can find out the Counterfeiter who if he be apprehended is only sentenc'd to lose his hand If the Counterfeiter cannot be found and that it be thought that he who paid the Money is not guilty he is acquitted upon some small amercement This brings great profit to the Changers For when there is any Summ of Money received or paid the Merchants cause him to look it over and for their pains they have one sixteenth of a Roupie in the hundred As for the Money which is paid out of the Sarquet or King's Exchequer there is never any found that is counterfeit For all the Money that is carried in thither is exactly view'd by the King's Bankers The Great Lords have also their particular Bankers Before they put up the Money into the Treasury they throw it into a great Charcoal-fire and when the Roupies are red-hot they quench the fire by throwing water upon it and then take out the Money If there be any Piece that is white or that has the least mark of Alloy it is presently cut in pieces As often as these Roupies are carried into the Treasury they mark the Pieces with a Puncheon which makes an hole but not quite through and there are some Pieces that have seven or eight holes made in that manner to shew that they have been so many times in the Exchequer They are all put a thousand Pieces together in a bagg seal'd with the Seal of the great Treasurer and the number of years superscrib'd since they were coin'd And here you are to take notice whence the Treasurers profit arises as well that of the King's Treasurer as that of the particular Treasurers of the Great Lords of the Kingdom When there is any bargain made they agree for new Roupies coin'd the same year but when they come to receive the payment the Treasurers will make it in old Roupies wherein there is a loss of six per Cent. So that if they will have new Silver the Merchants must compound with the Treasurer In my fift Voyage I went to visit Cha-Est-Kan according to my promise to let him have the first sight of what I brought along with me So that as soon as I arrived at Suratt I sent him word and received his Orders to meet him at Choupart a City in the Province of Decan to which he had laid Siege Coming to him in a little time and a few words I sold him the greatest part of what I had brought along with me out of Europe And he told me that he expected every day that Money should be sent him from Suratt to pay the Army and to pay me also at the same time for what he had bought of me I could not imagin however that so great a Prince as he that commanded so great an Army had not store of Money by him but rather conjectur'd that he had an intention to make me some abatement upon those Pieces which he would put upon me in payment as he had serv'd me before It fell out as I faresaw But for Provisions for my self my Men and my Horses he took such order that there was great plenty brought me night and morning and for the most part he sent for me my self to his own Table Ten or twelve days thus past away and not a word of the Money that I expected So that being resolv'd to take my leave of him I went to his Tent. He appeared to be somewhat surpriz'd and looking upon me with a frowning-brow wherefore will you be gone said he before you are paid or who d' you think shall pay you afterwards if you go away before you receive your Money Upon these words with a countenance as stern as his my King replied I will see me paid For his goodness is such that he causes all his Subjects to be paid that have not received satisfaction for such Goods as they sell in forreign Countries And what course will he take answer'd he in a great choler with two or three stout Men of War said I which he will send either to the Port of Suratt or toward the Coasts to wait for the Ships that come from Mocca He seemed to be netled at that reply but not daring to give any more way to his choler he ordered his Treasurer immediately to give me a Letter of Exchange to Aurengabad I was the more glad of that because it was a place through which I was to pass in my way to Golcanda besides that it would spare me the carriage and the hazards of my Money The next day I had my Bill of Exchange and took leave of the Prince who was nothing displeased but told me that if I return'd to the Indies I should not fail to come and see him which I did in my sixt and last Voyage When I came to Suratt he was at Bengala where I sold him all the rest of my Goods that I could not put off either to the King of Persia or the Great Mogul But to return to the payment of my Money I was no sooner arrived at Aurenggabat but I went to find the great Treasurer who no sooner saw me but he told me he knew wherefore I came that he had received Letters of advice three days before and that he had already taken the Money out of the Treasury to pay me When he had brought me all the Baggs I caused my Banker to open them who saw them to be Roupies by which I was to lose two in the hundred Upon that I thank'd the Treasurer very heartily telling him I understood no such dealing and that I would send and complain of him to Cha-Est-Kam and declare to him that he should either give order that I should be paid in new Silver or else let me have my Goods again which I presently did But not receiving an answer so soon as I knew I might have done I went to the Treasurer and told him I would go my self and fetch away my Goods I believe he had received order what to do for seeing I was resolved to go he told me he was very unwilling I should put my self to so much trouble and that it would be better for us to agree among our selves After many contests about the two in the hundred which he would have made me lose I was contented to abate one and had lost the other had I not happily met with a Banker who wanted Silver and had a Bill of Exchange to pay at Golconda so that he was glad to make use of mine and gave me a Bill to be paid at Golconda being my full Summ
they set up their Tents in great Enclosures and in the same manner lodg'd the Reverend Jesuit that was at Court Gehanabad as well as Dehly is a great City and there is nothing but a single Wall that makes the separation All the Houses of particular men consist of great Enclosures in the midst whereof is the place for Lodgings The greatest part of the Lords do not live in the City but have their Houses without for the conveniency of the water As you enter into Gehanabad from Dehly you meet with a long and broad Street on each side whereof are Vaults where the Merchants keep shops being only plat-form'd at the top This street ends in the great Piazza before the King's House and there is another very fair and large Street that runs toward another Gate of the same Palace in which live the great Merchants that keep no Shops The King's Palace takes up above half a league in circuit The Walls are of fair cut-Stone with Battlements The Moats are full of water pav'd with Free-stone The great Gate of the Palace has nothing in it of magnificence no more than the first Court into which the great Lords may enter upon their Elephants Having past that Court you enter into another long and large passage with fair Portico's on both sides Under which are several little Chambers where part of the Horse-Guard lies These Portico's are rais'd some two foot above the ground and the Horses which are ti'd without feed upon the steps In some places there are great Gates that lead to several Apartments as to the Womens Lodgings and to the Seat of Justice In the midst of the passage runs a Cut full of water leaving a fair Walk on each side where at equal distances are little Basons or Fountains This long Passage carries you into a great Court where the Omra's that is to say the great Lords of the Kingdom such as the Basha's in Turkey and the Kan's in Persia keep Guard in Person They have low Lodgings round about the Court and their Horses are ti'd to their doors From this second Court you pass into a third through a great Portal on one side whereof there is a little Hall rais'd some two or three steps high from the ground This is the Wardrobe where the Royal Garments are kept and from whence the King sends for the Calaat or a whole Habit for a man when he would honour any Stranger or any one of his own Subjects A little farther under the same Portal is the place where the Drums Trumpets and Hautboys are laid up which they sound and beat a little before the King enters into his Judgment-Seat to give notice to the Omrah's and they make the same noise when the King is ready to rise Entring into the third Court you see the Divan before you where the King gives Audience This is a great Hall rais'd some four-foot-high above the superficies of the Court with three sides open Thirty-two Pillars sustain as many Arches and these Columns are about four-foot-square with Pedestals and Mouldings When Cha-jehan first began to build this Hall he intended to have enrich'd it and inlaid it all over with those Stones that seem to be naturally painted like those in the Great Duke of Tuscany's Chappel But having made a trial upon two or three Pillars about two or three-foot-high he found that there would not be Stones enough of that sort in the World to finish the work besides the vastness of the Sum it would come to So that he left off his design contenting himself with a Painting of several flowers In the middle of this Hall next to the side which looks toward the Court there is a Throne erected upon a kind of Theater where the King gives Audience and pronounces Judgment The Throne is a little Bed with four Columns about the bigness of one of our Field-Beds with a Canopy Backpiece Boulster and Counterpoint all embroider'd with Diamonds Besides all this when the King comes to sit upon the Throne they throw over the Bed a Coverlet of Cloath of Gold or some other richly-embroider'd Silk and he ascends by three little steps two-foot-broad On one side of the Bed is erected an Umbrello upon a Staff as long as an Half-Pike Upon one of the Pillars of the Throne hangs one of the King's Weapons upon another his Buckler upon another his Scimetar and then his Bow and Quiver of Arrows and other things of the same nature Below the Throne there is a place some twenty-foot-square encompast with Balusters which at some times are cover'd with Plates of Silver at other times with Plates of Gold At the four Corners of this small enclosure sit the four Secretaries of State who as well in Civil as Criminal Causes do the duty of Advocates Many Lords stund about this Balostrade and there is also the Musick plac'd that plays all the while the King is in the Divan This Musick is so sweet and soft that it never takes off the mind from the seriousness of business at that time manag'd The King being sat upon his Throne some great Lord stands by him generally it is some one of his own Children Between eleven a Clock and Noon the Nahab who is the chief Minister of State like the Grand Vizier in Turkey makes a report to the King of what has past in the Chamber where he Presides which is at the Entry of the first Court and when he has done speaking the King rises For you must take notice that from the time that the King is sate upon his Throne till he rises no person whatsoever is permitted to stir out of the Palace and yet I can say that the King dispenc'd with my performance of this Law so generally observ'd by all the Court The occasion whereof was thus in short Being one day going out of the Palace while the King was sitting in the Divan upon some urgent business that would admit of no delay the Captain of the Guards held me by the arm and told me I should go no farther I contested and argued the Case with him for some time but finding his usage to be very boisterous I lifted up my Cane and had certainly strook him in my passion had not two or three of the Guards that saw all the passages held my hand Happily for me at that time the Nahab who was then the King's Unckle came by and being informed of the ground of our quarrel order'd the Captain of the Guards to let me go After that he made a report to the King how the matter stood and toward evening the Nahab sent me one of his Servants to tell me it was his Majesty's pleasure that I might come in or go out of the Palace though he were sitting in the Divan as I pleas'd my self for which I went the next day and return'd thanks to the Nahab Toward the middle of the same Court there is a small Channel some five or six inches broad
Rock We inform'd him of the cause of our coming telling him that we had some commodities that were rare and worth the King 's buying but that we were unwilling to shew them to the King till he had seen them believing it our duty to render him that respect The Nahab was very well-pleas'd with our Complement and after he had caus'd us to be presented with Betlé we took our leaves of him and return'd to our Lodgings whither he sent to us two Bottles of Wine one of Sack and the other of Sohiras which is a rare thing in that Countrey The fourth day we waited upon him again and carried along with us some Pearles of an extraordinary weight beauty and bigness the least whereof weighed twenty four Caratts After he had vewd them and shew'd them to some of the Lords that were about him he ask'd the price which when we had set him he return'd us our Jewels and told us he would consider of it The tenth day he sent for us in the morning and after he had caus'd us to sit down by him he sent for five small Bags full of Diamonds every Bag containing a good handful They were loose Stones of a very black Water and very small none of them exceeding a Carat or a Carat and a half but otherwise very clean There were some few that might weigh two Carats After the Nahab had shew'n us all he ask'd us whether they would sell in our Country We made answer that they might have been for sale in our Country provided they had not been of a black Water for that in Europe we never esteem'd any Diamonds but such as were clean and white having but a small esteem for any others It seems that when he first undertook the Conquest of this Kingdom for the King of Golconda they inform'd him that there were Diamond Mines in it Whereupon he sent twelve thousand men to dig there who in a whole years time could find no more than those five small Bags full Whereupon the Nahab perceiving that they could find none but brown Stones of a Water enclining much more to black than white thought it but loss of time and so sent all the people back to their Husbandry The eleventh the French Canoneers came all to the Nahabs Tent complaining that he had not paid them the four months pay which he had promis'd them threatning him that if he did not discharge it they would leave him to which the Nahab promis'd to give them satisfaction the next day The twelfth the Canoneers not failing to give him another visit the Nahab paid them three months and promis'd to pay them the fourth before the month were out but so soon as they had receiv'd their Money they fell a feasting one another so that the Dancing Wenches carried away the greatest part of their Coin The thirteenth the Nahab went to see the Guns which Maille had undertaken to cast For which purpose he had sent for Brass from all parts and got together a great number of Idols which the Soldiers had pillag'd out of the Pagods as they march'd along Now you must know that in Gandicot there was one Pagod said to be the fairest in all India wherein there were several Idols some of Gold and others of Silver among the rest there were six of Brass three sitting upon their Heels and three upon their Feet ten foot high These Idols ' were made use of among the rest But when Maille also had provided all things ready he could not make those six Idols run that were taken out of the great Pagod of Gandicot though he melted all the rest He try'd several ways but it was impossible for him to do it whatever expence the Nahab was at nay though the Nahab threaten'd to hang the Priests for having inchanted those Idols And thus Maille could never make any more than only one single piece and that split upon trial so that he was forc'd to leave the work unfinish'd and soon after left the Nahabs service The fourteenth we went to take our leaves of the Nahab and to know what he had further to say to us concerning the Commodities we had then shew'n him But then he told us he was busie at present about the examination of certain Offenders which were brought before him For it is the custom of that Country never to put a man in Prison but as soon as the Offender is taken he is examin'd and sentence is pronounc'd upon him according to his crime which is immediately executed or if the party taken be found innocent he is as soon acquitted And let the controversie be of what nature it will it is presently decided The fifteenth in the morning we went to wait upon him again and were immediately admitted into his Tent where he sate with his two Secretaries by him The Nahab was sitting according to the custom of the Country bare-foot like one of our Taylors with a great number of Papers sticking between his Toes and others between the Fingers of his left hand which Papers he drew somtimes from between his Toes sometimes from between his Fingers and order'd what answers should be given to every one After his Secretaries had wrote the answers he caus'd them to read them and then took the Letters and seal'd them himself giving some to Foot Messengers others to Horsemen For you must know that all those Letters which are sent by Foot-Posts all over India go with more speed than those which are carried by Horsemen The reason is because at the end of every two Leagues there are little Huts where there are men always ready who are engag'd to run away immediately so that when one of these men that carries the Letters comes to one of these Huts he throws the Letters into the Hut and then he that is appointed runs with them to the next Stage They look upon it as an ill Omen to give the Letters into the Messengers hands but they must be thrown at his feet and he must gather them up It is to be observ'd also that the Highways in most parts of India are like Walks of Trees and that where there are no Trees at every five hundred paces distance there are set up little Heaps of Stones which the Inhabitants of the next Villages are bound to white-wash from time to time to the end those Letter-Carriers may not miss their ways in dark and Rainy nights While we stay'd with the Nahab certain Officers came to tell him that they had brought certain Offenders to the door of his Tent. He was above half an hour before he return'd them any answer writing on and giving instructions to his Secretaries but by and by all of a sudden he commanded the Offenders to be brought in and after he had examin'd them and made them consess the crime of which they stood accus'd he was above an hour before he said a word still writing on and employing his Secretaries In the mean while several