that were upon the Trees to the number of sixty came down in a great fury to have leap'd into the Presidents Coach where they would soon have strangled him had we not prevented them by closing the Shutters and had we not had a great number of Servants that with much ado kept them off And though they came not to my Coach yet I was very much afraid of my self for they pursued the President 's Coach above a League and they were stout lusty Monkeys From Amadabat to Panser costes 13 From Panser to Masana costes 14 From Masana to Chitpour costes 14 Chitpour is a very good City so called by reason of the great Trade for painted-Calicuts which are called Chites Near which some four or five-hundred paces toward the South there runs a small River Arriving at Chitpour in one of my Voyages I pitch'd my Tent under two or three Trees at the end of a wide-place neer the Town A little while after I saw four or five Lions appear which were brought to be tam'd which they told me took them up five or six months and their way to do it is this They tye the Lions at twelve paces distance one from another by the hinder-legs with a Rope fasten'd to a great woodden-stake set deep in the ground with another cord about the neck which the Master holds in his hand These Stakes are planted in the same Line and in another Parallel they stretch out another Cord as long as the space which the bodies of the Lions so dispos'd of as I have describ'd take up The two Cords which hold the Lion ty'd by the two hinder-feet give him liberty to spring out as far as that long Cord which is a mark to those that stand to provoke and incense the Lions by throwing stones and pieces of wood at them not to venture any farther The people run to see the sight and when the Lion provok'd gives a spring toward the Cord the Master holds another in his hand ty'd about his neck that pulls him back Thus they accustom the Lion by degrees to be familiar with the people and at my coming to Chiapour I saw this Divertisement without stirring out of my Coach The next day I had another meeting with a knot of Faquirs or Mahometan Dervichs I counted fifty-seven among whom he that was the Chief or Superior had been Grand Esquire to Cha-jehan-guir having left the Court when Sultan Boulaki his youngest Son was strangl'd by Order of Cha-jehan there were four others who next to the Superior were chief of the Company who had been also great Lords in the same Cha-jehan's Court All the Cloaths those five Dervichs had were only four ells of Orange-colour-Calicut to hide what modesty will have hid before and behind and every one of them a Tygers-skin over their shoulders ty'd together under their chins They had led before them eight fair Horses saddl'd and bridl'd three whereof had Bridles of Gold and Saddles cover'd with Plates of Gold and the other five had Bridles of Silver cover'd with Plates of Silver and a Leopard's-skin upon every one The other Dervichs had only a Cord for their Girdle to which was fasten'd a piece of Calicut only to cover their private parts Their hair was ty'd in wreaths round about their heads after the manner of a Turbant They were all well-arm'd the most part with Bows and Arrows some with Muskets and others with Half-pikes with another sort of weapon which we have not in Europe that is to say a sharp piece of Iron like the side of a Platter without a bottom which they wind eight or ten times about their necks and carry like a Calves Chaldron They draw out these Iron-Circles as they intend to make use of them and they will throw them with such a force against a man that they shall fly as swift as an Arrow and go very neer to cut a man in two in the middle They had every one besides all this an Hunting-Horn which they wind making a prodigious noise when they come to any place and when they go away together with a Grater or Rasp being an Iron-Instrument made like a Trowel This is an Instrument which the Indians carry generally about them when they travel to scrape and make clean the places where they intend to rest and some of them when they have scrap'd all the dust together into an heap make use of it instead of a Mattress or Pillow to lie easily upon There were some of them that were arm'd with long Tucks which they had bought either of the English or Portugals Their Luggage consisted of four great Chests full of Persian and Arabian Books and some Kitchen-housholdstuff They had also ten or twelve Oxen to carry their sick When the Dervichs came to the place where I lay with my Coach having about fifty persons with me as well of the people of the Countrey as of my own servants the Chief or Superior of the Troop seeing me so well-attended enquir'd what Aga that was and desir'd me to let him have that place which I had taken up as being the most convenient in all that place for him and his Dervichs to lodg When they told me the quality of the Chief and the four Dervichs that attended him I was willing to be civil and to yield to their request and thereupon I left them the place free After they had well-water'd the place and laid the dust they lighted two fires as if it had been in the frost and snow for the five principal Dervichs who sate and chaf'd themselves before and behind That very evening after they had supp'd the Governour of the Town came to complement the principal Dervichs and during their stay sent them Rice and other things which they are accustom'd to eat When they come to any place the Superior sends some of his Crew a begging into the Towns and Villages and what Alms they get is presently distributed equally among them every one of them taking care to boil his own Rice What is over and above they give to the Poor in the evening for they reserve nothing till next day From Chitpour to Balampour costes 12 From Balampour to Dantivar costes 11 From Dantivar to Bargant costes 17 Bargant is in the Territories of a Raja to whom you pay duties In one of my journeys to Agra passing through Bargant I did not see the Raja but only his Lieutenant who was very civil to me and made me a Present of Rice Butter and Fruit in season To make him amends I gave him three Shashes of Gold and Silk four Handkerchiefs of painted Linnen and two Bottles the one full of Aquavitae and the other full of Spanish-Wine At my departure he sent a Convoy of twenty Horse four or five leagues along with me One evening being about to lodg upon the Frontiers of the Territories of the Raja of Bargant my people came to me and told me that if we took the Road through
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
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
Prince to death But when they had dissipated her fears and that she understood that they came to set him upon the Throne by the command of his Grandfather she embrac'd the young Prince and return'd him into the hands of the Eunuchs When he was come out of the Haram the two Lords attended by several others saluted him King and acknowledg'd him for their Soveraign At the same time they took off his Clothes and tore them which in Persia is a mark of mourning and according to custom put him on another plain Garment which he wore till midnight Then they disrob'd him again and put him on his Royal Robes and set him upon the Throne where all the Lords came and did him homage and the next day he was acknowledg'd by all the Acclamations of the people For when the Royal Habit is put upon the new King the Drums Trumpets Timbrels Hautboys and other Instruments make a din in a peculiar place of the Meydan appointed for that purpose Which is the Signal to give notice to the people to meet the next morning to acknowledg the new King Sha-Sefi for many years was a Novice in the art of Government But time opening his eyes the first remarkable thing which he did being at Casbin was to cut off the head of Ali-Kouli-Kan that great Captain who had conquer'd the Kingdoms of Lar and Ormus for Sha Abbas and the heads of three of his Sons After that returning to Ispahan he cut off the heads of seven of the principal Lords of his Court and by little and little took the Government into his own hands Of those Lords whom Jani-Kan was the chief For 't is thought that Sha Abbas had left a private order with Mirza Také and the Dowager Sultaness to rid themselves of those Lords so soon as Sha-Sefi should be setl'd in his Throne and that they had plac'd Governors in all places where in the King might confide These Lords having smoak'd the private order of Sha-Abbas and believing that the time of execution drew near prevented the Athemadoulet Mirza Také for meeting one morning before the Palace-door they kill'd the Porter and entring his Bed-Chamber stab'd him before he could rise After this execution they went to the King whom Jani-Kan boldly told that they had slain Mirza Také The King at that time dissembling his anger at so bold an enterprize and an attempt upon the Royal Authority answer'd him that he had done very well and that he had prevented those orders which he intended to have giv'n him The Sultaness his Mother then govern'd the Kingdom together with the Athemadoulet from whom she receiv'd four hundred Ducats in Gold every day for her little pleasures and held a private Council with him in her Haram where he had free admission as being cut close In this Council it was that these two persons overthrew in the night whatever the Lords concluded in the day chang'd the Kings mind and over-rul'd his thoughts as they pleas'd themselves by vertue of that power which they had over him Eight or nine days after as these Lords were sitting in Council with the King an Eunuch enter'd which was the signal for the King to get out of the way and as soon as the King was gone the Chamber was fill'd with Eunuchs that rushing in immediately fell upon Jani-Kan and his Accomplices and cut off their heads Their heads and bodies were immediately expos'd to the view of the people in the Meydan and for that it is not the custom in Persia to take any cognizance of what the King does the most part of the people spurning the heads with their feet cry'd one to another See the heads of those Dogs that have disobey'd the will of the King I told ye that Mirza Také was clean cut which occasions a particular story He was Governour of Guilan in the Reign of Sha Abbas and having abus'd one of his Pages the young Ladd stole secretly to Ispahan and made his complaint to the King who having heard it immediately sent him to be Governour of Guilan in the place of Mirza Také and order'd him to send him his head by one of the Officers which he dispatch'd along with him The King also in regard the Page was very young appointed him a person able to advise him in his affairs In the mean while Mirza Také missing his Page and making no question but he was gone to make his complaint to the King which would of necessity prove his ruin if not prevented he resolv'd to divert the storm by punishing himself and caus'd that part to be cut clean off that committed the crime At the same time and in that bad condition wherein he then was he caus'd himself to be put into a Litter and taking his Chirurgeon along with him he gets to Ispahan by another way which was not usually travel'd for fear of meeting the Page and causing himself to be carry'd into the Palace in that pitiful and languishing estate desir'd to speak with the King who was surpriz'd at his arrival But the Kan having presented him in a Plate of Gold with the undoubted marks of his repentance besought his Majesties pardon Whereupon the King considering the rigor and extraordinary punishment which he had inflicted upon himself sent him back to his Government and recall'd the Page whom he otherways gratifi'd And this was the man whom Sha Abbas upon his Death-bed order'd that Sha-Sefi should make Athemadoulet as being the fittest for the employment of any person in his Kingdom Sha-Sefi not content to have rid himself of the Lords that had presum'd to invade his Authority was resolv'd to have the head of Ali-merdan-Kan Governour of Candahar of whom he was jealous by reason of his vast riches his Plate being all Gold and his House as magnificently furnish'd as the Kings But the King could not bring about his design for the Kan being press't to come to Court and believing it was only to take away his head to free himself from the danger deliver'd Candahar to the Great Mogul by whom he was kindly entertain'd and highly caress'd Neither was Ali-merdan-Kan's wealth of his own getting but left him by inheritance as being descended from the ancient Kings of Candahar who were originally Tartars Now whatever favours or advancement the Great Mogul bestow'd upon Ali-merdan-Kan the same did the Persian King bestow upon his two Sons whereas all the world believ'd that after such a piece of Treason committed by their Father the King would have ript up their bellies This piece of policy of Sha-Sefi was very advantageous to Sha-Abbas the second when he besieg'd Candahar with fifty thousand men For the greatest part of the Moguls Army being compos'd of Persians they remembring how kindly Sha-Sefi had us'd the two Sons of Ali-merdan-Kan made little resistance against the King of Persia who enter'd Candahar in a small time The Great Mogul troubl'd at the loss ask'd Ali-merdan-Kan by what means he might retake
that were at Casbin were call'd The three Sons of Iman-Kouli-Kan were of the number but the Father excus'd himself as well by reason of his age as also representing to his Majesty that it better befitted him to employ his time in taking care of his affaires and in praying for his Majesty however if it were his Majesties express command he would not fail to obey to which the King return'd for answer that the Kan of Schiras was at his liberty to do as he thought fit The third day of the Feast the King rose from his Seat and going out of the Hall without speaking a word to any person went into a Room hard by Half an hour after three sturdy resolute Fellows with some other Ragamuffin attendants entring the Hall with their Scimeters drawn seiz'd upon the Kans three Sons and cut off their heads They were put into a Gold Bason and presented to the King who commanded the Fellows to carry them to their Father and as soon as he had seen them to take off his head to make the fourth The Assassinates found him at his prayers but being interrupted to see the heads of his three Sons he desir'd leave only to conclude which having done with a countenance undisturb'd and without any other words or expressions in his mouth than what is usually said among the Persians Let the Kings will be done he submitted to a death which he might have easily avoided The four heads were brought back to the King to be sent into the Haram to his Mother So soon as he had taken off the heads of the Father and the three Sons the King dispatch'd away certain Chappars or Courriers with order to the Lieutenant of the Kan to put to death all the rest of the Children The command was obey'd and they were all put to death but only two that were at Nurse whom their Nurses so well conceal'd that never any tidings could be heard either of the Nurses or of the Children After the death of Iman-Kouli-Kan the Province of Schiras with its dependances has been govern'd by a Vizir who agrees with the King what Rent to pay him yearly In the years 1665 and 1666 the Vizir gave him fifty thousand Tomans a year But in the year 1667 the King abated him eight thousand Tomans in regard he had taken from him a small part of his Government to pleasure a Favourite Besides what the Governour of Schiras pays to the King in ready Money he is oblig'd every year to send him a present of all the rarities that grow on are bred in the Province These Presents consist in Horses of which there is the best breed of any Province of Persia. In Granates Oranges and Lemons sweet Oils and Waters of several sorts especially Oil of Roses with which the women rub their bodies and heads and the water of a certain Flower that grows upon a tree not much unlike our Willows which water is call'd Arak-Bilmitshe which is a great refreshment to those that use it besides other Oils and Essences which the Governour is oblig'd to present Yet were he only oblig'd to present the King the expence might be born well enough but for fear of being displac'd by any other Favourite he is constrain'd to make Friends of all the other great Lords and Favourites at Court which there is no way to do but by continual presents Whereas the ancient Kans who were a kind of petty Soveraigns in their Governments were only wont to send a few Baskets of new Fruits in their season for the service of the Kings Table To defray this expence the Governours are forc'd to tyrannize over the people who when they come as many times they do two or three Villages together to complain to the King are forc'd after long waiting to return with empty Purses home again by reason that they who should give them admission are the only persons that debar them from it and patiently to submit to the Extortions of the Vizir which is a piece of policy practis'd likewise by all the other Kans and Governours of the Persian Provinces As for Sha-Sefi himself he was very severe and one whose punishments oft'n amounted to acts of cruelty One day being a hunting a poor Countryman appear'd from behind a Rock with a paper in his hand being deputed by the Village to make some complaint to the King But while the poor man cry'd for justice the King without making any answer shot two arrows into his body and slew him That which mov'd Sha-Sefi to this act of cruelty was because he had some of his Wives with him in company For then there is no mercy to those poor people that happ'n to be in the way where the King chances to pass by no not for them that are in the Country round about where the Eunuchs have order to kill all men they meet When the King gives notice of his intention to carry his Wives into the Country this is call'd Courouk and there is nothing more troublesome nor more inconvenient in the world to the poor people that live in the Villages through which these women are to pass for upon notice giv'n them they must leave their Houses for a League or two of either side When there is a Courouk at Ispahan let the weather be never so bad the people must leave their Houses and if they have no Friends in some distant quarter to retire to they have no way but to repair to the Mountains Such is the excess of the jealousie of the Kings of Persia which indeed derives it self to all his Subjects who will not permit their women to be seen by any but their own Husbands The Persians both men and women are so addicted to take Tobacco that to take their Tobacco from them is to take away their lives So that if the King should prohibit Tobacco for any time he would lose a good part of his revenue However Sha-Sefi in a humor having once forbidd'n Tobacco to be taken in any part of his Dominion his Spies that are in every City found in the Indian Inn two rich Merchants of that Nation smoaking their noses Immediately they were seiz'd bound and carry'd to the King who commanded forthwith that Justice should be done upon them in the Meidan which was that they should pour melted lead down their throates till they were dead The people thought the King had only intended to have scar'd them and would have repriev'd them upon the place Insomuch that four Banians went to the Athemadoulet and offer'd to pay two thousand Tomans into the Kings Treasury so that he would be pleas'd to spare the two Merchants lives The chief Minister made the proposal but the King falling into a passion and asking the Atbemadoulet whether those Indian Dogs thought that a King of Persia would sell justice sent a second order for the execution of the Merchants without delay The same Sha-Sefi having giv'n command that the Eyes of a young
Lord of the Court should be put out one of the principal Officers of the House being present and seeing the Executioner prick the eyes of the unfortunate young man with the point of a small knife shut his own eyes and turn'd away his head as abhorring such a spectacle The King perceiving it and vex'd to see those signs of pity and a dislike of an act that he approv'd What said he in a fury art thou afraid to punish the wicked And at the same time commanded his eyes to be pull'd out of his head It is a custom that if any man points at the King as he passes along in the Street or upon the Road he must lose his hand One day Sha-Sefi being in the Country two Merchants of Constantinople were upon the Road where the King and his Train were to pass They stopp'd to see the King and when he came near one of the Merchants pray'd his Friend that oft'n had seen him to shew him which was he The other knowing that only the King wears the Heron tops in his Bonnet innocently lifted up his hand to distinguish him by pointing from the rest of the Lords that follow'd him For which act two Horsement came presently to him and cut off his hand with a Scimiter CHAP. IV. The tragical and memorable Story of Ralph Sadler Native of Zurich in the Reigu of Sha-Sefi who had retain'd him in his Service RAlph Sadler born in Zurich was a Watchmaker by Profession who put himself into the service of the Emperors Resident at the Ottoman Court with whom he went to Constantinople This man I desir'd to take along with me into Persia and coming to Ispahan he set himself to work and made a small Watch about the bigness of half a Crown which being a neat piece of work the English would needs buy to present it to Iman-Couli-Kan paying the price demanded which was two hundred Crowns Iman-Couli-Kan presented it to the King who was mightily pleas'd with it in regard it was the least striking Watch that ever had been seen by the King who therefore carry'd it hanging about his Neck under his Clothes in a Gold Chain One day the King happening to wind up his Watch and turning the Key the wrong way broke the Fusil for which he was so much troubl'd that he sent for the Watch-maker from Ispahan to Casbin whither when Ralph came he presently made the Watch as good as ever The King thus satisfy'd in his work and in his person order'd him a Pension of thirty Tomans and Diet for him and a man and provision for two Horses commanding him withall to make some new pieces of work Now a skilful workman in the service of the Persian King has this advantage that if he pleases the King besides his Wages that are duly paid the King out of his liberality bestows on him a present which usually amounts to a third part or half his Wages or else his Wages are rais'd which is more advantageous than a present Ralph was oblig'd every morning to wait upon the King at his rising to wind up his Watch and was so much in the Kings favour that every morning when he came out of the Kings Chamber he had a Glass of Wine presented him as a mark of esteem And indeed the King had such an affection for him that to retain him in his service he often sollicited him to turn Mahometan The Embassador of Holstein coming to Ispahan and seeing Ralph so much in favour with the King endeavour'd to gain his Friendship Thus Ralph oft'n keeping company with the Embassadors and having one time tarry'd till late at night upon the debauch with them returning home to his Lodging where he kept a young Nestorian girl in the Court of the House met a young Persian Brother to one of the Kings Porters The Persian knowing himself guilty and surpriz'd to see Ralph so soon return'd skip't over the Wall into the Garden and fled The next day Ralph who knew who he was told his Brother of it and desir'd him to speak to the young Persian not to come any more to his House for if he did he must expect what follow'd Some days after the Embassadors treated all the Franks when Ralph beginning to be warm call'd the young Persian to mind and slipping home without taking his leave open'd the door softly and found the young Persian again with his Mistris Thereupon Ralph calling his Slaves to help him bound his arms and ty'd him to a Tree in the Court and so leaving him there went to bed By and by one of Ralph's Servants who knew the Persian fell a jeering him which so incens'd the Persian that he having his feet at liberty and the fellow within his reach gave him sach a kick upon the bottom of his belly that he first swooned away and then dy'd The other Slaves seeing him fall waken'd Ralph with their cries who thereupon snatching up a Pistol that was charg'd with a brace of Bullets shot the Persian into the head The Persian being thus slain Ralph went in the morning to wind up the Kings Watch and being ask'd by the King as he was wont to do what news in Ispahan told him plainly what he had done and the reason why The King upon his report told him he had done well according to the strictness of the Country The Athemadoulet at that time was Mirza-Také who hated Ralph For the Armenian Merchants having presented the Athemadoulet with several Watches at a time it happen'd that once he sent to Ralph above thirty Watches together to be mended For which the Athemadoulet to gratifie him and knowing that he kept four or five Servants and seven or eight Horses sent him fifteen or twenty Camels load of Straw and Barley for his Horses But Ralph slighting such a present as that Go said he to the Athemadoulets Servant tell thy Master that I am neither a Horse nor an Ass and therefore let him eat his Present himself Which message so provok'd the Athemadoulet that he study'd nothing but revenge Thereupon the Athemadoulet whose business it is to attend the King when he rises and to report to him the news of the Town told him among the rest what Ralph had done The King reply'd that Ralph had consess'd it to him already and that he had pardon'd him in regard he had reason to do as he did But the Athemadoulet made answer that Ralph had minc'd the matter and represented the story to the King far otherwise than it was making the worst of it he could upon Ralph's side and the more to incite the King he put him in mind of the fair occasion he had to force him to turn Mussulman there being no way to expiate his crime but by turning Mahometan or suffering the Law The King thus over-rul'd sent for Ralph told him he was now better inform'd of the crime he had committed and that he must either turn Mahometan or dye Thereupon the King
receiv'd every one then labour'd to testifie their joy for his return They sent him Horses Mules Camels rich Carpets and every thing fit to furnish a Lords house But all this while he wanted money which because he could not meet with among the Persians he was forc'd to have recourse to the Armenians of whom he desir'd to borrow five or six hunder'd Tomans As for the Kalenter he would have had the sum lent but the rest would not Thereupon the King taking a walk to Zulpha Ali-Couli-Kan put it into his head to go and see the great Cathedral belonging to the Armenians where several Bishops with several Monks reside The King entring into the Church where the Bishop stood ready at the head of the Clergy to receive him and seeing all things new and strange as coming but lately out of the womens Haram ask'd his favourite what sort of people those were clad in such an extraordinary manner Ali-Couli-Kan told him they were Devils Devils said the King What! added he dost bring me into a house of Devils The King thus incens'd against the Armenians resolv'd to force 'em to turn Mahumetans But Ali-Couli-Kan being a Georgian repenting that he had rais'd the Kings indignation to so high a pitch and not believing it would be any advantage to him for the Armenians to turn Mahumetans contented himself only with frighting them which was enough to bring the Armenians upon their knees and to make them come and beg the Intercession of his authority Which favour as he order'd it cost the Armenians ten thousand Tomans to the King and four or five thousand Tomans to his Favourite The 23. of September 1677. the King made a Cavalcade then which there could be nothing imagin'd more magnificent All the richest Furniture was brought out of the Exchequer into the Meydan The golden buckets to water the Horses The golden Fat out of which they take the water together with the buckles harness and nails of gold to which the Horses are ty'd After the King had play'd at Mall as I have already describ'd and had also shot at the Goblet upon the top of the Mast in the middle of the Meydan he went and fate in the Divan which is over the Gate call'd Ali Capi where he had the pastime to see Lyons Bulls Bears Tygres and Rams fight But that which was most admirable was to see a man stand upright upon the Saddle while the horse ran full speed which he did three times the whole length of the Meydan The first time 't is true he fell but the two last times he stood firm On day the same Ali-Couli-Kan presented two handsom Youths to the King which had both delicate voices The King hearing them sing was very much troubl'd that he could not make use of them in his Haram which Ali-Couli-Kan observing sent for a French Chirurgeon and promis'd him a great reward if he could cut the youths and save their lives The Chirurgeon for lucre of a large recompence cut them both and cur'd 'em very well Which done Ali-Couli-Kan presented the two youths to the King who was surpriz'd to see them but was well pleas'd that he had got two such new attendants in his Haram But see the reward of such a wicked action Ali-Couli-Kan dy'd soon after The Chirurgeon never was pay'd and being advis'd to present a Petition to the King by the Meter the Meter ask'd him whither he would turn Mahometan which when the Chirurgeon deny'd to do the Meter bid him be gone like a Rascal telling him withall that he did not think the Religion of the Christians had permitted such acts of villany The two youths were born at Cashan and had both Fathers and Mothers and were promis'd in Marriage When their Parents heard of it they came to Ispahan to weep over their Children Which the King observing to appease their sorrow gave them a Pension during life CHAP. IX Of the Government of Persia. THE Government of Persia is purely Despotick or Tyrannical For the King has the sole powre of life and death over all his Subjects independent from his Council and without any Trials or Law-proceedings He can put to what death he pleases the chief Lords of the Kingdom no man daring to dispute the reason nor is there any Soveraign in the world more absolute then the King of Persia. The King deceasing and leaving Male Issue behind him the Eldest ascends the Throne while his Brothers are kept in the Haram and their eyes are put out and if there be the least suspicion of any contrivance against the King they are forthwith put to death without any farther examination And not only they but the Children also of the Kings Brothers and Sisters I remember when I first travell'd into Persia they were not so rigorous but were contented to move a red hot iron to and fro before their eyes But Sha-Sefi perceiving his command had bin negligently executed and that the poor unhappy Princes had some sight left them he order'd their eyes to be digg'd out of their heads Sha-Sefi's cruelty went yet farther for he spar'd not his Eldest Son Sha Abbas the lawful Heir to his Throne ordering one of his Eunuchs to move an Iron before his eyes no man being able to tell the reason But the Eunuch compassionating the young Prince did indeed move an Iron but not a red hot Iron before his Eyes and teaching him to counterfeit himself blind preserv'd his sight till his Father lay upon his death-bed at which time his Father was very penitent for having put out the eyes of his Eldest Son to whom the Throne of right belong'd The Eunuch seeing the King so sadly afflicted and ready to give up the ghost assur'd him that he would restore the Prince to his sight and to comfort him at his death brought the Prince with perfect eyes to the bed side The sight of which prolong'd the Kings life till next day and gave him time to command all the Grandees of the Court to obey Sha Abbas his Eldest Son as his lawful Successor and their King But to return to these blind Princes There were several at Ispahan when I was there and I knew one particularly who is still alive and is a person of excellent natural parts As blind as he is he is a great lover of Curiosities and has built him a House in Ispahan which is worthy a mans sight He is overjoy'd when any person brings him any rarities out of Europe feeling them in his hands and causing his Eunuchs which are very apprehensive to tell him the meaning of every thing He is a great admirer of Clock-work and Watches and can tell by his finger when a Watch is right in the Case To know what a Clock it is he has little points set up in the Dial-plate and a half hand to the end he may not be deceiv'd which part of the hand points to the hour By means of certain figures which he makes of
appeas'd There is a wide Piazza upon one side of the City before the Palace and the first Gate wherein there is nothing of magnificence is guarded by a few Souldiers Before the King removed his Court from Agra to Gehanabad when he went into the Countrey for some time he gave to some one of his greatest Omrah's who was his Confident the Guard of his Palace where his Treasure lay and till the return of the King he never stirr'd out of the Gate where he lodg'd neither by night nor day At such a time as that it was that I was permitted to see the Palace of Agra The King being deparred for Gehanavad whither all the Court followed him together with the Women the Government of the Palace was given to one that was a great Friend to the Hollanders and indeed to all the Franguis Menheir Velant chief of the Holland-Factory at Agra so soon as the King was departed went to visit the Lord and to present him according to custom The Present was worth about 6000 Crowns and consisted in Spices Cabinets of Japan and fine Holland-Cloath He desir'd me to go along with him when he went to Compliment the Governour But the Lord being offended that he had put himself to so much charge forc'd him to carry the Present back again taking only one Japan-Cane of six that were in the Present telling him he would have no more out of the kindness which he had for the Franguiz Nay he would not so much as take the Gold-head and Ferula but caus'd them to be taken off The Complements being over the Governor ask'd Menheir Velant wherein he might serve him whereupon he desiring the favour that since the Court was gone he might see the inside of the Palace the Governor granted his request and order'd six men to attend him The first Gate where the Governor of the Palace lies is a long blind Arch which leads you into a large Court all environ'd with Portico's like our Piazza in Covent-Garden The Gallery in front is larger and higher than any of the rest sustain'd by three ranks of Pillars and under those Galleries on the other side of the Court which are narrower and lower are little Chambers for the Souldiers of the Guard In the midst of the large Gallery is a Nich in the Wall into which the King descends out of his Haram by a private pair of Stairs and when he is in he seems to be in a kind of a Tomb. He has no Guards with him then for he has no reason to be afraid of any thing there being no way to come at him In the heat of the day he keeps himself there only with one Eunuch but more often with one of his Children to fan him The Great Lords of the Court stay below in the Gallery under the Nich all the while At the farther end of this Court is another Gate that leads into a second Court encompast with Galleries underneath which are little Chambers for some Officers of the Palace The second Court carries you into a third which is the King's Quarter Cha-jehan had resolv'd to cover with Silver all the Arch of a Gallery upon the right-hand And a French-man Austin de Bordeaux by name was to have done the work but the King not finding any one in his whole Kingdom so capable as the French-man was to treat with the Portugals at Goa about some important affair he had at that time the design was laid aside For they being afraid of Austin's Parts poison'd him upon his return to Cochin This Gallery is painted with branch'd-work of Gold and Azure and the lower-part is hung with Tapestry There are several doors under the Gallery that lead into little square-Chambers of which we saw two or three open'd and they told us all the rest were such The other three sides of the Court lie all open there being nothing but a single Wall no higher than for a man to lean over On the side that looks toward the River there is a Divan or a kind of out-jutting Balcone where the King sits to see his Brigantines or to behold his Elephants fight Before the Divan is a Gallery that serves for a Portico which Cha-jehan had a design to have adorn'd all over with a kind of Lattice-work of Emraulds and Rubies that should have represented to the life Grapes when they are green and when they begin to grow red But this design which made such a noise in the World and requir'd more Riches than all the World could afford to perfect remains unfinish'd there being only three Stocks of a Vine in Gold with their leaves as the rest ought to have been and enamel'd in their natural colours with Emralds Rubies and Granates wrought into the fashion of Grapes In the middle of the Court stands a great Fat to bath in 40 foot in Diameter cut out of one entire grey-stone with steps wrought out of the same stone within and without As for the Monuments which are in and about Agra they are very fair ones for there is scarce an Eunuch belonging to the King 's Haram that is not very ambitious of leaving a fair Monument behind him Indeed when they have heap'd together great Sums they would fain be going to Mecca and making rich Presents to Mahomet But the Great Mogul unwilling to let his Money go out of his Countrey will seldom permit them leave to undertake that Pilgrimage and therefore not knowing what to do with their Money they employ a great part thereof in Monuments to perpetuate their Memories Of all the Monuments that are to be seen at Agra that of the Wise of Cha-jehan is the most magnificent she caus'd it to be set up on purpose near the Tasimacan to which all Strangers must come that they should admire it The Tasimacan is a great Bazar or Market-place compos'd of six great Courts all encompassed with Portico's under which there are Warehouses for Merchants and where there is a prodigious quantity of Calicuts vended The Monument of this Degum or Sultaness stands on the East-side of the City upon the River side in a great place enclosed with Walls upon which there runs a little Gallery as upon the Walls of many Cities in Europe This place is a kind of Garden with Compartiments like our Garden-plots but whereas our Walks are made with Gravel here the Walks are black and white Marble You enter into this place through a large Portal and presently upon the left hand you espy a fair Gallery that looks towards Mecca wherein there are three or four Niches wherein the Mufti comes at certain hours to pray A little beyond the middle of the place toward the Water are three great Platforms one rais'd above another with four Towers at the four Corners of each and Stairs within upon the top whereof they call the people before the time of their prayer On the top there is a Cupola little less magnificent than that of Val de
wherein the Nich is made which is on that side where they say their Prayers is an entire Rock of such a prodigious bulk that it was five years before five or six-hunder'd men continually employ'd could hew it out of its place They were forc'd also to rowl it along upon an Engine with wheels upon which they brought it to the Pagod and several affirm'd to me that there were fourteen-hunder'd Oxen to drawit I will tell you hereafter the reason it remains imperfect For had it been finish'd in all reason it had excell'd all the boldest Structures of Asia On the other side of the City as you go to Maslipatan there are two great Lakes being each about a league in compass wherein there ride several Pinks richly adorn'd for the King's Pleasure and upon the Banks are several fair Houses that belong to the Principal Lords of the Court. Upon three sides of the City stands a very fair Mosquee wherein are the Tombs of the Kings of Golconda and about four in the afternoon there is a Dole of Bread and Pilau to all the Poor that come If you would see any thing that is rare you must go to view these Tombs upon a Festival-day For then from morning till night they are hung with rich Tapestry As for the Government and Policy which is observ'd in this City In the first place when a Stranger comes to the Gates they search him exactly to see if he have any Salt or Tobacco about him for those Commodities bring the King his greatest Revenue Sometimes a Stranger shall wait a day or two before he shall have leave to enter For a Souldier first gives notice to the Officer that commands the Guard and then he sends to the Deroga to know what he shall do Now because it many times happens that the Deroga is busy or gone to take a walk out of the City or else for that sometimes the Souldier himself pretends he cannot find the Deroga only to create himself more errands to get the more Money a Stranger is forc'd to endure all this delay sometimes as I have said before for a day or two When the King sits to do Justice I observe that he comes into the Balcone that looks into the Piazza and all that have business stand below just against the place where the King sits Between the People and the Walls of the Palace are fix'd in the ground three rows of Poles about the length of an Half-Pike to the ends whereof they tye certain ropes a-cross one upon another Nor is any person whatsoever permitted to pass beyond those bounds unless he be call'd This Bar which is never set up but when the King sits in Judgment runs along the whole bredth of the Piazza and just against the Balcone there is a Bar to open to let in those that are call'd Then two men that each of them hold a Cord by the end extended all the bredth of the passage have nothing to do but to let fall the Cord for any person that is call'd to step over it A Secretary of State sits below under the Balcone to receive all Petitions and when he has five or six together he puts them in a Bag and then an Eunuch who stands in the Balcone neer the King lets down a string to which the Bag being ti'd he draws it up and presents it to his Majesty Every Munday the chiefest of the Nobility mount the Guard every one in their turn and are never reliev'd till at the eight days end There are some of these Lords that have five or six thousand men under their command and they lye encamp'd in their Tents round about the City When they mount the Guard every one goes from his own Habitation to the Rendevouz but when they are reliev'd they march in good order over the Bridg thence through the long Street into the Piazza where they draw up before the Balcone In the first place march ten or twelve Elephants more or less according to the quality of the Captain of the Guard There are some of these Elephants that carry Cages which in some sort resemble the Body of a little Coach there are others that have but one man to guide them and another in the Cage who carries a Banner After the Elephants follow the Camels by two and two sometimes to the number of thirty or forty Every Camel carries a kind of Packsaddle upon which is fasten'd a little Culverine which a certain Engineer clad in a skin from head to foot and sitting upon the Crupper of the Camel with a lighted Match in his hand dextrously manages from one side to another before the Balcone where the King sits After them come the Coaches attended by the Domestick Servants of the Commander Next to them follow the lead-Horses and then the Lord appears to whom all this Equipage belongs attended by ten or twelve Curtisans that stay for him at the end of the Bridg and skip and dance before him to the Piazza Behind him the Cavalry and Infantry march in good order Which being a shew wherein there was much of delight and state all the while I staid at Bagnabar which was about four Months I had the divertisement to see them out of my Lodging in the great Street every week as they march'd by The Souldiers wear no other Clothes than only three or four ells of Calicut with which they cover half their Bodies behind and before They wear their hair very long and tie it up in a knot upon the top of the crown like the women who have no other Headgear than only a piece of Linnen with three corners one that comes to the middle of the head and the other two which they tie under their chins The Souldiers do not wear Hangers or Scimitars like the Persians but broad Swords like the Switzers as well for a thrust as a blow which they hang in a Girdle The Barrels of their Muskets are stronger than ours and much neater for their Iron is better and not so subject to break Their Cavalry carry Bows and Arrows a Buckler and a Battel-Ax an Headpiece and a Jacket of Mail that hangs down from the Headpiece over their Shoulders There are so great a number of common Women as well in the City as in the Suburbs and in the Fortress which is like another City that there are generally above twenty thousand set down in the Deroga's Book without which licence it is not lawful for any Woman to profess the Trade They pay no tribute to the King only they are oblig'd to come a certain number of them with their Governess and their Musick every Friday and present themselves before the Balcone If the King be there they dance before him if he intend not to come an Eunuch comes into the Balcone and makes them a sign to retire In the cool of the evening they stand at the doors of their Houses which are for the most part little Huts and when night
comes they set up a Candle or a lighted Lamp for a Signal Then it is also that they open all the Shops where they sell Tari which is a certain drink made of the juice of a Tree and is as sweet as our new Wines They fetch it some five or six leagues off upon Horses that carry two earthen-Bottles of each side and trot at a great rate of which there come every day to the City above five or six-hunder'd The King has a considerable Revenue by the Impost which he lays upon this Tari And for that reason he permits so many common Women in regard it is for their sake that so much Tari is consum'd those that sell it for that cause keeping their Shops by those Houses These sort of Women are so nimble and active that when the present King went to see Maslipatan nine of them undertook to represent the figure of an Elephant four making the four feet four the body and one the trunk upon which the King sitting in a kind of Throne made his entry into the City All the Men and Women of Golconda are well proportion'd and of comely statures and fair enough in their councenances only the Countrey-people are a little more swart The present King of Golconda bears the Name of Abdoul-Coutou-Sha and I will tell the Reader in a few words from whence he drew his Original In the Reign of Axbar King of India the Father of Jehan-Guir the Territories of the Great Moguls did not extend farther Southward then Narbider to that the River which runs by it and which coming from the South empties it self into Ganges separated their Dominions from the Territories of the Raja of Narsingue that stretch'd as far as Cape-Comorin the other Raja's being only his Subjects and depending upon him This Raja and his Successors have been always at Wars with them that succeeded to Tamerlane or Temur-leng in India and their Power was so great that the last Raja who was at War with Akbar brought into the Field four Armies under as many Generals The most considerable of his Armies lay in those Provinces which at this day are call'd the Kingdom of Golconda the second was quarter'd in the Provinces of Visapour the third in the Province of Dultabat and the fourth in the Territories of Brampour The Raja of Narsingue dying without Children the four Generals divided among themselves the Countreys which they possess'd with their Army and took upon them the title of Kings the one of Golconda the other of Visapour the other of Brampour and the fourth of Dultabat Though the Raja were an Idolater nevertheless his four Generals were Mahumetans and he of Golconda was of the Sect of Haly descended from an Ancient Family of the Turcomans which inhabit the Country of Hamadan in Persia. This General as I have said was more considerable than any of the rest and some few days after the death of the Raja they won a famous Victory from the Mogul so that he could not hinder them from assuming their several Sovereignties But after that Jehan-Guir the Son of Akbar conquer'd again the Kingdom of Brampour Cha-jehan the Son of Jehan-Guir recover'd the Kingdom of Dultabat and Aureng-zeb the Son of Cha-jehan recover'd some part of the Kingdom of Visapour As for the King of Golconda neither Cha-jehan nor Aureng-zeb disturb'd him but let him rest in peace upon condition that he should pay to the Mogul an annual tribute of 200000 Pagods At present the greatest Raja on this side Ganges is the Raja of Velou whose Territories extend to Cape-Comorin and who succeeded to some part of the Territories of the Raja of Narsingue But in regard there is no Trade in his Countrey and by consequence no concourse of strangers there is little notice taken of him The present King of Golconda has no Sons but three Daughters who are all married The Eldest Espous'd one of the Kinsmen of the Grand Chek of Mecca Nor must we forget some passages that fell out before this Marriage The Chek coming to Golconda in the habit of a Faquir for some Months lodg'd without the Gate of the Palace disdaining to give any answer to several Courtiers that demanded what his business was At length the thing being made known to the King he sent his chief Physitian who spoke good Arabick to know of the Chek what he had to request and the reason of his coming The Physitian and some other Lords of the Court that discours'd him also finding him to be a person of great Wit and Learning brought him to the King who was very well satisfi'd with his aspect and his presence But at length the Chek declaring to him that he came to Espouse the Princess that proposal very much surpriz'd the Prince and was look'd upon by the greatest part of the Court as made by a person not well in his wits At first the King only laugh'd at him But when he found him obstinately persevering in his demand in-so-much that he threaten'd the Countrey with some strange Calamity if the Princess were not given to him in Marriage he was committed to Prison where he lay a long time At length the King thinking it more to the purpose to send him back into his own Countrey caus'd him to be ship'd away at Mastipatan in a Vessel that carri'd Goods and Pilgrims to Mocca whence they travell by land to Mecca About two years after the same Chek return'd again to Golconda and order'd his affairs so well that he Espous'd the Princess and won an high reputation in the Kingdom which he governs at this day and is very Potent He it was that kept the King from surrendring the Fortress of Golconda whither he was retir'd when Aureng-zeb and his Son took Bagnabar as I shall tell you by and by threatning to kill him if he would not resolve to hold it out and not deliver the keys to the enemy This bold action wss the reason which made the King love him ever afterwards and that he takes his counsel in all weigty affairs not as he is the King's Son-in-Law but as he is a great Minister of State and the chiefest person next the King in all the Court He it was that has put a stop to the finishing the great Pagod in Bagnagar having threaten'd the whole Kingdom with some great Calamity if they went forward with the work This Prince is a passionate Lover of all those that profess the Mathematicks and understands them as well For which reason though he be a Mahumetan he is a great Favourer of all the Christians who are vers'd in that Science as he has particularly testifi'd to Father Ephrahim a Capuchin passing through Golconda for Pegu whither he was sent by his Superiors He did all he could to oblige him to stay in the Country and offer'd to build him a House and a Church at his own expences telling him he should neither want employment nor Hearers in regard there were several
the world which there is no remedy can prevent One day an English man in heat of blood had kill'd one of the Kings of Macassars Subjects and though the King had pardon'd him yet both English Hollanders and Portugals fearing if the English man should go unpunish'd lest the Islanders should revenge themselves upon some of them besought the King to put him to death which with much ado being consented to the King unwilling to put him to a lingring death and desirous to shew the effect of his poyson resolv'd to shoot the Criminal himself whereupon he took a long Trunk and shot him exactly into the great Toe of the right foot the place particularly aim'd at Two Chirurgeons one an English man and the other a Hollander provided on purpose immediately cut off the member but for all that the poyson had dispers'd it self so speedily that the English man dy'd at the same time All the Kings and Princes of the East are very diligent in their enquiry after strong poysons And I remember that the chief of the Dutch Factory and I try'd several poyson'd Arrows with which the King of Achen had presented him by shooting at Squirrels who fell down dead as soon as ever they were touch'd The King of Macassar is a Mahometan and will not suffer his Subjects to embrace Christianity Yet in the year 1656 the Christians found a way to get leave to build a fair Church in Macassar But the next year the King caus'd it to be pull'd down as also that of the Dominican Friars which the Portugals made use of The Parish Church which was under the Government of the secular Priests stood still till the Hollanders attack'd Macassar and compell'd him to turn all the Portugals out of his Dominions The ill conduct of that Prince was in part the occasion of that war to which the Hollanders were mov'd to revenge themselves upon the Portugal Jesuites who had cross'd their Embassy to China Besides that they offer'd great affronts to the Hollanders at Macassar especially when they trod under foot the Hat of one of the Dutch Envoys who was sent to treat with the King in behalf of the Company Thereupon the Hollanders resolv'd to unite their forces with the Bouquises that were in rebellion against their Soveraign and to revenge themselves at any rate Now as to the business of China it happen'd thus Toward the end of the year 1658 the General of Batavia and his Council sent one of the chief of the Holland Company with Presents to the King of China who arriving at Court labour'd to gain the friendship of the Mandarins who are the Nobility of the Kingdom But the Jesuites who by reason of their long abode in the Country understood the language and were acquainted with the Lords of the the Court lest the Holland Company should get footing to the prejudice of the Portugals represented several things to the Kings Council to the prejudice of the Hollanders more especially charging them with breach of Faith in all the places where they came Upon this the Holland Agent was dismiss'd and departed out of China without doing any feats Afterwards coming to understand what a trick the Portugal Jesuites had put upon him he made report thereof to the General and his Council at Batavia which so incens'd them that they resolv'd to be reveng'd For by the Deputies accounts the Embassy had cost them above fifty thousand Crowns for which they consulted how to make the Portugals pay double Understanding therefore the trade which the Jesuits drove in the Island of Macao and to the Kingdom of Macassar whither upon their own account they sent seven Vessels laden with all sorts of Commodities as well of India as China they took their opportunity and the seventh of June 1660 appear'd with a Fleet of thirty Sail before the Port of Macassar The King thinking himself oblig'd to make defence against so potent an Enemy endeavour'd to sustain the brunt of the Hollander with the Portugal Ships in the Road but the Hollander dividing their Fleet part of them fought the Portugal the other half batter'd the Royal Fortress so furiously that they carry'd it in a short time Which so terrifi'd the King that he commanded the Portugals not to fire any more for fear of farther provoking his Enemies The Prince Patinsaloa was slain in the fight which was a great loss to the King of Macassar who was become formidable to his neighbours by the good Conduct of that Minister As for the Hollanders they took burnt and sunk all the Portugal Vessels and sufficiently re-imburs'd themselves for their China Expences The thirteenth of June the King of Macassar whose name was Sumbaco hung out a white Flag from another Tower whence he beheld the fight environ'd by his Wives During the truce he sent one of the Grandees of his Court to the Dutch Admiral to desire peace which was granted upon condition he should send an Embassador to Batavia expel the Portugals out of the Island and not permit his Subjects to have any more to do with them Thereupon the King of Macassar sent eleven of the greatest Lords of his Court with a train of seven hundred men the Chief of the Embassy being the Prince of Patinsaloa The first thing they did was to pay two hundred Loaves of Gold to redeem the Royal Fortress again and then submitting to the Conditions which the Dutch Admiral had propos'd the General of Batavia sign'd the Articles which were punctually observ'd For the Portugals immediately quitted the Country some departing for Siam and Cambòya others for Macoa and Goa Macao formerly one of the most famous and richest Cities of the Orient was the principal motive that enclin'd the Hollanders to send an Embassadour into China for being the best station which the Portugals had in all those parts the Dutch had a design to win it wholly Now this City lying in twenty-two Degrees of Northern Latitude in a small Island next to the Province of Kanton which is a part of China has very much lost its former luster But this was not all which the Jesuits and the Portugal Merchants suffer'd The Chief of the Dutch Factory at Mingrela which is but eight Leagues from this City understanding the bad success of the Dutch in China had a contrivance by himself to be reveng'd He knew that the Jesuites of Goa and other places drove a great trade in rough Diamonds which they sent into Europe or else carry'd along with them when they return'd and that for the more private carrying on of their trade they were wont to send one or two of their Order that knew the language in the habit of a Faquir which consists of a Tygers Skin to cover their back-parts and a Goats Skin to cover the breast reaching down to the knees Thereupon the Chief of the Factory of Mingrela taking his opportunity and having notice that two of the suppos'd Faquirs were gone to the Mines to lay out 400000
humourous and morose and their Treatments are almost insupportable to all those who are under their Charge There is a prodigious number of them as well in Constantinople as all over the Empire and generally all over the Eastern parts of the World where there is hardly a private Person having any thing of abilities but keeps an Eunuch or two as Sentinels over his Women And 't is this that causes so great a commerce of Eunuchs in several parts of Observations upon this Subject Asia and Africk and in the single Kingdom of Colconda where I chanc'd to be in the year 1659 there were put off of them in that very year about two and twenty thousand It comes into my mind that the Grand Mogor's Ambassador in whose Country that Barbarism is not suffer'd but the Eunuchs he makes use of are brought out of other places took me one day aside to tell me that he car'd not how soon he return'd into his Country out of the fear he was in lest that Kingdom of Colconda might sink into the ground after such cruelties Most of the Fathers and Mothers who are extreamly poor and have no love for their Children and whom they are also afraid that they cannot maintain have no other shift upon the first dearth of Provisions than to sell them to certain Merchants who afterwards have them gelt and sometimes make clear work and cut off all Some of those who have not any thing left when they would urine are forc'd to make use of a little Cane or Pipe and to put it to the bottom of the belly And whereas few escape after so dangerous an operation such are accordingly much dearer than the others and they are sold in Persia and Turkey at the rate of six hundred Crowns when a hundred or a hundred and fifty is the price of the ordinary Eunuchs For the supply therefore of all Turkey all Persia all the Indies and all the Provinces of Africa it may be easily judg'd that there must come millions of them from several places The Kingdom of Colconda in the Peninsula on this side Ganges and the Kingdoms of Assan Boutan Arachan and Pegu on the other side of it afford a prodigious number of them All these Eunuchs are either white or of duskish colour The black Eunuchs who are brought out of Africa much inferiour in point of number are as I said much the dearer The most deformed yield the greatest price their extream ugliness being look'd on as beauty in their kind A flat Nose a frightful Aspect a large Mouth thick Lips the Teeth black and standing at a distance one from another for ordinarily the Moors have fair Teeth are so many advantages to the Merchants who sell them The Seraglio at Constantinople is full of these two sorts of Eunuchs The black are design'd for the custody of the Apartment where the Women are and sent to Court by the Bassa's of Grand-Caire The white who are somewhat less savage and have been educated with some care are for the Grand Seignor's own Apartment The four principal Eunuchs who approach the Prince's Person are the Hazodabachi the Chasnadarbachi the Kildrgibachi and the Sarai-Agasi who have for their Superiour The principal charges of the Seraglio the Capi-Aga who has the superintendency of all the Chambers of the Ichoglans They ordinarily succeed one the other that is to say the Sarai-Agasi succeeds the Kilargibachi the Kilargibachi succeeds the Chasnadarbachi and the last named succeeds the Hazodabachi and in fine the Hazodabachi succeeds the Capi-Aga who is always of the longest standing in service of the white Eunuchs The Capi-Aga or Capou-Agasi is as it were the Grand Master of the Seraglio he is The noble Advantages of the Aga. the principal in dignity and repute of all the white Eunuchs and he is always near the Grand Seignor's Person where-ever he is He is the Person who introduces Ambassadors to Audience and all great Affairs passing through his hands ere they come into those of the Prince his Charge renders him necessary to all others and procures him many rich Presents All those Persons also who are to make any Present to the Grand Seignor must address themselves to the Capi-Aga in order to their being presented to his Highness of which he makes great Advantages No Man can enter into the Emperour's Apartment nor get out of it without his Order and when the Grand Vizir would speak to him 't is the Capi-Aga's place to take and present him to his Highness Whether it be by night or by day if there happen some pressing Affair whereof the Vizir would give the Grand Seignor immediate notice in writing the Capi-Aga receives it from him and brings him the answer thereto He wears his Turbant in the Seraglio and rides up and down on Horse-back by a Priviledge particularly annex'd to his Charge He accompanies the Grand Seignor even into the Apartment of the Sultanesses but he stays at the door as having no Command in that place When he leaves the Seraglio upon his being dismiss'd from his Charge which very seldom happens he cannot be a Bassa As to his Table all is at the Prince's Charge and he has over and above ten Sultanines a day which amount to sixty Livers French Money There have been some Capi-Aga's who have dy'd worth two millions all which return'd into the Grand Seignor's Coffers The chief of the white Eunuchs is attended by four others who next to him have the principal Charges of the Grand Seignor's Quarter The Hazodabachi is as it were the Lord High-Chamberlain having under his Charge the forty Pages of the Chamber who ordinarily approach the Grand Seignor's Person The Serai-Agasi has the general Superintendency of all the Chambers of the Grand Seignor's Quarter as to what relates to Embellishment and the necessary Reparations He has a particular inspection over the Seferli Odasi which is the Chamber of the Pages who are to look after the Grand Seignor's Linnen and attend him in his Progresses 'T is incumbent also upon him to give Order for their Cloaths and whatever else they stand in need of And his Charge does somewhat resemble that of Captain of the Louver-Castle in France since it is his work generally to make provision for whatever may contribute to the decency and well-ordering of that great Palace He has for his Assistant or Lievtenant the Seraiket-Odasi who is also an Eunuch whose imployment it is to have the Tapistry and Carpets which are spread upon the Floors in the Halls and Lodgings of the Seraglio chang'd every six months The Haznadar or Chaznadar-Bachi is the chief Intendant of the Treasury and has the inspection of the conduct and deportment of the Pages of that Chamber Which is not to be understood of the Treasury design'd for the exigencies of the State and the ordinary Pay of the Souldiery and whereof the Grand Vizir and the three Testenders or Treasurers-General have the Keys and