Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	daughter_n	marry_v	william_n	26,865	5	8.2285	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A69789	The history of Poland. vol. 2 in several letters to persons of quality, giving an account of the antient and present state of that kingdom, historical, geographical, physical, political and ecclesiastical ... : with sculptures, and a new map after the best geographers : with several letters relating to physick / by Bern. Connor ... who, in his travels in that country, collected these memoirs from the best authors and his own observations ; publish'd by the care and assistance of Mr. Savage.	Connor, Bernard, 1666?-1698.; Savage, John, 1673-1747.	1698 (1698)	Wing C5889; ESTC R8630	198,540	426

bear their own Losses and suffer all Disasters with a great deal of Temper so likewise they regard the Miseries and Misfortunes of others with the same Indifference for they will often stand and see a House burn without offering in the least to lend a helping Hand to quench it Neither are they more indulgent to their Children or on the contrary the Children to their Parents both whom are reciprocally suffer'd to continue Slaves to the Tartars when but a small Summ of Money would purchase their Redemption In Poland there are neither Academies nor Schools for the Manege Riding the Great Horse Fencing nor Dancing and yet the Gentry being naturally bent to those Exercises will either Practise them at home after their own rude Fashion or Travel to inform themselves of Strangers abroad Of all these Pastimes Musick and Dancing are their Darling Pleasures for even the very Nurses are order'd to teach their Children this last as soon as they can go So that you shall often see two Children tripping it about a Room to the dull Notes of their Nurses or a Servants Pipes The Poles are so addicted to Musick that Barge-men may be frequently seen Playing on Fiddles as they Sail along the River Vistula with Corn. The other Customs and Manners of the Poles I shall inform your Lordship of as methodically and succinctly as the Variety of Matter will admit But first a word or two of the Polish Families and Names The Gentry are divided into many Tribes all distinguish'd not by Places or Countries but by several peculiar Appellatives and Coats of Arms Out of every one of these springs several Families of different Names and Affinity For example to the Tribe of Lelivicz whose Standard is a Field Azure charg'd with a New Moon in chief and a Star of the first Magnitude between its Horns belong the Families of Zarnowiski Pileczki Melstin c. Formerly the Poles had their Names from several occasions but of latter days they have been accustom'd to take them only from Castles Cities Towns and Villages most commonly by adding the Termination ski or ki which signifies Son though some say Dominion because they are generally so call'd from the Place which they Govern In Lithuania the Termination for the most part is in witz which rather implies Son than Ski Sometimes also they take their Names from these Places by omitting Ski and Witz and putting before the Place à ab in or de As à Gorka in Tenstin de Fulstin and the like Some of the Poles usual Names are which I mention for the difficulty of Pronunciation Chrzonstowski Krzikritzki Grzmialtowski c. Lastly Several Names in Poland begin with an O as Opalinski Osolmski Vzaorwski Orzakowski and such like Now as to Marriages among the Poles it must first be observ'd that the Feasts of those of the Gentry always last three days be they that make them either Poor or Rich wherefore they must necessarily be exceeding Expensive If a Lady Marry any of her waiting Maids she generally Expends as much as for one of her Daughters But as the Court-Marriages will shew the greatest Magnificence of this kind I shall entertain your Lordship out of Hauteville with one of that sort When the Queen Marries any of her Maids of Honour or when any Senator or great Lord is to be Marry'd the first and second day the King gives a great Feast For this purpose a large Hall is pitch'd upon where there are three Tables set out At the first Table sit the King and Queen in a Manner that they both Face the Hall Next the Queen sit the Two that are to be Married and next to the King the Popes Nuncio and Archbishop of Gnesna At the same Table likewise sit the Foreign Embassadors over against the King and Queen At the two other Tables extending the whole length of the Hall all the Ladies Senators and Officers except only such as wait on the King and Queen are plac'd by an Officer according to their respective Precedence Most commonly this Feast begins about four or five of the Clock in the Afternoon and lasts to two or three in the Morning Here it may be observ'd that the Senators are accustom'd to rise often and go up to the King's Table to drink his Majesty's Health on their Knees At these Feasts they eat little but drink Hungarian Wine to an immoderate Degree The Ladies out of Modesty only touch the Tops of the Glasses with their Lips and so set them down before them or pour them into their Plates in a manner tha● more Wine is thought to be spils and lost here than drank When they have sate about five or six Hours at Table the Violins and a little Sort of portable Organs begin to strike up and then they spend the rest of the Time in Dancing In this Exercise every body joyns and not so much as the old People of either Sex are excus'd Those that begin the Dance are generally the ancient Senators and old Ladies who move slowly about like so many Fryars or Nuns in Procession but altho the Dancing begins with so much Gravity and Formality yet it usually ends with a great deal of Hurry and Confusion On the second Day all the Guests present the Bride with something new and none give less than a small Piece of Plate All these Presents are made before the Queen This Ceremony is perform'd before they sit down to Table These Presents most commonly make a good Part of the Brides Portion The late Princess of Poland when she was marry'd to the Elector of Bavaria had above the Value of 100000 Crowns presented her On the third Day are solemniz'd the Espousals All the Wedding Guests accompany the Bridegroom and Bride on Horse-back to Church as likewise in their Return Home when they are always to pass by the King's Palace During all the Time of their coming and going the Trumpets sound from the Balconies on both Sides the way When the Bride has been conducted to her Husband's House and a magnificent Feast there prepar'd is ended and the Company gone the Bride begins to fall a crying it being the Custom it seems in Poland for Maids to weep at that time and to seem concern'd for fear they should be thought impudent and immodest The other Marriages of the Gentry in Poland are perform'd much after the same Manner only with less Magnificence The Men and the Women that are Godfathers and Godmothers to Children are always Cousins and Relations tho they were not so before and consequently cannot be marry'd without a Dispensation from the Bishop of the Diocess The Ceremonies of Burial in Poland are usually celebrated with so great Pomp and Magnificence that one would rather take them for Triumphs than Enterments The Corps having been put into the Coffin it is plac'd in a Herse or Chariot with six Horses all cover'd with black Housings The Coffin has a

Country But here the Citizens in Prussia are excepted for they may possess Lands of what Extent soever out of their Cities Also the Inhabitants of Cracow may purchase and enjoy Lands in any Part of the Kingdom Likewise the Magistrates of Vilna have a Power to possess Lands and the City of Leopol in like manner has a Privilege for its private Citizens to hold Lands A Nobleman Gentleman or one that is free-born of the Kingdom of Poland are the same thing Every Gentleman has his Coat of Arms granted him by the Republick but then either he or some of his Family must have Possessions in Lands there He can pretend to all the greatest Employments and Offices in the Kingdom and buy Lands where he pleases all over the Dominions of Poland and Lithuania He has moreover a Right to the Crown if his Credit and Interest can procure it Every Gentleman is a Sovereign Lord and Master in his own Lands for he has the Power of Life and Death over his Tenants or as the Poles term them his Subjects tho' I may better call them his Slaves for they have neither Privilege nor Law to protect them but are to be govern'd absolutely by the Will and Pleasure of their Lord. They dare not leave his Lands to go to anothers under Pain of Death unless he sells them to his Neighbour as he has the Power to do or has violated or ravish'd their Wives or Daughters insomuch that I have heard that some have wish'd to have had a fine Wife or Daughter that their Lord might thereby have given them Occasion to get rid of him If a Gentleman kills another Gentleman's Slave he is neither to be try'd nor punish'd for it and is only oblig'd to give that Gentleman another Slave in the Room of him or as much Money as will buy one And besides to maintain the Family of the Person that he has kill'd likewise if he kills one of his own Slaves he only pays a matter of fifty Livres to be quit Nay if one Gentleman kills another he cannot be apprehended nor clapt into Prison for his Crime Nisi Jure Victus unless a Court of Justice has first convicted him which commonly gives him Time enough to escape for he must first be cited to appear and upon his Neglect he is declar'd contumacious and consequently convicted But it may very well be suppos'd that he who knows himself guilty will not run the Hazard of Appearing nor venture the losing of his Head This Honour the Poles likewise bestow on the common People Hanging being not the usual Way of Execution in their Country However Hartknoch has these Exceptions from this Privilege for says he if a Nobleman be taken in the very Act of Ravishing Burning of Houses Theft Robbery or the like he may be apprehended by the Laws Likewise if he will not give sufficient Caution according to the Quality of his Offence or lastly if he be found in the Register to have been thrice convicted before Notwithstanding this Privilege of the Nobility says Hauteville I have known one Instance to the contrary for those who assassinated Gonczenski Petty General of Lithuania were seiz'd without any Formality and carry'd Prisoners to Elbing and were afterwards condemn'd to be beheaded at the general Diet at Warsaw in the Year 1664. but then this Crime of theirs was so notorious that the Nobility might well have wav'd their Privilege for these Villains took that Gentleman out of his Bed at Vilna and putting him into a Coach with a Confessor carry'd him out of the City where they scarce allow'd him Time to say his Prayers before they shot him dead with Pistols A Polish Nobleman tho' he be proscrib'd and cited and found guilty cannot be executed without the King's Knowledge and Consent as may appear by the Case of Samuel Zborowski who tho' he had been proscrib'd and condemn'd by the Great Chancellor and General of the Army Zamoiski yet would he not presume to Behead him till he had known King Stephen's Pleasure therein The Polish Gentry also have another Privilege which is that no Soldiers or Officers of the Army can be Quarter'd upon them for if any one should presume to attempt such a thing the Diet would either condemn him to Death or pronounce him infamous whereby he would be depriv'd of the Power of giving his Vote in all Assemblies and moreover be render'd incapable of enjoying any Office or Employment in the State and this is as being degraded from his Nobility whereupon I may take notice of a Passage that hapned at the Diet of Election of John III. and which did not a little contribute towards his being chosen The Palatin of Smolensko's Son went and quarter'd at the House of Wiesnowiski without his Leave as was reported by Order of the Grand General Patz which occasion'd the Marshals who are Judges in these Cases two Days before the breaking up of the Diet to deprive this Palatin of his Vote in the Election whereby Sobieski was freed from a declar'd Enemy and the Austrian Faction lost a profess'd Friend The King likewise cannot now lodg in any Nobleman's House against his Will as he could before the Year 1433. Also wherever any Foreigner dies without Heirs his Estate Escheats to the Lord of those Lands where he dy'd and not to the King And where any Polish Gentleman dies without Heirs the King cannot seize upon his Estate by Right of Escheat if he have a Relation left of the eighth Degree inclusively The Gentry also may have Houses in the King's Cities and Towns but then they must not let such Trades inhabit them as may prove obnoxious or a Nusance to the Citizens and likewise these Houses ought to be subject to the Jurisdiction of the City but which however is seldom or never observ'd The House of a Nobleman moreover is a Kind of Asylum for tho' Delinquents may be arrested there with his Consent yet cannot they be taken thence by Force Not less are a Nobleman's Privileges as to Customs and Taxes for if he will swear his Goods were not bought but arising from his Lands he may send them any where out of the Kingdom to be sold without paying Duties and where he has once so sworn his Testimonials alone for the future will suffice to exempt them Also his Subjects will have the same Privilege wherever they trade In Prussia the Nobles are not only free from Customs but likewise all the other Inhabitants by the Magna Charta of Culm But altho the Polish Nobility are thus said to be free from Taxes yet upon emergent Occasions and Exigencies the Diet usually obliges them to pay them for a certain Time The Nobility also have a Privilege of Preemption of Salt for in the Staples for that Commodity there must be at least a Months Notice before any can be sold to any body else After all these Privileges the Polish Nobility

we in England but the third Part of their Liberty we could not live together without cutting one anothers Throats since Experience dayly shews that notwithstanding the great Vigilancy of our Officers the Severity of our Laws the just Rigour of our Judges and Magistrates and the punctual Execution of their Sentences and Judgments the Gallows and Gibbets are more frequently visited here than even the Prisons are in Poland I fancy the Reason that the Poles are so quiet and good natur'd is because being born free and living in an excessive Liberty under no Laws nor Arbitrary Power there is nothing before them that can constrain their Minds bridle their Passions or curb their Thoughts but as there is nothing that can entice them to do ill so nothing likewise can hinder them from doing it Dr. Connor says He has ask'd some Polish Noblemen why they so inhumanely treated and undervalu'd their Boors They answer'd That formerly all the Boors of the Kingdom revolted from their Landlords rebell'd against them as the Swissers did against their Gentry and conspir'd together to extirpate and destroy them all that they Murther'd and kill'd a vast number of Gentlemen and that the rest were oblig'd either to hide themselves or to leave the Kingdom But that at length the Gentry getting together from all Parts and being moreover Assisted by their Neighbours they so frighted and defeated the poor Peasants who had made a general Insurrection against them to set up a Commonwealth of their own that they brought them to such Extremities that ever since they have been contented to be kept Slaves Yet the Poles say that though they have an Absolute Power over them they seldom make use of it any more than other Christians do over their Dogs or Horses Strange Comparison As if they spar'd the poor Peoples Lives rather out of Self-interest than Charity and by reason that they thought they would be more serviceable to them Living than Dead not unlike some Kings who give Malefactors their Lives only to prefer them to their Gallys Notwithstanding the Peasants in Poland being born Slaves and having no manner of Notion of Liberty live very well satisfy'd and contented In Curland they are as subject to their Landlords as in Poland and in both Countries Masters are almost paid Adoration Their Slaves love them and Fight willingly for them and all they have is absolutely at their Devotion Nay though they Debauch their Wives and Daughters yet they only care to obtain their Liberty by it and this is so common a thing among these poor Wretches that they never value their Women the less for it nor think themselves a whit either injur'd or dishonour'd by it The Condition of the Kmetons as the Poles call them or Boors or Rusticks at this Day in Poland is such that they lead miserable and wretched Lives haviug no Laws no Judges and scarce any Religion among them but like Brutes they are forc'd to Work on Sundays and dare not so much as Appeal to the King or Diet for Redress However in Royal Prussia their Condition is something better for there they enjoy almost the same Laws and Liberties with the Gentry Formerly Casimir the Great made several Laws in their behalf but which at this day are seldom or never practis'd All Bishops Abbots Palatins Castellans c. are oblig'd to be of the Nobless except a certain Number assign'd by King John Albert out of the Plebeians to be capable of being inferiour Divines Lawyers or Physicians only An Exception from this Law may be seen in the Person of Peter Gamratus who from a Plebeian was prefer'd by Sigismund to several both Ecclesiastical and Temporal Dignities But in Prussia as I have remark'd before the Customs are much more indulgent to the Common People As I have hinted before to your Lordship a Gentleman's Revenue in Poland partly consists in his Slaves for he cannot well be esteem'd Rich unless he has a great Number of these poor Creatures under his Power whereof there is scarce any but earn their Lords a 100 Franks a year It may not be improper therefore to observe here the Manners and Customs of these poor Wretches And it may first be remark'd That these Slaves can enjoy nothing of their own nor ever become Free unless they can get into some Convent or get to be Ordain'd Priests or else incline their Masters to Debauch their Wives or Daughters whereby the Law sets them Free But most commonly their Lords have a watchful Eye over them and obviate all their Policies These Lords never Let their Lands to Farm but to establish a Peasant on them they forthwith order the other Peasants of the Village at their own Charges to Build him a House Furnish him with a Cow Hens Geese and a quantity of Rye sufficient to keep him a Year so that a Lord of a Village is at no other Charge to set up a Slave on his Lands than he first Cost him These poor Slaves or Subjects as they call them most commonly work three Days in a Week for their Lords to one for themselves and sometimes four Dr. Connor says in his time a Country-man had a mind to forward his Son in Learning and would have sent him to the University but which the Signior would by no means condescend to and put the Son in Prison for refusing to be his Secretary till at last the Father was forc'd to purchase his Liberty at the Expence of 400 Crowns which he had Borrow'd When a Lord sells his Land the Slaves commonly go along with it though he can dispose of either separately if he pleases At the time of Harvest all the Peasants of the Village meet together to Reap their Lords Corn who are supervis'd and forc'd to Work by very rigid Taskmasters Their Punishments are sometimes several Blows of a Cudgel and sometimes a kind of Pillory wherein those Wretches shall be sometimes set for a whole Day together I should think now these poor Wretches the most miserable Creatures Breathing but they on the contrary never having known any better Condition and having seen their Fathers Slaves before them are well satisfied and contented with their Servitude But however they have this Happiness that they seldom want for Victuals and Drink for their Wives chiefest Employment is to provide them with that They have generally three or four sorts at a Meal viz. One of Pease with a little Bacon slic'd among it Another of Course Wheat Barley or Millet whereof they make their Cachat and two others of several sorts of strengthening Roots whereof they have great Plenty and very good The Movables of these Peasants Cottages are only a few Earthen or Wooden Dishes and a hard Bed which they make themselves with a very wretched Coverlet Their Children are not suffer'd to have a Bed till they are Marry'd but are forc'd to lye upon Boards by the Hearth side These sort of

reflect on those States that have a great many Fortifications we shall find that with the Loss of but one Battel they have been in a manner ruin'd for the Enemies being once got into their Strong-Holds are not easily forc'd out of them When on the contrary the Poles always rally in a Field-Battle and having no Places to retire to either for themselves or their Enemies never give out till they have totally excluded their Invaders Besides the Poles look upon Garrisons to be the Promoters of Effeminacy and Softness by the Examples of several Heroes of Antiquity for the Courages of Alexander and Hannibal were altogether enervated by their Revels at Persepolis and Capua and Boleslaus bury'd as it were in his Debauches at Kiovia Next I must proceed to present Your GRACE with an Account of the General Officers of the Army And first Of the Generals whereof there are two one for the Kingdom and another for the Great Dutchy as I have observ'd before He that is for the Kingdom is stil'd Hetman Wielki Koronni and he for the Dutchy Hetman Wielki W. X. Litheuskiego These as I have said before have almost the same Power with the King whilst they continue in the Field over their respective Armies for their Authority is altogether independent on each other This Dignity does not intitle them to sit in the Senate yet for the most part they are chosen out of the Senatorian Order and that to procure them the greater Respect and sometimes they have at the same time been the highest Officers in the Kingdom as Great Marshal Great Chancellor c. for John Zamoski was both Great Chancellor and General at once Yet this was afterwards abrogated and now the Office of General or Lieutenant General is usually conferr'd either upon the Palatins or Castellans who altho' they be in a manner superiour to the Great Officers of the Kingdom in respect of their Sitting in the Diet when the others are to stand about the King yet they are not presum'd to have so great a Power in the Republick This Office was not long since perpetual but now by the Constitutions in the Year 1666. it is to expire at the End of three Years Each of these Generals has his Lieutenant General The Office of these is describ'd in the Letter to his GRACE the Duke of NORFOLK and therefore need not be repeated here The Title the Poles give the former is Hetman Polny Koronni and to the latter Hetman Polny W. X. Litheuskiego In the absence of the Generals they have almost the same Power with them and formerly had equal tho' the Generals were present but that was afterwards abrogated They are chosen out of the Senatorian Order in like manner as the Generals Besides these there are the Generals of the Frontier-Guards which are independent on all but the King and Diet Likewise the General of the Cosacks whose power is established by the Constitution in the Year 1661. Next may be reckon'd the Chief Commander of the King's Guards in the Camp whose Office has been describ'd already in the Letter before-mention'd Next to these General-Officers come the Great Masters of the Artillery whereof there are two one for the Kingdom and another for the Great Dutchy Their Office is to take charge of and to provide the Armies with all sorts of Cannon c. and to see the Soldiers want for no Ammunition After these may be rank'd the Pissarsz of the Army that is to say the Intendant the Great Ensign the Camp-Marshal the Captain of the Guard or Watch and lastly the Major Generals which are much the same with our Brigadiers Then come the Colonels Captains c. There are two other sorts of Officers belonging to the Army which are the Camp-Notaries and the Roto-Magistri The former are to take an exact account of the number of Soldiers in the Army every three Months and to transmit a Copy thereof to the Great Treasurer and another to the Nuncio-Marshal but in Lithuania this is to be done every Month and the Nuncio-Marshal's Copy is to be given to the General The Roto-Magistri are as it were Captains or Centurious of the Frontier-Guards and who cannot by the Constitutions enjoy such a Commission and be Senators at the same time As to the Laws relating to Arms Your GRACE may first be pleased to understand that tho' the King cannot properly be said to declare War without the unanimous consent of the Diet yet in cases of sudden Incursions he might formerly with the Approbation only of such of the Senators as were then about him And under Sigismund III. there was a Council of War assign'd by the Diet or elected by the little Diets amounting to a considerable number to attend and advise in those matters which Council continues even at this day however with this restraint That what they do is not altogether valid till it has been confirm'd by the General Diet but as to offensive War that belongs peculiarly to the Great Diet to declare The King in like manner cannot either give to or receive Assistance from any Foreign Prince without the consent of the General Diet neither can he place any Foreigner in the custody of Castles or Forts without their Approbation The Poles have many other Laws concerning Martial Discipline which I have not Room here to Insert only I may take notice to Your GRACE that Deserters are punish'd not only with the loss of their Reputation but also whatever else they have in the World is Consiscated to the sole use and benefit of the Army By the Laws also no Women are suffer'd to follow the Camp tho' too great a number of Servants and useless Rabble are allow'd of insomuch that in an Army of but 10000 Men there will at least be 50000 of that Gang. Thus my Lord I have presum'd to present your GRACE with what particulars I could find as well in the best Polish Historians as in some private Memoirs relating to the Military Affairs in Poland and which I hope tho' not capable to afford what satisfaction might be expected may at least give no occasion of Offence I am My LORD Your Grace's most Humble and most Obedient Servant J. S. LETTER VII To his Excellency Monsieur de CLEVERSKERK Ambassador in Ordinary to his Majesty WILLIAM III. from the States of Holland Of the Trade Coyn and Riches of Poland with an Account of the Famous City of Dantzic its Manners Privileges Strength and Revenues MY LORD TRADE has ever been justly esteem'd so necessary towards the Support and Grandeur of any State that no Nation in the World has hitherto been found so Stupid as to be without it Some Countries indeed have wholly confin'd it to the limits of their own Dominions but how much they have been in the wrong may appear from the vast advantages which Foreign Commerce has brought to other Nations England and Holland are sufficient Demonstrations of this Assertion who during

the Title and Dutchy of Prussia thought himself oblig'd in the Name of his Order to enter Protestations against it He resign'd his Office to the Chapter after 8 Years Administration The Thirty Ninth Great Master of this Order and Administrator of Prussia was Maximilian Arch-Duke of Austria who had earnestly Sollicited the Electors for that Charge and offer'd to wear the Habit of the Order Afterwards being invited to the Crown of Poland this Order was in great hopes of being restored to their Dominions of Prussia but upon his being defeated by Sigismund III. they soon lost all those hopes He nevertheless continu'd their Great Master and being a brave Prince was nam'd for their General against the Turks in Hungary when he had a Company of Guards all Knights of the Order He held his Administration 34 Years and ended his days at Inspruck where he was likewise buried The Fourtieth Great Master was Charles Arch-Duke of Austria who after 5 years Regency died at Madrid whither he had been invited by the King of Spain to go his Vice-Roy into Portugal The Fourty first Great Master was John Eustache de Westernach who was Elected at Mergentheim the 19th of March in the Year 1625 and died 82 years old in the Year of our Lord 1627. The Fourty second Great Master was Gaspard de Stadion Provincial Commander of Alsace and Burgundy and particular Commander of Altschausen He after having governed this Order with great Reputation for fourteen years desir'd the Chapter to Elect Leopold William Arch Duke of Austria for his Coadjutor in the Administration of his Office and which being done he gave him the Cross of Prussia as a Testimony of his consent The Fourty third Great Master was this Leopold William who succeeded Stadion by Virtue of his former Election He govern'd this Order alone to the Year 1662 when he died at Vienna the 20th of November and was buried there The same Year the Chapter was Conven'd and would have chosen Charles Joseph Arch-Duke of Austria to have succeeded Leopold William his Brother but he died the same Year and thereby their designs were frustrated Afterwards the Chapter being Assembled at Mergentheim in the Year 1664 chose for their Fourty fourth Great Master one of their own Knights call'd John Gaspard of Ambringens Provincial Commander of the Circle of Austria and this they did to prevent the Intrigues which several Princes always made to get Elected to this Dignity This Great Master Convening the Chapter at Mariendal receiv'd Duke Lewis Anthony of Neubourg Abbot of Fescamp and third Son to Philip William Duke of Neubourg into this Order Ceremony of Creation and present State of Knights THe Ceremony was perform'd in the Great Church whither he had been conducted by the Great Master the Commendadors and Knights The Counts of Ottingen Hatzensten and Fugger who had been nam'd Commissioners to inspect his Titles of Honour reported upon Oath that they had examin'd and found his Honour to be unquestionable After which he was sworn to Chastity Poverty and to go to the Wars against the Infidels whenever occasion should so require When they gave him the white Mantle with the black Cross being the Ensigns of this Order and withal pronounc'd these Words according to Custom We Promise to give you as long as you live Water Bread and a Habit of our Order Next day the Great Master propos'd to the Chapter to Elect this Prince for his Assistant in the Government of the Order which the Electors desir'd time to consider of and after several Meetings had about it they answer'd they were content to Elect him providing he would sign a Capitulation offer'd him which he agreeing to do he was accordingly Elected The Teutonic Order at present consists of 12 Provinces which are Alsace and Burgundy for one Coblentz Austria and Etsch these four still retain the Name of Provinces of the Jurisdiction of Prussia as the eight following do that of Germany being the Provinces of Franconia Hesse Bressen Westphalia Lorrain Thuringen Saxony and Utrecht altho' this last is now altogether under the Dominion of the Hollanders Every one of these Provinces has its peculiar Commanderys of the Commendadors of which the Provincial is Chief Of these Provincial Commendadors there are 12 counting one for every Province It is these Commendadors who compose the Chapter of the Electors The Great Master's ordinary Residence has been at Mariendal in Franconia ever since this Order has been driven out of Prussia This My Lord is a short account of the Origin Progress successive Great Masters and present State of the Teutonic Order which I hope your Lordship will favourably accept being all that the propos'd brevity of this Undertaking would admit of I am My LORD Your Lordship 's most Obedient Humble Servant J. S. LETTER IX To Sir THOMAS MILLINGTON President of the College of Physicians Of the State of Learning and present Language of Natural Knowledge and particularly of the Practise of Physick in Poland with an account of some Natural Things and chiefly of a Disease in the Hair peculiar to the Poles commonly call'd Plica Polonica SIR THIS Letter courts your Acceptance on a double score your Learning and your Profession As to your Learning tho' it will doubtless be on all Hands allow'd that it has no need of Superstructure yet nevertheless sometimes it may require those Diversions which are here design'd and possibly in part unknown to you And as to your Profession being highly sensible of my imperfect account of the state of Physick especially in Poland I thought no Protection so safe to pass it under as yours My presumption I hope will be justifi'd upon Dr. Connor's first intending these Subjects for your Perusal and as to my Performance I entirely submit that to your Candour and Generosity SIR In the Kingdom of Poland and Great Dutchy of Lithuania there are two famous Universities with all sorts of Professors The former of these was Founded at Cracow by Casimir the Great and was finish'd by Jagello or Uladislaus V. in the Year 1401 conformable to the last Will and Testament of his Queen Hedwigis And the latter at Vilna being at first but an Academy Founded by King Stephen but afterwards was erected into an University by Pope Gregory XIII at the Request of Valerian Bishop of that City who had very much augmented the Colleges and Endowments In both these Universities the Chief Study is to speak good Latin for as to all parts of Polite Learning the Poles are not so curious as in other Countries yet have they a great many that will write good Verses for their Genius is mightily bent that way and besides they are very apt to quote Classick Authors in their Discourse and this particularly when they get Drunk which is very frequently Their Poet Sarbievius Casimir is no small Ornament to his Country who in his Odes has endeavour'd to imitate Horace and