Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	abhor_v	able_a	poor_a	19	3	5.5303	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57371	The adventures of (Mr. T.S.) an English merchant taken prisoner by the Turks of Argiers, and carried into the inland countries of Africa : with a description of the kingdom of Argiers ... / written first by the author, and fitted for the public view by A. Roberts ; whereunto is annex'd an observation of the tide, and how to turn a ship out of the straights mouth, the wind being westerly, by Richard Norris.	T. S.; Roberts, A., 17th cent.; Norris, Richard.	1670 (1670)	Wing R1576; ESTC R36789	70,471	267

for he foresaw the dreadful consequence that would ensue if he offered to offend the Turks and if they did countenance his Nephew in his Rebellion it might prove the ruine of Himself and Kingdom therefore to engage them to his Interest which was the most just he courted my Master their Ambassador with all expressions of kindness our Lodgings were always full of Courtiers and every day we did feel and see some Tokens of the Princes Kindness or Fear This part of the Countrey began to be in no little apprehension at first but when my Master had received full satisfaction he setled their minds with the assurance that the Turks were too honest to approve of the Nephews Rebellion against an Unkle Yet such was my Masters kindness for the young man that he mediated for him and obliged the Prince to invite him again to his Duty and pardon his Offences which he accepted of willingly when he heard how we had promised to lend our succours to his Unkle in case he should remain obstinate in the pursuance of his wicked Design He quickly return'd to Court and was there received with a jealous Countenance that had always an Eye upon him and his Actions The fond Love the People had conceived for him saved his Life for none did dare to attempt to injure him that was so dear to every one The young mans confidence upon the Peoples Affection made him more impertinent than otherwise he would have been It made him appear more bold to oppose his Unkle and more negligent in his Duty towards him When we had our Dispatches we left him to his own Fortune and return'd again to Climsan to the great satisfaction of all the City who did hope to reap no small advantage from this Negotiation My Master had the honour of it although it was effected by my Contrivance He ever after employed me in his difficult Affairs and admitted me into his private Council An Honour that a Slave could never expect from the Turks Severity We made some stay in this City of Climsan in which time I took notice of many Particulars of the several manners of Execution which are these Empasing They thrust a sharp Stake into the Body of the Criminal which enters in between their Legs and appears again at their Mouth This is their usual way of treating notable Robbers and Fellows that have acted against the Government It is cruel and inhumane for it puts the Patient to a long Pain when the Stake hath escap'd the Heart and some of the more sensible Parts Some I have seen alive near six hours in this manner Those that commit Adultery or that attempt any thing against the Lives of them whom they should defend are cast headlong down a Precipice at the bottom whereof sharp Stakes are erected to welcome them and dispatch them into another World I have heard sad Groans and Outcries from such that have been thus executed There is another manner of Execution not usual in our Climates when any have committed Sacriledge or done any Action to the dishonour of Mahomet or the Religion professed in this place they poure scalding Lead into his Mouth which sinks in with a horrible Smoke and burns the Throat to the Entrails I never heard any give the least shrick for the burning Metal consumes all before it and causes the Wind-pipe to shrink Others are exposed to the cruelty of the Children who with sharp Sticks and Canes do prick them to death that they might accustom these young Spirits to Blood and Wounds that when they grow to age they might less abhor it I have seen them take a great delight to thrust their sharp Reeds into the Sides and Back of the poor Criminal who is not able to defend himself but with his Tongue for his Hands and Legs are tyed in such a manner as he may only walk It is a very pitiful Spectacle to see a poor Creature bleed out his Soul through so many Wounds The sportful Outcries and Voices of the Children do hinder the dying men from being heard Some of them continue alive many hours sprinkling their blood wherever they crawl There is here another as strange an Execution as the former In the great Market place of the City a brazen Lion stands hollow within with a grim and threatning Countenance at his Side a Door opens which is made to receive those that are to be executed in that manner They are persons that are guilty of some horrid Crimes and that have offended the Publick in a grievous manner To recompense them therefore by their Deaths they execute them thus that they that have been useless in their Lives may give some sport at least at their going out of the world to the People they are shut into this new Invention and a Fire of Wood is kindled under it which by degrees as it heats the Brass it puts them to a greater torture The pain forces them to complain and cry out Now at the Mouth Ears and under the Tail of the Lion are holes artificially made out of which the Complaints and Cries of the Patient do burst forth through different Windings and Turnings in such a manner that several Voices or rather Tunes are framed one after another for the Cry is longer a coming out of the Tail than the Ears and so of the Mouth Besides the variety of Cries yields a pleasant and a various sound to the Ears of the Spectators This cruel sport continues many times a whole day to divert the people for at the Judges pleasure they kindle a lesser or a greater Fire which causes the Patient to die accordingly I could never learn the Author of this inhumane Engine which hath been died with so much blood for during my three years abode in that place I saw above twenty cast into that Oven A Woman a Child and a Man were put in together for it is very large Their Crime was that they had attempted to kill our Governour by the sollicitation of a Morisco Prince that hated him The Woman was to trapan and ensnare him with her Beauty and convey secretly some poison by that means into his Drink when she should be admitted into his Familiarity and in case that Plot did not succeed then the man was to stab or shoot him when he could meet him at an advantage Our old General was not so aged but he had some Reliques of his youthful Inclinations when therefore he saw her Beautiful Eyes large and full of Spirits he laboured to get into her more intimate Acquaintance thinking to meet there with a perfect happiness he employed such means as he quickly compassed his Design but not to his satisfaction so much as was expected for as they were together she discovered a Box which she was so desirous to hide from him that he became suspitious that it might be something that he understood not Assoon as he saw it he judged it to be poison but to be more assured he

Ornament to a place Its Body is of a deep green the Boughs red the Leaves yellow as Gold with a mixture of white Some told me that this Tree could not grow in any other Climate or Soil and that some had laboured to transplant it on the Sea-shore but that Air had rendred all their Labours and Endeavours to little purpose Here is great abundance of Dates That Tree never produces unless there be a Conjunction of the Male with the Female they usually join their Boughs together I had time in this place to take a view of all the Rarities It appears to me to be one of the ancientest Cities of the World it stands upon a plain ground fortified with a strong Wall beautified with many square Marble Pillars very white the rest of the Wall being built of a brown stone on the top the Bulwarks are adorned with Turrets of divers colours The City yields a pleasant sight to the Beholder when the Sun shines The inside is no less beautiful The Streets are straight and broad The Heart of the City contains many excellent Buildings A stately Mosque supported by a hundred Pillars of white Marble with several Arches of very curious work the Governours Palace where there are a hundred large Rooms very neatly adorned with several mishapen Figures of divers Colours for the Mahumetans abhor Images and Statues therefore they have not the use of Pictures nor do not allow them to appear publickly in any place Here is also a Town-House a place appointed for the meeting of the Chief Persons when any urgent Business calls them to consult together It stands upon an Arch supported by two Rows of Marble Pillars It hath a Steeple to it built with half Brick and half Stone very high and large The top hath a Prospect into all the Countrey as far as our Eye-sight will reach and in one side is a large Room full of the ancient Records of the Arabians since the first Conquest of this Countrey with many Large Volumes The next Place to it is the Court that belongs to the Cadir the Chief Justice where he sits upon a Seat covered with a Canopy of Cloth of Silver the Seat is elevated above the rest in the manner of a Table spred with Turky Carpets upon which he sits as a Tailor A Fellow stands at his Elbow with a naked Cymeter about him a little lower sit several of his Assistants whose Counsel he takes in difficult Affairs Over against stands the Parties to be judged without delay they usually receive the Punishments due to their Offence at the same time that they are judged for they admit of no Reprieve There are many other Houses very well built they are flat on the Top some are curiously painted according to the Mosaique Fashion The Inhabitants do sleep upon them in the Summer covered with an Alhage to defend them from the venomous Flies and from the Musketa's pernicious Creatures that suck their Blood In the middle of the City is a large Market-place and round about many Cloisters of the Religious men amongst the Moors One is more remarkable than the rest because of the excellent Workmanship and ancient Fabrick and because of a great Library a curious thing amongst this rude People I know not with what manner of Books it is stored for Christians have never the liberty to handle them but as I did learn from the Keepers of the Door they were Books that had been pick'd up in all the parts of Africa by one of their Princes and laid in that place for the benefit of the Students whereof there are very few unless it be of Magicians and men that study the Virtues of Simples Other Arts and Sciences as Astrology Logick the Mathematicks c. are almost extinct amongst them In the time of my abode among them I have perceived that they pretend many times the assistance of the Devil to work miraculous Effects when they do it by the Knowledges that they have of Nature They are very superstitious and listen very much to the Reports and Whimsies of their Soothsayers Some never undertake a Voyage of any Concern without consulting these Oracles Many in these parts make a great advantage of the Peoples Folly There is a Society amongst them that profess Fortune-telling It is not so much discredited as in our Kingdom They are persons for the most part of Honour and Reputation that are admitted to a familiar acquaintance with the infernal Spirits They vouchsafe not to appear and discover themselves to every idle Rascal I have seen wonderful Cures performed by their means not so much by the secret operation of the Spirit as by the virtue of Herbs and Medicines applied to the Patient which were directed and revealed by the Evil Spirit for the Devil is a good Physitian he may dispute the Palm with Hypocrates and Galen I have seen a deaf man whose Organ was only obstructed and not incapacitated cured by the Application of an Herb like unto our Sorrel called Hegn by the Moors Agues and Fevers are driven away by the touch of some of these Magicians other Diseases require a longer time and other Remedies This City is full of this sort of People that openly acknowledge themselves to be such and own a familiarity with several infernal Spirits Their Names and Appearance I could never know from them I was very inquisitive to understand something of their art but their Grandeur could not suffer them to entertain a Discourse with a poor Slave I have seen them make Figures Images of Clay and Wax which they put upon the top of their houses especially in the two Solstices in the Equinoctials and in the full Moon the reason as I did conceive was to make them receive some quality which the Stars do send down at such seasons upon the corporal Bodies There are many sorts of Trades in this place but as in most Cities of Barbary they all live together in one Street that are of the same Profession At one end of the Town hard by the River Elouad that waters the Fields of Climsan is erected a stately Castle the Seat of the Lieutenant or Governour of the City It overlooks the Town and commands it with a hundred Peeces of Ordnance Nothing is here remarkable but the Antiquity of the Buildings and Fortifications It was first erected in the time of the Vandal Kings to keep this Inland Countrey in subjection and especially this great and populous City It hath been since enlarged by the Saracens In the middle stands a Pillar full of Arabick Letters written in blew Figures upon black Marble to signifie the memorable actions that have been performed in the time of Saracen or Arabick Kings They have reigned in these parts many years before Charles the Fifth attempted to win Argiers A small History and Account of their Names and Actions I shall annex in its place This City is the largest in the whole Kingdom which is limited on the