represent to you I told her that I pretended not to wait any longer than Night to see whether she was a Woman of her Word Whereupon she told me that I was too hot upon the Spur and that the Conquest she propos'd to me was none of those that are atchieved in so short a time Nay she added that the Person being in nothing inferior to me as I know very well my self she did not pretend to grant me any Favour that could redound to her Prejudice That this was what she had to tell me on her behalf and that if I was an Honest Man and would think of marrying her that then it should be my own fault if I was not happy This Complement far from displeasing me was extreamly acceptable to me There wanted nothing to my budding Passion but a little Esteem to render it such as it ought to be that it might be wanting in nothing Thus there being nothing more now to stop the Progress of it Yes I said to her a Thousand times more enflamed than before I accept of these Conditions and I charge you to tell her that I shall never enfringe them In uttering these Words I snatch'd the Picture from her and kiss'd it with so much transport that a body must have been very blind as not to perceive that I was passionately in Love. After a thousand Follies of this nature and which would be too long to relate But tell me I said to her once again is it really true that she is as beauteous as her Picture And may I flatter my self that my Vows may with her meet with a kind Reception I warrant ye both she reply'd to me And if you would have me tell you things as they are I come hither only by her Order You may know this from her when you please And to shew you that I tell you nothing but the Truth be you a while hence at her going out of her House to the Church She is lodg'd near the Church of St. Mark Follow her and when she comes near the Holy Water speak something to her and you will see in what manner she will answer you These Words were so positive that I had not the least room left for doubt but that she spoke the Truth to me Thus abandoning my self to joy I confirm'd the Promises I had made her that she should not lose her Pains After which I accepted of the Expedient she propos'd to me that I might fully secure my happiness to my self Now you must know that this Woman did really speak the Truth and that at that time I was not indifferent to the beautiful Lidiana But I must inform your Celsitude how this came to pass This Woman seeing that she lost all her Gains of me by the Resolution I had taken to be no longer debauched And having thereby lost her best Customer had been cudgelling her Brains to contrive the means of getting my Favour again As she had seen me very sensible for the Fair Sex she fancy'd there was no other Expedient for her than to bait me with this Temptation Nevertheless having seen me pawl'd by all the Courtizans she sought out one that was no Miss but who might become one by her way of Management As she was attentive to this Jeast she saw Lidiana whose ravishing Beauty offer'd her the Fetter wherewithal she sought to ensnare my Liberty She inform'd her self carefully who she was how she had been brought up whether she was giddy-headed and well disposed to the World and in sine whether her Mother in whose Company she was come had a strict Eye over her But all that she was told having inform'd her that she had fed her self with hopes which she was far from seeing effected she took other Measures and such as I am going to re-count to your Celsitude Having acquainted her with the Name of the Town where I was born and she knowing Lidiana to be of the same Place our Birth our Age and in short all that People seek to make a Match seeming suitable to her between us Two she found the Means to get to the Speech of this lovely Person and after having told her who I was and that I was extreamly taken with her Beauty and Merit though I had never seen her she us'd her Perswasions so effectually that she inspir'd her with the Curiosity to see me Lidiana giving Credit to all she said to her made her swear that she would not give me intimation of it which the other was very glad of as having not yet discours'd me upon the Matter and by Consequence fearing that I might have made some false step that might have discovered her Cheat. The Place she appointed her to see me in was the Church of Saint Mark whither I commonly went to Mass and there without dreaming of it in the least I was contemplated by Lidiana's fair Eyes to whom I could not make Returns she being mobb'd up after the Mode of Italy in a great Veil that robbed me of the sight of her I appear'd to her the same as the Woman had describ'd me to her and though it was very advantageously to me I may without Vanity say that I did not belye the Esteem she had conceived upon the Go between 's Relation This interview being made in this manner Lidiana said a thousand things to her in my favour And after several Discourses of which I was ever the Subject and wherein the Woman did not forget to assure her that I daily became more and more in Love and that I continued in the Design of marrying her she brought her at length to consent to give her her Picture and it was the same she brought me Things being in so fair a way without it's having cost me either Cares or Pains which however is seldom seen in such an Occasion as this I had no longer any other disquiet than the longing to see so fair an Original It was easie for our Go-between to procure me this satisfaction and after what she had done she needed only to speak to effect that It was still in a Church where this interview was made and Lidiana seeing that I did not take my Eyes from off her this confirm'd her still in all that had been told her and she lift up slily her Veil and gave me sufficient leisure to contemplate her so as to tell my self a thousand times that I had seen nothing in all my Life that came near her Beauty To tell you that after this I had no longer any Repose till such time as that I had spoken to her is to tell you nothing new Whoever has ever been in love knows that Lovers require something more real than sight Nevertheless it was a Difficulty and as the Mode of Italy is that Maidens do not render any Visit so incommode a Custom did not allow me to have a plenary satisfaction in that point This Faileur advis'd the using of Stratagems But though I was passionately
Ottoman Gallantries OR THE LIFE OF THE BASSA OF BUDA Done out of French. LONDON Printed for R. Bentley and S. Magnes in Russel-street in Covent-Garden 1687. To the Honourable WILLIAM Lord CAVENDISH My Lord I Should not know how to Apologize for the Presumption of this Address if the Introduction of a Forreigner did not in some wise plead in my Excuse His Priviledges as such in a great manner entituling him to your Lordship ' s Protection I resolv'd at the same time I implor'd his Admittance to improve the Occasion as well for the discharging some awful sense of Gratitude for the Obligations I have to your Illustrious Father as for the paying your Lordship that Homage that is owing you from all those that make Profession of publickly honouring Merit and Virtue Yes my Lord as the World does both Esteem and Admire the ravishing Excellencies of your Person the surprizing Progress you have made in all sorts of Noble Exercises that Blooming Beauty of your Genius that Vivacity of Imagination Solidity of Judgment those Charms in Conversation and that early Harvest of Polite Learning that so soon in your Spring your Lordship stands possess'd of as if the Muses had a Mind to make some Amends by shedding all their Gifts upon your Lordship for the constant support and azylum they have ever found in your illustrious Family So it has a Respect and Veneration for your Goodness your Condescention Generosity Candour and Gallantry that conspicuously declares the Nobility of your Extraction Thus I hope this Offering will not only be interpreted as an Effect of my Zeal and Admiration but as a Testimony of the ardent and respectful Passion with which I am My Lord Your Lordship 's most Obedient And most Humble Servant B. Berenclow IBRAHIM BASSA OF BUDA I Am not at all surpriz'd to see that Love occasions many Disorders in Private Families It ever did so and ever will But to find that it is It that has kindled the War we at present see between the Turks and the Empire is a matter very extraordinary and nevertheless very true Easie will it be to know this Truth from the following History which I shall faithfully relate from the Memoirs I have received from one of my Friends at Constantinople where he has an Employ under a Foreign Minister by whom as he writes me word he was inform'd of what I am going to recount Count Teckeley that famous Head of the Male-contents that has so long born Arms against his Master after having according to the Destiny of those that are engag'd in such like Enterprises found that there is nothing more difficult than to succeed in their Projects was ready to sink when he resolv'd to send his Secretary once for all to the Grand Signior of whom he had already receiv'd divers Succours but too slender to bring his Designs about He expresly encharg'd him to tell this Prince and the Grand Vizier that he was oblig'd to come to an Accomodation with the Emperour unless they assisted him better than they had hitherto done That all his Partizans were weary of the War they had made for so long a time and for the most part at their own cost That he could no longer hinder them from returning to their own homes where they had their Wives and their Children principally since the Emperour gave them hopes of Liberty of Conscience and the Preservation of their Priviledges for whose Infraction they had taken up Arms against him That they daily persecuted him to accept these Conditions which he had endeavour'd to elude remonstrating to them that these were Promises that would never have effect That this had stopp'd them hitherto but that at length the want of Power he labour'd under would oblige him to close with those Offers This Secretary having laid these Reasons before the Grand Vizier this Minister laid 'em before his Master a Prince that having been brought up amid the effeminacy of the Serraglio did by consequence love Peace much better than Wan The Grand Vizier for his part desired nothing but Quiet not but that he was well experienc'd in Martial Affairs but because he loved a Sultana whose sight he preferred before all things By these means the Secretary had but a scurvy Reception and the Answer made to him was that the Grand Signior would by no means engage openly in the War but that he would give Order for the assisting of his Master under hand as had been done since his Revolt against the Emperour For this purpose several Bassa's had Order to repair to Constantinople and there in the Secretaries presence were they commanded to keep a secret Correspondence with Teckeley and to favour him in all they could yet without committing any Hostility that could embroil the two Empires The Emperour who was but ill serv'd in Spies hearing of Teckeley's Secretary's arrival at Constantinople and this meeting of the Bassa's imagin'd all to be for the making of War against him and an Envoy he had in that Court having signify'd to him that the thing was so he sent him Order to break the Designs that might be espouz'd to his prejudice in that Assembly by several advantageous Offers he caus'd to be made to the Turks if they would for Twenty Years prolong a Truce that was made between the Two Empires after the Battel of St. Godard The Grand Vizier who expected nothing less than this was over joy'd at this juncture and resolv'd to procure the advantage of his Master that was offer'd without running any Risque he began to give out a Rumour of an approaching Rupture that so the Emperour augmenting his allarums might cause still more advantageous Conditions to be propos'd to him Nevertheless for the better insinuating of the War he sent for the Bassa of Buda who had not been summon'd to the first Assembly and as he was the Person the Port was wont to consult in what concerned Hungary the Emperour did not doubt but that the Turks would proceed to a Rupture with him This Bassa was a Man between Eight and Twenty and Thirty Years old as well made as a Man could be brave to the highest Degree but whose Wit did nevertheless surpass his Bravery and Good Mien He had obtain'd his Government not so much however by his Good Qualities as by the Love the Sultana Zelinda had conceived for him And this Adventure is extraordinary and sparkish enough so as to believe that I shall not weary out my Reader by giving him an account of it This Bassa was one of those Tribute-Children that are rais'd upon the Christians and his Mother having not been able to dispense her self from this unhappy Law which thus obliges to give what one best loves no sooner saw that her Child was cull'd out by those that are appointed to exact it but that she made a Mark in his Face that she might be able to know him again another day This Mark was just for all the World as if
unfortunate Creature did only say he was unhappy in his Mistress to hinder his Resentment from falling upon him Wherefore to let him see that he did not so easily credit him We shall see in a moment said he to him whether we are able to humble this Pride and whether by the means of Torments we can force the Truth from thee Just as he had utter'd these words he had notice brought him that the Sultana was come again to her Sences And as each Moment was a Year to him as I may say so hot was he upon his Revenge Bring that ungrateful Woman hither he answer'd and let us see whether we can find out any thing severe enough to punish her Provided that thy Vengeance falls only upon me reply'd the unfortunate Prisoner thou needest only to satisfie thy self and I tell thee once again I shall have sufficient Constancy not to utter one sole Complaint The Grand Signior did not vouchsafe to answer him any longer and casting his Eyes that way the Sultana was to come he had no sooner perceived her but that using his Tongue again Come near Perfidious Woman said he to her and after having render'd thy self so unworthy of the Honour I did thee come and view the Torments that are prepared for those that dare to sully the Bed of the Ottoman Emperors This is a Capital Crime among all Nations but know that it is much greater here than elsewhere Other Princes do not chuse Women but through reason of State and very often they do not love them but for my part I love thee tenderly and it was on that account that I had preferr'd thee to an infinite number of others that would have thought themselves honoured by my Choice and who would have been favourable to me though it were only in gratitude for the Favours I had rais'd them to Ought not this Obligation to produce the like Sentiments in thee But what do I say Wert thou not obliged to it by a more engaging Sentiment than this Oughtst thou not to answer to my Love whereof I give thee so many instances and for a reward of which thou would'st now give me my Death As the Sultan had put himself between the Prisoner and Zelinda to make these Reproaches they could not see each other but stirring from his place the Prisoner who was at watch to see a Person he infinitely lov'd and for whose sake he had expos'd himself to so great a danger had no sooner view'd Zelinda but that turning towards the Sultan With what false hopes hast thou fed me he said to him and after having made me expect to see the Person for whose sake I came so far must thou insult me to that degree as to shew me an unknown Face instead of that which is so well engraven in my Heart that I can never forget it Hitherto Zelinda had had her Eyes down upon the Ground as a Person that found her self Culpable and who expected every moment to be convicted For she had so fix'd it in her Head that it was Ibrahim whom the Grand Signior had taken as that she did no longer doubt of it But finding by the Tone of his Voice how far he was mistaken she interpos'd with her Tongue and thereby hinder'd the Grand Signior from speaking tho he had already his Mouth open to answer the Prisoner She address'd her Discourse to the Sultan and did it in these Terms It is so dolorous a thing to me Sir to see my self so unjustly accus'd and my Grief must have very much deceiv'd me that I now find my self alive And it is in this that I am oblig'd to jump in an Accord with what People say of our Sex namely that only Men die of Grief and that for our parts we live by 't God keep me however from it and after the injustice that you do me if I am so unhappy as not to sink under my Griefs I know the Means to free me all of the sudden Yes I will my self stab my own Bosom added she And all that I require of God and my Great Prophet is that you may have eternally a Regret for the sad Extremity you have reduc'd me to The Grand Signior who look'd upon both their Discourses as Trifles as suspecting them of Intelligence the better to deceive him Pish to others Madam said he to her for I am not so easily impos'd upon We shall presently make that Wretch sing an other Tune and turning at the same time towards the Executioners Come said he to them Employ your whole industry to force the Truth out of his Mouth That is not necessary this unfortunate Man answer'd with a firm and vigorous Voice and I shall tell it thee plainly without thy needing their Ministry I do not say this to thee added he that I might escape the Torments that thou art preparing for me I know that thou ought'st to satisfie thy Cruelty A Man that despises Death has nothing to fear And all that I can tell thee is that if I could be reveng'd on the Aga of the Janizaries and see her once again I love I should die the most contented of all Men. But thou deniest me the One and as for the Other it was impossible for me to succeed in the Projects I had laid it being the VVill of Destiny that this Aga whom I had so much Reason to hate was no longer here when I arriv'd And what has the Aga done to thee the Sultan reparty'd that thou should'st have that inveteracy against him He has robb'd me of my Mistress this Unfortunate Prisoner answer'd And what makes me hate him still the more is that he carried her away contrary to Good Faith and as a Thief as he is I will inform thee of that Circumstance added he if thou art ignorant of it And thou must know that her Mother going to entreat him to afford her Passage in his Ship to come hither to seek out a Son that had been a long while in these Parts and this lovely Virgin having accompany'd her on the day of her departure to give her her farewell he weigh'd Anchor without being affected either by her Cries or her Tears I have been since told added he that he has delivered her into thy Hands And it was to see her once again that I pass'd o're the Garden Walls where thou found'st me This is the whole Naked Truth since thou wilt needs know it But let not this hinder thee from doing all that thou hast resolv'd on I did not tell it thee to avert the Punishments with which thou hast menac'd me And once again those that do not fear Death do little fear all that can usher it in Never was Man so out of Countenance as the Sultan when he heard him talk in this manner For in fine as a body cannot feign so well but that it may plainly be seen when a Person lies it is in like manner easie to know when he speaks the Truth
Grand Signior says kind things to an other in your presence And the injustice of my Fate is such as that not content with all the Cruelti's that you have exercised against me to compleat my misery you add what I could never have expected I thought that Virtue was the Rule of All your Actions but by what I perceive you are very much a stranger to it And this is what ought to comfort me in my present Condition since that the loss I have is not so great as I imagin'd it Yes Sultan 't is out of Jealousie that she goes about to provoke you And if I had still sufficient Power to acquaint thee what her Cruelty was to me thou would'st see that I am so far from ever having been happy that my Misfortune has even surpassed that of the most Vnfortunate As much as Sultana Zelinda had been transported with joy at her Rival's Discourse whom she thought ruin'd in the Grand Signior's Good Opinion after her Confession so much was that of this Man unpleasant to her Wherefore that she might not give the Grand Signior time to make Reflexion upon it D' ye not see Sir that the Excess of his Love sets him upon saving his Mistress at the Expence of his own Life Now are Torments and Tortures seasonable and I am very much deceived if you do not find out many things The Sultan had almost forgot the Love he had had for the Sultana while that she had been indisposed but the Words of this Man having made him return into himself It is not your Business Madam said he to Zelinda to teach me what I have to do I love the Sultana well enough to be willing this Mystery should be unravelled And I shall take care to revenge her Love or reward it according as it shall prove guilty or innocent But there are ways of informing ones self which though they be less cruel the one than other are nevertheless equally certain It is to those of Mildness that I am very willing to have recourse And who knows not that very often instead of extorting a Truth by the means of Tortures the miserable are often oblig'd to say all they have not done so to free themselves from the Excess of the Torments they are made to suffer At these Words he sent Ibrahim's Sister back into her Apartment commanding that no body should speak to her till farther Order Then questioning her Lover he would needs have of him a particular Account of his Passion And this Man who had made the Sultana a Thousand Reproaches when she went out but nevertheless lov'd her beyond expression thinking that the only means to save her was to tell the Sultan the Truth related his History to him And as it is full of a World of Incidents I am perswaded the Reader will not be sorry that I impart it to him And here you shall have it Word for Word as he told it to the Grand Signior without my changing the least thing in it THE HISTORY OF Rivelli and Lidiana I Shall not trifle away time Sir in giving you a long account of my Birth nor of the Sultana's And to what purpose would it be for me to tell you any thing to the advantage of our Extraction since no regard is had to that in your Empire I will tell you nevertheless by the by that we are both Natives of a Town which is but Two Italian Miles distant from that where the Aga plaid his Prank That our Relations are the most eminent for Estate and Quality in that Place That for my part I had all imaginable Reason to be satisfy'd with Fortune if Love had not come across and robb'd me of my Repose At Fifteen Years old my Father sent me to Venice to serve the Re-publick in its Armies where in his time he had had considerable Employs and Three Years after I was listed under its Colours the Senate sent me Order to return into the City and gave me a Regiment During the abode I made there I lead the same Life which People of Eighteen Years of Age do commonly lead and who want no Money That is to say that being naturally prone to Love I saw an infinite number of Courtezans which that Town is better stock'd with than any other in the Universe At length growing weary of that Life which in Truth is unworthy of an Honest Man I abstain'd from returning into that Place of Debauchery which did in no wise please those that had tasted of my Liberality and especially a certain Woman whose Ministry I had made use of in my amorous Expeditions I was daily persecuted by her she every day shew'd me the Picture of some new Courtezan and I own that among them there were some of a wonderful Beauty and for whom a Man would have been capable of doing all things if their Beauty had been accompany'd with Wisdom But as I was utterly pawl'd by the easiness of these sorts of Conquests or rather I knew they were common to me with the first Comer I persisted in the Resolution I had taken of remaining Discreet This almost madded this Woman and I was for some time without hearing of her But at the Months end I saw her come into my Room with a satisfy'd Countenance and having desired me to send my Servants out And this said she to me shewing me the finest Picture I had seen in all my Life will you resist it No said I to her I own it after having attentively view'd the Pourtraict And I agree if the Original be conformable to the Copy there is nothing but what you may expect from my Liberality I do believe it she answer'd me And if you say this to me now what will you say when I shall have told you that this is the Picture of Madamoiselle Lidiana a Person whose Name cannot be unknown to you no less than her Birth and Fortune I was surprized at these Words and must tell you Sir that this Name is that of the Sultana you have in your Hands who being of the most considerable Birth in our Countrey was as familiar to me as my own For my part I am called Rivelli And I am very willing to acquaint you with Both our Names that Circumstance being necessary to the Sequel of my Discourse My Surprize was not so great but that I presently re-collected my self out of it and still holding my Eyes fix'd upon that Picture Is it possible said I to this Woman that you can put the Original into my Hands Doubtless answer'd she me And provided you do what is requisite for that purpose you will quickly see the Accomplishment of my Promises I thought that this Woman who was self-interested as are commonly all those of her Profession meant that I must be liberal Wherefore taking out my Purse at the same time I gave it her with a Promise that it should be only a Sample of my Gratuities In fine being enflam'd more than I can