The six voyages of John Baptista Tavernier, Baron of Aubonne through Turky, into Persia and the East-Indies, for the space of forty years : giving an account of the present state of those countries, viz. of the religion, government, customs, and commerce of every country, and the figures, weight, and value of the money currant all over Asia : to which is added A new description of the Seraglio / made English by J.P. ; added likewise, A voyage into the Indies, &c. by an English traveller, never before printed ; publish'd by Dr. Daniel Cox

OF THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF Gold and Silver-Coins, And the small MONEY Now current in TURKEY. Together With the History of the TRADE in Five Sols Pieces (French MONEY) and the Abolition of it.

THere are but two Species of Gold-Coins current all over the Turkish * 1.1 Empire; the one is the proper Countrey Money, the other comes out of Forein parts. The former is the Scherif, otherwise called Sequin, or Sultanine; and that kind of Gold is worth at the pre∣sent six Franks, French Money, though heretofore it yielded but five Franks, nay came so low as four.

The Scheriffs come from Egypt, and Cairo isthe only City of the Empire, where * 1.2 Gold is coin'd. That Gold is brought out of the Kingdom of the Abyssines, and this is the manner how it is brought to Cairo. The quantity is not the same every year, and when the passages are shut up, whether by War, or by extraordinary Rains, whereby the Fields are overflown,, there comes but little Gold into Egypt, during that time. As soon as those obstructions are taken away, and that there is a freedom of Commerce, you shall see arriving at Cairo, nay at Alexandria too, several Abyssines, who bring in, one man, two pounds, another four, every one more or less, according to his abilities. Those poor People run a thousand risques in their Travels, and 'tis almost a miracle, how they bring them to a period. Some of them are of that Coun∣try, whence the Queen of Sheba came, and which is now call'd the Kingdom of Sa∣bour. Others come from places at a greater distance, and they have sometimes fifteen days journeys to make, and cannot meet with any waters to drink, but what are cor∣rupt, and destructive to health: which I found but too true my self, when I cross'd the Desarts of Arabia. If by chance they come to some Cottage or Hut, where they

have kill'd an Elephant, it is a place for them to feast in. This consider'd, we need not wonder at the short lives of those miserable people, whose bodies are destroy'd in those Voyages, and who for the most part do not exceed forty years of age. The case is the same with those, who trade with the Portugueses, on the Coasts of Melinda and Mo∣zambico, the corrupt waters they are forc'd to drink in their way make them hydropi∣cal at five and twenty years at age, and generally, all the several peoples of the King∣dom of Sabour, have the right Leg swell'd, and twice as big as the left, and seldom exceed five and thirty years.

'Tis a miraculous thing to see the fidelity wherewith those poor Abyssines demean * 1.3 themselves in trading, as well those of the Southern parts, who are Christians, as those of the North, who border upon Egypt, and are Mahumetans. For after they have taken the Commodities they like for the Gold they have brought, if the Merchant they deal with will supply them with any thing further, to be paid at their return, and up∣on their own words, he is sure enough of it, and need not break his sleep for it. For if it happen that one of those Abyssines, who is a Debtor, should die by the way, some of his Relations, or Friends, whom he acquaints with his affairs, brings the Gold at the next return, for the Commodity which had been taken up; and it could never hitherto be found, that any Merchant could complain, that ever he had lost ought by any one of them. All that is to be fear'd, is, that they should fall into the hands of their Enemies, who rob, and kill them, and particularly on the South-side, there being less danger, towards the North.

The foreign Coins of Gold in Turkey are the Ducates of Germany, Holland, Hungary, and Venice. They are very much sought after, and they are chang'd, at six Livers and a half, and sometimes at six Livers and fifteen Sols; and that is done in order to the sending of them to the Indies, where they drive a great Trade with them, as I shall make it appear, in my Relations of the Levant. Sometime since, there has been some abatement made in the Ducates of Venice, upon a discovery of their not being of so good an alloy, as those of Germany.

There will be often mention made of Purses, in that Relation of the Seraglio. A Purse implies as much as the sum of five hundred Crowns, and it is of those Purses that the Grand Seignor makes his ordinary Presents. But a Purse of Gold, wherewith he regales his Sultanesses, and his peculiar Favourites, amounts to fifteen thousand Se∣quins, or thirty thousand Crowns. A Kizé is also a bag of fifteen thousand Du∣cates.

In all the Ottoman Empire, there is not any Money of Copper to be seen, and the Species current there must be either of Silver or Gold. True it is, that there are some pieces of Silver taken there, of a very base alloy, especially the Roup, which are quar∣ter-Ryals, coin'd in Poland; and with the assistance of the Jews, the Bassa's, in their several Governments, counterfeit certain foreign Coins, which are all much different from those which they are intended to imitate.

The case is the same as to Silver-Coins in Turkey, as it is with those of Gold. There are some coin'd in the Countrey, as the Asper, and the Parasi, which are the least of all. And there are some forreign Moneys, as the Spanish Ryal, and the Rix-dollars of Germany and Holland.

An Asper is the least of all the Moneys, which heretofore was worth eight Deniers, French Money, that is about ⅔ of the English Penny, as being of good Silver, and the value set upon them was after the rate of 80, for the Crown-piece. But in the more remote Provinces, the Bassa's, and the Jews cause such an abundance of counterfeit ones to be made, that at present, a Crown-piece will yield one hundred and twenty Aspers.

A Parasi is another kind of small Money, which is worth four Aspers, and coin'd at Cairo.

Groche is the Crown, or Spanish Ryal, otherwise called the Piece of eight.

Kara-Groche is the Rix-dollar of Germany.

Aselani is the Rix-dollar, mark'd with the Lyon of Holland. After which follow the Pieces of four Ryals, of two Ryals, and of one Ryal; and heretofore the Pieces of five Sols, French Money, wherewith there was a great Trade driven in Turkey. 'Tis a thing not well known to all, and therefore the History thereof will haply not be un∣pleasant to the Reader.

A certain Merchant of Marseilles, without any fore-thought design, sent as many Pieces of five Sols, newly come out of the Mint, as amounted to the sum of two, or * 1.4 three hundred Crowns, amongst some other Pieces of Silver-Coins, to buy Silks. The Turks found those little Pieces so pretty and so beautiful, and were at the first so taken therewith, that they thought them to be the eighth parts of a Ryal, and were content to allow a Crown, for every eight of them. The Factor, perceiving it, writ to Mar∣seilles, whence he receiv'd a very great sum in that Money, and gain'd very much thereby. If the French could have contented themselves with that honest profit, the commerce of those Pieces, which was quash'd by the excessive frauds committed in the management of it, might have continued still, and would have been very advantageous to them. The Turks were unwilling to trade in any other kind of Money, and in the payment of the Armies, to give the Souldiers content, there was a necessity of dispers∣ing them among them. One day, returning out of Persia into Turkey, I was persecu∣ted by several Women, who would needs have me give them some Temins, (so they call that kind of Money) and I could not have any thing to eat, for any other Money.

Our French Merchants were gainers at the first, after the rate of fifty, per cent. al∣lowing in Turkey but eight of those Pieces for a Crown, whereas they had twelve of them in France for the same Piece. But the other Europaean Nations, the English, the Dutch, and the Italians, envying their happiness, came to give a check to their design, and making their complaints to the Grand Vizir, that Minister order'd, That, for the future, they should allow twelve of those Pieces for the Crown, or that they should not be current any longer, and that whatever sums thereof were found in the Ships, should be confiscated.

The French were not at all satisfy'd with that; and whereas there was a necessity of submitting to the Grand Vizir's Decree, they bethought themselves of having some of those Pieces coin'd, which should not have above four Sols of good Silver, which was a considerable advantage, of twenty five upon the hundred. They pass'd well enough for some time, before the Turks had discover'd the fraud; they being satisfy'd, that the Stamp was fair, and that the Pieces look'd very white: And the Women and Maidens, of the meaner sort of People, made them contribute to the ornament of their Heat-tires, about which they fasten'd those pretty little Pieces, and they came down flapping about their Foreheads, as the wealthyer sort fasten'd Pieces of Gold to theirs.

But the better to compass their design, the French Merchants were oblig'd to find out other Countreys, where it might be lawful for them to traffick in those Pieces. Their first recourse was to those of Dombes, Orange, and Avignon, and passing into Italy, they found work for some time for those of Monaco, and Massa. But having observ'd, that the Turks were more taken with the Pieces which had the impression of a Woman's Head, and those Princes being unwilling to suffer them to coin among them any Money of so base an alloy, or to give it the Stamp of Ja, the Princess of Dombes, they cast their eyes upon some Castles situate within the Territories of the Genueses, yet subject to the jurisdiction of the Empire, where they obtain'd what they desir'd, upon conditions not disadvantageous to the Lords of those places. The Pieces they got coin'd at Orange, were also sought after, and pleas'd the Turks, in regard the Stamp was beautiful, and very clear; but those of the Legat of Avignon were not so current, the Effigies thereof not being well done, and the Cross, hanging at the Neck,

displeasing to the Turks. Had they contented themselves, in that Trade, with twenty five upon the hundred, it might have continu'd, and the profit would have been con∣siderable: but by little and little, the thing came to so great an excess, till, at last, there was not one penny-worth of good Silver in every piece.

The French, to make them pass the better, gave eighteen, and sometimes twenty for a Crown, of which abuse the great Merchants of Constantinople, Aleppo, Smyrna, and other Cities of Trade, made a good hand, they giving but twelve or thirteen for the worth of a Crown, in the payments they made to the petty Merchants of the Pro∣vinces of the Empire, for the Merchandizes they brought out of Turkey, there was none of that counterfeit Money dispers'd, and the Armenians were far enough from burthening themselves with it, in regard that all the Money, which is carried into Per∣sia, is presently convey'd to the Mints, upon the Frontiers, to be melted down, and af∣wards coin'd into Abassis, whereof they give the Merchant an account, answerably to the Standard of his Money, after it has been examin'd; and by that means there can be no fraud committed. The same course is taken over all the Great Mogol's Empire; and of all the Princes in the World, he causes all the Species of Gold and Silver of the best Standard to be coin'd without admitting the least alloy.

The Genuese Merchants, perceiving that the French had, at the beginning been fortu∣nate * 1.5 in their Commerce, would needs imitate them in other sorts of Money, and got two or three hundred thousand Ducats coin'd, which they carried into Turkey. But they had not the success they expected, the Gold was so counterfeit, that the cheat was immediately discover'd, the Consul, and the Captain of the Vessel, were in some trouble about it, and the persons concern'd therein, sav'd what they could of that distaster.

The Germans also would needs come in for a share, taking another course all along the Dannow, quite to the mouth of it, from whence they got to Constantinople, through the Black Sea. With other their Merchandizes, most whereof consisted in the counter∣feit Copper-wares of the City of Nuremberg, things fit enough those Nations, which border upon the Euxine Sea, they carried a quantity of Roups, or quarter-Ryals, of the coinage of Poland, which were pleasant to the eye, and might have been commodious enough for the Merchants, if the adulteration had been moderate. But the Italians need not be much asham'd, that the Germans should be more successful than they upon that occasion, since that both Nations came short in point of subtilty, to deceive the Turks.

But to return to the French, the first concern'd in this History, to which it is time to pur a period. In the heat of their Commerce, and while all things were very well with them, they thought it not enough, to carry away the richest Merchandizes, but they also bought up all sorts of good Money they could meet withal, and brought it into France, to carry on and continue the coinage of their counterfeit pieces. This Trade was carry'd on so far, through the whole extent of that vast Empire, and there was so prodigious a quantity of that counterfeit Money spread abroad, that it was found by the Register-Books of the Farmers of the Customes, that the sum of what had been dispers'd of it amounted to a hundred and fourscore millions [of Livers] not account∣ing what had never come to their knowledge, and what Seamen, and other private Persons might have conceal'd.

The other Merchants and Traders of Europe, who brought none but good Money, having exclaim'd against that disorder, and renew'd their complaints to the Grand Vi∣zir; the Turks at last open'd their eyes, and that principal Minister, having compre∣hended, that if the thing continu'd, in a short time, in stead of Silver, there would be nothing but Copper in the Empire, prohibited the bringing in of any more of those pieces of five Sols, upon pain of confiscation, and great penalties to be inflicted on those, who durst do any thing contrary thereto,

Yet could not that crying of them down, and the Grand Vizir's prohibition make the Souldiers, who serv'd in Candia, out of love with those little pieces, the beauty whereof they were so much taken withal. Notwithstanding all the Remonstrances

that could be made to them, they would not be paid in any other kind of Money; and some discontented Persons and Mutineers, beginning to shew their Teeth, they were forc'd immediately to to send Gallies to Smyrna, and some other Cities of great Com∣merce, to bring away all that could be found of that sort of money. The incredible quantity of those counterfeit pieces, dispers'd in all the Provinces of the Ottoman Em∣pire, is at least vanish'd, they are grown red, and no longer current.

At the first crying down of that counterfeit money, before the news of it could * 1.6 have been brought to foreign Countries, a certain Person named Goulin, engag'd all he had in the world, to make up to the sum of five and twenty thousand Crowns in those pieces of five Sols, so extremely falsify'd, that there was harldly so much Sil∣ver as was requisite to whiten them. He came to Smyrna, where I then was, and where he soon found, that there was no way to put off his counterfeit Merchandize. Whereupon he imagin'd, that he might get it off, if he could make a speedy Voyage to Constantinople, where, as he had been assur'd, some Persons took them, even after they had been cry'd down. Being unwilling to hazard all by Sea, he sent away, by Land, four or five thousand Crowns, which were taken away by Thieves, near Bursa, and carry'd the much greater part to Constantinople, in a Dutch Vessel, of which he had also sufficient cause to repent him. After he had expos'd it at the Custom-house, for the payment of the Duties, the Chief Officer of the Customs told him, that he might return within two or three days, to take back what belong'd to him; and as soon as the other was gone, he caus'd all to be melted down in his presence. The separation being made, upon twenty thousand Crowns, which was the sum he had brought thither, there was not the full fourth part of Silver, and the Merchant coming again to the Customer, fell down all along, out of pure fear lest a severe pu∣nishment might follow the fraud whereof he was visibly convicted, seeing so much scum of brass on the one side, and so little silver on the other. But the Turks are not so rigorous, as some persons imagine, all was restor'd to him, nay there was no pe∣nalty inflicted upon him, and they only order'd him to be gone.

Certain it is, that the Europaeans, more addicted to subtilty and circumvention, than the Levantines, and for the most part not endeavouring to be sincere in Com∣merce, * 1.7 have taught the Turks several Cheats, which they were either ignorant of, or did not practise, especially since the Inhabitants of Granada, being driven out of Spain, dispers'd themselves into several Provinces of the Levant. Before that time, a man might have rely'd on their integrity and fair dealing. But now, when you treat with them, you must stand upon your guard; so prevalent is the example of evil to corrupt mens minds. Nor are we to be astonish'd at that ancient undisguized humour of the Turks in their Commerce, since we find, that the poor Abyssines, who come from the lower parts of Ethiopia to traffick at Cairo, and the Idolaters themselves in the Indies amongst themselves and with Strangers, with a strict observance of an inviolable fidelity.

CHAP. I. Of the extent, and external parts of the Seraglio.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Origine of the word Serrail, or Seraglio, com∣mon to all the Royal Houses, as well in Turkey as Persia. The admirable Situation of the Grand Se∣raglio at Constantinople. Its extent, figure, and externals. The Artillery not kept in good order, and the Gunners not well skill'd. A delightful place of it self; but restraint makes it otherwise.

THE Grand Seignor's Seraglio, whereof I undertake to give a Description, * 1.8 is the Palace, where the Ottoman Princes ordinarily keep their Court. All the Royal Houses, as well in Turkey, as Persia, have the same Name, which derives its Origine from the word Serrai, which signifies a great Noble House, in the Persian Language. The Grand Seignor has many Seraglio's, in the Provinces of his Empire, and the principal of them are those of Bur∣sa, and Adrianople, two Residences which that Monarch does ordinarily make use of, according to the conjuncture of his Affairs.

But to confine our selves to Constantinople, we find there three Seraglio's, which have all their different Beauties. The old Seraglio is the Palace, appointed for the retire∣ment of those Women, who have serv'd the Predecessors of the Prince Regent, and whence they never get out, unless it be in order to Marriage. The Grand Seignor goes thither but very seldom, and that when he is out of humour, to pass away some days there in solitude. The Seraglio of the Hippodrome, so call'd from the Exercises done there on Horse-back, which was built by Ibrahim Bassa, Son-in-law, and Favou∣rite to the Emperour Solyman the Second, serves now for an Amphitheatre for publick Festivals, Exercises, Combats, Carousels, and particularly for the Circumcision of the Ottoman Princes, which is their greatest Solemnity. The third is the Grand Seraglio, whereof I make the Relation, and to which that Name is principally attributed, so as that there needs not any thing else to be added thereto, to distinguish rit from the others. I shall have but little to say concerning the Structures of it, wherein there is not any thing extraordinary to be observ'd, but shall rather insist upon what is private∣ly done, in each Appartment of that great Palace.

The Grand Seraglio is a vast place inclos'd, which reaches to that point of Land, where the ancient Byzantium was built, upon the Bosphorus of Thrace, and the joyning * 1.9 together of the Aegean Sea and the Euxine, which contribute so much to the beauty and wealth of Constantinople. This great City, let the Wind sit where it will, does every hour receive some refreshments or other, from one of those Seas; and the Sera∣glio, advancing it self into the Channel, which makes a communication between them, receives the first Advantages that may be derived thence.

That great Inclosure makes a Triangle, one side whereof is to the Land-side, and * 1.10 reaches to the City, and the two others lye open to the Sea and a River which falls in∣to it. This Triangle is unequal, and if it be divided into eight parts, that side, to∣wards the Land takes up three of them, and the five others are for the two sides abut∣ting on the Sea. Its compass is about three Italiah miles, or one of our common Leagues. And this Palace is surrounded all about with high and strong Walls, flank'd on the Sea-side with square Towers, at a considerable distance one from another; and towards the City, with round Towers, which are at a nearer distance one from ano∣ther, from the great Gate of the Seraglio, which is towards St. Sophia, as far as the Sea, where you imbark for Galata. In those Towers, in the night-time, there are Guards of the Azamoglans, to see that no Body approaches the Seraglio, by Sea or Land; and if occasion require, they may fire some pieces of Artillery, which stand al∣ways loaden upon a Quay, of five fathom breadth, which is carried quite about the Seraglio.

Upon one of those Towers, about a hundred paces from the great Gate of the Sera∣glio, as you go down, in order to your passage over to Galata, they have wrought a Closet, into which the Grand Seignor goes sometimes to divert himself, and to see People passing to and fro, without being seen himself. Somewhat lower, and upon the Sea-side, there is a spacious place cover'd over, under which, as if it were in a lit∣tle Haven, they keep the Caicks or Brigantines, wherein the Prince takes his divertise∣ment by Water, when he is pleas'd to do it.

Not far thence, within the inclosure of the Seraglio, are the Habitations of the Bo∣stangis, who are entrusted with the conduct of the Brigantines; and at a little farther distance, in your way to the point of the Seraglio, which is towards Scudaret, stands the Quarter of the Bostangi-bachi, Overseer of the Gardens of the Seraglio, and of all the other Gardens belonging to the Grand Seignor.

Upon the Quay, which, as I told you, does surround the Walls of the Seraglio, * 1.11 there are forty or fifty pieces of Canon of different bigness, and there are some of so great a bore, that a Man might get into them. Opposite thereto, and in the middle of the Channel, there is a Tower built upon a Rock, which the Turks call Quisler hou∣lesi, or the Tower of the Virgins. It is kept by Bostangis, and has its Guns levell'd with the Water, which better defend the Streight, than those at the point of the Seraglio, which for the most part are without Carriages, and unserviceable. Besides, they want good Gunners, and if all that Artillery were well mounted, and manag'd by skilful Persons, it would better keep in awe, whatever comes out of the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.

Some few paces from the place where these Canons are planted, there springs a Fountain which comes out of the Seraglio, and casts a great quantity of Water, for the convenience of the Vessels, which lye at Anchor near it, and supply themselves therewith; it being not permitted that any should land on that side of the Seraglio, but upon that account.

We have spoken sufficiently of the external parts, 'tis time we now enter into the * 1.12 Seraglio, and rather consider what passes in every Appartment of it, than the Structures thereof, wherein, as I said, there is not any thing of Magnificence, whatever some Persons might invent, who, in my presence, have made noble Draughts of it, ground∣ed on their own pure Imaginations. I have seen as much of the Seraglio, as a Stranger could do, and I have seen it several times, in several Voyages, having had time enough to consider, the two first Courts, the Divan, and the Hall of Audience, but cannot ce∣lebrate them much for any great Beauties I could find in them. There is, I must con∣fess, abundance of Marble and Porphyry in all the Appartments; but on the other side, all those Appartments are confusedly shuffled together; there is no regularity at all; most of the Rooms have but little light, and all the ornament of them consists in rich Tapistry lay'd all over the Floors thereof, and some Cushions of gold and silver Bro∣kado, some whereof are embroider'd with Pearls. But taking things generally, ••f the Walls and the Towers, which inclose the Seraglio, look more like a frightful Prison,

than a Royal Palace, the Appartments, whereof it consists, have not also that wealth, or pleasure, for which the Palaces of France and Italy are so highly celebrated, and they offer not any thing which may long entertain the sight of a curious Person. All that can make the Seraglio a pleasant place of abode, is, the advantage of its situation, and indeed a nobler cannot be imagin'd. For it looks towards the East, and takes up the upper part, and the descent of a sloping Hillock, from St. Sophia, quite to the Channel. The Buildings are upon the most eminent places, and have a prospect into the Gardens, which run along the descent, as also into the two Seas which meet at the point of the Seraglio, whence the Grand Seignor may at the same time see Europe and Asia, in both which parts of the World, his Territories are very great. But ne∣ver was any Prison thought a pleasant place, and there are few in the Seraglio, who rather would live in a Hut, and have their liberty, than be continually confin'd in a Palace under such severe Discipline.

CHAP. II. Of the first Court of the Seraglio, and parti∣cularly, of the Infirmary.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Regulations of the Infirmary of the Seraglio. The difficulties of getting Wine into it. The subtil∣ty of some people to be receiv'd into it, though they are not sick. An abominable vice, common all over the East. The fruitless endeavours us'd to check the course of it. The sacrilegious action of two Ichoglans. The Wood-piles of the Seraglio. The great advantages of those who have the charge thereof. The exercise of the Girit. The Grand Seignor's Liberalities. The counterfeit Modesty of the Grandees of the Port.

OF the many Gates which give a Man entrance into the Seraglio, as well on the Sea-side, as on the Land-side, that towards S. Sophia is the greatest. That is alwaies open, the others not being so, but according to the Grand Seignor's pleasure. You first come to a great Portal, which has not any thing of magnificence, and where you only find certain golden Letters, and about them Feuillages and Compartiments, according to the Arabian way of Painting. That Gate is kept by Fifty Capigis, who have for their Armes, the Firelock, the Dart, and the Cymitar, and gives you entrance into the first Court of the Seraglio, which is Four hundred paces in length, and a hundred in breadth, without any paving.

On the right hand of that first Court, there runs all along a spacious structure, con∣taining * 1.13 several Appartments or Chambers, and serving for an Infirmary to the whole Seraglio. The Gate of it is kept by an Eunuch, who has under him a great many People, employ'd in attending on, and ministring to the sick, whom, answerably to their quality, they dispose into convenient quarters in that house, where they may be better assisted, then in those which their indisposition had oblig'd them to quit. The two principal Physitians, and the two principal Chirurgeons, whom they call Hequinz-bachi, and Geïrah-bachi, make their visits there every day, at certain hours. A man cannot imagine a place better order'd and regulated then that is: and the Grand Seignior him∣self sometimes comes thither in person, to take an exact account of the Sick and their con∣dition, as also to enquire whether they are well treated, whether the Physitians visit them often, and whether every officer of the Infirmary perform the duty incumbent on him. There is seldom any place void in that House, for assoon as one is gone out, ano∣ther comes in: and though it be design'd only for such as are sick, yet several persons, who are well, are brought thither, under pretence of indisposition, or to enjoy them∣selves a while, or to weather out some trouble or discontent. They continue there for the space of ten or twelve daies, and are diverted, according to their mode, with a wretched kind of vocal and instrumental Musick, which begins betimes in the morning, and holds on till night. The permission they have there to drink wine, which they never have elsewhere, is a greater inducement for their coming in thither, than the Musick. But that permission, which they would as 'twere conceale, and which the superstition of the Turks dares not publickly own, is accompany'd by a thousand difficulties. They are not permitted to bring in any wine in the sight of the Eunuch, who stands at the entrance of the place: and if any one should be surpriz'd in the doing of it, his punishment would be to receive three hundred bastinadoes, and a penalty of three hundred Aspers, to be paid to those from whom he had receiv'd them. But if he can cunningly get in with the Wine, not having been stopp'd at the Gate, assoon as he is got in, he runs no risque at all, and may drink of it without fear of any chastisement, though 'twere in the presence of the Grand Seignor.

The small quantity of wine which can be got in by this way, would signifie but * 1.14 little among so many People, if there were not some other less difficult contrivances to supply them therewith. And this is one of them. The Infirmary adjoins to one side of the Gardens, from which it is separated only by a wall which is not very high; so that the Bostangis, who find that wine goes off at a good rate, and that they who are within the Seraglio know not how to spend their money, do, in the night time, by ropes convey over the wall, so many Borrachoes or bags of Buck-Skins, full of wine, contain∣ing forty or fifty quarts, which some other persons of the Infirmary stand ready to re∣ceive. This way brings in abundance of wine, but not without fear of being surpriz'd by the Bostangi-bachi, who goes the rounds every night.

Nor is the drinking of wine the main inducement which makes those counterfeit siek persons to seek out pretences, to go and pass away some daies in the Infirmary; inso∣much * 1.15 that some have the lewd artifice to put themselves into a slight Feaver, which is presently remov'd. A detestable passion, and which is in a manner naturall to them, though it be against nature, makes them study all the imaginable waies to satisfie it. This proves a hard matter for the Ichoglans to do, while they are in their chambers ob∣serv'd and watch'd night and day by severe Overseers, who never pardon them the least misdemeanour.

For though the Grand Seignor be himself subject to the same passion, the very name whereof causes a horrour, yet he orders cruel punishments to be inflicted on those who shall presume to imitate him. He does what he can to prevent the mischief, which he would not have countenanc'd by his example, and imposes the prevention of it as a task upon the Eunuchs, a vigilant sort of animals, whose Eyes are alwayes open. But in the Infirmary, all these precautions prove fruitless; the Eunuchs belonging to that place be∣ing corrupted partly by presents, partly by treats, or being made drunk with wine, or some other liquors, they bring in thither some young lads, of whom there is great store in the City of Constantinople. The better to over-reach the Eunuchs, they put those young lads into the habits of the Halvagis, and so the cheat succeeds, in regard they are

the attendants on the Officers of the Seraglio, and do all the errands they have to do in the City.

Of these Halvages, there is ordinarily to the number of six hundred, and they have only their cloathing and sustenance allow'd them, without any wages, till such time as they have serv'd thirteen or fourteen years. Their wages begin at the rate of two Aspers [per diem] and in time may rise to seven Aspers and a half: but they have other contingent Profits, and they know well enough, how to make their advantage of the Employments they are put upon. For whereas they only are the Persons who have the freedom of going and coming in and out of the Seraglio, they set double the price on every thing they buy. But their most cunsiderable gain proceeds from the in∣famous commerce of those young Lads, whom they bring in to their Masters, and whom they cunningly slip into the Infirmary, after they had put them into Habits like their own. They wear a white Cap, which rises up from the Crown of the Head, to a pretty height somewhat to the resemblance of a Sugar-loaf.

The Hasteler-Agasi, or chief Overseer of the Infirmary, is indeed continually at the * 1.16 Gate, with five or six other Eunuchs, and carefully observes whatever goes in, or comes out. But all that vigilence will not do the work; nay though he had a hundred eyes, yet were it impossible for him to discern those young Lads, amidst the great number of those Halvagis, and that the rather, for these reasons, that they are fre∣quently chang'd, that some of them are made Janizaries, and that new ones are ta∣ken in upon the advancement of the old ones to some other Employments. But if it should happen that the said Superintendent Eunuch should have any secret information of what's design'd, and seems as if he would make some noise about it, he is present∣ly appeas'd with a silk Vest, or some other Present, and 'tis thence that he derives his greatest advantages. In fine, that brutish Passion is so ordinary amongst the Turks, * 1.17 and generally over all the Eastern parts, that notwithstanding all the endeavours that have been us'd to prevent the effects of it, they will hardly ever be able to do it. There happen'd a memorable Example of this in my time. Two Pages of the Chamber, * 1.18 who could not have the convenience of executing their wicked design in the Seraglio, would needs aggravate their crime, by going into the Mosquey to satiate their bruta∣lity. After Prayers were ended, they suffer'd all the people to go out, and having so well hid themselves that he who shut the doors could not perceive them, they fell to the doing of an action, whereof the very Idea causes horrour.

On the left hand of this first Court, there is a spacious Lodgement, answerable to * 1.19 that of the Infirmary; and that's the habitation of the Azamoglans, persons design'd for the meanest Employments of the Seraglio. Within that Structure there is a spa∣cious Court, where you shall find dispos'd in order, all about, and in the middle, so many Wood-piles, which are renew'd every year, and there are brought in thither above forty thousand Cart-loads of wood, every Cart-load being as much as two Oxen can draw. Some part of this wood comes in by the Black Sea, and the rest out of the Mediterranean; and whereas there is a great quantity of it left every year, espe∣cially when the grand Seignor does not winter at Constantinople, that remainder, which must be very considerable, is dispos'd of to the advantage of the principal persons among the Azamoglans. They are cunning enough to take their opportunity, when it is * 1.20 unloaden upon the Port, and computing, as well as they can, how much may go to make up the Piles, they proportionably send, what they think may be spar'd, to the City, and lodge it in the houses, where they are acquainted. Which they may do with so much the more security, in regard that no body minds what they do, and that they perform their duty, when the Piles are compleated, in the season, during which they are wont to make their Provisions. The wood they thus convert to their own use they are paid for, and the sum rais'd thereby is considerable for Persons of so mean a Quality.

On the same side as the Infirmary, and a little lower, (for the Seraglio is a rising * 1.21 ground for a certain space, and then there is an insensible descent on both sides, quite down to the point, whereby it is terminated) you discover the great Portal of the Gar∣dens, which they call Bagge-Karpousi. From that Gate, which overlooks the foresaid

descent, and where you are as it were upon an Eminency, you descend into a very no∣ble Place, which the Grand Seignor causes to be always kept neat and even, where the Great Persons of the Court come to do the Exercises of the Girit, or the Dart, which is perform'd, most commonly, upon Fridays, immediately after their coming out of the Mosquey. There are about two hundred paces from the Portal to that place, and in the Court there may ordinarily be, upon those days above fifteen hundred Persons, yet so as that not any person whatsoever is permitted to go any further, unless he be call'd by the Order of the Girit-Bey, who is the chief Overseer, and Director of that Exercise. They who enter into the Lists, do many times amount to the number of a thousand Persons. If the Grand Seignor himself, who is present at those Exercises, the * 1.22 end whereof proves many times Tragical to those, by whom they are perform'd, has found any particular divertisement therein, especially when there are Limbs lost or bro∣ken, he orders every one to receive a Purse, which, as I told you, amount to five hun∣dred Crowns. The distribution of those Presents is greater or lesser, according to his being in a good or bad humour, and sometimes there are distributed at his departure thence, to the number of ten Purses. The Treasurer, who is always attending on him, and has ordinarily brought along with him fifteen or twenty thousand Ryals in Gold and Silver, stands ready, upon a beck, to obey his Orders.

But this is worth our observation, That when the Prince is ready to bestow his Libe∣ralities, on those who had behav'd themselves valiantly in that exercise, the Gran∣dees * 1.23 of his Court, who had appear'd therein as well as others, purposely shift themselves out of the way, and leave him to make his Presents to other less considerable Persons, as being such as stand more in need of them than they do. This is their custom ordina∣rily, whether it proceed from Generosity, or from a counterfeit and personated Mo∣desty, it matters not. And after the Grand Seignor is withdrawn, it is lawful for those who are left in the foresaid Court, and are skil'd in the handling of the Dart, to spend the remainder of the day in that Exercise. But those, how great soever their performances may be, and what wounds soever they may receive, are not to expect any Presents; There's no Prince to be a spectator of their Gallantry, nor Treasurer, to distribute his Liberalities. They only lay some wagers amongst themselves, and he who gives the fairest blow, wins, and the fairest blow is in the head, or face. There is ever and anon an Eye struck out, or a Cheek carried off, and that Solemnity proves very fatal in the end to some of them.

And this is an account of all that is observable in the said first Court, Let us now make our entrance into the second, and observe what is most remarkable in all its Ap∣partments.

CHAP. III. Of the second Court, wherein are the little Stables, the Kitchins, and the Divan.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

A square and spacious Court, and its Embellishments. The Janizaries extremely sprightful, active, and well order'd. The number of the Kitchins. The ordi∣nary dishes of meat that are serv'd up in the Seraglio. The way of ordering the Pilau. A particular way of roasting in the Levant. The Turks cannot en∣dure the Hare. Conserves of all sorts. Several com∣positions of Sherbet. Receptacles for all the wa∣ters of the Seraglio. The little Stables. The Quar∣ter of the Eunuchs.

OUt of the first Court, into which the Bassas and Grandees of the Port, may come on Horse-back, and where they are oblig'd to alight, if they intend to go any further, there is an entrance into another, through a second Gate, kept, as the former, by fifty Capigis. The second Court, much more noble, and more delightful, then that whereof we gave you the pre∣cedent description, is neer three hundred paces square, and only the walks, leading to the several Appartments, are pav'd, the rest being in Grass-plots, planted about with Cypress, and water'd by Fountains, with rails all about, to hinder people from go∣ing upon the grass. Over the gate of that Court, may be seen these words, written in great golden Characters.

〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 La Illahé Illa Alla, Muhammed Resoul Alla.

That is to say,

There is no other God than God, Mahomet is sent by God.

Resoul signifies sent, which is the greatest Title given by the Turks to their Prophet.

On both sides of that Court there runs a very noble Gallery, the pillars whereof are of marble, all along which the Companies of the Janizaries are drawn up, and disci∣plin'd, * 1.24 when the Grand Seignor orders them to shew their activity, and to appear well arm'd, at the arrival of some Ambassador, who is to have Audience.

On the right hand, behind the Gallery, where the Janizaries are drawn up, on the Divan-dayes [that is to say, upon Council-dayes] are the Kitchins, and the Offices of the Seraglio, distinct one from the other, and every one serv'd by its peculiar Officers. Heretofore there were nine of them, but now that number is reduc'd to seaven. Every Office or Kitchin, has its chief Director, or Master-Cook, and there is a Superintendent above them all, named the Akegi-bachi, who has the command over four hundred Cooks.

The chiefest of these Kitchins, which is for the Grand Seignior himself is called Hasmoutbak. * 1.25

The Second is called Valede-Sultanum-Moutbaki, and is design'd for the Sultanesses, as for instance, the Mother, the Wife, or, to say better, the Princess, for whom the Grand Seignor has the greatest kindness, and who had the happiness to bring into the World a Successor to the Empire, as also for his Sisters and Daughters.

The third Kitchin, which they call Kisler-Agazinum-Moutbaki is appointed for the Overseer of the Appartment of the Women, and the other Negro-Eunuchs who are em∣ploy'd about the guarding of them.

The fourth is for the Capou-Agasi, or Grand Master of the Seraglio, who has the greatest access to the Grand Seignor's Person, and whose Charge (as I said elsewhere) generally extends over whatever enters into the Palace. And this Kitchin serves also for the Officers of the Divan.

The fifth is for the Chasnadarbachi, or the chief Person concern'd about the Treasury, and for those who are under his jurisdiction, and obey his Orders.

The sixth is for the Kilargibachi, or principal Cup-bearer, and those who have their dependance upon him.

The seaventh and last, is that of the Sarai-Agasi, and of all the Officers, who are un∣der his charge.

Lastly, as for the Bostangis, whose work lies in the Gardens, they dress their Meat themselves, and appoint some among them to execute that Office, and they provide the Commons for all the rest. There are also some of these Bostangis employ'd in the Offices design'd for the Grand Seignor.

There enters no Beef into the Kitchins of the Seraglio: but the ordinary consump∣tion * 1.26 of every day, including all, as well those who eat within, as without, may a∣mount to Five Hundred Sheep, in which number must be comprehended Lambs and Kids; and the greatest part of those Sheep, are brought from the Frontiers of Persia; which Country excels all others, as to that creature. According to this proportion of

Mutton, may be computed the quantity of Pullets, Chickens, and young Pidgeons, the number whereof is limited, according to the Seasons; as also what may be consum'd in Rice, and Butter, for the Pilau, which is accounted the best dish in Turkey, and all over the East. Those Nations, who are lovers of Temperance, and do not much stu∣dy the satisfaction of the palate, seldom have any other dish: and that not being con∣temptible, some haply will give me thanks, for communicating the ordering of it.

The Turks, and generally all the Inhabitants of the Eastern parts, make the Pilau, * 1.27 after this manner. According to the quality of the persons who are to be entertain'd, and the quantity which is to be made of it, you take either a piece of Mutton alone, or together with that some Pullets or Pidgeons, which are to be boyl'd in a pot, till they are half done, or somewhat more. When you think them so far boyl'd, then pour out both meat and broath into a Basin, and the Pot being wash'd, put it on the fire again with Butter in it, which they suffer to melt, till such time as it is very hot. Then they chop the meat, which had been but half-boyl'd into little pieces, the Pul∣lets into quarters, and the Pidgeons into halves, and so they cast it into the Butter, they fricass it, till it be of a very brown colour. The Rice being well wash'd, they put some into the Pot over the meat, as much as they think fitting, and the broath, which had been pour'd into the Basin, they also put it into the Pot, Ladle-ful after La∣dle-ful, over the Rice, till such time as it stands two fingers breadth above it. Then is the Pot immediately cover'd, there is a clear fire made under it, and they ever and anon take out some grains of the Rice, to see if it be softned, as also whether it be requisite to put in some more of the broath, to compleat the stewing of it. For it is not like the Rice brought into our parts, which presently breaks asunder, but their Rice is of such a kind, that is must be fully boyl'd, and yet the Grain entire, as well as the whole Pepper, wherewith they season it. As soon as it is come to that condi∣tion, they cover the Pot with a cloath three or four times doubled, and set the Pot∣lid upon that, and some time after, they make another melting of Butter, till it be ve∣ry red; to be cast into the holes, which are made in the Rice, with the handle of the Ladle, after which they cover it again of a sudden, and so let it stand soaking awhile, and then serve it up. It is put into large Dishes, with the meat handsomly dispos'd upon it, and some part will be white, that is, continu'd in its natural colour, some part, yellow, occasion'd by a little mixture of Saffron, and a third part of a Carnati∣on-colour, done by the tincture of the juyce of Pomegranate. Nay, though the meat be as fat as is requisite for the ordering of this Dish, yet to make the Pilau more deli∣cate and palatable to them, they bestow three pounds of Butter on six pounds of Rice, which makes it so extraordinary fat, that it disgusts, and is nauseous to those who are not accustom'd thereto, and accordingly would rather have the Rice it self simply boyl'd with water and salt. There are always two or three Dishes serv'd up after that manner, to the Grandees of the Port, who, for the most part, keep open Table, and instead of flesh, they cover them with a great Aumelet or Omelet, made with good Herbs, and about three fingers thick, or with some poach'd Eggs, which are neatly dispos'd all about it. A man is never incommodated by this kind of Rice, but the other, which is too fat, is not fit for those who drink wine, and will not ex∣cite in them a desire to eat of it often.

Since I have given you an account how they order the Pilau, I cannot forbear ma∣king * 1.28 you a further discovery of the Turks management of the Kitchin, and telling you how they roast their meat. The greater sort of meat, as sheep and Lambs are roasted whole, in Ovens made in the Floor, wherein they hang them by the heads, and they are taken out thence as it were brown-bak'd, and Cook'd well enough, so as to excite appetite. At the bottom of the Oven there is ordinarily a Basin plac'd, ha∣ving in it some Rice and fair Water, which receives the drippings of the Beast, the very Tayl it self, which sometimes weighs fifteen or twenty pound, yielding a good quantity thereof, as being in a manner all fat. The Tayls of the Lambs, having not so much fat, are excellent meat, and in a manner as delicate as the Sweet-breads of Veal. These Lambs being thus roasted, are always serv'd up with Rice under them; and for the greater Tables, they serve up two of them in a Dish. So that there is no use of Spits in the Turkish Kitchins, but what is for Poultry, or Fowl, which they order so

untowardly, that when they are brought up to the Table, they appear so mangled and disorder'd, that it is no easie matter to distinguish the head from the feet. But it is to be observ'd, that the Pilau, and all sorts of Flesh-meat are not serv'd up, but only at Supper, about five of the Clock in the Evening; and that in the morning, those of better Quality eat only Sallets, Herbs, Fruits, and Conserves; the meaner sort of peo∣ple contenting themselves with meats made of Milk, Melons, and Cucumbers, ac∣cording to the Season.

As for Fish, the Turks care not much for it, and though the Seas and Rivers are well replenish'd therewith, yet they seldom eat of them. It seldom happens also, that any Venizon or Wild-Fowl comes into their houses, as being a kind of meat they do not any way relish. But above all meats they have an aversion for the Hare; which observation I made also in the Armenians, who are of a perswasion, that the Female * 1.29 of that Creature has its monthly courses regularly, as the Woman hath. It is easily perceivable, by what account I have given, that there is no great variety or delicacy in the Turkish Entertainments, and that the French and other Europaeans would not think themselves well treated thereat. But, however, their Kitchins are kept very neat, they have all the accommodations requisite for their way of dressing, and whether you con∣sider the Dishes and other Vessels they use, or the meat it self, there is as much clean∣liness as can be expected.

The Officers where the Conserves and Sweet-meats are made (there being six or * 1.30 seven of them) are above the Kitchins, and serv'd by four hundred Halvagis, who were establish'd by Sultan Solyman, a magnificent Prince, who also regulated all the Offices and Officers of the Seraglio. They are perpetually at work in those seven Offices, and there they prepare all sorts of Conserves, dry and liquid, and several sorts of Syrups, as also several kinds of Turchi, which are Fruits preserv'd in Vinegar and Salt, into which, they put a quantity of fragrant Herbs, such as Rosemary, Marjo∣ram, and Sage.

In the same Offices they also prepare the ordinary drink of the Turks, which they call Sherbet, and it is made several ways. That which is most common in Turkey comes * 1.31 somewhat near our Lemonade, but there is very little water in it; 'tis in a manner all juyce of Lemmon, or Citron, having an intermixture of Sugar, Amber, and Musk. They make another sort of it, which is highly in esteem, and that is made with the water distill'd from the flower of a Plant, which grows in Pools and Rivers, and has the figure of a Horse-shooe. These flowers are yellow, and called Nuloufer. But the Sherbet which they most esteem, and which is drunk by the Grand Seignor himself, as also by the Bassa's and other Grandees of the Port, is made of Violets and Sugar, and there is but little juyce of Citron put into it. They make also another sort of drink, which they call Magion, compos'd of several Drugs, whereby it is made hot: and there is another sort purposely prepar'd for the Grand Seignor himself, cal∣led Muscavi, of which he takes a Dose, when he intends to visit the Sultanesses. The principal Persons about the Court send for it secretly to the Halvagibachi, who does not deny them, as being a great advantage to him, because he is well paid for it. Nor do they want Snow and Ice, to cool all those Liquors, and the Turks are much more humorous and delicate in their drinks, than they are in their Meat.

At a place ten or twelve paces distant, and opposite to these Offices, is the Recep∣tacle, * 1.32 or Reservatory, which distributes all the Waters of the Seraglio, and they are thence directed to every Quarter, into the places where there is a necessity of them. One of the Baltagis has his station there all the day long, to give Water as he is di∣rected. And when the Grand Seignor passes from one Quarter to another, the foun∣tain of that, where he is in person, plays continually during his abode there, by a Signal which is given to the Baltagi.

On the left hand, in the same Court, and opposite to the Kitchins, may be seen the Grand Seignor's little Stables, which do not hold above twenty five or thirty * 1.33 choice Horses, design'd for his Exercises with his Favourites, and above the Stables, in great Rooms, they keep the Saddles, Bridles, Housses, Trappings, Foot-cloaths, and

Stirrops, which are of inestimable value, by reason of the abundance of precious Stones, whereby they are enrich'd. There are some Harnesses which amount to a mil∣lion of Livers, French Money. The great Stables stand all along the Canal, which beats against the Walls of the Seraglio. They are always well replenish'd, and in good order, and they take care, that there be not so much as one vacant place there∣in. In those Stables does the Grand Seignor keep a great number of Horses of value, to be reserv'd for the War, or to be us'd in some Magnificent Solemnity, that Stran∣gers may see the Splendor of his Court.

CHAP. IV. Of the Hall of the Divan, and the exact Justice which the Grand Seignor causes to be admitted there.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Divan-Hall not very magnificent. The Council∣days. Causes quickly decided. The causes of that expedition of Justice in Turkey. The subtle Poli∣cy of the Ottoman Family. The care which is taken to prevent the revolt of the Janizaries. How the Grand Seignor assists at the Divan, or Council. The bold action of a Timar-Spahi, who kills a Grand Vizir, and is pardon'd. The noble Genius of Sultan Amurat, and by what Artifices he disco∣ver'd a great breach of Trust. A kind of Beads us'd by the Turks at their Prayers. A noble Ex∣ample of a severe act of Justice. At what times, and how, the Grand Seignor rids those out of the way whom he suspects. The days on which Am∣bassadors come to the Divan.

THe Hall of the Divan, which belongs to this Second Court, is, on the left * 1.34 hand, next to the little Stables, as you go towards the Grand Seignor's Quarter. 'Tis a great low Hall, cover'd with Lead, and wainscoted and gilt in some places within, from which it derives a little Ornament. The Floor of it is cover'd with a great Carpet, and there are some Benches for the Officers, of whom that Council consists, which the Turks call Divan. There are, as I told you, Galleries of all the sides of that Court, which makes it look as it were

like a Cloister; and 'tis under that Gallery which is on the right hand, that the Ja∣nizaries have their station, while the Divan is sitting.

The Council sits, ordinarily, four days in the week, which days are answerable to * 1.35 the Saturday, Sunday, Munday, and Tuesday of the Christians.

Justice is there exactly administred to any one that desires it, and for what cause * 1.36 soever it be, so, as that the differing Parties have no need either of Proctors or Ad∣vocates names not known in Turkey, and the Persons concern'd are to lay open their Cases themselves. There is no talk of delays, or putting off from one time to ano∣ther; people shall not languish in expectation, but the business is decided immediate∣ly, what nature soever it may be of.

Though this Custom be very commendable, yet can it not be so well practis'd * 1.37 amongst Christians, because they stand upon the property of what they have, and that is deriv'd by Inheritance from some to others, and the litigious partitions of them do many times engage the Proprietors thereof in long Suits of Law. 'Tis quite other∣wise amongst the Great Officers of the Port, who are all Slaves, either taken in War, or sent up, as Presents, by the Bassa's, and Governours of Provinces. All their Estates, when they die, return to the Grand Seignor, from whom they had receiv'd them, so that it is a perpetual Circulation: and their Children, as I told you in the beginning of this Discourse, are brought up to the Seraglio, to be educated there, and that with∣out any hope of ever succeeding their Parents, either in their Estates, or Employ∣ments. The Ottoman Monarchy has always observ'd this subtle Policy, not to permit that any Family should aggrandize it self, and be powerful from Father to Son: but they bring it down, as soon as they have rais'd it up, and timely enough deprive them of the means whereby they might create Factions, to the disturbance of the State. Thence it comes, that, besides the Royal Family of the Ottomans, they know not what Gentility, and antiquity of Extraction means; there's no emulation upon that score, and Charges and Dignities are bestow'd answerably to the Merit of the Person, with∣out any consideration of his Extraction. Nay, it sometimes happens, that the Prin∣cipal Ministers of the Empire, are the Sons of Cow-keepers, as was one Rustan, a Grand Vizir, who made so much noise under the Reign of Solyman. And so, being not any way oblig'd to their birth, they acknowledge their Fortunes to be the reward of their Education.

But to return to the administration of Justice amongst the Turks. Those who make the Law their profession, and are look'd upon as the Clergy of Mahomet, leave no place for suits at Law; every one knows his priviledges, and what belongs to the function of his Charge, and there arise no differences among them, because all things are per∣fectly well regulated.

In like manner, the people are ignorant what pleading signifies. There's no occasion for publick Notaries, in order to Matrimonial contracts; There's no great sums given with a daughter, and the jewels and cloaths which she can get out of her Fathers house, are all the portion she brings to her Husband. And this, in few words, is the reason that the Turks can put an expeditious end to all their affairs, without giving any tole∣ration to that pettifogging, which, among Christians, proves the ruine of so many People.

The Officers, who sit in the Divaen are, first, the Grand Vizir, the Lieutenant-Gene∣ral of the whole Empire, who is President of it, and represents the Grand Seignor's Person; Then the six other Vizirs; Then the Cadilesquers of Romania and Natolia, who are the Judges and Intendants of the Armies; Then the three Tefterdars, or Trea∣surers-General; Then the Nissangibacha, the Lord Chancellour; And the Netangi, who is as 'twere the Secretary of State, with some Clerks, or Notaries. All these Officers come into the Divan-Hall, at four in the Morning, and continue there till noon, to ad∣minister Justice. The Chiaoux-bachi has his station at the Gate, with a troop of those that are under his charge, to execute the Grand Vizir's Orders, and has a silver-rod in his hand, as a badge of his Authority.

On those dayes that the Divan sits, the Officers are entertain'd at dinner in the same * 1.38 Hall, which is done with much sobriety, and little Ceremony. All is over and taken away, in half an hours time. The Grand Vizir eats alone, unless he call a Bassa or two, to keep him company. There are carried also messes of Chourba, which is a kind of pottage made with Rice, for the dinners of the Janizaries, who are in their stations, under the Galleries. But if it happen, that they are in a mutinous humour, and in∣cens'd against a Vizir, or against the Grand Seignor himself, not one of them will put his hand to the Chourba, but they scornfully thrust back the dishes, and by that action discover their discontent.

The Grand Seignor is presently advertis'd of it, and sends to them the Capou-Agasi, Grand Master of the Seraglio, to know what their pleasure is, and what they desire. Then they depute one of their own Body to go, and speak on the behalf of them all; and that person whispering the Capou-Agasi in the Ear, declares to him the occasion of their discontent. That Eunuch presently carries it to the Grand Seignor; And if they have a peek against a Vizir, or a Cadilesquer, or sometimes against their Aga, or Colonel, it often happens that to appease those mutineers, the Grand Seignor orders them to be strangled, and sends them their heads.

Sunday and Tuesday are the principal dayes of the Divan, and then it is properly a * 1.39 Council of State, and of publick affairs. The Grand Seignor most commonly assists at it, but is not seen; and that keeps in awe as well the Grand Vizir, as the other Offi∣cers. He can come thither from his own Appartment, through a close Gallery, and seat himself at a window, which looks into the Divan-Hall, and has alwayes a velvet Curtain before it, which he draws when he pleases, and especially when he perceives that they have not done Justice. I shall produce here, an example, famous enough as to that particular, which happen'd in the Reign of Sultan Achmet, the Father of Amu∣rath, and one of the justest Princes, that ever the Ottoman Empire had.

The Reader is to call to mind, what I said at the beginning, concerning the Timar-Spahi, on whom they bestow, during their lives, the Government and revenue of * 1.40 some Town, according as they have deserv'd by their Services. The Spahi, whose story I am going to relate, had a Timar, between Aleppo and Damas, which might bring him in a revenue of fifteen hundred Crowns. The Grand Vizir, either out of some aversion to the Spahi, or upon some false reports which had been made of him, and which he had been too forward to believe, without taking an exact information of things, took away from him the Timar, whereof he was possess'd, and bestow'd it on one of his own Creatures.

The Spahi, finding himself so unjustly dispossess'd comes to Constantinople, enters into the Divan, and presents a Petition to the Grand Vizir, wherein he remonstrates to him his long Services, and how he never was chargeable with any negligence of his duty. The Grand Vizir having read it, tears it in his presence, which was to signifie as much, as that he would not answer it, and that there was nothing for the Spahi to hope for. The Petitioner withdrew, without saying any thing: but some days afterwards, he returns to the Divan, and presents a second Petition, which the Grand Vizir like∣wise tears, as he had done the former, without making any answer thereto. Up∣on this second injury, the Spahi, full of fury, and justly exasperated, draws his Poniard, falls upon the Vizir, and kills him.

The Grand Seignor, who was then at the Window, having observ'd that action, draws the Curtain, and with a loud voice commanded that no hurt should be offer'd to the person who had done it. He thereupon orders the Spahi to approach, and ask'd him the Reason of his having demean'd himself with so much violence. The other much asham'd, humbly makes answer, but with resolution enough, That he could not forbear doing what he had done, upon the sight of so great a piece of Injustice: and thereupon presenting to him the Petition, which had been torn to pieces; the Grand Seignor caus'd it to be read, and patiently hearkned to the just complaints which it con∣tain'd. Having fully examin'd the Affair, his Highness commended the Spahi for the Action he had done, using the word Aferim, which is as much as to say, 'Tis well

done, and which is ordinary in that Language, when they approve a thing; and thereupon, there was an additional Liberality made by the Grand Seignor to the Command which he gave, that he should be re-established in his Timar. He thereup∣on took occasion to speak to the other Vizirs, and to tell them, That that Example should teach them to do just things, and not to suffer themselves to be so blinded by favour, as not to observe Equity. The violent action of the Spabi is certainly not to be approv'd, though the injustice of the Vizir was manifest: but the procedure of the Grand Seignor, cannot be look'd on otherwise then as most commendable, and a great Model of perfect Equity.

I shall not think it much, to produce here a second Example of the exact Justice, which the Grand Seignor would have administred to the People: and in this Exam∣ple there is something that is signally remarkable. A great Stone-Mortar, which may be seen at the Gate of the Divan, serves for a Monumental confirmation of this Sto∣ry; and whereas it is accompany'd by many circumstances worthy our observation, I think my self oblig'd not to conceal them from the Reader.

In the Reign of Sultan Amurat, a certain private Person finding himself without * 1.41 Wife or Children, resolv'd to undertake the Pilgrimage of Mecha. Before his departure, he conceiv'd, that he could not better dispose what he left behind him that was most valuable, then by putting it into the hands of a Hoggia, a Doctor of the Law. He there∣upon left in his custody certain Jewels, in a little bag, intreating him to keep them till he return'd, and declaring him his Heir, in case he dy'd in his Pilgrimage. It was the Pilgrim's fortune to return safely from Mecha, and making no question but to get what he had entrusted the Hoggia withal, calls for what he had deposited in his hands. The other makes him a very cold answer, telling him, That he knew not what he meant, leaving him very much surpriz'd at so unexpected an account of his concerns. The Pilgrim, smo∣thering his discontent, and reflecting, that the thing had been done without witnesses, did nothing for some days; but, afterwards, he Presents a Petition to the Grand Vizir, and acquaints him how all things had pass'd between him and the Doctor. The Grand Vizir perceiving there was a great nicety in that affair, and that the Doctor might easily deny a thing which had been transacted without witnesses, bid the Pilgrim have pa∣tience awhile, and that he would give the Grand Seignor an account of it; which he accordingly did.

The Grand Seignor Commands the Vizir to be very circumspect in the management of that Affair, as being very desirous to sift out the truth of it, and orders him to send for the Doctor, to make protestations of friendship to him, and to put him in hopes of being employ'd in things of great importance. Some days pass on, while the Grand Vizir minds what Game he had to play. At length, he sends for the Doctor, he commends his Ingenuity, and his Conduct; and so putting him into very fair hopes, he promises him to prevail so far with the Grand Seignor, as that he should have the honour to kiss his hands, since it was not just, that so transcendent a Wit as he should be any longer unknown to his Highness. The Doctor overjoy'd at that discourse, thought himself the happiest man in the World, especially when he saw, that the Grand Vizir had made him his Hougia, which is as much as to say, his Almoner. The Vizir proceeds, and according to the secret Orders he had receiv'd from the Grand Seignor, gives the Doctor another Employment, which was, that he should bring him in a Re∣port of all the Criminal Affairs which could be presented. The Grand Seignor, upon the Report of the Hougia, ask'd him his advice, and what punishment the guilty Person deserv'd for the Crime whereof he was convinc'd, the execution being to be done accor∣ding to the judgment which the Doctor had pass'd, whom he made his ordinary Reader, and would have near his Person.

Five or six months pass on in this manner, ere there could be any discovery made of the falsify'd Trust. And it is to be observ'd, That the Pilgrim had given the Grand Seignor an exact Inventory of all the several things, which he had put into the lit∣tle Bag. Among other things, there was particular mention made of a Tesbuch of fine Coral. This Tesbuch is a kind of Chappelet, or String of Beads, consisting of nine∣ty

and nine beads, upon each of which, the Turks repeat certain words taken out of some sentences of the Alcoran. That Chapelet is divided into three parts, from thirty three, to thirty three beads, by a little string, which separates them: and at the end, there hang'd a long piece of Corral, next to which there was another round bead, of the same material, of an extraordinary bigness.

The more Puritanical sort of Turks have their Beads in their hands when they are upon visits, and especially when they approach great Persons, and that very thing made the first discovery of the Hoggia's theft, and breach of trust. One day, coming into the Seraglio with his Coral-beads in his hand, the Grand Seignor, before whom he pre∣sented himself, casting his eyes upon them, and presently imagining, that it might well be the Pilgrim's Tesbuch, according to the description he had given of it in the Cata∣logue of what things were left in the little bag, told the Doctor, that he had a great rarity there. The other immediately approaches him, and intreats his Highness with all submission to accept of it. The Grand Seignor takes it, and making some discove∣ries how acceptable that Present was to him, does, by that prudent dissimulation, cause a joy in him, whose chastisement he was then contriving.

But that single indicium the Grand Seignor does not think enough, but he will have other discoveries; and knowing that among other things that were in the bag, there was a Ring, the work of an excellent and an ancient Master, famous for that sort of Rings, which the Turks wear on the Thumb, when they shoot with the Long-bowe, he expects a second occasion, in order to a fuller discovery of the Cheat, and the more ab∣solute conviction of the Doctor.

'Twas not many dayes ere that happen'd, by the contrivance of the Emperour him∣self, who calling for one of his Pages, one well skill'd in Archery, went to the place of the Girit, where he also call'd for a Bowe, there being not any person in the whole Em∣pire but was inferiour to him, as to strength and dexterity in the Exercises of the Bowe and the Dart. When he came to bend the Bowe, he complain'd that the Ring hurt his Thumb, presuming that the Doctor, who stood neer him, and had already presented him with the Coral-Beads, would also make him a proffer of the Ring, which he had of the Pilgrim's. It is possible, saies the Grand Seignor, that there is not at this time any Master living who can make a Ring any thing like such a one, whom he nam'd? The Doctor, whose apprehension was not so good, as to see that this trap was laid for his destruction, and thinking to insinuate himself more and more into the Grand Seignor's favour, told him T, hat, by good Fortune he had a Ring of that very Master's work, which he had kept a long time, and that if his Highness would be pleas'd to ac∣cept of it, he would bring it thither, which he presently did.

Assoon as the Grand Seignor was return'd to his own Quarter, he sent for the Grand Vizir, and the Pilgrim, who came into his presence, and he had in his hand the Chapelet of Corral, which he made as if he were repeating, to try whether the Pilgrim would know it again. The other having well observ'd it, address'd himself to the Em∣perour, saying, If it shall please your Highness to permit me to open my mouth, I dare affirm, that the Chapelet, you have in your hands, is very like that, which was in my little bag of Jewels, and possibly I shall not be mistaken, if I say it is the very same. Whereupon the Grand Seignor commands him to come nearer, and putting the Chape∣let, and the Ring into his hands, the Pilgrim affirms, upon his life, that they are the ve∣ry same things, which he had left in the custody of the Doctor. He coming the next morning, according to his custom to make a report of some criminal cause to the Grand Seignor, that Prince, who was a person of great ingenuity and apprehension, proposes to him a case somewhat of the same nature with that between him and the Pil∣grim, and ask'd him what punishment such a crime deserv'd. The unfortunate man, blinded by a good fortune wherein he thought himself already well establish'd, and what was past being clearly got out of his remembrance, pronounc'd sentence against himself, and answers the Grand Seignor, That such a person, deserv'd to be pounded alive in a Mortar.

Upon that sentence, the Emperour caus'd him to be immediately secur'd, and having * 1.42

order'd all his chests to be brought into the Seraglio, by the Baltagis, whom he sent to his Lodgings, pulls out of his pocket the Chapelet of Coral, and the Ring, which he shewes him, and told him, that those two pieces were taken out of a little bag, which a Pilgrim of Mecha had entrusted him with the custody of. He afterwards shews him the note or schedule of all the other pieces, and commanding him to open his Chests, the Jewels were there found, which that unhappy man, convinc'd of his guilt, and trem∣bling for fear, deliver'd up into the hands of the Grand Seignor. The Pilgrim was call'd, and presently knew his bag, and his Jewels; and the Doctor, by an open con∣fussion, acknowledg'd his crime, and perfidiousness.

The next day, the Emperour order'd the Divan to be Assembled, at which he com∣manded that all the Grandees about Constantinople should be present, to render the Judg∣ment the more solemn. He first commanded, that whatever belong'd to the Pilgrim should be restor'd to him, together with some additional recompence: and his next command was, That the Doctor should be punish'd, according to his own Sentence. To that end, order was given, that a stone should be made hollow, after the form of a Mortar, into which he was thrown stark naked, and pounded alive by the common Executioners. And that is the same Stone-Mortar, which I have often seen near the Gate of the Divan, and is left there, for a Memorial of so admirable and so solemn a Judgment. And this was the period of a History, whereof all the circumstances are re∣markable, and which is not one of the least Monuments of the Wisdom of the Empe∣rour Amurat. That Prince, instead of using his absolute power at the first overture of such an Affair, thought it fitter, by a perspicacity of mind and prudence, patiently to expect remote occasions, that he might thence deduce evident proofs of a conceal'd crime: and his intention was to raise the Doctor to great dignities if he had found him innocent; and to punish him severely, as he did, upon the discovery of his guilt.

I told you at the beginning of this Chapter, that of the four dayes of the Week, ap∣pointed * 1.43 for the sitting of the Divan, those which are answerable to our Sunday and Tuesday are the principal, as being those on which the Affairs of greatest importance are debated. They call those two dayes Arzghiunz, in regard, that after the Grand Vizir, the six other Vizirs, and the two Cadilesquers, who assist at the Divan, have ad∣ministred Justice, they go all together to kiss the Grand Seignor's hands. If any one of those Nine Judges have ought to say to him, he is permitted, on those dayes, to speak to him freely: and it is ordinarily upon those dayes also, that the Grand Seig∣nor takes his time, if he has a mind to take off any one. He then orders the Bostangi-Bachi to be ready, with some of those who attend him, to execute his will; and ha∣ving declar'd to him who they are, whom he would have strangled, the order is no soon∣er given, but that either at their arrival, or at their departure, it is punctually obey'd. True it is, that he does not demean himself so, but when he is afraid of some popular sedition, in case he should send to punish them in their own Houses, where they might make some resistance. But within the Seraglio, and in sight of the Janizaries, who are in their stations near the Divan, the unfortunate Person, whom they would have to be strangled, has no more to do then to bow down his Head, and to stretch out his Neck, without thinking of any resistance, which would be to no purpose. In the Eleventh Chapter, I shall give an account at large, how they proceed to that exe∣cution.

A little beyond the Hall of the Divan, you come to another Hall, rais'd up after the * 1.44 manner of a Balcony, where the Ambassadors are seated, when they assist at the Divan, and that they do, once in three months, and upon the dayes, that the Janizaries re∣ceive their pay. There is notice sent them to be there, out of a vain ostentation, that they may see, what abundance of money goes out of the Treasury. Between these two Halls there is a Gate, which leads to the Quarter of the Baltagis. Those are a sort of strong and robust People, employ'd, as I told you, in carrying of Wood all about the Seraglio, and other mean and painful Offices. As to the wood, which is burnt in the Appartments of the Women, they disburthen themselves of it at the door, where the Negro-Eunuchs take it up, and carry it into the Baths and other rooms, into which they only are permitted to go. And this is all that's considerable in that second Court. Let us now enter further into the Seraglio, and see how things are manag'd there.

CHAP. V. Of the inner part of the Seraglio, in general, and particularly, of the Quarter of the Eunuchs, and the Ichoglans.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Ichoglans educated under a severe Discipline. The great Officers of the Port taken out of the same School. The mise∣rable condition of the Children of the Bassa's. The great Autho∣rity of the Capi-Aga. The Classes, through which the young Lads of the Seraglio are to pass. The Quarters of the four prin∣cipal Eunuchs.

THE inner Seraglio is that part of the great Palace of the Ottoman Emperours, which, from the Second Court, whereof we have given a description, ex∣tends to the point, at which place the Gardens are terminated, and which comprehends, in general, the Grand Seignors Quarter, and the Quarter of the Sultanesses. But in regard the former is distinguish'd into several Appartments, appointed for the Habitations of the Officers, who ordinarily approach the Grand Seignor's Person, and are his most necessary attendants, I will conduct the Reader from one to another, and give a distinct relation of every one of them. In this Chapter, I shall treat only of those Appartments which are taken up by the Eunuchs; and the Ichoglans, who are under their Discipline.

At the beginning of this Discourse, I made mention of the four principal Eunuchs, who have others substitute to them, to observe the actions of those young Lads, who * 1.45 are committed to their charge, and to instruct them, as well in the Mahumetan Reli∣gion, as in the Exercises of the Body, and particularly, as to what relates to the Grand Seignor's Service. The Quarter, as well of the Eunuchs, as the Ichoglans stands next to the Divan-Hall, and begins to make part of the third Court, all along which it reaches on the left hand. It is divided into several Appartments, and among others, there are four, which they call Oda's, that is to say Chambers, into which are distri∣buted six hundred Ichoglans, according to the orders of the Capi-Aga; who, with the other principal Eunuchs, judges of every ones capacity. 'Tis the Capi-Aga also, who orders their passing out of one Oda into another, as we remove our Scholars from a sixth form to a fifth; and the case is the same in their Oda's as in our Forms, or Clas∣ses, ths first of the four Oda's, the severities whereof they must weather out as well as they can, being the last in point of dignity. When he makes his general Visitation, upon which follows the foresaid promotion, he turns out of the Seraglio, all those whom he thinks uncapable of doing their Prince good Service, and that such as betray their disgust of so austere a life; and then they are put out of all hopes of ever entring into the Seraglio any more, and cannot pretend to any other Fortune, then that of Spahis, with a small pay. The advantage of capacitating themselves for the most eminent Charges of the Court and the Empire, makes those who remain behind to take the greater courage, and accordingly they patiently suffer, for the space of many years, the harsh and unmerciful treatments of the Eunuchs, whom, upon all occasions, they al∣wayes find very liberal of the Bastinado.

They are those Ichoglans, whom we may also call the Grand Seignor's Pages, who

are advanc'd to the dignity of Bassa's, Beys, Capigi-bachis, Haznadar-Bachis, and the other great Offices of the Port. But they are particularly cull'd out of the number of the Tributary Children, who are taken away from the Christians, or taken in War, by * 1.46 Sea or Land. For, as to the Beiczades, or Children of Bassa's, whom they bring up in the Seraglio, you are to remember what I have already said, that they can never ascend higher, than to the Charges of Beys, or Captains of Galleys.

When any one of these Ichoglans is desirous to remove out of the Seraglio, or if any one of the white Eunuchs has the same desire, he presents a Petition to the Capi-Aga, who carries it to the Grand Seignor, he receives his dismission, and is allow'd a certain Pay, proportionably to the continuance and quality of his Services. But there are others, whom the same Capi-Aga turns out of the Seraglio against their wills, and that after they had weather'd out the first years, which are the most insupportable. And that is done sometimes upon this score, that the Capi-Aga having had some con∣test with any one of those Ichoglans, while they were Camerades in the time of their youth, and fearing lest he should come one day to traverse his designs, he employs all his credit and interest, to remove him out of the Seraglio, but withal procuring him a Recompence and Salary, according to the number of years he has serv'd.

The first of the four Chambers, into which the Ichoglans are distributed, has the greatest number of them, because they are yet very young, and as it were Novices, * 1.47 under the first Perula: and it is called the Couchouk-Oda, that is to say, the little Chamber, though it be the largest of them all, in regard it is the lowest in point of Dignity. There they are taught to read and write, and are initiated in the first grounds of the Mahometan Law. And after they have spent six years in that Cham∣ber, they are remov'd into the second, which they call Quilar-Oda, wherein being grown more robust, they are instructed in the Exercises of the Body, in shooting with the Bowe, using the Lance and other divertisements of that kind. They are more perfected in the speaking of the Turkish Language, whereto they also adde the Arabian, and the Persian, which they shall have occasion to use, in the Governments whereto they may be sent.

There are four years spent in this second Chamber, out of which they are again re∣mov'd into the third, which they call Chasnadar-Oda, or the Chamber of the Treasu∣ry. In this Chamber, they begin to do the Grand Seignor some service, and to be im∣ploy'd in the Wardrobe, and the Baths, and there they are also taught to ride, and to perfect themselves in the Exercises sutable to that Station, wherein they ordinarily spend four years. Each of these three forementioned Chambers has a white Eunuch for its chief Overseer. The Seraï-Agasi has the direction of the first; the Quilargi-bachi Com∣mands in the second; and the Chasnadar-bachi is the Governour of the third.

I shall have occasion to speak more at large of the two last, when I come to the Chapters of the Cup-bearers Office, and the Treasury; and therefore I shall only add here, concerning all the three in general, That the Ichoglans, who are instructed there∣in, have not any commerce with those of the fourth Chamber, of whom I shall give an account by and by, nor with any other person out of the Seraglio, or in the other Courts, but with the particular permission of the Capi-Aga, and in the presence of an Eunuch, who hears all that is said: That they cannot converse amongst themselves, but at certain regulated hours; and that conversation must be manag'd with a great observance of Modesty, as there is an exact Obedience remarkable in all their deport∣ments: And lastly, that they are all clad in ordinary Cloath, even to the Beiczadés; that is, the Sons of Vizirs and Bassa's who are dead, while those of the fourth Cham∣ber wear Cloath of Gold and Silver, because they come into the Grand Seignor's pre∣sence, and often approach his person. I shall give you an account anon of their Dor∣mitories, that is the places where they take their repose, as also of the Functions of the Oda-bachi and the Deflergi-Aga, who act according to the Orders they receive from the four Eunuchs.

The fourth Chamber, which is the Prince's Chamber, is called Haz-Oda, and I shall speak of it, when I come to treat of the Cup-bearers Office, and the Grand

Seignor's secret Appartment. Here, the Ichoglans, who have endur'd hardship so ma∣ny years in the three first Chambers, begin to take breath, and to be allow'd more liberty. They are permitted to converse with all Persons within the Seraglio, and they have the advantage of frequent approaches to the Prince's Person, to whom they make themselves known, and from whom they ever and anon receive favours.

Under the Gate of the third Court, where a certain number of Eunuchs are upon * 1.48 the Guard night and day, there is a passage on the left hand which leads into a little Gallery, out of which there is an entrance into the Appartment of the Capou-Agasi; and when the great Gate is open, it hides that passage, into which a man cannot en∣ter but with some difficulty.

A little further, and on the right hand of the Hall of the Audience, stands the Ap∣partment of the Seraï-Agasi, who is to take care for the keeping of the Seraglio clean and in good order; and a little farther yet, near a little Mosquey, where the Icho∣glans of the three first Chambers go to their Devotions, lies the Quarter of the Sefer∣lis, who are an hundred and fifty of the Ichoglans, or thereabouts, particularly ap∣pointed for the washing of the Grand Seignor's Linnen. When he goes into the Coun∣try, the most antient among them are of his Retinue; and there must be comprehend∣ed in that number, such as play on Timbrels, and the other Instrumental Musicians, who have the same appointments with the rest.

Let us now enter into the Hall of Audience, which is a Quarter as 'twere indepen∣dent from others, and where the Grand Seignor receives Forein Ambassadors.

CHAP. VI. Of the Hall wherein the Grand Seignor gives Au∣dience to Forein Ambassadors, and the manner how they are receiv'd.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The description of the Hall of Audience. The Grand Seignor's Throne. The manner how Ambassadors are receiv'd. Remarks upon the number of Vestments which the Grand Seignor orders to be bestow'd on the Ambassadors of Christian Princes. The form of the Oath of Allegiance, which the Cham of the Lesser Tartary comes to take at the same place.

THe Third Court of the Seraglio, wherein we now are, is far from being * 1.49 so regular, as the precedent, and the Structures within sufficiently disco∣ver, that the persons, by whom it was built, minded not the observance of any Order in the doing of it. When you are at the Gate of this Court, you have just opposite to you a little Appartment, not adjoyning to the others, at the entrance of which you find, on both sides, a Fountain issuing out of Wall, the Water whereof is receiv'd into two Basins or Cisterns: And 'tis in this Appartment that the Hall of Audience stands. 'Tis an arched Structure noble enough in its kind, sustain'd by Marble Pillars, and there is yet to be seen in the midst of it,

a small spout of Water, which falls into a Basin. This Hall is open of all sides, and at the lower end, opposite to the Gate, they place the Grand Seignor's Throne.

This Throne, which is rich enough, is in the manner of an Altar, and it is brought * 1.50 into that Hall only upon those days, whereon the Grand Seignor is willing to give Au∣dience to Ambassadots, and when the new Cham of the Lesser Tartary, whom he has chosen to govern there, comes to receive the Investitute of his Kingdom, and to take the accustomed Oath. The back-side of the Throne, is set against a partition erected for that purpose, which is not above half a foot higher than it, and 'tis that keeps in the cushions which are behind the Grand Seignor.

There are in the Treasury-Chamber eight several very sumptuous Coverings pur∣posely made to cover the aforesaid Throne: and they are so large, that they reach down to the ground on three sides of it, that is to say, before, on the right hand, and on the left: for as to the back-part, it is, as I told you, fasten'd to the partition. The most Magnificent of all those Coverings is of a black Velvet, with an. Embroydery of great Pearls, whereof some are long, and others round, and in the form of Buttons. There is another of white Velvet, set out with an Embroydery of Rubies and Eme∣ralds, most whereof are set in Beazils, or Collets, the better to keep them in. There is a third, of a Violet-colour'd Velvet, embroyder'd with Turqueses and Pearls. The three others, which are next in esteem to these, are also of Velvets of different Co∣lours, with a rich Embroydery of Gold. And the two last are of a Gold-Bro∣kado, which have also their particular Beauty and sumptuoushess. The Throne is adorn'd with one of these cōverings, according to the Grand Seignor's respect to the Sove∣reign, whose Embassy he receives; and he levels his own Magnificence to that of the Prince whom he would honour.

And this is the manner, how Ambassadors are receiv'd into that Hall. For, as to * 1.51 the Order, and Ceremonies of their march from the Hôtel, or great House of Pera, to the Port of Constantinople, and from the Port, to the Seraglio, no question but there have been Relations enough made already. After the Ambassador has din'd in the Hall of the Divan, with the Grand-Vizir, who there expected him, while his Retinue are entertain'd under the Gallery, upon some old Carpets of Leather, which they spread upon the ground, and upon which there are a few Dishes of Meat set, he re∣ceives the Vests or Garments, which the Grand Seignor sends him, as well for his own Person, as for those who accompany him, and they put them on immediately, over all the Cloaths they have about them, as they would do a Morning-Gown.

In this Equipage the Ambassador is conducted to the Hall of Audience, by the Ca∣pi-Aga, the Grand Master of the Ceremonies, who is assisted by several Eunuchs: and when he is at the Door, two Vizirs stand ready to receive him, and they go on each side of him, till he comes to the place, where he is to bowe, and to kiss the Grand Seignor's Garment. From the very Gate of the Court, kept by the Eunuchs, quite to that of the Hall, they walk all along upon Carpets of Silk; and the Floor of the Hall, though all pav'd with Marble, is also cover'd with another Carpet of Gold, the Workmanship whereof somewhat resembles that of our ordinary Straw-Mats, and much about the same thickness.

The Grand Seignor demeans himself with a great deal of gravity, while he is in his Throne; and behind the little Wall or Partition, against which it is set, you see, standing in order, the Kisler-Agasi, who is a Negro-Eunuch, and chief Overseer of the Appartment of the Women; the Seligdar-Aga, who carries the Grand Seignor's Sword; the Choka∣dar-Aga, who carries the Royal Robe, an Officer whom in France, they call Porte-Mantean, the Riquabdar, who holds the Stirrup, when the Prince gets on Horse-back; and the Hazodabachi, chief of the Chamber, which Office would be equivalent in France, to that of Grand Master of the Wardrobe.

All these fore-mentioned Officers do all deport themselves with a great appearance of modesty, having their Arms cross their Breasts: And as to the Capi-Aga, the In∣troductor to the Ambassadors, and Grand Master of the Seraglio, he stands in the midst of the Hall, and in the same posture of humility. On the left side of the

Throne, there is a kind of a low Seat, cover'd with red Velvet, with a Gold-fringe, on-which the Ambassadors go and sit down, after they have kiss'd the Grand Seignor's Robe, till such time as those of their Retinue, who have had Vests, the number where∣of is limited, have perform'd the same Ceremony. In the mean time, all the Bassa's are standing, in the presence of their Prince; nay, the Cham of the Lesser Tartary is not excepted out of that Law, when he comes to do homage. All this action is per∣form'd in great silence, and the Grand Seignor making no answer at all at that time, leaves it to the Grand Vizir, to make some short Complement, in order to the dismis∣sion of the Ambassador, who withdraws with a profound reverence, without uncove∣ring his head, or turning his back, till he be out of the Hall.

The Ministers of Christian Princes and States who ordinarily reside at the Porl, are the Ambassadors of England, France, and Venice, and the Resident of the States Gene∣ral, who have all their respective Habitations in Pera. When there come thither any Am∣bassadors or Residents from the Emperor, or from Poland, or Muscovy, they oblige them to take up their abodes at Constantinople, that they may be the more assu'd of their persons.

The Grand Seignor distinguishes the Quality of those Princes and States, and the * 1.52 esteem he has for them, by the number of Vests which he orders to be bestow'd on their Ambassadors when they come to Audience. The Ambassador of Fiance has font and twenty allow'd him; the Ambassador of England, sixteen; the Ambassador or Agent of Venice receives twelve, and the Dutch Ambassador as many.

When Monsieur de Marcheville was Ambassador in Turkey, from his most Christian Majesty of France, I had the honour to be one of those who accompany'd him to the Seraglio, where after Dinner with the Vizirs, in the Divan-Hall, while his Retinue were treated under the Gallery, the Vests were brought according to the custome. The Ambassador coming to distribute them to those whom he had a mind to favour, and take along with him to the Audience, he was much surpriz'd, to find that he had got but sixteen. He immediately sent word to the Grand Vizir, that he wanted eight Vests, and that he would not go to his Audience, till he had the full number, which they had wont to present to the Ambassadors of France. There was some contest about it, which retarded the Audience near an hour's time; but at last Monsieur de Marcheville persisting in his resolution, the Grand Vizir comply'd, and sent him eight other Vests.

What remains of this Chapter must represent the manner, how the Cham of the * 1.53 Lesser Tartary comes into this Hall of Audience to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Grand Seignor. The Reader will be pleas'd to remember, what Observation I made at the beginning of this Work concerning the Family of that Tributary Prince, whom the Ottoman Emperors keep under the Yoke. The Cham, who is to Reign in his turn, and according to what disposal the Grand Seignor has made of the Government, pre∣sents himself before him in the Hall of Audience, and after he has kiss'd his Robe, re∣tires some paces back, and stands. Then they bring in the Alchoran, upon a great green Velvet Cushion, without any Embroydery, at the four Corners whereof there are four Tassels of Gold and Silk, and they place it on the Grand Seignor's right hand. Now whereas he sits on a Carpet cross-legg'd, there must be great care taken; that the Culhion be not so high as his knees; for the Turks would account that a great sin; and they bear so great a respect to the Book of the Alchoran, that they cannot touch it, till they have first wash'd themselves. Before they open it, they kiss it, and put it upon their heads, and after they have read something in it, they kiss the writing of it, and then they rub their faces with it, before they shut it. The Prince, who is to take his Oath, is standing all this time, as I told you, with his hands stretch'd out one against the other, and lifted up as high as his shoulders, to receive the Book of the Al∣choran out of those of the Capi-Aga, who had been to take it off the Cushion, having kiss'd it, and touch'd his head with it. The Oath which the Cham takes is in these Words: Bou quittab hak juchun-seadetlu, padichaim, taré fin den her né Emir, vé ferman 'bana keleurse itaat ideym. That is say, By the Truth

of this Book, I will cause to be executed all the Orders and Commands which shall be brought unto me from my Lord.

And now that I have given you the Oath of Allegiance made by the Vassal to his Lord, I shall here also adde the Form of that, which the Ottoman Emperour requires of all the Christian Princes, who are subject to his Jurisdiction, such as are the Princes of Moldavia and Walachia. It runs in these words: Hi isa hac Juchum, sea∣detlu padichaïm taré fin den her né Emir, vé ferman bana keleur se itaat Ideym. That is to say, By the Truth of Jesus Christ, I will cause to be executed all the Orders and Commands, which shall be brought unto me from the Emperour, My Lord.

The Grand Seignor requires also an Oath of Allegiance of all the Bassa's, whom he sends to the Frontiers of the Empire, as the Bassa's of Grand Cairo, Babylon, and Bu∣da, which is more than he exacts of the other Governours of Provinces, which are not upon the Confines of his Territories, and of whom he has no ground to be afraid.

Let us now make our Entrance into the Quarter of the Eunuchs and the Ichoglans, whereof the Baths make a great part.

CHAP. VII. Of the Baths of the Seraglio.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The prodigious strength of Body of a certain Ichoglan. The Mos∣quey belonging to the Appartment of the Eunuchs. The Employ∣ments of the Dwarfs, and the Mutes. The superstition of the Turks in the manner of paring their nails. The Colours forbidden the Christians in whatever they wear about their heads. The De∣scription of the Baths. Certain abuses reform'd. Why the Inhabi∣tants of the Eastern Parts do not make use of Paper upon an unde∣cent account. The Persians more scrupulous than the Turks. They are great lovers of cleanliness. Certain Chambers very com∣modious and divertive. The strict prohibition of Mahomet for any one to suffer himself to be seen stark naked. A certain Earth which takes off the hair, and its dangerous effects.

THE Baths design'd for the Grand Seignor's own Person, and his principal Officers, take up a great space of the Quarter of the Eunuchs. The little Ovens, whereby they are heated, called Kulkans, are adjoyning to the Appartment of the Saraï-houdasi, and fifteen Ichoglans, the most robust that can be found, are employ'd in keeping the fire going. They have the denomination of Kulkangis; and Five and twenty others, who are named Dellaks, are employ'd in the Baths, to shave and rub the Body, as also in applying Cupping-Glasses to those who stand in need

thereof. Among the Kulkangis, he who is the most ancient in that employment has a pre-eminence and superiority over the rest, whom he many times commands to ex∣ercise themselves in wrastling, and lifting a heavy Iron Barr with one hand.

There are three such Bars fasten'd upon great Cramp-Irons over the door that goes * 1.54 into the Baths, and the middlemost of the three, as it is commonly reported, weighs a hundred Okkas, which amount to Three hundred and fifty pounds, Paris weight, an Okka weighing three pounds and a half, or thereabouts. There was heretofore one of those Ichoglans, of so prodigious strength, that the Grand Seignor himself would have the satisfaction of seeing a tryal, whether he could with one hand lift up and turn about that Iron-bar; which he did to the great astonishment of the Prince, and presently after he entertain'd him with another demonstration of the strength of his Arm. Over those three Iron-bars, there hung two Head-pieces of Iron, whereof one was an inch in thickness, and the other about the eighth part of an inch. The same Ichoglan did, in the Grand Seignor's presence, at one blow of a Battle-Axe, cut through the head-piece of an inch thick, and, at one blow with a Sabre, cleft the other to the middle of it.

Opposite to those Ovens are the Cocks, whereby the Waters are distributed into the * 1.55 several Rooms of the Baths; and I forgot to tell you, That before you enter into that place, you find a little Mosquey, adjoyning to the Appartment of the Saraiket-houdasi, where all the Ichoglans go to their devotions twice a day. If they fail the doing of it, the Oda-bachi, who, in every Chamber, takes notice of their demeanours, calls them to an account, and they are sure of the bastinado, as they are also for any other fault they commit; and sometimes they receive the said punishment on the soles of their feet, and, upon some occasions to such a number of blowes, that the nails of their toes come off; and that is the punishment which is properly call'd Drubbing.

Out of that Mosquey you pass into a Gallery, adjoyning to the Baths, and there the * 1.56 Dislis and the Geuges; that is to say, the Mutes and the Dwarfs are employ'd in some work or other all day long. Some spend the time in learning to make up Turbants, wherein there is more work and difficulty than is imagin'd, especially in making up the Grand Seignior's own Turbant, when he goes to the Divan. For then he takes an extraordinary large one, as do also all the Officers of the same Divan when they go to Council: and I cannot make a better representation of that kind of Turbant, then by the form of our largest sort of Citrals, if they be made hollow in the middle, so as that the head might enter into that hole.

Others are employ'd in shaving, paring the nails, and other things of that kind. They do not make use of any Scizars for the nails, in Turkey, nor in any part of Asia; it being a thing forbidden by Mahomet in his Law, and accordingly they account the do∣ing of it a great sin. But they make use of a little Steel Instrument, somewhat like a Pen-knife, and the only cutting part is the end of it, and they are dextrous enough in the performance of that Office. It is the Custome all over the East, that the Barber, who trims you, should also make up your Turbant, which is many times discompos'd, pare the nails of your hands and toes, and take away the filth out of your Ears: For the Turks and all the Inhabitants of Asia are great lovers of cleanliness, and cannot en∣dure the least nastiness, either on themselves, or those who come near them, as I shall give you an account anon.

And having spoken so much of the Turbant, it will not be unseasonable, for me to * 1.57 communicate this Remark to you here, That in the Ottoman Empire, and all over Ara∣bia, none but Mahumetans are permitted to make use of White, for the covering of their heads; whereas in Persia, and all over the Great Mogul's Empire, men may take what Colours they please themselves.

I come now to the Great Bath, which is adjoyning to the Chamber of the Hamangi∣bachi, * 1.58 who is the chief Overseer of it, and which makes part of the Appartment of the Seferlis, or the Grand Seignor's Laundry-men. The place where they put off their Cloaths is a spacious Louver, or Banquetting-house of Freestone, high enough, and in

one of the most eminent parts of the Seraglio. The Floor is pav'd with a very delight∣ful kind of Marble laid in square pieces; and it has two large Windows jutting out upon the Gardens, somewhat like Balconies, from which you have a Prospect of the two Seas. In the midst of that Domo or Louver, you find a Fountain, the water where∣of is receiv'd into two Basins, or Cisterns: The former, which is the highest, and withal the least, is of one piece of White Marble, having in it a little intermixture of Red and Black Veins, and pierc'd through at six several places, for the reception of so many small Pipes of Copper, through which the water falls down into the other Basin, which is also of Marble, of several pieces, and several colours.

Within the Domo, there is a great number of Poles, which are dispos'd all about it, * 1.59 and supported by certain pieces of Iron coming out of the wall. Upon those Poles they dry the Linnen, which they had us'd in the Bath; and of that Linnen there are several sorts. Heretofore, the Pages were allow'd only a long piece of Linnen Cloath, which came only twice about their wasts: but upon observation made, that they abus'd them, and that handsome young Lads playing together, snatch'd that piece of Linnen one from the other, purposely to discover their nakedness, they use in the Baths only such Garments of Linnen as are sow'd close above, and reach from the waste down to the feet, much after the manner of a Woman's Petti-coat. At their coming out of the Bath, they have two other sorts of Linnen to dry themselves withal, of the large∣ness of ordinary Table-Cloaths, whereof the one is Red, with a bordure of Silk of three fingers breadth, which covers them, as soon as they are out of the water, from the waste downwards to the Ham; and the other is white, wherewith they rub them∣selves. For these two sorts of Towels they have but one name, to wit, Pécheta∣mal.

On one side of the Fountain, which is in the midst of the Domo, there is an en∣trance * 1.60 into the bath, and near that is the Hall, where they uncloath themselves in the Winter-time. A little Gallery which lies on the left hand, leads to the places design'd for the casing of nature, and every seat has a little Cock, which supplies them with weter to wash themselves, after they have done. It is accounted a heinous sin among them, to make use of Paper for that purpose; and the reason they give for it is this, that, possibly, the Name of God might be written upon it, or it might contain some Text of the Law, which would be a profanation of it, and consequently ought to be avoided. Besides, they have another opinion, That Paper is not so proper so well to make clean that part, which the necessity of the Body does ordinarily so much defile, but that there may be something of ordure left; and that being oblig'd to present themselves before God with an absolute Purity of Body and Mind, their Prayers could not be heard, if they should not be wholly clean.

The Persians are yet more scrupulous than the Turks upon this account. For though * 1.61 they both agree in this, That their Devotions are ineffectual, nay indeed that they are not in a condition to perform them, without crime, if they be not pure, as to Body and Mind; Yet the former are of a perswasion, That the least ordure which, through negligence or inadvertency, might remain upon their persons, or their garments, would render their Prayers fruitless and criminal, which the Turks, somewhat less superstitious as to that particular, will not acknowledge.

Certain it is also, That in Persia they are extraordinary Lovers of cleanliness; in∣somuch * 1.62 that I have observ'd, That at Ispahan, the Metropolis of that Country, where the Streets are not pav'd, when there falls a little Snow or Rain, which must occasion some dirt, few people will come out of their houses, unless they be forc'd thereto by some Concern of great importance. And when they do go abroad at such a time, at the house door into which they are to enter, they put off their shooes, their upper-Garment, the Cap which covers their Turbants; and if they have the least dirt or filth about them, they think themselves impure, and that it would be a disrespect to the person whom they are to visit. Nay, a Persian shall be very scrupulous, and make a great difficulty to receive a man into his house in foul weather; and if any one pre∣sents

himself into that pleasure, he makes a sign to him with his hand to keep at a certain distance from him, in the place wherein he is to enter into discourse with him. For if by chance, as he comes out of the Street, where there is some dirt, and where horses pass to and fro, and may cast some of it upon him, he has the least spot of any daggling about him, and afterwards touch the Person whom he comes to visit, this latter would be nagis, that is to say, unclean, and thereupon be oblig'd immediately to change his cloaths; so great is the Superstition of the Persians, as to that particular.

At the end of the Gallery, there is a door which gives you passage into three Cham∣bers, * 1.63 which are so many Baths for the use of the Grand Seignor's Quarter. There is adjoyning to the last of those Chambers a spacious place pav'd Checquer-wise with Marble of different colours, and there the Ichoglans are trimm'd. This place has a little eminency in the midst of it, from which there is a gentle descent of all sides, that the Water wherewith the Barbers wash their Heads and Beards may the more easily be carried off, and the place be alwaies kept clean. On both sides of the Wall, whereby it is enclos'd, there is a great double Cock, with two Keyes belonging to it, which, at the same mouth, supplyes them alternately with either hot water, or cold, and that falls into a Basin or Receptacle of White Marble, wherein three or four men may bathe themselves without any inconvenience, or trouble one to the other. There is also at one of the ends a little Room of Black and White Marble, and there the Barbers, who have no knowledge of any other Profession, put up all their necessary Utensils and Instruments, as Razors, Hones, Balls, and those Irons wherewith they pare their Nails: for as for Linnen, they do not use any; and those who are to be shav'd come in stark naked from the Waste upwards, and are cover'd from thence downwards, only with a Cloath, which reaches to the Ankle. 'Tis a great Rarity to meet with any one among those Barbers that knowes how to let blood, and their Lancets are much like the Fleams, wherewith our Farriers bleed Horses.

Opposite to the Chamber of the Barbers, there are three other Rooms arch'd with Marble, the largest whereof much surpasses in Beauty those that are adjoyning to it. The Floor of it is of white and black Marble, and the Walls are done about with square pieces, that are white and blew, and in every one of them you find a Flower in em∣boss'd Work, done to the Life, and which a man would take for enamell. Little La∣mines or Plates of Gold cover the junctures of those square pieces, and there cannot any thing be imagin'd more pleasant and divertive than that Chamber is. In the Roof of it, there are several round holes, of about half a foot diameter, over which there are little Glasses made in the fashion of Bells, order'd as the Venice-Looking-Glasses are, lest any one should have the curiosity, to get up to the Roof, and laying himself upon his belly think to see what is done in the Bath. The place has no light but what it receives by the means of those holes, and while some body is in the Bath: But espe∣cially when they go out of it, the door is shut, the better to keep in the heat, and to prevent their being seen; which might be, if instead of those forementioned holes in the Roof, there were Windows below, according to our Mode. All the other Baths have their Structures after the same manner, and having no light but what comes at little glaz'd holes, there is not any passage into it, but that of the door, to the end that being presently shut, the heat might the better be kept within the Bath, and to prevent their being seen who are in it.

The Second Chamber is another Bath, but as to Beauty, it is much inferiour to the other; And as for the third, there is something in it which is singularly remarkable. The Floor of it is layd as with a sort of small stones, so as that the foot cannot slip, though it be wetted at their departure out of the Bath: And the whole Room is done all about with square pieces, having in them flowers of emboss'd work, done to the Life, and covered with Gold and Azure. This is the place into which the Grand Seig∣nor enters, when he comes out of the Bath; and he alwaies goes into it alone, when he intends to shave himself in those parts, which are not to be nam'd without immo∣desty.

Mahomet pronounces a Curse upon those persons who suffer themselves to be seen, * 1.64 and upon all those who look on them: And the strict observance of his Law requires, That both Men and Women ought to shave themselves, without using the assistance of any other hand.

But most of the Inhabitants of the EASTERN Parts, the Arabians, Tartars, and * 1.65 the Indians, make use of a more easie expedient then the Razor, to get off hair. It is a certain Earth, which they mix with some Orpiment, or Arsenick, and which be∣comes soft as butter. When they are in the Bath, and begin to sweat, they take of that Earth, and therewith rub the parts, from which they would have the hair to fall, and presently after they must be very careful to see, whether it begins to fall, as one would observe a Fowl, whose feathers he would take off, after it had been cast into scalding water. For if that Earth be left too long upon the parts whereto it had been apply'd, it burns and makes holes in the flesh, the marks whereof will remain, some∣what resembling those, which the Small Pox sometimes leaves behind it. Besides, the skin of those parts, whereto this application is made, becomes in time as hard and rough as Leather; and those ungrateful inconveniences have diverted the Turks and Persians from using that Expedient. Nor do the Christians of the Levantine Countries make use of it, though they imitate the Mahumetanes in the Custome of frequenting the Baths: But above all, in Persia, none make use of that remedy, but the poorer sort of people. The Ladies, not regarding the prohibition of Mahomet, employ their Female Slaves for the performance of that Office; and with a small kind of Pincers and twitchers, such as those, wherewith we take off the hair of the mustachoes, they do, with a little more trouble, but less hazard, what that Earth does in less time, but with more danger. Our Sultanesses are yet too delicate to imitate the Ladies of Persia; nay the men themselves, in Turkey, are not very forward to have that twitch'd off with pain, which the Razour can take off without any trouble.

CHAP. VIII. Of the Grand Seignor's Treasury.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

Noble Relicks of Antiquity. The Turks cannot endure Figures re∣presenting either Man or Beast. The Chambers of the Treasury, and their Wealth. The blood of the Bassa's is one of the Rivers which enter into that Sea of the Treasury. The use of Aloes Wood in Turkey. A sort of Basins of a more commodious form than ours, for the washing of the hands. Books and Candles of a kind of wax of great value. Coffers full of all sorts of precious stones. The precautions and ceremonies which are observ'd at the opening of the Treasury. A magnificent Piece of Tapistry, wherein the Emperour Charles the Fifth, is represented, in emboss'd Work. A particular Relation of a Bassa named Rustan. The heroick senti∣ment of a Turk. The principal sources of the Wealth of the Em∣pire. How the Revenues of Egypt are employ'd.

THE Treasury of the Seraglio and the Ottoman Empire, the vast Wealth there∣in contain'd, and the excellent order wherewith it is govern'd, requir'd my being a little more large upon that subject. I shall discover all the Rivers, which fall into that Sea, and may have some resemblance to those that enter into the Caspian Sea, and are never seen to come out of it again.

Out of the Chamber, where the Grand Seignor shaves himself, you pass into a * 1.66 Gallery, which is Thirty paces in length, and between Nine and ten in breadth. There are, on the one side of it, Six great Marble-Pillars, of Fifteen foot in height, and of different colours, among which there is one of a very delightful Green, and that co∣lour makes the Turks have a great esteem for it. You have under your feet in this Gallery a Walk of large square Pieces of Marble, and the high-rais'd Fret-work thereof is a Relick of Antiquity, and there are in it excellent Pieces of Painting after the Mo∣saick way, representing divers Persons, and which some conceive to have been made, for the reception and entertainment of some great Prince, in the time of the Greek Emperours.

The Turks, who have not among them either Gravers or Painters, in order to the * 1.67 making of any representation of Man or Beast, for which they have an aversion, have thought it much to endure those Figures, and not being able to refrain from dis∣figuring the heads, there is nothing left but the bodies, which is much to be regretted. It may easily be conjectur'd, That that Gallery was open on both sides, as being so Hill to the Court-side, and 'tis in the midst of the Wall, whereby it is enclos'd on the other side, that the Door of the Treasury stands.

The first Treasury consists in Four Chambers full of Riches and Rarities. The first contains a vast quantity of Long-Bowes, Arrowes, Cross-Bowes, Muskets, Fire-locks, * 1.68 Sabres, Cymitars, and and other Arms of that kind, which are all so many Ma∣ster-Pieces, that have been presented, from time to time to the Turkish Emperors.

All these Arms are either hung up at the Ceeling, or fasten'd against the Wall; but in a pitiful condition, all over-run with rust, and cover'd with dust; and the Grand Seignor suffers them to be so neglected, because there come in daily Presents of Arms excellently wrought, the novelty whereof makes him forget the old ones; as also for that it is the humour of the Turks, not to make any great account of Curiosities, but at the very time they are presented with them.

The Second Chamber is a very spacious Arched Structure, of the same height and architecture as that of the Bath, of which I gave you an account in the precedent Chap∣ter, where they go and uncloath themselves in the Summer time: And there is no dif∣ference between them, save only that this last has no overtures in the Roof. That place contains Six great Chests, or Coffers, each of them of Twelve foot in length, six in breadth, and six in depth; and if the Covers were not broken to pieces, two men would find it a hard matter to lift them, they are so weighty. These Coffers, which are called Ambars, are full of all sorts of Cloaths for the Grand Seignor's use, as Vests, rich Furres, Magnificent Turbants, and Cushions embroider'd with Pearls.

Besides the Six Coffers before mentioned, there are Eight others, which are but eight foot in length, and four in breadth; and these are fill'd with Pieces of Scarlet, English and Dutch Cloaths, of the finest sorts, Pieces of Velvet, Gold and Silver-Bro∣kadoes, Embroyder'd Coverlets and Counterpanes for Beds, and other Rich Commo∣dities of that nature. As for the Bridles and Saddles cover'd with Precious Stones, they are dispos'd upon supporters of Wood or Iron, coming out of the Wall: and all this Chamber is generally very well kept, and all things are neat, and in good order.

The Third Chamber is very spacious, and is more like a great Hall. The first thing that entertains your Eye, is a great Coffer, the in-side whereof is divided into three parts, and makes as it were three other Coffers, one upon the other: but they are open'd all on the out-side, so as that if there be any thing look'd for in the under∣most, there is no necessity of stirring the uppermost. The lowermost Coffer contains those sumptuous Coverings for the Grand Seignor's Throne, of which I have spoken in the Description of the Hall of Audience. In the middlemost are dispos'd the Hous∣ses, and Trappings, enrich'd with Embroidery, and some of them with Pearls and Precious Stones, which are us'd in great Solemnities. In the uppermost Coffer, are kept the Bridles, Breast-Pieces, Cruppers, and Stirrups, which are recommendable up∣on the score of the Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, and other Precious Stones, whereby they are enrich'd: but the greatest part of them is cover'd with Turkish-Stones, which they have the art of setting excellently well.

It is a most astonishing sight, to behold the quantity of those precious Harnesses: * 1.69 but it is such only to those, who are ignorant, how the Grand Seignor replenishes his Treasury with so much Wealth. It happens thus, That there being a frequent morta∣lity amongst the Bassa's, and others, who are Governours of Provinces, whether it be by a natural death, or a violent, and all they have in the World falling to the Grand Seignor, as I told you elsewhere, and being brought into the Seraglio, there are or∣dinarily found, amongst their rich Harnesses, some Bridles cover'd with pretious Stones, and those Bridles are brought into the Treasury. The Case is the same with the Gold and Silver ready coyn'd, and all the Jewels, and whatever else those Bassa's were pos∣sess'd of. But as to their Saddles, which ordinarily, are cover'd with Plates of Gold of the thickness of a Ducat, they are put into the hands of the Imbrohor-bachi, who is the Master of the Horse, and come not within the Seraglio.

There are besides, in the very same Chamber, several other Coffers, of different Bulks, wherein there is contain'd abundance of most precious things. Some of them are full of rich Swords, adorn'd with precious Stones, as also of Sabres, which have the same Ornaments. For the Turks, when they are on Horse-back, make use of both Sabres and Swords, of a good length, and somewhat broader than ours. They wear the Sabre on one side, and fasten the Sword, all along by the Saddle, as they also do the Battle-Axe, yet so as that this last passes under their Thighs, which cannot in∣commodate them much, because, when they are mounted, they ride with very short

Stirrups. The Sides, and the Handles of the Battle-Axes which they carry in Tri∣umph, are also cover'd with precious Stones; and in all their Accoutremeuts, the Turks are Magnificent, and do not spare for Money. When the Grand Seignor designs to honour a Bassa, he sends him one of those Swords, or one of those Sabres, with a Vest of Gold-Brockado, lin'd with some rich Fur. But these sumptuous Pieces do but pass to and fro, in as much as that upon the death of the Bassa's, whose Estates fall to the Grand Seignor, and consequently are brought into the Seraglio, they are still found again in the Treasury, as in their Centre.

There are yet other Coffers fill'd with Amber-greece, Musk, the precious Wood call'd * 1.70 Lignum Aloes, and Sandal-wood. There is a certain sort of this Lignum Aloes, which is worth a thousand Crowns the pound, according as it is fat, or Oyly, the most Oy∣ly being always the best, and the Turks are very expensive in this Aloes Wood. When some persons come to visit them, and assoon as they are sate down, it is their custom to present them with a Pipe of Tobacco, with some Lignum Aloes in it, which is done after this manner. They take of that Wood, according to the oyliness of it, and con∣sequently its making a greater fumagation, the quantity of a Pea, or a small Bean, and after they have moisten'd it a little, they put it over a few Coals in a Chafing-dish, in a kind of Perfuming-pot, which they present, one after another, to all the Company. There comes out a thick Steam, or Exhalation, wherewith every one perfumes his Head, and his Beard, and sometimes the in-side of his Turbant, after which he lifts up his hands on high, crying Elmendela, that is to say, Thanks be to God. But before they present them with the Perfuming-pot, there is some Rose-water brought in a Ves∣sel of Gold, or Silver, according to the Quality of those who make the Visit. This Vessel is commonly a foot in height, the lower part of it being about the bigness of a mans fist, and from thence growing gradually smaller and smaller to the top of it, which is about the bigness of ones little finger. At the top of it there is a little hole, out of which comes the Rose-water, wherewith they wash their hands and faces, and then hold them over the suffumigation of the Lignum Aloes, which not only dries up the water, but also sticks so much the closer to the hair of the Head and Beard.

There are also in those Coffers abundance of Aromatical Simples, and precious Drugs, Bezoar-Sones, and stores of Mastick, wherewith the Sultanesses, and the young Maids of the Seraglio pass away their time. They have of it perpetually in their Mouths, and this Mastick sweetens the Breath, and cleanses the Teeth, upon which score they are the better belov'd.

There may be seen also in the same Chamber, and in other Coffers, abundance of Plate, both Gold and Silver, which is never us'd, the Grand Seignor having other pieces, for his ordinary use, in the Kilar, whatever is serv'd up to his own Table be∣ing altogether in Pourcelain.

There are, amongst other Pieces, several Basins and Ewers, whereof some are en∣rich'd * 1.71 with several sorts of precious Stones. Those Basins are of a fashion more com∣modious than that of ours, and it is an evident Mark of the cleanliness of the Levan∣tines. They are round, and about half a foot in depth, and cover'd as it were with a Plate or Server, full of little holes, which makes the concavity of it of equal height with the sides, and so hides the dirtiness of the water which lies at the bottom of it. They do not rise after their refection, in Turkey, till they have wash'd their Mouths and their Hands, to do which they bring you Soap and warm Water; and amongst Persons of Quality, they present Rose-water, or some other sweet Water, into which you put the corner of your Handkercher.

They have also in those Coffers great Tapers, or Wax-Candles of above two foot * 1.72 in length, made of a certain very dear composition, of a greyish colour, which has some resemblance to Wax, and is brought out of Ethiopia, every Taper amounting to near a hundred Crowns. They are not us'd but only when the Grand Seignor goes to visit the Sultanesses, and then there are two of those Tapers lighted, and set in great golden Candlesticks, enrich'd with precious Stones. When they are a little above half burnt out, the Negro-Eunuchs, who serve in the Haran, light others, and, out

of civility, make a Present of the fore-mentioned remainders to the principal Women attending on the Sultanesses.

There is moreover in one of those Coffers, abundance of Clocks and Watches, German-work, as also of Knives and Ink-horns, after the Turkish Mode, all those pieces being the choice Productions and Master-pieces of great Artists, and adorn'd with pretious Stones. There is to seen, in fine, all along the Walls, but cover'd with a Scarlet Stuff, several Arms, after the Turkish-Mode, neatly kept in order, as Bowes, Arrows, Targets, Battle-Axes, excellently well wrought, and most of these Pieces are of a considerable value.

But what is most precious in that Chamber and transcends all the rest, is a strong Coffer all of Iron-work, which contains another, of about a foot and a half square, * 1.73 wherein there is a vast Treasure. When this Goffer is open'd, you see a kind of Gold-Smiths Jewel Box, wherein are ranked all sorts of Jewels of highest value, as Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, a huge number of excellent Topazes, and four of those Gems, call'd Cats-eyes, which are so beautiful, that they are not to be valu'd. Having satisfy'd your curiosity with the former, you come next to certain little Drawers full of several Jew∣els, great Roses of Diamonds, Pendants, other Roses of Rubies and Emeralds, Strings and Chains of Pearls and Bracelets. There stands aside by it self a Cabinet, where are the Sorgouges, or the things wherein are fasten'd the Heron-tops, which the Grand Seignor wears in his Turbant. They are as it were little handles, made in the fashion of Tulips, cover'd over with the most precious Stones of the Seraglio, and 'tis into this that the Heron-top enters, that rich Plume of Feathers, whereof I have elsewhere given the description. Of these Handles, some are higher and more precious than others; and my Overseer of the Treasury assur'd me, That, of all sorts of them, great and small, there are above a hundred and fifty. The lesser ones serve only for the Cam∣pagne, and the great ones, which are the richest, are reserv'd for the Pomps and Mag∣nificences of the Court, and when the Grand Seignor marches in Ceremony to Con∣stantinople. If he has a desire to satisfie his sight with the lustre of his precious Jew∣els, he Orders the Coffer to be brought into his own Chamber; but if he calls for some particular Piece of the Treasury, he gives order to the Chasnadar-bachi, to fetch it, and that Chief Officer of the Treasury cannot enter into it, without abundance of mysterious precautions.

There are alwayes Sixty Pages, more or less, belonging to the Chambers of the Treasury. The number of them is not fixt, but the Credit of the Capi-Aga, and the * 1.74 Chasnadar-bachi, may augment or diminish it, according to their inclinations and in∣terests. Unless they fall into disgrace, as he had done from whom I have some part of these Instructions, they never go out of the Seraglio, but upon their advancement to some considerable Government, or the settlement of a handsome Pension for their maintenance; and so, provided they do nothing amiss, they are well enough accom∣modated for their lives. The Chief Officer of the Treasury having receiv'd Orders from the Grand Seignor to bring the Piece he would have, assembles all the Pages in their Chamber, and sends for the Anakdar-Agasi, who has the Custody of the Keyes. This last having given three stroaks with his hand upon the Drawer, wherein they are enclos'd, takes them out of it, and following the Chasnadar-Bachi, attended by the Sixty Pages, they all make their appearance together at the door of the Treasury.

The first thing that is done is the untwisting of a Chain, which they had put there, for the better securing of the Seal, which the Chief Officer of the Treasury had set over the hole, and having found it entire, he orders it to be broken by the keeper of the Keyes, and commands him to open. Assoon as they are got into the Chamber in∣to which the Chasnadar-bachi knowes they are to go, he sets himself down upon a low Bench, and declares what Piece it is that the Grand Seignor requires. They there∣upon open the Coffer, wherein it ought to be, then they present it to the Chasnadar-bachi, and, if he be desirous of that honour, he has the priviledge to be himself the Bearer of it to the Grand Seignor. Then has he a fair Opportunity to secure some∣thing that is precious to himself, if he has the dexterity to do it without any discove∣ry. When he is in the Treasury, he needs only say, That the Grand Seignor desires

also the Piece, which he has a mind to convert to his own use, and causing all to be immediately carried to his own Chamber, he there leaves what he would keep, and presents to the Prince only that which he had commanded to be brought him. Not but that whatever is receiv'd into the Treasury, and whatever goes out of it, is exactly set down and enroll'd by the Haznaquatib, or Clerk, who keeps the Registers; and the Cheat might be easily discover'd, when at the quitting of his Charge the Chasna∣dar-bachi gives an account of all things to his successor. But it ordinarily happens, that they are friends, and that the Chasnadar-bachi, who does not leave his Charge, but upon his advancement to that of the place of the Capi-Aga, in case he should dye, or be exalted to a higher Dignity; or upon his being made a Bassa and Governour of a Province, proposes him, among the Pages, for whom he has the greatest affection, and who is his Confident, as a Person qualify'd for the Charge of Principal Officer of the Treasury. Accordingly, being his Benefactor, he gives in his Accompts as he pleases himself, and delivering unto him an Inventory of what is in the Treasury, he withal produces a Memorandum of the Pieces, which had been taken out thence, during his Surintendency, by the Grand Seignor's Orders. The Clerk of the Treasury, might, notwithstanding their intelligence and combination, discover the intrigue; but being one of the eldest Pages of the Chamber, and in a capacity of advancement to the Charge of Chasnadar-bachi, he shuts his eyes, and so avoids the creation of Enemies, thinking it more prudence, to be appeas'd, by the Presents he receives as well from him who enters into the Charge, as from him who quits it. But these Thieveries are not very often committed, and if there were but the least discovery made thereof, a severe pu∣nishment would soon be inflicted both on the Author of them, and his Complices.

As to the little Chest or Coffer, wherein the most precious Jewels are kept, it is impossible to get any thing out thence: for when the Grand Seignor would have any Piece taken out of it, he orders the Coffer it self to be brought into his Presence, by the principal Officer of the Treasury, accompany'd by the Keeper of the Keyes, and all the Pages; and before he opens it, he takes notice whether the Seal be entire. After he has taken what he desir'd, the Coffer is lock'd up in his Presence, the Seal is set upon it, and it is carry'd back into the Treasury with the same Ceremony. Then do the Sixty Pages receive, ordinarily, some demonstrations of the Grand Seignor's Libe∣rality, which may amount to ten or twelve Purses, to be divided amongst them.

We are not yet got out of the third Chamber of the Treasury, which may pass for * 1.75 one Spacious Hall, the middle part whereof is taken up by a Scaffold, of nine or ten foot square, the height, the length, and the breadth being equal. This Scaffold is cover'd and surrounded with a piece of Tapistry of Gold and Silk, and, in the upper part of it, there is, in emboss'd Work, the Effigies of the Emperour Charles the Fifth, seated on a Throne, having in one hand, a Globe, and in the other, a Sword, sur∣rounded by all the Grandees of the Empire, doing him homage. At the bottom of the said Piece of Tapestry, there may be read certain Verses in Gothick characters: And the upper part of the Scaffold is full of Books in the Latine, French, Italian, high Ger∣mane, English, and other European Languages. There are also some Treatises upon the subject of Navigation, together with two Globes, the Celestial, and the Terrestrial, and some Geographical Maps drawn upon Velom: whence it may be conjectur'd, that they were all taken at Sea, by some Turkish Pirate, and sent as a Present to the Grand Seignor. But not being carefully look'd after, the dust has quite spoyl'd both the Tapestry, and the Books, and so they remain there as a Monument of some Victory gain'd over the Christians.

The Fourth Chamber of the Treasury is very dark, and has no other light than * 1.76 what it receives from a little Garret-Window, which looks into the Court, and has three strong Iron-bars, one over the other. Over the Door, there are these words en∣grav'd, in the Turkish Language; Mony acquir'd by the diligence of Rustan. Take here an account of what occasions this Monument, which they were pleas'd to erect, to perpetuate the memory of a Grand Vizir, as I have been told it, by several Persons in Constantinople. He was the Son of a Cow-keeper, and had follow'd the same Employ∣ment himself: but he had a Genius that might become a Person of the highest Extra∣ction, and which rais'd him to the Charge of Grand Vizir, and the honour of being

Son-in-law to Solyman. He had many traverses of fortune, and was for some time out of Favour: but in fine, Solyman, who had great Affairs to manage, and was engag'd in a War with Persia, coming to a little indigency of Mony, sent for Rustan, and be∣stow'd on him the Superintendency of his Revenues. He knew him to be a man of great Abilities, and capable of putting them, in a short time, into a good posture; and accordingly his pains and diligence in the management thereof prov'd so successful, that he presently fill'd Solyman's Coffets, and re-establish'd the Affairs of the Empire.

Upon which occasion I shall here set down a thing which is still fresh in the remem∣brance of many Turks, who receiv'd it from their Fathers. The Turks have so great a * 1.77 zeal for the welfare of the State, that one of the Grandees of the Port, an Enemy of Rustans, and one, who, upon other occasions, would gladly have ruin'd him, pro∣tested to one of his Confidents, That, though it were in his power to do him an ill turn, yet he would not do it then, because he had, by his Industry and Labours, up∣held the State, which he retriv'd from the Precipice of destruction, and was in a fair way to make a considerable augmentation of its Revenues. This generous and heroick Sentiment in the Soul of a Turk, who at his first rise was but a simple Slave, would meet with but few Examples amongst Christians.

But, to reassume our discourse concerning the Fourth Chamber of the Treasury. It is full of Chests of two foot in length, and a breadth and depth proportionable there∣to, fortify'd with plates of Iron, and made fast, each of them, with two Chains. The number of them is not always the same, because the Mony is coming in, and going out of that Chamber, and the Coffers are transported thence according to the occur∣rent exigencies, for the payment of the Janizaries, and the maintenance of the Ar∣mies.

All the Gold and Silver which is brought into the Treasury rises out of the Reve∣nues of the Empire, and out of the Sale of what Goods the Bassa's leave at their depar∣ture * 1.78 out of this World. As to what is rais'd out of the Empire, which dilates it self so far into the three parts of our great Continent, and comprehends so many Kingdoms, it may be easily imagin'd, that it must supply the Treasury with vast Sums; but it is not so easie to ascertain them. Its Revenues consist principally in the collection of the Tributes, and in the Customes: and the three Tefterdars, or Treasurers-General, give an account to the Grand Vizir of the Receipts of the Provinces. That Principal Mi∣nister has the custody of one Key of that fourth Chamber of the Treasury, and the first Tefterdar has that of another, and besides that, it is always seal'd with the Grand Seignor's Seal. It is not ordinarily open'd, but upon those days, on which the Divan sits, that is, on Council-days, either for the reception of Money into it, or for the ta∣king of any out, to defray the Charges of the Empire.

What is so receiv'd into it is for the most part in Silver; and as to the Species of Gold Coins that are brought into that Chamber, they come from four Sources, two whereof are upon a Foreign account, and the other two upon that of the Country. One of the two former consists in the Commerce of the French, English, Dutch, Ita∣lians, Moscovites, and Polanders, who bring in Ducats out of those Provinces. The other is the annual Tribute, which the Cham of the Lesser Tartary, the Princes of Transylvania, Moldavia, and Walachia, the Republick of Ragusa, and part of Mingrelia and Russia, are to pay the Grand Seignor in Gold, which amounts to very great Sums. One of the two Sources of the Country proceeds from what is found upon the removal of the Bassa's, whereof the very coined Gold makes the best part; the other, from the Revenue of Egypt, where there is an annual coinage of a certain num∣ber of Sequins, according to the quantity of Gold, which is brought thither out of Ethiopia, and being coin'd into Sequins, is all convey'd thence into the Treasury.

The Revenue of Egypt may amount yearly to twelve millions of Livers, [that is, * 1.79 about one million and two hundred thousand Pounds Sterling] which must be divi∣ded into three parts. Five millions of the twelve, are brought into the Grand Seig∣nor's Treasury. Four millions of the foresaid Sum, are employ'd in the maintenance of the Officers and Soldiers of that Kingdom: And the other three are design'd for

the rich Present, which the Grand Seignor sends every year to Mecha, for the Expen∣ces which relate to Religious Worship, and to fill the Cisterns of Arabia, which are supply'd with Water, brought by Land, many days Journeys.

Of the five Millions which are brought into the Seraglio, the greatest part is in Se∣quins, according to the quantity of Gold, which the Abyssines bring into Egypt, and the rest in Dutch Rix-Dollars. All is brought together into the Coffers of the fourth Chamber of the Publick Treasury. But as to the Sequins, they are carried into the Se∣cret Treasury, which it is time for us now to open, and give the Reader an account of, according to the description which has been made to me thereof, by two men, whom their Employments oblig'd to enter into it often.

CHAP. IX. Of the Secret Treasury.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

A Vault under ground, into which few Persons have access. The great frugality of the Emperour Amurat. Ibrahim, his Successor, charg'd with evil Conduct. The Grand Seignor's precautions for the security of his Treasure. His Liberalities to the Grandees of the Port.

WIthin the fourth Chamber of the Treasury, you find a door laid all * 1.80 about with good store of Iron-bars, which opens the first passage, to the place that contains the Grand Seignor's Secret Treasure. It is never open'd, but when he himself has a mind to enter into it; and he do's not enter into it, but when the Grand Vizir advertises him, that it is time for him to do so, and that there is a considerable Sum to be carried in. In the first place, by the light of Torches they go down a Stair-Case of ten or twelve steps, at the bottom of which, after an advancement of seven or eight paces further, they find a second Door, fortify'd with Iron-work as the former, but much less, so that a man is oblig'd to stoop ere he go into it. When it is open'd, and that they have made their entrance through it, as if they had pass'd through a Wicket, they are un∣der a great Vault, where they find a great many Coffers, of the same largeness, as those of the Chamber we came last out of.

In those Coffers they have, for these many years, layd up all that was not expend∣ed * 1.81 upon the Publick account, of the great Revenues of the Ottoman-Monarchs, and so it may be call'd his Private Exchequer, into which there is nothing but Gold has en∣trance, all the Silver being carried into the other Treasury, to be thence taken out again and dispos'd of as occasion requir'd. After the death of Amurat, Ibrahim, his Successor in the Throne, found in that Treasury four thousand Bags, which they call Kizes, and every Bag contains fifteen thousand Ducats of Gold, which amount to thirty thou∣sand Crowns, and those reduc'd to our Pounds, come to thirty Millions Sterling. 'Twas the same Amurat (a prudent and valiant Prince, a man of great Parsimony, and as great Conduct in Military Affairs, of whom I have often had occasion to make men∣tion) who enter'd into a War against the King of Persia, and besieg'd Bagdet, or Ba∣bylon, which he took on the 22th of December, 1638. I remember, that I was then but five days Journey from that place, in the Deserts of Arabia, as having left Aleppo,

in order to my going to Balsara, and that of the Threescore and five dayes, which the Caravan spent in that Journey, for nine of them, we were destitute of Water, which must needs press very hard, both on the Men and the Camels.

Ibrahim, therefore, at his coming to the Crown, found, in the secret Treasury, that * 1.82 prodigious quantity of Gold, whereto he could not make any augmentation; nay some, on the contrary, are of opinion, That he was forc'd to use some part of it, through his ill Conduct of the Warr of Candia. True it is, That the long continu∣ance of that Warre made a great hole in the Revenues of the Empire; but there are Two great Reasons, which divert me from giving absolute credit, to such as affirm, That those Exigencies reach'd the Secret Treasury. For, in short, it is as 'twere a fundamental Law among them, That, before any thing is taken out thence, it is re∣quisite, the Empire should be in imminent danger of ruine; And it is manifest, That though the Turks could not reduce Candia under their Jurisdiction, yet their Empire was so far from being near its decadence, that it still continu'd powerful. Besides, it is to be observ'd, That when the Grand Seignor loses a Battle, it is a dis∣advantage to his Provinces, upon the score of their being thereby depopulated, and so much the less cultivated; but that it is an advantage to his Coffers, in regard there's so much the less comes out of them. The reason of it is evident, because he payes the Veteranes, or Souldiers of long standing, seven or eight Aspers a day, and that those of the new-rais'd Forces do not stand him in above one and a half, or two at the most; their pay augmenting with the time, answerably to their services, and the Prince's good Pleasure. Whereto it is to be added, That when an Emperour dies, his Successor augments the pay of the Janizaries, by an Asper, or two, per diem.

It must be acknowledg'd indeed, That there died a great number of Turks in the Warr of Candia: but it is certain also, That if we consider the great number of King∣domes and Provinces, whereof the Empire consists, among which there are some very fertile, and very well peopled, it is an easie matter to raise numerous Armies, and to recruit them, when they have been weakned, by a Defeat, or by some Sickness, which often happens among them. Upon these two grounds, I cannot be induc'd to be∣lieve, that Ibrahim was oblig'd to make any diminution of the Secret Treasury: but I am very apt to believe, that he made not any great additions thereto, because he had not either the good Conduct, or good Fortune of Amurat, and ordinarily, the one avails not much without the other.

All the Gold that lies interr'd under that Vault is in Leather-bags, every Bag con∣taining Fifteen thousand Ducats, that is Seven thousand five hundred pounds sterling: and 'tis with his own hand that the Grand Seignor puts his Seal to them, which is the same that his Predecessors had us'd before him, save only the name, which must be that of the Prince then reigning. Amurat's Seal had these words graven upon it, Nasrum min allahi abdihil melekil Mourath: Which signifies, The as∣sistance of God is upon his Servant the Emperour Amurath.

And this is the manner how the Bags of Gold are brought into the Secret Treasury. All the Gold and Silver which come into the Seraglio, is first carried into the Cham∣ber * 1.83 of the Treasury, and each of them is dispos'd into the Coffers design'd for them. When there is as much Gold as will amount to two hundred Kizes, the Grand Vizir gives notice of it to the Grand Seignor, who appoints a day, for the disposal of it in∣to the Secret Treasury. The day being come, the Grand Seignor, led under the Arm by the Chasnadar-bachi, who is on the left hand, which is accounted the more honou∣rable amongst the Turks, and by the Seligdar-Aga, who is on the right, comes into the Chamber of the Treasury, where the Sixty Pages expect him, ranked in order on both sides, with their hands cross their Breasts. The Grand Seignor, having pass'd through the Chamber, and order'd the first Door of the Secret Treasury to be open'd, enters into it, by the light of several Torches of white Wax, and is follow'd by the Pages, two by two, till they are within the Vault, into which the Bags are brought, ty'd with a Silk-string. Upon the string they put a piece of red soft Wax, whereto the Grand Seignor sets his Seal himself, which is upon a Gold-Ring, wherein are en∣graven

the words before-mentioned, with the name of the Prince then reigning, after which they put the Bags into the Coffers, which are all double chain'd.

Before they come out of the Valut, the chief Officer of the Treasury, does ordinarily * 1.84 make this Complement to the Grand Seignor; Seadetlu padichaim eumijd dur quibou bendelerignus euzre ihsan cherijfgnus izhar idesis: That is to say, My Emperour, we hope, that you will make a discovery of your Li∣beralities to your Slaves. According to the humour the Grand Seignor is then in, he orders, That there should be a distribution of Twenty or Thirty Purses, amongst all those who have accompany'd him, every Purse, as I told you before, amounting to Five hundred Crowns. The Grand Vizir, and the other Grandees of the Port, are permitted to enter into the Chambers of the Treasury, where the sumptuous Har∣nesses and the Precious Stones are kept, when the Grand Seignor comes thither him∣self; but they are not to go as far as the Secret Treasury. They stay for him in the Fourth Chamber, when he is to come out of the Vault, and then he orders the Coffer of his Jewels to be opened, to shew them the most precious things there are in it. And whereas there are alwayes some Favourites attending there, as also divers other persons, whom the Prince looks upon kindly upon the score of their merit, it seldom happens, but that they all receive some Present or other from him, and he makes not any, but what is of very considerable value. The Treasury being shut up, the Grand Seignor returns to his own Quarter, and all the Grandees accompany him to the Gate of it.

CHAP. X. Of the Means, which the Grand Seignor makes use of, to augment his Treasures, besides what is done, by the ordinary Revenues of the Empire.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Presents made by the Bassa's to the Grand Seignor, when they enter into their Charges. The Trade driven by the Jews very hazardous to them. The extraordinary Wealth of the Bassa's. The great Advantages of the Chaznadar-Bachi, and the Pages of the Treasury. The prohibition of lending Mony upon interest. The Persians but poor Casuists. Formalities observ'd in Turkey about Schedules.

BEsides what may be left every Year in the Treasury, or Exchequer, out of the ordinary Revenues of the Empire, after all charges deducted, the Grand Seignor has Two other Expedients very conducive to the augmentation of both the Treasuries, to wit, the entrance of the Bassa's upon their Govern∣ments, and their removal out of them, whether it be by some disgrace, or by their natural, or violent deaths.

All the Bassa's, on whom the Grand Seignor bestowes Governments, and generally all those, who are remov'd out of the Seraglio, upon their advancement into Charges, * 1.85 are oblig'd, before they take possession of them, to make him some Presents, every one, answerably to the benefit he has receiv'd from the Prince. For example, the Bassa of Cairo, assoon as ever he is nominated to that Government, knowes, that two Mil∣lions of Livers, that is, reduc'd to the English account, two hundred thousand pounds sterling, will hardly make good the Presents, which are expected from him at the Port, that is, those due to the Grand Seignor himself, and to the principal Sultanesses; as also to the Moufti, the Grand Vizir, the Caimacan, and other Persons of Credit in the Court, to whom he is engag'd for his advancement to that Charge, and of whom he may stand in need for the future. The Present he makes the Grand Seignor himself, amounts to Five hundred thousand Crowns, and the rest will come to Two hundred thousand. Add again to that, Five hundred thousand Crowns, which will be ex∣pended in the Bassa's equipage, and so, before he sets his foot in Cairo, his own Purse, or those of his Friends, will be drain'd of Three Millions and six hundred thousand Livers.

When he comes out of the Seraglio, if he want much of the aforesaid Summe, there is a necessity of borrowing; and if the purses of his Friends cannot do it, those of the * 1.86 Jewes are readily open'd for his supply. They run a great hazard, upon hopes of the great profit of making Cent. per Cent. interest, which the Bassa does promise them. And, to be the sooner reimburs'd of the Money they have so hazarded, lest his Government be but a short one, they teach him a thousand leud wayes, to suck out the People's blood, and particularly to harass the poor Christians. If the Bassa's can but quietly enjoy their Governments, for one year, nay for six Months, the Jewes make a good hand of it, and recover the Summes they had advanc'd. But, on the other side, they run a great hazard, in regard that it happens, many times, the Grand Seignor sends for the head of a Bassa, before he has had time enough to settle himself in his new

Government, and then, they who have lent him Mony are not to hope ever to reco∣ver any part of it.

From what has been said, it may easily be concluded, That the greatest part of the Mony of the whole Ottoman Empire, is in the Grand Seignor's hands, and among the Jewes; I mean the Jewes of Constantinople. For as to those who live in the Provinces, the world goes but ill with them, and they are in a much more wretched condition, than the Christians; in regard they do not follow any thing of Husbandry: and their inclinations being altogether bent for Traffick, and the management of the publick Taxes or the Customes, 'tis impossible there should be employment for them all.

The Grand Seignor therefore receives very considerable Summes from the Bassa's * 1.87 and other persons, on whom he bestowes Charges, even before they have taken pos∣session of them. But that amounts to little or nothing, in comparison of the advantages which he makes, upon their removal out of them, and especially when they have had a fair time to gather Treasures, by their insupportable exactions from the people. Some of these Bassa's have come to that excessive Wealth and Power, that their Reve∣nues were equal to those of many great Princes. Such was the fortune of one Mach∣mut, Beglierbeg of Europe, under the Reign of Mahomet the Second; and that, of the Grand Vizir, Nassuf, under Achmet the First. At the death of the latter, there were extraordinary Riches found in his House, in Silver, Gold, and Jewels, and all was brought to the Seraglio, along with his head.

It may easily be conjectur'd, by the number of the greater and lesser Governments, whereof the Empire consists, that there is a considerable mortality amongst those, who derive their Charges and Fortunes from the pure Munificence of the Grand Seignor, and whose acquisitions thereupon falling to him, must of necessity make vast additio∣nals to the Seraglio. But besides those who are gently convey'd out of this World, by a natural death, there hardly passes a year, but violent death comes and acts its part; and upon the least jealousie, or any fantastick apprehension the Grand Seignor may have, a Bassa receives a peremptory Order to stretch out his Neck, and he is immedi∣ately strangled: In the next Chapter, I shall give the Reader an Account, of the for∣mality and ceremony, which is observ'd upon that occasion, where he will find some∣what worth his remarking; and I think I may confidently affirm, That they who know it is the custome, to strangle those, whose Lives the Grand Seignor would take away, know not all the Particulars observable in that Action.

Assoon as a Bassa, or other Grandee of the Port is dead, howe're it came to pass, * 1.88 and an Inventory of his Goods taken, of which by the Lawes of the Country the Prince is the only Heir, all is carried away into the Seraglio, and the Baltagis bring it in Cof∣fers to the Door of the Treasury. The Chasnadar-bachi, having dispos'd them into one of the Chambers, Commands the Locks to be broke open, and the Coffers to be emp∣tied in his presence; and 'tis then, that as well he himself, as the Pages of the Trea∣sury endeavour to make their advantages of that Rich Booty. For there being ordi∣narily, amongst the other things, Jewels of great value, such as that wherein the He∣ron-tops are fasten'd in their Turbants, or a Ponyard enrich'd with precious Stones, or some Carcanet of Pearls, if one or other of those Pages can make a dextrous and clean conveyance of some Piece, 'tis his own, and he puts it to what else he has in Stock, reflecting on what he has to do, at his departure out of the Seraglio, in order to his establishment in some Charge, and the great Expences he must be at upon that ac∣count. The Chasnadar-bachi, who does his work first of all, and with more liberty, does sometimes connive at what he sees done by the others, remembring that he has been as they are, and was then glad, that he was not reprov'd for so doing. Yet if he perceives that any one of them has secur'd to himself a piece of great value, assoon as he is got to his Chamber, he secretly sends for him, and makes him restore it, paying him one half of its worth, and so keeps it himself.

There are yet other great advantages accrewing to the Chief Officer, and the Pages, * 1.89 from those things which are brought into the Seraglio, upon the death of the Bassa's. When the Chasnadar-bachi has advertis'd the Grand Seignor, that, in the Coffers, which

had been brought in, there were many things not fit for the Service of his Highness, and that it were better to put them off, before they were injur'd by the moisture or the dust; the Prince gives his permission for the sale thereof, and thereupon they take out of the Treasury what they do not account worthy of a place there. Immediately, they send for the Bazarcan-bachi, or Chief of the Merchants, who is the best skill'd in those things, and who, in the presence of the Chasnadar-bachi, and the Pages of the Treasury, sets a value on every piece, to their satisfaction; for he does not prize it at above half the worth. All the Jewels that will bear a good price, and all the preci∣ous stones are dispos'd into the Treasury, and they expose to sale only things of less value, yet such as are worth much, as Trappings for Horses, Ponyards Sabres, garnish'd with Gold, garments, rich Furres, Sasches, Turbants, and other things of that nature; all the pieces being valued, the Chasnadar-bachi sets aside the best of them, to be sent, together with the value set upon them to the principal persons of the Seraglio, with whom he is glad to hold a fair correspondence, and they pay for them the more wil∣lingly, because they have them at an easie rate. The rest is distributed among the Pa∣ges, according to the valuation, and they having made choice of such things as they will keep themselves, send away what they do not like, to be sold in Constantinople, by the Halvagis, wherein they also make a vast advantage, considering the apprisement; not accounting what the same Halvagis may hedge in for themselves, as a compensati∣on for their trouble.

When there is such a sale made, the Jewes are alwaies waiting about the great Gate of the Seraglio, not daring to come too near, for fear of a chastisement of the Bastina∣do, from the Kapigis, which they are very free to give them. They stand in expe∣ctation of these Halvagis, with their bags full of Ducats and Ryals, and make the best bargains they can with them. These sales are seldom made above once in two years, and the least of them does ordinarily exceed five hundred thousand Crowns, nay some have amounted to eight hundred Thousand. The Grand Seignor is soon advertis'd, what money has been rais'd by the sale, and giving orders for the disposal of it into the Treasury, he at the same time bestows ten or twenty Purses on the principal Of∣ficer, and the Pages of the Treasury. He does not make them that Present out of any other design, then to shew his Grandeur, as being not ignorant of the advantages they have made by the Sale: but he tolerates that custome, and knows well enough, that sooner or later, all those profits will come again into the Treasury.

'Tis upon the same consideration, that the Grand Seignor permits a manifest breach * 1.90 of the Law of Mahomet, which prohibits the taking of any interest for money lent; for he suffers the Pages and others, to lend considerable sumes, to the Jewes, at the rate of fifteen upon the hundred, interest. And the Persians have found out a very pleasant evasion, to stave off the reproach which might be made to them, of their transgressing against the same prohibition.

The evasion is this. When they lend out money to any one, they have a Bill or Schedule made of the sum that's lent. Then they compute what the interest will a∣mount * 1.91 to, which is commonly after the rate of twelve in the Hundred. That done, they take a handkerchief, or some old Sasche, and giving it to the Person whom they lend the money to, they make him write a second Note, upon the score of the interest, wherein it is exprest, that the debt is for commodities bought, and duely receiv'd. And thus do they think to elude the reproaches of their own Consciences, and imagine, that they do not offend against the prohibition of Mahomet. The promise, which the Debtor makes, in writing, is not sign'd by him, it being not the custom of the Coun∣try, but he puts his seal to it. And yet that too is not sufficient, and it is further re∣quisite, that they go before the Cadi, or the Judge of the Law, who consummates the work, by putting his own Seal to the writing.

I have made appear, in this Chapter, the Means and Expedients, which the Grand Seignor makes use of, to augment his Revenues; we shall see in the next, the wayes he has to exercise his Liberalities, without any charge at all to himself.

CHAP. XI. A Subtle Expedient, whereby the Grand Seignor exercises great Liberalities, and meddles not at all with his Revenues.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Commendable Policy of the Turks. The Ceremonies attending the Presents, sent by the Grand Seignor, to those whom he would ho∣nour. The particular way us'd by Mahomet the Fourth, to shew himself liberal, without any charge to himself. Formalities observ'd at the Death of the Bassa's, who are strangled by the Prince's orders. When, and how they strike off the Head in Turkey. A prohibition against shedding the blood of the Ma∣humetans, who are condemn'd to death. The Inventories of the Goods of Bassa's deceas'd, not faithfully taken. The causes indu∣cing the Turks to defie Death with so much constancy. How difficult it is to get out of Turkey. Presents made to the Sul∣tanesses.

THE Two expedients which the Grand Seignor makes use of to augment his Treasury, besides what comes in by the ordinary revenues of the Empire, are much of the same nature, with those he uses, to bestow great largesses, with∣out disbursing any thing himself. He makes his advantages of all; the Bas∣sa's are as so many spunges, and he squeezes them, as well while they are living, as when they are dead, and at their cost, assignes recompences to those, who have done him some acceptable service. Let us take things in order, one after another, and shew in the first place, how he manages his subtle design, while the Bassa's are living, in getting out of them wherewithall to make ample gratifications, without any diminu∣tion of his Revenues.

Amongst the Political maximes of the Ottoman Monarchs, this is one of the most remarkable. They would have the Bassa's to be respected in their several Governments, by the People, as much as if they were there themselves in Person: and to make a greater, and more lively impression of that veneration in their minds, they think it fit∣ting, to honour them, from time to time, with some Present, which is carried to them with much Ceremony. This Present, which is a certain demonstration of the Esteem, which the Prince has for the Person to whom he sends it, is commonly some rich Gar∣ment; and when he is willing to make it compleat, he adds the Sabre, and the Pon∣yard, garnish'd and adorn'd with precious stones. The Grand Seignor, upon the con∣sideration before-mentioned, finding himself as it were oblig'd to make a Present to that Bassa, knowes well enough, that he will be sure, on the other side, to send him one which shall be worth ten times as much, and to make another to his Envoy, which he must look on as a recompence of his Services.

But it is not alwayes the Grand Seignor's design, by such Presents, to honour the Bassa, and keep the People the more in subjection to him. It happens many times,

that when he intends to ruine him, he makes him a Present, that he may thence take occasion, in case he does not receive another from him, such as he desires, to send an∣other Messenger for his Head. The Present, upon that occasion, is not a Vest, or Garment, but, a Sword, or a Battle-Axe, which are very Ominous Presents, and Advertisements to the Bassa, that the Grand Seignor has little kindness for him. To divert the Storm, which he sees likely to fall upon him, he doubles the Present he should have made, in case he had sent him but a Vest, which is a pledge of his affecti∣on. And if that Bassa be one of those, who Commands in the greater Governments, the Present which he sends to the Grand Seignor, ought not to amount to less than Two hundred Purses, that is to say, a Hundred thousand Crowns, not comprehend∣ing what is particularly given to the person who is sent by the Emperour.

The persons charg'd with this Commission are, for the most part, such as the * 1.92 Grand Seignor is willing to be Munificent to. So that, all things consider'd, the Present is not so much design'd for him who receives it, as for him who sends it, and the person who carries it: And in this consists the artifice of exercising great Liberali∣ties without disbursing any thing. The Ceremony perform'd at the delivery of this Present of the Grand Seignor, is this: He who carries it being come to the place where the Bassa lives, to whom it is sent, and having advertis'd him of it, this latter, with the noise of Drums, Trumpets, and Hawboys, assembles the people together, some of whom mount themselves on Horse-back, to do him the greater honour. The Bassa himself marches in the Head of all, and they who are not mounted follow afoot, to∣gether with the Curtezans, or common Strumpets, of the place, who are oblig'd to assist at this Ceremony, dancing after a Tabour, and putting themselves into a thousand lascivious postures, according to the Custome of the Country.

The Messenger who brings the Present makes a halt, in expectation of this Caval∣cade, in some Garden near the City, or in the Fields under a Tent, which he had got set up for that purpose. After mutual Salutations, he casts the Vest over the Bassa's shoulders, puts the Sabre by his Side, and thrusts the Ponyard into his Sasche before his Breast, telling him, That the Emperour, their Master, honours him with that Pre∣sent, upon the good report which had been made to him, that he has demean'd him∣self well, that he does not tyrannize over his People, and that there is no complaint made, of his being defective in the administration of Justice.

This Complement past, the Bassa, in the same order, and amidst the Joyful Accla∣mations of the people, takes his way, and the Grand Seignor's Envoy along with him, towards his House, where he entertains him at a great Treat, and, after all is done, with a Present, which amounts to Ten thousand Crowns at the least. For, as I told you before, if the Present be carried to one of the Bassa's, who are in the grea∣ter Governments, as the Bassa's of Buda, Cairo, or Babylon, they shall not escape under Thirty or Forty thousand Crowns, and the Present which is sent to the Sultan, ought to amount to a hundred thousand. Nay it many times happens, that the Grand Seig∣nor appoints what he would have their Present to his Envoy to amount to, and that especially, when he sends such as he has a particular kindness for, and would amply gratifie.

The Emperour Mahomet the Fourth, who now sits on the Throne, has a particular inclination to exercise Liberality, and to bestow Rewards on those who serve him; * 1.93 but he does it, so as that it costs him nothing, and consequently, there is no occasion of taking ought out of the Treasury. When there is not an opportunity to send the Person, whom he has a desire to gratifie, into the Country, with some Present, he has another Expedient, which will do the work. His Darling-Divertisement is Hunting, and he takes but little pleasure in any other Exercise. He thereupon orders the Person, whom he would recompence, to be one at the Sport, and having kill'd a Stagg, or some other Beast, he orders him to go and present it, from him, to one of the Gran∣dees of the Port, whose abode is either at Constantinople, or some place near it.

This Present is receiv'd with great demonstrations of joy, real, or apparent, and the person, to whom it is brought, is immediately to take order for the sending back

of another, much exceeding it in value, to the Grand Seignor. And that consists or∣dinarily in excellent Horses, good pieces of Gold-Brockado, or rich Furrs. But his work is yet not half over; there must be much more done for him, through whose hands he has receiv'd the Present, and he scapes very well, when, not accounting what he sends to the Grand Seignor, the carriage of it costs him but Ten thousand Crowns. Nay many times, he is forc'd to double the Summe, when he has not been so liberal, as the Prince expected he should have been; for he presently dispatches away an Offi∣cer, to reproach him with the slender account he has made of his Present, and the small recompence he had receiv'd, whom he had employ'd to bring it him. To these reproaches he sends him an express Order, to make him an additional Reward of Twenty or thirty Purses, which is immediately put in execution: and as to the Pre∣sent, which the Grand Seignor has receiv'd, he commonly makes a distribution of it, amongst those, who are then about him.

And these are the Advantages which the Grand Seignor screws out of the Bassa's, and other Grandees of the Port, whilst they are alive. Let us now consider those which accrew to him by their death, in order to the recompensing of those, whom he favours, without being oblig'd to take any thing out of his Coffers. When the death of a Bassa is resolv'd upon, the Grand Seignor delivers the Commission to him, whom he has design'd to be kind to; and he finds it much more advantageous, to bring him the Sentence of his death, than to bring him a Present from the Prince.

If the Execution is to be done in Constantiuople, the ordinary Executioner is the * 1.94 Bostangi-bachi, who is alwaies about the Grand Seignor's Person, and he himself does the Work. But if there be a necessity of going into some remote Province, 'tis com∣monly either a Kapigi-bachi, or one of the principal Bostangis, whom the Prince has a mind to shew his kindness to, who is sent to perform the Execution. He who car∣ries the Order, accompany'd by five or six Capigis, sometimes manages his Affairs so, as to arrive at the place, while the Council is sitting. But if that cannot be so order'd, he goes to the Bassa, and commands him in the Grand Seignor's name, to call one imme∣diately. That Council consists of the Bassa's Lieutenant, the Mufti, the Cadi, the chief Commander of the Janizaries belonging to that place, and some other persons con∣cern'd in the administration of Justice, who are of the most considerable of the Province.

The Council being assembled, the Capigi-bachi enters, attended by his people and presents the Bassa with the Grand Seignor's Letter. He receives it with great respect, and having put it three several times to his forehead, he opens it, reads it, and finds that the Prince demands his head. He makes no other answer to that Order, then what he does in these few words; Let the Will, sayes he, of my Emperour be done: only give me leave to say my Prayers; which is granted him. His Prayers being ended, the Capigis seize him by the Arms, and the chief of them presently takes off his Girdle or Sasche, and casts it about his Neck. That Girdle consists of several small strings of Silk, with knots at both ends, which two of the company immediately catch hold of, and one drawing one way, and the other, t'other-way, they dispatch him in an instant.

If they are unwilling to make use of their Girdle, they take a handkerchief, and with the Ring which they use, in the bending of their Bowes, and which they ordi∣narily wear on the right-hand Thumb, they thrust the hand between the handkerchief, which is ty'd very close, and the Throat, and so break the very Throat-Bone. Thus they make a shift to strangle a man in an instant, suffering him not to languish in pain, that he may dye a faithful Mahumetan, and not have the time to enter into de∣spair; the Turks thinking our way of hanging Criminals, who are so long in torment upon the Gibbet, a strange kind of Execution.

Though I have often us'd this expression, That the Grand Seignor sends to demand * 1.95 the Head of any person, whom he would rid out of the way; yet they never cut it off, but when he expresly declares his desire to see it, and then it is brought to him. If it be from some place at a great distance, they take out the Bruins, and fill the empty

place with Hay; and it was my fortune to see two Heads so order'd, at the same time, which they carried in a Bag. They were the Heads of the Bassa's of Kars, and Erzerom.

It is further to be observ'd, That when the Sentence of death is pass'd by the Prince against any one, what quality soever he may be of, the Turks make no further account of him; and when they speak of him, treat him no otherwise than they would do a Dog. The Bostangi, who had been commissionated to bring those two Heads to the Grand Seignor, finding himself weary and indispos'd at a Village in Armenia, where it was my chance to be at that time, and having understood, that there was a French-man in the Inne, ask'd one of my Servants whether I had any Wine, and would be content to let him have any, to cheer up his spirits. I immediately sent him some in a large Flaggon; whereupon having intreated me to come and take a Glass with him, which I thought it not fit to deny, he would needs shew me, whether I would or no, the Heads of those two Bassa's; a sight I had no great curiosity to see.

When there is no order given for the bringing of the Head, they bury the Body about Mid-night, without any ceremony, and the memory of the Bassa, who had made so much noise before, is soon extinguish'd and laid in the dust. But it is moreover to be * 1.96 noted, That it is the Custome in Turkey, not to cut off the Head of any one, till after they have strangled him, and that the blood is quite cold; it being against their Law, That the blood of a Mussulman (that is, one of the Faithful) should be spilt, upon any occasion, but in Warr.

The execution being over, he who brought the Order for it, makes an immediate Seizure of all that belong'd to the deceas'd Bassa; and after he has set aside what he * 1.97 liked best for his own use, whether in Gold or Jewels, he brings the same persons, who had been at the precedent Councel, to proceed to the Inventory of his Goods, which are afterwards, as I have said elsewhere, transmitted to the Chambers of the Treasury. They who are assistant at the taking of that Inventory, know well enough, that many things, which belong'd to the deceas'd, are embezill'd, but they are so far from repining or murmuring at it, that they sign and attest, that there was not any more found. They are afraid, if they demean'd themselves otherwise, lest that Officer of the Seraglio, whom the Grand Seignor has sent, and who possibly is in favour, should do them ill offices at the Court, and spread some false report of them; whence, according to the example they have then before their eyes, might happen, in like manner, the loss of their Charges, and Lives.

They therefore think it prudence, to connive at what ever is done by that Envoy, as being otherwise perswaded, that he will not be disown'd by the Grand Seignor, who is not ignorant of what's done upon those occasions. Nay, on the contrary, what∣ever he may have dextrously secur'd to himself of the Bassa's Goods, they make him some additional Presents of their own, at his departure from them, engaging him thereby, to speak well of them to the Grand Seignor, and to the Grand Vizir, at his return to the Port. And then also, not accounting what he had taken before-hand, and what Custome tolerates, he receives new marks of the Liberality of his Prince, who is satisfy'd that he has so faithfully executed his Orders: and so he participates of what is set down in the Inventory, when the Bassa's Goods are brought into the Seraglio.

Some, possibly, will be apt to imagine, that this Sentence of Death pass'd in the Grand Seignor's Letter, should raise some disturbance and astonishment in the Soul of * 1.98 him who reads it, and who reading therein his own Condemnation, knowes that it must be immediately executed. Yet is it not apparent in his Countenance, that he is much startled at it, he is not surpriz'd therewith, he sees that few of his Companions escape the same sate, and he has dispos'd himself for such an end, assoon as he first took possession of his Charge. Besides, the Turks have a strong perswasion, That the Decrees of Predestination are irrevocable, and that it is impossible to avoid them; which makes them look Death in the face, with such a degree of constancy and intrepidity, as renders them in a manner insensible. To which reflection we may adde this, That that ready and implicite obedience and submission of the Turks, to the Orders of their Soveraign, is rather a principle of Religion, than of State, which has been instill'd into

them, by a most subtle piece of Politicks; and they believe, That, if they dye by the Command of their Prince, they go streight into Paradise.

As for the opportunity of making an escape out of Turkey, by any one who might * 1.99 have some presentiment of his destruction, it is to no purpose to think of it. All the Officers, and the Slaves, whom the Bassa's have in their Retinue, are so many Spies, and observers of their Actions; and it is impossible for them, to conceal what they do from them. 'Twere dangerous for a man to entrust a Secret with any one of them; they are mean Souls, and uncapable of any gallant Action, besides that the Ports and Passages are equally shut up against both. If there be the least discovery made thereof, the Governour of the Frontier places would immediately have Orders from the Port, to take the Field; nay if there were not any such, they are but over-diligent, in en∣quiring after, and informing themselves of all those, who pass through the extent of their Jurisdiction.

Besides, though there were some likelihood of compassing it, and that, travelling only in the Night time, a man might get into some Neighbouring State; yet Turkey being in a manner quite surrounded by Nations who abhor the Domination of the Ottomans; 'twere as much as to leap out of the Frying-pan into the Fire, and to go and pass for a Spy, amongst a fort of people, who would give no quarter. Whence it might be imagin'd, that there were less difficulty in attempting an escape by Sea, than to hazard it by land: but the former is the much more difficult, and the severe prohi∣bitions made to the Christians, upon pain of death, not to take any Turk or Slave, into their Ships, which are exactly search'd, before they weigh Anchor, shut up all the Ports of Turkey, against those of the Country, who might be desirous to get out of it.

True it is, however, that few years pass, but that a considerable number of Slaves are convey'd away, by the charity and contrivances of the Christian Consuls, and Mer∣chants. They are secretly kept at the Houses of some Christian Inhabitants of the Coun∣try, whose secrecy and silence are bought with Mony; and the same receipt stops the mouths of those, who have the over-sight of the Ports, and are warmly entertain'd with drinking, while they cunningly get the Slaves aboard the Vessel, which has been visited, and is then ready to set sail. They would be loath to run themselves into that danger for natural Turks: there would be some ground to fear, that it might be some Plot on their side, to surprize and try the Christians; and it seldom happens that they have a thought of making any escape. They know well enough, that, whether it be by Sea, or Land, (excepting only the Kingdom of Persia, where they are hated upon the account of the difference of Sects) they cannot make their escape any where but into Christendom, where they would not be permitted the exercise of their Mahumetan Religion, which they would not renounce for a thousand lives.

E're we close up the Discourse concerning the Liberality of the Ottoman Monarchs, it is to be observ'd, That sometimes they make very considerable Presents, which they * 1.100 take out of the Grand Treasury, and which are paid in Silver only, if they are order'd for the Grandees of the Port, whether in the Seraglio, or out of it. Those Presents consists ordinarily of a Purse of Gold, which amounts to Fifteen thousand Ducats, or Thirty thousand Crowns; and when there are any such made to the Sultanesses, they receive all in Gold. To do that, there's no occasion of going to the Secret Treasury, there is gold enough in the Fourth Chamber, into which they at first bring in all the Gold and Silver of all the Revenues of the Empire; and that Summe, which makes no great hole in the great heap, returns again into the same place, by several waies.

CHAP. XII. Of the Present, which the Grand Seignor sends, every Year, to Mecha.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The third part of the Revenue of Egypt, how employ'd. The great Wealth of the Sheck of Mecha. Ceremonies observ'd at Maho∣met's Tomb. The Caravan of Cairo. The Present sent from Mecha to the Great Mogul. The Opinion of the Mahumetans, concerning Mecha and Medina.

THat I make here a particular Chapter of the Present, which the Grand Seignor sends every Year to Mecha, is occasion'd by this third part of the Revenue of Egypt, which is peculiarly design'd for it; and upon this Consideration withall, That I have singular Remarks to make upon that subject.

Three Millions of Livers, of Twelve, of annual Revenue, which the Kingdom of Egypt payes the Grand Seignor, are partly expended in the Rich Carpet, and the Sump∣tuous * 1.101 Tent, which he sends to the Sheck, every year, in honour to Mahomet's Tomb. Another part goes to the payment of those who serve in the Mosqueys; As for in∣stance, the Imans, who are their Priests; the Cheuchs, who are their Preachers; the Muezims, who, by their noise on the Towers of the Mosqueys, call the people to their Devotions; and the Kaijms of Mecha and Medina, who look to, and keep clean the Mosqueys, and light the Lamps. We must also put into the Account of these Three Millions, the Sustenance of all the Pilgrims for the space of Seventeen dayes, the Grand Seignor sending, for that end, a sufficient Summe to the Sheck. This Sheck, who is, as 'twere, the Supream Person upon the score of the Law, and the High Priest of all the Mahumetans, what Country and Sect soever they be of, makes the poor ignorant people believe, that there come every year to Mecha, Seventy thousand Pilgrims, Men and Women; and if that number were not compleat, the Angels would come in hu∣mane forms, to make it up.

This Prince, whom we call the Sheck, for whom all the Mahumetans have a great Veneration, is very Rich, and very powerful, and that may be easily conjectur'd, by * 1.102 the Presents, which he receives every year from the Grand Seignor, and the other Ma∣humetan Princes. These Presents are all his own, to be dispos'd of as he pleases, at the end of the Year, when new ones are sent to him. He makes his advantage also of all the Presents that are made by the Pilgrims, and of the Summes of Mony, which those very Princes send him, to be distributed in Alms, which he also disposes of as he pleases; and all these Presents put together, make him such a Revenue as is hardly imaginable. For Mahumetisme spreads very much into Europe, Asia, and Africa, and that much more then is commonly believ'd, as I shall more distinctly make it appear, at the end of my Relation, in a particular Chapter, which I design for the handling of that matter.

From several Parts of the World, there come Caravans to Mecha, and when the Devotion is to begin, the High Priest, assisted by all the people belonging to the Law, * 1.103 spends night and day, in saying of Prayers, and performing the necessary Ceremonies. On the Seventh day, all the Pilgrims are assembled together before the Sheck's Tent,

who appears at the entrance of it, and standing upon a low Stool, that he may be seen by those who are at the greatest distance from him, Prayes, and gives his Benediction to all the people, putting a period to the Devotion, with these words, That God would enable them to return in Peace, as they came thither.

From that minute, every one must bethink himself, that he is to be at his own charge; the Sheck gives no more, and 'tis then that he begins to make great advanta∣ges to himself. For whatever is sold for the Sustenance of the Pilgrims, comes from him; and besides, he holds a correspondence with the Masters of the Caravans, of whom the Pilgrims are forc'd to buy conveniences for their riding back again, at more then three times the rate they are worth, when the Beasts they had brought out of their own Countries have fail'd them by the way.

The Caravan of Cairo is the most numerous, and the most considerable of all the * 1.104 Caravans, that come to Mecha. The Caravan-bachi, who is the Captain and Con∣ductor of it, makes his gains by it, at his return, worth him Two hundred thousand Crowns; and there is a great competition about his place, which is at the disposal of the Bassa of Cairo, and commonly carried by the highest bidder for it. The Captain of this Caravan is also Master of the Waters, which are carried into the Cisterns, and it is according to his Orders that they are distributed; and whereas that distribution is equal, as well in relation to the Poor, as to the Rich, if the latter would have any beyond the quantity allow'd them, they must pay dearly for it; and the Captain, who sets what imposition he pleases upon it, makes a considerable advantage there∣by.

But let us return to the Grand Seignor's Present. The Tent, and the Carpet, which * 1.105 he sends, are two Pieces equally precious, as well for the excellency of the Stuffe, as the additional embellishments hereof. The Carpet is design'd for the covering of Maho∣met's Tomb; and the Tent, which is erected hard by the Mosquey, is for the Sheck, who does not stirr out of it, during the Seventeen dayes of Devotion. This High Priest of the Mahumetan Law, has found out the secret knack, of extracting inexpressible Summes of Mony, out of that Carpet and Tent, which are renew'd every year: and when the new Present is arriv'd from the Grand Seignor, he sends, as 'twere out of a singular favour, certain pieces of the Curtain of the old Tent, to several Mahumetan Princes, of whom he receives Magnificent Presents in requital. This Curtain, which is set up on the out-side of the Tent, quite round it, to hinder the people from seeing those that are under it, consists of several pieces, six foot high, and of a great length: and the Sheck endeavours to perswade those Princes, That if they fasten one of those pieces to their Tents, when they are going to engage in a War, against those whom they account Infidels, good fortune will be sure to attend them, and it will not be long e're they gain the Victory. But if he sends either the whole Curtain, or the Tent, or Carpet entire, it must be to a great Monarch indeed, such as the Great Cham of Tartary, or the Great Mogul: and that he does, once in ten, or twelve years; one while to the one, and another, to the other.

Of this we have a late instance, in Aureng-zeb, who at the present is King of the Indies, and whom we otherwise call the Great Mogul. For upon his establishment in his Throne, the Sheck sent him the whole Curtain belonging to the Tent; and great joy there was at his Court, that the King had receiv'd so Magnificent a Present, from the Holy Place, as they call it. The Sheck was soon after made sensible of the Royal Liberality of that Great Monarch, one of the Richest and most Powerful of the Uni∣verse; and thus does that Spiritual Head of the Mahumetan Religion, who has a kind of Superintendency over all the Members, know how to make his advantage of them, and has found out the way, to enrich himself, at the cost of all the Princes and Nati∣ons, who submit themselves to the Mahumetan Law.

I question not, but that they who have writ of the Religion of the Turks, have given some account of the Pilgrimage of Mecha, which is one of the most essential parts thereof; and therefore, as well for that reason, as also for that I should digress

too much from my subject, I ought not to prosecute that matter any farther. I shall take occasion here, to make three Remarks, which I have originally learnt, of one of the most learned in the Rubricks of the Mahumetan Law.

The first is, that the Turks, by an ancient Tradition, believe, That Mecha is the place, where God commanded Abraham to build him a house; and that while he was there, all Nations came thronging to visit him: and that it is also the same place, where Mahomet receiv'd the Alcoran, from Heaven.

The second relates to the Commandement impos'd upon all the Mahumetans, to be, once in their lives, concern'd in the Pilgrimage of Mecha. For it is to be observ'd, That the obligation does not extend to the poorer sort of people, who have hardly wherewithal to live upon, and would bring great misery on their Families, by their absence, as being not able to leave them what is requisite for their sustenance.

The third Remark is concerning the preference of the two Cities of Mecha, and Medina. The former is the place of Mahomet's birth, which it was his design to ho∣nour, and make known, by that famous Pilgrimage, whereto he obliges all those of his Law. The latter is the place of his Burial, of which there is abundance of fabulous relations. Mahomet, in his Alcoran, does only enjoyn their going to Mecha, where there are no other Relicks of that false Prophet, then one of his Sandalls: And the Doctors of the Law are also of opinion, that there is no obligation of going to Medina, and that without seeing that City, a man satisfies the Command of Mahomet. I shall treat at large of the Pilgrimage of Mecha, in the last Chapter of this Relation of my Travels, and of the different Roads by which the Mahumetans of Europe, Asia, and Africa, are conducted to the Tomb of their Prophet.

CHAP. XIII. Of the Cup-Bearer's Quarter, and of divers other Appartments.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The ancient Custome practis'd, when the Grand Seignor is presented with any thing to drink, between meals. A way to quench thirst at meals, wholly particular to the Levantines. The composition of Treacle. A stately service of Gold-Plate. Beds according to the Turkish mode. Waies to satisfie the necessities of Nature different from ours. The Causes of the abominable Sin committed by the Turks, who are confin'd within the Seraglio.

I Have discover'd many things particularly observable, concerning the Treasury of the Ottoman Monarchs, and there are yet some very Remarkable passages to be * 1.106 communicated, relating to the other Quarters of the inner part of the Sera∣glio.

Between the Treasury, and an obscure Vaulted Gallery, in length between Fifteen and Twenty paces, which conducts you to an Iron-Door, by which there is a passage into the Gardens, you find, on the left hand, the Appartment of the Pages of the Kilar, or the Cup-Bearer's Office. That is the place where they prepare the Sherbets, and other Liquors, for the Grand Seignor's own drinking, and where they keep the Wine, if it happens, that he drinks any, as Sultan Amurath did, of whom I have often had occasion to speak. 'Tis an ancient Custome, That when the Grand Seignor calls for Water, to drink between meals, every time he so calls costs him ten Sequins, or Che∣quins. The Ceremony observ'd therein is this: In the Chamber call'd the Haz-Oda, which is the Appartment of the Forty-Pages, who are alwayes near the Grand Selg∣nor's Person, there is perpetually one of them standing Sentinel at the Entrance, which leads to the Cup-Bearer's Office, where two Pages of the same Quarter are in like manner upon the Sentry. When the Grand Seignor is thirsty, and calls for water, the Page of the Haz-Oda immediately makes a sign to the two Pages of the Kilar, of whom one advances up to the Kilar-bachi, or Cup-Bearer himself, crying out Sou, which sig∣nifies Water, to advertise him, that the Prince would drink; and the other runs to the door of the Haz-Oda, where the most ancient of the Forty Pages gives him Ten Sequins. That Page is the Treasurer of the said Chamber, and he payes the small Sums which the Grand Seignor gives order for, an Office which might be call'd in English, The Treasurer of the petty Enjoyments. The Water is sometimes brought in a Cup of Gold, sometimes in a Vessel of Pourcelain, placed upon a large Server of Gold, about two foot diameter, and enrich'd with Precious Stones within and without. That is look'd on, as one of the richest pieces of Plate belonging to the Seraglio. The prin∣cipal Cup-Bearer, who is a white Eunuch, carries it with great Ceremony, attended by a hundred Pages of the Kilar, whom he ordinarily has under his Charge, and up∣held under the Arms by two of them, who walk on both sides of him. For it is re∣quir'd, That he should carry it lifted up above his head, and so he cannot see his way but by looking under it. When he is come to the Door of the Haz-Oda, the Pages of the Kilar, who have accompany'd him so far, pass no further, save only the two who uphold his Arms, and the Pages of the Chamber go along with him quite into the Grand Seignor's Presence. But when they come to the door of the Chamber, two of

the more ancient among them, take the places of the two Pages of the Kilar, and compleat the conducting of the Kilargi-Bachi, under the Arms, to offer the Cup to the Prince. When he has not any thing to say to him, he carries it back again into the Kilar; but if he will take his opportunity to entertain him with some Affair, he deli∣vers the Cup and the Server into the hands of one of the Pages, who led him under the Arms, and he delivers it to those, who, belonging to the Cup-Bearer's Office, wai∣ted there in expectation of his return.

'Tis in the same place, to wit, that under the over-sight of the Cup-bearer, they keep * 1.107 all sorts of refreshing and cooling Waters, as that of Peaches, Cherries, Raspices, and such other fruits. The Turks do not drink during their refection, that is, not till they have given over eating; and because it is possible they may be dry, whilst they eat; take here the manner how they quench that thirst. They are serv'd at Table with these Waters, in great Cups of Pourcelaine, which hold about two Quarts, and the better to distinguish them, they put into every one of those Cups, some of the same fruit, from which the Water that is therein had been extracted, and which they had preserv'd for that purpose. Every one has lying by him a Wooden spoon, which holds three or four times as much as any of our ordinary ones, and whereof the handle is of a length proportionable: for as to Gold or Silver spoons, it is not their custome to use any. With those spoons, they can take out what is in the Cups, according to the Water which they most fancy, and so they suspend thirst, taking ever and anon some spoonfuls of it.

It is also in the Cup-bearers Appartment that the Treacle is made, which the Turks * 1.108 call Tiriak-Farik, and there is a great quantity of it made, because they use it as an Uni∣versal remedy, and charitably bestow it on all sorts of people, as well in City as Coun∣try, who are desirous of it. The Vipers which are us'd in this composition are brought out of Aegypt, and they make no account of those which other Countries afford, or they are of opinion at least, that the former are much the better for that purpose.

Before the Appartment of the Kilar, there is a Gallery whereof the floor is pav'd * 1.109 with square pieces of Black and White Marble, and sustain'd by eight fair Pillars of White Marble, and at the end of it is a little Quarter, where the principal Cup-bearer has his residence. There also are the Lodgings of his Substitute, the Kilarquet-houdasi, who is not an Eunuch, as the Kilargi-bachi is, and who, at his removal out of the Se∣raglio, is ordinarily advanc'd to the charge of a Bassa. The Kilargi-bachi has in his custody all the Gold and Silver-plate, the Basins, the Ewers, the Bowls, the Cups, the Servers, and the Candlesticks, the greatest part of that service being garnish'd with Dia∣monds, Rubies and Emeralds, and other pretious Stones of value. As for golden Di∣shes and Candlesticks, without any additional embellishments of precious Stone, there are some so large, and so massy, that there must be two men to carry one of them. These Candlesticks are made after a fashion quite different from ours. They are ordi∣narily two or three Foot high, upon a Base of above twelve inches Diameter, and the upper part thereof is as twere a Box, or kind of Lamp, with its beak, and it may con∣tain above a pound of suet. 'Tis to prevent the fall of any thing upon the Carpet, that they make the foot of the Candlestick so large as I told you; and besides, it is requisite, that it should bear some proportion to the height. The match, or wieke, which they put into the Suet, beaten into small bits, is about the bigness of a Man's thumb, and consequently must needs make a great light in the Room. As to the Kilarquet-houdast, he is the Superiour over the Halvagis, and the Akegis, who are the Cooks and the Con∣fectioners, of whom not one can enter into service, but by his Orders.

In my discourse of the Treasury, I made no mention of the Quarter of those Officers, who serve there, because my design was to follow the order of the Structures of the Seraglio, and to conduct the Reader, by little and little, out of one Court into another, and out of one Quarter into another. That of the Pages of the Treasury, is hard by the Kilar, and begins with a Gallery, pav'd with square pieces of Marble, of different co∣lours, sustain'd by eight Pillars, of the same material, and whereof the sides and the roof are painted with all sorts of flowers, in Gold and Azure. That Gallery is open on the one side, and on the other you find in the midst of it, the Door leading into the Appart∣ment

of the Pages, with three great Windows on the right hand, and as many on the left: And 'tis there that the six most elderly Pages of the Treasury have their residence night and day. From that door, along a walk pav'd with white Marble stones, very large ones, about fifteen paces in length, and five in breadth, you come to another Por∣tal, of the same material, sustain'd by two Pillars of black Marble; over the said Por∣tal, there may be read these words, which are ordinary enough in the mouths of the Turks, and which I have explicated elsewhere;

La Illahé Illa Alla, Muhammed Resoul Alla.

It gives entrance into a long Hall, where there may be seen on both sides a kind of * 1.110 Seat, or Scoffold, a foot and a half in height, and between seven and eight in breadth. Every Page has but four foot in breadth for his reposing place, as well by day, as by night: And for their Beds, they are permitted to have under them, only a Woollen Coverlet, four times doubled, which serves them for a Quilt, and over that they ordi∣narily have one of Gold or Silver-Brockado, or some other sumptuous Silk-stuff; and in the Winter time, they are permitted to have three of them. They are not to have their Coverlets all of Wooll, which would be so much the warmer, because it would not be a decent sight for the Grand Seignor, when he comes ever and anon, in the night time, pretending indeed as if he would surprize them, and see how they demean themselves, but in effect, sometimes to cover lewd designs. 'Tis between those Co∣verlets that the Pages take their repose, having their Wast-coat and Drawers on; for there is no talk of any other kind of Linnen, either in Turkey, or any part of the East; and whether it be Winter or Summer, they alwaies lay themselves down to sleep, half clad, without any great Ceremony.

Over the Beds of the Pages, there is a Gallery, which goes quite round the Hall, * 1.111 and is sustain'd by Pillars of Wood, painted all over with red varnish, and there they have their Coffers, wherein their Cloaths are kept. Every one has a Coffer to himself, but the twelve Senior Pages have each of them two Coffers, and one of those twelve has the Key of the Gallery in his custody. It is ordinarily open'd but one day in the Week, which is answerable to our Wednesday, and then, every Page goes, and takes out of his Coffer, what he stands in need of. If any one of them must of necessity look for some thing there upon any other day, he gets five or six Pages together, and they all go to the principal Officer of the Treasury, and he commands the Rafgi, who has the Key of the Gallery in his custody, to open it for them, and to have a care that they meddle not with the Coffers of their Companions.

At one of the ends of the Hall, there is a Door, which conducts you to the Fountaines, where those that have their dependance on the Treasury go and wash, when they are call'd to their Devotions. There are seven Copper Cocks for that convenience, and as well the pavement, as the Walls, of that place are of white Marble.

The places appointed for the easing of Nature are on the right hand, divided into four little Rooms, which are alwayes kept very clean, and pav'd with square pieces of white Marble, as the Room of the Fountain is. The Turks do not sit down, as we do, when they are in those places, but they squat down over the hole, which is not half a foot, or little more above the ground. That hole is cover'd with an Iron plate, which rises and falls by a Spring, and turning one way or other, at the falling of the least weight upon it, it comes to the station it was in before, assoon as the ordure is fal∣len from it. I have observed elsewhere, that the Turks, and generally all the Mahuma∣tanes, do not use paper in such cases, or upon any undecent occasion, and when they go to those kinds of places, they carry along with them a Pot of water, to wash them∣selves withal, and the Iron-plate is also made clean at the same time. And so the hole being alwaies cover'd, and the Iron plate alwaies kept clean, there can be no ill smell in the place, and that the rather, for that a small current of water, which passes under that place, carries away all the Ordure.

But it were to be wish'd, that they would not so much concern themselves in keep∣ing * 1.112 those places so clean, provided they could forbear polluting them with those de∣testable impurities, which I should gladly have left unmention'd, did I not fear the reproach might be made to me, of my having been defective in point of exactness. I have already said something of it, in the Second Chapter of this Relation, and it is a subject, which is to be slightly past over, that so there may be but imperfect Idaea's left of it. It is therefore in those places, that the Pages make their nocturnal assignations, in order to the committing of the worst of all crimes, which yet they find it very dif∣ficult to put in execution, because they are so narrowly watch'd; and if they are taken in the very act, they are punish'd with so great severity, that sometimes they are even drubb'd to death; of which chastisement, I have elsewhere given an account. In like manner, to prevent the committing of that infamous act, in the places where they take their repose, there are two Torches lighted, which last all the Night, and three Eu∣nuchs are ever and anon going their Rounds, by which means the Pages are depriv'd of the opportunities, which otherwise they night have, to offend.

But we need not go far, to find out the Source of this Evil: the strictness of the restraint they are in, and their being depriv'd of the sight of Women, induce those Young Men to practise such defilements, and hurry the Turks into a Gulph, to which they, by an execrable passion, are, naturally but too much inclinable. The Ichoglans, who are brought very young into the Seraglio, know not what a Woman is but by the instinct of Nature; and there are some of them, who, for one day's sight and enjoy∣ment of a Woman, would be content to dye the next. All those Nations generally have so great a bent to lubricity, that it seems impossible they should quit it, but with their lives: what they cannot do one way, they endeavour to do another; and they of the Seraglio do all they can to elude the inspection of their Overseers. The Reader may call to mind the Action of the two Pages, who hid themselves in the Mosquey, and that single Example is enough, to shew, how they seek out all the wayes imagin∣able, to satisfie their brutish passion.

The Quarter of the Kasnadar-bachi, as also that of his Companion, or Substitute, is adjoyning to that of the Pages of the Treasury, and from their Chambers, they have a Prospect into a little Flower-Garden, which belongs to them. We have yet some other Chambers to view, before we come to that, which they call the Haz-Oda, which is the Appartment of the Forty Pages of the Chamber, and the entrance to that of the Grand Seignor.

CHAP. XIV. Of the Quarter of the Dogangi-bachi, or Grand Faulconer, and of some other Officers.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

Magnificent Chambers. The ordinary Revenues of the Grand Faul∣coners. The Magnificence of the Ottoman Princes, in what relates to Hunting. Birds supplying the places of Dogs, in run∣ning down a Deer, or a Hare. The delicate Chamber of the Selidgar-Agi, who carries the Grand Seignor's Sword. The ex∣cellent order observ'd in the Seraglio.

THe Dogangi-bachi, or Grand Faulconer, and the Pages, whom he has under * 1.113 his Charge, have their Quarter, between that of the Pages of the Trea∣sury, and that of the Pages of the Chamber. The place appointed for the Pages of the Falconry, has nothing in it extraordinary, and a man cannot make a discovery of any thing of beauty therein: but on the other side, the two Chambers, where the Grand Falconer Lodges, have something that's Magnificent, and are as sumptuously furnish'd, as any other Room of the Se∣raglio. The first, which serves for an Anti-Chamber, is lesser, and they are both of them pav'd with a Checquer-work of black and white Marble, having the Roof beautify'd with Flowers, painted, and guilt. But that of the second Chamber is the more sumptuous by much, as having large Flowers, in emboss'd Work, every Flower in its square piece, and the Junctures all cover'd with Gold. The Walls are ex∣cellently wainscoted, wherein also they have not spar'd for Gold, and on both sides, there are cross-barr'd Windows, whereby the Chamber receives much light. The Marble Checquer-work of the Floor is not seen, as being cover'd with a silken Car∣pet, upon which there are laid, in several parts of the Chamber, a certain number of Quilts, two or three foot in breadth, and about four Inches thick. Some of them are cover'd with Velvet, or Satin, of different Colours; others, with Gold-Brocka∣does, and every one has its Cushion, of the same Stuff, between three and four foot in length, and about two foot in heighth. These Cushions are laid behind their backs, when they are sitting, after their Mode, cross-legg'd, and those little Quilts are, to them, instead of Chairs, and Couches, in a Chamber.

If the Grand Falconer be remov'd out of the Seraglio, it is upon his advancement * 1.114 to the Charge of one of the principal Bassa's, and to one of the greater Governments, as that of Cairo, or Babylon; and while he continues in the Seraglio, besides his Ta∣ble, which is all at the Prince's charge, he is allow'd an annual Revenue, of ten or twelve thousand Crowns. The Pages of the Falconry, carry Hawks on their Fists, and feed them: they have the liberty to go and exercise them in the Gardens and they all attend the Grand Seignor, when he goes a Hawking, or Hunting. They wear the same Stuffs, as the Pages of the Treasury, and may also put on Vests of Cloath, but made after such a fashion, as makes them easily distinguishable from the Ichoglans, of the first and second Chamber, who are always clad in Woollen-cloath. For the Pages of the Fal∣conry have their Sleeves made narrower and narrower, from the Shoulder to the Wrist, and they are there fasten'd close with Buttons; but the Sleeves of the Pages of

the Treasury, are as wide below, as they are above, and that makes the difference be∣tween them. The twelve Senior Pages of the Falconry have the same slaveries and ad∣vantages, as the Pages of the Treasury, and are their Fellow-Commoners; but the other Companions of the former, are treated after the same rate as the Pages of the Seferlis, who wash the Grand Seignor's Linnen, and they all common at the same Table.

Besides the fore-mentioned Pages, the Grand Faulconer has under his command near eight hundred other persons, as well in Constantinople as the parts adjacent there∣to, * 1.115 perpetually employ'd in the ordering and training up of all sorts of Birds for the Game, and there come none into the Seraglio, but what are so order'd, and taught. Though there may be a very great number of such, yet does not the Grand Seignor make use of any, but what have some stone of value about the neck, nay sometimes such as may be valued at ten thousand Crowns. All the Mahumetane Princes are very sumptuous, in all things relating to their Game, and particularly the King of Persia. Nothing can be imagin'd more Glorious, or Magnificent, then the long Train of the Grandees of his Court, when they return from their Sports. They all march in an excellent order, every one with the Hawke on his Fist, and every Hawke having about the neck, either a Diamond, or some other precious stone, of great value, with the hood all embroider'd with Pearles; which must needs make a most delightful show.

The Turks, and other inhabitants of the Levant, breed up, in order to their diver∣tisements, several sorts of Birds, which the Europaeans make no use of at all, and they * 1.116 are of a larger size, and stronger, then ours. With those, instead of Dogs, will they run down a Hare, or a Stagge; and they have also the diversion of hunting the Wild Boar, and other savage Beasts. But what makes that Sport the more delightful is this, that in Persia, the Countrey is all open and champion, and there are no Woods, into which the Hawke, or other Bird, might get out of their sight. He discovers the Beast at a great distance, fastens of a sudden upon it, so as that it cannot get loose from him, and, sticking close to the Head, picks out the Eyes of it, vexes, and torments it, and retards the swiftness of its course, by which means, the Huntsmen come up the sooner to it, and dispatch it. But they do not give the fatal blow, till the Prince has order'd them to do it, or till he has shot off an Arrow, or discharg'd his Fire-lock: upon which signall, they who are about him are permitted to exercise their courage and dex∣terity.

Next adjoyning to the Appartment of the Pages, belonging to the Falconary, there is a long Gallery, which is open but of one side, and in the floore of it, there is a little ascent. It is sustain'd by ten Pillars of Marble, of several colours, and pav'd with a square-piec'd work of the same material; with a Wainscotage, wherein there are some flowers painted, but very meanly.

From the end of the foresaid Gallery, turning on the right hand, you come to the Chamber of the Selidgar-Agi, who carries the Sword before the Grand Seignor. Some * 1.117 part of that Chamber is cover'd with Carpets, the other has a Seat or Scaffold, rais'd three foot high, but of a considerable breadth, to which they ascend by so many steps of white Marble, of four foot in length, the remainder of which Seat, being divided from the Chamber by a Ballister'd work, partly gilt with Gold, and partly Green. All within that enclosure of Ballisters is cover'd with rich silken Carpets, and all about, as well to the Wall side, as to that of the Ballisters, there are sumptuous Cushions of all sorts, of Gold and Silver-Brokadoes. The Walls of the Chamber are all gilt, and at equal distances, there are flower-pots painted, rarely well diversify'd, and affording a most delightful prospect. The place where the Selidgar-Agi sits, is at the corner of that part of the Chamber which is enclos'd with the Ballisters, on the right hand, and over his Head hang the Swords and Sabres, which he carries before the Grand Seignor, within the Seraglio; and after him, when his Highness goes out of the Seraglio.

Assoon as a Prince is come to the Crown, whatever he ordinarily wears, is never re∣turn'd * 1.118 into the Treasury, till after his death: And the Chasnadar-bachi, who is the Overseer of it, finds by his Registries, whether all the things that were taken out of

the Treasury, during the Grand Seignor's life, are brought into it again, at his death. Whenever any piece is taken out, the Seligdar-Agi, to whom it is deliver'd, gives the principal Officer of the Treasury an acknowledgment, under his hand, of his having re∣ceiv'd it; and by that means nothing can be embezill'd, good order being strictly ob∣serv'd in all things, relating to the Seraglio. In some other parts of the Chamber you find hanging up Ponyards and Knives, all rich Pieces, and beset with precious stones, which, as all the rest, are exactly Registred in the Books of the Treasury. On each side of the said Chamber, there are two little Rooms, for four Pages of the Seferlis, who wait on the Seligdar-Aga, and are always about his person. 'Tis now time that we pass into the Grand Seignor's Quarter.

CHAP. XV. Of the Grand Seignor's Appartment.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Chamber of the Forty Pages. A noble Monument of the Valour of Amurath. The situation of the Mosqueys in Turkey. The Ceremonies of their Devotions. A Magnificent Winter-Chamber. The mysterious Seal of Mahomet. The great Superstitions of the Turks. A fantastick, and covetous knack of Devotion. The Relicks of Omar. A ridiculous Sect. The Grand Seignor's Quarter. The Emperour Amurath's Belvedere, or place of Prospect. The Excellent Wines of the Oyl of Tenedos. A per∣fidious Act justly punish'd. The Fortune of a beautiful Sicilian Virgin. The Grand Seignor's Bed-Chamber. The ancient ve∣neration of the Turks for Mahomet's Banner. A word farther of the Prince's Appartment.

THough the inner part of the Seraglio ought properly to be divided into but two great Quarters, which are the Grand Seignor's own Quarter, and the Quarter of the Sultanesses; yet have I thought it more convenient, for the Reader's better remembrance of things, to distinguish to him the different parts, of which the former consists, answerably to its several uses: and after a large account, given of the Baths, the Treasury, the Cup-Bearer's Office, and the Falconry, I come now to the particular Appartment of the Grand Seignor's Person.

The Haz-Oda is the first Structure that offers it self to your view, and 'tis by that name the Turks call the fourth and highest Classe of the Ichoglans, which is the Cham∣ber * 1.119 of the Forty Pages, who are hourly employ'd in the Grand Seignor's Service. This Chamber is of the same largeness, as that of the Pages of the Treasury, and furnish'd much after the same rate; but it is not near so lightsome, or rather, it wants light. As there is not so great a number of them, so have they accordingly more place to sit, or lye down; and in the midst of the Chamber, you find a little square place, rais'd up somewhat higher than the Beds of the Pages, whence the Haz-Oda-bachi, their Governour, may observe all their actions, and see how they demean themselves. He has order to give the Grand Seignor notice of it, Rewards being the consequences of

good actions, as chastisements are, of bad ones; and it is also incumbent upon him, to make speedy provision of all the things they stand in need of. Over the Door of that Chamber, these words, La Illa Hé Illa, &c. whereof I have often made mention, are engrav'd in large golden Letters; and at the four corners, are the Names of Maho∣met's four Companions, Ebou-beker, Omar, Osman, and Ali, engrav'd in like manner in black Marble. When the Grand Seignor has made a Bassa, and that he is to take his leave of his Highness, to go to his Government, he comes out at that Door, where all those names are engrav'd, and as soon as he is come out, he turns his face again to the Door, and kisses the Threshold of it, with great humility.

As soon as you are come into the Chamber, you find on the right hand several words of the Law, written, and enchac'd, in guilt squares, and one of these Wri∣tings is, of Sultan Achmet's, the Father of Amurath. On the left hand, you find, fasten'd to the Wall, a Coat of Mail, a Head-piece, and a great Buckler; it is one of * 1.120 the Monuments of Amurath's Valour. During the Siege of Bagdet, or Babylon, a Persian coming out of the City, and challenging any one of the Besiegers to meet him, that Prince, one of the most courageous and strongest men of his age, would needs receive him himself, without any other Arms, than a Sabre in his hand, though the Persian was arm'd from head to foot. Amurath who was not only a prodigious Person as to strength, and valour, but also well skill'd in the use of a Weapon, af∣forded him not the time to consider whom he had to deal withal, but immediately gave him such a furious blow with the Sabre, over the right shoulder, that he cut his coat of Mail quite to the Middle of his Body, and left him dead upon the place.

Opposite to the Haz-Oda, or the Chamber of the forty Pages, there is a Gallery of a considerable length, and particularly remarkable for its Structure. It is open on both sides, and has, of each, a row of white Marble-Pillars; but it is built after the Serpentine fashion, and they who walk in it are, every six paces, out of sight one of the other. There are, under this Gallery four great Presses, to put up the accoutre∣ments of the four Officers, who are always about the Grand Seignor's Person, to wit, the Seligdar-Aga, the Chokadar-Aga, the Requabdar-Aga, and the Hazoda-bachi, of whom I have spoken at the beginning of this Relation, when I gave a List of the Grandees of the Port.

This Gallery, of so fantastick and so extraordinary a Structure, is not far from that * 1.121 other, which is a continu'd ascent, and whereof I made mention in the precedent Chap∣ter. Opposite to this last, there is a Mosquey, of the middle sort, as to the largeness, the length of it somewhat exceeding its breadth, and it stands North and South, a situation the Turks observe in all their Mosqueys, which are always turn'd towards Me∣cha, which place is Meridional to all the Provinces of the Empire. There is in the Wall, opposite to the South, a kind of Neech, which they call Mihrab, into which the Iman, who is their Priest, gets up, to say Prayers at the accustomed hours, and the Grand Seignor is present thereat, with the forty Pages of the Haz-Oda, in a little Room, the Window whereof is opposite to the Neech. On both sides of the said Neech, there is a Gallery sustain'd by five Pillars, some whereof are of green Mar∣ble, and the rest of Porphyry. And in the Mosquey, and in the Chamber, or Room, into which the Grand Seignor comes to do his Devotions, and in the two Galleries, there's no going but upon rich Carpets. You are not to look for ought of paint∣ing there; nor have the Walls any other Ornament, than that of the whiteness of the Marble, whereof they are built. But there are a great many Writings, in large Arabick Characters, enchac'd in gilt Borders, hanging up in several places, and those Writings contain only things taken out of the Law of Mahomet.

The Window of the Chamber, into which the Grand Seignor comes to do his De∣votions, is six foot in length, and three foot high, and has a Lattice, with a Curtain behind it, as it is in several Chappels, which our Christian Princes have in their Pala∣ces. There is also opposite to the same Neech, before-mentioned, such another Win∣dow, and such another Chamber, for the Sultanesses, and when the Muezim, whose station is of one side of the Iman, and who is as it were his Clerk, hears the draw∣ing

of the Curtains, he immediately rings a small Bell, which is the signal, that the Grand Seignor and the Sultanesses are come into their several Rooms.

Upon their arrival, the foresaid Muezim begins to sing these two words, Allabu Ekber, * 1.122 which signifies, God is Great, repeating them four times: and afterwards, having added thereto some words, speaking as 'twere to himself, the Iman in his turn, sings these following; Elhamdu lillahi Rabbil alemijn, that is to say, The Grace of God is the Master of all things. He thus continues the Prayer, prostrating himself several times to the ground, and all the people present do also prostrate themselves as he does.

In the midst of the Domo of the Mosquey, there is a Hoop of Iron, all about which there hangs a great number of Lamps, of Venice-Crystal, and there are also some dispos'd along the Galleries, of the same Metal, they being not permitted to have in their Mosqueys, either Gold or Silver. They do not light those Lamps, but only for the Prayers at night, and the fire casting a reflection on those Crystals, cre∣ates a most delightful Object to the sight.

The Chamber of the Sarai-Agasi, one of the four principal Eunuchs, is adjoyning to that Mosquey, and the least of all the Chambers, of the Officers, belonging to the Inner-part of the Seraglio. He has but little place more than is requisite for him to sleep in, and he is waited on by two Pages of the Couchouk-Oda, or the little Cham∣ber.

Adjoyning to the Door of the Haz-Oda, there is a Hall pav'd with a Checquer-work, of black and white Marble, in the midst whereof there is a Basin of the same material, but of several colours, out of which there is an ascent of water four or five foot high. That water is receiv'd into a second Basin, made in the form of a Scal∣lop-shell, out of which it falls again into a third, much larger than the two precedent ones. The upper-part of the Hall is built Domo-wise, having therein some Win∣dows, which give it light, and a certain piece of dull painting is all the Ornament of its Walls. At your entrance into this Hall, you see two Doors, one on the right hand, the other, on the left. That on the left hand conducts to a Flower-Garden; and the other is the door of a Chamber, into which the Grand Seignor comes, some∣times, in the Winter-season.

This Chamber is one of the most sumptuous of any in the Seraglio. It's arched * 1.123 Roof is divided into a great number of little Cells, Triangle-wise, distinguish'd by two little filets of Gold, with a green streak in the midst, and rout of every Angle, there juts somewhat like the bottom of a Lamp, excellently well gilt. Though the Walls are of a curious white Marble, yet is there a delicate piece of Wainscotage, of about the height of a man's waste, carried quite round the Room, and the rich Car∣pets, upon which you walk, deprive your sight of the large squares of Marble, of se∣veral colours, wherewith the Floor is embellish'd. Of a great number of Cushions, which are plac'd along the Walls, some are embroider'd with Pearls, and precious Stones, and set there only for ostentation; the others, which are for service, are co∣ver'd with Gold, or Silver-Brokadoes, and other costly Stuffs. At one of the cor∣ners of the Chamber, there is a little Field-bed, about two foot in heighth, embroi∣der'd all over, the Counterpane, the Cushions, and the Quilt; and that Embroidery is all of Pearles, Rubies, and Emeralds. But when the Grand Seignor is to come in∣to that Chamber, they take away the Counterpane and Cushions, which are less fit for Service than for Ornament, and they bring in others of quilted or tufted Velvet, or Satin, upon which the Grand Seignor may more conveniently repose him∣self.

Towards the feet of the said Bed, there is a kind of Neech made within the very * 1.124 Wall, in which there is a little Ebony Box, about half a foot square, and in that is lock'd up Mahomet's Seal. It is enchac'd in a Crystal, with a Bordure of Ivory, and taking all together, it may be four inches in length, and three in breadth. I have seen the Impression of it upon a piece of Paper; but he who shew'd it me, would not

suffer me to touch it, only upon this score, that he look'd on it as a great Relick. Once in three months this Chamber is made clean, and the Carpets are chang'd, the Pages of the Treasury being employ'd in that Office. And then it is, that the Chasnadar-bachi opens the Box, and having in his hands an embroider'd Hand-ker∣chief, he takes out the Seal, with great respect and reverence, whilst the Senior of the Pages holds a golden Cup, garnish'd with Diamonds and blue Saphirs, on the top of which there is a kind of Perfuming-Pot, out of which there comes an exhalation of all sorts of sweet Scents, whereby the whole Room is in a manner embalm'd. The Page holds that Cup in both his hands joy'nd together, and lifting it up higher than his Head, all those that are present immediately prostrate themselves to the ground, as an acknowledgment of their veneration. As soon as they are up again, the Page brings down the Cup, lower than his chin, and the principal Officer of the Treasury, holding the Seal over the smoke, all those who are in the Room, come and kiss the Chrystal which covers one of the most precious Relicks, that they have of their Pro∣phet. I have us'd all the endeavours I could, to get out of my two Officers of the Treasury, who had often kiss'd that Chrystal, what Observations they might have made, as to the material whereof the Seal was made, and what Letters were en∣grav'd upon it; but they told me, and by reason of the smoke and the Chrystal, which covers the Seal, not to insist on the small time they have to observe it, during the act of kissing it, it is not possible that any one can give a certain judgment of ei∣ther the Stuff, or the Engraving of it.

Upon the fourteenth day of the Ramazan, that is to say, the Lent of the Turks, the Grand Seignor comes in person into that Chamber, accompany'd only by the Se∣ligdar-Aga, and taking off the Chrystal, which lies over the Seal, he delivers it into his hands, ordering him to make the Impression of it upon fifty little bits of Paper, which are not much bigger than the Seal it self. This Impression is taken off with a certain gummy Ink, which is prepar'd in a Pourcelain Dish, whereinto he thrusts his finger, and rubs the Seal with it, and keeps all those Printed Papers, for the use, to which his Highness designs them, as we shall see, e're we come to the end of this Chap∣ter.

Within the same Chamber, and adjoyning to the place, where the Seal is kept, * 1.125 there is another Box or Coffer, of a larger size, cover'd with a Carpet of green Vel∣vet, with a great fringe of Gold and Silver, wherein is kept Mahomet's Hirka. It is a Garment with large sleeves, of a white Camelet, made of Goat's hair, which the Turks do also look upon as a great Relick. The Grand Seignor having taken it out of the Coffer, kisses it with much respect and puts it into the hands of the Capi-Aga, who is come into the Room by his Order, after they had taken the Impressions of the Seal. The Officer sends to the Overseer of the Treasury, for a large golden Cauldron, which is brought in thither by some of the Senior-Pages. It is so capacious, according to the description which they gave me of it, as to contain the sixth part of a Tun, and the out-side of it is garnish'd, in some places, with Emeralds, and Turquezes. This Vessel is fill'd with water within six fingers breadth of the brink, and the Capi-Aga, having put Mahomet's Garment into it, and left it to soak a little while, takes it out again, and wrings it hard, to get out the water it had imbib'd, which falls into the Cauldron, taking great care, that there falls not any of it to the ground. That done, with the said water he fills a great number of Venice-Chrystal Bottles, containing about half a pint, and when he has stopp'd them, he Seals them with the Grand Seignor's Seal. They afterwards set the Garment a drying, till the twentieth day of the Ra∣mazan, and then his Highness comes to see them put up again in the Coffer.

The next day after that Ceremony, which is the fifteenth after their grand Fast, * 1.126 the Sultan sends to the Sultanesses, and the Grandees of Constantinople, as also to most of the considerable Bassa's of the Empire, to each of them, an Impression of the Seal, in a little scrip of Paper roll'd up, and well fasten'd with Silk, and with that, one of those Bottles full of water, which is look'd upon as a great favour. But it proves a very dear favour to those who receive it, and for a scrip of Paper, and a Glass of water, they must send back again to the Grand Seignor very considerable Presents,

not accounting what they bestow on those persons, who bring, from him, those testi∣monies and marks of his Affection.

It is to be observ'd also, That the Capi-Aga is allow'd to multiply the said Water, as far as he thinks requisite, and answerably to his desire of multiplying the Presents. All he has to do, is only to fill up the Cauldron, as it is emptied, and that additional wa∣ter is as good as 'twas before, since it is intermix'd with that wherein Mahomet's Gar∣ment had been soak'd. For there are many persons, to whom he sends those Bottles, without the impression of the Seal, upon the little piece of paper, and he has a snack out of all that is bestow'd on the Bearers of those Presents. But he is not permitted to make that multiplication of the Water, any longer than for the space of three dayes; that is to say, till the Seventeenth of the Ramazan, after which time, the additional intermixture of it would not have the Vertue, which they imagine it has.

As soon as this Present is receiv'd by those to whom it is sent, they take the paper, which has the impression of Mahomet's Seal, and, after they have left it to soake a little while in the Water of the little Chrystal bottle, they take off the water and the paper, swallowing down both together with great devotion. But it is to be noted, That no body must be so presumptuous as to open that paper; for they swallow it down as it is brought to them, after a little soaking in the water, they being not permitted to see the impression of the sacred Seal: And they, who receive only the bottle, without the paper, send for one of their Imans, who are as 'twere their Priests, and get him to write down these words in another piece of paper, La hé Illa, Alla hul, vahidul gebbar, That is to say, There is no other God then God, the punisher of Crimes. There are others, who order these words to be writ down; La Illa hé Illa, Allahul meliquid vehhab; which signifies, There is no other God then God alone, the Liberal Emperour, and Pardoner of Offences. The paper, having these words written upon it, is put into the water of the little Bottle, and so they swallow down both together, with a strong perswasion, that those words have the same vertue, as the impression of the Seal.

There is also to be seen, in the same Chamber, a very homely kind of Cuttelas, hang∣ing * 1.127 by the Wall, near the place where the Prophet's Seal and Garment are kept. The Scabbard is cover'd with Green cloath, and they have it by Tradition, that it had been the Cuttelas of Omar, one of Mahomet's four Companions, who govern'd after him, though Ebou-Bequer was the elder of the two, and Father-in-law to Mahomet. The Arabians affirm, That Ebou-Bequer was a Jew, by extraction, and one of the most learned of his time; and that, having renounc'd the Mosaick Law, he taught at Mecha, in the Schools, after which he beset himself to compose some part of the Alcoran.

Near the Cuttelas, there is also to be seen a kind of short Sword, for which they have, in like manner, a great veneration, upon a perswasion, that it some time was the Sword of a certain person named Ebou-Nislum, with which he cut to pieces, those, who had spread a Heresie in the Law of Mahomet. He came not into the World till Four hundred years after the death of the Prophet, and at length destroy'd that Sect, which during the space of two Ages before, had given much trouble to the true Mahumetans, and gain'd several Battels against them.

The said Sect was grown very powerful under the denomination of Muharriguu, and I have met with some remainders of it in the Mountains of Churdistan, which is the * 1.128 ancient Chaldea. Those people are very remarkable for their superstition, and much more for their ignorance; and a man must have a great care of striking a black Dog, in their presence, or cutting an Onion with a Knife; for their way, when they are to eat an Onion, is to crush it between two stones. The cause of that gross ignorance, is their not having any person among them, to instruct them; and a man may travel five or six dayes Journey in their Country, and not meet with either a Mollah, or a Mosquey. The same reason may also be given for their being, for the most part, uncir∣cumcis'd, and that they who have receiv'd Circumcision, had it not till they were Twelve or fifteen years of age, and that accidentally, by going to some place at a great distance, to find out a Mollah, and defraying the charges of their Friends and Rela∣tions, who must accompany them to that ceremony.

Between the Chamber, where these noble Relicks are to be seen, and that of the * 1.129 Forty Pages, of which I have given an account at the beginning of this Chapter, you have the Prospect of a treble portal of Porphyry, that is, three doors at a small di∣stance one from the other, whereof that in the middle gives entrance into the Grand Seignor's Appartment. The two others lead to the Lodgings of the Chokadar-Aga, and the Biquabdar-Aga, and those Lodgings are very dark, because they are not in a place where light can be brought into them, and that at the first building thereof, they could afford each of them but one little Window. But, abating that inconvenience, they are well enough furnish'd, according to the mode of the Country, you tread on nothing but Silken Carpets; there's no want of Brokado-Cushions, and emboyder'd ones, and the Walls, which are all of White Marble, entertain the Eye with pots of Flowers plainly painted, at certain equal distances, about which there has been an ingenious application of Gold and Azure.

The Grand Seignor's Quarter begins with a Hall, which is spacious enough, and the embellishments of the in-side of it are correspondent to those of the out-side. It is an incrustation of Marble, of several colours, and the Floor of it is cover'd only with the large Woollen Carpets, which are brought out of Persia, but such as are more sumptuous, and much more highly esteem'd, than those which are made of Silk. All about the Hall, for the space of Five foot, there are spread Coverlets of Silk, of a light colour, some Tufted, some Embroyder'd, and upon the Coverlets there are se∣veral sorts of Rich Cushions, four foot in length, and between two and three, in breadth.

Of the two Doors, which are within the Hall, one goes to the Appartment of the Pages, the other to the Quarter of the Sultanesses, and as you go out by this last * 1.130 mentioned, you enter into a Flower-Garden, in the midst whereof there is a Basin with its water-work. From one of the ends of the Garden you pass to the Revan-Kouchki, that is to say, a Chamber supported by Pillars. It is a Belvedere, or spacious Room, having a delightful Prospect of all sides, which the Sultan Amurath caus'd to be built, at his return from the Persian War, after he had taken the City of Babylon from Shach-Sefi, the King of that Kingdom, ruin'd the Province of Tauris, and added that of Erivan to his Conquests, by the perfidiousness of the Governour. I shall give you an account anon, how he was justly punish'd, for that act of Treachery, and I reserve the compleat history of his baseness, for the Relations of my Travels.

This Room, or Arbour, which we call the Belvedere, from the delightfulness of its Prospect, is built in an Eminent place, upon a steepy Rock. It is a noble Arched Roof, and the Walls, which are rais'd no higher then that a man may rest his Elbow on them, are all of White Marble, with some Arabian Verses thereon, cut, and gilt. It is open of all sides, and the Lattices, all about it, hinder those that are within it from being seen by such as are on the out-side, and afford them withal one of the most deli∣cate Prospects in the World. For, from that Room, they have the sight of all Galata and Pera, all that pleasant Landskip of Asia, about Scutaret, and Chalcedon, the Port of Constantinople, one of the noblest of all Europe, and the Channel of the Black Sea, which, at the point of the Seraglio, is intermixt with the Waters of the Mediterranean, where there is observable in the midst, as it were, a white foamy streak, which seems naturally to denote the Confines of Europe and Asia.

'Twas in this pleasant Arbour, that Amurath was often wont to divert himself, with * 1.131 that Governour of Erivan, who had taught him to drink Wine, whereto he had so easily accustom'd himself, that, many times, he spent three days together, in a continu'd debauch. The only Wine he drunk was that of the Island of Tenedos, the most excel∣lent of any of the Islands of the Archiphelago, and the least intoxicating; and he soon became as good a proficient in the drinking of it, as the Master, who had taught him to do it. This Persian Governour was a man extreamly inclin'd to debauchery, insomuch that before his perfidious delivery of the place to Amurath, as I pass'd through Erivan, in one of my Voyages to Persia, he intreated me to make my abode there for the space of fifteen days, and, to humour him, there was a necessity of spending whole nights in drinking, so that I saw him not all the day long, which I question not but he employ'd in the management of his affairs, and taking his repose.

But, at the long run, lewd actions meet with the punishment they justly deserve. * 1.132 Shach-Sefi, King of Persia, would not entertain any proposition of Peace, no nor so much as give audience to an Ambassador from the Grand Seignor, whom I saw sent back from Ispahan, where I then was, unless Amurath would deliver up the Traytor, in or∣der to his punishment. Whereupon, they being both one day at their ordinary de∣bauch, in the Belvedere, the Grand Seignor, without any formality, order'd him to be Strangled, in his presence.

It was sometimes also Amurath's custome, to bring into that pleasant place, the * 1.133 Principal Sultanesses, as, his Mothers, his Sisters, and such others as he had the greatest kindness for. But his most frequent assignations there, was with a Sicilian Lady, for whom he had a great affection, and who, being extreamly handsome, and of a mild disposition, obtain'd of him whatere she desir'd. She was taken at Sea, by the Pyrates of Barbary, as she was upon her Voyage into Spain, in order to her intermarriage with one of the Grandees of that Countrey: And the Bassa of Algiers sent her, a Present, to the Grand Seignor, who took a particular fancy for her, and made her as happy, as a Woman can be, who must endure the restraint of the Seraglio.

From that door of the Hall, which gives entrance into the Flower-garden, you pass, * 1.134 on the right hand, into a kind of Gallery, about fifty paces in length, and twelve in breadth, the pavement whereof is a Chequer-work of Black and White Marble. At the end of it, there is a great Structure, which is wholly of Marble, and what first enter∣tains the Eye is a pretty large Door, over which there is a kind of a flat arched Roof. And both the Roof, and the Door, are adorn'd with flowers, in emboss'd work; and amongst those flowers, there are certain impresses cut in the Marble, and all curiously Gilt.

About five or six paces from that Door, you come to another, not inferiour to it, as to beauty, which is that of the Grand Seignor's own Chamber. Its Cieling, or arched Roof, is according to the model of the Winter-room, whereof I have given you a De∣scription at the beginning of this Chapter. The only difference between them is, in what issues out of the Augles of the little Arches; and whereas in the other Room, they represent the bottoms of Lamps, gilt with Gold; in this, they are balls of Rock-Crystall, cut Facet-wise, with an inter-mixture of precious stones, of different colours, which must needs give a very divertive entertainment to the Eye. The floor of it is cover'd with Carpets, which, as to beauty, and excellency of Workmanship, exceed those of the other Chambers; and the same thing is to be said, as to the Quilts, the Counterpanes, and the Cushions; the most part of this furniture being adorn'd with an embroidery of Pearls, and the whole Room, which is very spacious, having, in all parts, several other sumptuous embellishments. And whereas this Room was Origi∣nally design'd for the Grand Seignor's Summer-Divertisement, it is accordingly the more lightsome, and has large Windowes on three sides of it. As to the Sultan's Lodg∣ing, he complies with the custome of the Countrey, or rather that of all the Eastern parts. There is no Bed-stead set up, but towards the Evening, the Pages spread three Quilts one upon the other, at one of the corners of the Chamber, and place over it a Canopy of Cloth of Gold, garnish'd with an embroidery of Pearls.

On the right hand, as you come into this Room, there is a Cup-board, or Press, * 1.135 wrought within the very Wall, where they keep the Bajarac, that is to say, the Stan∣dard of Mahomet, which has these words for its Impress, or Motto, Nasrum min Allah, that is, in our Language, The assistance is from God. This Standard was heretofore in so great veneration amongst the Turks, that when there happen'd any Sedition, either at Constantinople, or in the Armies, there was no safer or more expeditious remedy to appease it, then to expose that Standard to the sight of the Rebels. And that very Expedient has many times prov'd very fortunate to the Ottoman Princes, when they have been reduc'd to their great extremities, by the secret Combinations of some Facti∣ous persons. Then does the Grand Seignor send some of the Mollahs, who are in the nature of Priests, amongst the Turks, with the Standard, and being come up to the first ranks of the Rebellious Forces, they speak to them, in their Language, to this effect: This Banner is the Standard of the Prophet; all they who are faithful, and obedient, ought to come to submit themselves at the Foot of this Standard; and they who will not come to it,

are Unbelievers, and they ought to be destroyed. But some years since, the Turks made it appear, that they made but little account of that Standard; for Hassan, one of the Bas∣sa's, who gave the Grand Seignor so much trouble in the year 1658. turn'd his back on Mahomet's Banner, and, follow'd by his own party, compass'd the design he was engag'd in.

Out of the Grand Seignor's Chamber, there is a passage into a great Hall, the place appointed for the reception of the Pages who approach his Person; and there is ad∣joyning * 1.136 to it a Bath, which is fill'd by three Cocks, where they wash themselves, when they go to their Devotions. Out of the same Hall, there is an ascent of some steps, which brings you to a small Closet, only Wainscoted about, but well Painted, and well Gilt. That Stair-case is alwayes cover'd with a red Cloth, the Room is open of all sides, having fair Windowes, wherein Talc is us'd, instead of Glass; and from thence you have, in a manner, the same Prospect, as from the Belvedere, built by the Emperour Amurath.

CHAP. XVI. Of the ordinary employments of the Grand Seignor; The particular inclinations of the Emperour-Regent, Mahomet IV. And the present State of the Ottoman Family.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

Some inclinations common to all the Monarchs of the Eastern-parts. The Life of the Seraglio, delicious to one single person, and incom∣modious to many. The Mahumetanes zealous observers of their Law. The regulated times of their publick Devotions. The ordinary Employments of the Grand Seignor. How his Table is serv'd. The Sultan, when oblig'd to go, in Ceremony, to the Mosquey. The wicked contrivances of the Moufti, to get mony. The present State of the Ottoman Family. An extraordinary example of a Father and Son, who were successively Grand Vi∣zirs. The pourtraiture of the Sultan-Regent, Mahomet. The ancient Custome of the Turkish Emperours, to live by their labour. The Grand Seignor's subtilty, in revenging himself of the Moufti.

THE Ottoman Monarchs, and generally all the Princes of Asia, what reputa∣tion soever they may have gain'd, for their valour, have alwayes been guilty * 1.137 of a bent to voluptuousness, and effeminacy, and found great charms in a sloth∣ful kind of life. They come out of their Seraglio's as seldome as they can, and that only, when an indispensable necessity forces them to shew themselves in pub∣lick, whether it be at the head of their Armies, or in those Ceremonies, wherein the Law, or common Civilities, require their presence. True it is, that some of them were not so great lovers of retirement as others, and preferr'd the hardships of Warr, the divertisements of Hunting, before the blandishments of ease, and the conversation

of Women: But those may be reduc'd into a very small number, and the greatest part of them being more addicted to mind their quiet, and to lead a life void of disturbance, have transfer'd all their concerns, Civil and Military, to the management of the prin∣cipal Minister of State, thinking it enough, to content themselves with the account he was pleas'd to give him thereof.

It may be said of the Seraglio, That it is a delicious, but withal a solitary place of * 1.138 abode: but as to the observations I have made of things, it is delicious only to a single person, and solitary to all the rest. Of the many Thousands, of the Male Sex, who are there as 'twere in Prison, and have a dependance, one upon the other, none but the Prince himself has the sight of Women; for the Negro-Eunuchs, whom their de∣formity of body and countenance has, in a manner, transform'd into Monsters, are not to be admitted into the number of men.

But though the Ottoman Monarchs, and generally all that may be comprehended * 1.139 under the denomination of Turcisme, are involv'd in voluptuousness, as not having any tincture of ought relating to polite Literature, yet this is particularly recommend∣able in them, that their great pursuance of pleasures does not ever make them neglect the Divine Worship, and that, setting all things aside, they are careful to perform what the Law requires of them, upon that account. They are exact and punctual, even to superstition, in all their exercises of Piety, in their wayes of washing themselves, in their Prayers, in their Fasts, in their Alms, and in their Pilgrimages; which are the Five principal Articles of the Mahumetan Religion.

It is a thing sufficiently well known to all people, that the Turks go to their Pray∣ers, or Devotions, five times a day, that is, in the space of a natural Day, which * 1.140 amounts to four and twenty hours. For the performance of this work, there are no certain hours appointed, and it is according to the Sun's being above their Horizon. Upon which account, there is a greater interval between their several Offices, in the Summer-time, than there is in the Winter, and they place the principal part of their Devotion upon observations of that nature. The first Exercise is to be perform'd at the break of day, before Sun-rising; the second at Noon; the third, between that time and Sun-set; the fourth, immediately after his setting; and the last, about an hour and a half after Night: in all which, unless sickness intervene, they are very punctual, so that nothing of business, how important soever, shall divert them.

Nay, on the contrary, some are so zealous, and their fervour is so remarkable, that * 1.141 being once fixt in their Prayers, they could not be put out of them, though 'twere to force back an Enemy, who were entring into the City, or that word should be brought them, that the house wherein they are, was on fire. They are moreover of a perswasion, that it is a great sin, for them to put their hand to any part of the body, to scratch themselves, if there should be occasion; and they would have the external part to be answerable to the internal, and correspondent to that abjection, which ought to be the state of the Soul, in the presence of God, during their Exercises of Devotion.

Nor does the Grand Seignor himself desire to be dispens'd from the obligation of * 1.142 performing these acts of Devotion, any more than the meanest of his Subjects; but, on the contrary, he is very religious in that observance of their Law, and he always begins the day with the Offices appointed for that part of it. We need say no more, than that he rises at the break of day, nay sometimes he is up before, and goes into the Bath to wash himself, especially when he has lain with one of his Wives, or Con∣cubines. Having finish'd his Prayers, he diverts himself in shooting with the Bowe, or, more commonly in looking after his Horses, and riding some of them: and some∣times he seats himself in a Gallery, where he cannot be seen by any, and contents himself with the diversion of seeing some exercises perform'd by his Pages. If any one of them does something that he is much pleas'd withal, he sends him a Vest, or some other thing of value, as an encouragement for his doing better another time, and to raise an emulation in his Companions. Upon Council-days, he comes through the close Gallery, to the Window, which looks into the Divan Hall, to see what they

are doing there; and upon the rising of the Council, he returns to his own Quarter, where his Dinner is brought up to him.

In the Services of his Table, there is not any great variety, or delicacy, the Dish∣es that are serv'd up, being answerable to the Bill of fare, which I have given you in * 1.143 the Chapter, where I treat of the Kitchins. He takes his refection, sitting, cross-legg'd, as Taylors do amongst us, being surrounded with sumptuous Brocado-cushions, which keep from him the dampness of the Walls, and upon the Carpets which cover the Scaffold, or Balcony, where he is seated, they spread others of Spanish-Leather, lest the former should be prejudic'd by any thing of greasiness, which might fall on the Table-cloath, and soak through it. This Cloath, which is laid over the Spanish-Leather-Carpet, is of those sumptuous painted Cloaths, which are made in the In∣dies, and embroider'd all about: and as for Napkins, there are not any used amongst the Turks, who are neat, and cleanly at their Meals; and if sometimes there be any occasion of wiping, 'tis done with a little handkerchief. At their refections, they use the right hand only, and when they have done, there is a Basin of warm water and soap brought up, for them to wash, and every one takes out his Handkerchief from under his Sasch, or Girdle, to wipe his hands and mouth. Nor must you expect in Turkey to find Knives and Forks laid on the Table, but every one has his Knife lodg'd in his Sasch, and makes use of, when occasion requires: but they have no great use for them, inasmuch as their Bread, being made thin, as 'twere into Cakes, and eaten in a manner as soon as 'tis out of the Oven, they break it with their fingers, and all the meat, which is serv'd up to them, is cut into small pieces, which is also the cu∣stome in Persia. But the Spoons they use, in taking their Pottages, and whatever is liquid upon the Table, are much larger than ours; and they are wooden ones. The Pages of the Kilar, that is the Cup-bearers Office, bring up the Bread, and the Sher∣bets, and the Pages of the Chamber go and take the Meat, at the Prince's Appart∣ment, out of the hands of the Officers belonging to the Kitchin, who bring it in Dishes cover'd with Pourcelain, the Grand Seignor not using any Gold Vessels at his own Table.

After Dinner, the Grand Seignor says his Noon-Prayer, and sometimes, on Sun∣days and Tuesdays, which are the principal Council-days, he comes into the Hall of Audience, to discourse with his Ministers of State, concerning his Affairs. On the other days, he walks in the Gardens of the Seraglio, sometimes with his Eunuchs, sometimes with the Sultanesses, or with his Dwarfs and Mutes, who shew a thousand apish tricks, to divert him: and sometimes he goes a hunting, or a fishing, according to his inclination. But neither his Affairs, nor his Recreations, do ever divert him from performing the five Exercises of Devotion, at the times appointed by the Alco∣ran; and it is the general Perswasion of all the Turks, that if they neglect them, they bring down God's curse upon themselves, and that they cannot avoid the ill con∣sequences thereof.

I have said elsewhere, that Friday is to the Mahumetans, what the Saturday is to the * 1.144 Jews, and the Sunday to the Christians, in regard it was upon the said day, that Ma∣homet took his flight from Mecha; and I have also given this further intimation, that the Turks count their Months only by the number of the Moons. There is an anci∣ent Custome, whereby the Grand Seignor is oblidg'd upon all the first Fridays of the several Moons, to go to the new Mosquey, in regard that S. Sophia is too near the Se∣raglio, and besides that there is not, between those places, room enough for so great a Train, as that of the Sultan, the people of Constantinople would not have the satisfa∣ction of seeing him.

His Devotion is so great, that he seldom misses that Ceremony, and when there passes a first Friday of the month, without his appearance in it, the people is present∣ly of opinion, that he is sick, and thereupon turbulent spirits are mutining their facti∣ous designes. On those days do they, who have any complaints to make, of some injustice that has been done them, take their opportunity, and plant themselves in the way, through which he is to pass, with Petitions in their hands, which upon a sign made by the Sultan, are receiv'd by the Eunuchs. If the injustice be very great

and the person who presents the Petition be extremely oppress'd and injur'd, he holds a lighted Torch over his head, which is ordinarily practis'd in Turkey, upon the like occasions, and by that mysterious comportment, intimates to the Prince, That if he does not do him justice, his Soul shall burn in the other World, as that Torch does in this.

Upon the Emperour's going out of the Seraglio, the principal Sultanesses, his Mo∣ther, his dearest Confort, or his Sisters, are in a Room over the great Gate of that Palace, with Bags full of Aspers, which they fling among the people, that they may pray, That God would graciously hearken to the Devotions, which the Grand Seignor is go∣ing to perform. His March is after the same Order, and with an observance of the Pomp, as that of the ancient Greek Emperours, and I question not, but that those Authors, who have written of the Ottoman Empire in general, or particularly of the City of Constantinople, have made sufficient descriptions of that Ceremony, and there∣fore I shall think my self dispens'd from the obligation of giving a new one of it. I shall only say this of it, That it is very Magnificent, and that there is not any Monarch in the World, who makes so great an exposal of Gold and precious Stones together, wherewith the Harnesses and Trappings of most of the Horses, as well of the Grand Seignor, as those of the Bassa's are all cover'd.

At their return from the Mosquey, the Moufti, on Horse-back, and at the head of a * 1.145 wretched Crew of Greek Christians, of the meanest sort of people (for there are very few Armenians among them) expect the Grand Seignor, at the Gates of the Seraglio, and telling his Highness, That those people were Mis-believers, who had embrac'd the good Law, intreat him to relieve them, and to make some provision for their liveli∣hood. Upon this exhortation, the Sultan orders twenty or thirty Purses to be distri∣buted amongst them; nay sometimes his Charity is so great, as to amount to twen∣ty thousand Crowns, which are receiv'd by the Moufti, and the distribution thereof is made, as he pleases. But the greater part of it he converts to his own use, and holds an infamous correspondence with most of that wretched Crew, who though they often present themselves for that Benevolence, he pretends not to have any know∣ledge of at all. By this Imposture, which is so palpable, and suits well enough with the followers of Mahomet, does that High Priest of the Mahumetan Law, put yearly into his Purse, a considerable Sum of Money, which is no small augmentation to his Revenue. But the case is the same with him as with the Bassa's: that is, he is not exempted from refunding, and we shall, by and by produce a very late Example of it.

And this may serve for a general account of the ordinary lives of the Ottoman Mo∣narchs, while they are within the Seraglio. In their Armies, they have other Em∣ployments, especially they, who have Military Souls, as there have been some among them, of whom Histories have given us a very noble Character.

I come now to the present state of the Ottoman Family, and to the particular incli∣nations * 1.146 of the Grand Seignor, who now Reigns. Mahomet, the Fourth of that Name, the Son of Ibrahim, and a Circassian Lady, was born in the Year 1643. and he is, by that account, got into the Thirty fourth year of his Age, and the Twenty fourth of his Reign. He has two Brothers, Bajazet, and Orchan, but they are by another Mother, who is still living, and is perpetually studying how to preserve them. He has also a third Brother, named Solyman, who is the second of the Sons of Ibrahim, according to the order of their Nativities. But the Mother of the last mentioned Son is dead; and thence it comes, that the Souldiery, who conceive greater hopes of that Prince, than of either Bajazet, or Orchan, his Brethren, pity him the more, and have the greater af∣fection for him, upon that very score of his having lost the support, which he might have expected from a Mother.

Ever since the time of Bajazet the Second, who first introduc'd that inhumane and cruel Custome, of securing the Throne of the Sultan-Regent, by the death of his Bre∣thren, few of those unfortunate Princes have escap'd the Barbarisme of their Elder-Brother, and they, amongst them, who have been treated with somewhat less of inhu∣manity,

have pin'd away their lives, in a strict and doleful Imprisonment, being not permitted to see any body. This was the Treatment of Ibrahim, the Father of Maho∣met, during the Reign of Amurath, his Brother, the Son of Achmet, by Kiosem, a Wo∣man of Excellent parts, and well vers'd in the management of Affairs. Mahomet's Brothers are now treated after the same rate, and the Mother of Bajazet and Orchan, uses all the endeavours she can, to secure to them the affections of the great Officers of the Port, and the Janizaries, who are somewhat disgusted with the capricious humour, and extraordinary covetousness of Mahomet. This Prince was advanc'd to the Throne in the Year 1650. after the death of Ibrahim, his Father, who was strangled by the Janizaries, in a Sedition. He being then but Seven years of age, the Regency was bestow'd, during his minority, on the Old Sultaness, Mother to Ibrahim, who soon af∣ter abus'd her authority, and rais'd a dangerous Faction against her Grand-Child, Mahomet, wherein she lost her life.

The present Grand Seignor, who is a Person much addicted to his Pleasures, and * 1.147 takes a particular diversion, in Hunting, leaves the management of Affairs to his Grand Vizir, Achmet, who has succeeded Coprogli, his own Father, in that principal Charge of the Empire. 'Tis a thing which may well pass for a Prodigy, amongst the Turks, and such as that there has not yet been any example of it seen, as perhaps there will not be any other hereafter. I have shewn, that it is a thing absolutely contrary to their Politicks; and therefore, had it not been for the great and particular obligations, which the Empire had to Coprogli, who, on the other side, cunningly represented to the Grand Seignor, that he never durst trust any but his own Son, with the Secret of Affairs, whereof he only had the Key, this very Achmet, who, next to the Sultan, is the Prin∣cipal Person of the Empire, would have been, at present, but a simple Bey, or Captain of a Galley.

The Grand Seignor Mahomet is handsome enough as to his Person, his Stature some∣what * 1.148 exceeding that of the middle sort of persons; he has not too much corpulency, and his health is in an uncertain state. He is very much troubled with a Fall, which he receiv'd, in the violence of his Game, some years since, by leaping his Horse over a broad Ditch: And whereas that passion is still predominant in him, this inconvenience attends it, That, when he is not somewhat favourable and indulgent to himself, in that violent Exercise, he is sometimes taken off his Horse in a miserable condition, the Remedies which might be apply'd to that indisposition, taking no effect, by reason of the little care he takes to preserve himself. He is a person of an unconstant and unquiet disposition, which creates the greater trouble to those who wait on him; and though they study his humours, yet is it a hard matter to satisfie him. He has a Son, who has been circumcis'd with great solemnity, at the age, wherein that Ceremony is to be per∣form'd. The Sultaness, his Mother, a Woman of a Magnificent humour, to augment the Pomp and Splendour of that Action, to the eyes as well of the Turks, as Forrei∣ners, would have the Garment, which the Young Prince wore that day, to be all cover'd with Diamonds, and, to that end, caus'd several Rich Pieces of the Treasury to be broken; but after the Solemnity, all the Precious Stones were carried back into it again.

I said erewhile, that the present Sultan-Mahomet is extreamly addicted to Hunting, and makes it so much his Darling Divertisement, that he makes less account of the lives of Men, than he does of his Dogs; and withal, that he is of a very covetous humour. I shall, in one single Example make a sufficient discovery of both those inclinations in him, and that will also further make it appear, how well he was skill'd, in that Knack of exercising great Liberalities, without any deduction out of his Revenues.

When the Grand Seignor goes a Hunting, there are Orders sent to a great number of people, for the space of four or five Leagues about the place where he intends to Hunt, in order to the surrounding of a certain quantity of Ground, and for the en∣closing of it so well, as that nothing can escape thence. 'Tis not to be imagin'd, this can be done, without great destruction to the Country, and much inconvenience to the poor people, who are forc'd to leave their work, to carry on an Exercise which is

much more toilsome then it, in which they many times come off with the loss of Limb, or Life, or some other disastrous Accident. These continual impositions of trouble and toil put many people into the repining humour, insomuch that an Eu∣nuch, who was in favour, having, one day, taken the freedom to represent to the Grand Seignor the prejudice his Subjects underwent, by those courses which occasion'd the spoyling of their Grounds, and the loss of their Lives, he grew very angry, and after some dayes imprisonment, he gave him a shameful ejection out of the Sera∣glio.

But, in process of time, the mischievous Inconveniences occasion'd by this insa∣tiable pursuance of his Pleasures in Hunting, increasing more and more, the Grand Vizir, and the other Bassa's, resolv'd to intreat the Moufti, to make a Remonstrance to him, of the ill consequence thereof, he being the only person, who might presume to speak any more of it to the Grand Seignor. The Moufti would by no means hearken to it at first, imagining, as he might well, that his harangue would not be pleasing to the Sultan: But, at last, being over-perswaded to do that good office to the Pub∣lick, he took courage, and his opportunity, to speak to him, with all the insinuation he could.

He could not bethink himself of a better Expedient, to remove that predominant * 1.149 passion out of his mind, then to represent to him, the Custome of his Predecessors, who took their diversion in some handy-work, when the Warr, or the Concerns of State gave them any remission: That, according to their Example, their Subjects apply'd themselves to things that were beneficial, and made all Arts and Professions to flourish in the Empire, to the great advantage of the Publick: That Sultan-Amurath, his Uncle, delighted in making those Horn-Rings, which are us'd in shooting with the Long-Bowe: That Ibrahim, his Father, was an Excellent Artist, in the making of Tooth-picks, and other small Instruments of Tortoise-shell: And that it were requi∣site that so Laudable a Custome should not be lost, since it gave the people occasion to do the like, and so to avoid idleness.

He further Remonstrated to his Highness, That it was much more commendable in the sight of men, and more acceptable to God, for him to live by the labour of his hands, then by the sweat of the people, and the Mony arising by Impositions, which were forbidden by the Law: and that what was allotted for the peculiar Diet of his Predecessors, was the product of their own handy-work: That true it was indeed, they were not oblig'd to any assiduity in the Employments they had fancied, but that what they did was as much for their own diversion, as to satisfie the Precept of the Law; and when they had finish'd some piece of Work, they sent it to some Bassa, for whom they had a particular kindness, and he receiv'd it with extraordinary respect, and abundance of joy: That he, who was the Bearer of it, when he came to present it, said, That Piece of Work, was made by the Grand Seignor himself, who had sent him to sell it, in order to his own sustenance: And that the Bassa, or other person, to whom it was directed, to express how highly he was pleas'd therewith, gave him a certain number of Purses for it; not accounting the Present which was to be made to the Bearer: That what Mony came in that way, was design'd to bear the Charges of the Prince's own Table, and by that means, he could not be charg'd with living by the labour of his Subjects.

To this effect was the Moufti's harangue; and I shall tell you by the way, That the Kings of Persia have the same Custome, or rather, the same Superstition. In the Reign of Shach-Abas, there were built, at Ispahan, certain places called Caravanseras, which are publick houses, where the Merchants are lodg'd, the Rents whereof are set aside for the maintenance of the King's own Table; the Mony which is rais'd by the Cu∣stoms, and other Impositions, being accounted, as to that score, for Haram, that is to say, for unjust and forbidden, and reserv'd to be employ'd in the Exigencies of State, and not for the Sustenance of the Prince.

The Grand Seignor dissembling and smothering the vexation, into which the Moufti's * 1.150 Remonstrance had put him, pretended to take his Advertisements very kindly, and

dispos'd himself to satisfie him, in a short time, how well he could make his advantage of the Lecture he had read him. He acknowledg'd, that he had often thought of what he had represented to him, and that he had a way of livelihood in his head, which he hop'd would take very well. Some daies pass'd away, ere the Grand Seignor made the least mention of Hunting; but at last, he grows impatient, he leaves the Seraglio, and had the good fortune to kill a Hare with a Gun, the first he had ever destroy'd that way. He immediately sends it to the Moufti, with order to tell him, That he has follow'd his advice, and that having learnt the Prosession of a Huntsman, he has com∣manded that first piece of his Game should be brought to him, which he was willing to sell, that he might subsist by the Mony it should produce: That he fail not to give Twenty Purses to him who brings it; and that as to his own Person, he knew well enough what he ought to send him.

The Moufti conceal'd his surprizal as well as he could, and receiv'd the Hare with great testimonies of his resentments and joy, of the honour, which his Highness had done him; and having bestow'd, according to his own order, Twenty Purses up∣on the Bearer of the Hare, sends Sixty more to the Grand Seignor himself; learning, at his own cost, and that to the value of Fourscore thousand Crowns, that men should not be over-forward to give their Sovereigns those advertisements, which they desire not of them.

To finish the Pourtraiture of Sultan-Mahomet, he is further chargeable with a de∣fect of constancy, in his humour, and a roughness of deportment towards his people, who are thereupon apt to have the less affection for him. And whereas he is indefa∣tigable in his Hunting-Exercises, and spends whole daies therein, even in the severest part of the Winter-Season, it happen'd, one day, as he was returning home, from the Sport of running down a Stag, that his Grand Falconer took the boldness to represent to him the inconvenience of exposing his Slaves so much in the Ice and Snow, by which means there had dy'd about Thirty of them the Night before, and the rest were in a fair way to follow them. The Prince, not mov'd at all with that Remonstrance, made this Reply to the grand Falconer, That, if the Weather prov'd very hard, they should have a care of his Dogs, and allow them cloathing, and other accommodations, lest the rigour of the Season might take off any one of them; making not the least men∣tion of, or provision for the men, whom he sacrific'd to his Divertisement. That rough repartee having been spread among the people, has begot such animosity in them against this Prince, that there's no question made of his being sensible thereof, and that it is, in some measure, the cause of his keeping so much at a distance, from the Metro∣polis of his Empire, where he does not think himself secure.

CHAP. XVII. Of the Womens Appartment.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The impossibility of having a full knowledge of the Womens Appart∣ment, in the Seraglio. The Commerce between the Jewesses and the Sultanesses. The doleful Story of Two Famous Wrestlers. The great Severity of the Sultan-Amurath. How to distinguish between what is true, and what fabulous, in reference to the Sul∣tanesses. A strange Story of an old Woman. Polygamy pre∣judicial to the propagation of Children. The great Secrecy of the Grand Seignor's Amours.

IMake a Chapter by it self of the Appartment of the Women, only to entertain * 1.151 the Reader, with the impossibility there is, of having a perfect knowledg of it, or getting any exact account, either what the accommodations of it are; or how the Persons, who are confin'd therein, behave themselves. There is not in all Christendome any Monastery of Religious Virgins, how regular and austere so∣ever it may be, the entrance whereof is more strictly forbidden to men, than is that of this Appartment of the Women: insomuch that my white Eunuch, who has supply'd me with so particular a description of the inner part of the Seraglio, could give me no certain information of this Quarter of it, where the Women are lodg'd. All I could get out of him, was, That the Doors of it are kept by Negro-Eunuchs, and that, besides the Grand Seignor himself, and sometimes, the Physician, in case of great necessity, there never enters any man into it, no nor Woman, besides those who live in it, and they are never permitted to go out of it, unless it be in order to their confinement in the Old Seraglio. But we must except, out of that number, the Sultanesses, and their Maids, or Ladies of Honour, whom the Grand Seignor allows, when he pleases, to come into the Gardens of the Seraglio, and whom he sometimes takes abroad with him, into the Country; yet so as that they cannot be seen by any person whatsoever. Four Negro-Eunuchs carry a kind of Pavilion, under which is the Sultaness, and the Horse upon which she is mounted, all save only the head of the horse, which is seen on the out-side of the Pavilion, the two fore-pieces of which, taking him about the Neck, are close fasten'd, above, and below.

And as to the Physician, he is never admitted, as I said, but in case of extream he∣cessity, into the Appartment of the Women, and with such precautions, that he can neither see the person who is indispos'd, nor be seen by her, but to feel her Pulse through a piece of Lawn, all the other Women having retir'd from her Bed-side, and the Negro-Eunuchs having taken their places. Thus you see what precautions they use, to deprive the Women, of the Seraglio, of all means of having any access to Men, or in∣deed so much as a sight of them: And if it happen that some Jewess has entrance into their Quarter, to Trade with them, and to sell them some little Rarities, they are strictly search'd by the Negro-Eunuchs, lest there should happen to thrust in some Man, disguis'd in Woman's Cloaths, in which case immediate death would ensue. And when the Couriosity of some Christian Ladies has inclin'd them to see the Sultanesses, they seldome escap'd without the receiving of some affront; and I could produce some examples of it, did I think it convenient.

It might be imagin'd, that, by the relation of the Jewesses, it were possible to have * 1.152 some account, of the embellishments of the Halls and Chambers of the Appartment of the government of that Female Republick. But it is to be noted, That these Jewesses are not permitted to go far into it; for there is a Chamber appointed for the manage∣ment of their Traffick, and the Negro-Eunuchs are the Brokers between them, and the Sultanesses. They take cognizance of all, and what the Princesses have a mind to buy, passing through their hands, they make them pay double and treble what the things are worth, and so heap up Wealth, though they have but little occasion or opportu∣nity to make use of it.

But I do not expect, any one should wonder at that great exactness, of not permit∣ing any man; no not even a White Eunuch, to approach the Appartment of the Wo∣men, * 1.153 after an Accident, which happen'd at Adrianople, in the Year of our Lord M. DC. XXXIX. and which I shall here insert in few words. Amurath, at his return, after the taking of Bagdet, came and made his abode, for some time, at Adrianople. He had a Page, belonging to the Treasury, who was a Native of Tocat, in Natolia, and, from the place of his birth, they gave him the name of Tocateli. He was a well-set Young man, robust, skilful in Wrestling, and, upon that account, the Grand Seignor had made Chief of the Wrestlers.

It happen'd, that one of the most Famous, for that Exercise, came about that time to Adrianople, out of the Confines of Muscovy, and in all the Cities, through which he travell'd, he had alwaies been too hard for those who had presented themselves to Wrestle with him. His Reputation was spread all over the Empire, where he had not met with any Wrestler, who acknowledg'd not himself inferiour to him; Which Re∣port coming to the Page of the Treasury, he conceiv'd so great an emulation at the Fame of that Man, whom all the World so highly celebrated, that he sent one of the Halvagis, to carry him a Civil Challenge from him, and to acquaint him, That he was desirous to have a Tryal of Skill with him, in the Grand Seignor's Presence. He sent him word withal, That, before his Highness had any notice of it, 'twere convenient, they made some tryal of their strength; And that no body might know any thing of it, he would send him a Bostangi's Garment and Cap, by which means he might come into the Seraglio.

When the Grand Seignor is not within the Seraglio, where ever it be, the Bostangis are permitted to come into, and to go out of it, by the Garden-Gate; and there be∣ing a great number of them, it is no hard matter to get a man in under their accou∣trements. By this contrivance did the Muscovian Wrestler get into the Seraglio, the next day, upon the sollicitation of the Page, who sent him what was requisite; the Grand Seignor being, that day, gone a Hunting. They both put on Drawers of Lea∣ther, well liquor'd with some fat or oyly stuff, all the rest of the body being stark na∣ked, and liquor'd in like manner: and after a long dispute, the Page had the better, whether he got it fairly by his own strength, and skill, or that the other yielded the victory, out of complaisance.

This Action pass'd in the midst of the place which is before the Garden, in the pre∣sence of the Mutes, and all the Pages of the Seraglio; and the Grand Seignor being re∣turn'd from Hunting, the Superintendent of the Treasury told him, That there was come into the City, a Pehlivan, a Muscovite by Country, robust, and of a good meen, of great strength, and well experienced in Wrestling, and that if his Highness pleas'd, he should have the satisfaction to see him engag'd in that Exercise. The Grand Seig∣nor commanded he should be brought into the Seraglio, the next day, and that Torca∣teli should have notice, to be ready to entertain him.

Being both come to the place, and in a condition ready to close, the Grand Seignor came into a Gallery, attended by all the Grandees of the Seraglio, to be Spectators of that Tryal of Skill in Wrestling. The Victory having stood as 'twere in the ballance a good while, and all the Spectators, being somewhat impatient, to see which side it would turn to, a Mute express'd himself by signs, to one of his Companions, to this

effect, That he wondred the Page, who should have deriv'd new strength and courage, from the Grand Seignor's presence, found it so difficult to get the better of the Musco∣vite, whom he had so easily worsted the day before.

The language of the Mutes, by signs, is as intelligible in the Seraglio, as if they had the liberty of speaking, and the Grand Seignor, who understands it as well as any of them, as having been accustom'd thereto from his Infancy, and commonly discoursing with them, was strangely surpriz'd, to understand that the Muscovite had been, the day before, in the same place. His indignation immediately flush'd into his face; he com∣manded the Wrestlers to give over their Exercise, and, calling the Page to him, he ask'd him, How he had contriv'd that man's entrance into the Seraglio. The unfor∣tunate Tocateli, who could not deny a thing, which so many others were ready to testifie, acquainted his Highness with what had pass'd; whereupon, the Sultan, in∣cens'd at the greatness of his confidence, prevented his making an end of the Story, by commanding the Bostangi-bachi to be presently sent for, whom he order'd to seize on the Muscovian Wrestler, and see him receive Five hundred blowes on the soles of the Feet, with a Wand or Cudgel; which no doubt was enough to make him un∣capable of exercising himself, for a good while after. The Overseer had Orders, to see the same punishment inflicted upon the Page Tocateli; which was immediately put in execution: the Grand Seignor having, in the mean time, retir'd into the Ap∣partment of the Women.

It was the Opinion of most about the Seraglio, that those two unfortunate wretches would have escap'd, with the punishment of Five hundred blowes, each of them, upon the soles of their feet. But the Grand Seignor, who was resolv'd to have their lives, and had retir'd, purposely, into the Lodgings of the Women, to prevent all mediation for their pardon, sent away presently a second Order, to the Bostangi-Bachi, whereby he was commanded to see the Page hang'd up, in the Evening, on a Tree, which is at the Corner of the place, where they had Wrestled, and the Muscovite on another Tree, which is without the Gate of the Seraglio.

Some would be apt to think, that these two Executions were enough to appease the * 1.154 Prince's indignation: But it prov'd otherwise. The next morning, the Sultan-Amu∣rath sent for the Capi-Aga, the chiefest amongst the Eunuchs, and the Grand Master and Comptroller, of the Seraglio, and commanded, That the Gellad, who is the com∣mon Executioner, should also give his attendance. Upon the passing of these Orders, all those, that were present, cast themselves at his Highnesse's feet, beseeching him to consider, That the Capi-Aga was innocent, that he had not the least notice of the con∣fidence of the Page, and that, if it had come to his knowledge, he would have severely punish'd it. The Grand Seignor continuing still extreamly incens'd, could not be appeas'd by all the intreaties and submissions they made to him, and would have the Capi-Aga, as Grand Master of the Seraglio, to be answerable for all those that come into it; when, for the good fortune of that principal Officer of the Sultan's Palace, there came in the Moufti, and the Seligdar, or Chief of the Pages of the Chamber, who with much ado made a shift to beg his pardon. Yet was not that granted but in part; for all they could obtain, extended only to the saving of his life; and so the Grand Seignor order'd him to be immediately thrust out of the Seraglio, with a charge never to enter again into it, while he liv'd; and instead of the Dignity of Bassa, whereto he should have been advanc'd, to be reduc'd to a small Pension of Three hundred Aspers a day.

I thought it pertinent to my design, to bring in this Story of the Two Wrestlers, in order to the greater confirmation of what I have affirm'd at the beginning of this Chapter, concerning the impossibility there is, for any person whatsoever, Man, or Woman, to get into the Appartment of the Sultanesses, when they punish, with so much severity, a Stranger, who, without express order, presumes but to set his foot within any Court of the Seraglio.

Take it then for granted, that this is all that can be known, with certainty, of the * 1.155 Appartment of the Women, who are subservient to the pleasures of the Ottoman Mo∣narchs; whatever is scatter'd abroad, beyond this account thereof, being grounded only upon imaginations and conjectures, which haply are at a great distance from the truth. Certain it is, that this Quarter of the Seraglio, as to some part of it, has a fair Prospect upon that of the Grand Seignor, and that the Doors of it are kept night and day, by a certain number of Negro-Eunuchs, the most deformed, and the most dread∣ful to look upon, that can be found. It is certain also, that it is well furnish'd with abundance of most beautiful Women, of several Countries, who, by the chance of War, or otherwise, are fallen into the hands of the Bassa's, and Governours of Provinces, who send them up, as Presents, to the Grand Seignor. It is known also, That, of that variety of Women, the Prince does not appropriate to himself above two or three, whom he has the greatest affection for; nay some of those Princes have confin'd themselves to the embraces of one only, after intermarriage. And this is affirm'd, at Constantinople, of Solyman the Great, after he had plighted his faith to Roxulana, con∣trary to the ordinary Policy of the Turks, after the affront, done by Temur-leng, to the Wife of Bajazet. The white Eunuchs, who wait in the Grand Seignor's Lodgings, are able, in some measure, to give an account of these things, in regard that the Woman, who is to participate of the Grand Seignor's Bed, is conducted into his own Chamber; and, if it be a new Amour, the noise of it is spread, the next day, all over the Seraglio.

It is also known, That the first of those Women, who is deliver'd of a Male-child, and, by that means, becomes Mother to the presumptive Heir of the Ottoman-Empire, is consider'd as the principal Sultaness, and treated according to her dignity: and the others, who afterwards have Sons or Daughters, have also the quality and denomina∣tion of Sultanesses; but the number of the Women, who are to wait on them, is much inferiour, to that of those, who are to attend the principal Sultaness. It is known, in fine, That those young Princes are brought up under the tutelage of their Mothers, till they are so many years of age; and when they are strong enough to be put upon certain Exercises, they have Governours and Masters appointed over them, in a distinct Quarter by themselves.

Besides these things, which may be positively known, concerning the Appartment of the Women, in the Seraglio, it may well be imagin'd, that the embellishments of their Lodgings are answerable to those of the Grand Seignor, since it is the place, where he passes away the most divertive part of his time. It is also not to be que∣stion'd, but that it has its Infirmary, its Baths, and the other accommodations, and conveniences, that can be wish'd for. It may also be conjectur'd, That there is, in this Quarter, an observance of the same regulations, as there are in the Chambers of the Ichoglans: That some of the more ancient Maids are Mistresses over the Younger ones, and are, night and day employ'd in observing their actions; and that their un∣voluntary restraint forces them to the same unseemly actions amongst themselves, as the brutish Passions of those Young Men engages them in, whenever they can find the opportunities to commit them. And this presumption has no doubt given occasion to the Fabulous Story, which is related of their being serv'd up with Cucumbers cut into pieces, and not entire, out of a ridiculous fear lest they should put them to undecent uses: they who have forg'd the Story not knowing, that it is the custome in the Le∣vant, to cut the Fruit a-cross, into great thick slices, as I shall make it appear in the Chapter, where I treat of their Gardens. But it is not only in the Seraglio, that that abominable Vice reigns, but it is predominant also in the City of Constantinople, and in all the Provinces of the Empire, and the wicked Example of the Men, who, slight∣ing the natural use of Woman-kind, are mutually enflam'd with a detestable love for one another, unfortunately enclines the Women to imitate them.

Of this, there was a strange instance in the time of Solyman the Magnificent. An * 1.156 old Woman was guilty of such an excess of extravagance, as to put on Man's Cloaths, and to give out, that she had bought a Chiaoux's place, the better to compass her de∣signe, of obtaining the only Daughter of a Trades-man of Constantinople, with whom

she was desperately fallen in love, having made fruitless attempts, by other ways, to satisfie her infamous inclinations. The Father, not suspecting any thing of her wic∣ked intentions, and being withal poor, grants her his Daughter, the Marriage is so∣lemniz'd in the presence of the Cadi, and the imposture having been discover'd the ve∣ry Wedding-night, the old woman was condemn'd the next day to be thrown into the Sea, there to quench the Gomorrhean Inflammations of her lewd desires. This Story is to this day related in Constantinople, and I have had it from several good hands.

These insatiable salaciousness amongst the Women, are the effects and consequences * 1.157 of the same inclinations in the Men; and the Turks are so much the more execrable and abominable as to this particular, the more they are permitted a plurality of Wives. But, whether it happens through a just punishment from Heaven, or proceed from their Sorceries, which are common and allow'd in Turkey, and ordinarily practis'd by the Women, in opposition one to another, to appropriate the affections of their Husbands, it has always been observ'd, That the Turks who keep many Women, are not so well stor'd with Children, as they, who observe Conjugal Chastity, and confine themselves to one. I question not but those Authors, who have written of the Mahumetan Re∣ligion, have given a sufficient account of that plurality of Wives, and of the Cere∣monies of Matrimony, amongst the Turks.

As to the manner, how the Grand Seignor demeans himself in the prosecution of * 1.158 his Amours, it is a Secret, which I shall not enquire into; I have not much endeavour'd to make any discoveries of it, and it is a hard matter to give any account thereof, without some hazard of travesting History into Romance. They are Intrigues, which do not admit of any Confident, by whom they may be disclos'd, and all that is com∣monly related thereof, is haply at a great distance from the true state of things: not to press this, That we ought to have a respect for all Princes, and to forbear divulging what informations we may possibly have receiv'd, of their secret Amours.

CHAP. XVIII. The Entrance into Constantinople of the Sultaness, Mother to the Grand Seignor, whom they honour with the Title of la Validé, on the Second of July, 1668.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The order of the March. The Wealth of the Grand Seignor's Fa∣vourite. The Sultanesse's Coaches. The prohibitions to look on her.

ON the Second of July, in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand, six Hun∣dred, Sixty and Eight, the Sultaness, Mother to the Grand Seignor Re∣gent, at her return from Adrianople, made her Entrance into Constanti∣nople, where I then was, of which Entrance take the eusuing Description.

About Six in the Morning, some numbers of Janizaries, not observing any order, * 1.159 took their way towards the Seraglio, sometimes ten, or more, sometimes twenty, in little detachments, which lasted for some time.

After them came two hundred men on Horse-back, belonging to the House of the Cologlou, that is to say, the Grand Seignor's Favourite, with short Guns resting on the Bowe of their Saddles, and all very meanly clad, as also the Officers of his Kit∣chin, who coming in the Rear of the others, were, in like manner, poorly habited, and

ill mounted. After them appear'd in somewhat a better order, the menial Retinue of the Caimacan, his Officers, as well those belonging to the Chamber, as those of the Stables, were very handsomely mounted, and all in their yellow Garments.

The next appearance was that of the Spahis, who are the Sultaness-Mother's Life-Guard. Of those there were four hundred, which made a handsome Shew, being all well mounted, and well clad. They had all their Coats of Mail, with their Vests of red Taffeta, and had on the right side a Quiver of Crimson-Velvet, embroider'd with Flowers of Gold; and on the left, a Bowe in a cover of red Velvet, embroider'd as the other. They had all of them Helmets on their Heads, and over them white Tur∣bants, and from the Helmets there hung small Chains of Mail, resembling Locks of Hair, which they use when occasion requires, to ward off a blow from the neck and face. Every one of them had also a Launce in his hand, and the Trappings of their Horses were of one of these three Colours, yellow, violet, and red, of a rich Stuff, with an embroidery of Silver.

The Spahi-Bachi came in the Rear of them, having a Plume of Heron-tops in his Turbant, three foot in height, which made him remarkable, and distinguish'd him from all the other Spahis. On the Breast-piece of his Horse, were fasten'd a dozen little Scarffs, which hung down negligently, and he was attended by six Pages, who had Caps on, after the Slavonian Mode, red Vests tuck'd up about the waste, and yel∣low Hose, or Drawers.

After the Spahis, there pass'd several Janizaries, but not marching in any order, fol∣low'd by two hundred men on Horse-back, and in the Rear of them, came the Jani∣zary-Aga, a Person of a very goodly presence. He had for his immediate Attendants six gentile young Persons, who had each of them, hanging over his shoulder, a kind of Quiver, full of small Wands, which are a sort of Arrows, without any Iron∣work at the ends.

After the forementioned, there came up twelve men, who are as it were the Ma∣sters of the Ceremonies, in very ridiculous Accoutrements. They had Silver Wands resting on their Shoulders, their Vestments were garnish'd with small Bells, and they had Caps on, which had somewhat hanging down of each side, resembling Asses Ears.

The next appearance after that extravagant Party, was that of an hundred Capigis, all well mounted, every one with a Launce in his hand, with a Flag fasten'd thereto, reaching from the top to the bottom, which made a very noble Shew. In the Rear of the Troop came the Capigi-bachi, distinguish'd from the rest by a high and large Plume of Heron-tops, which added much to the gracefulness of his looks, and Per∣son.

After them, came a hundred Chiaoux's, well clad, and well mounted, having their great Caps on their Heads; and in the Rear of them came the Caimacan, having a Cap of the same fashion, attended by twenty Pages, very neatly clad.

The next appearance was that of five or six hundred Bostangis, with their Caps like Sugar-loaves, their Habits of a red linnen Cloath, and Muskets on their Shoul∣ders. The Bostangi-bachi came after them, sumptuously clad, and mounted, with a Chiaoux-cap upon his head, and a great number of people about him.

There appear'd next, two hundred Cadis, making a most noble Shew, all modest∣ly clad, with their Busquins of black Spanish-Leather, and white Turbants, like great Balls of Wooll, or Silk.

They were follow'd by the Scherifs, who affirm themselves to be of the kindred of Mahomet, and made up a Troop of sixty Persons. As they were the Relations of the Prophet, they wore green Turbants of an extraordinary bigness.

After the Scherifs, came the two principal Officers of the Moufti (for he never ap∣pears in person in these sorts of Ceremonies) and they were clad in white, having a very demure and religious Countenance.

The Cologlou, or Grand Seignor's Favourite, appear'd next mounted on a gallant * 1.160 Horse, whose Harness and Trappings were of the richest. The Stirrups were of Gold, and the Housse was embellish'd with an embroydery of Gold and Pearls. His Vest was of a red Brokado, and his Cap like those of the Chiaouxes. Two men held the reins of his Bridle, and his Horse curvetted all along, as if he had been sensible of the goodly presence of his Master, and how well it became him. He was a person of a good stature, and of a graceful countenance, having withal a mild and sprightly look, and every one saluted him, as he advanc'd still towards the Seraglio. The Servants belonging to his Stable marched after him, and fifty Grooms led each of them a Horse in his hand, and those horses were all high-priz'd, and their Harnesses as sumptuous as could be made. 'Tis commonly reported, That this Favourite, who is a person of very great merit, hath acquir'd vast Riches, and that his Train, whether as to the number of Servants, or as to that of Horses, surpasses that of many great Princes.

There came up next a small Troop of Negro-Eunuchs, marching confusedly, before * 1.161 the Coaches of the Sultaness, Mother to the present. Grand Seignor, all well mounted, and Magnificently clad, in different colours,

There appear'd afterwards Six Capigis, about the first Coach, drawn by six Excellent Horses. They had each of them a Launce in his hand; and, in the Rear of them, there appear'd a Horse-tail-Banner, of a pale-red colour, whereby it was known, that some Bassa's were coming up, as indeed there were, and they were a Convoy to the second Coach, drawn by six white horses, in which was the Sultaness-Mother, and another Sultaness. Two Black Eunuchs march'd on each side of it, the Boots, or Doors being latic'd, that the Princesses might see, and not be seen. Which hindred not, however, but that, as the Coach of the Sultaness came forwards, some were still crying out to the people, and commanding them to look the other way; which Command it con∣cerns them exactly to obey, and that especially in Perfia, where they must get away as far as they can, to avoid the hazard of receiving a good blow with a Sable.

After the asoresaid Coach, there pass'd by Twelve other Coaches with four horses apiece, wherein were the Female-Slaves belonging to the Sultanesses, having two Negro-Eunuchs, at the Doors of each Coach, which were latic'd, as the former: After which there follow'd several Litters, and four great Waggons, full of Snow, for the use of the Sultanesses, and their Retinue.

All this Cavalcade, consisting of between five and six thousand men, took up almost three hours in its passage, and having made its Procession through Constantinople, lodg'd it self in the Seraglio, according to the description I have given you of it.

Of the French Nation, there were several Persons of Quality, who had the Curiosity to see that Entrance; and among others, Monsieur Ribier, de Ville-neuve, a Counsellor of the Parlement of Paris; Monsieur Le Mairat, a Counsellor of the Grand Council: The Abbot of Champhuon, de la Saulsaye, all Parisians; and Monsieur Aubert, a Native of New-France, and, by Extraction, a Norman, Son to the Governour of Guarda∣loupe.

CHAP. XIX. Of the Gardens of the Seraglio.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

The Revenues of the Gardens employ'd for the Grand Seignor's Table. Cucumbers, a fruit of much delicacy amongst the Levantines, and how they eat them. A noble Pyramid, resembling Trajan's Pillar. Fountains. The number of the Gardiners.

IT is an ancient Custome, or rather, a Law, establish'd by the Ottoman Princes, * 1.162 that the profits made out of their Gardens, should be contributary to the keep∣ing of their own Tables, and they have several of them, in the Neighbourhood of Constantinople, as well on the Europaean side, as the Asian, all along the Sea∣shore. But I shall give an account, only of the Gardens of the Seraglio, that so I may not exceed the limits I have prescrib'd to my self in this Relation.

There are in the Seraglio several Gardens, wherein there are only Flowers, in di∣vers Appartments, and particularly in that of the Grand Seignor, and, no question, but the same thing may be said of the Quarter of the Sultanesses. Yet is there not any thing extraordinary, which might oblige me to give this description thereof. The great Garden, whereof the Bostangi-bachi has the oversight, as he has also of all the others belonging to the Grand Seignor, takes up the greatest part of the Seraglio, and consists of a great number of Walks, planted, of each side, with Cypress. Those Walks are much neglected, so that in several places, they are not clear'd of Bryars and Thorns. When it is known, that the Grand Seignor is to come and take his diver∣tisement there, a great number of Bostangis are immediately commanded out, to make clean the Walks, which he uses to frequent, and the spaces between those Walks are so many Kitchin-Gardens, or Orchards, which are very well furnish'd with Fruit-Trees, of several excellent kinds. Of Strawberries and Raspices there is great store, and they have large beds of Melons, and Cucumbers; but most of these last, which are accounted a great delicacy amongst the Levantines.

As to the Cucumbers, they commonly eat them without taking off any thing of the * 1.163 tinde, after which they go and drink a glass of Water. In all Asia, it is the ordinary sustenance of the meaner sort of people, for the space of three or four months; the whole Family lives upon them, and when a Child asks for something to eat, whereas in our Europaean Countries, they would give him bread, in the Levant, they bring him only a Cucumber, which he eats raw, as it comes out of the Garrison. Laborious persons, and such as are in a manner tyr'd with working, such as Camel-drivers, and those who are entrusted with the care of the Horses, and Mules, in the Caravans, make a kind of Sallad of their Cucumbers, not much unlike the Mash, which we would give our Horses. When they are come to the Lodging place, where the Caravan is to make a stay, they take a large Basin, which they almost fill with water, and having put some sowr milk into it, they cut a great number of Cucumbers, into great slices, and so make a kind of mash of them. 'Tis a pleasant sight to see them at the confounding of it. Amongst ten, or twelve, who all stand round the said Basin, there is but one woo∣den Spoon, which every one takes in his turn, till they have made a shift to empty the Basin. That done, they fall a drinking of water, and those who have wherewithall, go and take a dish of Coffee, or smoke a Pipe of Tobacco.

But to do them all the right they deserve, the Cucumbers in the Levant are excel∣lently good, and, though eaten raw, they never do a man any hurt. The Story of the Cucumbers which occasion'd the cruel death of Seven Pages of the Grand Seignor's Chamber, is not, haply, known to all people; or at least, all know not the reason, why the Pages of the Chamber are not now permitted to go into the Gardens.

Sultan Mahomet, the second of that name, taking a turn in the Gardens of the Se∣raglio, attended by his Pages, was much surpriz'd to see a bed of Cucumbers, which look'd very fair to the eye, and were extreamly forward, considering the Season. Be∣ing a great lovet of that fruit, he recommended them to the Bostangi-bachi, who told them over every day, and, with some impatience, expected their maturity, that he might present them to the Grand Seignor. Some daies after, going to Visit the bed, he found his number of Cucumbers shorter, than it should have been, by three or four, and that they who had taken those that were missing, had made choice of the ripest, and thereupon making a strict enquiry, to find out who have been guilty of that pre∣sumption, he found that the Pages of the Chamber were the only persons who had been, that day, in the Gardens.

Upon that discovery, he went and gave an account of the whole matter to the Grand Seignor, who was so highly incens'd thereat, that, not prevailing with any one of the Pages to acknowledg the Theft, he, out of a cruelty as much above all credit, as beyond all example, caus'd the Bellies of seven of them to be ripp'd up. The Theft was found in the Belly of the seventh of those unfortunate Young Men, who, after the execution done on the other six, would not acknowledge his guilt, out of hopes, that the Prince's indignation would not have extended so far. From that very time, and in commemoration of so strange an action, the Pages of the Chamber are not per∣mitted to go into the Gardens of the Seraglio; what one Prince has establish'd, as I have hinted elsewhere, being never revok'd by his Successors, who bear a certain re∣spect to the enactions of their Ancestors.

In the midst of the Great Walk, which goes from the Seraglio, to the Sea-Gate * 1.164 which looks towards Scudaret, there is a Pyramid, erected upon a square Pedestal, and which four men would have much ado to fathom. About the Pedestal they have suf∣fer'd some bryars and thorns to grow, and it seems to have been done out of design, to hinder peoples coming close to it. The Pyramid, from the top to the bottom, is full of Figures, whereof the heads are struck off; and it may be conjectur'd by some re∣mainders, that there was a very noble head on the top of it, as being the Master-piece of the work. This Pyramid somewhat resembles Trajan's Pillar at Rome; and some, who have seen both, imagine, they were the work of the same Master.

All the Fountains of the Gardens have their Basins of Marble, of different colours. * 1.165 Near each of them, there is a little Scafsold, surrounded with Ballisters, which they spread with rich Carpets, and Brocado-Cushions, when the Sultan comes to take his walk there: and 'tis only at that time, the Waters play; which Diversion he frequent∣ly gives the Princesses, who bear him company.

There are appointed for the culture of these Gardens two thousand Bostangis; and * 1.166 yet, though there be so vast a number to keep them, they come far short of the Neat Contrivances, and Imbellishments of ours.

CHAP. XX. Of the Princes who follow the Mahumetan Religion, in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

THE PRINCIPAL HEADS.

General Lawes for all the Mahumetan Sects. A Curious Remark, concerning the Emperour of Java's Son. Kings, who follow the Doctrine of Hali. The Royal Present from the great Mo∣gul to Mecha. The several wayes, by which the Mahume∣tans come to their Prophet's Tomb. Trouble some Desarts to be pass'd through in their way to the Sepulchre of Hali. A Mi∣raculous Channel of Water, of the continuance of Eighteen dayes Journey. The Burnt-Offering of a Weather.

I Have so often had occasion, in the present Relation I have made of the Grand * 1.167 Seignor's Seraglio, to speak of the Mahumetan Religion, that I am content, be∣fore I put a period to this Work, to make it appear, how far it extends into the three parts of our great Continent: Mahumetisme having not yet set footing in∣to that which has been discover'd but two Ages since. I meddle not at all with the Doctrine of it, of which I am sufficiently assur'd that many persons have written: and I shall only entertain the Reader with a Geographical Chart of all the Countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa, which are under the dominion of the followers of Mahomet.

Though the Opinions of their Doctors be different, as to what concerns the Expli∣cation of the Law, and that there are principally two great Sects, that of Mahomet, which is the Stock; and that of Hali, one of his principal Successors: Yet those two general Sects, and the particular ones, which are derivable thence, are all concordant in the fundamental Points, which every Mahumetan is oblig'd, in Conscience, to ob∣serve and practise. Of those I gave an account, when I made mention of the Prayers or Devotions, which the Turks are bound to perform five times a day, and the Pil∣grimage of Mecha is one of those principal Articles. I have also said something of them, in the Chapters treating of the Present, which the Grand Seignor sends thi∣ther every Year; and in this last, I shall endeavour to express my self fully as to that matter.

In Europe, we have no Mahumetan Princes but the Emperour of the Turks, and the Cham of the Lesser Tartary: But in Asia there are many of them, who are powerful, and possess'd of great Dominions. The Grand Seignor extends his Jurisdiction, in this part, beyond the Sources of the River Tigris, and beyond the mouths, by which it falls into the Sea, and towards the North, as far as the Territories of the Mengre∣lians. To go thence from the West to the East, next the Grand Seignor, we must count the Princes of the Three Arabia's, with several of whom I have often spoken, in Two of my Voyages, wherein I have been oblig'd to pass through the Desarts. The King of Persia, the Great Mogul, the King of Visapour, the King of Golconda, the Kings on the Coast of Malabar, of whom the most considerable is that of Comorin; the Great Cham of Tartary, and the Kings of the Mountains, to the North side of the same Tar∣tary,

who are got into China; All these Kings, I say, follow the Mahumetan Re∣ligion.

Since I have mentioned the Emperour of Java, I shall, by the way, insert here an observation, which I made at the time of my being in that Island, which was, * 1.168 That the eldest Son of that Emperour, who reign'd in the year 1648. had six fingers on each of his hands, and six toes on each foot, and all of equal length.

The Kings of Persia, Visapour, and Golconda follow the Sect of Hali; and the Kings * 1.169 of the Mountains of Tartary, with some others, have also their particular Sects. Be∣sides, it is to observ'd, that, if we except the Grand Seignor, the King of Persia, the Arabian Princes, and the Cham of Great Tartary, all the other Kings, whom I have named, have only Idolaters to their Subjects, and all the meaner sort of people is involv'd in the darkness of Paganism. But as to the Grand Seignor's, with all his Militia, they follow the Law of Mahomet.

In Africa, there is a Mahumetan King, whose Territories lie all along the Coast of Abex, which is towards Arabia Felix, as far as the Cape of Guardafu, and his Juris∣diction extends over the Red Sea, and the Ocean. The Governours, whom the Grand Seignor employs in Egypt, and in the Islands of the Red Sea, and those others, whom he has establish'd all along the Coast of Barbary, at Tripoli, Tunis, and Argiers, who assume the Title of Kings, are also Mahumetans; and, in fine, the King of Fez and Morocco follows the same Law.

All these Kings and Princes, are principally unanimous in this Point, That they ac∣knowledge themselves oblig'd to send every year some Present to Mecha, which ordi∣narily consists in rich Carpets, to be put upon Mahomet's Sepulchre. Sometimes these * 1.170 Presents are made upon a particular Vow; and it happen'd in one of my Voyages to Agra, that the Great Mogul, by way of thankfulness to the Prophet, for the recovery of his health, sent to Mecha, an Alcoran, valued at four hundred thousand Crowns, which had, in the midst of the Cover, a Diamond, of three hundred Carats; the rest of it being garnish'd with several precious Stones on both sides The occasion of this Present was, the fright which a certain Brameré put him into, upon his telling him, That he should dy before the year was expir'd, which happen'd not accordingly. But the King being extremely incens'd at that direful Prediction, and, upon the smart In∣terrogatory he put to the Brameré, to wit, whether he knew also the time of his own death, having receiv'd this Answer, That it should be within three days; which real∣ly happen'd upon the third day, there was a sufficient ground for him to be fright∣ned, and to conceive an apprehension, that the like accident might happen to himself, before the time limited. 'Twas that induc'd him to send a Present of so great value, to Mahomet's Sepulchre, to acknowledge the favour he had done him, in not suffering the Prediction of the Brameré to take effect, the King having not had as much as any indisposition, during all that time.

When I gave an account of the Pilgrimage of Mecha, upon occasion of the Tent * 1.171 and Carpet, which the Grand Seignor sends thither every year, I made no mention of the several ways which the Caravans take, according to the several parts of the World, from whence great multitudes of Mahumetans do every year take their progress thither.

In the first place, the Ambassadors, whom the Kings of the Islands, whereof I have given you the names, and the Kings of the Indies, on this side the Ganges, send to the Sheck of Mecha, with their Presents come by Sea, to Mocha, a Maritime City of Arabia Felix, and from thence they travel to Mecha by Land, by the conveniency of Camels.

The Persians, who inhabit all along the Sea-side make their descent from Ormus, or to Bandar, and having pass'd over the Gulf, which, at that place, is not above twelve or thirteen Leagues in breadth, are forc'd to cross Arabia ere they can get to the Pro∣phet's

City. But the Inhabitants of the upper-parts of Persia, towards the Caspian Sea, and all the Tartars, come to Tauris, and from Tauris to Aleppo, from which place, the great Caravans, which take their progress through the Desarts, set forth, and bring the Pilgrims to Mecha. Some take the way of Babylon, but very seldom, because the Bassa exacts a Tribute of them, and particularly of the Persians, whom they account Hereticks; and that consideration has oblig'd the King of Persia, to for∣bid his Subjects to take that Rode, thinking himself not inferiour to the Turk.

Some of the Devouter sort of Persians, and such as are most zealous for their own * 1.172 Sect, take the way of Babylon, upon this score, that it brings them at the same time to the Sepulchre of their Prophet Hali, which is but eight days Journey distant from it. This is the most wretched place, of all the places upon earth, and affords no wa∣ter but the most corrupted water, which is drawn out of certain Pits, and that of a Canal, which Schach-Abas caus'd to be brought thither from the Euphrates, but which is now quite out of repair. Whoever expects to drink good water there, must bring it along with him, from other places, from other places, five or six days Journey di∣stant from the other: And yet that false Prophet imposes on those, who have such a Devotion for him, not only the inconveniences of coming so far off; but also those of being in a fair way to perish by thirst, and hardship of lodging.

The last time it was my fortune to pass through the Desarts, I came to that dete∣stable place upon this occasion, that meeting with a Courrier, who was come from Babylon, with two Arabians, whom he had in his Company, he gave us intelligence, that the Grand Seignor's Forces, which had then newly taken Babylon, were upon their march back, in little Detachments, and that there was no question to be made, but they would seize on our Camels and Baggage. Which advertisements oblig'd us to take our course more to the South, and to get further into the Desert, where we spent sixty and five days in the crossing of it, to avoid meeting with those For∣ces.

As for the Princes of Arabia, they have no great Journey to make, because they are the next neighbours to Mahomet's Sepulchre.

The Mahumetans of Europe come to Aleppo, and there joyn the Caravan; and those of Africa pass to Grand Cairo, and meet in the Desarts, with the same Caravan of * 1.173 Aleppo at eighteen days journey from Medina, where there is a water, which goes by a Canal, quite to that City, all the way of those eighteen days journey. They have it by Tradition, That that water was found by their Prophet Mahomet, as he cross'd the Desert with his Army, ready to dy for thirst, and that going to drink of it first of any, there issued a Voice to him out of the Water, which said to him, Prophet, thou wilt find it bitter: That he made the Voice this Answer, Let us all drink of it, for I know it is sweet, and I would to God, that we could always find as good. That there∣upon the Voice replying the second time, said to him, Prophet, Command, and I will follow thee: And that as soon as he had spoken, the Water made a Canal under ground, and follow'd him quite to Medina.

From Damas, Hierusalem, and Cairo, they account forty days Journey to Medina, and it is at the two and twentieth day's journey that they find that water. 'Tis part∣ly to see that miraculous Water, which had been sweetned by the Prophet, that there goes into those places so great a concourse of People, of so many different Nations, from all parts of the World: in as much as there is no Mahumetan, let him be at ever so great a distance, and but tolerably in a condition of health, and supply'd with the external accommodations of fortune, who does not think himself oblig'd to go once in his life to Mecha, in person, or to send some other in his stead.

After the Pilgrims have continu'd certain daies at Medina, they go to Gebel-Araffa, that is to say, the place, where Adam found Eve, his Wife, five hundred years, after God had created her. It is a City in the Mountains, at the distance of Two Dayes Journey from Medina, and at one from Emena, another City, which is half way be∣tween

both. Assoon as the Pilgrims are come thither, all those who are so well fur∣nish'd, buy a Weather to make a Holocaust of it, and to distribute it amongst the poor, they being not allow'd to keep above two pounds of it, for themselves. If they do not punctually observe that, and that some discovery should be made thereof, they are made incapable, ever after, while they live, of shaving their Heads, or paring their Nails.

From Gebel-Araffa, they return to Medina, where they keep an account of the time, when the Caravan arrived there; in regard that all the Pilgrims, who came by Land, are, as I said elsewhere, maintain'd with sustenance for the space of Se∣venteen dayes; but they who come by Sea are sustain'd, as long as they continue there, even though they should make it the place of their abode, as long as they live.

FINIS.

Notes

• * 1.1

  What Money current in Tur∣key.
• * 1.2

  The Gold brought to Cai∣ro and coin'd there.
• * 1.3

  The sincerity of the Abyssines.
• * 1.4

  The Trade dri∣ven in the five Sols-pieces.
• * 1.5

  The jealousie of the other Mer∣chants.
• * 1.6

  A mischievous fraud gently punished.
• * 1.7

  The ancient sincerity of the Turks corrupt∣ed by the com∣merce of the Europaeans.
• * 1.8

  The origins of the word Sera∣glio, common to all the Royal Houses in Tur∣key and Persia.
• * 1.9

  The admirable situation of the Seraglio of Con∣stantinople.
• * 1.10

  Its extent, fi∣gure, and exte∣nals.
• * 1.11

  The Artillery out of order, and the Gun∣ners not well skill'd.
• * 1.12

  A pleasant abode, but re∣straint makes it otherwise.
• * 1.13

  The Regulati∣ons of the Infir∣mary of the Se∣raglio.
• * 1.14

  The difficulty of getting wine into the Infir∣mary.
• * 1.15

  The subtilty of some persons to be receiv'd in, though not sick.
• * 1.16

  The fruitless en∣deavours us'd to check its course.
• * 1.17

  Absminable ex∣cess over all the East.
• * 1.18

  The Sacrilegi∣ous action of two Pages.
• * 1.19

  The Wood-Pi of the Straglio.
• * 1.20

  The great profit of such as have the Charge thereof.
• * 1.21

  The Exercise of the Girit.
• * 1.22

  The Grand Seignors libera∣lities.
• * 1.23

  The counterfeit modesty of the Grandees of the Port.
• * 1.24

  The Janizaries well order'd.
• * 1.25

  The number of the Kitchins.
• * 1.26

  The ordinary meats serv'd up in the Serag∣lio.
• * 1.27

  The way of or∣dering the Pi∣lau.
• * 1.28

  A particular way of roasting in the Levant.
• * 1.29

  The Turks have an aversion for the Hare.
• * 1.30

  Conserves.
• * 1.31

  Several compo∣sitions of Sherbet.
• * 1.32

  Receptacles for the Waters of the Seraglio.
• * 1.33

  The little Sta∣bles.
• * 1.34

  The Divan-Hall not very Mag∣nificent.
• * 1.35

  Council-days.
• * 1.36

  Causes soon de∣cided.
• * 1.37

  The Reasons of that Expediti∣on of Justice.
• * 1.38

  The care taken to prevent the revolt of the Janizaries.
• * 1.39

  How the Grand Seignor is pre∣sent at the Di∣van.
• * 1.40

  The bold action of a Timer-Spahi, who kills a Grand Vizir, and is pardon'd.
• * 1.41

  How Sultan Amurat disco∣ver'd a secret breach of trust.
• * 1.42

  A severe, but just Punishment.
• * 1.43

  At what time, how, the Grand Seignor rids out of the way, those, whom he suspects.
• * 1.44

  The days on which Ambas∣sadors come to the Divan.
• * 1.45

  The Ichoglans kept under a se∣vere discipline.
• * 1.46

  The wretched condition of the Bassa's Children.
• * 1.47

  The Classes through which the Lads brought into the Seraglio are to pass.
• * 1.48

  The Quarters of the Four principal Eunuchs.
• * 1.49

  The Hall of Audience de∣scribed.
• * 1.50

  The Grand Seignor's Throne.
• * 1.51

  The manner of receiving the Ambassadors.
• * 1.52

  Remarks on the number of Vests, which the Grand Seignor orders to be gi∣ven the Am∣bassadors of Christian Princes.
• * 1.53

  The Form of the Oath of Allegiance made by the Cham of the Lesser Tartary to the Grand Seignor.
• * 1.54

  The prodigious strength of Body of a certain Ichoglan.
• * 1.55

  The Mosquey belonging to the Appartment of the Eunuchs.
• * 1.56

  The Employ∣ment of the Dwarfs and Mutes.
• * 1.57

  Colours forbid∣den the Christi∣ans in their Coissure.
• * 1.58

  The description of the Baths.
• * 1.59

  Abuses reform'd.
• * 1.60

  why the Le∣vantines do not use Paper un∣decently.
• * 1.61

  The Persians more scrupulous than the Turks.
• * 1.62

  They are great lovers of clean∣〈…〉〈…〉
• * 1.63

  Chambers very divertive and Commo∣dious.
• * 1.64

  Mahomet's Prohibition to be seen naked.
• * 1.65

  An Earth that takes off hair, and its dange∣rous Effects.
• * 1.66

  Noble Relicks of Antiquity.
• * 1.67

  The Turks have an aversion for Figures repre∣senting Man or Beast.
• * 1.68

  The Chambers of the Treasury and their Wealth.
• * 1.69

  The Blood of the Bassa's one of the Rivers that fall into the Sea of the Treasury.
• * 1.70

  The use of Aloes wood used in Turkey.
• * 1.71

  Basins of a more commodious fashion than ours.
• * 1.72

  Tapers of a kind of Wax of great value.
• * 1.73

  An inestimable Coffer of all sorts of precious Stones.
• * 1.74

  Precautions and Ceremonies ob∣serv'd at the opening of the Treasury.
• * 1.75

  Rich Tapistry, wherein Charles the Fifth is repre∣sented.
• * 1.76

  A remarkable Story of the Bass a Rustan.
• * 1.77

  The Heroick Sentiment of a Turk.
• * 1.78

  The principal Sources of the Wealth of the Empire.
• * 1.79

  The Revenues of Egypt how employ'd.
• * 1.80

  A Vault under ground, into which few have access.
• * 1.81

  The great fruga∣lity of the Em∣perour Amu∣rat.
• * 1.82

  Ibrahim charg'd with ill management of the Treasury.
• * 1.83

  The Grand Seignor's Pre∣cautions for the security of his Treasury.
• * 1.84

  His Liberali∣ties to the Grandees of the Port.
• * 1.85

  The Bassa's Presents to the Grand Seig∣nor, upon their advancements.
• * 1.86

  The hazardous Trade of the Jews.
• * 1.87

  The extraordi∣nary Wealth of the Bassa's.
• * 1.88

  The Bassa's Goods brought into the Sera∣glio.
• * 1.89

  The great ad∣vantages of the Chasnadar-bachi, and the Pages of the Treasury.
• * 1.90

  The prohibition to lend at In∣terest.
• * 1.91

  The Persians ill Casuists.
• * 1.92

  The Ceremonies attending the Presents sent by the Grand Seignor to those whom he would honour.
• * 1.93

  The particular way us'd by Mahomet IV. to shew himself liberal, without any Charge.
• * 1.94

  Formalities ob∣serv'd at the death of the Bassa's, who are strangled by the Prince's Orders.
• * 1.95

  When and how they strike of the Head in Turkey.
• * 1.96

  A Prohibition against shed∣ding the blood of the Mahu∣metans who are condemn'd to death.
• * 1.97

  The Inventories of the Goods of Bassa's de∣ceas'd, not faith∣fully taken.
• * 1.98

  The Causes in∣ducing the Turks to defie Diath with so much constancy.
• * 1.99

  The Difficulties of making an Escape out of Turkey.
• * 1.100

  Presents made to the Sultanes∣ses.
• * 1.101

  The third part of the Revenue of Egypt, how employ'd.
• * 1.102

  The great Wealth of the Sheck of Mecha.
• * 1.103

  Ceremonies ob∣serv'd at Ma∣homet's Tomb.
• * 1.104

  The Caravan of Cairo.
• * 1.105

  The Present sent from Mecha to the Great Mo∣gul.
• * 1.106

  The Ancient Custome pra∣ctis'd when the Grand Seignor drinks between Meals.
• * 1.107

  A way to quench thirst at meals, wholly particular to the Levantines.
• * 1.108

  The Composition of Treacle.
• * 1.109

  A stately ser∣vice of Gold Plate.
• * 1.110

  Beds according to the Turkish mode.
• * 1.111

  Wayes to satis∣fie the necessities of Nature dif∣ferent from ours.
• * 1.112

  The Causes of the abominable Sin committed by the Turks who are con∣fin'd within the Seraglio.
• * 1.113

  Magnificent Chambers.
• * 1.114

  The ordinary Revenues of the Grand Falco∣ner.
• * 1.115

  The Magnifi∣cence of the Ottoman Prin∣ces in relation to Hunting and Hawking.
• * 1.116

  Birds supplying the place of Dogs, in run∣ning down a Deer, or Hare.
• * 1.117

  The Seligdar-Aga's Chamber, who carries the Grand Seignor's word.
• * 1.118

  The excellent order observ'd in the Seraglio.
• * 1.119

  The Chamber of the Forty Pages.
• * 1.120

  A noble Monu∣ment of Amu∣rath's Valour.
• * 1.121

  The scituation of the Mosques in Turkey.
• * 1.122

  The Ceremonies of their Devo∣tions.
• * 1.123

  A magnificent Winter-Cham∣ber.
• * 1.124

  Mahomet's Mysterious Seal.
• * 1.125

  The great Su∣perstition of the Turks.
• * 1.126

  A ridiculous and covetous knack of Devo∣tion.
• * 1.127

  The Relicks of Omar.
• * 1.128

  A ridiculous Sect.
• * 1.129

  The Grand Seignor's Quarter.
• * 1.130

  Amurath's Belvedere.
• * 1.131

  The Excellent Wines of Te∣nedos.
• * 1.132

  Persidiousness punish'd.
• * 1.133

  The Fortune of a beautiful Sicilian Lady.
• * 1.134

  The Grand Seignor's Bed-Chamber.
• * 1.135

  The ancient Veneration for Mahomet's Standard.
• * 1.136

  A word further of the Prince's Appartment.
• * 1.137

  Inclinations common to the Eastern Mo∣narchs.
• * 1.138

  The Seraglio, a place delicious to one single person, and in∣commodious to many.
• * 1.139

  The Mahume∣tans zealous observers of the Law.
• * 1.140

  The regulated times of their Devotions.
• * 1.141

  Their servour in acts of De∣votion.
• * 1.142

  The Grand Seignor's ordi∣nary Employ∣ments.
• * 1.143

  The Services of his Table.
• * 1.144

  The Sultan, when oblig'd to go, in Cere∣mony, to the Mosquey.
• * 1.145

  The wicked contrivances of the Moufti, to get Money.
• * 1.146

  The present State of the Ottoman Family.
• * 1.147

  An extraordi∣nary Example of a Father and Son succes∣sively Grand Vizirs.
• * 1.148

  The Pourtrai∣ture of Maho∣met IV. the present Prince.
• * 1.149

  The ancient Custome of the Greek Empe∣rours, to live by their handy-work.
• * 1.150

  The Sultan is cunningly re∣veng'd of the Moufti.
• * 1.151

  The impossibili∣ty of having an exact account of the Womens Appartment,
• * 1.152

  The Commerce between the Jewesses and the Sultanesses.
• * 1.153

  The doleful Sto∣ry of Two Fa∣mous Wrestlers.
• * 1.154

  Amurath's great Severity.
• * 1.155

  How to distin∣guish what's true, and what fabulous, as to the Sultanesies.
• * 1.156

  A strange Sto∣ry of an old Woman.
• * 1.157

  Polygamy pre∣judicial to propagation.
• * 1.158

  The Secrecy of the Grand Seignor's Amours.
• * 1.159

  The Order of the March.
• * 1.160

  The wealth of the Favourite.
• * 1.161

  The Sultanesses Coaches.
• * 1.162

  The Revenues of the Gardens, how employed.
• * 1.163

  Cucumbers a great delicacy amongst the Levantines.
• * 1.164

  A Pyramid; much resembling Trajan's Pillar.
• * 1.165

  Fountains,
• * 1.166

  The Gardiners
• * 1.167

  General Laws for all the Ma∣humetan Sects.
• * 1.168

  A curious Re∣mark of the Emperour of Java's Son.
• * 1.169

  Kings following the Doctrine of Hali.
• * 1.170

  The Great Mo∣gul's Royal sent to Mecha.
• * 1.171

  The several ways whereby the Mahume∣tans come to the Sepulchre of their Prophet.
• * 1.172

  Troublesome Iresarts in the way to Hali's Sepulchre.
• * 1.173

  A Miraculous Canal of water of the length of 18 days jour∣ney.