SIR,
SIR,
AsI promised you, at parting, to give you a full Account of my Journey toConstantinople, so, I shall now make good my Word; and I hope, with Advantage too. For, I shall also acquaint you with my Adventures in my Travel toAmasia, as well as That toConstantinople, theformerbeing less used, and consequently far less known, than thelatter. My Design herein, is, to allow you a Part of the Solace, of what happened pleasurable to me; for so the ancient Friendship betwixt us obliges me, to appropriate no Joy to myself, without communicating the same to you; but, as for what happened incommodious to me, (as, in so long and tedious a Journey, some Things must needs do) those I take to my self; neither would I have you concerned in them at all; for, the Danger being now past, the more grievous they were to suffer, the more pleasant will they be, even to myself, to remember and commit to Writing.
Uponthe Receipt of his Letter,Ferdinandwas at a stand; he did not fully believe, nor yet altogether disbelieve him; he was inclined to suspect, that the Memory of hisformerSufferings, and the Fear offuture ones, did deter him from that Employment, rather than the Danger of his Disease; and yet, on the other side, he did not think it creditable for himself to employ a Man that had so well deserved of him and of the Commonwealth, in any Service against his Will. But the Death ofMalvezius, which followed a few Months after, did sufficiently convince him, that his Disease was not pretended, to decline the Employment, but was really a Mortal one.
Uponthis, I was substituted in the Place ofMalvezius: But, being unexperienced (as I said before) in the Affairs and Manners of theTurks, KingFerdinandthought it adviseable for me to bestow a Visit uponMalveziusin his Sickness, that so, by his Directions and Advice, I might be better cautioned and armed against any Impositions of the captiousTurks. Two Days I staid with him, which was as much as the straitness of my Time would permit; and I husbanded them so well, as to be informed by him, what I was to act, and what to avoid, in my daily Convention with theTurks.
Whereupon, I posted back toVienna, and began, with great Application and Diligence, to prepare Necessaries for my Journey. But such was the Flush of Business, and so little the Time allowed to dispatch it, that, when the Day fixt for my Departure came, though the King did earnestly press me forward, and I had been extremely Busy all the Day in equipping myself, and in causing Bag and Baggage to be pack’d up, even from the fourth Watch; yet it was the first Watch of thefollowing Night, before I could be quite ready; but then the Gates ofVienna, which at that time of Night us’d always to be shut, were opened on purpose for me. The Emperor went abroad a Hunting that Day, but he told his Followers, That he did not doubt but that I would be upon my Way, before he returned from his Sport in the Evening, and it fell out accordingly; yet so, that I was but just gone before he came Home.
Ateleven o’Clock at Night, we came toFiciminum, a Town inHungary, four Miles fromVienna; there we Supp’d, for our haste was so great that we came Supperless out of Town; from thence we travelled towardsComora. The Emperor, among the rest of his Commands, had enjoin’d me to take along with me toBuda, onePaul PalinaifromComora, a Man well acquainted with the Rapins and Depredations of theTurks, and so was best able to assist me in my Expostulations with the Bashaw ofBuda, and in my Demands for satisfaction of Injuries received. But he, not in the least suspecting that my departure would have been so punctual at the Day appointed, had not yet stirred from his own House, and there was no Body could tell when he would come; which uncertainty troubled me very much. I acquainted KingFerdinandtherewith by Letter, and all the next Day stayed atComoraexpecting his coming.
Butthe third Day, I passed over the RiverVaga, and prosecuted my Journey towardsGran, the first Garrison of theTurksI came to inHungary. Col.John Pax, Governor ofComorahad sent sixteen Horse with me (of those that theHungarianscallHussars) to be my Guard; and he had given them a Charge not to leave me, till they came in sight of theTurkishConvoy; for the Governor ofGranhad signified to me, that his Soldiers should meetme half way. We travelled about three Hours through a vast Plain, when, behold! there appeared afar off fourTurkishHorse; and yet, notwithstanding, myHungarianGuard accompanied me still, till I desired them to retire; for I was afraid that if they should come up to theTurks, some troublesome Bickering would have intervened betwixt them.
Assoon as theTurkssaw me to draw near, they rode up to me, and saluted me by my Coach side: thus we passed on a while together, discoursing interchangeably one with another, (for I had a little Youth for my Interpreter.) I expected no other Convoy, but when we descended into a low Valley, I saw my self on a sudden, surrounded with a Party of about a hundred and fifty Horse. It was a very pleasant Spectacle to a Man, unaccustomed to see such Sights, for their Bucklers and Spears were curiously Painted, their Sword-handles bedeck’d with Jewels, their Plumes of Feathers party-coloured, and the Coverings of their Heads were twisted with round Windings as white as Snow; their Apparel was Purple-coloured, or at least a dark Blue; they rode upon stately Praunsers, adorn’d with most beautiful Trappings. Their Commanders came up to me, and after friendly Salutation they bid me Welcome; and asked me, How I had fared on my Journey? I answer’d them as I thought fit; and thus they led me toGran, for so the Castle is called, situate on an Hill, whose Foot is washed by theDanow, with a Town adjoining, built in a Plain. I retired into the Town, the Arch-bishop whereof is Primate ofHungary, and for Dignity, Authority and Opulency, is inferior to no Nobleman of that Kingdom.
HereI was entertained, not after a Courtly, but after a Military manner; for instead of Beds, they spread abroad course shaggy Rugs of Tapestry upon hard Boards; there were no Bed-ticks norSheets: Here my Family had the first taste ofTurkishDelights (forsooth;) as for my self, I fared better, for my Bed was carried along with me wheresoever I went.
TheDay after my Arrival, theSanziacof the Place (for so theTurkscall a Governor, because aSanziac(i. e.) a gilded brass Ball, is carried before him on the top of a Spear, as a Cornet to a Troop of Horse) was very earnest to speak with me; and tho’ I had no Letter, nor any other Command to deliver to him, yet such was his importunity, that go I must. And when I came, I found he had no Business with me, but only to see and salute me, and to ask me something of my Errand; and thus, exhorting me to promote a Peace, he wish’d me a happy Journey. In my Passage, I admir’d to hear the croaking of Frogs in such a cold Season of the Year as the Month ofDecember; the cause was, the Waters stagnant in those Places are made warm by sulphureous Exhalations.
LeavingGran, I went towardsBuda; but to be sure, I took my Breakfast before-hand, which was likely to be my Dinner also; for there was no Place to bait at before I came toBuda. TheSanziac, or Governor of the Place, with all his Family, together with the Horse which he Commanded, came out of the Town with me, to bring me on my Way: I could by no means persuade him to omit this Office of Respect. The Horse, as soon as they came out of the Gates, began to shew me some sport, curvetting and discharging one against another; they threw their Bonnets on the Ground, and Galloping their Horses with full speed, by them, they took them up by the Points of their Spears; and many such Ludicrous Pranks did they perform. Amongst the rest of them, there was aTartar, who had thick Bushy Hair hanging down over hisShoulders; they told me, that he always went bare Headed, and would never have any other Fence for his Head, either against the Violence of the Weather, or the Hazard of a Battle, but his own Hair. TheSanziac, after he had accompanied me as far as he pleased, returned Home, but not before we had taken our Leaves of one another, and he had left some Guides for my Journey, in my Retinue.
WhenI drew near toBuda, a fewTurkish Chiaux’s met me on the Way, (they are in the Nature of Pursuivants, or Serjeants at Arms, to carry about the Commands of the Grand Seignior, or his Bashaw’s, and are Officers of great Esteem in that Nation) by them, I was brought to lodge in the House of a Citizen, who was anHungarian, where my Baggage, Coach and Horses, was better provided for, than myself; for theTurkstake special Care that Horses, with their Equipage, be well accommodated; as for the Men, if they have but an House over their Heads to shelter them from the Weather, they think they may shift well enough for themselves. The Bashaw ofBudasent one to visit me, and bid me welcome, his Name wasTuigon, (which inTurkish, signifies a Stork) by him he excused himself to me, that he could not admit me into his Presence for some Days, because of a grievous Disease he laboured under; but as soon as ever he recovered a little Strength, he said, he would wait upon me. This Delay was the Occasion, that the aforementioned Absence ofPalinaiwas less prejudicial to me, than otherwise it would have been, (to say no more) for he used great Diligence to Post after, lest he might come too late, and accordingly he overtook me a little while after.
Iwas detained atBudaa long Time, by reason of the Sickness of the Bashaw; ’twas thought hisDisease was Grief, which he had conceived for the Loss of a great Sum of Money, which was stolen from the Place in which he had hid it, for he was commonly reported to be a Penurious and Sordid-spirited Man. When he heard, that I had brought the HeerWilliam Quacquelbenwith me, a great Philosopher, and an excellent Physician too, he earnestly intreated me, that he might give him a Visit to administer some Physick to him, in order to his Cure. I easily granted his Request, but soon after, was almost ready to repent of my Facility: For the Bashaw grew worse and worse, and, ’twas thought, he would not have recovered; so that I was afraid, if he had died, theTurkswould say, my Physician had kill’d him, and by that means, the good Man might have run a great Hazard, and I myself also might have born Part of the Infamy, as being accessary thereunto; but it pleased God to free me from this Anxiety, by restoring the Bashaw to his Health.
’TwasatBudaI got the first Sight of theJanizaries, so theTurkscall the Prætorian Foot; their Number, when it is fullest, is twelve Thousand, and their Prince disperses them all over his Dominions, either to Garrison his Forts against an Enemy, or to be a Safeguard toChristiansandJews, against the injurious Rage of the Multitude; for there is no well Inhabited Village, Town, or City, wherein there are not some or other of theseJanizarias, to protectChristians,Jews, and other helpless Persons, from the Fury of the Rabble. The Castle ofBudais always Garrison’d by them; their Habit is a long Garment down to their Ankles, upon their Heads they wear the Sleeve of a Coat, or Cloak (for from thence, as they say, the Pattern was drawn) their Head is put into part of it, and part of it hangs down behind, flapping upon theirShoulders; in the Front, or Fore-part of it, there ariseth a Silver-Cone, somewhat long, gilt over with Gold, and wrought with Jewels, but they were of an ordinary Sort. TheseJanizariesusually came to me by Couples; when they were admitted into my Dining-Room, they bowed down their Heads and made Obeisance, and presently they ran hastily to me, and touched either my Garment, or my Hand, as if they would have kissed it; and then forced upon me a Bundle, or Nosegay ofHyacinthsorNarcissus’s, and presently they retired backward, with equal Speed, to the Door, that so they might not turn their Backs upon me, (for that is accounted undecent, by the Rules of their Order) when they came to the Door, there they stood, with a great deal of Modesty and Silence, with their Hands upon their Breasts, and fixing their Eyes upon the Ground, so that they seemed more likeourMonks, thantheirSoldiers. But when I had given them some Cash (which was the only Thing they aimed at) they bowed their Heads again, and giving me Thanks with a loud Voice, they wished me all happiness, and departed. The Truth is, unless I had been told before, they wereJanizaries, I should have thought them to have been a kind ofTurkishMonks, or Fellows of some College or other amongst them. Yet these are theJanizariesthat carry such a Terror with them wheresoever they come.
SomeTurkssupp’d with me often atBuda, and were mightily taken with the delicious sweetness of my Wine: It is a Liquor that they have but little of inTurkey, and therefore, they more greedily desire it, and drink it more profusely, when once they come where it is. They continued Carousing till late at Night, but afterwards I grew weary of the Sport, and therefore rose fromTable, and went to my Chamber; but as for Them, they went away sad, because they had not their full Swing at the Goblet, but were able to stand upon their Feet. As soon as I was gone, they sent a Youth after me, desiring me to let them have their Fill of Wine, and that I would lend them my Silver Cups to drink it in; for they were willing, by my Leave, to sit at it all Night in some Corner or other of the House. I granted their Request, and ordered so much Wine to be given them, as they desired, with Bowls to drink it in. Being thus accommodated, they tippled it out so long, till they were even Dead-drunk, and tumbling down, lay fast asleep upon the Ground. You must know, that it is a great Crime inTurkeyto drink Wine, especially for those who are well stricken in Years; as for the Younger Sort, they think the Offence to be more Venial, and therefore more excusable in them. But seeing they expect no less Punishment, after Death, for drinking a little Wine, than if they drank ever so much, when once they have tasted of that Liquor, they go on to drink more and more; for having once incurr’d the Penalty of their Law, now, they think, they may Singratis, and account Drunkenness as a Matter of Gain. This Opinion, and others more absurd than This, do theTurkshold concerning Wine, of which, I will give you a remarkable Instance: I saw an Old Man atConstantinople, who, after he had taken a Cup of Wine in his Hand to Drink, us’d first to make a hideous Noise; I asked his Friends, Why he did so? They answered me, that, by this Outcry, he did, as it were, warn his Soul to retire into some secret Corner of his Body, or else, wholly to Emigrate, and pass out of it, that she might not be guilty of that Sinwhich he was about to commit, nor be defiled with the Wine that he was to guzzle down.
Butto return toBuda.
’Twouldbe too tedious for me to give you a large Description of this Place, and it were a Task fitter for one that writes a Book, than a Letter; yet not to be wholly silent,Budalies in a pleasant Place, and in a very fruitful Country, it is extended all along the Brow of an Hill, so that on one Side it borders on a rising Ground, abounding with choice Vineyards, and on the other Side, it is water’d by the RiverDanow, running by it, and beyond theDanow, there is the Town ofPest, and a large Campain adjoining, both which Prospects are in View ofBuda, so that this Place seems naturally designed for the Metropolis ofHungary. It was antiently adorned with many stately Palaces, belonging to the Nobles ofHungary; but those goodly Piles are now either quite fallen to the Ground, or else have many Props to support them from tumbling down; they are Inhabited mostly by theTurkishSoldiers, whose daily Pay being but enough to support them, they have no over-plus to lay out in Tyling, or Repairing, such large Structures; and therefore they do not much regard, whether it Rains through the Roof, or whether the Walls be full of Clefts, provided they have a dry Place to set their Horses, and their own Beds in; the upper Part they think concerns them not, so that they make a great Part of the upper Stories to be Inhabited by Weazels and Mice.
Besides, ’tis a Piece of Religion inTurkey, not to covet magnificent Buildings; for (say they) ’tis a Sign of a Proud, Lofty, and aspiring Mind, to covet Sumptuous Houses, as if so frail a Creature as Man, did promise a kind of Immortality, and an everlasting Habitation to himself in this Life;when alas! we are but Pilgrims here, and therefore, ought to use our Dwellings, as Travellers do their Inns, wherein if they are secured from Thieves, Cold, Heat, and Rain, they seek not for any other Conveniences. So that all overTurkeyyou will hardly find a stately House, tho’ the Owner of it be never so Great, or Rich a Man; the Commonalty of them live in Huts and Cottages; the Nobles are for handsome Orchards, Gardens and Baths; but as for their Houses, tho’ the numerousness of their Families require large Ones, yet they have no handsome Gate-houses, or Porches belonging to them; nor Court-yards, nor any thing else Magnificent, or worthy of any Admiration. Herein they resemble theHungarians, for exceptBuda, and (perhaps)Presburgh, there is scarce any City inHungary, that you can call well Built. This Custom I suppose, they derived from their Ancestors, for they being a People given to Camp-discipline and therein trained, did not care a rush for Building great Houses, but looked upon their Towns only as temporary Habitations, which they were about to leave.
Moreover, whilst I was atBuda, I was very much taken with the sight of a strange kind of Fountain that is without the Gate of the Town, in the way leading toConstantinople, the Water whereof at top was boiling hot, and yet in the bottom there were Fishes playing up and down; so that you would think, they must needs be throughly boiled, before you could take them out.
’Twasthe 7th, ofDecember, before the Bashaw was so well recovered as to admit me to his Presence; and then, after I had sweetned him with some Presents, I made my Complaint to him of the Insolency and Ravagings of theTurkishSoldiers; and demanded Restitution of what they had wrongfullytaken away, contrary to the express of the Truce made, and which he himself, in his Letter toFerdinand, had promised him satisfaction for, if he pleased to send an Envoy toBuda. But he, like a cunning Gamester, made as many Complaints of the Injuries and Losses They had sustained by Our Soldiers: And as for his Promise to restore the Places they had wrongfully seized and taken away from the Emperor; he eluded it, by sheltring himself under this Dilemma:Either I made a Promise, or I did not; if I made no Promise, then you can demand nothing of me: If I did make a Promise, I know Sir, you are a Person of that Understanding as not to conceive, that I can, or will perform it; for I am sent hither by my Master to Enlarge, not to diminish the Bounds of his Empire; so that I must by no means make his Condition worse than it was: ’tis my Master’s Business (Sir) not Mine; what you have to say on this Head, pray propound it to him when you come toConstantinople. To be short Sir, you know I am but newly Recovered, and therefore am not in a Condition to maintain any further Discourse. When this course Compliment was put upon me, I thought ’twas time to be gone, neither could I get any thing else from him, only a Truce, till the Grand Seignior’s Mind was known.
Iobserved, that when I was introduced to the Bashaw, they observed the oldRomanCustom of crying aloud,Welcome, Welcome: and so wishing an happy Issue to my Negotiation. I observed also, that theTurkscount the left Hand to be most Honourable in some particular Cases; the Reason they give is, because the Sword is worn on that side, and he that is on the right Hand has, as it were, the Command of the Sword of him that is at his Left, whereas his Own is free.
Mattersbeing thus composed atBuda, as well as we could, my CompanionPalianireturned to the Emperor; but I for my part, shipp’d my Horses, Coaches, and all my Family on some Vessels, prepared for me on theDanow, and so passed down the Stream toBelgrade; this was a shorter cut, and also more secure; for my Journey by Land toBelgrade, would at that Time have cost me at least twelve Days, especially, having such a deal of heavy Baggage with me; and besides, we had been in danger to be Robb’d by theHeyduc’s, so theHungarianscall a sort of plundering Thieves and Robbers; but upon the Water there was no fear at all of them; and besides, we compassed our Journey in five Days. The Vessel in which I was, was drawn along by a lesser Pinnace, in which there were twenty-four Oars; the other Vessels had but two large Oars a-piece. The Mariners rowed Night and Day without any Intermission, excepting only a few Hours that the poor Souls borrow’d to Sleep and Eat in. In my Passage down the River, I could not but observe the venturousness, not to say temerity of theTurks, who were not afraid to Sail on in the mistiest Weather and darkest Night, and when the Wind blew very hard too; and besides, there were many Water-mills, with several Trunks and Boughs of Trees hanging over the Banks, which made our Passage very Dangerous; so that some times our Vessel, by the boisterousness of the Wind, was driven to the Bank, and there dash’d against old stumps of Trees hanging over, so that it was like to split; this is certain, that she lost some Planks out of her Hulk, which made a terrible crack and noise when they were loosed therefrom. This noise awak’d me; leaping out of my Bed, I advis’d the Mariners to be more cautious: they lift up their Voices, and gave me no other AnswerthanAlaure, i. e.God will help, and so I might go to Bed again, if I would.
Tho’we speed pretty well, yet I am apt to believe, that at one Time or other, such Dangerous Sailing will be fatal to some Passengers. In our Passage, I sawTolna, a handsome Town inHungary; I cannot forbear to mention it, because there we had very good White-wine, and, besides the Inhabitants were very Courteous to us. Moreover, we passed in sight of the Castle ofWalpot, seated on an Hill, and of other Castles and Towns besides; we saw also, where the RiverDrave, on the one side, and theTibiscus, orTaise, on the other, made their Influx into theDanow. As forBelgradeitself, it is seated at the confluence of theSaveand theDanow; the old City is built in the extreme Angel of the Promontory, the Building is old, it is fortified with many Towers, and a double Wall: Two parts of it are wash’d by theSave, and theDanow, but on that part where it is joined to the Land, it hath a very strong Castle on high Ground, consisting of many loftly Turrets made of square Stone; before you come into the City, there is a vast Number of Buildings, and very large Suburbs, wherein several Nations inhabit,viz.Turks,Greeks,Jews,Hungarians,Dalmatians, and many others. For you must know that ordinarily over all theTurkishDominions, the Suburbs are larger than the Towns, but take them both together, they give the resemblance of large Cities: ’Twas at this Town, that I first met with some ancient Coins, wherein, as you know, I take a great delight, and my Physician aforesaid, Dr.Quackquelben, fitted me to an Hair, as we say, for he was as much addicted to those Studies as myself. I found a great many Pieces, which on one side represented aRomanSoldier, placed between a Bull and a Horse,(for ’tis known, that the Legions of upperMæsiadid anciently encamp hereabouts) with this Inscription,Taurunum. This City, in the memory of our Grandfathers, was twice violently assaulted by theTurks, first, underAlmurath; next underMahomet, who tookConstantinople; but theHungarians, under the Banner of the Cross, made such a vigorous Defence, that theBarbarianswere beaten off with a great deal of Loss. But at last, in the Year 1520.Solomon, in the beginning of his Reign, came before it with a vast Army, and finding it, either by the neglect of young KingLudovicus, or by the Discords of the factiousHungarianNobles, destitute of a Garrison able to defend it, he took that opportunity to assault it, and so easily became Master thereof. And that Door being once opened, anIliadof Miseries broke in upon poorHungary, of which she is sadly Sensible to this Day; for this Pass being gained, there followed the Slaughter of KingLewis Ludovicus, the taking ofBuda, the inslaving ofTransilvania, and a flourishing Kingdom, hereby brought under the Yoke, not without a Terror struck into the Neighbouring Nations, least they also should partake of the same Calamities; by which Example, Christian Princes may take warning, never to think their Frontier Towns and Castles to be strong enough, nor sufficiently provided against so potent an Enemy as theTurk. For the Truth is, theOttomansare herein not unlike to great Rivers, whose Swelling Waves, if they break down any part of the Bank or Jitty, that keeps them in, spread far and near, and do abundance of Mischief; so theTurks, but far more perniciously, having once broke through the Obstacles that stopt them, make a vast spoil where-ever they come. But to return toBelgrade, that I may prosecute the rest of my Journey toConstantinople.
AfterI had provided myself in that City of all Things necessary for a Land Journey, I leftSemandria, heretofore a Town or Castle, of the despots ofServia, on the left side of theDanow; from whence we Journied towardsNissa. In our way thither, theTurksshewed us, from the higher Grounds, the Mountains ofTransilvania, with Snowey Tops, but at a great Distance from us, and moreover, they pointed with their Fingers, were the Ruins ofTrajansBridge were: After we had past the River calledMorava, we came to a Town of theServians, namedJagodna; there I observed the Funeral Rites of that Country, which differ very much from ours, as you may find by this Relation following.
Thedead Body was placed in a Temple, with the Face uncovered; near it were laid Victuals, as Bread, Flesh, and a Flagon of Wine: The Wife and Daughter of the Deceased stood by, in their best Apparel; the Daughter’s Hat was made of Peacocks Feathers. The last Boon that the Wife bestowed on her dead Husband, was a Purple Bonnet, such as noble Virgins us’d to wear in that Country. Then we heard their Funeral Plaints, Mourning and Lamentations, wherein, they asked the dead Corps, How they came to deserve so ill at his Hands? Wherein had they been wanting in their Duty and Observance, that he had left them in such a lonesome and disconsolate Condition? And such like Stuff. The Priests that ministred in this Service, were of theGreekChurch. In the Church-Yard, there were erected on Poles, or long Staves, several Pictures of Stags, Hinds, and such Kind of Creatures, cut in Wood; when I asked them the Reason of this strange Custom, they told us, That their Husbands, or Fathers, did thereby signify the Celerity and Diligence of their Wives or Daughters,in managing their Houshold Affairs. Moreover, by some Sepulchres, there hung Bushes of Hair, which Women, or Maidens, had placed in Testimony of their Grief for the Loss of their Relations. We were also informed, that it was the Custom of that Country, after Friends on both Sides had accorded about the Marriage of a young Couple, for the Bridegroom to snatch away his Bride, as it were by Force; for they do not think it handsome, that a Maid should consent to her own Devirgination, or first Nights Lodging with her Husband.
Ata small Distance fromJagodna, we met with a little River which the Neighbouring Inhabitants calledNissus, and we kept it on our right Hand almost all the Way till we came toNissa; yea, and beyond the Town, upon the Bank thereof (were there were some Remains of an oldRomanWay) we saw a small Marble Pillar, yet standing, wherein there were someLatinLetters inscribed; but they were so defaced, that they could not be read: As for the Town ofNissa, for that Country, it is a decent one, and full of Inhabitants.
’TisTime now to acquaint you with the Entertainment we met with at our Inns, for I believe you long to know. When I came toNissa, I lodged in a public Inn; theTurkscall themCaravarsarai, of which there are a great many in that Country; the Form of them is thus, it is a large Edifice, that has more of Length than Breadth; in the midst of it, there is a kind of Yard for the placing of Carriages, Camels, Mules and Waggons. This Yard is compassed about with a Wall about three Foot high, which joins, and is, as it were, built in the outward Wall that incloses the whole Building; the Top of this inner Wall is plain and level, and is about four Foot broad. Here theTurkslodge, here they sup, and here is all the Kitchen which they have (for in the ambient Wall before spoken of, there are ever and anon some Hearths built) and here are no Partitions between Camels, Horses, with other Cattel, and Men, but the Space of that inner Wall; and yet at the Foot of that Wall, they so tye their Horses, that their Heads and Necks are above it, or at least may lean over it; and thus, when their Masters are warming themselves at the Fire, or else are at Supper, they stand near them as Servants us’d to do; and sometimes they will take a Piece of Bread or Apple, or whatsoever else is offered them, out of their Masters Hand. Upon the same Wall, theTurksmake their Beds, after this Manner, first of all they spread a broad Piece of Tapestry, which is fitted as a Saddle-cloth by Day, for their Horses; upon that they put their Cloaks, their Saddles serve for a Pillow, and with the long Vests they wear at Day, they cover themselves at Night. And thus they take their rest, never provoking Sleep by any other Allurement. There is nothing done in secret, there all is open, and every Body may see what another does, unless the Darkness of the Night hinder him. For my Part, I greatly abhored this Sort of Lodging, because the Eyes of all theTurkswere continually upon us, staring and wondering at our Carriage, according to the Customs of our Country. And therefore, I always endeavoured to lodge at the mean House of some poor Christian! but alas! their Cottages were so small, that many Times I had not room enough in them for placing my Bed; so that sometimes I slept in my Tent, sometimes in my Coach, and sometimes again I turned into theTurkishHospitals; which, to give them their due, are very convenient, and not unhandsomely built, for they have several distinctApartments for Lodgings in them. There is no Man forbid the Use of them, eitherChristianorJew, Rich or Poor, they are open equally to all. Even theBashaw’s andSanziacs, when they travel, make use of them. In these I thought myself lodg’d as well as in the Palace of a Prince.
TheCustom of these Inns, like Hospitals, is this: They allow Victuals to every particular Man, that comes in as a Guest: So that when Supper-time came, there was a Servant that brought in a great wooden Dish almost as big as a Table; in the middle of it was a Platter full of Barley boiled to a Jelley, with a little Piece of Flesh, and about the Platter were some small Loaves, and here and there a Piece of an Honey-comb. When I saw this, at first, out of Modesty, I refused it, saying, that my Servants were preparing my own Supper for me, and therefore, advised them to give it to the Poor: He took it amiss, and prest it upon me, and alledging, that I should not scorn their slender Provision, that the Bashaw’s themselves us’d to eat it; it was the Custom of their Country so to do; they had enough left to give to the Poor, and if I would not eat it my self, I should give it my Servants; hereupon, I was enforced to take it, that I might not be counted uncivil by them; and after I had tasted a little of it, I gave him Thanks. The Relish of it pleased me well, for that kind of Gruel, as it is commended byGalen, so it is very wholesome, and not unpleasing to the Taste. Travellers may be entertained with that kind of Diet for three Days; but when that Time is expired, they must pack up and be gone. Here (as I told you) I was well entertained; but I met not always with such good Quarters. Sometimes, when I could not light upon an House, I lodged in a Stable; my People enquired after a large and capaciousone, in one part whereof was an Hearth and a Chimney, and the other part was design’d for the Herds of Cattle; for that is the Make of theTurkishStables, that the Herd and the Herdsman lodge under the same Roof. I divided that part where the Fire was from the rest, by the sides of my Tent, and then I put my Table and my Bed by the Fire-side, and liv’d like an Emperor: As for my Family, they wallowed in a great deal of clean Straw, in the other part of the Stable: But some of them fell a Sleep by the Fire-side in the adjoining Orchard or Meadow where a Supper was preparing; the heat of the Fire was their guard against the coldness of the Night, and they had as great a care not to let it go out, as theVestal Virginshad of old atRome.
Isuppose, you will ask me, how my Family relieved themselves against the inconvenience of their bad Lodging; especially seeing they could have little Wine in the middle ofTurkey, which might have been some Remedy for their ill Lodging at Night. For the truth is, there is little Wine to be had in several of their Villages, especially, if noChristiansdwell among them: For I must tell you, that theChristiansbeing wearied out with the Pride and Insolency of theTurks, do many times withdraw themselves from the common Road into desert Places; which tho’ they are less fruitful, yet are more secure; and so leave their better Possessions to the domineeringTurks. And whenever we drew near to any such Places, where there was no Wine, theTurkswould very fairly tell us of it before-hand; so that I sent my Steward the Day before, with aTurkto guide him, to procure some from the next Villages of theChristians. And by this means it was, that the Distresses of my Family were something alleviated; ’tis true, I could notget any soft Feather-beds or Pillows for them, or other Blandishments for Sleep; the Wine was instead of all: As for myself, I had some Flagons of choice Wine in my Chariot, so that I wanted none; thus I and my Family were provided for, as to Wine.
But, there was one Inconvenience, which troubled us more than the Scarcity of Wine, and that was, our Sleep was miserably interrupted; for we being to rise betimes in the Morning, and sometimes before Day, that we might come the sooner to our Inns at Night; ourTurkishGuides being deceived by the Light of the Moon, would sometimes call us up at, or about Midnight, with a great deal of Noise and Clamour. For theTurkshave no Clocks to distinguish Hours, nor Miles to shew the Distance of Places: Only they have a sort of Ecclesiasticks, which they callTalismans; this sort of People use a kind of Admeasurement by Water, and when they perceive thereby, that ’tis Morning, then they cry aloud from an high Tower, built on purpose, exhorting them to arise and worship God. They make the same Noise in the middle between Sun-rise and Noon, and likewise, between Noon and Sun-set; and, last of all, when the Sun is set, they cry out with a very shrill Voice, which hath no unpleasant Modulation, and which is heard farther than any Body would think. Thus theTurksdivide the Day into four Spaces, longer or shorter, according to the Season of the Year: But for the Night-time, they have no certain Rule at all.
SoourTurkishGuides being deceived by the exceeding Brightness of the Night they called us up before Sun-rising, and we started out of our Beds in great Haste, that so they might not impute any unlucky Accident, upon the Way, toour Slothfulness; in the Morning, we pack’d up our Baggage, and put my Bed and Tent in our Waggons, harnessed our Horses, and were ready for our Journey, only expected the Word of Command. But ourTurks, when they found their Mistake, fairly went into their Nests again, and after we had waited for them a great while, I sent to them, to tell them, we were all ready; and now the Delay was ontheirSide, my Messengers brought me Word, from them, that the Moon-light had deceived them, and therefore, they were gone to sleep again, for it would be a great while before it would be Time to go; and they persuaded us to try to sleep again too. And thus, we must either unpack all our Things again, to our no small Trouble, or else, we must endure a great Part of the Coldness of the Night in the open Air.
Toprevent this Inconvenience for the future, I charged theTurksnot to be so troublesome any more, as to rouze me out of my Sleep, for if they would but tell me over Night, at what Time they would rise in the Morning, I would be sure to be ready at the Time appointed; for I had Watches by me, that I intended to make Use of, which would not fail to acquaint me with the precise Hour of the Morning; and if they over-slept themselves, they should lay it to my Charge, so that they need not scruple to trust me with the Hour of their rising. They seemed to be somewhat satisfied herewith, and yet did not lay aside all their Solicitude neither; for in the Morning betimes, they awakened myValet de Chambre, desiring him to go to me, and to see how the Index of my Watches did pointed; he so, and returned Answer to them, as well as he could, That ’twas very near Sun-rising, according as he found it. When they had thus tried him once or twice,and found that he hit the Time right, they trusted me for the future, and admired the Structure of our Watches, that could so faithfully declare the Time; so that ever after, we slept out our Sleep, without any Disturbances from them.
FromNissawe came toS. Sophia; the Journey thither, and the Weather, for that Time of the Year, was very tolerable.Sophiais a Town big enough, and well inhabited both by Citizens and Strangers: It was heretofore the Royal Seat of the King ofBulgaria; and afterwards, if I mistake not, of theDespotsofServia, whilst that House stood, before it was overthrown by theTurkishArms.
Afterwards, we continued our Journey, for many Days, through the pleasant, and not unfruitful, Valley ofBulgaria; all the Time we were in that Country, we had little other Bread, but only Cakes bak’d under Ashes upon the Hearth, which they callTogatch. The Women and Maids sell them, for they have no Bakers in those Parts; and when they perceive any Guests a-coming, that are likely to pay for what they have, presently they knead a little Dough, with Water, without any Leaven, and lay it upon Tiles, under the Ashes, and so bring it out piping hot, and sell them for a very small Matter; other Victuals is also very cheap there, a good Weather-sheep may be bought for thirty-five Aspers; a Chicken and a Hen for an Asper, a sort of Coin with them, of which fifty make but a Crown.
Imust not omit to acquaint you with the Habit of theseBulgarianWomen. They commonly wear nothing but a Smock or Shift, made of no finer Linnen-thread, than that we make Sacks of. And yet, these course Garments are wrought by them, with several sorts of strip’d Needle-work,after a homely Fashion: With this lose party-coloured Habit they mightily pleased themselves, so that when they saw our Shifts, made of the finest Linnen, yet they wondered at our Modesty, that we could be contented to wear them without various Works of divers Colours wrought in them.
Butthat which I most of all admired in them, was the Tower, which they wore on their Heads, for such was the Form of their Hats. They were made of Straw, braided with Webs over them. The Figure of them differs from the Hats Women wear in our Country, for ours hang down on the Shoulders, and the lowest Part of it is the broadest, and so it rises as it were into a Pyramid at top; but theirs is narrowest below, and so rises up like a top, almost nine Inches above the Head; but that Part of it that looks upwards, towards the Sky, is both very capacious, and also very open, so that it seems made to take in Rain, as ours are to shelter us against them; but in that Space, interjacent between their upper and lower Part, their hang Pieces of Coin, little Pictures or Images, small Parcels of painted Glass, or whatever is resplendent, though never so mean, which are accounted very ornamental among them.
Thosekind of Hats makes them look taller, and also more Matron-like, though they are easily blown off their Heads, by a blast of Wind, or by any light Motion they fall off themselves.
Whenthey appeared to us in this Dress, I thought they resembledClytemnestra, or someHecubaor other, in the flourishing Time ofTroy, coming upon the Stage. This Sight suggested to me some pious Meditations,viz.How frail and mutable a Thing that which is calledNobleness of Birth,is; for when I asked of someof these Lasses, they that seemed to be the handsomest among them, concerning their Stock and Lineage, they told me, They were descended from the Chief Nobles of that Country; and some of them were of a Royal Progeny, though now it was their Fate, to marry Herdsmen or Shepherds: For Nobility is very little esteemed in theTurkishDominions. For, I my self did afterwards see atConstantinople, and other Places, some Descendants from the Imperial Families of theCatacuzeni, and thePalæologi, living more contemptuously among theTurks, than everDionysiusdid of old atCorinth; nay, theTurksesteem no Men for their Birth, but only for their own perform’d Accomplishments, excepting only theOttoman Family; for that they have a high Veneration, upon Account of its Original.
Itis thought that theseBulgarianshad their Original fromSeythia, near the RiverVolga, and that they changed their Habitations and came into these Parts, when other Nations, either compelled by Force, or prompted by Choice, changed theirs; and that they were calledBulgarians, i. e.Volgarians, from the RiverVolga, aforesaid. Upon this Transmigration, they fix’d their Habitation upon those Parts of MountHæmus, that lie betweenSophiaandPhilippopolis, which are Places naturally strong; where they, for a long Time, baffled all the Power of theGrecianEmperors, and killedBaldwinthe Elder, Earl ofFlanders, then Emperor ofConstantinople, after they had taken him in an hot Skirmish. Yet, for all this, they were not able to resist the Power of theTurks, but were overcome and miserably enslaved by them. They use theIllyrian, orSlavonianTongue, as theServiansandRasciansalso do.
Beforea Man descends into that Plain that lies over againstPhilippopolis, he must go through a Forest and a craggy Mountain, which theTurkscallCarpi Dervent, i. e.The Gate of the strait or narrow Passage; but in the Plain before-mentioned, we met with the RiverHebrus, having its Original from the adjoining MountainRhodope. Before we could pass the said Straits, we saw the Top of MountRhodopeall cover’d over with deep Snow. The Inhabitants, as I remember, call itRulla. From hence flows the RiverHebrus, asPlinysays, andOvidalso affirms the same in this Distick.
Qua patet umbrosum Rhodope glacialis ad Hœmum,Et sacer amissas exigit Hebrus aquas.
Qua patet umbrosum Rhodope glacialis ad Hœmum,Et sacer amissas exigit Hebrus aquas.
Qua patet umbrosum Rhodope glacialis ad Hœmum,Et sacer amissas exigit Hebrus aquas.
Qua patet umbrosum Rhodope glacialis ad Hœmum,
Et sacer amissas exigit Hebrus aquas.